Gender locked race?

[Novak_04]

Creating a new race is a lot of work, having to make male and femele is work X2

Let's not pretend that this is an underfunded corporation. This is Square Enix. They have the man-power to make male and female version of a new race -- especially if the base model is a copy/pasta with a few extra touch-ups. Additionally, it's not like they only have three months to make the male version... They probably began making Shadowbringers around the time Stormblood launched.... which means they've had two years+. If they don't make the male viera, it won't be because they "didn't have the resources."

[Seraphor]

Let's not pretend that this is an underfunded corporation. This is Square Enix. They have the man-power to make male and female version of a new race -- especially if the base model is a copy/pasta with a few extra touch-ups. Additionally, it's not like they only have three months to make the male version... They probably began making Shadowbringers around the time Stormblood launched.... which means they've had two years+. If they don't make the male viera, it won't be because they "didn't have the resources."

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

[Novak_04]

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

You're reading something that isn't there, mate. The reason we don't get five new races every expansion is because they don't want to add them (whether a conflict with the story, or whatever) -- not because they can't add them. At no point did I say their resources were infinite... Rather, I said if they had time to make the female viera -- clearly the headliner of the entire expansion thus far -- then they had time to make the male viera. As I previously stated... If they don't make male viera, it will not be because they didn't have the resources.

[TroySoFab]

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

We don’t get 5 new races because it’s overkill and no one seriously wants that. lol

[Fland]

No matter what excuse they come up with to gender-lock Viera, it's gonna sound forced from story standpoint (or at least the direction it's moving).
How exactly are they gonna make the WoL and their friends heading to the woods where Viera resides but never encounter any male Viera NPC?

And if they actually made male viera NPC in game but not playable by the players (while the female is) then it's even more ridiculous IMO.

[Allegor]

Making male Viera npc but not playable would be adding insult to injury, either they're playable or simply don't exist.

[Alacran]

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

The issue i feel is that by possibly gender locking any race, they run the inevitable risk of facing demand for that which was kept out of reach.

People demanded Viera for years, the demand was there since FFXI. People made all kinds of mods to do what devs couldn't/ wouldn't do for them back in those days. Cut to FFXIV and the demand is still there. When the FATE in Tokyo showed us the oft shown Aura concept art of Viera, Yoshi P himself stated he wished to not show the art, this was due to the fact he knew that player demand would escalate for their inclusion in FFXIV. Preceding this, his wording of a mammalian race being proposed in the race questionnaire back in 1.0's road map voters poll, admittingly skewed the results, however it does not change the fact that Viera once more became a want for many. Owing to wanting FFXIV to have a unique race Aura was made instead, a race no one asked for. True Aura are popular in game atm but even after their implementation Viera remains among most requested and popular FF series races, i would hazard the male equivalent to be no less so.

Hrothgar gives players more options which is great, but still should it be male only... we'll have a Roegadyn issue all over again. After undoing this mistake in in 2.0 (adding Male Miqo'te and Female Roegadyn) why in blessed Halone, would you make more work for yourself knowing full well the demand will be there yet again?

I hope gender locking is not a thing again in this game. While i know my main will stay a Male Highlander (only using different races for my alts), i know i'll be campaigning for Male Viera and Female Hrothgar should gender locking come to pass.

[BillyKaplan]

The issue i feel is that by possibly gender locking any race, they run the inevitable risk of facing demand for that which was kept out of reach.

[looks at past threads asking to unlock Miqo, Roe and Highlander] [looks at past 350 pages of this very thread] I don't think it's a risk so much as an inevitability.

[linay]

Whatever they design them to look like, they won't be able to please everyone, there's been too much build up, and everyone has their own vision of them.

You look at the difference between male and female of the other races (au ra being an outlier) and you apply similar concept to a male Viera in context of the known female form. It may not please everyone, but it is the simplest way of making a male Viera. There is no reason to expect the male being all that different from the female even with their different lifestyle.

[Lauront]

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

It's been 4 years since they added one. Their resources, as Novak mentioned, are considerable - it's more a matter of how much the company allows the MMO to retain for reinvestment, but we know SE has been pouring money back into the game (although exact amounts are unknown), as the game is a major source of revenue regardless and needs to keep up with the market to remain competitive. They certainly have the resources to add two full new races, even, and if they really wanted to cut costs in the way Ahrijlaken mentioned, they could just deliver no new races at all.

Besides, the amount they've poured down dead end avenues in the game, like Diadem, may render some rather deaf to excuses citing a "lack of resources" as an issue.