Was This Graphical Update Necessary?

[Aelin_Ashryver]

I'm not opposed to the update.

And, considering the fact I'm playing as a FemHroth, I'm generally apathetic toward how characters will change from Endwalker to DawnTrail.

But I'm wondering if it was needed and is it a solid selling point for the game? The game already looks quite lovely from my perspective considering its age. And I wanted to politely inquire as to why the time and effort taken to tune up the graphics wasn't instead invested toward expanding upon character customization, making mount movement more dynamic - which they showcased, yes - improving upon character movement, puzzling out how to improve housing and apartments and so on.

Yes, the grass is prettier. The water does the thing.

Maybe I'm entirely ignorant and I've been living in a cave - but was the update a big ask in the community?

When I was brand new trying the game for the first time the dated look of the game was part of why I uninstalled it within the day. I didn't come back till a year later to give the game a proper go. And if BDO hadn't killed their pvp I wouldn't have bothered at all. Glad I did since this is far and away my fave game today but the graphics is definitely off putting for many prospective players.

[Reinha]

yes, mods that increase the graphical fidelity of characters from their bodies, faces, hair, and other things are the most popular. count how many downloads there are for hair and face defined as well as the various hi-def body mods available (thebody, the countless female body mods)

Whoa, I just thought of something. Say someone wants their eyebrows and lips to be the same shape and color as before. Will there be mods that undo all the unnecessary design changes...?

[Anzaman]

Whoa, I just thought of something. Say someone wants their eyebrows and lips to be the same shape and color as before. Will there be mods that undo all the unnecessary design changes...?

Probably not the easiest thing to achieve but given that there are custom face sculpts, I imagine it could be possible.

[Hanayumi]

Character graphics update wasnt really needed (if anything players seem to want more options/sliders) but environment, texture, lighting updates definitely is, especially on very dated/pixelated textures...

[SannaR]

Yes as even newer things were starting to really look pixelated. Or noticeable like the seam down some faces. Even Viera look pasty skin wise. So even if I also thought the game looked pretty while playing on the PS4 it started to show how much this is needed when I switched to the PS5.

[dogwearingsunglasses]

Character graphics update wasnt really needed (if anything players seem to want more options/sliders) but environment, texture, lighting updates definitely is, especially on very dated/pixelated textures...

I'm of the same opinion, I don't mind the graphics of the chararcter models one bit -- i certainly wouldnt have joined XI as far into its service as i did if i thought XIV's model's looked bad -- but a lot of the pixellated plant life kind of sucks to look at

[Arzalis]

Yes, but I think they did it the wrong way. Legitimately just updating the lighting and upscaling the textures would've been the way to go.

They tried to be extra about it and fully redo those things which is what has resulted in a lot of the issues.

[Gokki]

Absolutely, while i'm a little critical of specifics, i am 100% in support of this change and wish it was done sooner. There's a lot of work still needed to be done in terms of body updates (only faces are being updated atm) and items/scenery. This is a superficial update for the most part, far more could be done to further improve.

[vetch]

Of course not.

It was wanted, but that's not the same thing as being needed. People drop social games over burnout, disliked gameplay changes, or because their friends moved on and the network effects holding them to the game have ceased. They don't drop it over outdated graphics while those things still hold them, and updating the graphics won't help it hang onto players that don't have one of those other factors.

Any argument that they needed to bring the graphics from outdated-2015-era to outdated-2019-era to attract new players is unserious. You could open up new markets with just as many curious potential players by optimizing the current graphics to the point that the game runs on a lower tier of computer.

[moodud]

You need to compare to other games that came out recently.
In the age of 4k+ graphics, HD or lower is not enough for many people. For the game to attract more new players (especially younger people) graphics needs to be pretty and not look pixely old, 10 years forward.
With less limitations the devs also able to create more complicate designs, animations, cutscenes, etc.
The characters may not be perfect now but this is like a beta version, it's the first time they are doing this. All the problems that got addressed can still be fix, albeit all may not be on time for launch.
Unfortunately not everyone will be happy with this changes, but for the future of the game it is needed, yes. I personally believe we can get use to it in the end.