Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[lunartears]

I'm so mad about how they keep saying "everyone is happy with the eyebrows" lmao literally who??? They're so bad, and every single support ticket submitted keeps getting pushed into "working as intended." I really, REALLY wish there was a toggle to just disable all character-related graphical updates, because they've dropped the ball across the board with their promise to "remain as faithful to the original look as possible." The jump from 1.0 to 2.0 was more faithful than this.

My character's eyebrows look like glue in 7.0... No hair strands.



I have little energy after all these months, but it remains as such an upsetting situation and a frustrating update. I would also take the old graphics back if it were possible, I never had any issues with the old look of the characters or the game.
My heart aches for all of the examples in this thread, I really want to get a resemblance of 6.5 back.

[noumen0nn]

Honestly. I'm back to wishing for a full-on legacy graphics option. I literally wouldn't even care if it meant my character can't make the facial expressions attached to any new emotes, or couldn't wear headgear modeled after 6.58, or anything. I hate what they did to my character's face, and to be quite honest, I think all the new models are uglier in general. I know I keep saying it, but this whole thing was just a colossal waste of time and resources.

[Vbarbarian]

The graphics update has overall been a boon for the game. I don't want the game to look like PS3 graphics forever and most of your updated models actually look far better. As a highlander Hyur, I've never looked better myself. Facial definition such as muscles has been added where weird lumps used to be, my scars are no longer pixelated. Graphics updates in other MMO's have made characters look entirely different, such as Runescape or WoW. I promise you, the 3 layers of filters you apply over your models are entirely the filters working, not the classic graphics where you can count the polygons.

[Windfire]

In the small chance that your post is honest and not bait, YOUR character looks better to YOU, NONE of mine look better some to the point that I "deleted" quite a few of them (via fanastia). And guess what? When RS and WoW changed their models? I STOPPED PLAYING THEM! If a game advertises "play an avatar of your creation (within the game limits)" and then years later goes "nope gotta play an avatar of OUR choosing" they can stick it where the sun don't shine.

If by filters, you mean mods (which are against ToS btw) I and many others don't use them,, what we see is what the devs intended.

[Hatsuoki]

I feel like I should say that I liked most of the changes that I got on my main (female au ra face 2, hence why I don't talk about it much) but I would give all of it up in an instant if it meant I could have everything back the way it was (esp male midlander face 6, mouth 3), including emotes that looked natural. I liked my main perfectly fine before the update and was generally happier with how faces looked before DT so even though I don't mind the changes for my main, personally it was a net negative.

[TacetCat]

The graphics update has overall been a boon for the game. I don't want the game to look like PS3 graphics forever and most of your updated models actually look far better. As a highlander Hyur, I've never looked better myself. Facial definition such as muscles has been added where weird lumps used to be, my scars are no longer pixelated. Graphics updates in other MMO's have made characters look entirely different, such as Runescape or WoW. I promise you, the 3 layers of filters you apply over your models are entirely the filters working, not the classic graphics where you can count the polygons.

You know what? I think you're mostly right. Overall, the update does make the game look better, and for the most part the models look better. In my post on the last page I said that my miqo'te came out fine, and since I've been spending entirely too long in the character creator as of late, I think even female midlanders have some positives. Face 5 was always uncanny and doll-like to me, but I've managed to make a fairly heroic WoL with it after the update.

However, what we were told going into this was that they'd stay as faithful to the old models as possible. Maybe their hands were tied and this really was the best they could do, but I'm not buying it. My face 1 female midlander looks like they hired a Japanese actress to play her, and then realized the girl couldn't act when they got her in costume. She is 100% a different person, and I think it's a betrayal of your players to delete their characters like that. People are right to be upset if that happened to them.

[IndraSyngiwyb]

The graphics update has overall been a boon for the game. I don't want the game to look like PS3 graphics forever and most of your updated models actually look far better. As a highlander Hyur, I've never looked better myself. Facial definition such as muscles has been added where weird lumps used to be, my scars are no longer pixelated. Graphics updates in other MMO's have made characters look entirely different, such as Runescape or WoW. I promise you, the 3 layers of filters you apply over your models are entirely the filters working, not the classic graphics where you can count the polygons.

Eyes made bigger and mouth shape completely changed for no reason. Pupils made so massive my girl looks high off her ass. The main facial feature that differentiated her from Hyurs (her black nose smudge) lightened to the point where you can't even see it anymore. Skin washed out and looks like it's covered in oil all the time.

"iT lOoKs BeTtEr!!!"

[glitteringcosmos]

The graphics update has overall been a boon for the game. I don't want the game to look like PS3 graphics forever and most of your updated models actually look far better. As a highlander Hyur, I've never looked better myself. Facial definition such as muscles has been added where weird lumps used to be, my scars are no longer pixelated. Graphics updates in other MMO's have made characters look entirely different, such as Runescape or WoW. I promise you, the 3 layers of filters you apply over your models are entirely the filters working, not the classic graphics where you can count the polygons.

If the update looks great for you and your character, that's great! Totally valid. For others to not be happy with the changes made to their characters is also valid. They may look more updated, but the crux of the issue for many, myself included, was the broken promise to retain the characters' look while updating the graphical system, because there are thousands upon thousands of images comparing side by side difference, CONCRETE PROOF, that the characters are NOT the same, and that's why so many are unhappy with it. That's not a "filter issue", that's a model issue. Do try not to antagonize people on the forums for having a different opinion than you, because last I checked, you don't speak for all of us.

[Loggos]

Honestly. I'm back to wishing for a full-on legacy graphics option. I literally wouldn't even care if it meant my character can't make the facial expressions attached to any new emotes, or couldn't wear headgear modeled after 6.58, or anything. I hate what they did to my character's face, and to be quite honest, I think all the new models are uglier in general. I know I keep saying it, but this whole thing was just a colossal waste of time and resources.

Yeah ironically I think characters look a lot more plastic-y and "cheaper" than before (in terms of textures, graphical execution and facial animations), even though some parts are high(er) res. A lot of features like eye brows and lips now look like they were pasted on the face. The simple graphics from before worked with the more "cartoony" style (not really cartoon-cartoon but I guess you know what I mean) but after the update it looks like many elements were "improved" in isolation without ensuring they make sense as one coherent aesthetic picture (at least for me).

[Rikizza]

Yeah, at the very beginning of this whole process we were promised this (models are the same, only shaders/textures have been improved):

https://youtu.be/18-F5uAyRgw?t=424

Imagine if they had stuck to this plan. (Or rather, don't. You'll just get sad.)


(Yes, I've posted this before but I'll bring it up again and again out of pure pettiness to remind SE how they messed up.)

Omg i remember these pictures. When i saw these i got so extremely happy and excited. What happened D: i feel like the game now looks nothing like this. For example, I want my cat eyes back they’re all round now. I thought the (previously) exsisting models were just gonna be refined, hd and more lifelike like in those pictures. Instead lots of stuff is changed. Some are good changes but many are not. As i have said before in this forum, i wish they added their changes as options. Then everyone would be happy and also more unique because of more customizations. Sigh.