Dawntrail Graphical Update - Au Ra Feedback

[AstiSpumante]

Decided to load in my retainer who is made in the image of my favorite 40 year old Oronir culinarian and at a glance, every time, I thought the images from the benchmark were the "older" or more unpolished graphics because the lighting is so flat. It's only once I look at the hair and scale textures I realize no that much nicer shadow effect is from the old engine.

So with him:
1) The softer lighting engine makes his face and hair so flat. To the point it looks like dated graphics. The previous graphics had the feeling of being stylized not dated realism.
2) Again with the lips, they have been simplified to the point they lost their previous expression. He was frowning before now his bottom lip is sticking out and he's pouting.
3) The eyes are just "dead inside" not "I am 40 years old still working food service and that's Not Great but I'm still alive dang it". I think it's the larger pupil and lack of shine which makes the eyes look more relaxed/unfocused.
4) I don't like how "crisp" the pattern is on the body scales, on both raen and xaela it looses the organic feel that the OG body scale patterns have. However I do like the texture update on his face scales a lot esp the nose one (ignoring the horribly pixelated border on said nose scale).
5) His face is no longer pinched/the brow isn't furrowed! That was a charm point!!
6) While the planes of the face are now clearly smoother he is in dire need of an exfoliating wash the face texture is so extreme.




And lastly an actual seeming bug that an Elezen playing friend says Elezen are reporting too: There is this weird color/light issue on the lips but specifically in the Shroud in the benchmark. It isn't there in the live character creator though.

[monetclaude]

Decided to load in my retainer who is made in the image of my favorite 40 year old Oronir culinarian and at a glance, every time, I thought the images from the benchmark were the "older" or more unpolished graphics because the lighting is so flat. It's only once I look at the hair and scale textures I realize no that much nicer shadow effect is from the old engine.

So with him:
1) The softer lighting engine makes his face and hair so flat. To the point it looks like dated graphics. The previous graphics had the feeling of being stylized not dated realism.
2) Again with the lips, they have been simplified to the point they lost their previous expression. He was frowning before now his bottom lip is sticking out and he's pouting.
3) The eyes are just "dead inside" not "I am 40 years old still working food service and that's Not Great but I'm still alive dang it". I think it's the larger pupil and lack of shine which makes the eyes look more relaxed/unfocused.
4) I don't like how "crisp" the pattern is on the body scales, on both raen and xaela it looses the organic feel that the OG body scale patterns have. However I do like the texture update on his face scales a lot esp the nose one (ignoring the horribly pixelated border on said nose scale).
5) His face is no longer pinched/the brow isn't furrowed! That was a charm point!!
6) While the planes of the face are now clearly smoother he is in dire need of an exfoliating wash the face texture is so extreme.




And lastly an actual seeming bug that an Elezen playing friend says Elezen are reporting too: There is this weird color/light issue on the lips but specifically in the Shroud in the benchmark. It isn't there in the live character creator though.

To add to this, they significantly reduced the Roman/aquiline nose on nose type 1 and 5.




This was a trademark of one of my characters and it's disappointing to see that it's as if they're trying to "correct" a "flaw". I would rather they simply upscale the textures and models than make design changes at this point, since so many people are attached to their characters.

[SabrinaScribb1es]

I appreciate the devs working hard to give us the new graphics update, but the Au Ra's faces are just off-looking. Part of what made the female au ra so charming was that each face had a very distinctive shape and vibe, but now all of the faces feel somewhat homogenised.




I don't want to be all negative so first I want to list the things I really like about the update:

• I like how the limbal rings have been redone. I am very glad that they still look like they glow!
• I also like the updated textures on the horns and tails (though the artifacts on the scales are defintely an issue).
• The backlighting and subsurface scattering on the horns looks amazing. The way the light shines through the horn tips is amazing!

As for what I really don't like about the graphics update (specific to female face 2):

• As everyone else has pointed out, the lips have been greatly changed. My Au Ra originally had very round and wide lips. Her new lips aren't as wide across her face, which makes them look weirdly small compared to her other facial features. The lip shape is also more angular, and the cupid's bow is wider than before, completely chaning the entire lip shape. The lips lack the darker line that seperates the top lip from the bottom lip, which makes for an awkard straight-faced expression. The lips also lack the previous gloss/shine. My biggest grievance with the new lips is that they lack the previous dimples! The dimples gave my Au Ra a soft expression and helped to accentuate her facial expressions.
• The nose has also been greatly changed. The nostrils are more prominent and well-defined, which I feel gives a weird uncanny look. The tip of the nose/nostrils also looks more upturned than before, which makes some of the shadow that fall onto the nose look strange. Overall, I think that the new noses look almost a bit too realistic.
• The eye shape has also been changed. The change is subtle, so it's a bit difficult to describe, but my Au Ra's new eyes appear to be slightly shrunk horizontally and stretched vertically, which makes her appear less youthful. The eyeliner/eyeshadow is also subtler.
• The new philtrum is also much more defined, and it meets the lips at an angle rather than going straight down like it did before. I think that the sharper philtrum further exacerbates the issues I had with the nose and lips, especially in harsher lighting.
• The actual shape of my Au Ra's face has been changed. Her cheeks used to slightly pucker out before meeting with the chin, but now the transition between the cheeks and chin has been smoothed (this is easiest to see at the 3/4 angle). My Au Ra's cheeks aren't quite as chubby, and she has lost some of her baby face. Her overall jawline looks sharper too. This new face shape also affects how all her other facial features are placed too, particularly her new lips.

