Character Creation Has A Race Problem

[Skivvy]

Like the Big butt thing this isn't Earth stop projecting Earthly qualities on the charaters. Ya they come close but it doesn't make it earth.

There are no Elveens, Au Ra, Miqo'te IRL...

As for more customizations they have said they aren't changing it.

I don't get why people seem to relish the the fact that customization is so limited in this game. I personally have been able to make characters I like, so I'm content enough, but many other games blow XIV out of the water with the characters you can create.

But yeah, I am always surprised by the amount of push-back that occurs from the players when people suggest expanding options. Boggles the mind.

[Joven]

I don't get why people seem to relish the the fact that customization is so limited in this game. I personally have been able to make characters I like, so I'm content enough, but many other games blow XIV out of the water with the characters you can create.

But yeah, I am always surprised by the amount of push-back that occurs from the players when people suggest expanding options. Boggles the mind.

I don't think people on here are against more options for character creation, but as it is we have to make do with what we've got. And why do people keep bringing up other game's creation modes? This is Final Fantasy XIV, not the other games.

[Skivvy]

And why do people keep bringing up other game's creation modes? This is Final Fantasy XIV, not the other games.

It never hurts to keep an eye on your competition and maybe even get inspiration from them. Improving on a game is always possible, and there are many, MANY things that other games handle in a superior way.

[Joven]

It never hurts to keep an eye on your competition and maybe even get inspiration from them. Improving on a game is always possible, and there are many, MANY things that other games handle in a superior way.

True, but if the they wanted to add to it then they would have by now. Pining for features from other games is pretty moot.

[Skivvy]

True, but if the they wanted to add to it then they would have by now. Pining for features from other games is pretty moot.

I think a lot of the issue is that they can't otherwise the game will implode. At least that's how Yoshi makes it sound. Still, it never hurts to ask for more customization. If they do it, great. If not, we get to decide if we can continue playing with what we're given.

[Joven]

I think a lot of the issue is that they can't otherwise the game will implode. At least that's how Yoshi makes it sound. Still, it never hurts to ask for more customization. If they do it, great. If not, we get to decide if we can continue playing with what we're given.

From what I hear the servers are always a hairsbreadth from absolute total meltdown 99.98% of the time.

[Granyala]

I think a lot of the issue is that they can't otherwise the game will implode. At least that's how Yoshi makes it sound. Still, it never hurts to ask for more customization.

It really depends on how the game is set up.
WoW had a standard 16slot backback that Blizzard hardcoded to a ridonculous degree. It prevented them from upping it's size for many years, b/c they actually had to rewrite a ton of ancient code that was "held together by duct-tape" in order to make it happen.

Games are complex programs and esp after many years and patches, the original people might not be there any more and it is difficult for the current folks to understand everything.

Adding more faces / customization options may be sth. that SE really wants to do but it may very well be that the effort is just too much to actually make it happen w/o sacrificing other, more important things.

[kikix12]

I don't get why people seem to relish the the fact that customization is so limited in this game. I personally have been able to make characters I like, so I'm content enough, but many other games blow XIV out of the water with the characters you can create.

I'm sorry, but though I'd appreciate more options here or there, I also disagree with this statement a lot.

Most of games that have far greater amount of customization do so by means of sliders, usually. As an end result...many caricatures are made. If I had to make a choice between a game with very few options and a game where caricatures can be made and everything else is equal, you can be 100% certain that I will pick the fewer options. I cannot make the "best looking character", but then again, I won't be surrounded by horrid abominations that some players find entertaining.
The major reason why I completely turn off names of characters in every MMO I play (if possible) is because players choose stuff that doesn't sound remotely name-like in any language possible. IamSupaMan, IOwnYou, EatMyDust and similar stuff is not names. But names I can turn off...characters themselves I cannot.

A character creator that both gives a lot of freedom and prevents making of caricatures would be like making a game in itself. The amount of work that'd have to come into it would be immense. So since that's not a possibility...a game with creator that have more limited options is actually better than a game that gives free reign. And this is also a reason that the developers of FFXIV don't see significant changes to the creator as high in priority list. They don't want these ridiculous designs either, something they DID actually state themselves, for the immersion breaking nature of that.

[Granyala]

The major reason why I completely turn off names of characters in every MMO I play (if possible) is because players choose stuff that doesn't sound remotely name-like in any language possible. IamSupaMan, IOwnYou, EatMyDust and similar stuff is not names. But names I can turn off...characters themselves I cannot.

A kindred spirit, I see.
One can curb the worst of the caricatures pretty easily by adding sliders but keeping the possible values restricted to realistic looking body shapes.

Though we also need different models and textures as options, it always struck me as odd, that a caster is as ripped as a warrior, e.g.: WoW -> sporting muscles that made every bodybuilder envious. Yes, I know, heavy tomes and all that.

Another example along that line: if one wants to create older characters (not necessary Grandma like) and only has the body of a 20 yr old as an option.

[kikix12]

One can curb the worst of the caricatures pretty easily by adding sliders but keeping the possible values restricted to realistic looking body shapes.

Yes, but it's not as easy as one would think. Humanly possible variations include people that are 1,6m and 1,9m high. Make a body of a 1,9m high person with the legs of a 1,6m high person and you have a caricature while using sliders limited to humanly possible values.

To avoid that, one would need to make proper algorithms that calculate proportions and actively limit options based on what else is selected. And that is what would take a lot of effort to make, seeing as proportions of just about anything is related to just about anything else, directly or indirectly.

This particular thread was more focused on providing more ethnic looking options.
(...)
In regards to sliders, they can be tweaked to not allow extreme options.

You are the one that both brought up other games and their creators and how much freedom they have, as well as as compared FFXIV to them. I merely responded to that. Only now do you seem to try and reduce the scope of that comparison, but even then, just at the face value for the sake of negating what I said.

That would be completely within the control of the developer.

Of course. It IS possible to make a wonderful character creator that allows to make characters of many varied races that completely seal any risk of caricature characters being made, all the while providing immense freedom. All with nothing but sliders. However, as I said, making even a restricted version of that is time consuming and costly. Too costly for vast majority of the games. Unless it would be made to match multiple games, thus be reused, the cost of such a well-made character creator will NOT return itself even in part. No matter what character creator you have, players will play the game if it's good and won't if it's not. And most people do NOT ever change their characters looks. I didn't even use a free Fantasia I got, it's still collecting dust on my retainer. Unless I'll want to make character on a different server, I won't even see the new character creator anymore. And most people are like me. So yes. The likelihood is that the choice is between limited options or caricatures, and I'd pick limited options every time. I know I'm one of the few in that...but yes.


That being said, I already brought up that I'm not against the idea of broadening those limited options in a controlled manner. But that was not relevant for my response to the particular statement you made there.

Going through this thread, you'll find several people who seem adamantly against adding new faces/features for reasons.

I'll admit I skipped since page 6 or so...but I have not seen one. All of them were more against the supposed "race problem" from the title. Sure, there were people that said the game is fine, but none were strictly against it. Just saying that it's not necessary.