For the same reason players have pointed out other visual irregularities in the game: it’s a visual inconsistency and undesirable. For me, it’s because Per Häggmark’s unchanged/non-deformed HITMAN 3 model of Agent 47 looks much better than the deformed one we get in HITMAN 1 legacy map disguises.
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There is a ton of iterations for his head used on so many different disguises, all because they can’t use the latest one for all of them at the same time
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HITMAN 3 and HITMAN 2 legacy maps both use the same and correct model created by Per Häggmark. Only HITMAN 1 legacy map disguises have deformed variations of his head to my knowledge. I’m not aware of why IOI “can’t use the latest one for all of them at the same time”.
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They can’t because the rigs used for each season’s characters differ, and 2016 is the one with the least compatibility, so they cannot use Hitman 2/3 models in pair with 2016 models, that’s why they made their own versions of it that would work with that rig, but it’s not identical, it just looks like it close enough (forehead or back is slightly bigger/smaller), they have 4 versions as far as I know, each used for different seasons and disguises as necessary
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That’s informative; really appreciate it. I’ll take your word on it with you being a game dev.
I can’t understand why rigging would get in the way of them fixing HITMAN 1 disguises where 47 is not wearing anything on his head and face (e.g. Helmut Kruger, Palace Staff, Militia Soldier, Consulate Intern/Janitor, various bodyguard disguises, etc.). I imagine such a fix wouldn’t differ from the one they applied to his default suits in the 2021 July patch.
Also, as HITMAN 3 is a new installation entirely, why was simply re-rigging for consistency not an option, similar to how they improved older level environments with the graphical improvements of HITMAN 3? I understand the sentiment that this is a “minor issue”, but I’m still lost as to why it was ever allowed to exist at all after IOI accepted and implemented Häggmark’s updated 47 model. That’s to say, if you’re going to update 47’s default character model, it’s only proper to then update the rigging of older disguise models, no?
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The way IO does their characters is by attaching multiple parts together, each have their own rig and if they correspond, they will attach correctly, if they don’t, then the model with be distorted and broken, something like this:
If IO really wanted to fix these compatibility issues, I’m sure they would have done it already, they’d have to update all older models with the more recent rig, which requires a good amount of work (even automated) for something pretty unnecessary and only cosmetic, your best bet would be by using bugfix mods, stuffs like HMBM47 already did:
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That’s not the issue, as the “ugly head” and the correct head share much of the same rigging, save their craniums (hence some players not even noticing the difference; see my first post). Updating the head model’s cranium is straightforward when there are no conflicting headpieces (e.g. glasses, hats, etc.), hence the 2021 July patch fix for most H1 suits. Even if old headpieces conflict with the new head model, I still don’t see why an AAA studio didn’t simply update all outfit rigs in their newest game during development.
What I suspect happened was that IOI didn’t want to (read: “was able to, but chose not to”) go through the trouble of re-rigging H1 outfits that have headpieces, created the “ugly head” with the face of the H3 model and a cranium closer to H1’s older model, and then attached that Frankenstein “ugly head” to all H1 outfits for consistency (ironically enough).
Yes, that’s the crux of the issue, and what I disagree with entirely. By mostly fixing the issue for H1 default suits, IOI acknowledged that it was worth fixing. The same rigging fix they applied then could be applied to bugged outfits where he likewise has no headpieces. IOI has simply, as of now, settled for a “half fix”, and that’s disappointing.
While I’m no game dev (dabbled about a decade ago), I am a programmer, and given the insight provided, can tell this is likely a case of the “good enough” principle being applied, which is an unfortunate mindset, especially in an AAA game.
The Raven Suit is still bugged too, so technically IOI lied to us in the 2021 July patch notes. It’s all just rather tacky, really.
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That has nothing to do with the bonerig, that was just editing the mesh.
They didn’t change the rigging on any outfits.
Each individual outfit piece has the entire bonerig in them. They’d have to edit every single shirt, tie, jacket, pants, shoes, hands, glasses, masks, etc to match the updated s2/3 bonerig. It’s just not a feasible task as all the models have to have the bonerig changed and possibly reweighted to match. It’s not just a simple “oh we should update all the outfits bonerigs” and get it done in 5 minutes.
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By “rigging fix”, I meant “application of the correct HITMAN 3 head mesh to HITMAN 1 outfit rigs”; not the best wording on my part. I mentioned that the issue isn’t rigging above.
Most of that would not be necessary; the body of a given outfit rig and its various outfit (body)pieces do not have to be touched. The head can be edited in isolation just fine and still correctly attach to the body, especially since the differences between the two heads in question aren’t so vast as to warrant most of what you mentioned. (see my first post) Only H1 outfit headpieces would need to be refitted to the H3 head mesh.
