Bug: Skin tone change mid game

Just patched and played through the prologue again. Looks like they weren't able to fix it yet 😞 Hopefully next patch!

Why are people excusing this? Why is it so hard for developers to release games that actually work? This is an RPG, it goes without saying that gamers can customize their characters, including appearance. I find this to be a game breaking bug and quite frankly, it has left a sour taste in my mouth because of it. I paid good money for this game and I expect it to work as it's supposed to. Fix now please, or next time make sure your games actually work before releasing them! I've already ran into one game breaking bug, "The Trial of Waters", and when I restarted the game to bypass it I run into this problem of my skin and hair colour changing after getting to New Serene. I'm sick of this and I'm sick of buying half baked rubbish with my hard earned money. Absolutely deplorable.

Hello @cipher_nine
Sorry for the inconvenience, you can check our full PC change log here: https://steamcommunity.com/gid/103582791464593325/announcements/detail/1607147089545691617
This issue has been sent to the team. I will keep you updated on how it goes.

Still no news yet? This bug has been here since release. What's going on?

@wardenshepard said in Bug: Skin tone change mid game:

@Mushashi7 I think skin colors are linked to the heads. If you look in the file from that skin change mod it gives you a little insight into things. I don’t completely understand it all but it looks like certain heads are issued a skin color number (1-4, I think?)and there is a preset numeric based range of color allowed for each Face’s skin color within the game. The skin color information is for whatever reason just not carrying over to the gameplay once you reach the island and either going to the lightest or darkest color available in the skin color range. It’s a small thing for some but it can be pretty immersion breaking for others. I know Spiders has to be pretty busy as it is, but I really really hope they are able to fix this with the patch that’s in the works.

In Fallout 4 i know skin colors also change with separate exposure/brightness of the head. Could it happen this is a similar issue where the light fails?

We had (have) huge problems with gray faces which showed up to be incorrect rendering via brightness and/or exposure. Somehow the game chose to use different values when you used mods?
I'm no expert either but there must be a simple and logic explanation. When Bethesda released the Creation Kit some of all these grey faces were fixed by modders as well.

When the exposure fails in Greedfall I would asume the main problem is similar? Graphics are graphics although programming may be different? A filter (like in Adobe) that doesn't behave correctly?

last edited by Mushashi7

I am also having this issue with head 7. It's really upsetting to me, I want to play as the character I made. I hope it will get fixed soon.

@Mushashi7 I think skin colors are linked to the heads. If you look in the file from that skin change mod it gives you a little insight into things. I don’t completely understand it all but it looks like certain heads are issued a skin color number (1-4, I think?)and there is a preset numeric based range of color allowed for each Face’s skin color within the game. The skin color information is for whatever reason just not carrying over to the gameplay once you reach the island and either going to the lightest or darkest color available in the skin color range. It’s a small thing for some but it can be pretty immersion breaking for others. I know Spiders has to be pretty busy as it is, but I really really hope they are able to fix this with the patch that’s in the works.

In Fallout 4 i know skin colors also change with separate exposure/brightness of the head. Could it happen this is a similar issue where the light fails?

We had (have) huge problems with gray faces which showed up to be incorrect rendering via brightness and/or exposure. Somehow the game chose to use different values when you used mods?
I'm no expert either but there must be a simple and logic explanation. When Bethesda released the Creation Kit some of all these grey faces were fixed by modders as well.

When the exposure fails in Greedfall I would asume the main problem is similar? Graphics are graphics although programming may be different? A filter (like in Adobe) that doesn't behave correctly?

We shouldn't have to rely on mods. Some of us play games on consoles, you know. It's the developer's job to release fully functional games. It's what they're being paid for, after all. I feel like I've been either robbed or cheated. I bought a product with the assurances that it was going to work a certain way, but the reality is that it's broken and faulty. The product doesn't work the way I was lead to believe. I'm getting tired of waiting for a patch with no news. I really wanted to give this franchise a go but the lack of a solution and communication is beginning to wear on me . . .

