Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Burmecia]

I'm just really dissapointed with what they did with the male miqo'te face 4 eyes 3... it's horrible how much expression of the eyes they erased to become dead inside. I want them to fix it so badly...

one of my alts is same face/eye/even-hairstyle combo and what can i say but agreed.
i might learn to live with most of the changes, but i can't deal with his dead fish eyes.

[Rokke]

After progressing through msq and seeing my main in different environments I'd say that overall my boy looks pretty good when he's got a neutral face going on but Im noticing his eyes no longer properly close in some emotes ? This isn't him mid blink, its from a cutscene where he shuts his eyes to think of a response.

Dunno if its a bug or a consequence of the new bones/morphs and him using the downturned eye option but his occasional stoner squints are funnybad.

[Turnintino]

Dunno if its a bug or a consequence of the new bones/morphs and him using the downturned eye option but his occasional stoner squints are funnybad.

Strongly recommend filing a bug report for this too, if you haven't yet. This isn't a design choice, it's an oversight.

[Rokke]

Strongly recommend filing a bug report for this too, if you haven't yet. This isn't a design choice, it's an oversight.

Yeah, once I have some time I'm going to go down the list of emotes and see which are wonky and report them. Will probably make an alt to test a different set of eyes to see if its all of face 4 eyes or if its just mine (I think he's option 2?) that are off.

[sweetchort]

Hey o/

It's just me or female Miqo'te eyes don't look at the same direction ? Didn't notice it before 7.0 but now i can't unsee it... It's look more noticable on moon Miqo'te.

I already post a bug report on french forums but they move it to "Working as Intended" ^^'

Did you know if there is any way to ask devs for a patch ? I don't wan't to fantasia my character but i don't wan't to see her like that !

[pompompom]

Her face feels completely different to me! I used a fantasia to switch to Viera, but it's just not the same. I miss my wonderful highlander girl.

[aeroz]

I know others have mentioned concerns about their expressions seeming off so I wanted to add that there seems to be less variety between some of the emotes now. I'm not sure if this is just an issue for face 3 Viera males but the expressions Simper and Beam now look completely the same. Before, the Beam emote would make my character's eyes widen and his eyebrows would raise a bit which made his expression look sweet and kind. As you can see from these comparison pics there's barely a difference anymore and they both just look the same.

Simper


Beam

[Risough]

I have some requests regarding male Highlander face 4 after noticing changes in my character with the new graphics update. A lot of my feedback overlaps what I said in the updated benchmark thread: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...89#post6484989

Face Type: 4
Jaw: Type 3
Eye: Type 3
Brow: Type: 1 in 6.5 and earlier, Type 3 in 7.0
Nose: Type: 1
Mouth: Type 3

Face 4 has gone from a gentle impression of a highlander to a much stronger one. There are prominent brow furrows in the updated graphics and they make the face feel more weary and aged. The change seems to be a combination of the new lighting and the geometry where the brow meets the nose. Harsh lighting from above and behind make the furrows especially noticeable.

Here are some examples of these furrows from some early cutscenes in Dawntrail (JP name
黄金の遺産 or use 7.0). In this first set of photos I am using eyebrow shape 3.









I also took some comparison shots using 6.x cutscenes. I had to revert some changes I'd made between 6.5 and 7.0 for these screenshots. In the photos below I am using eyebrow type 1.

① There is a pronounced furrow and bump at the brow. The shading is much stronger across the upper nose bridge when compared to the face from 6.5. I can see hints of the geometry used to create the updated graphics in the previous face, but I feel they have been pushed too far.

These changes gives a stronger impression of a highlander and makes the character seem more aggressive. There was some gentle shading to suggest furrows prior to 7.0, but these soft furrows did not impose such a strong and angry expression.







② There is a defined wrinkle extending from the edge of the brow down the side of the nose. This wrinkle is present regardless of lighting conditions. Prior to 7.0 this area had very soft shading that allowed you to better focus on the character's eyes.



[1/2]

[Risough]

③ The circles under the eyes are darker and more defined. This makes him appear older and more tired. The effect is visible in all lighting conditions, but in my images from issue ① you can see that harsher lighting makes the change most noticeable.






④ The shape of mouth type 3 has changed. I've seen these changes discussed for other races, but the philtrum and tubercule have both been flattened. I found the curve at the center of the lip quite handsome and felt it gave his expressions a lot of personality. I miss it in the updated mouth.





The lower lip was not well defined in the previous graphics and I feel the new lower lip is a good interpretation of it.

⑤ The harsh lighting from above and behind I mentioned earlier sometimes produces visual artifacts on the face. I noticed a similar phenomenon in the background when recreating some reference photos of my character. The green screen behind him is curved and now has visible bands of shading on it. It seems the new lighting engine is generating these strips of lighting on what should be smooth surfaces.





I apologize for requesting changes in the hectic period after official release, but I was very disheartened after seeing how much my character had changed. I would appreciate if you make some adjustments to Highlander face 4 based on my feedback.

[2/2]

[Gwen_Lavellan]

Mmm…. Cardboard upper chest ? Omg…