Avatar Update

[Shelwen]

I think the new avatars look way better, I'm finding it difficult to understand how the images on the left look better than the ones on the right. ESPECIALLY for the Elf. I don't look like a porcelain doll anymore, and the hair alone is a drastic upgrade. I don't feel like a human with pointy ears either.

The males do not look as bad as the females. My elf walks like a man, I now have bags under my eyes, my hair looks like it was spray painted on and the color was changed. There is no option that will revert these changes.

It was my understanding that the Avatar "upgrades" were to be OPTIONS that we cans select at the barber or at character creation. It was a bad decision to make arbitrary and permanent changes to our characters. I am not even going to go into the statement that new hair styles would be introduced. Well, I guess they were introduced ... not as an option, they just tweaked the existing hairstyles (which had issues of their own) into something laughable. I hate to look at something I created 9 years ago that was changed without my consent.

I try to be positive about game changes and I am positive I loathe the changes made to my existing characters.

[Herwegur]

From U21 Release notes:

Known Issues:

• Some visual issues remain on new avatars.

Hope this means SSG art team is aware of still-lingering inconsistencies and visual issues, and plans more tweaks and polish.

New elf avatars (both male and female) are still suffering from loss of color in mouth options and faces overall.

My elves look like humans with pointy ears. They no longer look like elves. Was this intended?

Something happened in the last round of beta that resulted in noticeable color drain from new elf avatars' faces, making them look drab and faded and very un-elvish indeed (more on this here and here ). The egregious bags-under-eyes also made it to live.. Literally nobody was asking for these 'changes'.

Players raised concerns and asked for vibrant/healthy colors be restored to new elf avatar faces; maybe it was too last-minute to include in today's update but I sincerely hope this will be addressed in next patch.


___
To everyone: please keep weighing in with your input concerning new avatars (and don't forget to post on Bullroarer sub-forum too) ; it sounds like they aren't done polishing them yet - which is good as some still need work!

[Gellen]

My main is bald (like me) and now has a head that is detached from his neck (not like me... I think). It happens in both the old and new avatars, but is more noticeable in the old avatar.



Edit: same on my other 2 bald characters. Maybe I need to join the 'Hair Club for Men?'

[Stormtower]

Unfortunately you'll have to live with the knowledge that everyone else will still see the "dog's vomit" when they look at you!

It's a heavy burden, but I will bear up under it somehow.

[Brandon_Blackbird]

I'm not able to preview some of the changes in the barber window. I can see changes to hair color/style, head shape, skin color, and body shape, but eyes, eyebrows, eye color, and mouth, nothing is changing no matter which options I select.

Any suggestions?? I really need to fix my poor character's face!!

This threw me off at first as well, but it turns out there's two settings you need to make sure are checked in options, the Avatar Visual Update AND the Avatar Texture Compositing. Both need to be checked to allow you to switch through the options at the barber.

Now, myself, I love the new update. My serious, brooding ranger now looks appropriately serious.

[Wickedbrew]

This threw me off at first as well, but it turns out there's two settings you need to make sure are checked in options, the Avatar Visual Update AND the Avatar Texture Compositing. Both need to be checked to allow you to switch through the options at the barber.

Now, myself, I love the new update. My serious, brooding ranger now looks appropriately serious.

Completely agree. New avatars are much better

[Lurkerinthemist]

Here are two of my human females after the update. I like a lot of the what I've seen with the changes to the female elves and the human males, but I'll have to turn the avatar update off in order to play my main. She can't open her eyes all the way any more, probably because her brain case shrunk causing loss of her frontal lobe (top avatar).

Opinions are subjective, I get it.

[kilgest]

i'm quite pleased with my female captain



but all hair models need lot of work

[peachy16]

Here are two of my human females after the update. I like a lot of the what I've seen with the changes to the female elves and the human males, but I'll have to turn the avatar update off in order to play my main. She can't open her eyes all the way any more, probably because her brain case shrunk causing loss of her frontal lobe (top avatar).

Opinions are subjective, I get it.

The old models in these 2 pics imo look better then the revamped versions.

[Lurkerinthemist]

i'm quite pleased with my female captain



but all hair models need lot of work

Her face is lovely. I would love to see that hair reworked, could be a cute style.

[WayfaringNomad]

well I love the new avatars, they are realistic and not cartooney, sorry not sorry :P and they did say in the known issues of the release notes that there are some problems with the avatar display, so they'll fix it

I actually like them as well. Though to be honest, I don't think they changed enough. I still appreciate the avatar appearance related changes, especially the ability to edit your character's entire appearance at the barber- but flipping between the old and new, the changes aren't as strong as I had imagined they would be. For the most part, it looks like only the textures were optimized.

As a texture artist myself, textures can go miles to making something look completely different, but I was hoping to see something perhaps a little more robust in spirit. I think changing things only slightly can throw people off more than an actual overhaul. Sometimes a complete rework (while retaining the style and soul of the original) can go a long way to endearing something to you.

