7.0 Graphic Update - Female Au Ra Face 4 Feedback and General Thoughts

[Sazumi]

Hello! This is my first time using the forum so I apologize if this is formatted incorrectly!

I think some of the changes came out well! I'm grateful that the team is working hard to keep the game updated. I think the fauna and flora look magnificent!

However, upon putting my character into the benchmark and into the cutscenes, I was shocked to realize I no longer recognized my character.

My thoughts compiled onto a photo:

Some things I noticed that I believe could be reflected on and altered:

1. The nose! Female Au Ra face 4's nose was changed. I realize it was in an attempt to make things more defined, but it in turn removed the angular features that are common with this face type. While the current noses we have may be more "cartoonish", I think it fit the facial identity of the characters. I think this was the most jarring change second to the lips-- I think most people (or maybe myself) were anticipating texture changes, but this has altered the sculpt entirely. This affects our character's identities and for me, personally, has made me feel disconnected with the character I've spent so long with. Looking head on at them, the nostrils feel almost forced and leave a peculiar gap between the septum region and mouth. It's very uncanny valley.

2. The lips! The lips were also angular, almost triangular, with shading on the lips that kept them sharp. I think this was lost entirely with the changing of the lips -- they are now more round and smooth, and have a "pucker", or dimple, that was not previously there. It also seems to have altered the proportions. The lipstick has lost its sheen and stands out too much against the new skin texture.

3. The eyes! While I do think the limbals look much nicer now that they seem to be a source of light, the eyes themselves look quite "dead". I recall this being mentioned in a preview, but now they seem to be lacking life. I would love to see them brighten up and have their catchlights restored. The pupils are too dark. Also, when putting two colors together (see- white eyes with white limbals), the circular limbal is lost entirely and the eyes seem to just glow. This loses the charm that was previously there for the face. There also appears to be an issue where some WOLs now look cross-eyes due to this.

4. The face shape! My character's face was quite slender, and again, angular. That was the key identifying feature for her. Everything was sharp. With the update, the jaw and cheeks were puffed out and widened, making it seem as if the character had been turned into a doll. This is another change to the sculpt that seemed unnecessary. I think it's okay to have characters that are not as "cute", and perhaps a bit more "moody" looking. This change makes their facial definition blur into the lines of miqo'te.


Photo album & full thoughts: https://imgur.com/a/M2ZIfBv

[Sazumi]

(Continued thoughts & fix ideas smooshed here for the sake of character limit <3 )

When it comes to this community, I think a lot of us have come to truly love our characters. Whilst it may not be a big deal for all, seeing my character changed so much is heartbreaking. I've been playing for several years with her and am very attached to how she looks. This change and sculpt alterations have altered her in a way that makes me disconnect with my character. The rug was swept out from under me, per se. I would love to see the team consider the thoughts of the players and restore the original features of characters, or at least honor them in a better way.

I appreciate the offering of a fantasia come Dawn Trail, but I think that misses the point of staying true to the characters. We shouldn't have to alter our characters heavily to attempt to get some semblance of what they used to be back with a fantasia. While it may be a shot in the dark, I would love to see the option to keep our "legacy" facial options (what we have now, not the benchmark!) put into the game. In a perfect world, seeing both the benchmark options and current options together would be amazing. However, as it stands for now, I think the surprise sculpt changes is dishonest to many people's characters and what they had hoped for this. I've also heard similar complaints for male au ra face 1; they look similar, but not quite. It borders the line of uncanny.

To summarize; changing huge facial structures on character's that people have spent so long with feels like a bad decision. Final Fantasy XIV's community loves their WOLs, and snuffing out the image they had of them hurts badly. I personally feel so disconnected from my character, and worry about the future of my playtime. As a gposer, I spend most of my time looking at my character, so it may be worse than it is for the casual player or raider, but having them changed against my will and having to simply sit and accept a fantasia as an apology hurts.
To fix this, I think restoring the original features and applying the new textures would be a good head start if feasible, which I assume it could be? That, or allowing the playerbase to use the old sculpts/facial features as is. For female au ra face 4 specifically, I think it would be dishonest to leave them as is. They were wiped of their personality and it feels like they were made "cute". They feel uncanny. Restoring some of the sharper angles (nose, lips, chin) would be a fantastic start at remedying this.

I am excited to see things in action, but I would prefer to play Dawntrail with the character I started with! Our WOLs are a big part of the game and what brings us back.

[Zevelle]

In my personal opinion, I agree on eyes' and lips' feedbacks. The lips looks not enough raffined, the colour is too flat and the lipstick stands too much on the face, specially if you choose "lips 2". The lack of light in eyes makes my character feels "empty" or "dead".

For the other points, I think the "sharp is removed" feeling is because the new model uses far more polygons and it'll be hard to revert.