We need to compromise as a player base

[decomposer]

What I personally don't understand, is any argument that current lighting is better.

We need a compromise, not to throw away all the hard work from the dev team and the many improvements the update is bringing to the table.

I actually won't argue with this. Current lighting is atrocious, especially for dark skinned characters. That being said, however, I'm not (totally) certain the current lighting will be much better. The only hope I have is that in shade (not complete darkness) the character seems self-lit. However, as I said in my previous reply, I worry that this is due to skin translucency and not necessarily a net-positive for the lighting. So while darker skinned characters look better in shade, they may look horrendous in direct light. As far as the cutscene goes, there actually wasn't a shot where the character experiences direct sunlight (they always seem to be standing in their own shadow) ; something that happens a lot in-game. Nor was there a shot of total darkness. As far as harsh shadows go, that opening ship cutscene was enough to make me grapple with the same concerns I have now regarding lighting.

So, I really do think the lighting might be better in some ways (maybe a lot of ways) but I worry that when it's worse, it's going to be a (a lot) worse.

[DiaDeem]

I actually won't argue with this. Current lighting is atrocious, especially for dark skinned characters. That being said, however, I'm not (totally) certain the current lighting will be much better. The only hope I have is that in shade (not complete darkness) the character seems self-lit. However, as I said in my previous reply, I worry that this is due to skin translucency and not necessarily a net-positive for the lighting. So while darker skinned characters look better in shade, they may look horrendous in direct light. As far as the cutscene goes, there actually wasn't a shot where the character experiences direct sunlight (they always seem to be standing in their own shadow) ; something that happens a lot in-game. Nor was there a shot of total darkness. As far as harsh shadows go, that opening ship cutscene was enough to make me grapple with the same concerns I have now regarding lighting.

So, I really do think the lighting might be better in some ways (maybe a lot of ways) but I worry that when it's worse, it's going to be a (a lot) worse.

I appreciate your posts, Verrot. Your comparisons have also been really good, and I'm sure very useful to any dev looking to tackle concerns. I know dark skinned characters have always had it rough in XIV and I can only hope the final product will be better than what we've seen so far.

[decomposer]

I appreciate your posts, Verrot. Your comparisons have also been really good, and I'm sure very useful to any dev looking to tackle concerns. I know dark skinned characters have always had it rough in XIV and I can only hope the final product will be better than what we've seen so far.

Thank you! I've put a lot of heart in my character, and for those reasons I'm really attuned to the changes. But on the same token, I can look at parts of the benchmark (both CC and cutscene) and think "hey, this is really promising!" I think everyone would do well to remember this is an admitted work in progress (says so on the website!) so these discussions are hopefully going to be heard. No one needs to throw out their subscription or character yet, just as no one should feel like feedback is necessary. The update has done wonders on some characters, and that gives me hope!

[Bun_Vivant]

The only hope I have is that in shade (not complete darkness) the character seems self-lit. So, I really do think the lighting might be better in some ways (maybe a lot of ways) but I worry that when it's worse, it's going to be a (a lot) worse.

The benchmark doesn't have all the controls the current game has, or all the controls that were demonstrated in the LiveLetter.

In the current game, in System Configuration->Display Settings, there is a Character Lighting slider that applies an omnidirectional light just to your character so that your character is more brightly lit than other characters or the surroundings. I have that set to 84 out of 100. As far as I know, there is no such setting in the benchmark, so that may be why my characters are less brightly lit in the benchmark.

[EDIT: I just checked, and the Character lighting slider does apply to other characters, including NPCs.]]

[DiaDeem]

The benchmark doesn't have all the controls the current game has, or all the controls that were demonstrated in the LiveLetter.

What the Benchmark has is that weird Gamma Correction bar, which I think should be better highlighted by the program.






I didn't realize high Gamma Correction could murder contrast quality this badly, though low Gamma also shows how better (imho) dark shadows look on characters now.

I have no idea why the slider doesn't have a preview window like some of the other options in the Benchmark do.

Love the update, but all of that said, I hope the Character Lighting slider will remain in the options going forward, because without control of it, some characters truly look like dim lightbulbs in the middle of the night.

[decomposer]

The benchmark doesn't have all the controls the current game has, or all the controls that were demonstrated in the LiveLetter.

In the current game, in System Configuration->Display Settings, there is a Character Lighting slider that applies an omnidirectional light just to your character so that your character is more brightly lit than other characters or the surroundings. I have that set to 84 out of 100. As far as I know, there is no such setting in the benchmark, so that may be why my characters are less brightly lit in the benchmark.

[EDIT: I just checked, and the Character lighting slider does apply to other characters, including NPCs.]]

I noticed this as well. I kept my base game at default (50 gamma, 50 character lighting) which I can only assume the benchmark is defaulting to, as well. But then I also tinkered with gamma and character lighting. I got a myriad of screenshots, have made multiple comparisons, and the skin is still lighter. Now, I can only assume this is because of how lighting is reacting to skin, and not necessarily a fault of one or the other. It's how they're working in tandem that I think is making things go awry.

I actually think the characters are (more) brightly lit in indirect sunlight. Which gives me hope for scenes in total darkness. However, the harsh shadows (like the opening cutscene) are harsher ; which brings me back to my same old fears. Only time will tell how the lighting in-game actually looks!