For those against the updates, I understand being attached to one's character- we look at them all the time while we play. Arguably, they're the center of our attention the entire time. When you get really used to something, any change can seem dramatic. I have a feeling as time goes on, some people who recoiled at first may warm up to the changes. Or they may not- that's their prerogative. But I think time will be a helpful factor in this- once the shock has passed, and we've processed how we feel about the changes, it'll be easier to digest them.. Regardless of whether you like them or not.

And I'm sorry some people are bothered that others are viewing their characters with the updates- but it's not fair to call for the change to be recalled simply because you dislike it. It doesn't seem to be much of a consolation, but you don't have to use the updates if you don't want to, and as far as this all goes, that's the only middleground there is. You can't just take something away from other people because it doesn't suit you. That's just not fair to anyone. It may have been ideal to simply add new options to go with the old ones, but in the long run it probably wasn't a realistic plan.

Honestly, I'm glad to see any work being done for the graphics. This game is great and I love it, but when switching from another game back to this one, it shows its age. The charm is there, of course, but I always felt like it would shine brighter if it were polished..

[Taridoro]

The new avatars looks great ... thx SSG

[Shatterbones]

So, after reading down through all of the responses, I guess my original question was answered. "Yes, the Avatar Update is working as intended." I was just shocked to log into strangers.

I'll get used to it. To them. To the new them. <sigh>

Hey, at least we have survived through everything these last few years to actually make it to Mordor. And that is worth celebrating. Woot!

So, SSG, thank you, honestly and sincerely, for sticking with all of us LOTR nerds, and getting us to Mordor. Now I'm just wondering if we get to make it back to the Shire to deal with Sharkey, and finally take the ships Into The West. <3 <3 <3

[Freyda]

From U21 Release notes:

New elf avatars (both male and female) are still suffering from loss of color in mouth options and faces overall.

If I'm not mistaken, there's also been a loss of colour on the human female models since the last Beta, 3 days ago. The complexion is a lot more pallid, the lips seem less defined, and the red shading option for the eyes has faded out considerably.

To achieve a similar look to the last Beta, I had to move the skin tone from fairest to almost the end of the spectrum. This is for a Rohan character, which granted, are the palest to begin with, but the washed out look is still noticeable.

There's also been a change to facial structure, as well. The head is a lot more squat, which has lead to folks on World chat coining the term "puddin' face".

I don't know, I'm trying to make my peace with what we've been dealt now. I'm someone who actually really liked what I saw on the Beta, regarding the models. By the end of it I'd managed to create a look I was wholly excited to adapt to, but now I find my enthusiasm waning.



The left is the look from Beta #6, the right is what I managed to recreate with some effort on Live.



And a comparison between the old model and the new, that I feel illustrates the washed out, puddin' face syndrome.

[ZoneTripper]

Some characters seemed to have translated well to the new avatars, but I swear, almost none of my original features look the same. My chin is larger and at a different angle. I don't have the cheekbones I had before. My eyes are a different shape, as is my nose. My lips and eyes are tinted differently. My hair is a whole new length and a lot more plain - it used to be a fun style and now it looks like a hair-helmet. Even my eyebrows are different. And there don't seem to be any barbershop options to get my look back. I know that there's a bit of shock seeing my new face, but it really doesn't look like an elf to me anymore.

And yes, I know that I can switch between the new and the old avatars. But I look at my new one and I can't understand how everything has changed the way it did and why old options were gotten rid of. I just wanted some nicer hair and a few more polygons in my face, but I got a completely new head and no way of getting my original attributes back.

[VeryBeary]

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but looking at those images of folks who are satisfied, your original characters may have had personality, but were not especially attractive. I have many very beautiful, ethereal female Elves and now they all have fat blob like faces with a dead look, big puffy pale lips, hair that is a different color and without the color blends of before, etc., an extreme reduction in beauty. I have not altered them at the barber, because I am hoping that I can somehow revert to my ten year + long look. Me being able to see the old look isn't enough. I made a High Elf, but it took a long time to find an acceptable look--overall choices are hugely disappointing to me. And the new High Elf I have is not as beautiful as my existing Elves were.

I have never been one to rant and rave, and even if I didn't like something, like trait trees, I accepted them and moved on. But this is just a senseless and cruel change. I am extraordinarily disappointed in the developers who inflicted this on us. Furious. Sad.

[AzureHelborn]

Hey everyone!
Did I understand it correctly that the old and new look of your characters are not completely independent from one another?

What I mean is:
If I go and make some huge cosmetic changes like head shape to the new look and then decide to switch back to the old model, the "old look" will have been changed as well, right? In other words, as soon as I change something it will be translated back into the old look and I will not be able to keep the actual old look unless I write down it's details and change them at the barber again after switching?
Which also makes me wonder, has there been any hint whether all the Barber options like body shape will remain open or are they going to be locked again once people had a chance to tweak their new looks?

