Why do your elfs in cinematics have normal human looking eyes?

Jaimeh

Cinematic Naryu also looks very different from game Naryu (I actually prefer game Naryu).

Foto1

don't care about trailers

Ekzorka

Something is always goes wrong.
Here's a Warcraft-style ears from the very first trailer:

The Dragon spitting out a flame through a holes in the mouth, not with Tu'um:

And Masser and Secunda are the same sizes and using the Moon texture:


I think that such things will always be present while the trailers will be handled by a third-party studio.

Dr_Con

Syldras wrote: »

Dr_Con wrote: »

are people really comparing lower poly character models to game trailers that has a large budget & focus group testing and is specifically used to advertise the game to global audiences?

Are you implying that if game graphics were better all Dunmer would look like the derpmer in the trailer?

I'm going to point out the obvious that no one has voiced.

She simply isn't dunmer with those eyes not being red, or there's something unique about her. The shape of them could and should be left up to marketing as ZOS's job is world building.

It isn't Naryru like some are assuming, straight up. She isn't likely a dunmer, but if she is at most I can see her being a Divayth Fyr clone who was altered (though not Alfe, Beyte, Delte, or Uupse). I am at a loss for the male she is fighting alongside at the beginning, though it may seem like Divayth Fyr, it's out of character for him to be hurt so easily in combat so if it is him, he is weakened in that scene. Additionally, if she has Dunmer blood, then she or someone close likely found some way or some loophole to lift part of Azura's curse, making her into an exception. I find it hard to believe they ignored the eyes as guy she is fighting alongside (Divayth?) has no white in his eyes, and the daedra throughout the video all have glowing red eyes to contrast with hers.

Syldras

Dr_Con wrote: »

She isn't likely a dunmer, but if she is at most I can see her being a Divayth Fyr clone who was altered (though not Alfe, Beyte, Delte, or Uupse). I am at a loss for the male she is fighting alongside at the beginning, though it may seem like Divayth Fyr, it's out of character for him to be hurt so easily in combat so if it is him, he is weakened in that scene. Additionally, if she has Dunmer blood, then she or someone close likely found some way or some loophole to lift part of Azura's curse, making her into an exception. I find it hard to believe they ignored the eyes as guy she is fighting alongside (Divayth?) has no white in his eyes, and the daedra throughout the video all have glowing red eyes to contrast with hers.

You're right, interestingly, the male Dunmer looks more normal somehow. Considering how powerful Divayth is, I don't think it's him though (unless he's afflicted with a severe disease or something like that). I mean, we don't know, but somehow I'm not exactly optimistic that they were thinking so far when they created this... I guess we'll find out if there's any explanation. I'm not even sure at all if that woman is really someone we'll encounter or just a random placeholder for the player character. They did this in their trailers before.

TX12001rwb17_ESO

Did it occur to anyone that she might only be half-dunmer?

Syldras

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Did it occur to anyone that she might only be half-dunmer?

Half Dunmer half what? Potato?

Dr_Con

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Did it occur to anyone that she might only be half-dunmer?

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Notes_on_Racial_Phylogeny

Olauron

Syldras wrote: »

Dr_Con wrote: »

are people really comparing lower poly character models to game trailers that has a large budget & focus group testing and is specifically used to advertise the game to global audiences?

Are you implying that if game graphics were better all Dunmer would look like the derpmer in the trailer?

There are definitely two types of elf presentation in games: the "non-human" in Morrowind and Skyrim and the "human" in Oblivion and ESO. In cinematic trailers the second school of thought is used, elves are more human-like.

Personally I am not against it (the Skyrim elves were awful) and it is possible to create almost the same faces in ESO as in cinematic trailers (just use the soft corner of triangle).

ghastley

I suspect it’s all because they expect real-life purchasers to be human, not elven.

Syldras

Olauron wrote: »

There are definitely two types of elf presentation in games: the "non-human" in Morrowind and Skyrim and the "human" in Oblivion and ESO. In cinematic trailers the second school of thought is used, elves are more human-like.
Personally I am not against it (the Skyrim elves were awful) and it is possible to create almost the same faces in ESO as in cinematic trailers (just use the soft corner of triangle).

