Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[SchwarzwaelderTorte]

I haven't heard anyone complaining about Alisaie and Alphinaud despite the fact that they have new models.

Alisaie used to have a slightly opened mouth (similar to one of the M'iqote F faces, which was also arbitrarily modified post graphical update), which was enough to give her character and differentiate her from Alphinaud.
You can see it in the renders here:



And I also have these old screenshots of her in gpose, idle animation (the colors are not accurate)



That difference has disappeared in 7.0 and her mouth is now fully closed.
Apart from the changes to my character it's the first thing I noticed when I started MSQ.

The reason I haven't "complained" about it is because I'm willing to compromise on it.
It's not my character, and I have much bigger issues with the graphical update than this.
I'm also willing to interpret it as "character growth" (the twins have to grow up at some point).

Just like with the M'iqote F mouth I'm sure some people are happy to say "well *I* am glad for this change because it looked wrong/ugly/like a bug" or whatever, but when it's one of the distinctive features of a character it's still a little questionable that it would be erased entirely.
But again, not a player character, so I'd rather have the M'iqote F mouth being restored over this one.

I also have 2 gifs of Alisaie and Alphinaud before and post graphical update, which definitely shows that they have changed, especially around the eyes:

I wasn't planning on sharing these but this "no one has complained about this so it's probably going to be fine" argument kind of forced my hand.

[Khryseis_Astra]

I wasn't planning on sharing these but this "no one has complained about this so it's probably going to be fine" argument kind of forced my hand.

At least their changes were subtle enough that they still look more or less like themselves… while most of the other Scions kinda make you immediately wince at the drastic difference.

Also makes me wish yet again that we had a smaller, more delicate version of adult Elezen in character creator, because there’s no way Alisaie ends up growing up to look like anything we could create ourselves.

[Astronis]

I wasn't planning on sharing these but this "no one has complained about this so it's probably going to be fine" argument kind of forced my hand.

Are you saying that Alphinaud and Alisaie are not fine? If so, it's probably a little late to start saying anything about it now.

Please note that "fine" and "identical" don't mean the same thing. "Fine" certainly could encompass "I saw a difference but it's not worth fussing about it". Or as Khryseis_Astra said, they more or less look like themselves. That's what I mean. People recognize them. I don't believe they're going to someday update Emet-Selch and have him look nothing like himself.

[lunartears]

Alisaie used to have a slightly opened mouth (similar to one of the M'iqote F faces, which was also arbitrarily modified post graphical update), which was enough to give her character and differentiate her from Alphinaud. [...]

Thanks to your post I can finally now tell why they looked off to me, I'm a bit upset about this as I love these two but I'm also on the same boat that I would rather the player faces get attention. Though, I definitely feel like we've lost Alphinaud and Alisaie to a degree, I remember the old slightly open lips but it's the new eyes that bother me specifically because the subtle shape difference between the two was how I identified them and now they seem more uniform.

It's a shame, I guess my worries are true for the other unique NPCs. I was relieved to see Mide was unchanged in 7.0 since she still resembles the image of an Au Ra, but It looks like I can expect her to receive a similar fate in the end.

[Turnintino]

The reason I haven't "complained" about it is because I'm willing to compromise on it.
It's not my character, and I have much bigger issues with the graphical update than this.

These are my thoughts on NPC changes like this as well. Ultimately, they aren't my characters; I don't feel I have a huge stake in how they look, even if I do have opinions. And I mean, maybe we don't need to pick and choose our battles, but I'm much more committed to seeing our characters improved, so that's where I'm putting my energy.

That said, I'm much more resigned than I was. I'm still excited -- and nervous -- to see the upcoming changes, but this game has certainly taught me to temper my expectations about these things recently lol.

[Khryseis_Astra]

These are my thoughts on NPC changes like this as well. Ultimately, they aren't my characters; I don't feel I have a huge stake in how they look, even if I do have opinions. And I mean, maybe we don't need to pick and choose our battles, but I'm much more committed to seeing our characters improved, so that's where I'm putting my energy.

Oh definitely! But if our characters improve, the NPCs should as well… most of them aren’t totally custom, after all.

[Visthra]

All I see on this thread since the preliminary patch notes came out are people discussing graphic updates to NPCs and the world.

Does anyone know if 7.1 is going to address any of the graphic issues for playable characters, or is it just NPCs and the world that are getting updates? If players are getting updates, why is there nothing listed in the patch notes?

In the bug forum, the last “Confirmed/Planning to Address” bug is from early September. Surely if they plan on updating player characters, there would be more recent bug fixes than that?

[HawkeScream]

The closest look we really got from these tiny images is this picture of a Midlander from the part about eyeglasses opacity.



It's hard to glean much without knowing which numbered face options this model is using, but there's... some reason to hope. Here's the good things I notice:

-Eyebrows are a lot fuller and more tapered again. I can't tell if this model has the facial feature enabled that makes them thicker or not.
-I think?? The eyeliner has been adjusted? It looks every so slightly more "winged" again, although it's still missing the little bit of dark line under the lower-outer part of the eyelid.
-No visible eyebags. Thank god.
-For the lips, it's sort of hard to tell. The "dip" in the lip-line at the very center looks more accentuated, which is good. The awful "pouty" lipstick is nowhere to be found, but I can't actually tell if this model is wearing lipstick or not. If not, we don't know if there's been improvement, If yes, then that's probably fixed.
-The philtrum looks much shallower like it used to be. It's difficult to tell at this angle whether it has been widened back to its previous proportions too.

And the bad:

-Ugly tear tracks are still there, just visible behind the glasses
-Nose still looks suspect. Though it's possible this model is just using one of the larger nose options; my character uses the smallest one after all
-The shadow under the upper eyelid is still gone, which is arguably the most critical and transformative aspect of the face. Midlanders will not look correct until it is restored

I'm like 90% sure I can make a comparison tester, I'll report back

[lunartears]

All I see on this thread since the preliminary patch notes came out are people discussing graphic updates to NPCs and the world.

Does anyone know if 7.1 is going to address any of the graphic issues for playable characters, or is it just NPCs and the world that are getting updates? If players are getting updates, why is there nothing listed in the patch notes?

2.x 5.x

The graphical adjustments made to player character models are based on feedback received from the player community.

This is the only mention of it, and they originally mentioned in the response post that they were going to be making some changes from 7.1 to 7.2. There's no definitive list of what has been modified (at least in the preliminary but I don't expect one) but you can reference what was mentioned in Yoshi-P's response for an idea of what they have looked at. It's ultimately a matter of waiting for the patch to release since there aren't any photos.

[Visthra]

This is the only mention of it, and they originally mentioned in the response post that they were going to be making some changes from 7.1 to 7.2. There's no definitive list of what has been modified (at least in the preliminary but I don't expect one) but you can reference what was mentioned in Yoshi-P's response for an idea of what they have looked at. It's ultimately a matter of waiting for the patch to release since there aren't any photos.

I appreciate your response. I really don’t keep up with FFXIV news so I was thoroughly confused.

Hoping the best for everyone with graphics issues!