Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Stormfur]

I want to know why the Free Company chest got a heck of a makeover but the poor bear rug looks as awful as ever.

[Einnecy]

On the subject of lips, I am particularly disappointed in how the update has altered my female midlander. I agree that both the shapes and coloring have been changed too much. My main WoL looks like she is wearing lipstick instead of just having shaded lips. I also dearly miss the shape of her upper lip. I think that little dip(?) it had was adorable.



For an energetic and high-spirited character, which I think was reflected in her pre-DT face, she looks so tired and done now. No amount of tweaking her in the character creator will fix that either, and I have tried. I've been trying for as long as we've had the second benchmark and then doubly so when DT released.

[Doopliss]

On the subject of lips, I am particularly disappointed in how the update has altered my female midlander. I agree that both the shapes and coloring have been changed too much. My main WoL looks like she is wearing lipstick instead of just having shaded lips. I also dearly miss the shape of her upper lip. I think that little dip(?) it had was adorable.



For an energetic and high-spirited character, which I think was reflected in her pre-DT face, she looks so tired and done now. No amount of tweaking her in the character creator will fix that either, and I have tried. I've been trying for as long as we've had the second benchmark and then doubly so when DT released.

Oh hey, this is the rarest selected ♀ Midlander face I was talking about! I love how you designed her, but the update really does make it feel like she lost a spark of her personality...I'm so sorry. They made this face feel, somehow, like it got partially mixed up with Face 1 in the update.

Also, please tell me that those aren't the same eyebrow option...

Seriously, pre-DT I'd be able to easily tell this is Face 4, but now I'd be uncertain whether it's Face 1 or Face 3 at a glance...

[Cheapshot]

On the subject of lips, I am particularly disappointed in how the update has altered my female midlander. I agree that both the shapes and coloring have been changed too much. My main WoL looks like she is wearing lipstick instead of just having shaded lips. I also dearly miss the shape of her upper lip. I think that little dip(?) it had was adorable.



For an energetic and high-spirited character, which I think was reflected in her pre-DT face, she looks so tired and done now. No amount of tweaking her in the character creator will fix that either, and I have tried. I've been trying for as long as we've had the second benchmark and then doubly so when DT released.

The dull eye problem seems to be hitting you, and there’s a slight difference to the inner corners of your eyes which I think are both contributing to looking tired. I really dislike lip shape changes on nearly every face now and all the lip textures are too flat and clean to look natural.

Did you select new brows or did they really just straight up replace yours with completely different ones?

[Einnecy]

Oh hey, this is the rarest selected ♀ Midlander face I was talking about! I love how you designed her, but the update really does make it feel like she lost a spark of her personality...I'm so sorry. They made this face feel, somehow, like it got partially mixed up with Face 1 in the update.

Thank you so much! Most of the compliments I've ever gotten went to my au ra, so I'm really happy someone can appreciate my middie WoL. I'm happy someone can recognize her charm even if she's now lost to us. Face 4 midlander ladies are so rare, but I think they're so beautiful. I adore their subtly more mature face. I'm struggling to recreate that subtle maturity but lightheartedness no matter the face option.

The dull eye problem seems to be hitting you, and there’s a slight difference to the inner corners of your eyes which I think are both contributing to looking tired.

The gap between the eyes and lashes looks bigger too which gives a very unnatural look. The eyes I chose for her were the most open ones, but now they don't look open they just look... bigger.

Also, please tell me that those aren't the same eyebrow option...

Did you select new brows or did they really just straight up replace yours with completely different ones?

I should have clarified that I forgot to turn off the eyebrow facial option midlander faces come with. Sorry! Here's a screenshot of her eyes without the option enabled.

[Doopliss]

I should have clarified that I forgot to turn off the eyebrow facial option midlander faces come with. Sorry! Here's a screenshot of her eyes without the option enabled.

Ohhh, understandable. That's a small silver lining at least, haha.

It's practically impossible to pale the lips or try and make them invisible like I had done, as you say even the no lip colour option has been changed. I have noticed this even on other characters that aren't using delibrate lipstick, looking like they have lipgloss or a peach lipstick on at all times now.

