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

[Loggos]

The characters and their faces don't inherently have a distinct identity or a personality beyond what individual players ascribe to them...
There are of course some differences between the faces, but they are very broad strokes that most everyone can see, ie; slightly younger and softer looking vs. more rough or somewhat older.

But that is one of the primary points of contention. The homogenization of the existing face options (e.g., au ra females all becoming relatively similar and cute-ish) and objective changes to distinguishing features of the (limited) pre-sets.

It's not about whether anybody else can read the detailed personality we have headcanon-ed from our characters' faces.

It's that the existing faces were/are a canvas onto which you can project certain ideas.
These ideas are obviously subjective and can go in different directions depending on the person doing the interpretation of certain features. But they are still based on those particular features nonetheless.
E.g., I don't mind if other people don't think au ra face 4 is stern and serious. Some perceive her as rather neutral. That is fair and understandable. The assessment of her perceived personality is subjective.

But you cannot, for example, deny that, her pupils are smaller now. (I don't personally mind the pupils, so the purpose of bringing them up is not to complain about them in particular. I just want to give an easy and quick example of something that has measurably been altered).
That is an objective change.
This change can lead to changes in perception in some people or not (e.g., I think smaller pupils lead to more of a harsh stare etc., others don't think so).
But no matter our interpretation, the pupil's size is different. That is just a fact.

And it's those facts we try to address.

We understand that changing the graphics will lead to some inevitable technical changes. But there is a difference between the former and actively resculpting certain features into other features (lips, nose smudges, eye shapes, etc. etc.).

So, some of what the devs did doesn't seem like mere upgrading but like consciously and actively making the decision to change established aesthetics.

And in those cases criticism is completely warranted.

No one is necessarily wrong here, but no one is objectively right either? I don't envy the devs.

I don't really agree with this sentiment because it's seems a bit all-or-nothing to me. As in, since it'll never be the case that everybody is happy nothing can really be done perfectly right, so on the flipside the current criticism is also somewhat pointless because nobody can be right or wrong.

Imagine a line and the point where everybody is happy is *somewhere* in the middle. You know roughly where it should be but not where exactly it's located.

Only because you cannot pinpoint that one perfect sweet spot doesn't mean you can't look towards the outer ends of the line and conclude that over there something isn't right and you need to move closer to the middle. You don't know how far but you know you need to move somewhat.

So imo it's better to try to at least get a little closer. That's better than saying it has no point and staying closer to the poles.
That's how I see it with features.

I completely understand that any kind of upgrade will lead to some changes. But as long as I can see that they don't actively try to remodel existing features beyond what would be needed to upscale their quality (like making convex lips concave) I can easily accept and compromise.

I can also readily accept that some people will find the new features better. I would prefer if we get more options instead of replacing old ones.