Updated benchmark

[PomPon]

character stuff aside...it is very foggy.
It is so foggy it looks polluted
I preferred how crisp it looked before.

[SeaSalt-IceCream]

Sorry to other players out there this post might be a little annoying and a bit gushy, but I really wanted to express how thankful I am for the development team.

I thought about posting on the JP forums, however I cannot read or speak a lick of Japanese and I knew if I used google translate my message would probably be lost in translation. I hope that if I post here one of the english community team members or any bilingual JP devs can read this and pass it on! I thought about adding another thread but I felt awkward making a new thread just for something I wanted to say.

I am sincerely grateful to all the hard work the development team did in addressing player concerns and feedback. I posted on the forums here with feedback on my character - which i wouldn't really have considered overly helpful however I tried anyway in the hopes someone would understand what my problem was, however I didn't really think anyone would address my complaints about my character because I knew they were very subjective taste, I did what I could in the character creator to adjust how I liked, however I couldn't fix his facial expressions - the way his eyes and mouth looked and every time he smiled in the benchmark I felt uneasy and unsettled.

I'm so grateful to you (the development team) that overall my concerns were addressed, I did have to make some changes based off the updated lighting to his skin and eyes, however to me this was absolutely fixable with a fantasia, and I'm happy my midlander is not only the same as he was, but vastly improved! I can't wait for Dawntrail now! I know you guys have received a lot of negative feedback and its so very close to launch and it would have been extremely disheartening to hear the harsh comments on your hard work. I didn't want to add to the voices but I'm so glad that you took that feedback and worked on addressing player concerns without taking offense or resentment to the players and it means the world to me. I know how difficult it would have been this close to launch having to address as much as you could while still having your other work on top of that. To the person who redrew the eyes and lip textures especially, thank you so much.

I have been playing as the same character model since the launch of A Realm Reborn, I thought the changes I didn't like was just going to have to be a bitter-pill I'd swallow cause overall this update would be beneficial for the health and future of the game going forward. I'm no longer disappointed or sad, I'm excited for Dawntrail and I hope you have a successful smooth launch ahead!

Please know I'm so thankful and I won't forget what you did any time soon.

(Also I'm very sorry to the other players reading this, I hope you skipped over it and ignored it. I just was so happy when I opened the new benchmark and played the trailer everything looked awesome and I wanted to express gratitude.)

[Supersnow845]

Okay I’m going to try to put my thoughts into one post as well thought out as I can





Here is my 3 comparisons, as you can see the second benchmark is definitely better than the first benchmark (the first one was kinda a nightmare). Now let’s look at the positives first. Firstly the new lighting does wonders for the flat cheeks and the removal of the backlight in the eyes doesn’t feel bad in the second benchmark compared with the first. I also personally didn’t notice the face 4 neck seam on my skin tone but noticed it seriously if I made him any darker or lighter

Now let’s move to the negatives of which there are few I’d like to discuss
1) clan markings



For some reason in the benchmarks the clan marking are super blurry for no good reason and they also appear quite a few shades lighter which I don’t really like. You can also notice in this close up the eye shape has changed giving it a less angular appearance which makes him look softer which I’m also not a fan of

2 & 3) the lips and the face shape



In the benchmark my characters lips are pulled up in what makes him appear to have a semi permanent smile. You can also see his cheeks have become less angular. The combination of these things reduces face 4’s “stoic” design and leaves him looking more youthful and more “dopey”. This is a change that I really don’t think needs to happen

So yeah overall for me benchmark 2 is better than benchmark 1 but I don’t think benchmark 2 is better than my current character

[Fourbestintoner]

I've also noticed au ra scales change color depending on skin color. What's up with that?

[DynnDiablos]

I think what is obvious here, is many of you simply don't like the new aesthetic and want ZERO changes and that is not what is happening here. Also, I think this proves, many of you will never be satisfied. Period. The game launches in 25 days for Early Access. They aren't delaying it to appease your nitpicking. No face or character is going to be 1:1. And what I am honestly seeing here is a death by a thousand cuts where in the end NO ONE is going to be happy because folks who loved previous changes are now upset. Folks who demanded changes are still not happy. You can tweak something over and over again until the end result NO ONE is happy. At all.

These poor folks have 25 days and probably less to get DT ready to launch. They don't deserve the hate and vitriol being thrown their way over this.

