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

[HawkeScream]

I feel the same way, like I 100% understand this sentence completely. One of the reasons I fell in love with the game.

There's so much in this thread that resonates with the way I have been feeling about this upgrade, but I can't give a unique response to it all so just let it be known there are plenty of us who get it.

Seconding this. I can't give a unique response either, but not everything needs to be realistic. We're playing a video game not real life. Stylized is okay. Good even! It's okay that FF14 doesn't look like every single other uncanny valley "realistic" game out there. I like that it looks like anime. It's more immersive for me BECAUSE of the art style, because it at present doesn't make me think "it's trying too hard to be real and missing the mark."

But yes. I get it. My partner gets it. Y'all aren't alone.

[JaydeDancer]

Before:


After:


I really like this! My only complaints are the lip textures look better pre 7.0, and the hair seems unusually flat. I miss my "lip gloss" and I feel like the hair should have some shine to it.

But, overall those are very minor things that I can learn to live with. This is still Jayde to me. Just with better skin and maybe some lip filler lol. I did have to adjust the limbal ring. The one I was set to pre 7.0 hardly showed up at all. I had to scoot to the left a couple of squares to get the same effect.

[Lazariah]

My current bun self didn't look any different honestly so I decided to see what my Roe self looked like and man, I love it! Now I know if I decide I don't like fem Hrothgar I can go to Roe and be very happy.





Bonus Hrothgal

[seasalts]

Had mixed feelings at first but it's starting to grow on me.



While I miss the gloss of the old lipstick, it's a huge improvement that it no longer has this weird pale reflection in certain lighting that's always bugged me. (Note: in DT vers I changed lipstick opacity from dark to light to match the original shade better though it's still the same color.)




Unfortunately the structure of her eyes and nose that I loved so much has been lost. Black hair also looks a bit washed out and grey in bright lighting. On a positive note, I personally think the nose shine and skin textures suit her well and add a really nice life-like depth to her skin tone... though there are some instances where the body shine looks extremely greasy! I also don't think she's subjected to the dead eye look others have been struggling with. I actually think the opposite and that given a solid light source the dynamic eye reflections light up her eyes beautifully in a way that screenshots don't do justice.




I think this angle showcases well my biggest personal gripe w/ her feature changes that really had no reason to be altered. Her eyelid shape is quite different! I picked that eye because of it's beautiful angular flare but they just had to give it a more rounded look w/ thicker lashes... I really sympathize w/ those that had their WoL's unique features ironed out, even the subtle details can be really important for giving our characters a personal charm we love and it's hard to process them simply no longer having those features suddenly.

[OgruMogru]

I seem to have gotten very lucky indeed! Somehow my boy's Cupid's Bow is a way better shape than a lot of other examples I've seen! The actual mouth line itself looks flat in the cc but in the benchmark it's totally fine. I only had to alter my lip shade slightly everything else looks pretty great!

My only small criticisms are that sometimes the shading on his cheeks looks like a really grubby 5'oclock shadow, the facepaint/makeup could do with a few tweaks and most egregious to me is the hair highlight errors. It's like they just updated the other variant of this hairstyle and removed the fringe but didn't continue the front highlights up and it's throwing the balance of the face off slightly. The hair doesn't seem to be as tousled or messy either which is a shame!

Commiserations to those unhappy with the way their characters look! There is absolutely an issue with the way detail shadows are working [nostrils in particular] and they need to do something about a lot of the lip shapes.

[EstelleCere]

Overall it looks generally better, but I really don't like the mouth that they did for the fin horns, it took away her pouty face that I liked so much. Her lips to me look too flat and not really the same shape at all like the old ones, and it bothers me. Other than that she looks pretty similar.

[Nahmazu]

Could be worse, but definitely not feeling the dead eyes or extended lip color. :')

[Katsuragi_]

Might as well copy pasta here:

Old:


New:


These do NOT give the same vibes. I don't know if it's just the added eyeliner, but the new one looks much more sultry; And while I'm not one to shy away from how hot I can make my character look, I don't like how "in your face" the new face looks.
I'd like to keep the ability to look more cute/simple.

Hell, I'd probably even LOVE if it was a toggle in the Facial Features/Face Paint.

[Fiala]

i personally have minor-ish complaints. i don't like the lightened eyebrows that seem to have happened to everyone (i posted in another thread complaining about such) and i prefer the old lip shape/textures but other than that i think i escaped looking mostly good

benchmark is the left and normal is on the right



but like overall? especially when i got her normal hair working in the benchmark i think it's serviceable.

[Octa_Bahjan]

Here's my lala and how they turned out in the benchmark... is it just me or are the eyebrows no longer following the primary hair color? (is that a benchmark bug?)


i prefer the new eyes, but something with the face feels off, and the eyelashes don't look the same when the eyes are closed... i don't mind it that much but i certainly lost a little cuteness in the transition i feel like