[Dawntrail] Benchmark Graphics Update - Hellsguard Roegadyn (Smudgegate 2024)

[azaleai]

I agree with all of the points faiarrow has made RE: face 2 for femroes - the difference in pupil colour and the lightened smudge feel like erasure of racial traits.

I think I can get used to the colour differences even if I'm not impressed with them, but the part that really bothers me is the painted-on brow shadow.

It's not particularly easy to capture in a still, but if you go into the benchmark and choose face 2, then rotate the lighting around and watch the shadow of the brow, you can see the light pass over it as if nothing is there - it isn't acting like a shadow at all, rather more like a tattoo. The bridge is completely smooth, no definition or crease.

I grabbed one of my favourite cutscene screenshots from the current game and tried to get a similar angle/lighting in the CC to compare - the bridge of the nose looks completely different without the crease.



(Full size if you want to zoom in to look closer)

The painted on shadow is a decent approximation of the shape from some angles and lighting... such as the close up in the benchmark cutscene. But from others the illusion completely falls apart. Next to the realism of the new skin textures and hair... it looks so... wrong to me. There needs to be at least some definition on the normal map there, or the shape is completely lost, and to me it's a definiting characteristic of the face.

This may seem like nothing to others, but the stern brow is what drew me to face 2 in the first place and I think because I work in 3D modelling so I can pick out the difference a little more keenly than some would.

I'm praying it's just an issue of a missing normal map or something else that would make it unintentional rather than the dev team actively trying to smooth out the face.

[faiarrow]

(...) The painted on shadow is a decent approximation of the shape from some angles and lighting... such as the close up in the benchmark cutscene. But from others the illusion completely falls apart. Next to the realism of the new skin textures and hair... it looks so... wrong to me. There needs to be at least some definition on the normal map there, or the shape is completely lost, and to me it's a definiting characteristic of the face.

This may seem like nothing to others, but the stern brow is what drew me to face 2 in the first place and I think because I work in 3D modelling so I can pick out the difference a little more keenly than some would.

I'm praying it's just an issue of a missing normal map or something else that would make it unintentional rather than the dev team actively trying to smooth out the face.

This hits the nail on the head for one of my biggest 'why does this feel off' mood for the resculpture of the face in that area—and it is a resculpt, the shape has been adjusted for the new bones for expressions. It's still hard baked into the flat diffuse but because of it being lightened so much, just like the nose ash, it has the unfortunate side-effect of if you're looking at that brow in any angle asides from front-on (and even then it's not flattering) it looks like the character has failed to blend in some contour and it's just a crayon-thick line off the edge of the brow.

The diagram from this post also highlights the jarring addition it seems to make to the brow:

Changes from 6.5.8 to 7.0.0 (benchmark)

• The biggest difference is the eye shape. A lot of WoLs look a lot more tired with big, heavy lids and my WoL is no different. I believe this is due to the upper lash line being quite a bit smaller, allowing for more lid space to open up. I also find the black makeup on her eyes (roegadyn feature) is lighter than it is on the left
• The eyebrows are thinner, resulting in a more down turned and angry look
• The nose smudge, like the makeup, is also lighter and I wonder if it is related to the colours or to the lighting
• The lips are missing their corners, and the lip colour layout makes the upper lip appear thinner and the lower lip appear larger

As an aside, it could be just the lighting or the shape of the eyes, but it seems to me like the nose shape is slightly different? I included it in my comparison chart below but I'm not 100% if it's a valid issue.

Here is my side by side of the two faces below, as well as a couple overlays for better comparison. If you can't read the text, it's basically the same list as above. Hope this helps somebody!

[Anarnee]

I agree with all of the points faiarrow has made RE: face 2 for femroes - the difference in pupil colour and the lightened smudge feel like erasure of racial traits.

If you've got time, there's a general Roegadyn complaints thread here and a face 2 thread here. Would be so thankful if you took the time to leave your feedback in those threads too!


There is an eye thread here too!

[azaleai]

If you've got time, there's a general Roegadyn complaints thread here and a face 2 thread here. Would be so thankful if you took the time to leave your feedback in those threads too!


There is an eye thread here too!

Ooo, I didn't spot those before. I'll get to work on a full writeup of all my complaints in a bit

[Anarnee]

Ooo, I didn't spot those before. I'll get to work on a full writeup of all my complaints in a bit

Thanks so much! Since less folks play Roegadyn I've been trying to point folks in the right direction and keep it compiled in hopes that we get heard too. Your write up and shots of how that shadow lays weird are a good catch. I use a different option so I only really noticed that the set I use is thinner.