Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Khryseis_Astra]

Also, ultimately it doesn't come down to being upset because the eyelids have moved X amount – the starting point in each case was looking at my character as a whole and feeling like they just don't look like themself, and the in-depth searching for changed dimensions, however subtle, is a search to explain what must be giving me that overall impression that the face is wrong.

And ultimately, whether my feelings are a rarity or widespread, people who are feeling how I'm feeling are a loss for Square Enix. In putting untold work hours into this character update, they have lost my inclination to throw money at them so I can make my pretty characters look prettier, or the gameplay time to keep building them up, because these changes have sapped the qualities that made me love the way they looked and made me want to play with all of them. The charm is gone and I'm left pressing through story on a character who just keeps reminding me how much I used to love how she looked.

Nods… any one of the issues in isolation would be one thing, but throw them all together and it’s a totally different character! The shapes are the biggest issue for me. Minimum, I want the eyes, nose and mouth (including the awful philtrum!) to be as close to their previous appearance as possible, which is what we were told was the goal. And it definitely did not happen… some of these shapes aren’t even in the same ballpark! If other people didn’t have any issues, great, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have ours fixed! And as I said before, I’m really hoping this sparks an actual commitment to finally increasing the character creator options, which is something that benefits everyone.

The ability to create unique characters to play the game, rather than playing as one of a set cast, is the biggest difference (and selling point!) of XIV over the other FF titles. So yes, it’s important to me to have my characters back to looking like themselves.

I chose Highlander face 2 because it was the closest to my original Midlander’s face. Now it has a more Roe look to it… and it’s not like the Midlanders were unscathed. So there’s no way to Fantasia to get back to what she was. Someone else may not think she looks “bad,” but she is objectively not the same person.

[SongOfTheWind]

I'd like to add that I'm conflicted about posting additional feedback. I'm receiving mixed signals: on one hand, they insist that player feedback is important; on the other hand, Mr. Yoshida has clearly shown that this feedback is minor and stupid.

I get it. And again, I think this effect was also intentional. The only reason, I am pretty sure, this announcement was made at all — is because through out all of 5 months since benchmark people did not stop posting it still. They didn’t “chill”, “adapted” or “gave up” enough, despite the prolonged silence.

[Banriikku]

Yup, SE is shady as hell with that behavior.
As i said many times before : This is NOT an upgrade - this is a DESIGN CHANGE.

SE wanted to change things and took away the old. Thats not what we, the paying customer, wanted. We wanted and still want are more options, better colours (for hair, eyes and lipstick) and texture in a higher resolution NOT loosing old options. If SE needs some help: if a customer tells you "i dislike that, can i have the other one" stop telling them BUT THIS IS BETTER. This is a matter of taste. Stop telling us what to like. Funny enough is : YOU HAD A DESIGN PEOPLE LIKED AND YOU CHANGED IT.

I swear SE management are like moogles. They do stuff but nobody knows why it is there and how/why it works and why they dont get fired and/or kicked out for it. As if the god of gaming has pity and let them succeed out of mercy. Like a charity project.

[Shyllen]

Instead of being flat across, there is a shadow cast into it that makes it look like it has some depth while having softer edges. It doesn't look to me like it has actually changed shape that much, as far as the actual model goes--it's no wider than it was nor does it look like it has moved down any. But the shadows giving it depth have changed how the shape is perceived. The dark shadows on the underside of the upper lip in the first picture make them look thinner than they are, though it looks to me like the curve has been actually straightened out. That's the biggest difference as far as the actual model changing there, the curve being straighter.

Even if it changed just a tiny bit, with the new lighting system it still looks way different in game in respect to most lighting sources, and I will be entirely honest it changed the look of my au ra quite a bit I find, for the worse even...

And though I think the graphics update was a net benefit to the game's ability to thrive for the next decade it does feel like they dropped the ball, the new lighting really exposes just how aggressively the shapes of the heads are mapped out in game

[Iscah]

I don't want to go as far as claiming SE is deliberately making other fans think we're being petty – but still that is what happened, and part of my earlier negative post (which I've been brewing on for a while) is more a frustration at some of the comments that have been made by other posters on Reddit and such, mocking us for obsessing over minute details. The portrayal of these as "small" and "slight" and "shadows now being accurately rendered".

