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

[GrizzlyTank]

The thing that bothers me most is that it looks like the midlanders have blackheads on their chins.

You... have no idea how blackheads look do you?

[Papayatar]

This is 100% based on which location you pick in the corner. I'm almost certain that the lighting in the character creator is busted or unpolished in any location that is not the default aetherial sea. I say this because a good chunk of criticism about characters looking off come with screenshots with backgrounds that aren't the aetherial sea background. I think all of the preset locations have terrible lighting situations:

The one I quoted before looked the most aggressive in the waxy look compared to yours and the others I’ve seen. They straight up looked like a wax candle man and yours has that “dewy” wet and shiny look. So I was assuming it’s PC specs + whatever is happening in the CC environment.

But yeah the CC lighting is so bad and probably why when the trailer is ran characters look 10000x better. Except in that opening scene that zooms in on the face, that stays questionable lol.

But like either way I’m in the, most look fine and we’ll all get used to it camp. But I also am kinda like why did the lips and some eye shapes get adjusted that change the feeling of the character. Esp. the lips and how some had neutral expressions and now they have a slight smile, or the adjustment for some lips to be fuller than before.

[Novojane]

I must say, that in your particular case... It made your character look, well, it might sound harsh but the combination of skin tone and lack of light in the eyes, she almost looks like a zombie in the benchmark... But in the live build, she looks very much alive. I don't think a graphical update should zombifie certain people's characters...

i TOTALLY agree, i used no shaders and i feel like every color just blended together in the benchmark! i thought i picked a sun seeker at first lmao

[Tsitra]

As mentioned by many others, I hope Au Ra eyes can be given more sharpness and life. Also the mouth could get more look like the original.

[4clubbedace]

As mentioned by many others, I hope Aura eyes can be given more sharpness and life. Also the mouth could get more look like the original.

the reason everyones eyes "look dead" is that before, eyes were illuminated at all times regardless of global effects, now? theyre affected by global lights,

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

I’m curious if the waxy like skin is a result of certain PCs not being able to handle the graphics update so you get Dark Souls looking faces more than a graphical upgrade?

Because it seems to be inconsistent if people get wax skin or matte skin in the CC. I don’t know if that changes if you play the benchmark trailer with your character though.

I had to run the benchmark once more to make sure I'm just not gaslighting myself lmao. Without a shadow of doubt, it's not a PC spec issue if I can score this high on maximum:


Here's how my man looked in the opening:


"Oh my man =((( What have the world done to you????"

Ahem...

Maybe slightly better? A LITTLE BIT??? I guess... Yet still, he has lost A LOT of the "Mr.Goodie two shoes/Innocent"-look character that pre-benchmark version of him exudes which was one of the main drive of my attachment to this character---he's just straight up a different character in the benchmark. Besides, if I'm going to play the game, I'm not going to be watching a CS 90% of time like visual novels, am I not? lol.

"Easiest fix" would be giving us the option to pick the current aesthetic while keeping what's been developed. I doubt their penchant of having some sort of spagghetified coding in their engine preventing them from doing just that would just go away, but since they wanted the feedback... welp, here we are. /shrug

[GrizzlyTank]

the reason everyones eyes "look dead" is that before, eyes were illuminated at all times regardless of global effects, now? theyre affected by global lights,

They were illuminated by the camera. If looking at the sides the reflection would vanish, otherwise the light dot would persist.

[LansEvernovice]

The light male Au Ra Raen scales are too dark with the details sharpened making it all look cluttered and busy! It also doesn't match the much lighter horns.

I also miss the slight contour that helped to frame the face and scale shapes even more, though this detail I can understand not everyone will miss.

[Yencat]

Joke aside, what I meant was that the texture is strange and doesn't feel smooth like it usually does, that's all.

it's ok to disagree with me, I'm very glad you're happy with the changes, have a nice evening!

I noticed the same thing and also thought it looks like blackheads or even stubble.

The (stronger?) freckles on the cheeks are new as well, and I'd prefer to just have clear skin again with the option to add freckles or other marks.

[Shiro-Marusu]

Came to this thread looking for solidarity, lol. My mooncat sadly no longer looks like the same person. I think the eyes are the biggest factor, but I'm not sure.
I actually feel some texture changes could already do a lot to get the old impression back, even for the remodeled lips.

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So, to sum up the things I've noticed so far;

- The texture of the eyes/eyeliner now follows the model more, and the eyes themselves have a slightly different shape. Because the eyeliners had quite a different shape in the old one, it changes the impression a lot. The old ones were less rounded, and a bit more elongated. A bit like how a cosplayer would do make-up to resemble anime characters. The new eyes also look smaller than the old ones because of this.

- because of the missing highlight and added black to the eyeliner, the eyes now look more bored/vapid in my honest opinion.

- The lips are modeled differently, so that they are slightly more pronounced and have obvious 'dimples' or shadows around the corners. This often creates the impression of a 'smirk' or at least raised corners. While some may like it, I did not want this 'cheeky' expression for my character. There is now also a much more pronounced philtrum, and with some lighting it can still be spotted from a distance. I just don't like how it looks.

- The lips are also textured/painted differently, with a more pronounced cupid's bow, possibly to meet/match the modeled philtrum. This makes the lips look a bit more pouty.

Overall the new impression feels more sultry/cheeky, as opposed to serious/stoic. Not bad if that's what you want, but it's just not the same character.

I have played this character for 10 years and I have never changed a single thing about him. Sadly a fantasia to just make a different character won't work for me. I love roleplay and this character has his own story! Making him into another character would be akin to killing the story. I appreciate that other people have other standards, but I'm overall just sad about what I'm seeing.