Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Rueby]

Snip

A friend told me that they wanted to release before WoW's new expansion, which I just looked up, releases on the 26th of August...Which makes no sense considering how many people seem to be affected by this botched graphical 'update'. In EW I noticed some really 'immersion' breaking things, like excessively repeating textures that are too obvious in Labyrinthos, an entire cave that the MSQ takes you through...that is just empty and ugly. Flickering islands in ultima thule's background. Lack of care given to the visual clarity of fights...

I don't believe they were confident that this expansion was going to carry itself and needed something cool and shiny and 'new' to hype it up. That's just my opinion, I think they may have thought people are going to love it. In my eyes I think SE has been making very bad decisions leading up to DT that honestly soured the taste of this expansion for many. Payment processor change into the can of worms that is the 'unfinished' benchmark and the countless other issues that the release of DT introduced.

I can't say anything about the story but I've had friends tell me they didn't enjoy it. I set very low expectations for it too, but somehow this expansion managed to disappoint me. I get strange FPs drops doing alliance raids despite meeting the recommended settings, I can't stand any of the ARR alliance raids, the saturation and luminosity and contrast in these raids is busted and it hurts to look at. Ever since I got a headache from gathering for custom deliveries I became scared. I had to look away from my screen during Castrum Meridianum's explosions before Boss#2...

I always felt like this wasn't ready for release, if they 'forgot' to update the benchmark- the introduction of the graphical update to the players...it shows how much they really cared about it. I'd rather them take time and deliver a good product than 'we'll release it and fix it later'. I preordered this and renewed my sub, and honestly? It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, at times I can't even play the game I used to play for hours. I shouldn't be scared of what might pop in the roulette because someone decided to make something radioactive for my eyes.

They ruined my favorite mount Regalia by adding mount tilt, everything feels so wobbly, I feel like the mount tilt maybe belongs to motorcycles. Nothing else, it's done cheaply and it sucks and I wish to turn it off because it makes me sick.

Sigh...sorry I babbled again. I'm just really tired of this. I've been playing Wuthering Waves, but I miss this game...all I can do is do roulettes to 'level'...at this point I'll be lv100 on everyone before even touching the expansion.

[Cheapshot]

I'd rather them take time and deliver a good product than 'we'll release it and fix it later'. I preordered this and renewed my sub, and honestly? It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I sadly agree. I have to be careful with money and yet I kept subbing to this game. It’s is the only game series left in which I still trusted the developers enough to preorder. It hurts to have that trust feel betrayed. I’ve been a real fangirl for this series and all that enthusiasm is gone. I wanted this to keep being my favourite active game. It feels bad to be asked what games I’m enjoying now and not have FFXIV be an answer I can honestly give.

My frustrations with this expansion really echo what the devs themselves felt were some of the core failures of 1.0 that they needed to correct course on.

[Moonfallen]

I sadly agree. I have to be careful with money and yet I kept subbing to this game. It’s is the only game series left in which I still trusted the developers enough to preorder. It hurts to have that trust feel betrayed. I’ve been a real fangirl for this series and all that enthusiasm is gone. I wanted this to keep being my favourite active game. It feels bad to be asked what games I’m enjoying now and not have FFXIV be an answer I can honestly give.

My frustrations with this expansion really echo what the devs themselves felt were some of the core failures of 1.0 that they needed to correct course on.

And yet history is repeating itself because they fucked up the graphics quality by making changes (there are A LOT of issues...), and saying they will make changes as needed in future updates but no one knows if let alone when that will actually happen. They could have just left it alone and worked on it over time before implementing it but chose not to do that. Shot themselves in the foot.

[Feathetaria]

I sadly agree. I have to be careful with money and yet I kept subbing to this game. It’s is the only game series left in which I still trusted the developers enough to preorder. It hurts to have that trust feel betrayed. I’ve been a real fangirl for this series and all that enthusiasm is gone. I wanted this to keep being my favourite active game. It feels bad to be asked what games I’m enjoying now and not have FFXIV be an answer I can honestly give.

My frustrations with this expansion really echo what the devs themselves felt were some of the core failures of 1.0 that they needed to correct course on.

And yet history is repeating itself because they fucked up the graphics quality by making changes (there are A LOT of issues...), and saying they will make changes as needed in future updates but no one knows if let alone when that will actually happen. They could have just left it alone and worked on it over time before implementing it but chose not to do that. Shot themselves in the foot.

Damn, I forgot about this but now I wanna cry? xD

[Rueby]

I sadly agree. I have to be careful with money and yet I kept subbing to this game. It’s is the only game series left in which I still trusted the developers enough to preorder. It hurts to have that trust feel betrayed. I’ve been a real fangirl for this series and all that enthusiasm is gone. I wanted this to keep being my favourite active game. It feels bad to be asked what games I’m enjoying now and not have FFXIV be an answer I can honestly give.

My frustrations with this expansion really echo what the devs themselves felt were some of the core failures of 1.0 that they needed to correct course on.

The only thing that stopped me from recommending this game to anyone is:
1. Abyssmal customer support- hope you never need it
2. SE's godawful payment system that makes it as scuffed as possible for YOU to give it money, making every subscription renewal a painful headache (this game caused me so much stress due to this)


That screenshot is so ironic...and painful.
I think everyone was happy for the HQ/new grass they showed us but that was such a curveball. I never expected them to botch our characters like that, you'd think the player character would get the most care and attention, but no.

I was looking at my char earlier in the Andron (Sharlayan Inn Room), the lighting feels absolutely messed up. Sometimes the hair casts shadow, sometimes it completely ignores that there's hair and a rim light happens despite it making no sense.

The inside of her mouth is....glowing, or rather her tongue is abit too bright.

[FateweaverAlpha]

Found my old flashdrive with a picture of my Duskwight smiling, rare for him, and decided to take as close of a comparison screenie as I could to show the differences in his emote and facial structure. I know these aren't perfect or in the exact same lighting/weather but I don't know the exact parameters of the original screenie so I just did my best. PS5 is difficult to recreate screenies 1:1.



He looks so uncanny to me now. His smile used to be confident, now he looks completely unsure maybe even confused, with how the emote displays. All his emotes look off like the rigging wasn't done right. Why do the eyebrows go up now on smile rather than down?

Everything about him looks washed out in the new screenie.

I wish irl hadn't kept me from taking more before shots...