Finally guys, believe me or not but ı found the solution for skin tone bug where it changes dramatically after we arrive to new serene. First go to the local data(d disk) there should be global settings file or maybe it placed somewhere else. Not so sure if it's the same file name for everyone else. Then there is sth like shaderlootdistance= skin '4000', hair '4000'(btw my male de sardet's skin tone was so pale that it almost looked like a vampire as I couldn't stand to play his ugly looking sick face ewww:) anyways I only touched the skin option, changed it to 40, 30 tried different numbers, lastly I decided to try writing '15' and Miraculously it actually worked indeed!! My poor de sardet now has a darker skin tone so I'm quite happy about the change, it certainly looks handsome now!! I hope it works for you as well:)

The new patch has not fixed this bug. When are you guys going to fix it?

TheDreadWolf, how can you do this on a console?

@Sir-Tricky I'm very sorry to hear you're having the same issue, unfortunately I do not know how to intervene game files in a console, maybe first you should try to download game's psp version in your computer(Before transferring it to your game console) I hope someone has a reasonable solution for you, because I haven't played anything in a game console for ages:(

@Athymhormia please look at my reply, maybe you can manage to change skin tone like I did. They should have already released a hotfix by now:(

What? Still no news and still no fix? This is getting ridiculous. I've waited long enough. I think it's time to drop this game and next time I'll be extremely wary before picking up another product created by Spiders and its affiliates. Not a pleasant experience at all.

last edited by Sir Tricky

Just downloaded the patch and played through the beginning again and the bug HAS NOT BEEN FIXED. Just thought I'd let anyone know who would be interested as the devs don't seem to care anymore.

@Raibi hello, are there any more news on this front? I am a new customer and so far I had to come to terms with the skin tone change bug (after landing in New Serene) and I'm halfway through my first playthrough.

I would've preferred to have the skin tone options I chose, as this was quite immersion breaking and I struggled with the decision to keep playing. Eventually I chose to soldier on, but I'm thinking that maybe this thought process isn't something you want your customers to go through.

This post is deleted!

@Raibi Any word? My first game I only got to the charlatan when my game bugged and I was unable to speak with him to progress the side quest. I had to start over, only to find my skin tone switched to the very darkest somewhere along the way. It was distracting, so I started over again. My skin tone changed again, almost immediately. Again, started over. My third go of it is good so far but what a terrible taste this has left in my mouth! Holding my breath hoping I don’t have to start over a fourth time.

Please make this bug fix a priority with your team. This is my first time buying a game from your franchise and while I don’t expect a polished game when I shell out my money, I expect to not have to replay the beginning three times trying to get the game to work correctly. This seems like a bug playtesters ought to have encountered early on. Please take care of this.

EDIT: Just got to New Serene for the first time. My character's skin tone is back to the absolute darkest. Guess I'm starting over a fourth time? FIX YOUR GAME.

EDIT 2: Made a male character this time and went for a Caucasian face/skin tone this time. I'm only halfway through the prologue and his skin tone darkened BADLY. This is ridiculous! I've logged six hours in this game and haven't gotten past first arriving in New Serene!

last edited by t-cat

@TheDreadWolf Unfortunately, your solution didn't work for me. It might be because I'm using a mod that allows me to change the skin tone of any face-preset you choose at character creation, but I don't know. I spent about 6 hours in this game and I regretted it after discovering that the skin tone problem is a bug, not a result of my mod. Sigh. What a shame. It might not seem like a game-breaking bug to some folks, but as someone else have said, for an RPG where character-customization is everything, this is pretty inexcusable.

Guess I won't be getting that refund.

Years later, and this bug it's not fixed. I restarted this game like 6-7 times and I have like 12 hours, I tried different male faces but it happens with all of them, wanted to play this badly but seems like I will not. I'll be thinking twice about buying another game from them

Wow! Three years later and the devs STILL have not fixed this bug. It's utterly deplorable!

Vote with your wallets people, and don't buy anymore games off this company. They're nothing more than scammers, ripping us off and taking our hard earned money in exchange for a broken game!