Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[Glitchima]

I'm really hoping we get some information on them because a part of me just kinda refuses to believe that they will NEVER add male viera. Like, maybe nothing will happen on this fanfest, but on the next one maybe.. we will get a showcase.. I want to stay hopeful ; __ ;

[Theodric]

Well, if we don't hear anything about the missing genders in May then it's safe to say that they won't be coming with the expansion. That does, however, raise the question as to what new features we'll be getting instead.

That aside, it's possible that we'll see them added eventually. It's a good trick for the development team to unveil if and when the game starts bleeding subscriptions or is generally considered to be 'stale'. Other MMO's, most notably WoW, have a habit of suddenly adding highly sought after features in similar circumstances.

[WhiteArchmage]

That's what I believe: They WILL be added... eventually... WHEN they'll be added is what's up in the air.

6.0? If they're revealed in the FanFest.

7.0? If they overhaul their engine to make gear fitting easier.

Beyond? If they see it as a way to bring back subs and get lots of PR ("Final Fantasy Finally Introduces Male Viera!" all over the gaming media, not including FemHroths because they're based on Ronso and they already had females).

[zeylos]

That's what I believe: They WILL be added... eventually... WHEN they'll be added is what's up in the air.

6.0? If they're revealed in the FanFest.

7.0? If they overhaul their engine to make gear fitting easier.

Beyond? If they see it as a way to bring back subs and get lots of PR ("Final Fantasy Finally Introduces Male Viera!" all over the gaming media, not including FemHroths because they're based on Ronso and they already had females).

I think the amount of press they would get trhrough introducing male viera is ususally undervalued in this server, it would likely be all over gaming news considering how iconic they are, and that is sure to catch the attention of quite a few potential subbers.

[SturmChurro]

I think the amount of press they would get trhrough introducing male viera is ususally undervalued in this server, it would likely be all over gaming news considering how iconic they are, and that is sure to catch the attention of quite a few potential subbers.

I don't know about "all over" gaming news, maybe beside whatever else is being discussed, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it a highlight for games media. Also, I don't think male viera are very iconic, considering they don't actually exist. People don't even know what they look like.

[Melichoir]

Agreed on points 1-3, and I have always thought that would be the most logical approach to it. He's made murmurs in a recent interview, which make me think that, coupled with comments about how long they want the game to go on, they are now seriously looking at it as a project. Comments before SHB were more tentative, even if the intention was there.

Whether SE management likes it or not, FFXIV is their current flagship and a chunk of their income. Maybe not a majority, but big enough that should FFXIV collapse overnight, it would be a financial disaster for the company. They dont have anythign else lined up at the moment too. So the best thing right now is to revamp aspects of the game to insulate it against aging poorly. Cosmetics and appearance are almost always the number 1 stop, because people immediately tell if a game has aged or not is by how it looks. FFXIV has been pretty good about its appearances. But as time roles on, if they dont fix customization and look and feel, its gonna hurt hte game. Its better to invest now in updating look and feel when the game is fairly solid.

Now they could of course focus on something completely else. That is a real possibility. Revamping the character engine is no small feet. A lot of the game revolves around how the models look and interact with the game. Missteps can lead to jarring visual issues. So we shouldnt stake all of our hopes on the idea this is where theyre going. They might just decide to do bandaid fixes. I dont think thats wise, but Im not the devs. But the possibility does exist.

If Im going to be pragmatic, however, I will say this: Yeah, the engine will get an update/overhaul, but no, it wont be as extensive in customization as we would hope. Itll be better, but wont be everything on the wishlist.

I'm really hoping we get some information on them because a part of me just kinda refuses to believe that they will NEVER add male viera. Like, maybe nothing will happen on this fanfest, but on the next one maybe.. we will get a showcase.. I want to stay hopeful ; __ ;

Male Viera//Female Hrothgar would have to come after fixing the current model issues with what we have. And fixing those issues is heavily restricted by the current engine when it comes to characters (there is literally no argument that it is impossible to fix hairstyles/headgear for Hrothgar/viera when WoW literally has numerous races that have a variety of head/body types and manages fine despite being far older).

Frankly, I think the best PR move would be to do this (IF they do everything on the wishlist):

Upcoming FanFest - release a preview of the updated engine by showing of currently existing models with updated features and what not and then go into some of the specifics.. This will show the character engine has been updated. You could even see fixes to Hrothgar and Viera issues. this will also start ramping up speculation about the off sexes.

Final FanFest a few months from now - Hype game up, and in the final trailer, Show off Female Hrothgar and Male Viera Variants.

Go about it this way and you can see a ton of people resubbing on top of fantasia sales going off the charts. But we'll have to wait and see.

[Mordrick]

More options are always better.

[Awha]

Can something that has not really be seen or known be considered iconic?

[zeylos]

Can something that has not really be seen or known be considered iconic?

Male viera arent themselves but the viera race is, so it would likely be big because of that

[Melichoir]

I wouldnt call Male Viera iconic, the concept of Viera in general sure.

But this isnt a mystery box thing where there are gaps in history/lore to allow wiggle room for speculation (like how a ton of Elder Scrolls lore is fairly ambiguous because that builds intrigue; never knowing the absolute truths of things, but piecing together evidence to form hypothesizes of what happened or what something is). This though is a bit different. Everything about them is relatively explained (even if I personally think the explanation is kinda junk in context of FFXIV..) so its weird to have this giant "?" in regards to their appearance and interactions when everything else is alluded at very overtly and directly.

Revealing them would be a big "Filling in the Blank" moment that would draw quite a bit of interest (and probably some controversy, but gossip is good for getting attention).