[DynnDiablos]

Okay I’m going to try to put my thoughts into one post as well thought out as I can





Here is my 3 comparisons, as you can see the second benchmark is definitely better than the first benchmark (the first one was kinda a nightmare). Now let’s look at the positives first. Firstly the new lighting does wonders for the flat cheeks and the removal of the backlight in the eyes doesn’t feel bad in the second benchmark compared with the first. I also personally didn’t notice the face 4 neck seam on my skin tone but noticed it seriously if I made him any darker or lighter

Now let’s move to the negatives of which there are few I’d like to discuss
1) clan markings



For some reason in the benchmarks the clan marking are super blurry for no good reason and they also appear quite a few shades lighter which I don’t really like. You can also notice in this close up the eye shape has changed giving it a less angular appearance which makes him look softer which I’m also not a fan of

2 & 3) the lips and the face shape



In the benchmark my characters lips are pulled up in what makes him appear to have a semi permanent smile. You can also see his cheeks have become less angular. The combination of these things reduces face 4’s “stoic” design and leaves him looking more youthful and more “dopey”. This is a change that I really don’t think needs to happen

So yeah overall for me benchmark 2 is better than benchmark 1 but I don’t think benchmark 2 is better than my current character

You do realize you aren't EVER going to get your current character in the update right? How many times does Yoshi P have to say this? So you either accept it. Fantasia. Or, simply move on you. Your sub won't be missed, I promise you.

[Supersnow845]

You do realize you aren't EVER going to get your current character in the update right? How many times does Yoshi P have to say this? So you either accept it. Fantasia. Or, simply move on you. Your sub won't be missed, I promise you.

I know my character won’t be 1 to 1

I’m pointing out changes that don’t need to have been made. Why does my lips have to be turned up like that, that’s not a change that has to be made considering other races got the opposite change where their soft smile was changed to the current stoic look I have.

I’m fine with a lot of the changes and the updated lighting is good I’m just providing feedback on changes that I don’t think needed to happen. I’m providing feedback, isn’t that the point of the forum so to speak

I’m not going to quit over this, I’m calmly providing feedback for changes I noticed in the benchmark as yoshi p asked us to do

[Minali]

Hrothgals: "Can we get more than 5 hairstyles?"
Devs: "Piss off."

Hrothgals and -guys getting the short end of the stick.. What else is new.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love their general design, can't wait to play them! They are in general all I wanted and more! However, it is very painfully obvious how low priority Hrothgar have been (both genders) and continue to be. It's not like we're demanding special treatment - we're talking about giving Hrothgar the bare minimum literally any other race in this game has. No other race has race exclusive hairstyles limited to their face types, and they have certainly more than three to choose from. (Considering two are just the other two with minor changes on both guys and gals.. no, I don't count them as an extra hairstyle.)

Their awesome claws are also still attached to their gear. The claws exist, their position on the fingers exist, "Racial features" as a category exists. Making them a toggleable option in the character settings shouldn't be the rocket science when all parts required for this processs are right there. The claws for the Hrothguys would need some adjustment, they look kind of glued on atm, but just give them the claws from the ladies and we're good.

Also, what AnotherPerson said: Seeing several Hrothguys without a hunch in the trailer, and Hrothgals without hunch to begin with, feels really bad. It's in the game, apparently it works, so why not let us choose? Why not add a toggle for this as well, for both genders?

From day one of debates about Hrothgals there have been plenty of people voicing concerns the devs might do the same mistakes they did with the guys all over again, for years, before it was mentioned there would be a chance of getting them. And yet here we are... Considering they do indeed listen to feedback, after all this is why we got another benchmark, it is painfully obvious when ALL complaints about one race are ignored entirely, since Shadowbringers. After years they finally started adding new hairstyles to the guys - why are they limiting them for the girls now yet again? There is really no other reason for this than just poorly covering up how bad they messed up the first time, and you cannot convince me otherwise.

In other mews: I don't blame the devs for it, I didn't see anyone pointing it out and I can barely believe I missed this despite making at least a dozen Hrothgals, but they have seamlines on the arms and the neck.

[Lexalice]

I don't think they made any changes to Face 2 Au Ra from the last benchmark that I can see. The lighting is definitely better throughout, but otherwise she seems unchanged.

I'm just so upset about the lips. Face 2 Au Ra has such a lovely wide mouth with dimples and this mouth is not the same.

Exact issue I still have. The new benchmark is a vast improvement but face 2 Au Ra F still has a very small mouth compared to what we currently see in game.

https://imgur.com/bxWDB9R

Other than that, the low res face paints clash with the new textures and I found a small pigmentation(?) issue with darker skin tones and the forehead scales.

https://imgur.com/G6sRQGB

Compared to other posts on this thread, lighter skintones look incredible with the new lighting. Lets hope the darker ones will look good in game ...

[Doozer]

You do realize you aren't EVER going to get your current character in the update right? How many times does Yoshi P have to say this? So you either accept it. Fantasia. Or, simply move on you. Your sub won't be missed, I promise you.

Again, this is a feedback thread. Let people give feedback.