[Graphical Update Feedback] Eyes and Limbal Rings on Au ra

[Sindele]

Definitely hoping for luminosity becoming an option. Being able to give more depth to the characters that don't use bright rings would be very nice - the black limbal trick helps, but isn't perfect - but I very much don't want it to come at the cost of the designs that rely on the high contrast of bright limbals. Hard to imagine some of the striking bright-color-on-black looks working half as well under this paradigm.

[RainStormwalker]

I like that you can finally see the iris color of the Au Ra, but I wouldn't mind if they bumped the glow of the limbal rings back up as well.

As for facial expression, I am BEGGING for "idle expressions" similar to "idle stances" !!! Let us choose an expression for WoL to have when just standing there so we don't look like zombies. I'd like my wol to stand there looking happy to be there. I think that would help with the concern here too.

[Heavenchild]

I never liked that led rings, so I am very happy about the new more blended look.

[SchwarzwaelderTorte]

It's interesting that the people who are welcoming the change keep talking about their Au ra character being lifeless or looking like a zombie... that blasé expression on F Au ra face 1 is exactly why I picked it lol, because it contrasted with other, more "natural" and human-like faces, and it adds a lot of character to uh, the character. But I agree with goldenophanim that characters will look less lifeless anyway with the highlight, which isn't really visible in Au ra eyes at the moment unless you're at the right camera angle, it's not so dependent on the limbal rings themselves.

The elezen guy's eye shines are hidden by his longer lashes in the new style and it's part of what makes him look depressed.

And yeah, ironically enough, some new faces look more lifeless because of that change... in the Las Vegas Keynote video Highlander M and F, Roegadyn M and Au ra M kind of lose their shine, although Au ra M seems to be doing better in the London Keynote screenshot. Maybe it's because their eyes are very "sunken in", but again I think adding more character in the eyes matters more than making the lighting realistic in this case.

It's great to see people posting screenshots of their characters too! It really shows how much the limbal rings have an impact on their design, and how much will be taken away from it.

Adding some of mine, although the limbal rings aren't as bright as others that people have shared, the contrast with the iris really makes them pop out even from a distance.

[judithvelkhana]

I hope the au ra limbal rings still glow. I think the charm point of them is how freaky they make my wol look

[kulovalkea]

I'm very excited about the upcoming scale rework, and also very glad the devs considered the earlier user feedback regarding the texture/sheen of the horns!

However, like most others here, I'm also a little concerned about the future appearance of the limbal rings (and their glow).

I have always considered the limbal rings one of the more unique elements of the Au Ra design, and I have created all my Auri characters with this visual in mind. It's especially important for the character I started the game with, to the point I used my Fantasia potion just to make the irises darker for a higher limbal ring contrast.

As seen in the screenshots below, the limbal ring glow is also the vocal point of each sample. All the images are taken from the game without any color editing outside of gpose's own settings.



I hope that the people who enjoy their character's more eerie and visible limbal ring effect will be able to do so in the graphic update as well.

[ostaraaurum]

I'm really excited for the change myself-- I always wished that the limbal rings blended a bit more seamlessly, and prefer a more natural look.
That said, I hope there's maybe some sort of slider for the people who want a more glowy option for the limbal rings, or a light/dark option like there is for lip color.

[imagymnasia]

I'm torn on the change. I love the new look: how natural it is, how clear and life-like the eyes become. The possibility of having two-tone eyes is really exciting, and the models look incredible. For a long time I avoided applying the limbal rings to my WoL (or used a darker, less noticeable color) because I didn't like the glowy look, and that era Me would have gone absolutely nuts over the changes.

That said, my character now has the uncanny limbal rings for a lore reason. They're subtler than some characters I've seen, but I purposefully picked them to

reflect the light poisoning the WoL goes through in ShB.

Those events irrevocably changed how she looks and the limbal rings are integral to that.

tldr; I think the ideal solution would be to allow us to toggle (like the dark/light for lip color, for example) or maybe use a slider to vary the intensity of the color, if that's possible. I'm sure there are considerations I can't even fathom, but that seems to be the "simplest" way to make all Au Ra havers happy.

I really appreciate all the work that's gone into making Au Ra eyes what they are (and what they are is beautiful). I'm just concerned a large portion of the fanbase might lose such a key part of their characters' identities/expressions. I hope all Au Ra players get to see their characters they way they've imagined them, glow or no glow.

Thanks for listening!

[NidhoggMoshpit]

I'm suming myself to the group of au ra players who wanted their led limbal rings back, in case that won't be an option!