So umm...let's talk about being a Lalafell for a second

[Melichoir]

Max-height lalafell players are the Blanka players of FFXIV. You know what this means.

Don't talk to max-height lala players. Don't look at max-height lala players. Don't shake max-height lala players hands.

(I do slightly discriminate against plainsfolks though)

My lala was not only max height, but she was also a plainsfolk. Tall lalas are best ones, and Dunes folk just have dead soulless eyes!

[Schan]

I guess people find them to be child-like because of their proportions. I would assume that's why people also find them cute while other people find them creepy. Considering our brain is design to react a certain way towards children, some people might find it a bit too much if they are doing more mature things, even if lore-wise they are adults. There's a certain dissonance I would guess (on top of the whole horror film trope thing)

Funny. As a Roe, anything but max height is laughed at. Guess as a Lala this rule's reversed.

Is it? o.O
Well that's both interesting and funny to know.

I mean I find smaller Roes just... cute.

My lala was not only max height, but she was also a plainsfolk. Tall lalas are best ones, and Dunes folk just have dead soulless eyes!

I have no idea what you're talking about. *runs off*

[Exiled_Tonberry]

Max-height lalafell players are the Blanka players of FFXIV. You know what this means.

Don't talk to max-height lala players. Don't look at max-height lala players. Don't shake max-height lala players hands.

But max height Lalas have thicker hips!

...You can pretend I didn't say that.

[Kacho_Nacho]

(I do slightly discriminate against plainsfolks though)

Bleah! *sticks non-blue tongue out*

But max height Lalas have thicker hips!

...You can pretend I didn't say that.

Nuh huh! I saw you!

(Now, I'm curious. Excuse me while I do some comparisons via Photoshop)

[Kacho_Nacho]

The difference was smaller than I expected.

[Dualgunner]

Suddenly max height hating in here.

You guys are gonna make Lilila cry.

[Kacho_Nacho]

Suddenly max height hating in here.

You guys are gonna make Lilila cry.

/hug

Don't listen to the haters. We all know it's the size of our hearts that matters, not the size of our bodies.

Funny. As a Roe, anything but max height is laughed at. Guess as a Lala this rule's reversed.

Really? I didn't know that was a thing. Anyways, what I wrote above applies to you too.

[Skyward]

Funny. As a Roe, anything but max height is laughed at. Guess as a Lala this rule's reversed.

[Fercius]

I must say that i'm grateful that i've never met someone that was overly toxic because i was a lala, i've had the occasional food remark but i honestly could not care less what someone else thinks. And even in my FC or past FC's it has never been an issue, sure they jest about it trying to eat me or roasting me alive but all in good fun.

I think its also a lot on the player and how they behave, i just act normal and nobody seems to mind that.

Also i dont like the discrimination against max - height lalafells, i personally really like my Tall-afell

[Iscah]

Do you think that the Lalas design is a reason why there aren't too many used in msq cutscenes or just cutscenes in general?Cuz the only Lalafells that has any involvement in the story beside the player's are Papalymo,Tataru,Pipin,Nanamo,Lolorito and Teledji.And you only see Papalymo and Pipin fighting and even then it's only for small scale fights or stuff that involves magic ala the end of Heavensward.But you never see a Lalafell being involved in choreographed fight scenes that involves clashing as those would either involve a Hyur,a miqote or the other similarly proportioned race.

For fight choreography specifically, I would guess that they might use motion capture for complex fights, or work from video reference of people acting it out. Either way, they're more likely to be working with people of typical human height, so will use characters with those proportions to make it easier.

Its probably a factor in how often tehy are used in a variety of stuff. People have to consider a few things. When setting up a 'cutscene', the devs need to detemine where the camera is, how its going to move, and so forth. Now they either do one of two things: 1) they make the camera placement and movements broad and general within a wider environment, or 2) They tailor the camera movement to the character race specifically.

I mention that aspect because since LaLas are drastically shorter than all other races, it can create issues in cutscenes where the camera might clip through a wall where it may not with a taller character. As an example, in a cutscene I watched in Doman Enclave, the camera clipped through the bench and I was staring at wood texture for a good 20 seconds. A probably oversight but it does happen. This brings up the wider issue with character models. How characters are designed can have an impact on how things are shown/played out in cutscenes, animations, and the like. In this case, Lalafells' height may affect how the camera can be used, particularly in smaller or cramped environments. Of course, that also works in reverse for super tall characters, but since the differences between the 'average' character model is more extreme between lalas and (lets say) elezen, youre probably going to get more issues with the shorter characters.

There are definitely camera issues with taller characters! There have been a few times where my Elezen character isn't properly in frame. And as luck would have it, I found one after reading this discussion.

Comparison of the shot with my three different characters:

zero-height Midlander (157cm)

11-height Roegadyn (195cm)

50-height Elezen (202cm)

(G'raha is zero-height/159cm)

I assume it's programmed to keep G'raha in the middle of the screen and then adjust the camera height to get the other character in shot - you can see the difference from the lines of bricks in the background.

Except, for some reason, the camera is set highest for the Roegadyn, and lower for the Elezen even though he's taller.

My only guess at what might be causing it is the way Elezen don't stand facing straight ahead but turned to the left, and whether that might confuse the camera somehow.

If anyone else wants to test it out and see what it does with a really tall or short character, it's from Scene 4 of "Syrcus Tower", a fair way into the scene after most of the party leave.

---

Also, on where the 'average' height is compared to the extremes, I checked the heights of the different models.

At the default setting of 50, in centimetres (and height order):
222.0 - male Roegadyn
210.0 - male Au Ra
207.3 - female Roegadyn
202.0 - male Elezen
192.5 - male Highlander
191.0 - female Elezen
180.4 - female Highlander
175.0 - male Midlander
166.2 - male Miqo'te
164.0 - female Midlander
156.0 - female Miqo'te
152.2 - female Au Ra
091.9 - Lalafell (both)

The midpoint between tallest and shortest is 157cm - right where all the popular races are. But yes, by the list of character models, most are closer to the tall end of the scale.