And a common theme I’m seeing is the defending of IOI for avoiding this admittedly tedious task that would result in the consistent use of Häggmark’s high-quality H3 head model for 47. I don’t understand it. They are a game development studio; it’s their job to do these tedious things during development to ensure that there is a consistent high quality throughout their games.
Just found out that the Absolution suit doesn’t react to rain in Chongqing (both the suit and the head) and reported it. Hopefully they’ll fix it. And also the lower half of the coat of the Absolution suit suffers from wonky physics & clipping, reported that as well.
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Love the Absolution suit, The tie clip is such a nice detail. I hope the physics do get fixed though, it holds it back.
I wish they would release a version with full gloves. I’d never use another suit.
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Is there a mod to keep his face from Hitman 2 in the game? The one in H3 is, err, a bit baby-faced
Try putting on Craig Black’s outfit from the Author.
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As a matter of fact, yes. There’s like 2 or 3 mods to adjust 47’s face back to his h2 or h1 model… just type in “hitman 3 agent 47 face mods” in Google & a few results from nexus mods will show up
By the way 47’s face in h3 is the most lore friendly & accurate face but i understand if u prefer h2 face to this one
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To expand on what you said, 47’s HITMAN 3 face is the best in the entire franchise, and it’s not even close. The fact he is pushing 60 years old, but in the right lighting doesn’t look a day over 25 (see @fire-typhoon123 recent post above) is how it’s supposed to be. If I am a geneticist of Ort-Meyer’s caliber and with his vast Providence resources, and I only consider a single iteration of my many peak-human clones to be “perfect”, you best believe that clone has been effectively “cured” of the disease that is biological aging. In canon, 47 should have effectively stopped aging after reaching full maturity at ~25 years old and should always look roughly 25. This will allow him to truly be timeless and for us to reasonably still play as him even 20 years down the road when he should be about 80 years old.
Lucas Grey is effectively 47’s brother and close in chronological age, and he looks his age of ~60, whereas 47 surely does not. One clear difference between them, distinguishing 47 as “perfect” and Grey as imperfect, is that 47 stopped aging (read “started to age very, very slowly after 25”). It doesn’t seem to necessarily be a huge difference in intellect or ability, as Grey is very capable and highly intelligent himself, and was even 47’s field partner in their early days IIRC.
I actually would like more indications of 47 being a “perfected” genetically engineered test tube baby. The most clear one, as of WoA, is that he is a 57 year old man who is biologically as if still in his early 20s. This is canon (Confidential Patient Journal - Tobias Rieper: “Physically, Mr. Rieper is like that of a man in his early 20s. […] This man is literally one big stem cell. It’s almost as if he’s been engineered.”). It makes no sense for him to look older and/or like an aging man like his character model does in most games. Only Blood Money and HITMAN 3 have gotten this right.
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Wow, upon closer inspection in seems Agent 47 even has the “ugly head” in the Sniper Assassin game mode, most noticeably in Himmelstein and Hantu Port. This is amateurish work from IOI, no excuses. C’mon, man.
It’s not as in-your-face in Sniper Assassin, but it’s clearly the bugged “ugly head”. Here’s a 1:1 comparison of the active head model in the Sniper Assassin game mode and the correct HITMAN 3 head model. Go back-and-forth between the following two screenshots in full view to observe the head deformation if you think I’m crazy (you’d be absolutely correct; I am crazy, and realize that I care way too much about this, but that’s beside the point…).
Again, I understand the sentiment of this being relatively minor, but IOI lied nonetheless. They said they had fixed this; granted they did specify for suits in particular, even that’s not true, as 47’s head is still bugged in the Raven Suit and in Sniper Assassin default suits. They fixed the Absolution Suit’s “ugly head” issue in mainline maps but not the same issue present with the (tie) clipless Absolution Suit in Himmelstein and Hantu Port… I figured IOI was of a higher caliber than this. My mistake.
I could swear 47’s sniper assassin model is more or less identical to his H3 model? 
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You’re absolutely correct, in that the skull models are “more or less identical”. The differences between the “ugly head” and the correct head are, in most cases, really only in the cranial and brow regions of 47’s skull.
Here’s a rough idea of the respective paths of the “ugly head” (red) and correct head (blue); the two are superimposed to hopefully better showcase the deformation observable from the side/profile view.
47’s lower third does remain unchanged, and the deformation is so subtle at a quick glance that, yes, I would agree they are “more or less identical”. They are not “exactly identical”, however, which is what would be ideal in an AAA game like HITMAN 3.
If you click on the images below in my previous post and go back-and-forth in full view, that same path deformation can be observed between the “ugly head” in the first two screenshots and the correct head in the last screenshot.
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This is getting out of hand…
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