Benchmark/Graphics Update - Show your WoL's before and after

[tremor3258]

You can have your current hairstyle in the Benchmark if you copy the file, put it into the benchmark and rename it.
There was a post here on General that went through how to do it.
Probably a couple pages back now due to all the feedback posts.

I saw that but I did want to make sure to be able to compare the textures; I understand the 'unlockable' hairstyles don't have updated textures in the benchmark.

[Evergrey]

I saw that but I did want to make sure to be able to compare the textures; I understand the 'unlockable' hairstyles don't have updated textures in the benchmark.

Ok, so you already knew.
Yeah I heard as well that they might not have the updated textures.
Personally I think the hair texture is not as impactful as the rest so I didn't really care much for it.
Also, the face looked completely different with a basic hairstyle and the modstation one.
I disliked the face with the basic but with the other one I actually like the changes.
So testing it out with a different hairstyle might have a bigger impact of impression than one might think.
Always worth a try at least I think.

[Minali]

You can't, unfortunately. However, you can upload an image to an image hosting web site like Imgur and click on the "Insert Image" button above your post to copy and paste the url for the image that you'd like to share.

Note: If the image host that you use doesn't add .jpg/.png/.gif to the ends of their filenames, you may have to add this information, yourself, in order to make your picture appear on the forum (on Imgur, specifically, you can also just click on the "..." in the upper-right corner of your picture, select "Get Share Links", copy the BBCode link and paste it directly into your post).

If you preview your image on the forums and it appears to be too big, you should be able to shrink it down into a thumbnail by adding a certain letter just before the file type (s=small/m=medium/l=large/h=huge). So if your filename is https://imgur.com/Mb2AAAV.jpg, you can add a letter between the "V" and "." to shrink your image down to whichever size you'd like (so you'd use https://imgur.com/Mb2AAAVm.jpg to display a medium-sized thumbnail of your image).

This is probably more info than you needed, but I included some detail for others just in case. Hope this helps.

Thanks for explaining! Was wondering how I could make my images show up properly for a while now. ^^

[mk-sein]

While I appreciate the improved textures for scales, horns, and clothing, I am overall somewhat disappointed with my Au Ra. Her mouth and eyes are what's changed the most - the lips look a bit different and the eye shine is missing. I realize the latter is more realistic but unless your character is in direct light and has no bangs, their eyes look cold and soulless. I imagine my character to be very warm and friendly, so this is very far from her usual image.
Due to the missing eye shine and the differently shaped lips, her smile looks different now, and I find that upsetting as I've loved her smile ever since I created her when Heavensward first came out.
Comparison: old vs new

Here's a test in direct light with different hairstyles to illustrate the issue of the catchlight: 01 02 03
A lot of hairstyles I enjoy have bangs and I don't want to avoid them just to mitigate this.

The issue also exists in the Benchmark trailer, it's not exclusive to the character creator.



Editing the image slightly (literally 2 seconds in MS Paint, nothing fancy) to add the eye shine back in fixes the cold stare. It does not fix any other issues (scales on darker skin, different lip/nose shapes) but it does help with the "dead inside"-look.



I would love if the static eye shine could be added back in, preferably in the form of a toggle. A lot of people are very happy with their characters' new eyes, which is fantastic, but a not insignificant number of players are unhappy that their characters have gone from looking warm and friendly to looking cold and lifeless. A simple toggle would help a lot.

And here's two more screencaps of my lovely girl, just because I think she is very pretty. (:
01 + 02


To any staff member that may be reading this, thank you very much for your hard work. I hope some of these issues will be addressed, even if they might not be ready by the time Dawntrail launches.

[Doozer]

You can have your current hairstyle in the Benchmark if you copy the file, put it into the benchmark and rename it.
There was a post here on General that went through how to do it.
Probably a couple pages back now due to all the feedback posts.

I just did it recently so I can bump how to do it.

Just take it from your FFXIV folder (defaults to C:\Documents\My Games\Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn). Should be named something like "FFXIV_CHARA_01.dat" depending on how many you have saved. Copy it and paste it into the Benchmark folder (should be in the same directory as the game one) and rename it as "FFXIV_CHARA_BENCH01.dat" or whatever number you want. Then in the benchmark just select it (don't edit it or it will default to vanilla hair), close the creator/selector, and run the benchmark.

[NikaaNero]

I cant... they broke my girls nose, put fake lashes on her...and her eyebrows match the colour of her soulless pupils rather than her actual hair... Q.Q

[SuriKett]

Sadly it's very terrible for me and i tried all the lightning from character creation & benchmarks with 0/50/100 gamma correction.

[ilustralun]

Didn't notice this thread either! Reposting from another thread since this one seems oriented towards feedback:

The benchmark changed the shape of my character's eyes by removing the dark/heavier upper eyelids and it makes her look shell-shocked. It's a little upsetting because I recall Yoshi-p mentioning that he wanted to move away from characters having "empty dead-eyed" stares and to me it seems like some fundamental eye shape change has inadvertently caused what he was wanting to avoid. I rather enjoyed that my character held a kind of "aloof" or "bemused" expression that made it seem like she was always quietly thinking to herself.

I have the benchmark photo (left), an edit I drew the heavier eyelids onto (right), and the original/before (center). I feel silly because it's just a game I don't usually care to make a fuss over or be a nuisance about.



I'd like it if the update could retain the original characteristic of her eyes and appreciate the hard work of the developers.

[EliaStormblade]

Sadly it's very terrible for me and i tried all the lightning from character creation & benchmarks with 0/50/100 gamma correction.

You also right click dragged on the character creator to change lighting angle, right?

(The character creation lighting is really, really bad regardless, I'll concede. And also changes on its own? Even though it's supposed to be a static time of day.)

[SuriKett]

You also right click dragged on the character creator to change lighting angle, right?

(The character creation lighting is really, really bad regardless, I'll concede. And also changes on its own? Even though it's supposed to be a static time of day.)

I did my best, im very upset with these supposed graphical updates.