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

[EliaStormblade]

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

Understandable. I'm sorry to hear that.

[tremor3258]

Character creator really is the worst lighting, somehow.

[LilyEmber]

This is my WoL's Before and After, 6.0 <---> 7.0



There's a number of changes I'd make as there were a number of changes that were made that I think everyone is feeling. It's like someone moved the furniture in a room over 1 inch. It's subtle, but you definitely feel it. The catchlight, while the design is nicer, it's so weak, and unless you're directly in the sun, you can't see it and it makes the characters look lifeless. I think the scales look too dirty now. I know they won't be pristine and white, but they genuinely look like they could use a scrub. And I miss the dimples. I know they're still there, but again, you have to be in a certain type of lighting to pick them up. I wish they were more prominent and had just a tad of airbrushing to emphasize them a bit more. And the makeup/eyeliner is too dark, even when you turn it off. I also did a before and after of what the graphics update gave us vs. what I wanted and what I think would improve this specific face.



What I did:
-Brightened up the catchlights
- Toned down the eyeliner on the upper and lower lid
- Pinkened the lips a tad and enhanced the gloss
- Added a more prominent cupids bow
- Brought back the dimple a bit more and added a little extra shading beneath the lips
- Lightened the scales and brought back the more creamy yellow-y-ish tint that they used to have.

And I feel even just these tiny changes made a decent difference in the face. I didn't want to do too much since yeah, this is the worst lighting out of all the settings in character creator. Plus I didn't want to sit in photoshop for too long.

[sylanxi]

It's bleak out here, fam.


(left 6.0, right 7.0 benchmark)

Yes, the CC lighting isn't fantastic, but my character now has a near-omnipresent creen cast to their skin when they've been grey-toned since shb, a colour palette I chose deliberately as a nod to the grey/blue toned catgirl I've played since 2013. I'm really hoping the devs make this optional while they do some tweaking to the overhaul, I'm very happy for the peoples whose wols came out of this looking good, but there are so many who are bitterly disappointed, and so many issues of clipping and misaligned textures being reported, that I just don't think this overhaul is in a state where it's ready to be rolled out across the board.

[Doozer]

While there does seem to be an increase in green/yellow tones in skin, in my experience a lot of that is due to picking the La Noscea scene, and I think it has something to do with colour from the grass reflecting off the face or something. They don't seem to be as green/yellow in the Shroud/Thanalan areas.

[sylanxi]

While there does seem to be an increase in green/yellow tones in skin, in my experience a lot of that is due to picking the La Noscea scene, and I think it has something to do with colour from the grass reflecting off the face or something. They don't seem to be as green/yellow in the Shroud/Thanalan areas.

In my case, it's across the board with the exception of cool-toned lighting. I chose to use the La Noscea backdrop as the example because it's more noticeable there regardless of variation in screen colour balance. There are some instances during the benchmark cutscene itself where my character's skin is slightly less green, but in those cases they're instead much more tan than they've ever been in 5.0 or 6.0, despite being the same CC option - the new textures and/or lighting are altering how the colour itself looks, and it seems to be the most noticeable on the more fantasy/unnatural skintones - a few au ra friends have also run into this to varying degrees.

[Fuyume]

I was informed that my former comparison images were too different in lighting to tell the differences, so I present to you the closest recreation of my character creation screen from the benchmark as possible. I really dislike it. She's so round and soft now, her face lost everything angular about it, the lips are more pouty, and why on earth did they add dimples? Like, I picked face 4 because it was the least soft and cutesy of the face options. The new face feels like I'd never see it wielding a greatsword on the front lines.

[TajMahBallz]

(Apologies for the double post, messed up the first post)


Overall I think my character came out mostly unscathed. Main issues is her skin looks way too shiny in some areas and seems to have been dulled a bit if that's the right word to use??? I think they need to take another look at how they did the skin.

[Jassie]

While I don't think my character has changed too much, something does feel a little off. His eyebrows are thinner, eye shape seems a little different, and the highlights in his hair look kinda bad if you look up close. I prefer the old version of him, but the new one isn't THAT bad either, probably just need to get used to it.


My viera, on the other hand, seems very similar to what she was before. The only differences I noticed were the mouth and the eyebrows, which are both a bit different shape than before, but neither of those change the feel of the character for me.


*imgur link with a couple more example pics*

[Doozer]

In my case, it's across the board with the exception of cool-toned lighting. I chose to use the La Noscea backdrop as the example because it's more noticeable there regardless of variation in screen colour balance. There are some instances during the benchmark cutscene itself where my character's skin is slightly less green, but in those cases they're instead much more tan than they've ever been in 5.0 or 6.0, despite being the same CC option - the new textures and/or lighting are altering how the colour itself looks, and it seems to be the most noticeable on the more fantasy/unnatural skintones - a few au ra friends have also run into this to varying degrees.

That makes sense. I just wanted to point it out since your post reminded me of it and I didn't think anyone had mentioned it in the thread yet. Just in case someone else had a similar problem and it turned out to just be lighting.