[Roda]

So for those having trouble with face 4's fish-like mouth I recommend trying out mouth 4
It doesn't fix the added dimples, and the lips aren't as full, but the mouth is wider and the lips are less puffy so it still gives that kind of sharp feel the other lips gave.


In the creator it's not sold very well but in motion it works pretty well?

[Fuyume]

So for those having trouble with face 4's fish-like mouth I recommend trying out mouth 4
It doesn't fix the added dimples, and the lips aren't as full, but the mouth is wider and the lips are less puffy so it still gives that kind of sharp feel the other lips gave.

That's the one I already use sadly. ;_; I picked it originally because it was less full than the others and I was going for the least glamorous looking fem Au Ra I could. But then the Dimple Nation attacked.

[HeyMcFly]

While I love how my Au Ra turned out in the benchmark for the most part- she looks somewhat translucent. Her skin reminds of a jellyfish or a puddle of milk; which honestly is off putting.

I think the lipstick could be toned down- and it should include sliders. Matte to gloss sliders, none-light-medium-vivid lipstick transparency is how it should be imo.

Also, with this update come DT, will we ever see actual additions to the character creator? The ones people have asked for for years? Like different horns & being able to change horns? New faces?




-------------------------

Also, the nostrils in female face #4, it looks like someone had to poke holes in her face but the nostril closed up. The nostrils on this face resembles the external nostrils on a bird- it's unsettling.
Her nostrils don't need to be shaped all the way around, or better yet, there needs to be some contouring around the alar sidewall of her nose (skin on outer edge of nostril) And it needs to be the same length as the nostril- because currently in the benchmark, her nostrils are longer and narrow, more than the outer sidewalls of her nostrils are, giving a bird like look.


I made a subtle contour edit to her nose and septum area, and added the static eye highlight


Benchmark before my edit


Benchmark after my edit

[Sekhar]

I never posted in the forum. so my apologies if the pictures don't work. Edit: and they don't xD so I restructured the post so my point is at least logical without them.

Even as someone who typically is not on the forums, I still feel that there are weird things here. So I should at least try to make myself heard irregardless of whether it has any effect as just screaming into the void won't change anything.

I agree with many of the issues pointed out here to varying degrees but since I myself play femra face 4 that is what I will comment on.

The mouths are just weird and especially the extreme dimples with the femra face 4 are just... too strange?



I have so far not heard anyone make any argument why those dimples should be so extreme? I have for example seen people argue that the eyes are now more natural which I won't comment on.

Of course it is only the case when light hits the face but that isn't an excuse in any case, after all we won't know what lighting is common in the MSQ, in cutscenes, in the town etc. and I honestly do not understand why this extreme change was made in the first place as I also have yet to hear anyone say that they prefer it with the extreme dimples.

[Fuyume]

I never posted in the forum. so my apologies if the pictures don't work.

Even as someone who typically is not on the forums, I still feel that there are weird things here. So I should at least try to make myself heard irregardless of whether it has any effect as just screaming into the void won't change anything.

I agree with many of the issues pointed out here to varying degrees but since I myself play femra face 4 that is what I will comment on.

The mouths are just weird and especially the extreme dimples with the femra face 4 are just... too strange?

Here is an unflattering picture which took me like a minute to make after loading up dawntrail benchmark. Since many say gridania has the best lighting of the char creation areas that was what I took. The dimples are far too pronounced in my opinion.



and another in a different environment that nicely illustrates that point with more "artificial" lighting



And I know this is an effect of the lighting, here is a picture done at evening light (same location as first pic) where you basically don't notice them:



I have so far not heard anyone make any argument why those dimples should be so extreme? I have for example seen people argue that the eyes are now more natural which I won't comment on.

Of course it is only the case when light hits the face but that isn't an excuse in any case, after all we won't know what lighting is common in the MSQ, in cutscenes, in the town etc. and I honestly do not understand why this extreme change was made in the first place as I also have yet to hear anyone say that they prefer it with the extreme dimples.

Here, I fixed your pictures for you. <3 I also am face four and don't appreciate the dimple-fication of my girl. If I wanted dimples on her I would've used a different face from the start.

[poochipaw]

Hi developers of Final Fantasy XIV!
Thank you for your release of the benchmark and letting us have a look at the graphical updates. While I am mostly excited to see the game in 7.0, I unfortunately also must add that there are a few changes/updates I am less excited about that I hope can be reconsidered.



Here is a picture of the current female Au Ra face 2 in the game.



And here is a picture of the same face as of 7.0 as seen in the benchmark with the exact same settings.
The lighting on the character when viewed in character creation is a bit strong and makes the face appear rather flat in the 7.0 version.



The lips have been significantly changed. Shown here is a comparison of Lips 1 between old and new graphics:
- they appear smaller
- dimples are gone
- they are more straight
- appear more monotone and stiff

I feel like the lips have lost a lot of the definition that was nice to see in the old model, is there a way to reach a middle ground or keep the old shape of them but in updated graphics?



In certain harsh lighting it almost appears as if the mouth is being "sucked in".





When performing emotes a line appears on the neck, indicating the head model does not align properly with the body model, which would need to be adjusted before finalizing the update.

I appreciate all the hard work the developers put into making this an enjoyable game and I hope that the player's wishes are taken into consideration!