I'm particularly concerned about the comments on the shadows because firstly it's no good having more accurate shadows if the face being lit is different, and many pages here have been spent on highlighting how the faces are different. (Meanwhile the non-updated NPCs continue to look like their old selves.)

The other is that lighting isn't behaving naturally. As I noted in some of my recent posts, my Au Ra has shadows over his eyes that no amount of light will cut through – even a gpose spotlight right in his face. His original face had shadows in that position but they could be lit up. And in the other direction, unrealistic lights cast by nothing and constantly shining on everything are severely affecting the look of dark-skinned characters. And my pale-skinned character goes puffy in lighting like bright sunlight.

It worries me that these maybe aren't just being downplayed but that maybe the problem isn't being seen.

[Cyrtip]

It actually looks LESS 3-dimensional and there are now just a bunch of lines and thin ridges where there were actual shape forms before.

They also barely react to light anymore, the shadowed horn in the top image lost its depth because light doesn't really reflect on to it at all in 7.0.

Sometimes under light they'll even look like the new wet ground effects (Aggressively shimmering white pixels - a bit visible in the bottom right, but far more noticeable in motion and in more aggressive lighting).

[Len_]

They also barely react to light anymore, the shadowed horn in the top image lost its depth because light doesn't really reflect on to it at all in 7.0.

Sometimes under light they'll even look like the new wet ground effects (Aggressively shimmering white pixels - a bit visible in the bottom right, but far more noticeable in motion and in more aggressive lighting).

I don't know the artistic terminology for it but I noticed that the lighting you're talking about, that you can see in the top 6.5 picture, was also present on the character faces. Like a thin edge reflection that gave the face some definition especially around the chin and jawline. That is gone now and I think it really contributes to faces looking rounder and fatter in general. Again, is it realistic? No. But it definitely had a purpose that contributed to the *aesthetic.* Which is a word I doubt we'll ever see YoshiP utter in reference to this game's graphics.

[roseychan]

This is pretty much how i feel as well. I had a few friends dm me excitedly with the link to the lodestone update, and as i read through everything i just found myself becoming even more and more disheartened, and the smile disappearing from my face. It almost sounds like they're trying to convince us that the changes were minimal and that we're overreacting. :/

It's honestly pretty disappointing that Yoshi-P's post comes off as if he and the team are trying to shift the blame from them, to us the consumer, and doesn't give me any hope that they're actually going to fix anything. And until i see *actual* tangible changes that signify improvement, then i refuse to believe his post. I've been one of his biggest supporters so far, but DT, the MSQ, and especially the graphics update changes have really made me start questioning him and the rest of his team.

[Cyrtip]

I don't know the artistic terminology for it but I noticed that the lighting you're talking about, that you can see in the top 6.5 picture, was also present on the character faces. Like a thin edge reflection that gave the face some definition especially around the chin and jawline. That is gone now and I think it really contributes to faces looking rounder and fatter in general. Again, is it realistic? No. But it definitely had a purpose that contributed to the *aesthetic.* Which is a word I doubt we'll ever see YoshiP utter in reference to this game's graphics.

I'm no artist either, from the few minutes I looked at shading, my guess is it was probably rim lighting (Which actually is a real effect).
Odd thing is, even though they removed rim lighting from the edges of the face and horns, they added a really strong and unappealing rim light to the nose. After hopping in game again, it was actually the opposite. Noses are way more perceivable because 7.0's harsh lighting has far more contrast between the brighter and darker parts of the nose, not because of a rim light.

[lunartears]

They also barely react to light anymore, the shadowed horn in the top image lost its depth because light doesn't really reflect on to it at all in 7.0.

Sometimes under light they'll even look like the new wet ground effects (Aggressively shimmering white pixels - a bit visible in the bottom right, but far more noticeable in motion and in more aggressive lighting).

I'm really grateful that you posted this because this is exactly why I feel like the new horns (and scales) are low quality. The new ones give off almost "cosplay" feels, like they are made of a cheap plastic or some other material rather than being real (the "wet" look under lighting is also a downgrade in my opinion). I could apply that metaphor to how the character changes feel as well, like the new face is someone dressing up as my WoL.
I really liked the shine around it before and same with on the character faces...