Dawntrail Graphical Update - Au Ra Feedback

[GoatOfWar]

I posted this in the general before/after thread but I'll post here as well since it's specific to Au Ra.



I'm so devastated with how my girl looks. Her previous resting expression looked mildly pleased, but now because of changes to the shadows it looks like her entire face has been pulled taut? She looks like she hasn't slept in weeks. The top/bottom eyeliner in the Other Features section used to be an opaque color that gave the impression of a larger lined eye, but now it blends into the skin and makes it look like raccoon eyeshadow instead.

I've tried editing so many things in the character creator but there's no way to make her look like she did before... I really hope they fix this.

Your new Au ra looks baked.
Whatever she smoked this morning, i want to have too.

[Kindred008]

Not happy with my Au Ra either.

Current:


Benchmark:



She has lost much of the charm that made her her. She now looks much older than she did for some reason, and the new shadowing on her face doesn't contrast well with the new scale colour. Basically, she looks older, more mature, and more depressed, which isn't what I want.

To me, she looks so much different now! I was expecting the graphical update to just improve how our characters were before, not completely change them.

[Nebty]

Really not ok with how they changed the eyebrows/lip shape/lip shine. Everything else I can deal with but I want my girl's wide mouth back.




One thing I will say is that I think they really did a good job responding to feedback regarding the limbal rings. They retained the glow while making them blend with the rest of the eye better. I think if that's how they respond to feedback then I'm hopeful giving them feedback on other stuff will help.

[Lumalina]

There are things that I like such as the details on the horns and scales. However, the parts that immediately look off putting to me are the lips and eyes.

Female Au Ra doesn't have too much shading/shadows on the face in general, but



The lack of shadow around the mouth makes it seem really flat?
Making the lips have more of a matte look instead of a gloss changes the color significantly. The same color is on both of the models, but in this image it doesn't look that way.



As for the eyes, the pupils seem to have been made slightly larger.
It honestly gives too much of the "dead stare" that was jokingly mentioned by Yoshi-P, especially when looking at the model from a distance.

Honestly, I don't fully hate the changes, but I'm one of the ones that didn't get effected that much compared to others. I can still somewhat see my character when they emote, but I won't lie, it is a bit off putting.

(EDIT - Image links broke. Used Imgur instead.)

[Ryu_Makkuro]

Posted this in the WoL comparison, but decided to throw it in here as well, along with few extras. Do want to point out, the quality of the textures and materials are good indeed, so good job on that, but...

This just ain't my Au Ra, it's some impostor. Give me back my Xena the Warrior Princess and take this Garnet the sheltered princess back xD (or put as a new face preset I suppose)

Current:

Benchmark:


Here's an imgur album for shots from each of the zones in the character creator (for some reason imgur thinks it's adultery content, apparently my character too sexy for it xD): https://imgur.com/a/Xk0oU14

One thing I will say is that I think they really did a good job responding to feedback regarding the limbal rings. They retained the glow while making them blend with the rest of the eye better. I think if that's how they respond to feedback then I'm hopeful giving them feedback on other stuff will help.

Agreed with this fullheartedly.

[Aadrian1234]

Female Au Ra, Face type 4, Mouth type 1, has noticeably different lips and changes how my character looks quite a bit. I'm not a big fan of this, and at the very least, I would like there to be an option to have the exact same lip shape and fullness as the current live game.

First is 6.58, second is the Dawntrail Benchmark

The more I've looked around, the more it feels like female Au Ra facial features have been homogenized a bit, more than just mouths. Stern looks are much more muted, rougher and sharper features feel smoothed down, and so-on. One of the reasons I made my character how she is, was that I could make her look more stern, and less soft and dainty, which is changed in the Benchmark to make those kinds of faces look much softer and not as sharp than before.

Even more comparisons

Live game:


Benchmark:


Also a picture from the opening boat sequence:


Compared with my partner's Face 2 female Au Ra, which she's pretty happy about:

[yoyonoya]

Your new Au ra looks baked.
Whatever she smoked this morning, i want to have too.

That was exactly my thought when I first saw her too :')))
I just want her to look normal!

[GoatOfWar]

That was exactly my thought when I first saw her too :')))
I just want her to look normal!

If it makes you feel any better, my character looks completely different too and i hate it.
The eyes, mouth and nose got completely changed and it doesn't look like my character anymore.

https://imgur.com/a/6gAKOP7

She's become unrecognisable.
Not sure if i want to play the game if i can't even play as the character i always played as.

[Azalea_Forest]

I was disappointed when I first loaded up my character. It was mainly the limbal rings. I much prefer them bright and glowy, but I remember they mentioned at Japan Fanfest there would be the option for both, so I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt there, assuming the option just hasn't been implemented yet. Imagine my surprise when I took screenshots to compare and contrast:



It isn't just the limbal rings that have changed- the shape of her eyes is different! It's a subtle change, but it makes a big difference. She doesn't even look like the same character anymore. I'm very unhappy.

[Ryu_Makkuro]

If it makes you feel any better, my character looks completely different too and i hate it.
The eyes, mouth and nose got completely changed and it doesn't look like my character anymore.

https://imgur.com/a/6gAKOP7

She's become unrecognisable.
Not sure if i want to play the game if i can't even play as the character i always played as.

I find the new one better personally, but as with my own issue, this shouldn't replace the existing one, it should be added as a new face preset. No one should lose the one they liked and right now, it seems like nearly every fem Au Ra is in that situation, we no longer have what we liked about our characters.