Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[MirielleLavandre]

There's something weird I noticed - the character look I had when logging in for DT actually changed when I applied my saved version made for EW using the fantasia. I'd figured they'd look exactly the same but for some reason (maybe just me) applying the old saved look from EW changed her back to closer to how I remembered her // though I did change to Midlander for DT ^^

Playing around more I also found characters made fresh in the upgraded benchmark and used with fantasia somehow look better than any EW created saves - maybe only freshly made chars look decent and "old" ones created pre-DT benchmark are weirdly changed? Maybe newly made use DT meshes and shapes while pre-DT are stuck being "adjusted" up somehow?

[Anneliese_Lev]

I already tried doing the same, but I don't have any other option for the face, eyes and mouth that looks closer to my old character. The lips also look bigger in all other options

The new result is her looking younger, like a teenager, instead of a woman

I wish I could play with the older graphics

(I realize too that the X stitching in the new version (second picture from the left) look blurry, as if it was being remade using AI)

(Endwalker - Dawntrail - Endwalker - Dawntrail)



(Open in a new tab, and then clic to see a more detailed version)

[FELIX_ZERO]

please fix the clipping of headware on lalas. eyepatches are a big one.
https://i.postimg.cc/Qx7WjrX1/clippy2.png
https://i.postimg.cc/9XK73fjc/clippy.png

[TheGrimace]

This is my first time posting on the forums, so please excuse any incorrect formatting.

I've been enjoying the graphics update for the most part. The increased graphical fidelity is very nice.

However, as it stands, I'm really not a fan of how the new lighting system / shadows interact with the skin and hair colour of my character. I'm currently using the palest skin colour available on male Midlander. The lighting / shadows after the graphics update make the hair and skin colour look way darker than what it used to be. It's very jarring to me, and I really hope this can be changed in the future.

I tried replicating an older screenshot with the new graphics update as best as I could. The last image was taken in the Character menu. The colours look fine here due to the even lighting, bar the slightly desaturated hair colour. However, it looks completely different everywhere else.







I'm disappointed. The hair and skin colour just don't go together nearly as well as they used to. Fantasia doesn't fix this, and neither does the aesthetician; I tried my hardest. Even the pic of my character on the left side of this post looks strange.

It's difficult for me to put all this into words, but I hope I was able to convey my thoughts well enough.

Thank you- as another Male Midlander, my experience with my character and the update are very similar to yours, and I have the same accolades and complaints. Shadows affecting the eyes are my biggest concern, and your screenshots do a good job showing the differences.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Thrilled with how my character got updated. A great improvement. What little muscle definition he has is now more pronounced, and his features are just sharper and more vibrant.

Old on the Left.

[Anneliese_Lev]

I don't have evidence, but the more I think about it, it looks like it was "upgraded" using a light touch of AI.

That's a good explanation of why you would obtain "doll" faces in female models

[sincroft]

Everyone looks like they have instagram filters on.

[Loggos]

Not my character obviously but I noticed that Erenville's upper lip almost merges with/"bleeds"/"melts" into his face, so that its shape becomes really hard to see.
It has almost no definition at the sides.

This isn't the case in all lighting situations of course but it really stood out to me during the cutscene below.



Unfortunately I don't have a good comparison screenshot. The best I could get was a really bad screencap from a youtube video in the same location (the Baldesion room). But even in that pixelated, low-quality image I think the left side of his upper lip has slightly more definition and visible edges? (The other is hard to see since his head is turned.)

The colour is also slightly different whereas in the DT screenshot the lip colour and the skin colour are almost identical. The highlights on the lower lip and above the philtrum are also stronger, making the shapes easier to read as they stand out more. In the DT picture they are a lot more subtle.

He also seems more washed out in the DT image? He looks a lot greyer/ashier.
The high-definition strands add to that washed out feeling imo. They stand out so much now, so that the lighter ones make his hair look greyer than before.
In the EW screenshot his skin and hair look more saturated and the shadows are deeper/seem to have a higher amount of black. (Though I can't rule out that this is just the YT quality distortion.)

Lastly, the seam were his ears and his hair meet is even more pronounced now due to the higher-res texture and looks like a really harsh zigzag line.

[Game_Over]

Very much so.
I've spent 11 years with this character with never a using a fantasia to change the appearance, and have around ~150k screenshots accumulated

I feel like the character changes are a downgrade.

It goes for all characters. I honestly dislike it. Everything is too god damn glossy. There should be a way to turn off the goddamn gloss.

Agreed. I've been around since 1.0 CE and have kept the same character settings for my main, except for 3 hairstyle upgrades. I've rolled with all the changes, but this is a serious issue. Almost everyone's characters look completely different. Different lip sizes/shapes, noses, eyes, eyebrows/colors for some - things that completely identify a face. A few are lucky and like the new proportions/shapes as much as the ones they originally created. But this shouldn't be a forced change. Do what you want to "improve" (read "change") the environment, maybe even armor textures, I've stuck through it all. It unfortunately is not an "improvement", though, just because it is different. It doesn't matter how many settings or graphics options you utilize when it makes things look worse. People making the excuse "it's lighting/shading..." etc, it doesn't matter to me why it is an issue, it matters to me that it is an issue at all. It needs to be fixed, period. Doesn't mean they will - but they should. It isn't our job to code this/figure it out so it works right, it's theirs.

I honestly see no improvement on my PC graphics-wise at all - the improvement of which is supposed to be the excuse for these problems. In itself no noticeable improvement doesn't bother me. But I do see a change: my entire game looks so glowy/hazy now that I can't even discern details I used to be able to see. Marble floor is gray instead of black, weapon glows are muted and reduced. Yes I've tried gamma correction (nevermind the fact I've never needed to touch this before), I've fiddled with every setting, but apparently this is what "improvement" means. The game still looks great on my roommates PS5, but it always did.

There seems to be an issue lately where the 14 devs want to change things that are already working well. The old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it" comes to mind. Circling back to the character faces, this is just one example of something that didn't need to be changed. It has certainly de-motivated me from playing early access (something that was never before an issue). I am starting to feel like at this point they are no longer making games for players like me. This isn't an "I-quit" post as I don't do those, it's more of an acknowledgement; but I will say I only post on here when it's a serious issue. I don't come on here to debate (you're welcome to disagree; I won't be back to argue), but this is the most strongly negative content release they have ever done in the history of the game for me. So take from that what you will SE/others.

[ShizuForever]

(Sorry if I filed this in the wrong location, I don't know how to use forums. Feel free to move my post to a better location if necessary.)
I don't think I can enjoy the expansion despite pre-ordering the early access.

I woke up to a body that wasn't mine. (and also the world's lighting changed but whatever)


Details of the post continuing over to the next post: