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

[FlamboyantAsBurningInferno]

I really like the Female Hrothgar but their shoulders are weird and move unnaturally sometimes and maybe they need a bit of improvement.
Some examples:

[WiccaP]

Because humans have dark colored cells behind their retinas that absorb light rather than reflect, so a realistic non-nocturnal humanoid's eyes wouldnt reflect light in shadow. We could argue that Hroth and Miq' eyes could structurally resemble a cat's eyes more and have a tapetum lucidum that would reflect light but that may be very difficult to produce a natural appearance at the scale of the game. So if the idea that because the races are humanoid, their eye structure would resemble a human's eyes, they would shine in the dark.

[Gemina]

Because humans have dark colored cells behind their retinas that absorb light rather than reflect, so a realistic non-nocturnal humanoid's eyes wouldnt reflect light in shadow. We could argue that Hroth and Miq' eyes could structurally resemble a cat's eyes more and have a tapetum lucidum that would reflect light but that may be very difficult to produce a natural appearance at the scale of the game. So if the idea that because the races are humanoid, their eye structure would resemble a human's eyes, they would shine in the dark.

You're correct about the function of the dark cells behind the retina, but that has nothing to do with the light that reflects off of the eye. That has almost entirely to do with mirror-like membrane that the outer eyes are constructed of.

The fact of the matter is light needs to be present in order to determine the color of the iris, so if you can see the color of the eye, it's going to reflect the source of that light back to it. Even my three year old niece recognizes this, and adds a reflection to the eyes she draws and colors.

[Pricia]

Absolutely hate what they did to Hyur midlander females. Face 1 is totally different and, as someone else mentioned, closer to highlander now. I hate it. I always came back to it between fantasias but I guess I will stick to Mi'qote now, but it makes me sad.

[LlymlaenGreene]

oke :3



Well, I tried to repeat the scene as closely as possible and now I'm really disappointed! The graphical upgrade looks like PS3 version and i am say this, this the worst upgrade for midlander 1 face, this is really freak!!! *this only my opinion, and yes i am a very emotional person, sorry for that* All in new upgrade on this looks terrible!

Please tell me, where is my cute character and what kind of monster did they make of him? Only the skin looks improved and then it looks old, lol! Yes, I declare responsibly, for me this is a downgrade, I'm talking about my character!

[Tengi]

If that character looks like a freak and a monster as you said earlier then I must be an eldritch horror. She's making a determined face in that part of the cutscene while your character is not emoting.

[LlymlaenGreene]

If that character looks like a freak and a monster as you said earlier then I must be an eldritch horror. She's making a determined face in that part of the cutscene while your character is not emoting.

Well, you're a cutie, I love any lalas :3
bubut how is there no emotion if there is? The same emotion is there and there, only the new version looks really ugly to me. She may look cute to you, but she's not the character I've been playing with for almost 1000 game hours. They should not take and radically change the character like that. This contradicts their words.

[Loggos]

I've tried something to illustrate why for some people certain changes may completely alter a character's perceived personality and why people like me are unhappy about it.

I hope with this I can communicate a bit better how some of the changes feel to me (and perhaps to some other people) and why something seemingly small like resculpting a mouth can be "such a big deal" and lead to people saying "this looks like a different person".

I have drawn two pictures of my EW char and my DT char (full disclosure, I traced it and just stylised her features):

The goal was not to 1:1 trace her features and accurately document the differences (I've done that here).
It was to depict how I would interpret, capture and stylise her personality if someone asked me to draw the character in the respective screenshot.

It's about the vibe/feeling/emotion I get when looking at the EW and the DT models (not how I physically *see* them on a sensory level).
That's why her features are exaggerated to be more stern/cute (like when a caricature exaggerates certain features to emphasise certain character traits).

(To clarify for later readers: Yes, the actual differences in the screenshots are more subtle. Again, for an actual comparison of how I physically see the changes please follow the link above.
And I completely agree that fem au ra, even face 4, are unfortunately not very stern in general. I know they are still quite cute. But that is precisely why these changes bother me so much. Face 4 had a hint of sternness at least.
In DT even that hint has been completely removed and I really wish I could have kept it.)

[Doopliss]

I think this is a fantastic, simple explanation on how the brain perceives and simplifies stylistic character design. Although I know the 3D images are not 1-1 with the artwork, this is also how my brain automatically read the two faces, and is similar to the level of difference I felt toward my fem Xaela and fem Viera.

I often fumble my words, so I'm very glad to have something like this to show to my friends. Thank you.

[Loggos]

I think this is a really great example of how slight changes to proportions can change how the "soul" of the face is read. I feel bad saying it but I feel like everyone let down by the less severe look has been misled somewhat by wishful thinking in regards to the Au Ra female faces. They have -always- looked very milky and gentle to me and like any harshness in their face is very subjective. I'm not saying anyone is wrong in feeling this way - personally I prefer severe faces and the illustration on the right is very close to how i -wanted- that Aura face to look from when they were first implemented. I'm not even denying that there are differences to how the new face looks but they have never looked that severe and it's a shame they've strayed even further from it.

No I see what you mean haha. Female au ras were unfortunately always on the milque-toast side as opposed to male au ras but face 4 did have a bit more bite. I think the smaller pupil and the more convex lip shapes really changed the soul as you put it. And also, the old face 4 does have a very skeptical look and does very much not smile whereas the new face 4 has a subtle smile that in my eyes wasn't there before.
Also if you look at Sadu, the Stormblood NPC, they really did play her harsh look up. I don't think it's a coincidence that they used the slightly more severe looking face 4 for their bloodthirsty hot-headed pvp addict.

Like, look at that devilish smile. I do think some of the edge and sternness was put into that face on purpose.
https://youtu.be/FDg1cSmLWaQ?t=409