Updated benchmark

[Sorimachi87]

Even though this wasn't necessary at all, the dev team went the extra mile for us and updated the benchmark...

Thank you very much is an understatement here.

Goodluck and an error free run to the early access finish line to the dev team!
And i may make enemies now... but they deserve the rest after dawntrail is out.

[Cherrizini]

While I do like the changes, one of the main issues I have are the lips. I noticed that viera face 4 lips look way too BIG for their faces, and that aura face 2 (fish face) lost their dimples. My face 3 viera looks somewhat the same, but lips 4 lost their smiles and lips 2 lowerlip looks too puffy. I'll probably change it to lips 1, but my point still stands. Lips are a bit odd in some races.

[Sacae]

The lighting looks much, much better. The fact the faces don't look completely flat when they're in shadow is wonderful. I do still think some of the shots in the cutscene aren't very flattering angle/lighting-wise, but I think for the most part it's not the lighting engine itself to blame anymore. The lip shine is going to take some getting used to though!



However. Femroe face 2 brow creases are still. completely and utterly painted on. There is NO data on the normal map, so the brow creases just look plasticy and wierd.



The complete and utter lack of any shadows on the brow give the impression of the forehead, brow ridge and bridge of the nose being a completely different shape - smooth and airbrushy.

I think I've come to terms with the lightened ash mark and the darkened pupils but this.. this is going to really, really bother me. I know female roes are the least played race/gender combo but it feels like every other race has had care put into sculpting their creases and lines, we just... didn't.

She looks fantastic! One of the best femroes I've seen.

[Rudje]

My brain has decided I don't get to sleep tonight, so, benchmark. I tried to get the angles right but I'm not sure on account of it's 6 am and I have not been able to sleep. (don't... don't compare color, that's not what's being compared here or I would have been assed to move from where I left him.)


e: i am so tired. screw it. have url. https://imgbox.com/osxEAzKu

Face shape seems different (narrower and less soft, mostly), will need to do a more detailed breakdown with better comparison lighting once I've gotten any sleep to be sure. Brows still seem thinner than live, but at least it's a small difference this time and one I mind a lot less than the rest. More concerning, the lip shape issue is still there; his lips have a much more shallow curve in live, and unlike the rampant issue of beestung lips among women it makes his lips look weirdly thin in comparison, and i'm pretty damn sure this isn't just lighting. More concerning is that his lower lashes are thinner, smaller, and fill less of the lower lash line! Where are his beautiful lashes! Who stole his mascara!

Don't get me wrong: this is much, much better than the old benchmark. This still is not my boy. Maybe it's his brother? But it ain't him.

[Iscah]

Still making my way home from work, so looking at everyone else's and feeling not particularly optimistic about what I'll find in the end.

I don't really want to be someone who complains, but I feel like the updated benchmark was actually a downgrade for my Keeper miqo'te. I was looking forward to it, but now I'm disappointed and more than a little confused. I wouldn't normally make a post about it, but I feel like the change was pretty drastic

Current In-Game/First Benchmark/Second Benchmark


With the change to his lips, it feels like his resting expression has completely changed, and instead of a neutral/resting grumpy face, he's now constantly smiling? I tried looking at the other lip options, but it seems like they've also gained upturned edges.

Additionally, it feels like with every benchmark that Face 4 Miqo'tes become softer and rounder, and I wish I understood why. Face 4 was the only real sharp/angular face option for miqos, which is the entire reason I chose it, and I feel like it's losing its identity with every subsequent update. It was the perfect fit for a stoic, no-nonsense character, and now it just feels... well, a bit out of character. Overall, it seems like a pretty noticeable change between the first and second benchmarks, especially when I didn't think male miqos in particular were getting a lot of complaints when compared with Viera or Elezen.

Male Miqo'te face 4 now has a resting smile and softer eyes, when I purposely chose it for a more harsh, no-nonsense look. The vacant stoned look the first benchmark gave him is still there.

The really curious thing with the Face 4 expression in the first benchmark is that he looked "spaced out" and smiling in the aetherial sea backdrop but fairly normal in the Thanalan backdrop.

This was a comparison I made at the time with the first benchmark showing the different lighting (the second picture is not from the second benchmark):


Then we got those preview pics from the updated benchmark and the female Miqo'te example had the spaced-out look in the Thanalan lighting, so I've been dreading and expecting this ever since.

i haven't seen too many fem hyurs, but something about my character just feels scuffed/off now. not sure what it is oh well...maybe she'll be cuter in game?

It's the dark shadows under the eyes. The shape was there before but the shadows were not.

