Reddit vs. the Forums in the Graphics War of '24

[twobear]

The real question is : are they mostly happy there because that the general concensus of the FFXIV player base or are they happy there because everyone that disagreed with them was downvoted to oblivion to the point they don't bother with reddit anymore? My guess is that it's probably a little bit of both, you can't deny that, on the larger scale people are mostly happy the game, except for some niche, like raiders or people that have thousands of hours of gametime, but the stats on reddit are still high because of that echo chamber process.

But honestly, those past month, I feel like the forum have been in a better shape, the obvious trolls are either taking a break or been banned, so overall, I feel like the forum is a far better place than a year ago.

[edit]
After checking it, it seems there was a ban wave of trolls at the end of last summer, and that we now have some kind of moderation, and that's why the forum is far less of zoo than it was a year ago - I'll give SE credit for that, that was needed. It still not perfect, but it's going in the right direction. That's something reddit hasn't acknoledged yet.

That's not really how Reddit works. Popular views get upvoted, unpopular views get downvoted. If people were generally unhappy you would expect their views to be at the top, not downvoted so much they get hidden.

[Doopliss]

I have an character that's an elezen that I loaded into the benchmark, and I wasn't mad at it. I thought she looked fine, and the textures were nice. Same for my fem highlander and fem middie alts, a few small differences but overall they kept their vibes and looked nice. And yet, I can't stand what they did to Face 4 Au Ra; it does not keep the spirit of the original face design and instead opted for making it look more like all the other au ra fem faces, rounded and cute and dimpled. So it's seriously a ymmv situation when it really shouldn't be.

As a general sentiment, I agree that a lot of language used is hyperbolic and exaggerated, and some races generally are 'close enough' that I can get over it.

Yet I genuinely cannot comprehend how people on NA don't think Face 4 fem Au Ra looks goddamn scuffed, lol. Everything on the face protrudes in a way that gives them a slight bee-sting effect. The cheek scale textures are literally warped with awkward, ugly round edges when they're supposed to be pointy like every other Auri facial scale.

Yeah, sure, they still look cute. The vast majority of models have beautiful features by default. It's very easy to make them look simply as cool or cute as possible, which is all the average person generally cares about. But even with that in mind, like, honestly...this one is just...worse looking?

The graphic update to characters is so minor, and still doesn't even quite match up to 1.0, so aside from the scale detail being nicer, I can absolutely see why it feels like a downgrade. I don't even play a fem Au Ra with Face 4 (Although I do think Face 2 is equally scuffed in the 'just sorta looks worse all around' way. The thousand-yalm stare on that face is incredibly uncanny now in all lighting).

Though, Fuyume, I've noticed you get dismissed a lot in particular, and I just wanted to say, if it helps you feel better, Face 4's differences are veerry well documented in the JP thread, and in general they appear to be in agreement with you. If you use Firefox and get a translator extension, it works well in allowing you to understand the main gist of what they're saying.

Anyway, nobody here has any objective sample sizes. There's no proof the "vast majority" is completely stoked for the update, nor is there proof for the opposite. I mean, Reddit has the group of people who thinks the benchmark's horrifying Lalafell dolphin mouth is cool and better and intentional actually, so take that as you will.

And again, there are very easy methods to look over the JP side of the forums and understand the gist of their feelings. You'll find posts that also have exaggerated (but more polite) sentiments about being uncomfortable with the changes to their characters and wanting them fixed regularly get 100+ upvotes or near it.

This isn't a "gotcha," but I don't think the attempt to use upvotes on Reddit or random Twitter screenshots as a proving point's exactly mature either.

[Freyt]

The grapes didn't even bother people this much.

[Gokki]

Reddit is a toxic echochamber cesspool. There's no room for discussion there.

[Bitmoar]

A lot of pots calling kettles black here lol. You don't think everyone on reddit telling anyone with a complaint to come here has anything to do with it? No one cares to give positive feedback in the forum. It's all complaints, which is fine since this is the proper channel for them.

[decomposer]

People have come to the forums to vent their frustrations because the forums are generally regarded as the place to post feedback that might (big emphasis on "might") be seen by staff and developers. Things like the viera slouch, limbal rings, and the wet look of the au ra horns are just a few things I can think of that were changed due to forum feedback. Reddit isn't really a place to deliver feedback, nor is Twitter. So, by virtue of the forums' purpose, you're going to have a lot of complaints that would regularly get publicly decried on Reddit and Twitter funneled into here. I know that I am someone who never used the forums before the update. I also know a great many others who are in the same boat as me. While it might just as unlikely that thoughts are seen here, the forums at least give the illusion of being listened to. And (even with the chaos, lmao) they are more well-organized and easily archived.

I think we have to make peace with the fact that some people really like the update while others really do not. Compromises need to be made, some things will likely have to be accepted. But generally speaking, other sites aren't exactly conducive to large breakdowns and collecting information. So the forums it is — stacked high with complaints (some meritless, some serious, so it goes.) People just really want to be heard and think this place is their only chance.

Edit: To add, when posting complaints on Reddit, or Twitter, or elsewhere, there's always someone telling you to "go to the forums." There were tweets circulating the day of with 1-5k likes that said "take your complaints to the forums." So, if you're wondering, "why did people come here," it's also because people were literally told to do so.

[DBriggs304]

The updated graphics seem to be the most exciting thing about Dawntrail. Doesn't seem to be much hype for the expansion outside of that and the Female Hrothgars. Looking at some of the many features coming in WoW's upcoming expansion versus the far less we seem to be getting here, is worrisome. WoW is eating our lunch where actual hype is concerned.

[Fawkes]

The grapes didn't even bother people this much.

When are they going to add grapes as a playable race?

[CNitsah]

That's not really how Reddit works. Popular views get upvoted, unpopular views get downvoted. If people were generally unhappy you would expect their views to be at the top, not downvoted so much they get hidden.

re reading my post, I admit it might not be clear, but was basically saying that the ration positive/negative is that high on reddit because :
- on the larger scale, people are globally positive about the game
- people that have critics about it don't bother with reddit since they know they will be downvoted to oblivion

That while still high, the ration positive/negative over the whole community might be lower than on reddit. Best example being the whole long running content drought EW had, that got downplayed on reddit until some influencers began to point it out, then suddenly it was ok to say so there. What you say does not contradict that in any way.

[Arkdra]

Reddit is a toxic echochamber cesspool. There's no room for discussion there.

This forum is even worse!

I still like it here more than reddit though, at least most of the posts here aren't worthless fluff, even if I think the majority of people here are brainlets with the game design sense of a very confused and lost bee. But I will take arguing with idiots over having to sift through bad memes, fanart, and streamer garbage any day.