Dawntrail Graphics Update - Feedback on changes to the world's aesthetic and feel

[Merton9999]

I also went to Il Mheg and I'm not sure if my memory deceives me but the pink flowers seem much brighter now and have a deeper/darker shade of pink. Looking at them kind of hurt my eyes. I have no comparison screenshot right now but I could swear the flowers used to have a less saturated, lighter but very pleasant pink. Thy looked colourful and bright without straining the eyes.

Il Mheg and Elpis are two of the saddest victims in my opinion. There was a pale softness and fragility to them that meant something. They are dark, saturated, harsh and severe right now.

I do so hope they fix these zones. Right now I just have to go to these places sometimes. I don't want to.

[Turnintino]

This has already been mentioned, but it bears reiterating just how strange and unattractive some of the lighting changes have been to housing, at least in some regards. There's a lot of added depth that I appreciate, but the strange film that every reflective surface seems to take on at certain angles, and the complete loss of luster to other formerly reflective surfaces is... not great.

And not related to housing, but I notice a similar loss of shine under certain lighting conditions in other areas, like those at the Hall of Flames in Ul'dah. You can see the effect clearly on the company chest, which now looks dull and almost clay-like under the light there. If your character is wearing anything glossy or metallic, you'll notice those materials are similarly dulled when standing in the Hall, unless you're very close to the counter.

[Iscah]

Another thing I've noticed is that the glamour dresser "magic mirror" has lost its swirling surface and is now a blank grey slab.

[Feathetaria]

The World Itself runs Smooth and Very Nice, I like. BUT there is ONE MAJOR ISSUE (not counting mutilated character models, as that's in another thread). The big issue is that interior house builds are having many issues that ruin them. For example, if i'm using aqueducts for aquatic refraction / reflection on wall, it doesn't even work correctly anymore . Entire build ruined. wtf?

Also, Luminous Wooden Loft is causing MASSIVE FPS DROP and added yellow lighting that builds didn't ask for.

[Granyala]

It feels like there was a vague blur effect that has been removed. Also, the blue light from the Ice Chandelier around the floor has been reduced. I am using the same lighting setting in both of these screenshots (Brightness 1).

Actually, what I think is happening in regards to the yellow glow is that the other ambient light sources now affect the floor much, much more.
I too have yellow lamps on my walls. They used to be far more localized. Now, at shallow viewing angles, they affect the entire floor.

[Feathetaria]

The graphical Update is only good in the world itself on environment. I actually like how the world itself looks a lot and it runs well performance wise.

But now i will get off topic. Fair warning ♥
I desperately plea that they revert all the changes and textures/models of players and all housing furnishings that are indoor. PLEASE! I beg of you. Furnishings are making it so places where me and friends used to have 60 fps we now have 15 fps. Builds that had certain lighting and colors / themes for interior housing design now are ruined. We built our housing builds based on how the lighting effects looked at the time and now this effectively pulls the rug out from under anyone that has a build they purchased or commissioned from a housing designer.

I don't even want the slot increase if me and my friends can't enjoy our time in the house anymore because something is killing our FPS. Maybe it's because you changed Luminous Wooden Loft to produce weird yellow FPS KILLING light that makes a once beautiful combo become ugly as heck. Combo being Luminous wooden loft above Eulmoran Marble Flooring. This combo once looked great but now it kills your FPS while looking horrible. WHY? Please just revert the graphics update for Interior Housing and Character Models. Miqo'te Female Face 3 Mouth 4 got her lips mutilated by botched plastic surgery and i might quit the game because of it unless a modder makes a mod for old character models and i start modding. I might get depressed and be forced to move on to a different game after thinking this was my home where i could stay and be happy the way things were.
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I love this game and i almost feel like someone is trying to make us all quit by changing the faces of our characters when we didn't ask for it. I don't like my miqo'te anymore. She's a fake. I want my character back.

