Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Reinha]

I came back recently for the free login campaign and noticed they had changed something in my female Elezen's face.

This was the tragic state of my character in 7.0:



And here on the left is the 7.0 version with a new eye color and lip color. They looked so different I just had to change them. On the right is the current 7.5 version.



The lips are fuller and narrower, similar to how they used to be. The outer corners of the eyes look closer to the original as well. These changes have made my character look more familiar again and therefore playable. Eyebrows remain pale and almost invisible with this skin color so I have to hide them with bangs. I checked the eye colors on my alt, and the purple eye color my character used to have is still too dim and dark. Hopefully the planned 8.0 update will include better color options for brows and eyes.

[Doopliss]

I noticed a while back that Fem Elezen Face 2 also got a similar adjustment to Face 1 as posted above, and am generally thankful they did that much. I wish they didn't seemingly give up there.

When I post in this thread I really do try harder to be more even minded than I used to be because I do get ashamed quickly after every moment I let my aggravations get the better of me, but I need to be a little petty since I still feel insane about what I feel like is almost a pointed unfairness toward a certain face.

I still stand by my own old post that the majority of faces got hit egregiously in one way or another in the initial 7.0 update, and less popular races/face combos really do not get the fair attention they deserve too. There is no "objective" worst face, but...in regards to the treatment of one of the most popular combos--fem Au Ra--I only feel more and more embittered by the fact that literally every single face option for fem Au Ra EXCEPT Face 2 has received adjustments in some way. It's a completely different story as to whether those adjustments were enough, I understand--but why has Face 2 just not been touched at all?

Genuinely I have not seen a single person not agree that it looks extremely different from its original design, even from people who like the update! And it's the only one that has received zero personal adjustments, not counting the general changes to all Auri limbal rings and eyes. It still makes me frankly aggravated, because god forbid a cute girl face have any less conventional characteristics. Sorry, I know this is petty and repetitive, but at this point it REALLY should have been a new face entirely.

[lunartears]

...in regards to the treatment of one of the most popular combos--fem Au Ra--I only feel more and more embittered by the fact that literally every single face option for fem Au Ra EXCEPT Face 2 has received adjustments in some way. It's a completely different story as to whether those adjustments were enough, I understand--but why has Face 2 just not been touched at all?

Not to take away from your post (as I agree), but F Au Ra Face 1 hasn't been touched at all. I've overlaid the face on top of the previous in each patch, eventually giving up in 7.4 because they haven't done a single thing.
I'd be impressed if Face 3 and 4 were changed at all.

[Issaella]

It's been 2 years now and they haven't made any noticeable changes or fixes to character appearances.

I logged in this weekend for the first time in 6+ months and my face 2 female au ra still has botched lip fillers (and now has a badly rendered shadow under the bottom lip in most lighting), and the bottom half of her face still looks nothing like it did pre-DT. The emotes are still hilariously awful. When I did the seasonal Make it Rain quest she smiled in one of the cutscenes and it looked like De Niro's Joker. Out of all the issues, this is the one that is most vexing to me. I really don't understand how the face emotes come out looking so bad with with the all the new bones they added. It's like whoever is animating them has never seen a real human smile before. And the shadows/lighting now look terrible as well, which seems to be a new change since last time I played.

I guess most of the people who cared about this just stopped playing. I know I have, I only come back occasionally for the free playtime period. I have very little faith any of the supposed character improvements rumored in Evercold will improve anything seeing how bad of a job they did with the revamp in DT.

The best part is the new "green lizard" looks way closer to my old character than anything post-DT.

[Doopliss]

Not to take away from your post (as I agree), but F Au Ra Face 1 hasn't been touched at all. I've overlaid the face on top of the previous in each patch, eventually giving up in 7.4 because they haven't done a single thing.
I'd be impressed if Face 3 and 4 were changed at all.

I do remember your posts and this does actually make me reconsider something now. I only spoke so confidently because I have friends and characters myself that make up all four face options, and so my main RP partner who has a Face 1 Au Ra has noticed changes in her character—however it’s been in her lip and nose shape which I know are the smallest and longest respectively. So now I’m wondering if it has been option dependent? …Which could also be the case for Face 2 since I haven’t been checking other options. Sorry I’m not saying I’m actually right, I am just wondering now, because I do remember your overlays and that they did show exactly what you’re saying too.

[Astronis]

I do remember your posts and this does actually make me reconsider something now. I only spoke so confidently because I have friends and characters myself that make up all four face options, and so my main RP partner who has a Face 1 Au Ra has noticed changes in her character—however it’s been in her lip and nose shape which I know are the smallest and longest respectively. So now I’m wondering if it has been option dependent? …Which could also be the case for Face 2 since I haven’t been checking other options. Sorry I’m not saying I’m actually right, I am just wondering now, because I do remember your overlays and that they did show exactly what you’re saying too.

All au ra models were altered when they changed the subsurface scattering color on the horns from red to a whitish color. No clue if they did any other work on them at that time, I don't have any reason to disbelieve people if they say they didn't notice any other changes, but all of them had that bit of their models changed. Could have been that just needed a texture change, though.

[Daralii]

I do remember your posts and this does actually make me reconsider something now. I only spoke so confidently because I have friends and characters myself that make up all four face options, and so my main RP partner who has a Face 1 Au Ra has noticed changes in her character—however it’s been in her lip and nose shape which I know are the smallest and longest respectively. So now I’m wondering if it has been option dependent? …Which could also be the case for Face 2 since I haven’t been checking other options. Sorry I’m not saying I’m actually right, I am just wondering now, because I do remember your overlays and that they did show exactly what you’re saying too.

2 was the most distinct pre-DT, so it had the most noticeable changes when they tried to homogenize the mesh for the unified rigging.

[Doopliss]

Oh sorry if I’m misinterpreting posts but in case it wasn’t clear I was agreeing with lunartears, because I am familiar with them posting and know their character’s face hasn’t received any changes—but since I am also relatively convinced some veeerry select/individual options have changed, I am just now considering the fact that I am wrong about Face 2 receiving no changes since I have only ever checked the options I used for it.

Of course I’m not immune to seeing incorrectly overall; just this has been my perceived experience so far. Sorry I get even more rambly typing through a touchscreen. But yeah I do really miss the particular distinct features of Face 2’s mouth regardless…

[RedLolly]

Honestly, at this point, I do believe what we have is what we have for the textures and skeletons.

I do think the overall package in Dawntrail is superior to Endwalker and earlier, but it doesn't matter when you had a very specific look that just isn't possible anymore.

I do think it hit Au Ra the hardest.

[Larirawiel]

Honestly, at this point, I do believe what we have is what we have for the textures and skeletons.

I do think the overall package in Dawntrail is superior to Endwalker and earlier, but it doesn't matter when you had a very specific look that just isn't possible anymore.

They already said, that the minimum and recommened requirements will not change. So i do not believe, that there will be noticable graphical improvements.




Cheers