Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Cheapshot]

I like that the big mesh update that added more triangles somehow made her brow and forehead so jagged, but the PS3-era mesh is almost perfectly smooth.

Yup. I’m also really bothered by that. The lips too seem lower poly to me. I’m not understanding why they replaced eyelash and eyebrow textures either if the new ones are the same resolution. Or why I got a complete nose job, or my eyes drooped and my eyeballs poked further back into the sockets. It all seems unnecessary.

[Moonfallen]

One thing I'm not seeing talked about a lot is that tails are horribly messed up too. I use the lion tail on my character, and it now just looks like a rubber snake toy with hair at the end or just a long tube with fake fur slapped on the end of it. The fat au'ra tail also is no longer chunky, it looks rather flat when you look at it at different angles as well. Was talking to a friend when I noticed his tail no longer looks wide and what it used to look like in EW. A lot of the cat tails look like they don't even have fur on them and just look really off.

[Apolline]

I can’t even remember which of these is supposed to not have lipstick so they’re in no particular order. I submitted this as a bug report but they rejected it as “not a bug report”. Not even “Intended” but “Not a bug report”. I don’t understand what that means. I wish they’d add a context post when they move reports like they do on other languages forums.

We could all submit one lol, because the top lip does look off, regardless if they feel its not a bug

[Doopliss]

Hm... I consider this a less important matter since it's an unplayable variant, but, uh, the Garlean version of ♀ Midlander Face 5 appears to have the actual third eye misaligned with the flesh's indent.

I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me wince though. My forehead hurts looking at it...

Interestingly, only some of the Garlean versions of face models have been updated. ♀ Midlander Face 5 and ♂ Midlander Face 4 got updated, while ♂ Midlander Face 1 (Jullus's face) and ♂ Elezen Face 1 didn't.

[ConantSivrha]

Does anyone have (or know of a YouTube channel that has) pre-Dawntrail recordings of a face 4 female miqo’te doing the /converse animation, and/or other animations where the mouth is open, with a good view of the face?

I feel like these animations look incredibly strange on my face 4 (mouth 3) female miqo’te after the update. There seems to be something wrong with the top lip’s position or shape when a character with this face (or maybe just the specific mouth my character uses?) talks or opens their mouth. I’d like to be able to compare the old version with the current version to better understand what I’m seeing.

[Rueby]

Expansion : Stormblood
Quest : Silence in Three Parts
Cutscene No.1

I love the quality control here. The characters blink way too often that to me it's actually distracting, to top it off her eyelashes clip through her eyelid, and since she's blinking nonstop it's so obvious. Granted this is happening in this angle, but honestly, I don't want to check her other cutscenes because I'd rather not see the amazing quality that this update brought to our beloved characters.

I thought I couldn't be more disappointed in this graphical update, but here I am. It's really hard to remain positive about this since I doubt any of it will get 'fixed', everytime I submit a bug report they say not enough information. What more would they possibly need then the issue is right there??

I know I'm abit emotional but all I had left in this game was my character, my house and the unending journey to see my favorite characters that the writers obviously hate.

[Luluna]

Hm... I consider this a less important matter since it's an unplayable variant, but, uh, the Garlean version of ♀ Midlander Face 5 appears to have the actual third eye misaligned with the flesh's indent.

I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me wince though. My forehead hurts looking at it...

Interestingly, only some of the Garlean versions of face models have been updated. ♀ Midlander Face 5 and ♂ Midlander Face 4 got updated, while ♂ Midlander Face 1 (Jullus's face) and ♂ Elezen Face 1 didn't.

lol That is the stuff of nightmares :O

On feedback for the new update I just hate what they have done with Midlander females...why they had to change them so much is beyond me. I usually play face 2 and would sometimes when bored switch round on them, but now they look like they have squashed noses and the charming mouth of face 2 is pursed and they look angry. I went through a stage of using fantasia and felt really happy on Hyur after they messed my version 1.0 cat up.

I now am changing again here and there because I just can't seem to fix my character to how she was and I am playing cat for today at least lol.
I hope they look at the things that have changed and I am happy for graphical updates but they have ruined Midlander females for me anyhow. I am struggling to find the pretty charm they had.

[Moonfallen]

Expansion : Stormblood
Quest : Silence in Three Parts
Cutscene No.1

I love the quality control here. The characters blink way too often that to me it's actually distracting, to top it off her eyelashes clip through her eyelid, and since she's blinking nonstop it's so obvious. Granted this is happening in this angle, but honestly, I don't want to check her other cutscenes because I'd rather not see the amazing quality that this update brought to our beloved characters.

I thought I couldn't be more disappointed in this graphical update, but here I am. It's really hard to remain positive about this since I doubt any of it will get 'fixed', everytime I submit a bug report they say not enough information. What more would they possibly need then the issue is right there??

I know I'm abit emotional but all I had left in this game was my character, my house and the unending journey to see my favorite characters that the writers obviously hate.

This seems to be an issue with a lot of different characters in the game. Blinking looks really weird and not smooth like it did before. I get that they were in a rush to get Dawntrail released and they plan to continue updates as they go along, but maybe they shouldn't have released the graphics update if it wasn't ready yet. There are just so many issues that really hinder the story-driven game that it is. A lot of problems are glaringly obvious and completely distract from a lot of the cutscenes.

[Rueby]

I'm not sure if there's a way to embed video on this forum but I made a somewhat scuffed youtube video showing the eyebrow twitching issues + facial expressions for face 4 moonies...

It took so long to upload. I wish I could upload more, but I'm not seeing anyone speak about this issue

Here

Edit:
I think I forgot ponder, it took an hour to upload this video..ugh. Ponder actually has the twitching issue.
I would love to see if other people can go check the expressions on their characters too...I don't think this is acceptable especially on the player character...cmon.

[Khryseis_Astra]

On feedback for the new update I just hate what they have done with Midlander females...why they had to change them so much is beyond me. I usually play face 2 and would sometimes when bored switch round on them, but now they look like they have squashed noses and the charming mouth of face 2 is pursed and they look angry. I went through a stage of using fantasia and felt really happy on Hyur after they messed my version 1.0 cat up.

I have a retainer that looks the same as my Highlander alt, so I gave her a Retainer Fantasia last night to see if there was anything I could do to fix her… (I think she’s back on page 66 somewhere). And really, no. I can sacrifice my usual face paint and use it to slightly lighten up the eyeshadow they darkened way too much. But the whites of the eyes are still gray looking. And the biggest problem is still the mouth. Like you said, the lips being changed makes the lips look pursed, or like they’re biting their upper lip, because it’s half gone. And along with the mouth shape changing, the philtrum is so pronounced that it doesn’t matter what lips you choose, they look like duck lips. It’s really a shame. It’s not the same person anymore, and more importantly, facial expressions and emotes are totally different looking. Midlander is much the same, with the addition of dark bags under their eyes that make them look like they haven’t slept in a month.