Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Winyumi]

The Development team is currently still carefully reviewing all feedback and considering a planned course of action. However, we will require another week or so for translations before we make an official announcement.
We apologize that this is taking longer than expected, and we thank you all once again for your patience.

Thank you very much for the update! It's highly appreciated. Please take as much time needed to address this carefully. I'm looking forward to it.

[azaleai]

This absolutely hits home and hurts. I'm so sorry. I know it's not much but you're not alone in how that feels at all.

I couldn't help but feel so seen in your post.
Everything you wrote accurately describes how I've been feeling.

You're not alone, I resonate with this so much...

I don't want to say I'm glad you are all suffering like I am, but it's certainly comforting to know I'm not alone, haha. I've never spoken to you personally faiarrow but I won't lie, I feel a considerable sense of kinship with you just through the interactions we've had here - It's reassuring to hear from someone else as vocal as I am about the issues with our face, at least I know I'm not crazy.

Honestly at this point I have one foot out the door; I'm fully prepared for this announcement to either be hot-air-corpo-speak "we'll keep this in mind for the future" or to just make minor tweaks to the more popular races/faces and not touch any of the glaring issues with femroe face 2 or the frankly creepy facial animations... I would be very, very happy to be wrong, but I'm certainly not going to hold my breath.

RE: the topic of eyes. I do agree that Astronis' eyes look better after the update, but I think that's more of an edge case. Most faces have had the eye shape tweaked, upper eyelashes lowered and the heavy shadow over the eye added, as well as the eye tracking/animation being altered leading to portraits seeming to look in a different direction and the upper eyelid lowering a lot more than it used to when the character looks downwards. All of this together combines to make the look far more tired, dopey or sultry than they used to. The updated eye shaders concerning the catchlights are better, but at most angles they're hidden by the heavy shadow or the deeper set eyes (which also afect how the eye colour comes across). For people who are used to their character's eyes looking alert and open, they now look dim and unfocused.

From a technical and realism standpoint they do look better, but from an expression and impression standpoint they're wildly different. And that's what a lot of the criticism here boils down to - the new stuff doesn't necessarily look bad, but it looks vastly different and we were told they wanted to keep the same look and feel which, to be blunt, they failed to do. I think it all depends on which angle you're taking - as someone who's more interested in the expression than the realism, I'm leaning more towards disliking the update, personally, but I do understand where the people who prefer it are coming from.

[Sorimachi87]

I wish the draw distance would be going much smaller when flying through the clouds in yanxia. I am aware about the fps issues it can cause when done wrongly..
Just a big fan of weather and fog/steam in games

EDIT: Just saw its about the characters.. but my thoughts have indirectly to do with them so.. ^^"

[Astronis]

If you are not a troll I don't know what you are because the eyes are the worst of the change in the graphics in the 80% of models.

I'm someone who sincerely disagrees with your opinion. I've been civil. I'd like it if you extended me that courtesy.

ETA:

RE: the topic of eyes. I do agree that Astronis' eyes look better after the update, but I think that's more of an edge case. Most faces have had the eye shape tweaked, upper eyelashes lowered and the heavy shadow over the eye added, as well as the eye tracking/animation being altered leading to portraits seeming to look in a different direction and the upper eyelid lowering a lot more than it used to when the character looks downwards. All of this together combines to make the look far more tired, dopey or sultry than they used to. The updated eye shaders concerning the catchlights are better, but at most angles they're hidden by the heavy shadow or the deeper set eyes (which also afect how the eye colour comes across). For people who are used to their character's eyes looking alert and open, they now look dim and unfocused.

From a technical and realism standpoint they do look better, but from an expression and impression standpoint they're wildly different. And that's what a lot of the criticism here boils down to - the new stuff doesn't necessarily look bad, but it looks vastly different and we were told they wanted to keep the same look and feel which, to be blunt, they failed to do. I think it all depends on which angle you're taking - as someone who's more interested in the expression than the realism, I'm leaning more towards disliking the update, personally, but I do understand where the people who prefer it are coming from.

It's very possible that my opinion is sharply influenced by how much of an upgrade the eyes were to my character! I mean...this is the nonsense I was dealing with for years:

My dude's eyes have been upgraded. Everything about him has.

I do, though, very sincerely, like the upgrade on virtually every other character, too. I have an Au Ra alt and I like what her eyes look like now as well. I've looked at miqoeyes and loved them, female Highlander eyes and loved them, elezen eyes...on and on. Buuuut--it's also much more in the realm of matter of opinion, side-grade, however you'd like to call it. It's not such an obvious and blatant upgrade as what happened with my WoL's specific face.

[Aurumis]

I'm someone who sincerely disagrees with your opinion. I've been civil. I'd like it if you extended me that courtesy.

And not only mine but the 99% of people in this thread it seems. You are trolling I don't believe it with all the proves people has shown over all the thread XD it is by far the thing most people hates now.

[Eluvyel]

And not only mine but the 99% of people in this thread it seems. You are trolling I don't believe it with all the proves people has shown over all the thread XD it is by far the thing most people hates now.

Do you just not understand that everything in this thread is subjective? I've been following and partially participating since day one because the first benchmarks had issues for me as well. What I ended up getting I do thoroughly enjoy however, though.

You're being weirdly aggressive despite your likes and dislikes being just as much a matter of opinion as everybody else's.

That things have changed is absolutely an objective observation, no doubt about it. But you're literally fighting Astronis on his taste and that is just not okay.

[CidHeiral]

I do, though, very sincerely, like the upgrade on virtually every other character, too. I have an Au Ra alt and I like what her eyes look like now as well. I've looked at miqoeyes and loved them, female Highlander eyes and loved them, elezen eyes...on and on. Buuuut--it's also much more in the realm of matter of opinion, side-grade, however you'd like to call it. It's not such an obvious and blatant upgrade as what happened with my WoL's specific face.

Agreed, it's a pretty night and day upgrade across every race to me as well. Everyone is entitled to their opinion though of course.

Also, to be clear I've been referring to the eyeball itself. I'm aware there are some issues with the surrounding eye shape on some faces.

And not only mine but the 99% of people in this thread it seems. You are trolling I don't believe it with all the proves people has shown over all the thread XD it is by far the thing most people hates now.

You seriously need to grow up if you think someone is a troll just because they disagree with you. That says more about you than them.

[Louhikko]

And not only mine but the 99% of people in this thread it seems. You are trolling I don't believe it with all the proves people has shown over all the thread XD it is by far the thing most people hates now.

Just adding my voice to the choir but I have agree with Astronis, the eyes are fine for the most part (I wish fem hyurs were bigger tho) and there's no need to be this needlessly aggressive towards someone just for having a different opinion.

[noumen0nn]

And not only mine but the 99% of people in this thread it seems. You are trolling I don't believe it with all the proves people has shown over all the thread XD it is by far the thing most people hates now.

Listen I strongly prefer the old eyes but I've also been active in this thread since day 1 and Astronis has been here in good faith the entire time, I would recommend reading back a page or ten

[Kaziek]

And not only mine but the 99% of people in this thread it seems. You are trolling I don't believe it with all the proves people has shown over all the thread XD it is by far the thing most people hates now.

This isn't helpful. How do you feel about the people saying that anyone upset about the update is just overreacting? It's not fair to be that way in either direction, art is subjective. I disagree with some of his points but his opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.