Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[lunartears]

So many people in the English part of the fandom insist that "it's more realistic now, so it's better!" For example, I was very surprised to see how many people celebrated the loss of the eye catchlights as they were "unrealistic" or whatever, because to me they were a very appealing part of the animesque art style. I'm not arguing with people who like their own characters more without them, but now that they're gone, it turns out that for my male Miqo'te they were an important part of his look and energy. A toggle would've been nice. What's suddenly so wrong with looking like a semi-realistic anime character in this game, anyway? It feels like the graphics update emboldened a part of the fandom that had issues with the old art style rather than being drawn to it. I've even seen people in places like Reddit defend the update because "it's not realistic to look good all the time", seriously. We can't look good from all angles and at all times in our power fantasy game with a dress-up endgame now? I can't even remember the last time I opened Gpose, that's how realistic it feels.

I feel like when older video games had limitations it gave developers more room to innovate creatively, so when you strip those technical limitations away you risk losing a lot of that. I feel like this is what happened to FF14. I guess you could say the graphics update is similar to when a video game gets a remake (just on a smaller scale). The split between those that like the new and those that prefer the old is akin to that, but because this is an MMO there's not really an easy way to please both sides whereas with a remake you still have the option to go and play the original game (to varying levels of accessibility, of course).

I'm definitely one of those people that feels like the artistic integrity of this game got lost with the graphics update. I suppose it's the "anime esque art style", the way the game would embody the official art book content and feel like an illustration rather than being realistic. I really liked that.

[Iscah]

I guess you could say the graphics update is similar to when a video game gets a remake (just on a smaller scale). The split between those that like the new and those that prefer the old is akin to that, but because this is an MMO there's not really an easy way to please both sides whereas with a remake you still have the option to go and play the original game (to varying levels of accessibility, of course).

It is definitely giving me flashbacks to the Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake (the original is a PS2 game). More detailed world but they made it too busy and some questionable texture choices, and the protagonist looked horrendous. I've been meaning to mention it for a while, particularly since I saw this Reddit post comparing SotC Wander in PS2 to PS4 and it feels like the same mistakes (with even worse remodelling) – going from stylised somewhat-anime appearance that made it work well with the original limited technology, to a sort of exaggerated 3Dness, heavy shadows and dead eyes. Also this one of Mono (new version on top, also spoilers) who is less outright bad but, as I noted there, has some of the same issues that FFXIV new models have – including the oddly specific change to the shape of her eyes when closed. (Back in FFXIV, it's one of the many things that has been bugging me since the update – the lower eyelid moves upwards more and the eyes feel scrunched inwards rather than resting gently closed.)


I do feel like we should be able to have a version of the game that runs the old graphics, though. The information being sent from one player to another is just simple "character has features X, Y and Z" and that gets translated into graphics by the individual computer. That's how modders can have their customised graphics, so couldn't they do the same thing with an official version of the program that has the old graphics still loaded?

[TheDustyOne]

I do feel like we should be able to have a version of the game that runs the old graphics, though. The information being sent from one player to another is just simple "character has features X, Y and Z" and that gets translated into graphics by the individual computer. That's how modders can have their customised graphics, so couldn't they do the same thing with an official version of the program that has the old graphics still loaded?

The main argument against this would be the doubling up of assets. The graphics update also brought an overhaul of how materials worked, and as such you'd have to create 2 sets of materials for every new model; every model would likely need to have a higher-poly version to fit with the new aesthetic and a lower-poly version for the old client; and if it was going to be a toggle in-game, that would require having the game size balloon to massive degrees, you'd need a fully separate client instead, and that would double the amount of testing needed.

Part of the reason for the graphics update, for good or ill, was to change the development pipeline. By having 2 versions of assets, they now potentially double the workload needed, which would be massively unfeasible with their already slow updates.

I think the graphics update was nice to have, but I do lament the change in the overall style and so I join these threads in the hopes to implement fixes with their new pipeline and rendering techniques. I do think it's possible to have better models, textures, materials, etc. while also adhering to the old aesthetic.