Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Cheapshot]

I see this face was also hit by the Great Lip Flattening. Had a unique lip shape? Not anymore! Now everyone can have the same generic lips and mouth!

Ugh.

If I consider all the changes to my face, and there were a large amount, the entire mouth stands out as the worst and most drastic change. It would be my #1 ask for fixing. The shape of it, the new recessed corners, the flat texture with drawn on and incorrect shadows, the unnatural default colour, the permanent gloss no matter what setting you choose. Mouths in this update look bad to me. I'm sorry to be rude but I have to be honest. I'm honest because I want the game to change for the better. This graphics update in many many regards was not the quality I expected to see.

Here's some more comparisons


Of course mouths were low poly and rough and needed improvement but think they got carried away and forgot to stick to the characters original feel. They look strange and doll like to me now.

• The mouth is a different shape (you can see this further in a side profile comparison which I've done in previous posts), including these recessed mouth corners that are new.
• The colour of the lips by default are now far too strong making it look like lipstick is applied even though "none" is selected. (I believe this may have been mentioned as something to be fixed in the recent statement).
• There is a glossy shine on the lips that is permanent despite "none" being selected.
• There is very little texture and variation to the lip colour making the lips look very smooth and doll like.
• There are shadows drawn onto the lips texture, which ignore game lighting. This causes a very strange appearance where the shadows appear even with light shining straight on them. The shadows are also both too strong and incorrectly placed. The shadow at the corners are out of place and make it look like something is dripping out the corners of the mouth! I think it's strange that the developers were firmly against keeping backed in fixed catch lights, but have no problems adding baked in fixed shadows?

[Cheapshot]

I also want to go back to the eyes because I think much was left out of the public reply.

• The eyelashes are completely different. This has nothing to do with the "direction" they're pointing or darkness or anything like that. They're just completely different eyelashes and I liked the old ones better.
• There is a grey haze over the new eyes, at least on Miqo'te face 4. I haven't seen any acknowledgement of this yet.
• My eye textures looked much sharper and clearer before 7.0. The blurriness feels like a downgrade.
• The eyelid fold above the eyes looked better before. It was more subtle and delicate and pretty. The lid folds have been make much deeper and more exaggerated in 7.0.
• The corners are lower now but that's obvious.
• It was said that catch lights are working as intended, but I believe they are too diffused. This makes the eyes look duller and more lifeless in general, because they don't have the sharp reflective quality of real eyes. My eyes prior to Dawntrail looked more "curved" and also more lively.

[noumen0nn]

If I consider all the changes to my face, and there were a large amount, the entire mouth stands out as the worst and most drastic change. It would be my #1 ask for fixing. The shape of it, the new recessed corners, the flat texture with drawn on and incorrect shadows, the unnatural default colour, the permanent gloss no matter what setting you choose. Mouths in this update look bad to me. I'm sorry to be rude but I have to be honest. I'm honest because I want the game to change for the better. This graphics update in many many regards was not the quality I expected to see.

Here's some more comparisons


Of course mouths were low poly and rough and needed improvement but think they got carried away and forgot to stick to the characters original feel. They look strange and doll like to me now.

• The mouth is a different shape (you can see this further in a side profile comparison which I've done in previous posts), including these recessed mouth corners that are new.
• The colour of the lips by default are now far too strong making it look like lipstick is applied even though "none" is selected. (I believe this may have been mentioned as something to be fixed in the recent statement).
• There is a glossy shine on the lips that is permanent despite "none" being selected.
• There is very little texture and variation to the lip colour making the lips look very smooth and doll like.
• There are shadows drawn onto the lips texture, which ignore game lighting. This causes a very strange appearance where the shadows appear even with light shining straight on them. The shadows are also both too strong and incorrectly placed. The shadow at the corners are out of place and make it look like something is dripping out the corners of the mouth! I think it's strange that the developers were firmly against keeping backed in fixed catch lights, but have no problems adding baked in fixed shadows?

I think this is one of the prime examples of how big of a subjective difference even tiny changes can make. I'll be honest, even I have to closely study the image to spot the differences (shape-wise at least, the shadows and gloss are obvious), but once you do it really stands out. I'm hopeful that the recessed mouth corners get addressed since that's one of the things they mentioned in the announcement.

But this begs the question- what the hell happened with my lips, or rinai's eyes? The features that even at a glance are just not even close? This update was all over the place in terms of consistency.

[Cheapshot]

This update was all over the place in terms of consistency.

That's just been my biggest grievance with everything. I think they should have taken the time to do this graphics update on its own without distractions or split efforts. And really do it right and get all the details right. The fact that it's so inconsistent on top of the games zones and gear being updated in parts? It's not a good state to put a live service monthly sub game in.

[faiarrow]

I just... want her back. I've had a really bad week missing my decade-old character and it's awfully likely I'll never get her back.

I hate the black pupils so much. The red-tone warmth of her skin is impossible to match again in the CC. The rounding of features and washing out of the proper nose mark all hurt.

[Luluna]

I love midlander females but face 1 has a serious baggy eye issue. I want my lovely mouth back on face 2 it was so pretty. I feel as though all the skin colours look beige? and eye colour is not as nice. I want a nice lip gloss and deep pinks and reds not brown...its like somebody used a bad brown lipliner on them. I am really noticing the body issue also it looks bad next to the faces >.<

[PaulusHamsteru]

I miss my old character.



The new one has no personality and looks weird as hell. He always has this blank look on his face now.

[noumen0nn]

I miss my old character.



The new one has no personality and looks weird as hell. He always has this blank look on his face now.

JESUS, and I thought I had it bad. This could literally be the poster child for how terrible the graphics update is

[Loggos]

And imo the new textures are not even an artistic improvement if I'm honest. The skin texture doesn't actually look better, the lips look worse in my eyes, and while the hair and eyes are technically higher-res/more "realistic" on the new model they don't actually add any positive artistic value to the character (in my subjective opinion).

Even if it's a bit pixelated the hair on the old model fits the art style a lot better because the reduced level of details matches the semi-realistic art style better than the texture where you can see every strand. And the eyes ironically look less expressive even though the texture is more realistic in the DT version.

This really shows that higher-res/more realistic visuals aren't inherently better and can be beaten aesthetically by a well-balanced art style with fewer details.

[Turnintino]

Gods above, I am begging the devs to give us back our eyebrows.