Problematic Skin Tones: Character Creator vs. In-Game (Always Seem Off)

[Enla]

I've started using the benchmark to see how created characters actually look and animate in-game. It saves you from the character creation limit and you can even see them in a variety of armor sets.

Same here. It's the only way I can see the character actually /in game/ with good lighting and it's saved me a bundle on fantasia's. They really either need to give us some benchmark like cutscene to see how our characters look in game from the CC or add /better/ backdrops. The ones they have, frankly, are horrid no matter what skin shade you're trying to apply. The only decent one is the Gridanian proxy from a lighting perspective, but that's also ruined by the sheer volume of shadows coming down from the trees.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

The struggle is real.

What I find myself doing is switching the background in the character creator to Ul'Dah in the day time and turning my character to where he's facing the sunlight. This give a good idea of what his/her skin tone will look like under certain lighting.

That's why they give you a bunch of different backdrops and a day/night option in the character creator. So you can test it against different forms of lighting.

You're suppose to do this. Thatz why the options are there.

[wereotter]

Beyond just skin tone here, but I would support a 24 real world hours from the initial time you use your fantasia to re-edit your character to be able to do so again, or maybe unlimited edits for 24 hours from when you use the fantasia.

This would also have solved issues surrounding the viera voice 7 issue at the launch of the patch, and let people make other minor changes to their character if they see things aren't really working after they change their model without giving truely unlimited character re-editing.

I can remember twice after using a fantasia having to go back and purchase another one because of combat voices or because the skin tone looks worse in actual play than it did in the character creator. Though at this point I would like to just see some sort of tanning salon in the game to just let you adjust your skin tone without a fantasia, I don't think that's something they're likely to implement. I'm speaking from my current character look where I thought it was fine from the lighting options given to me in the character creator, only go get into the actual game and realize that I wished I had made his skin a shade darker, but am unwilling to buy another fantasia just to make that slight adjustment.

[Enla]

You're suppose to do this. Thatz why the options are there.

The options have bad lighting though, which is the issue. The only game I've played with worse lighting for character creation was Dragon Age Inquisition - and this one only just slightly edges that out by virtue of having options. Terrible options that make my inner artist cringe because if someone sent me references using any of them I'd send them back and ask for new ones, but options none the less. We either need the ability to change the time in each location, or for them to add new options that don't cause such a monumental struggle.

[DynnDiablos]

Beyond just skin tone here, but I would support a 24 real world hours from the initial time you use your fantasia to re-edit your character to be able to do so again, or maybe unlimited edits for 24 hours from when you use the fantasia.

This would also have solved issues surrounding the viera voice 7 issue at the launch of the patch, and let people make other minor changes to their character if they see things aren't really working after they change their model without giving truely unlimited character re-editing.

I can remember twice after using a fantasia having to go back and purchase another one because of combat voices or because the skin tone looks worse in actual play than it did in the character creator. Though at this point I would like to just see some sort of tanning salon in the game to just let you adjust your skin tone without a fantasia, I don't think that's something they're likely to implement. I'm speaking from my current character look where I thought it was fine from the lighting options given to me in the character creator, only go get into the actual game and realize that I wished I had made his skin a shade darker, but am unwilling to buy another fantasia just to make that slight adjustment.

I just went through this...three fantasias for minor skin tone adjustments that in the CC don't seem all that different but IN-GAME they actually are.

[SenorPatty]

We were just discussing in my ls discord regarding skin tones for femroes. One of my ls mates was trying to find a shade of red--or as close as to it as possible--but due to the various lighting in the game as well as different weather affecting the tones, it was next to impossible for her and she basically gave up and went for some discernible light tones. Funnily enough, I was in her exact same shoes a long time ago, trying to also find a color under the red umbrella of tones but gave up and went for dark tones.


You just can't win in this game when it comes to skin tones of the middle spectrum.

[Gula]

You can rotate your character in the creator so that you can face towards, 3/4, away, whatever from the lightsource.

I'm sorry you seem to have missed where I said that adds yellow and isnt a fix. Please reread my post.

[DevilsDontFly]

I think one of the problems is because the most natural lighting you can have on CC is using Gridania/The Shroud as a background, however the amount of trees make it impossible for you to see your character's face and body very well under that light. Limsa/La Noscea has a white-bluish undertone to it, and Ul'Dha/Thanalan has a grey-orangeish. If they reduced the amount of tree shadows on the Shroud it would be the perfect background for skintone testing.

Even if you create an alt and stuff, Gridania is the only place that reflects your character's skin tone a bit better, however it's always high noon at the prologue with clear skies and lighting that is exclusive to that prologue. So that's why when creating an alt, you are required to go all the way to the actual game. But then... boom: For some reason it always seem to be night time, raining or absurdly cloudy in Eorzea. lol

[MsQi]

That’s why whenever I know I’m going to fantasia, I make an alt and run around as them and do quests for a couple of hours to know that it’s what I want. Combat sounds too are important to test. I liked viera voice 5 from the benchmark but her fight noises sound like violent retching.

Best answer, and if you have all your slots full you can start a trial account, well at least for he original races. But lighting changes from zone to zone and time to time. It's likely there will always be some place you character looks a little off, kinda like real life.

[CaptainLagbeard]

The default scene on the character creation has terrible lighting that actively messes with colors.

If you want the best possible idea using the the character creation screen just go through all the scenes, night and day and spin the character around a bit.