Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Aco505]

A bit disappointed that they have not talked about updating face paint and markings to have higher resolution. They're just pointing that the issue lies elsewhere. No mention of improving bodies either.

Also, any addition or changes to what we have currently should be added as new character creator options as much as possible whenever suitable. If they go and change eyebrows, it might upset those who like them as they are now. Instead, simply add the tweaks as new options so that everyone is happy and we have more variety. Same goes for mouth shapes such as the ones for the face type 1 of male miqo'te.

[Luca_]

I just hope they buff eyebrows...

[faiarrow]

For Hellsguard Roegadyn's dark spot or smudge I feel like it's perfect right now as-is, and I do not want anymore changes. For the first time ever I'm truly satisfied with my character's face, and I like the changes done to bring it up to par with the rest of the game.

Some Hellsguard never had the smudge at all, like Curious Gorge and a few other NPCs, so that tells me it was supposed to be optional at some point in development but Roe players were never given that option.

The correct way to go about this would be to make it a toggle or a setting in face features like scars and extra makeup already are, so one could make it lighter or darker as they please. It would be the easiest way to fix this and make everyone happy.

The lore is that it's volcanic ash and more or less religious practice, which is why we see some hellsguard get the seawolf flat diffuse that omit the marking (saves them making a unique one per face, too.)

Presently the flat diffuse for femroe faces show that it has been severely lightened. So light you can't see it at all in daytime field lighting as it looks like a random shadow instead of a clearly defined mark.

Dawntrail is on the left, Endwalker on the right.


Ash on skin isn't magically just a light dusting you could mistake for a shadow. An applied ash is bound with oil which means it looks like this:


It 100% should be a toggle because I miss having the actually dark mark, which I have always seen as an important clan trait, as have a lot of other users posting feedback.

[Turnintino]

No mention of improving bodies either.

I don't see this happening maybe ever, unfortunately. They can improve the bump and diffuse mapping on the bodies till the cows come home, but in terms of the poly count (the main issue, some might argue), improving the geometry would require that they edit every piece of gear that reveals any part of the body, since the two are attached. When you put on a piece of gear, you're fully replacing that part of the character's body (this is how things like the 2B glam giving female characters different butts are possible); gear doesn't actually lay over the body.

So, while I hate to beat this particular dead horse, that seems like too much work for a team who still won't let two entire races wear most headgear, new or old. Maybe someday, but probably not today lol.

[Aco505]

I don't see this happening maybe ever, unfortunately. They can improve the bump and diffuse mapping on the bodies till the cows come home, but in terms of the poly count (the main issue, some might argue), improving the geometry would require that they edit every piece of gear that reveals any part of the body, since the two are attached. When you put on a piece of gear, you're fully replacing that part of the character's body (this is how things like the 2B glam giving female characters different butts are possible); gear doesn't actually lay over the body.

So, while I hate to beat this particular dead horse, that seems like too much work for a team who still won't let two entire races wear most headgear, new or old. Maybe someday, but probably not today lol.

As players, we have the right to hold them accountable and provide feedback to improve the game. I will never stop asking for improvements to the game precisely because I know they can do it, they just choose not to for one reason or another.

This is the game keeping the company alive, and even if the executives give them the bare minimum resources to work with, they should still fight internally to get more, as the players request.

[sekkatolire]

I've personally really enjoyed this feature, please don't get rid of it Square! It doesn't have to continue to be red, but the light coming through the horns has been a really great addition in my opinion.

[Tahli]

I don't know if a lot of people just didn't read to the end, but they stated:
"Even regarding items that are spec, although it may be difficult at this time, in the future we will look into adding more character creation options, among other things."

They'll look into adding more CC options. This is GREAT news! Those added options may very well be the bridge connecting people who like the old designs and people who like newer, changed features.

[SongOfTheWind]

also also at risk of sounding a little dumb wtf does "spec" mean in the context used in the announcement..? i dont think ive ever heard it used in this way LOL, cant tell if theyre saying those are intentional or what.

“It’s not a bug, it’s a feature”

[Dysvalence]

Of the things we can realistically expect the devs to do in this situation, this is imo one of the better ones, and they list most the stuff I personally care about. For every person saying that this is insultingly inadequate, there's another calling it a waste of dev time.

What bothers me though, is that there's no way it wouldn't require multiple rounds of iteration with plenty of two way communication, and they should have realized that they'll need to lean on community feedback far more frequently even if it means having their WIPs shredded in public- it's going to happen anyway when an update goes live. But through ignorance or arrogance they were completely caught off guard at the first benchmark, and are now trying to keep up with the hole they dug themselves into by operating on geologic timescales. There's a grievous organizational error somewhere.

[Dysvalence]

wtf does "spec" mean

Specification. Still an odd translation choice tho