Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[ConantSivrha]

In another post I made in this thread, regarding female miqo'te face 4 mouth 3, I wrote the following:

(...)the mouth itself looks narrower horizontally.

Since then, I have found that the mouth is not, in fact, narrower horizontally.

In the following comparison image, both faces have been turned away from the light, so there is no contrast between shadowed and unshadowed areas. The horizontal width of the lip texture is actually exactly the same, as demonstrated by the blue outline of the Endwalker lip shape over the image of the Dawntrail version of the lips.



The lips in the Endwalker version looked wider to me because the old lighting caused darker shadows to be cast by the lips and by the shape of the face near the lips. This is only a factor when light shines on the face, so it isn't visible in my comparison image, but it can be seen in images like this one from Ysmia, which I also quoted in my other post.

Other than that, in my comparison, you can see more clearly how the top lip shrunk, and how the cupid's bow has been smoothed out. The bottom lip, too, is smaller, but only slightly. The corners of the mouth have also changed, possibly in an attempt to mimic the shadows on the original version.

[Roido_Avingu]

While I'm glad there are those who are happy with the graphical update, I can't say I'm one of those people, sadly. I use Male Miqo'te Face #1, and the best way I can put it with regards to my character is, he now looks baby-faced, to the point any time I see close-ups of his face in cutscenes, he doesn't look like a battle-hardened adventurer, he looks like he belongs in a K-pop boyband.

Do I miss the old graphics? Yes, because my character looked fine and not doll-like. Do I wish the developers would allow us to choose between the new and old graphics? Also yes, but I would be happy with the developers giving us a solution that meets halfway. Have improved graphics, but not to the point that people's characters look baby-faced.

[Heavenchild]

I forgot to adress an important (imo) point. The character's bodys still look really low quality. Especially male chars still look wrong when wearing chest revealing pieces.
My male midlander Hyr hasn't even a normal visible belly button. That's because the visibility of the belly button is connected to the muscleslider.
And when turning the muscleslider to minimum then the belly button almost disappears. I really don't like that because it looks so wrong.

I don't expect SE to give us high resolution realistic nippels and belly buttons. That would be wrong, too. But I would like to see a middleway. A solution that looks kinda normal/natural.
Please! *prays*

[Len_]

If SE gives us nothing else I at least want them to acknowledge that a lot of people are unhappy. I wonder what will happen after official release.

[Daralii]

I forgot to adress an important (imo) point. The character's bodys still look really low quality. Especially male chars still look wrong when wearing chest revealing pieces.
My male midlander Hyr hasn't even a normal visible belly button. That's because the visibility of the belly button is connected to the muscleslider.
And when turning the muscleslider to minimum then the belly button almost disappears. I really don't like that because it looks so wrong.

I don't expect SE to give us high resolution realistic nippels and belly buttons. That would be wrong, too. But I would like to see a middleway. A solution that looks kinda normal/natural.
Please! *prays*

I think body updates were one of the cans that got kicked down the road. For now you just have to suffer through a mismatch or very visible neck seams.

[NekoHina]

It seems to me from watching my own character in cutscenes and looking at everyone’s photos here that most characters look more angry with dark or bags around the eyes and much less joy in the faces. I know some of this is down to shadowing, but I was changing up my retainers and it was very difficult to get any lighter eye color on anyone and I have several races. I prefer light eyes regardless of color because you can see the pupil (esp. with my sun Miqo). But I have to go to the absolute lightest color to get this when before I could go at least 3 shades in and still have light-ish eyes. Now even the second option is too dark but not really saturated.

I do like the glassiness of the eyes because it is more realistic. I also appreciate the new ease of getting some saturated lip colors. But the expressions are so different and she looks angry when it is supposed to be just a smirk (like when we fly off on Vrtra and look back in the last parts of EW). Now it is like the brow is furrowed even in some smiles.

It is just a mess for many players.

[Doopliss]

I took the opportunity to take some pictures to show my case. I think the difference between the character information window and a recent screenshot I took in a cutscene is clear:



The second picture looks pretty similar to how things were in 6.58, minus very specific stuff such as the mouth being wider of course.


The next two pictures show the same portrait before and after 7.0:



The expression on the new one simply does not convey the same feel as it used to do due to the way the face emote has been changed and because of the lighting, as well as the faded eyebrows and stubble. I do apologize for how small the 6.58 portrait looks, I didn't take screenshots of these so I had to cut it from a video I recorded.

Oh, yeah, I 100% see what you mean. My post was more so just there to say that it's weird 'cause--since I took a lot of screenshot in menu windows before maintenance--my Elezen mostly looks like her old self in portraits and menus vs in-game. But that's not the case for several of my other characters, and I can absolutely see the difference with yours.

After seeing several other Face 4 ♀ Elezen post, I'm starting to just think I got insanely lucky with the features I picked (excluding the goddamn distracting now-smiling mouth...), because their expressions look considerably more different from the old version than mine. In my case it's just that her eyes opened a little wider in most things, which is still annoying, but less intense...

Meanwhile every alt I've thus far been brave enough to look at the new Adventurer Plate of has been noticeably worse and more awkward-looking. It's made me scared to look at the ones I haven't seen yet. I finally looked at my ♂ Au Ra's adventurer plate last night and cry-laughed.

I don't tend to like using exaggerated memes for comparison, but, just...

I just look at him now and I feel this in my bones...

Please, SE, you can't keep characters lookin' like they got looksmaxed... Please...

[noumen0nn]

If SE gives us nothing else I at least want them to acknowledge that a lot of people are unhappy. I wonder what will happen after official release.

I feel this 100%. It's hard enough dealing with the depression of feeling like I lost what makes my WoL herself. It's harder to feel like our cries are landing on deaf ears while everyone else goes and enjoys their "summer vacation", and I got pretty frustrated when I read that comment about "some people may feel their characters look ever so slightly different" that the team made when confirming our free fantasia. That felt like gaslighting. The fundamental structure of my WoL's face has been changed, in what world is that "ever so slightly different"?

[Heavenchild]

Maybe I should show what I mean, because for me this is really an issue and I hoped that they would fix this with the update.

Features like the belly button should not be tied to the muscleslider. I really hope that this will be fixed one day.
The appereance of the chest and belly with minimal muscleslider is very bad. But I don't want to increase it just for the belly button.

Additionally for me also the missing nipples look disturbing. And I would wish for a more normal look.


Good visible belly button just possible with muscles maxed out


How my chest looks because I chose a softer look without much muscle shadows on legs and arms

[Turnintino]

Additionally for me also the missing nipples look disturbing. And I would wish for a more normal look.

I would truly give just about anything for even just slightly pigmented areolae on top of the weird phantom nubs we have now lol.