The Dunmer in ESO look more human-like than they did in Morrowind and Skyrim, but still, they have distinctive elven features. They might be less extreme, but they are there.

Also, the Dunmer in the middle picture in OP's post is supposed to be Naryu. And she definitively looks much less human in game. And not only due to graphics.

Jaraal

Dr_Con wrote: »

are people really comparing lower poly character models to game trailers that has a large budget & focus group testing and is specifically used to advertise the game to global audiences?

Well... yes. The lower poly character models actually look like elves. The trailer actor looks human with grayish makeup and prosthetic pointy ears.

Aztrias

francesinhalover wrote: »

I would really like a explanation for this.

Their father was the Breton postman

Dr_Con

@Syldras

Froze the frame at the right moment



I'm not sure if it's intentional or an oversight anymore.

also dat monopoly man moustache... lol. my instinct tells me it's not Divayth because of the eyes, but my gut is also telling me they got the eyes wrong.

This is not unlike something he would wear, and the facial hair checks out.




Ultimately, I think if someone can figure out what her armor pattern most closely resembles, that will reveal more info about her identity (then again, it could be a big nothing burger)

Olauron

Syldras wrote: »

Olauron wrote: »

There are definitely two types of elf presentation in games: the "non-human" in Morrowind and Skyrim and the "human" in Oblivion and ESO. In cinematic trailers the second school of thought is used, elves are more human-like.
Personally I am not against it (the Skyrim elves were awful) and it is possible to create almost the same faces in ESO as in cinematic trailers (just use the soft corner of triangle).

The Dunmer in ESO look more human-like than they did in Morrowind and Skyrim, but still, they have distinctive elven features. They might be less extreme, but they are there.

Also, the Dunmer in the middle picture in OP's post is supposed to be Naryu. And she definitively looks much less human in game. And not only due to graphics.

Divayth Fyr, Almalexia and Vivec look very different in Morrowind and ESO, so I don't see a reason for Naryu to look identical in ESO and cinematic trailer. Even in ESO artbooks in-game characters look rather different from what they look like in game. In any future games (or movies) we will certainly see returning characters much different from what we have now.

Dr_Con wrote: »

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Did it occur to anyone that she might only be half-dunmer?

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Notes_on_Racial_Phylogeny

"Generally the offspring bear the racial traits of the mother, though some traces of the father's race may also be present."
It is very possible to have a half-dunmer with the body of the dunmer and eyes of a nord, or to have a half-dunmer with only a skin color of a dunmer with everything else of an imperial, depending on who is a mother, who is a father and what traces (if any) come from father side.

Dr_Con

Olauron wrote: »

Syldras wrote: »

Olauron wrote: »

There are definitely two types of elf presentation in games: the "non-human" in Morrowind and Skyrim and the "human" in Oblivion and ESO. In cinematic trailers the second school of thought is used, elves are more human-like.
Personally I am not against it (the Skyrim elves were awful) and it is possible to create almost the same faces in ESO as in cinematic trailers (just use the soft corner of triangle).

The Dunmer in ESO look more human-like than they did in Morrowind and Skyrim, but still, they have distinctive elven features. They might be less extreme, but they are there.

Also, the Dunmer in the middle picture in OP's post is supposed to be Naryu. And she definitively looks much less human in game. And not only due to graphics.

Divayth Fyr, Almalexia and Vivec look very different in Morrowind and ESO, so I don't see a reason for Naryu to look identical in ESO and cinematic trailer. Even in ESO artbooks in-game characters look rather different from what they look like in game. In any future games (or movies) we will certainly see returning characters much different from what we have now.

Dr_Con wrote: »

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Did it occur to anyone that she might only be half-dunmer?

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Notes_on_Racial_Phylogeny

"Generally the offspring bear the racial traits of the mother, though some traces of the father's race may also be present."
It is very possible to have a half-dunmer with the body of the dunmer and eyes of a nord, or to have a half-dunmer with only a skin color of a dunmer with everything else of an imperial, depending on who is a mother, who is a father and what traces (if any) come from father side.

