So, what about that Elezen walk/Jogg rework?

[Iscah]

It being race locked makes no sense when every race is just a different flavor of human.

Different-shaped flavours of human are going to run differently. But in any case it would primarily a choice for minimising how much data needs to be sent. Other players' computers just need to know your race and that tells it which animations to use as well as which model to display. If you could choose, then it needs to be told that separately.

[PyurBlue]

Different-shaped flavours of human are going to run differently.

They could, it depends on what exactly is different. Since class animations are shared by all races, it suggests that everyone in Eorzea has a similar range of motion. From a technical standpoint, not every race shares the same skeleton, but a number of them do. It turns out that it is possible to make one race use another's emotes (and even starting gear in some cases), including some of the walking ones, without modifying game code.

But in any case it would primarily a choice for minimising how much data needs to be sent. Other players' computers just need to know your race and that tells it which animations to use as well as which model to display. If you could choose, then it needs to be told that separately.

I don't know exactly how it works in FF14, but I imagine that just making the list of idles/walking animations longer doesn't push us closer to the data limit. There already seems to be multiple choices for walking because it changes with class when a weapon is drawn. It also changes when carrying objects in the MSQ. So if the animation list just contains all the animations, there is no need to pass extra data. We've already also expanded the lists in the past with extra idle animations and new walking animations for parasols.

[Evergrey]

I always thought our Elezen run like Velma from Scooby Doo. I hate our animations. I usually request they should add animation options to be based on attitude not race. I always run with my weapon out just so I can run differently.

ESO have personalities one can select that changes idle poses, some even the walk and run animations.
Different game ofc, but it's an idea that's already working elsewhere.

[Iscah]

I don't know exactly how it works in FF14, but I imagine that just making the list of idles/walking animations longer doesn't push us closer to the data limit. There already seems to be multiple choices for walking because it changes with class when a weapon is drawn. It also changes when carrying objects in the MSQ. So if the animation list just contains all the animations, there is no need to pass extra data. We've already also expanded the lists in the past with extra idle animations and new walking animations for parasols.

There doesn't need to be a list to choose from at all in the current situation, because there is only ever one animation your character can be using based on their race and the action you are currently using. There's going to be some kind of back-end list to find the correct animation for this situation from, or however it works exactly, but that's not the same as the player being able to choose which one they want applied to their character.

If you are a male Elezen paladin, that's information which needs to be sent; if you walk forward, your movement is sent, but at no point does the other computer need to be told how your walk should look because there is only one option for how a male Elezen's movement should look and it can be worked out at the other end.

If you draw your sword, you will walk differently – but there is still only one option for how a male Elezen paladin moves at walking speed while holding a sword, so again all that needs to be sent is that you drew your sword and where you moved to, and the other computer can fill in the rest.

[PyurBlue]

There doesn't need to be a list to choose from at all in the current situation, because there is only ever one animation your character can be using based on their race and the action you are currently using. There's going to be some kind of back-end list to find the correct animation for this situation from, or however it works exactly, but that's not the same as the player being able to choose which one they want applied to their character.

We're getting deeper into speculation, but we know there are probably lists somewhere. It would make sense for idle animation lists to exist since we can freely choose between them and emotes.

You proposed one possible way that animation selection might work through selected class and race, but even in that case there may be a list which would be the class list. At the moment this may only contain classes, but what if it was expanded to include more information without sending more data? Say by duplicating classes with different traits. For example "Paladin motivated" and "Paladin exhausted". The former could be the normal PLD animation set while the latter is the same as regular PLD but with animations suggesting weariness from battle. This maintains the same amount of information sent as in your example, there are just more choices for class in what you called the back-end list. Another way to look at it is that you're embedding more information into data that already needs to be sent (we can change class at will, so this is information that computers running FF14 needs to be looking out for). The class list can apparently be expanded because FF14 has had the class list increased with time. Also, something like this may have been done with parasols and other accessory items because they modify the existing character walk animations. Maybe accessory items would be a better way to add extra walking animations than using pseudo-classes.

Is that how the game actually works, or close to it? I don't know, we'd need SE to actually say if something like that is feasible, but given what we do know it doesn't sound like it is completely beyond the realm of possibility. I can't completely rule out your explanation though.

[Pablomaldito]

They should give Elezen a straighter back and more head bobbing

[Luluna]

Elezen run is pretty bad but saying that it is the one thing on my Hyur that I am not overly fond of but have got used to over the years. Au ra have a terrible run also, the females tend to bend forward too much for my liking. I wish you could choose in CC it would make things more varied for people.

[MsQi]

Female elezen walk is heinous and I hate it immensely

She's a queen.

[Arzalis]

We're getting deeper into speculation, but we know there are probably lists somewhere. It would make sense for idle animation lists to exist since we can freely choose between them and emotes.

You proposed one possible way that animation selection might work through selected class and race, but even in that case there may be a list which would be the class list. At the moment this may only contain classes, but what if it was expanded to include more information without sending more data? Say by duplicating classes with different traits. For example "Paladin motivated" and "Paladin exhausted". The former could be the normal PLD animation set while the latter is the same as regular PLD but with animations suggesting weariness from battle. This maintains the same amount of information sent as in your example, there are just more choices for class in what you called the back-end list. Another way to look at it is that you're embedding more information into data that already needs to be sent (we can change class at will, so this is information that computers running FF14 needs to be looking out for). The class list can apparently be expanded because FF14 has had the class list increased with time. Also, something like this may have been done with parasols and other accessory items because they modify the existing character walk animations. Maybe accessory items would be a better way to add extra walking animations than using pseudo-classes.

Is that how the game actually works, or close to it? I don't know, we'd need SE to actually say if something like that is feasible, but given what we do know it doesn't sound like it is completely beyond the realm of possibility. I can't completely rule out your explanation though.

We already know. The game makes assumptions based on your race, gender, and job/class. If you were able to choose, that is now something that needs to be broadcasted to every player which is more data being sent across the network.

It's a very minimal amount of data, but it is something still. That said, sending new dye information from an extra dye channel is almost certainly more expensive, so clearly it's doable. It's just a matter of them wanting to make the changes needed. I'd wager something like this isn't very high priority.

[Iscah]

It's a very minimal amount of data, but it is something still. That said, sending new dye information from an extra dye channel is almost certainly more expensive, so clearly it's doable. It's just a matter of them wanting to make the changes needed. I'd wager something like this isn't very high priority.

It's also a matter of "budgeting" what the data gets used for. If they add extra data-pieces for all the dye info, it's probably less rather than more likely that they will add even more data for another additional thing.

I have also seen people speculating elsewhere that the second dye might not even be adding new data but repurposing some other aspect of gear data that currently gets transmitted but isn't really needed, like signatures or something.