The problem isn't the fx update

[CinaedhVik]

• One indisputable issue is the visible neck seam on some models.
  
• Catch-light in eyes: this is not a bug its a feature. Prior, the catch-light specular highlight was painted on regardless of lighting conditions. It's now a real reflection of ambient lighting, which is a huge improvement.
  
• Skin glow (sub surface scattering) they may have gone a bit too far here. I think that's fair to say.
  
• Facial structure and shadows: see painted-on remarks above.
  
• Lips: They added a ton of bones to the face model (bones are points of adjustment, deformation, expression). You don't see this work in the default creator static stare. They look great when you get the characters to move.

My take is that the problem here is not the model updates. They are fantastic and long overdue.

The problem is the character creator lighting and environments aren't great and always have been that way, only now they are actually used much more in influencing how you look whereas before most of it was directly painted on and static. Similarly, to get your character to emote is limited and perhaps not intuitive and that matters now for how the face moves.

My proposal to SE to fix this is to provide basic gpose in the creator. 3 posable adjustable lights and a panel of basic emotes you can trigger and freeze mid action as in gpose in game. This would allow players to use their own lighting choices and see how the faces now move.

EDIT: For context to my comments, I started XIV as a Male Hyur in ARR and switched immediately to Face 4 Fem Au Ra in Heavensward, and never switched since. I had to do some skin tone and eye color changes in the editor for Dawntrail, but I got close to my original look and in some cases better than the original look. My initial reaction to the change upon importing my old look was "Oh my gods, what have they done!?" but once I understood what they had done, and how I could get what I wanted, and why it looked so off at first, I became a lot happier with the result.

Cross-posted from Reddit r/ffxivdiscussion

*If I could have one more wish, it would be that Au Ra faces and horns be separate selections in Character Creation