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

[Nicola_Kunu]

Now compare it to DT where they have warned about the graphic overhaul... this benchmark is released about just 2 and a half month prior to its actual release? I'm just beyond amazed.

Due to the sheer density of feedback that's cropped up on the forum over the past... 3 days? I think it's unfortunate but realistic to say that not everything will be addressed.
Hopefully there are one or two people in SQuenix that are collecting and prioritising the issues people have, but realistically... Dawntrail is going to be content locked in-house a month if not more before release. Artists will not be in the office pushing the latest lip or eyelash fix to the main dev branch 3 days before release. Nothing short of critical issues will be adjusted in the release build in the last 2-4 weeks before July 2nd.

I can see some of the majorly visually incorrect stuff being fixed in time (like the dead eye Lalafells and Keeper fangs), but if they choose to fix anything else, I can imagine it'd be in waves of patches following Dawntrail's release where they'd fix a batch of issues at a time - artist work would be split between patch content and graphical update fixes.
Or not at all.

I got lucky with my Miqo'te, I'm happy with the result but would still want to see the model in-game. But I empathise with people who are upset over the more drastically visible and unwanted changes they have received, I get commissions of my character and fuss over small details myself.

[twobear]

Please, try to tell me that they are similar.

They are similar. I'll go one further, they are very similar.

Are they identical? Well no, the face on the right to me looks a little rounder, the hair is a different, greyer hue, the eyes are a little more widely spaced.

I hope they can tweak those things for you, but to insist they don't look similar is wild.

[Doopliss]

Sorry for posting something cluttered again so soon. I'm sure many can tell by now I'm not very good at condensing my words. I had some other errors I wished to address, though.

As you can see here, there is very obvious artifacting going on with certain tattoos, that become much more clear when changed to black. I believe a player with a male Highlander character posted a thread highlighting this same issue some time earlier, as well.

I also want to mention I believe female Elezen are far from the only ones with rigging issues. Certain races now have smiles that look like they're being held up by strings, and Lalafell show a slightly uncanny amount of gum when smiling, without even mentioning the far uncannier "realistic" placement of their new teeth.

For a more obvious, different example: F4 male Miqo'te eyebrows can now perform the worm.

[SpiritMuse]

Would like to point out here that the new lashes are also a problem that needs to be fixed. The way they're much darker and thicker now is not only responsible for the "yassified" fake lash/ extra mascara look for many female characters, but it also affects the visible eye shape for many others, making eyes look more closed and narrow, which is a big factor in why so many characters have lost their original personality and look much angrier and more "evil" in the new version.

[Doopliss]

Would like to point out here that the new lashes are also a problem that needs to be fixed. The way they're much darker and thicker now is not only responsible for the "yassified" fake lash/ extra mascara look for many female characters, but it also affects the visible eye shape for many others, making eyes look more closed and narrow, which is a big factor in why so many characters have lost their original personality and look much angrier and more "evil" in the new version.

Absolutely agree. This was a big change that didn't feel like an error, either.

I was saving this image for a different reason, and not to flood things, but I think it makes a decent example of showing that happening to a male Miqo'te face.

It's one of the minor examples, but still there. His lip change bothers me more, though. Suddenly felt like he was giving "skylar white, yo" vibes. I wanted him to look a little goofy and perpetually angry enough that his resting expression caused his more handsome features to be harder to detect. Now it feels like they're trying to make that face's handsomeness apparent no matter what you do, which makes my character look goofy in a way that's different from what I intended.

I know some peoples' intention here are to calm others about the changes, but more often than not, it feels like people are posting here to come off as dismissive in a belittling way.

Even as someone who'd rather go without the changes, I admit even I think some changes are too small to matter, but those aren't my characters and I don't know their hurt. People forge bonds with inanimate things all the time.

If anyone looks through my posts, they'll see the few characters I've managed to bring up aren't my main. I think fem Elezen changes are one of the less egregious ones. Especially in cases like nose changes, I felt very lucky.