Suggesting i try the free fantasia adds insult to injury. I guess I have to let Feathetaria die and rest in peace because this isn't my character anymore.

PLEASE just add some settings in graphics similar to "Movement Physics" and "Shadows" Sections that have Options such as Display or Hide, and Self / Others. You NEED to allow us to opt in or out of this graphical update. I hate my characters lips, now, and Fantasia won't fix it. Considering quitting unless a modder makes a mod for old models

Please allow us to opt in for the graphics update in settings for the world, the lighting, the character models and interior housing. We need 4 separate options.

Like this:


And this:

[TsengAkera]

Housing has certainly been hit hard and not in a good way. The zero lighting is both too bright and too dark at the same time. I had the Eulmoran marble flooring which used to be this really beautiful dark green but now it looks like my house flooded and is covered in sediment. where before even at 0 the over heads would still work they don't now so you have to have the lighting on which kills any ambiance the rooms once had. I got a couple before and after of my in-process FC house. (first images are before second are after)

[Turnintino]

Housing has certainly been hit hard and not in a good way. The zero lighting is both too bright and too dark at the same time. I had the Eulmoran marble flooring which used to be this really beautiful dark green but now it looks like my house flooded and is covered in sediment. where before even at 0 the over heads would still work they don't now so you have to have the lighting on which kills any ambiance the rooms once had. I got a couple before and after of my in-process FC house. (first images are before second are after)

That weird film on surfaces you see from those angles, and the loss of contrast where there were previously deep shadows, is just so bizarre. It makes certain spaces look so unnatural, at least to my eye.

[azaleai]

In particular, reflectiveness on floors feels like a "look at me and how realistically shiny I am" thing rather than serving the location as a whole. It stands out when entering the shop building in Idyllshire and at the Drowning Wench; I don't think I've been to other old places yet, but there's a similar thing at the palace in Tuliyollal as well.

One thing that's been bothering me a lot is how the wet surface effects when it rains are applied to all floors - I was crafting on my Island Sanctuary yesterday and when it started to rain, all of the floor inside the cabin became super shiny.

On the one hand I can see it being a tad too intensive for the engine to determine which surfaces shouldn't be affected by rain... but on the other, is that not how the auto umbrella or the character wetness functions? There's clearly areas where we are designated to be out of the rain, and if we were going for realism I think it would be nice to see that being applied to environmental surfaces too. Perhaps if they even added the little wet footprint effects as you transition from a wet surface to a dry one, too.

Wetness aside, I think a lot of the issue with lighting in previous areas comes from the new lighting engine being generally a lot darker - instead of having an ambient light acting as a faux skylight, we now have actual sunlight (or a digital imitation, at least). Areas that don't get the sun (caves or inside unlit buildings for instance, but even any area during the night is affected) are very, very dark. While it's realistic, it's... not particularly readable. Much like night scenes in films and TV, there's usually a lighting engineer on hand to find a way to light the scene in a way to make it readable, but while still making it appear to be dark, often with use of different coloured lighting (blues as opposed to yellows and oranges from sunlight) and ample use of rim lighting (lighting from behind a subject that creates an outline on one or more sides).

While rim lighting isn't really an effect that can be employed in a dynamic lighting scenario, I think there are a fair few cutscenes that could benefit from it. And I wouldn't be opposed to the addition of a very low level ambient light to improve visibility in shadowed areas - and perhaps strengthened ambient occlusion to increase the contrast.

I can only hope older areas getting the update will make them more in line with the newer additions. I'm lucky that my house has been mostly unscathed (2 or 3 light setting, middle of the pack and a fair amount of additional lights). The darker areas are a lot dimmer now, and there's very defined shadows cast by some of my furniture. I think I may have to add some more lights, but it doesn't look misty or have any strange material effects that I've noticed yet...

[CidHeiral]

The zones are one area they knocked it out of the park with the graphical update. I have no complaints there.