Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Cyrtip]

Facial Structure (Continued)

The cheekbones of face 4 are also much puffier and rounded than they were previously. The face was sleek and slender in 6.5, and has now completely lost that appearance. The deep infraorbital margins have also made these puffy cheeks even more distinct by sinking the skin above them. I hope the unnecessary fat can be removed from the cheeks again, as no option exists in character creation to fix this, and the now deleted sharpness of face 4 was its appeal.

Nose

I've noticed three major changes to nose 5:

• The base has changed shape, the sides of the base are angled more acutely and make the nose appear lower on the face.
• The nostrils which were previously shaped like gentle hills now have the appearance of tunnels.
• The bridge is a fraction as wide as it used to be.

The 7.0 nose is only similar to the 6.5 nose in that it has a similar size, could this have not been made into an additional nose instead of removing a previously existing one? I would like the old nose returned.


Also, the scales at the top of the nose have been stretched awkwardly. I hope this can be corrected.

Mouth


The curves on mouth 1's lips have been completely flipped. In 6.5, the lower lip was shaped with concave angles and the upper lip was convex. In 7.0 this was reversed. Why? Even the mouth line was changed from a neutral frown to a gentle smile.


Additionally, they rest closed at a very unnatural angle and are now puffier than before. Mouth 1 permanently looks puckered, or like the character is trying to exhale through their mouth while hiding it.
And lastly, face 4's lips (without lipstick) are now glossier than they were in 6.5. I want the option to have matte lips back. These glossy lips catch light in such a way that they often light up and blend in with my characters pale blue skin and make her appear as if she has no lips at all.
These changes to mouth 1 just make no sense. I would like the lips in 7.0 to look like they did in 6.5, not like this. Yet again, I sadly have no option to fix this by using a fantasia potion.

[Cyrtip]

Hair

Hair coloring looks off now. The root of the hair is far darker than it used to be, and individual strands are incredibly pronounced now compared to before. I hope hair color can be corrected to be more uniform again.


Also, hair is way too... greasy? Reflective? I even tested out pitch black hair, the darkest color option, and it looks really bad. Please tone this effect way down so hair doesn't look like it hasn't been washed in a month, or like its old and gray, when under bright lights.

Lighting

I hope the following can be addressed:

1. Hair will cast shadows over the eyes, but not over the forehead above them? Also, the shadows cast by hair and headgear are jagged, low resolution, and unappealing, even with max settings.
2. Cheekbones are very bright under most overhead lights, while the cheeks themselves are shrouded in complete shadow and look terribly sunken. I hope this can be corrected, as it looks far worse than any poor lighting I saw before the 7.0 lighting revisions, and this issue appears far more frequently now than any did with 6.5 lighting.
3. The new lighting makes noses look far more pronounced than they were previously.
4. Skin appears rough like sandpaper in many locations, and incredibly oily.
5. Lower eyelids, lips, and teeth glow impossibly as if light is shining through the skull to illuminate them.

---
To conclude, I wish 7.0 had simply increased the fidelity of the graphics I knew and loved, instead of deleting and replacing them with an unnecessarily changed parody. I wish the amount of care that went into preserving the style of graphics during the 1.0 -> 2.0 transition was present here. The style of the game has not been preserved, and I think the shift both towards realism and away from racial individuality is a mistake that should be reversed.

[Kaziek]

[*]Hair will cast shadows over the eyes, but not over the forehead above them? Also, the shadows cast by hair and headgear are jagged, low resolution, and unappealing, even with max settings.

Shadow quality on faces is extremely disappointing. It's a far cry from the initial renders that they showed us. I think that alone is a big part of why characters look so bad in a lot of just normal lighting conditions.

[CidHeiral]

Shadow quality on faces is extremely disappointing. It's a far cry from the initial renders that they showed us. I think that alone is a big part of why characters look so bad in a lot of just normal lighting conditions.

It's a bug. I submitted a bug report about it which is now in "planning to address."

[Kaziek]

It's a bug. I submitted a bug report about it which is now in "planning to address."

Oh really? Glad to hear it! That will definitely help things a lot.

[smitten_miquitten]

I decided to do a comparison image for Miqote Face 4 eyebrows and it's wild how little body they have now. I suspect that's contributing to the 'invisibility' of the Keeper brows. It's like they're balding

Keeper top, Seeker bottom


Keeper brow in-game comparison screenshots
Endwalker vs Dawntrail

[Sairaag]

Speaking of eyes, I just did a quest where an NPC is supposed to look at an item in her hand and it turns out like this:



Stayed like that the whole cutscene...

[lunartears]

(DT spoilers)

I can't remember when it was posted nor can I find it but I think a lot about the comment someone made where they compared what happens in Living Memory to how they felt about losing their WoL due to the face changes. I know that sounds a little dramatic, but I can't help but relate. I even had a similar thing cross my mind when I was playing through it.

[Iscah]

DT spoiler reply

I can't remember when it was posted nor can I find it but I think a lot about the comment someone made where they compared what happens in Living Memory to how they felt about losing their WoL due to the face changes. I know that sounds a little dramatic, but I can't help but relate. I even had a similar thing cross my mind when I was playing through it.

Past version of reality obliterated at a system-wide level, all they'll let you experience now is the new version that they seem to think is a kindness but actually just leaves a raw-edged memory that things used to be different than this and the new reality isn't as it should be.

[Argantaelle]

It's so nice of you to put DT spoliers in this thread. Especially considering that some people (me included) can't progress the story because of changes to our mains.

A spoiler tag exists, btw.

P.S. I hoped that at least this thread would have remained spoiler-free, but perish the thought.