Why do Mi’qote ears go through Snow’s hat but not Hrothgar ears?

[Divinemights]

Please help me understand the attempted lore justification for this particular example, game designers; your “the ears are hiding” explanation doesn’t work for this hair option due to an illogical inconsistency between two different feline races that both have ears.

Are all Hrothgar making a conscious decision to uncomfortably tuck their ears under the hat, whereas no Mi’qote decide to do that? Why would the two races be different here?

It is because miquote default head is bald with no ear.
Hrothgar default head model comes with ear because this is an actual beast race and not really humanoid model that already existed.

[Iscah]

If you're looking for a real lore reason for the difference, there isn't one. It's just about character models.

If you're looking to justify it in your headcanon, you could say they just have a different head shape that is less suited to holding the bandana in place and it tends to slip off the ears if they're left sticking out.

It is because miquote default head is bald with no ear.

Yes and no. The inner part of the ear is part of the body model, though free-floating over the head so it can move for animations. The outer part of the ear is built into the hairstyle.

[Raikai]

It is because miquote default head is bald with no ear.
Hrothgar default head model comes with ear because this is an actual beast race and not really humanoid model that already existed.

I thought this explanation (which also was female Viera's case) was addressed - that being the whole point of making them able to have the common hairstyles. And that Male Viera was a new model without these issues.

Unless the statement didn't include Hrothgar males.

[Iscah]

Unless the statement didn't include Hrothgar males.

The statement was specifically about Viera, so no, it didn't include Hrothgar.

It's pretty clear that they (and Miqo'te) are all differently constructed models and what works for one doesn't automatically work for another. The ears are controlled and applied in their own specific ways that may be attached to the hair or the head or an independent selectable piece.

Miqo'te can't choose their ear shape; it's tied to the hairstyle. Viera ears are independent of the hair. Hrothgar ears were permanently moulded into the head but that may not be the case for the altered version that will exist after tomorrow.

You can't assume how one will work based on the other.

[Arkfrost]

@Thread topic:

But Hrothgar ears do go through Snow's hat!:



Wait... that's a mod... that someone just slapped together in a couple of minutes/hours in June 2021... almost a year ago...

__________

It is because miquote default head is bald with no ear.
Hrothgar default head model comes with ear because this is an actual beast race and not really humanoid model that already existed.

I thought this explanation (which also was female Viera's case)

No, female Viera's default head model never came with ears tied to it. The ears are a completely separate parts, neither tied to the head nor the hair model. Those are 3 completely separate files. Viera heads are exactly like Miqote heads: Bald without any ears.



There's a switch in the Metadata of hat/helmet models called HeadShowEarViera that switches ears on and off.
There has also been another rumor that Viera ears use the same slot as hats/helmets, but this was also completely wrong and entirely made up by people who have zero clue how the game works and just assumed stuff without any basis. SE simply toggled helmet display for Viera off, with another metadata switch called HeadShowVieraHat. It took a modder 3 hours to enable every single helmet in the game for Viera by simply putting a check mark on this metadata option on every helmet in the game. Then it took them another 3 hours to disable the Viera ears on every helmet/hat to make a second version of the mod without ears.

Pretty sure that this was a design decision because SE didn't like how Viera ears clip through hats & helmets (meanwhile Moren's hair clip through his whole hood like crazy in an official cutscene, when he looks at the sky after you kill the first Lightwarden)

[Canadane]

Miqo'te, not Mi'qote.

[Gemina]

It is because miquote default head is bald with no ear.
Hrothgar default head model comes with ear because this is an actual beast race and not really humanoid model that already existed.

Yup. I remember them talking about exactly this. Something along the lines that they have to put the Miqo'te ears 'on' so-to-speak. With the Hrothgar, the ears are part of the model, so adding ears like they do with the Miqo'te would cause all kinds of clipping issues.

That's all well and good with explaining the constrictions they are dealing with, and unfortunately, many would consider it overstepping pressing the matter further than that; such as wondering why they even went that route in the first place when there is another feline race in existence without those constrictions they could've used as a starting point.

It's yet another example of SE and their lack of foresight. I get they wanted a true beast race, but there is a definitely a disconnect if it simply slipped their minds that the playerbase would not favor the lack of CC options. I will always remain of the mind that no additional races should have ever been released unless they are every single bit as customizable as any of the other races. We now see the result of releasing more races prematurely. It's a shame, and they're going to do it one more time to boot.

[Adamantini]

It is because miquote default head is bald with no ear.
Hrothgar default head model comes with ear because this is an actual beast race and not really humanoid model that already existed.

As we can see here

Here

I'm a very experienced 3D Artist. It took me 25 minutes to figure out how to rip from the game, and throw this together:

While it does look significantly better with ears, it goes to show their hair choices were abysmal, and nonsensical.

and here



This is just an excuse.