We need to compromise as a player base

[Loggos]

I just don't understand why they thought changing a face's shape, in some cases quite drastically, would be well received. Those of us who chose that face did so for a reason. For an example, for myself, if I wanted dimples and round cheeks and a pouty mouth, I would've just made a face 1 au ra, why'd they have to hit face 4 with the cutification beam? I've always had a problem with how much more soft and delicate fem au ra look versus how aggressive and strong male au ra look, and "beautifying" the only face that didn't look like a perfect doll just made it worse.

I really feel you. I had the same reaction when I looked at my Au Ra. She has just lost some of her sharpness and her sternness. She just doesn't have that "snap" anymore. I understand that the face shape is generally rather round but as you have shown in your comparison a few posts later it's clearly not just the lighting. I have seen my old char in all kinds of different lighting scenarios. I know she has a round face. But this is different.
They have made clear changes to the mouth. I completely agree that she looks like she's holding air in. The corner of her lips look puffed up beyond what you can achieve with improved lighting on the old model. The lips (the lower ones in particular) have also been made fuller and rounder, changing their overall aesthetics. But I also feel as if they took away some of the sharp edges of the eyes and the soft limbal rings also lead to a very different look/appeal.

All in all it's little tweaks but they add up, and as a sum they really alter the vibe and personality of a face.
I still like my char but I don't love her in the benchmark to be really honest. If I had to choose I'd stick with lower graphics but a face that actually captures what I want my char to look like.


My memory might completely betray me here but if I remember correctly the model changes from 1.0 to ARR weren't as drastic. Of course it was a downgrade and not an upgrade and there were differences. But it generally felt like the same facial features, just lower quality. I still felt like my character was the same person and not someone that looked similar but not quite the same.

I naively thought (and also really hoped tbh) the graphical update would mean going back to 1.0-ish standards, meaning the general looks/features would be preserved but the quality would be increased.
I didn't expect features to be changed so much.

I also recreated my bunboy and while I like his face he looks completely different. He is just straight up a different person. His face completely lost its sharpness and fierceness.

Technically speaking it may look more realistic now but the current cartoony style results in many looks having stronger definition because there are more sharp edges.
I prefer this kind of look on many faces to be honest (and yes, this is my subjective opinion). More realistic styles are not always more aesthetically pleasing to everybody.
In this case I feel like the increased realism led to a loss of visual clarity and definition of shapes.

I'm happy for everyone whose char looks good (genuinely).
But I do think voicing your disappointment is legitimate because it's not just a visual upgrade it's also a (slight) change in art direction. And if you liked the game's current art direction - and some of us have been playing this game for 10+ years - you might be really attached to it.
If that art direction is changed it's completely normal in my eyes to feel like something you always really appreciated about the game is now dampened (slightly, moderately or severely depending on how strong you perceive the change).