Dawntrail Graphics Update - Eye Strain

[TransgressorPterodactyl]

This is too low again

[kulovalkea]

I suffer from a debilitating migraine that's easily set off by high colour contrasts and flashing lights. I have lived with it nearly my whole life, and I like to think I have gotten pretty good at mitigating problems on my end. Prior to Endwalker, the only content in FFXIV that gave me a migraine were the Nier raids. I had no major issues with any MSQ related content.

My problems started at the last trial of Endwalker. The dark arena combined with bright lights and rapid exploding special effects caused an episode that lasted for days, and it was the first time a game had caused such a serious attack. Friends with no photosensitivity issues have told me they don't enjoy the trial either, because even they often get a headache from it. I no longer play trial roulette when I hit level 90 in the fear that I have to do that trial, or alternatively inconvenience people and take a penalty by leaving immediately. This would not be so intimidating if my actions did not force other people to wait for someone else to fill me in. The trial would be doable -- perhaps even fun -- if I could turn off or even lower down the boss effects.

During Endwalker patches I noticed an increase in special effects especially during trials, and I struggled getting through some of them. The last EW Alliance Raid caused another bad episode, and I'm physically unable to play it without pain, so I don't. Dawntrail's first half was tolerable for me but the second half made me quite miserable. I can't play DT Normal or Alliance Raids without pain, and with each new trial I'm faced with the realisation that I may not be able to continue playing this game if this will go on like this. I understand all the special effects and bright colours are fun and exciting for their artistic merits and I agree, they are impressive! But I'm afraid that there are a lot of players who cannot appreciate them due to direct physical pain they cause, and it saddens me because before this the game was perfectly playable for a lot of people like me.

I love playing this game, I love all my WOLs dearly and as a disabled person I'm keenly aware that sometimes some works of fiction simply are not for me and that's alright! But I wish there was an option to lower down these effects, because it would allow many to continue enjoying the story without pain, and it would benefit even non-disabled players who may wish to reduce eye-straining effects. This way the team could continue having fun exploring and playing around with all these new and impressive visual feats while ensuring that those who may struggle still get to continue the story without worry. Considering most of the game's content is still playable even now, I want to believe that there is a way to ensure both players and creators get to have fun with FFXIV without having to make serious compromises in this regard.

[KihyiFelhede]

In regards to the high color contrasts I am especially frustrated by this issue in the EW alliance series as it seems to be a result of poor lighting. Models have a shadow cast over them that jarringly does not match the sunny background and lighting on other models. I understand that there are some points where an artistic decision was made to have heavy contrast and I don't expect that to be pulled, but because of this rendering issue using accessibility overlays also does not work well as a client-side solution. Further I really do not wish to come off as a whiner but this is also something that should be fixed from a graphical perspective. I have no point of reference for if this is an issue caused by the graphics update (any community input would be appreciated) but given that we have a full thread on eyestrain as a result of it, it seems like a possible cause.

[Vesplume]

In regards to the high color contrasts I am especially frustrated by this issue in the EW alliance series as it seems to be a result of poor lighting. Models have a shadow cast over them that jarringly does not match the sunny background and lighting on other models. I understand that there are some points where an artistic decision was made to have heavy contrast and I don't expect that to be pulled, but because of this rendering issue using accessibility overlays also does not work well as a client-side solution. Further I really do not wish to come off as a whiner but this is also something that should be fixed from a graphical perspective. I have no point of reference for if this is an issue caused by the graphics update (any community input would be appreciated) but given that we have a full thread on eyestrain as a result of it, it seems like a possible cause.

For some context, this had been a minor thing that only affected a few things like the Nier raids mentioned above or lightning effects in certain areas like the Shroud. That changed with the 7.0 graphics update, where the lighting was significantly overhauled along with everything else. How lighting was applied also changed, becoming a much larger factor in the visual design of fights and zones. This thread started during early access as players started having eye strain and other issues as they progressed through the new expac. It was also discovered in the early days of the thread that certain graphics settings had been adjusted or removed, giving players limited means within the game to mitigate any of this. Bug reports and support tickets were sent, but there hasn't been an official response to this issue except for the 7.2 trial since everybody got a taste of it then.

[Shistar]

If anyone in this thread is on PC and willing to do a little DIY, I'd highly recommend checking out ReShade. It doesn't affect the game in any way at all, it's like a "filter" on top of your game that allows you to tweak how your game shows up on your screen.
This is often used by colorblind people to make their own adjustments for visibility, but it can also be used to control the gamma, bloom effects, highlights/midtones, tweak specific colors, etc. It's not the perfect solution, but considering it does not affect the game in any way and it can be turned off and on by the push of a button I don't see a reason why talking about it would be forbidden.


The program comes with a variety of filters with sliders for you to customize your own thing, or you can use one from the community. Once installed and set up, it'll automatically turn itself on when you start the game and not bother you at all after that. It's seamless and very simple to use after the initial setup.


If it's not allowed I'll remove the message, but at this point it should count as an accesibility exception.

[SkankyRoe]

I don't see a reason why talking about it would be forbidden.

You're fine, Reshade/Ghshade are officially considered to to be in compliance with the ToS and fully allowed.

[Albariel]

Hello,

I am also suffering from motionsickeness and I have to say that it got worst after the graphics update. For me, I feel it only in some dungeons (the ones with moving sceneries like the Lapis Manalis one for example - that one is defenitly one of the worst), trials (like the last one that came out today during the 7.4 patch) and the Dawntrail's treasure maps (The gargantuaskin maps).

The motiosickness is so bad in some of those that I have to zoom in as much as possible on my character and look at it's feet.

I would also like to say that I have experienced motionsickness in different games but it usually get better after changing some graphics options that are unavailable in FF14.

[Vesplume]

Some accessibility features were added onto the console versions with 7.4. They've added the option for visual alerts to replace audio ones as well as some options for colorblind players. I know the lack of colorblindness options were something asked for in the past, but I'm not sure how long ago or if this was something that existed on PC already. So... rare accessibility win?

That being said, the patch doubles down on some of the problems called out in this thread prior. I can't wait to be done with lightning-aspected zones and all the migraine-inducing flashbangs that come along with everything in them. As stated above, we're still lacking in-game options to mitigate graphics that cause illness in players. The two settings I mentioned are the only new ones I was able to find, which is unfortunately not enough.

[KihyiFelhede]

Bumping again in light of The Arcadion Incident (grabbed from u/SebastianScaini on reddit)

[Vesplume]

Bumping again in light of The Arcadion Incident (grabbed from u/SebastianScaini on reddit)

The Arcadion Incident? Is there more information on this beyond the screenshot? I looked through a few of the reddits for more info but couldn't find anything. I've been collecting examples of people having these kind of issues, so if there's more to this I'd love a link.