[DEV REQUEST] Balancing Character Customization

[Naunet]

One race's 6 options aren't necessarily going to have a more desirable coverage than another race's 4. Aiming for equality in count alone appeals only to fluff choices.

That is some serious spin. xD

[Shurrikhan]

That is some serious spin. xD

I'm just saying the metric presented is unreliable. I want more character customization, too, but "balancing" them based on the number of choices, or grading the quality of customization based on choice count alone does not guarantee a better product. That's like asking for x words of explanation for a design choice from the devs. Sure, it increases the chances of something in there being worthwhile, but wouldn't the simple yet more thorough metric "am I satisfied?" be more appropriate? Accepting the effort over the result is to accept fluff-work.

It's the same with customization for combat classes. The question shouldn't be "how many choices did the class get" as "what percentage of players felt 'very satisfied' with the choices they were given and the class variant(s) they produced from them?" If the prior did not significantly improve the latter, then the development time was largely wasted.

[Beckett]

Sure, it increases the chances of something in there being worthwhile

As you said, more choices will always increase the odds that an individual will find something they like. Having the same percent chance to find something you like on every race/gender combo is only fair.

[Naunet]

Sure, it increases the chances of something in there being worthwhile

That's the point. Character customization is an entirely subjective matter for players when creating a character. More options will always be better than fewer options, as people have vastly different tastes.

[NolLacnala]

That's the point. Character customization is an entirely subjective matter for players when creating a character. More options will always be better than fewer options, as people have vastly different tastes.

Tani is saying not to use "hyurs have more" as an excuse. Every race having more will of course be better. But hyurs having more is because they're easy to develop around, and hyurs are the reason we don't have arses.

[Naunet]

But hyurs having more is because they're easy to develop around

I don't really buy that excuse. Every single race is essentially human, with slight variations in overall build, skin tone, etc. There is no race that should have any greater difficulty to design for, all things considered.

[NolLacnala]

I don't really buy that excuse. Every single race is essentially human, with slight variations in overall build, skin tone, etc. There is no race that should have any greater difficulty to design for, all things considered.

Buy it or not, that's precisely how it is. We're all hyurs with extra bits, and the extra bits take extra time and resources to develop for.

[Naunet]

Buy it or not, that's precisely how it is. We're all hyurs with extra bits, and the extra bits take extra time and resources to develop for.

You're not going to convince me that it takes significantly more time to design a miqo'te face compared to a hyur face, or any others. xD I think SE's artists are better than that.

[Shurrikhan]

I don't really buy that excuse. Every single race is essentially human, with slight variations in overall build, skin tone, etc. There is no race that should have any greater difficulty to design for, all things considered.

Nonetheless it's genre standard that the most humanoid races usually have the most options, so unless this is some awkward form of racism against inexistant species (or player personality types that would be drawn to them), their development must be considered more efficient, either because
- They take less time to develop, or —
- Their options affect and satisfy a larger portion of the playerbase, making them a more lucrative choice to flesh out in the goal of providing satisfying customization overall than the other races.

[Roda]

Nonetheless it's genre standard that the most humanoid races usually have the most options, so unless this is some awkward form of racism against inexistant species (or player personality types that would be drawn to them), their development must be considered more efficient, either because
- They take less time to develop, or —
- Their options affect and satisfy a larger portion of the playerbase, making them a more lucrative choice to flesh out in the goal of providing satisfying customization overall than the other races.

But... all of the races are humanoid, with maybe the exception of the lalafelin baby-faces...

And don't most active players play the tailed races? ._.