Also I wanted to reply to this in case it offers a small sliver of hope: they DID fix this for ♂ Viera Face 2 between the first and second benchmark. It's hard to get a hold of the first benchmark now, but a characteristic for that face is how pale the lips are naturally. It's an important part for, say, an NPC like Loifa, who plays off the pallid look it offers. They were darkened significantly in the first benchmark, then corrected in the second benchmark after the massive amount of complaints male Viera had.

Here's an example of what those lips can look like now:


And here's an example of what ♂ Viera Face 1 lips look like in comparison, to further my point:

Sorry for the unequal cropping, I was trying to do this quickly.

The only unfortunate part of this is that I do use lip color for this character, which still applies a little too darkly... I feel like I can maybe figure something out, though.

There are other issues, like his round, slightly downturned eyes becoming less round and less downturned(again?!?!?!) and his hair looking too light and more flat now...but nothing I haven't already spoken about ad nauseam. Also I can no longer see the hint of teal on his bottom lashes (petty complaint, I know).

Anyway, it's possible to fix the lip coloring issues... I just hope they actually do so.

[Kaziek]

The gap between the eyes and lashes looks bigger too which gives a very unnatural look. The eyes I chose for her were the most open ones, but now they don't look open they just look... bigger.

This is because they completely removed a really important feature that gave female midlander characters such a distinct look, which was a semi-transparent eyelash texture that overlaid the very top of the eye. It's most noticeable on face 1 in my opinion, but it made a significant change to all of them in a way that's really unfortunate.

[noumen0nn]

This is because they completely removed a really important feature that gave female midlander characters such a distinct look, which was a semi-transparent eyelash texture that overlaid the very top of the eye. It's most noticeable on face 1 in my opinion, but it made a significant change to all of them in a way that's really unfortunate.

I made a post about this a while back and I'm glad others took notice; it should be an easy enough change so I'm hoping it gets implemented if enough people speak up.

[Kaziek]

I made a post about this a while back and I'm glad others took notice; it should be an easy enough change so I'm hoping it gets implemented if enough people speak up.

I really appreciate you and a few other face 1 players making such comprehensive posts about the common issues we all have! Getting back that shading and the slightly heavier eyeliner along with lessening the eye bags would fix the vast majority of the problems I have with the update.

[Einnecy]

After a cursory glance at some male races in the character creator I am under the impression that there is an even bigger divide between the two sexes in terms of character customization than there already was pre-DT.

I will elaborate here and use the default midlanders specifically with certain features slightly altered (no lip color and no facial features enabled), but more opinions and showcases are always welcome to support or disprove my opinion. Just please be polite.

Pre-DT:


Post-DT:


Here's what I'm noticing:
1. female middie has bigger eyelashes, male middie has had an eyelash reduction
2. female has a more pronounced lip shine (and is cursed with lipstick), albeit it's not clearly visible in the screenshot, male lips look very dry
3. female skin looks smoother, male skin looks more rough than before
4. female seems to have thinner eyebrows, male has thicker eyebrows
5. female eyes seem bigger with bigger pupils and irises

I want to add that I am not particularly against having more options which fit traditional gender norms and/or are considered conventionally attractive, but I do disagree with them overhauling pre-existing options. I've had my depressed au ra girl turn into a k-pop idol, my midlander hyur looks 10 years younger and depressed, and my moon kitty has had her eyebrows trimmed and shaped. It's been hard to look at. I want my girls back.

Please look forward to the body update in 8.0 where male characters will have an enhanced muscle tone slider which starts at absolutely jacked. We will also remove the muscle tone slider from female characters entirely and replace it with a butt slider. Oh and all female characters will have their bust size set to 100 by default.

Edit:
I feel as if this is my most "controversial" comment on the forums so far, but logging in lately has genuinely felt like we've gone from Dark Souls to Code Vein. I don't play Code Vein. I really am happy for those who are either indifferent or satisfied with the changes, but I wish the rest didn't have to suffer for it. I can only be angry that the countless hours I've poured into this game, not just playing but creatively as well, are currently for naught and that my journey will end if there is no compromise from the devs and I don't consider another avenue for a solution.