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

[Rekh]

This drives me up a building every time I see it; do they not review this?

[Vvera_Fhar]

In case this thread makes a difference, I'm going to leave my case here as well.

I'm not as good as other people at identifying what specifically changed. However, I just did a side by side of the live character creation and the Dawntrail benchmark, and my WoL also feels different in a way that I don't like.





Here's also a video of the first set, tabbing between the character creators.

First picture is live, second is benchmark.

I feel like the current look is more natural, like your average person who cares about their image and puts some work into it but knows how not to overdo it. Meanwhile in the benchmark she looks like one of those girls on social media who try to look like a doll.

I'm stoked about a lot of things from the graphical update, but changing the fundamental feel of characters is really not one of those things. I hope some of this gets reverted or they work to align it closer to the look these facial and hair features had for years. Many of these things are not simply an improvement to the graphical quality, but a change in style altogether, and one that frankly I'm not behind.

[Iscah]

I feel like the current look is more natural, like your average person who cares about their image and puts some work into it but knows how not to overdo it. Meanwhile in the benchmark she looks like one of those girls on social media who try to look like a doll.

That's my feeling on particularly my Midlander girl as well. I quite deliberately picked the face that didn't look too dolled up, but now she does. The increased effect of the ambient colour scheme also makes her look sickly, while every other lighting gives her the awful illuminated effect that can be seen on some other images other people's images.



The list of issues is long but the biggest one is that the eyes have totally changed – the eyelashes and lids are lowered and she now has a strong crease in the upper eyelid, which some of the other Midlander faces have but she previously did not, or possibly had but was totally concealed behind her eyelashes.

The nose is larger, the mouth shape has changed and I think her jaw is less rounded.

Meanwhile from a profile view, it can be seen that the new model has a more deliberate smiling expression instead of actually having quite a neutral mouth position that somehow gives the feeling of a friendly expression regardless – while still serious enough to not look inappropriate.

I really don't want my character to be smiling when she shouldn't be.




Meanwhile I'm generally having issues in the opposite direction with my male characters looking angrier, except for my Miqo'te who looks spaced out. I've been posting those pictures on other threads but will bring them in here as well later.


Edit: On another look, I don't think the moth has changed position much and yet the expression has changed. I think it's the shadows around the mouth look changed in a way that happens when you draw back your cheek muscles to smile? I've never had to think about the technicalities of expressions so much before as I have in the last few weeks.

[riani]

I've just arrived to compare my character and I'm posting my highlander here as well to bump this thread.

I am disappointed. Just like Iscah before me, I've deliberately selected this face to look more sharp. And will get a dull doll in Dawntrail.
These don't look the same to me...

before/after

[Anarnee]

The new lighting didn't do anything to fix the issues that I have with the new face 2 for Femroe. I'm honestly so drained from it I don't want to sit here and regather the same feedback I had for the changes again for the new benchmark, at least not right now.

Nothing was really changed. They didn't correct the weird dark pupils, they didn't fix the lip and nose shapes that were changed and they didn't do anything about the faded ash smudge for Hellsguard.

I'm not surprised cause there are just so few Roegadyn players that I knew it wasn't likely they'd gotten enough people speaking up about it for them to put the time and resources into fixing it. I'm immeasurably disappointed though.

[Soloia_Nyah]

Agreed, as posted on a separate thread.





My lalafell is just constantly jaw out looking like she got stung by bees. Nose isnt a cute bump, but a full length bridge.

[Taranok]

I've just arrived to compare my character and I'm posting my highlander here as well to bump this thread.

I am disappointed. Just like Iscah before me, I've deliberately selected this face to look more sharp. And will get a dull doll in Dawntrail.
These don't look the same to me...

You have functionally the same problem face 4 au ra have. A face chosen for looking hawkish, that got rounded off. I found by comparing face 4 au ra to face 1, both in live and the benchmark, that in live, face 4 is narrower with less pronounced cheeks (than face 1,) but it's the inverse in the benchmark. It's slightly wider with much more pronounced cheeks. Unfortunately, we don't have the same characters anymore.

I'm kind of willing to bet the devs finalized the faces back in April, and just weren't willing to fix anything that wasn't blatantly a bug or otherwise unintended, such as cat fangs. It's just such a disappointment.

[Taliriah]

help my lalafell just constantly looks like a potato

[Kuro_Matsu]

Some Lalafell observations

I haven't really been keeping up with the Lalafell feedback too heavily but were the multi-light dots seen in the eyes on Dunesfolk in the original benchmark? It can be seen in any direction/lighting at varying levels/amount of reflections. It looks like they've kept the light dot on the eye texture as the original relied upon it but it's a bit off-putting seeing all these dots alongside it.

I also feel like the eyes are notably less glasslike, more darker and the eyelashes seem to be much longer, fading less into the eyelid.

That's just how they are doing the highlight to the eyes now. Every race has the same highlight instead of slight differences between them. And yes, the glass eye look has been removed as well, which is odd. Dunesfolk are supposed to have that as a clan trait...

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

So I have made two posts that lists my major gripes toward the old benchmarks: here and here.

Did the benchmark 2.0 solves anything at all? Well maybe... few of them, perhaps. Mostly better lightings and most profound of all, the uncanny dead eyes are no more. Mind you, at least in my case, Benchmark 2.0 >>>>>>>> Benchmark 1.0. But they still haven't solved my other major gripes I don't feel like repeating my points again. Yet I'll still supply perhaps a final comparison from 6.58 to benchmark 2.0:


My two previous posts are still relevant in describing what exactly amiss. HOWEVER, at this point I've come to think that this is just what they've decided how M Middie Face 7 will be, like it or not. This is their design choice. In the events this post somehow gets a read from one of their feedback collector, the tldr is: Either make age slider, or allow M Midlander Face 5 to have additional facial hair option to use M Midlander Face 7's default stubble. No, your lighting fixes will not fix my issues. It has nothing to do with that aspect.

I'd be happier if they just outright tell me they're resculpting face 7 to follow DT Meteor model instead of copy pasting face 5's mesh with stubble added on top of it and lying to me one expansion later it's all lighting and shading/whatchamacallit issue. I'll just revert back to Face 5 if I ain't vibing in DT with Face 7.