I had written something to address the "half-dunmer" argument regarding Azura's curse and if the parts of the curse can be selectively bred out then what does that mean the curse's source is (considering that it was able to be resisted and accepted by the Tribunal), but then I saw that the male dunmer's eyes were white. It may just be an oversight, the female might be an orc, it could be significant to the story, or it could be a combination of these things and many more things. If it's an error, it'd be cool to see a re-release of the trailer, because eye color is very important.

If they want to roll with the interpretation, that's fine too, but it's a bit off-key to disregard certain lore elements when they accounted for it in the past.

Syldras

Dr_Con wrote: »

my instinct tells me it's not Divayth because of the eyes, but my gut is also telling me they got the eyes wrong.
This is not unlike something he would wear, and the facial hair checks out.

Who knows what they were thinking, really. It would be somehow sad to see Divayth that weak though - unless they have a good explanation for that.

Dr_Con wrote: »

Ultimately, I think if someone can figure out what her armor pattern most closely resembles, that will reveal more info about her identity (then again, it could be a big nothing burger)

Ah, yes. Looking at her shoulder, that's just the thing the Arcanist here wears, it seems:
https://esosslfiles-a.akamaihd.net/ape/uploads/2023/01/c5072476057afd103910cca1d5f690cd.jpg

And that's her again - this time with decent eyes:
https://alcasthq.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Arcanist-Class-in-ESO-New-Class-in-Necrom-Chapter.jpg

TX12001rwb17_ESO

Dr_Con wrote: »

Olauron wrote: »

Syldras wrote: »

Olauron wrote: »

There are definitely two types of elf presentation in games: the "non-human" in Morrowind and Skyrim and the "human" in Oblivion and ESO. In cinematic trailers the second school of thought is used, elves are more human-like.
Personally I am not against it (the Skyrim elves were awful) and it is possible to create almost the same faces in ESO as in cinematic trailers (just use the soft corner of triangle).

The Dunmer in ESO look more human-like than they did in Morrowind and Skyrim, but still, they have distinctive elven features. They might be less extreme, but they are there.

Also, the Dunmer in the middle picture in OP's post is supposed to be Naryu. And she definitively looks much less human in game. And not only due to graphics.

Divayth Fyr, Almalexia and Vivec look very different in Morrowind and ESO, so I don't see a reason for Naryu to look identical in ESO and cinematic trailer. Even in ESO artbooks in-game characters look rather different from what they look like in game. In any future games (or movies) we will certainly see returning characters much different from what we have now.

Dr_Con wrote: »

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Did it occur to anyone that she might only be half-dunmer?

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Notes_on_Racial_Phylogeny

"Generally the offspring bear the racial traits of the mother, though some traces of the father's race may also be present."
It is very possible to have a half-dunmer with the body of the dunmer and eyes of a nord, or to have a half-dunmer with only a skin color of a dunmer with everything else of an imperial, depending on who is a mother, who is a father and what traces (if any) come from father side.

I had written something to address the "half-dunmer" argument regarding Azura's curse and if the parts of the curse can be selectively bred out then what does that mean the curse's source is (considering that it was able to be resisted and accepted by the Tribunal), but then I saw that the male dunmer's eyes were white. It may just be an oversight, the female might be an orc, it could be significant to the story, or it could be a combination of these things and many more things. If it's an error, it'd be cool to see a re-release of the trailer, because eye color is very important.

If they want to roll with the interpretation, that's fine too, but it's a bit off-key to disregard certain lore elements when they accounted for it in the past.

Just because the Dunmer were cursed a long time ago it does not mean the curse is in effect on every living dunmer, even if Azura undid the curse only those who were born Chimer would change back, for most Dunmer their grey skin is now a genetic part of them.

colossalvoids

Lmao so it wasn't an orc afterall. Yet another masterpiece it seems.

skyrimfantasy

Besides the missing red eyes, I think more than the shape of the eyes is the shape of their brows. These are typical breton/nord/imperial/redguard brows, not elven. I don't see how mocap would limit them being able to change those features, it's not shape it's graphical. That being said, it's a cinematic of generic characters showing off the Arcanist and I think we're reading too much into it by thinking she's not full Dunmer, it was just an aesthetical decision on Blur's part.

