Character graphical changes are NOT in an acceptable state, please make it optional

[DiaDeem]

I posted on another topic but here's my mine with the gamma matching the original. I know for me, my only issue is my eyebrows as I feel they've been thinned out a bit much lol. But yeah, gamma corrections aside, I think some faces had some changes that are a bit offputting for some folks.

This is another good one. Someone mentioned male characters looking really different, and... yeah, eyebrows will do that.

Most of the issues I'm seeing, I feel have to do with assets being altered too much rather than being a better version of their older selves. This may be why some people are calling their character "a different person". It's also true that some faces got it better than others, and taste being a subjective thing, everyone's milage may vary.

In hindsight, I think it would have been a smart idea for SE to release a character creator way earlier in the development cycle, to bounce back feedback and see what people thought as they went, making progressive updates instead of hitting us with a single thing two months before launch. A bit late for that.

I just wish people didn't get so... tribal about everything. I don't understand why some people are being antagonistic towards people with issues. People love their characters, and have concerns. They have a right to voice them. On the other hand, some people complaining seem to be dismissing some of the most wonderful changes outright, and it makes me sad, because technically, there was a lot of good work done here.

Unlike some people, and despite the fact that I absolutely love the upgrade, I've tried to remain understanding and fair when interacting with the topic today. I just hope to be permitted the same courtesy from the other side of the argument. I'm not trying to grift people when I ask for accurate comparisons. I just think they're better to point out issues, and better for feedback too. Verrot and Sosoma's comparisons are also really good.

I'm a bit tired and I don't know if I'm running out of posts, but I don't think there's much more I can contribute to the topic in general.

Once again, I wish the best for everyone. Take care.

[Rueby]

I ran the benchmark a few times and made some semblance of peace that my chars won't be the same....
I honestly wish they remove the glossy effect that goes over the lips and nose bridge, the chars look 'ok' in shadow but the moment they face ahead w/ direct facing light it feels like they get this uncanny/waxy look. Some shots including the first one on the ship is the mother of uncanny valley to me, something feels extremely eerie about it, perhaps it's the lack of eye shine ?

All in all, I couldn't get a good close up look at my char inside the benchmark with one exception and that one is the serial killer vibe at the start.

I miss my bright limbal rings on my aura and her cute fish face lips...Something just isn't the same. I wish they'd add more mouth options with stuff that look similar to how the old stuff looks. It'll make people happy I think...

These aren't my girls, they're 'look alikes', the intensity in their eyes feel duller now. My aura got hit hardest because she has black hair and the new update washed out alot of the black..

[Elissar]

Damn that's why the benchmark focus on our faces right at beginning
it's like a new persona telling us "yes, i murdered your old virtual self. What you gonna do?"
damn...pure evil

[MaiSuu]

PLEASE FIX MIDLANDERS, OUR FACES ARE DEVOID OF FEATURES NOW!!! WE LACK DETAIL to the point where it is a mere round face merged into a neck with plastic skin and 2 nostrils for breathing. Please. IT IS BEYOND ridiculous how bad the lighting is, -- EVEN WITH the gamma to 0, where we still lack important contouring to give us that proper nose shadow or jaw shadow.

Please. Fix the lighting, and if you touched the models SE, give the old ones back...

[DBriggs304]

I do hope they make it optional or a toggle. They look worse to me. Seems like a massive waste of time and resources.

[Elissar]

I don't know.


Most MMORPGs has mid characters (except Black Desert...maybe). I am more interested in world details and animations.

Facial details matters for roleplayers and hype moments in the MSQ (that bun lady crying in Shadowbringers for example...the VA caused more impact than the animation itself).

I would stand behind for better animations or more options for walk, running or standing ...specially for male Au Ra.
As i said in previous comments: in Heavensward we learn how to fly, in Stormblood we learn how to dive and since Stormblood we don't have any reward that substantially changes how we interact with the world or our characters. To be fair, we even obtain some emotes to show how much we grew up culturally...but it's not the same.

Not a fan of they they did to my Elezen myself. Her eyes are souless now.

This case is awful and just show that what we have now is good enough.
However, we don't know if they need to reinvent the wheel to add improvements that we want (better beards, separate eyebrows from the hair, separate horns and heads, etc)


Btw our current character creator is almost the same as 1.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWktMvjpivk

[Eluvyel]

I don't know.


Most MMORPGs has mid characters (except Black Desert...maybe). I am more interested in world details and animations.

Facial details matters for roleplayers and hype moments in the MSQ (that bun lady crying in Shadowbringers for example...the VA caused more impact than the animation itself).

I would stand behind for better animations or more options for walk, running or standing ...specially for male Au Ra.
As i said in previous comments: in Heavensward we learn how to fly, in Stormblood we learn how to dive and since Stormblood we don't have any reward that substantially changes how we interact with the world or our characters. To be fair, we even obtain some emotes to show how much we grew up culturally...but it's not the same.

The new facial rigs have a comically high number of new bones. Miqo alone has 56 new available bones in the lower face half. Animations are definitely getting better.

[Rueby]

Snip

I think this thread is worth adding to the first post as well, OP! It's about Skin Translucency and I guess gives some closure about this waxy/uncanny effect.
Here.

[DekaiTsuna88]

Changing environment graphics are dismissible, because you don't look at the same environment most of the time.
But changing the character design is huge. Our characters will be in view almost all the time and you'll grow some kind of attachment to it in one way or another.
It's probably why they opt to not show too much variation during multiple PLLs for the 'character graphical update' and most of the time they showed Lalafells. They actually changed the designs.

Making it optional is probably a stretch with how much resources they spent on other miniscule things, but this really needs to be addressed. Free Fantasia won't fix this issue.

[ameliaw]

My miqo looks like she's using a pretty intense Instagram filter in benchmark, but overall I like her. I will leave a image of her in this post.
I also like the female au ra changes(but they definitely lost flavor and most of their alien look), however...
All other races that I checked look changed for the worse imo. Something looks off. Also, Viera eyebrows are invisible in so many hair colors now. Not great.