Funnily enough you can likely tell most of the complaints are coming from the PC community who spend unhealthy amounts of time starring at their characters to notice a 1 polygonal shift in their eyes and lips while we console folks just sit here from a distance and are like… I just want to play the expansion… I wear headgear or helmets like I’m never going to see my face much and if anything it’s when the story moves the character there… I also change character or race every expansion to basically play as something new so… yeaaaahh

I'm a console player and I still get a lot of enjoyment out of looking at my characters' faces up close, and even then I had to scrutinise to work out what had actually gone wrong with them. The overall impression can still feel off even before you can articulate what has actually gone wrong.

I am happy with the changes for the most part, and I'm glad they fixed the weird rigging for female elezen mouths. However, I am still unhappy about the forced default smiling expression. Before, the lip shape for female elezen face 4 curved downward, giving her a more neutral face.

However, in the benchmark, the lip shape has remained changed so that it curves upward in a constant smile. I have seen other screenshots from other races with the same issue; the resting default face should be more neutral in general, so I hope they change this.

I have this issue with my Midlander as well, and the Miqo'te face above, but also the opposite problem with some other models who now look grumpier. Maybe they've kept the face shapes "the same" but they actually need to alter them so the shadows fall as they did before, or maybe they're actually changed.

Whatever is causing it, I really hope it can be fixed, because having a neutral expression is really important.

[HawkeScream]

Since some people are already trying to say we're all wrong and don't know shapes. Nevermind that the devs specifically asked for feedback on the updated benchmark and character adjustments and said they'll continue to make improvements.
(reiterating I am much happier with the 2.0 bench overall for this character in particular. less so for my femhyur)

[IMG][/IMG]

[Eluvyel]

My brain has decided I don't get to sleep tonight, so, benchmark. I tried to get the angles right but I'm not sure on account of it's 6 am and I have not been able to sleep. (don't... don't compare color, that's not what's being compared here or I would have been assed to move from where I left him.)


e: i am so tired. screw it. have url. https://imgbox.com/osxEAzKu

Face shape seems different (narrower and less soft, mostly), will need to do a more detailed breakdown with better comparison lighting once I've gotten any sleep to be sure. Brows still seem thinner than live, but at least it's a small difference this time and one I mind a lot less than the rest. More concerning, the lip shape issue is still there; his lips have a much more shallow curve in live, and unlike the rampant issue of beestung lips among women it makes his lips look weirdly thin in comparison, and i'm pretty damn sure this isn't just lighting. More concerning is that his lower lashes are thinner, smaller, and fill less of the lower lash line! Where are his beautiful lashes! Who stole his mascara!

Don't get me wrong: this is much, much better than the old benchmark. This still is not my boy. Maybe it's his brother? But it ain't him.

Your FOVs are vastly different. You can't just use a shot from the game without matching them.

[Clover_Blake]

I am happy with the changes for the most part, and I'm glad they fixed the weird rigging for female elezen mouths. However, I am still unhappy about the forced default smiling expression. Before, the lip shape for female elezen face 4 curved downward, giving her a more neutral face.

However, in the benchmark, the lip shape has remained changed so that it curves upward in a constant smile. I have seen other screenshots from other races with the same issue; the resting default face should be more neutral in general, so I hope they change this.

This is amazing. Your character used to have a serious look, and now she's smiling, while the characters I made who used to smile have been given a serious look now...
What's the logic behind this? They said they didn't want to change characters, but they have gone out of their way to unnecessarily change them for no reason.





Closeup.

[CidHeiral]

The bottom lip issue was fixed which is great but as I thought would happen the monkey paw curled and something I liked was changed for the worse. The makeup around the eye looked perfect and very badass in the first benchmark, but now the inner part has largely been removed in this new version and turned into a thin little smudge. I can live with it but that really sucks, I loved how it looked before.

Just left feedback on the Japanese forum so might as well post the image here to illustrate what I was talking about.



The inner part of the eye makeup was completely removed. I think the old version not only looked cooler overall, but helped soften that deep lower eyelid.

As I said before, it's a small detail and I can live with it if it doesn't get changed back. I don't think my character is ruined or anything. The new version is actually more accurate to the current game, but I think the first benchmark version was a huge improvement over the original and would have much preferred if they stuck with it. It's a bit frustrating to have a detail made to look worse based on others not being able to handle any amount of change, but I suppose it's all subjective anyway.

[Rudje]

Your FOVs are vastly different. You can't just use a shot from the game without matching them.

If you have better options for a close-up I'm genuinely open to hearing it. The live character creator lighting is so weird I don't particularly want to use it for this because it will make things harder to compare when I'm specifically trying to compare the face I look at every time I log into the game for this (because it does look subtly different than in-game and I want to eliminate that), and the only recent cutscene shots I have all have his glasses on which drastically alters how I read his face.