I quick fixed her up a little...

Arunei

Syldras wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ESO is a very popular and large mmo, owned by a very large company which in turn is owned by one of the largest companies in the world. They have the money to get these custom made trailers for their games, but why can't they bother make them actually accurate to their game and Elder Scrolls?!
If I recall correctly so is the trailers made by a different company, but why aren't they given direction to make the mer look like mer? If I get a commission from someone I will do my best to make it to the customer's wishes. Not something kinda like it. Or vice versa, if I commission someone to make something for me, I definitely want it as close to how I vision it as possible. So say I wanted Elder Scrolls mer and I got what the trailers show I would not be pleased and have them change.

The only reason I can imagine is that they believe a too unusual appearance would appeal to their (potential) customers less.

But if someone was put off by Mer looking like actual Mer in the trailers, they probably wouldn't play ESO with Mer that look like actual Mer.

Syldras

Arunei wrote: »

But if someone was put off by Mer looking like actual Mer in the trailers, they probably wouldn't play ESO with Mer that look like actual Mer.

But they may have already bought the game then

karthrag_inak

Realistic elf-eyes not in animation budget.

tohopka_eso

I kinda wish I had that type of customization I might play a dunmer more. I just can't get them to look right or close to my bosmer and altmers

Syldras

tohopka_eso wrote: »

I kinda wish I had that type of customization I might play a dunmer more. I just can't get them to look right or close to my bosmer and altmers

The way they look is clearly defined by lore. I mean, every race is somehow, but Dunmer are a case where it's especially meaningful.

tohopka_eso

Oh I know the lore . Still wish I could make one like the cinematic one is all.

Syldras

colossalvoids wrote: »

Lmao so it wasn't an orc afterall. Yet another masterpiece it seems.

I'm really wondering what's so hard about having basic appearance things right in these videos. They for sure give the producers reference pictures showing the characters they want to have in the trailer. Actually I think I even saw an older one once... Ah, yeah, this one for example, from Elsweyr:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/File:ON-concept-Abnur_Tharn_Cinematic.jpg
So if they order a Dunmer woman with red eyes, maybe even showed them that painting of her I linked above, how can the result be so botched?! You'd think that not only the studio uses reference pictures accurately, but also that the work in progress is double-checked by ZOS regularly.

Jaraal

Dr_Con wrote: »

Ultimately, I think if someone can figure out what her armor pattern most closely resembles, that will reveal more info about her identity (then again, it could be a big nothing burger)

I don't recognize the symbol on her breastplate... looks like some sort of stylized lotus flower or star. But the armor definitely has some sort of Thieves Guild / Dark Brotherhood vibe going on.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned... could this possibly be the return of House Dagoth? They've been keeping to themselves and building their army in the northern part of Vvardenfell. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see them back in action.

Dr_Con wrote: »

Is that Matt Firor?

NotaDaedraWorshipper

Syldras wrote: »

LittlePinkDot wrote: »

Maybe they're real actors?.. Therefore... Human.

So they are talented enough to animate all kinds of magic effects, extreme fighting scenes and monsters but can't make a human's face look a bit more angled?

and khajiit, argonians and perfectly copy ESO's dremoras, but changing the faces a little to make them look like mer, impossiblé!

NotaDaedraWorshipper

There's no excusing that it's because of budget or can't be done. ZOS has money, these trailers are made for them by Blur. It's also not hard making them actually look like mer. They can make khajiit, argonians and dremora but not change the mer slightly to actually look like mer? Please.

This is definitely done intentionally, of some dumb reason. A reason which boils down to one obvious thing, they are all attractive young elven women. Which is such an icky thing to me and just reminds me of all those mobile games and not large triple A games that pours mainstream attractive women all over their ads and trailers.

I think making them actually look like proper Elder Scrolls mer would be better for attention, because they don't look generic and like every other elf. It grabs attention, interest, and that's what you want, so people will look up what it is and may be interested enough to try it out. Now they look it up and see that it's not what the trailers show. I've personally always gotten curious when a company has gone outside the mold with the typical fantasy races, and my favourite elves belongs to settings that are not the typical pretty pointy eared humans.