Dawntrail graphics update is very disappointing.

[Cheapshot]

That last paragraph was not directed at you. :'D

Unless you think of yourself as "people".

Yeah it actually just seemed like none of it was directed at me, since none of what you said even responded to what I said. Why did you even bother quoting me if you didn’t even read my post?? Is it because my posts are typically articulate and reasonable and you were just in a hurry to dismiss me? I don’t know if it’s your intention, but you come off as someone who just wants to argue and not think things through or consider others words. I don’t appreciate being responded to in that manner.

[Granyala]

Yeah it actually just seemed like none of it was directed at me

The first part was very much directed at you.

You claimed that the old lighting was "more dramatic", that the "artistry did not get preserved" with the new lighting and presented that as fact and reason for complaints.

Quote for posterity, highlighting the relevant parts:

So a few things I disagree on. First, while the before and afters you posted show a large increase in visual clarity, they also show a marked decrease in how dramatic the lighting is. Lighting is one of the best ways to set the mood of a scene from a direction standpoint. A lot of cutscenes have suffered from new flatter lighting with less contrast. The scene at the end of ARR when Raubahn snaps and we get such intense shadows and red lighting is a good example. In the new lighting that scene is significantly less dramatic and impactful now. I think it’s important to preserve the original artistry of this game with this graphics update. Hopefully that’s something that will be worked on going forward.

Are you the artist here? Are you a member of CBU-III? Do you have ANY shred of hard data on what constitutes their artistic vision? Do you know, as a FACT, that the new lighting is further from what they originally intended or whether it is actually closer?

YOU DON'T.

None of us do. So claiming otherwise is extremely arrogant.

You may prefer the old "crappy" lighting, and that sentiment is completely valid.
But do not throw around implications like "the new system does not preserve artistic intent, so we need to complain that they fix it".

Much of the old lighting was simply a result engine limitations. If you've ever been creative and tried to mod a videogame, you would know that oftentimes you can't actually implement what you have in your head. Instead, you have to compromise with what the engine allows you to achieve.

Now imagine your favorite game overhauling it's GFX and giving you a shiny box of new toys. What would you do as a creator? Remake your mod and stray further from your original design intent or use the new tech to your advantage to get closer? What sounds more logical here, hmm?

Of course mistakes, like the erroneous baked reflections resulting in yellow housing floors, happen. XIV is a gigantic project. So Feedback is always okay and valuable. Yosida-sama saw it, and commented on it, so we know a fix is coming. *yay*

But When the designers do not react to it (and there will be cases like this since they have to draw a line somewhere), that means it IS looking / working as intended. Whether we personally like it or not, is beside the point.

That is why I happened to disagree with your assessment, so I quoted you.
Simple and easy. Nothing personal about it, I am not out to "get you" or anything.
At the end of the day, we're just 2 gamers who are passionate about XIV and share opinions.

[Cheapshot]

[snipped to fit in message max length]

Except you said none of that originally.

I don’t care to argue with someone like you much further because I disagree with how you’re retconning and framing these new followup arguments entirely as well. You don’t get to just throw quotation marks around things and imply they’re my words.

You claimed that the old lighting was "more dramatic", that the "artistry did not get preserved" with the new lighting and presented that as fact and reason for complaints.

You may prefer the old "crappy" lighting, and that sentiment is completely valid.
But do not throw around stuff like "new system does not preserve artistic intent".

You direct quoted me elsewhere in the post and I’m direct quoting you here so I know you can do it. I said some of those words yes, but I’ll thank you to not make up words, re-arrange words and remove or add your own context to frame what I said differently. I didn’t say “crappy”. I did not make a blanket statement saying a “new system” doesn’t preserve any artistic intent nor did I say that none of the artistic intent was preserved. I was speaking very specifically about the shift from higher contrast lighting to flatter lighting and how that changes the impact and impression of certain cutscenes. And then most of the rest of my post was about physical mesh changes on my character. Just let my words be in their original context thanks.

Now back to your original reply to me:

I still think the GFX look way better now.

Is the update perfect? Of course not.
Do I want to go back to the old system: hell no.

Was the update worth it: In my opinion: yes.

People here blare about "BUT CRAPPY MSQ!!" not realizing that these are done by entirely separate teams.
Sticking to the old visuals would NOT have made the story more engaging. You'd have gotten Wuk Lamat just the same.

Leaving out the part after “people here” since you decided that part of the reply abruptly is unrelated to quoting me, what did any of that happen to do with me? I didn’t disparage the new “GFX” as a whole, nor did I say anything about going back to “the old system”, whatever that means. You seem to be speaking to people based on some amalgamation of all the various opinions you’ve read on the forums and acting like it’s what everyone is saying. None of what you just said in this new post was in your original. I mean you can go back and actually read what I said and rant at me with semantics arguments all you want now. It doesn’t retcon your original reply or invalidate me calling you out for replying dismissively without reading.