While I think my main's expression is less serious-looking and more awkwardly cute now, and I wish her lash line looked more natural again, and that her pupils kept their tint that matched the iris color, I can overall deal with these changes. I even think her new, slightly thicker and less combed eyebrows are much cuter in a way enjoyable to me.

Still, I'm very happy with how my characters' features for the past 10 to 2 years have looked, and would be perfectly fine with features I think are "better" in the benchmark being corrected to appear more how they do now, which I think is important to consider. Speaking strictly about facial features, there are likely far more who are happy with what they have now, than those who are happy with the changes.

I don't think it's fair that, hell, somebody like me who doesn't play a male Elezen, but thinks they look much more handsome with the changes, gets catered to with this update. It's more important to hear the voices of those who have enjoyed those original looks for years.

[Zaniel]

Would like to point out here that the new lashes are also a problem that needs to be fixed. The way they're much darker and thicker now is not only responsible for the "yassified" fake lash/ extra mascara look for many female characters, but it also affects the visible eye shape for many others, making eyes look more closed and narrow, which is a big factor in why so many characters have lost their original personality and look much angrier and more "evil" in the new version.

This is one of the issues that struck me the heaviest in terms of "altering" a face.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

If you give my supposed 'more youthful'-character a far too profound nasolabial folds on his face, then having good or bad lighting won't matter. He's practically 15-20 years older to the future---he's not 'youthful' anymore.

If you keep my 'more youthful'-character they way he is, then he'll still the 'more youthful'-character that I recognize & love. Bad lighting won't make him look old, not in the drastical way that those profound nasolabial folds would give.

Big difference.

[slippdipp]

Similar or not, the benchmark is a WIP, and changes will be addressed since the JP community is working overtime, so don't lose your minds. The game is continually updated, so if they're not addressed by 7.0, they'll be addressed by 7.05 or 7.1. Take a breather, and just relax. Don't get grey hairs over a videogame!

[Nicola_Kunu]

Similar or not, the benchmark is a WIP, and changes will be addressed since the JP community is working overtime, so don't lose your minds. The game is continually updated, so if they're not addressed by 7.0, they'll be addressed by 7.05 or 7.1. Take a breather, and just relax. Don't get grey hairs over a videogame!

Players get emotionally invested in their characters. *Especially* in a several hundred hour story-based video game where your character is *the main character*.
I think it's a success of the game that players care so deeply about their characters.

I'd say it's unhealthy to bottle up the feelings, and as others have said, this is literally the time to provide feedback, and the fact that the community is making screenshots, pointing out the specific side-by-side details they feel are erroneous, and even sketching face composites is pretty darn good feedback.

[Banriikku]

Similar or not, the benchmark is a WIP, and changes will be addressed since the JP community is working overtime, so don't lose your minds. The game is continually updated, so if they're not addressed by 7.0, they'll be addressed by 7.05 or 7.1. Take a breather, and just relax. Don't get grey hairs over a videogame!

ok Boomer...

No jokes aside. There will be almost certainly no changes until release. This should be impossible because of how close the release is. Every Dev will tell you that. Our expierence with older releases show the same. For possible changes the Benchmark would have released on the first or second month of the year.
Next is, we pay for it. If you take it without issues. Cool bro but why do you police me and my expactations that are justified? Even if not justified, who are you to do that?
Lastly no we give feedback on many things almost none of them are adressed: crafting, healers, tanks, gear, IS, relict weapon.... this list is long so stop here.
Eureka had some good points but instead using these and cutting the "fat" we got the same... over and over. Healers are a problem now for 3 Addons but still none of the issues are adressed instead weird changes are made. Some ok but many simply out of touch and bad design.
Glamour and housing is talked about in such lengths but still this system is the same jank. As if waiting for SE is NOT HELPING. AT ALL.
Youre points are interesting but have no grounds to stand on. So thanks for youre input but no thanks to wait and see.