I have serious doubts that anyone who was previously complaining that FFXIV looked visually dated is going to turn around now and say
"they did it, they solved all my complaints about the visuals and the game is now the epitome of graphical greatness".
The point is the game still looks visually dated, even with the graphical improvements. Sure, some visuals benefited more than others. The grass, for example, is nicer. But in other cases the benefit was so small one can't help but wonder if it was worth frustrating so many players in the process. Or, worse, the "improvements" actually made things look worse instead (as is the case with some of the character faces).
Just because you invest time and effort into something doesn't mean the result is good. Look, there is no way they're not going to implement these changes. But they should make an effort to fix the issues that are being raised so that all of this work is better appreciated and their customers are happier.
After 10 years of playing the character on the left there is no way I can look at the character on the right and say
"Yeah, that's an improvement. Thanks SE!".