I think I can handle most of my Alts with a bit of tweaking but my main looks like a shapeless blob:



I really wish there were more options for faces with more edges and hard lines, all of the new ones seem too smooth in comparison.

[siipperi]

Completely agree. New avatars are much better

Except their lazy asses just retextured all men hair. Thats really lazy work. Smh

[Arially]

Personally I don't understand much of this fuss at all. Many of the old avatars looked exactly like plastic dolls, like barbies. they had personality, but very little of what I would call actual beauty, especially the female elves which were the most bug-eyed of the bunch.

I literally just can't understand how people could look at before and after pictures and dislike the more natural contouring and shading around the eyes, or the fact that the skin looks like skin instead of plastic or porcelain.

Which is not to say I don't have problems with it at all, the textures of the human extra features seem odd to me and some don't blend that well, the length was changed on my favorite hairstyle, and I would have preferred one or two male elf faces that had a finer bone structure(some of them have such heavy bone structure now that their heads seem too big for their bodies).

I get that over all people have different tastes, and I get that I've been playing my characters for two years when some of you have an extra 8 years on me to have gotten attached to the way they look, but I don't understand it. I've read through pages of people talking about how they don't like it, and I just can't see what they see.

[Pontin_Finnberry]

For Race of man Male my captain with Avatar update on looks like he got got two black eyes or too much shadow, the face looks good just the eyes need adjusting In my opinion. you can see a before and after here an look at eyes. but overall the Avatar revamp looks great.

[slayer7800]

Personally I don't understand much of this fuss at all. Many of the old avatars looked exactly like plastic dolls, like barbies. they had personality, but very little of what I would call actual beauty, especially the female elves which were the most bug-eyed of the bunch.

I literally just can't understand how people could look at before and after pictures and dislike the more natural contouring and shading around the eyes, or the fact that the skin looks like skin instead of plastic or porcelain.

Which is not to say I don't have problems with it at all, the textures of the human extra features seem odd to me and some don't blend that well, the length was changed on my favorite hairstyle, and I would have preferred one or two male elf faces that had a finer bone structure(some of them have such heavy bone structure now that their heads seem too big for their bodies).

I get that over all people have different tastes, and I get that I've been playing my characters for two years when some of you have an extra 8 years on me to have gotten attached to the way they look, but I don't understand it. I've read through pages of people talking about how they don't like it, and I just can't see what they see.

I totally agree about the female elves. I don't understand how people think they look worse now.

I also think men and elf males look better.

The human females are a different story. They are in a weird spot for me right now. Now that I've seen the new models, the old models do look plastic to me. However, the new models look less attractive. I'll keep saying it, the biggest problem I have is the half-closed eyes.

If they added a race change to the store, I would gladly pay for one right now for a couple of characters.

[melvinn]

I too am quite happy with the way these new models look.
I do hope they will polish the avatars a bit more, and I also hope new hairstyles (like those of the High Elves) will become available, even if that means we have to throw in extra LPs ...

[Freyda]

I literally just can't understand how people could look at before and after pictures and dislike the more natural contouring and shading around the eyes, or the fact that the skin looks like skin instead of plastic or porcelain.

I'm possibly the wrong person to answer your post, as I like the revamp for the most part. However, on the topic of shading, the human females seem to need to a bit of tweaking. Shadows around the eyes would give them depth, and when it's lacking the top lid looks more prominent, and as a result, droopy and tired.

It's possibly one of the issues they're still working on, as it wasn't something I witnessed during the Beta. Either way, it's a change I'm hoping they'll look into.

[Hammadryad]

I personally think that the changes are bloody awful. They are unfinished and need lot of work to get the new faces looking right. But what really peeves me is that since they were imposed I can't get my old faces back as they have fundamentally changed some of the options. When I try to use the old face for my female captain, the skin colour has changed, the hair colour has changed and even the hair style has changed!

So it makes no difference if I select the old or the new avatars, I still have new faces on my characters and my only choice seems to be using whichever is the least awful faces. So much for spending years building up a wardrobe that complemented my character's features and colouration!

[Stormtower]

I personally think that the changes are bloody awful. They are unfinished and need lot of work to get the new faces looking right. But what really peeves me is that since they were imposed I can't get my old faces back as they have fundamentally changed some of the options. When I try to use the old face for my female captain, the skin colour has changed, the hair colour has changed and even the hair style has changed!

So it makes no difference if I select the old or the new avatars, I still have new faces on my characters and my only choice seems to be using whichever is the least awful faces. So much for spending years building up a wardrobe that complemented my character's features and colouration!

+1, absolutely right.

Why change stuff just for the sake of change? There are so many functional problems in the game and this is what consumes dev resources... no wonder it is so difficult to recruit new players to the game. People wonder why we still play it.