Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[SturmChurro]

You can't please everyone and sometimes it is worth taking risks to realise greater (potential) gains. I sincerely doubt they're going to vex many by reworking elezen to look better; even that 5% or so of people who play the race.

True enough, in the grand scheme more people would probably play the race.. However, I think it's too late for any major adjustments. The look of elezen is kind of ingrained now. I could see maybe some minor adjustments like new faces or racial hairs, just nothing that alters their core design. Even if they could conceivably adjust all outfits to the new models, or some other way. Maybe the elf race in their next MMORPG.

[Colt47]

There are a few things that are problematic with the Viera head composition as well at the moment anatomically. They chose the ear position based on what made them look the most "rabbit like", so they put the ear canal going upwards without thinking about the functionality of the component. The reason rabbits have that slightly upward facing ear canal is because they are low to the ground and everything they are worried about is coming at them from above like hawks and owls. That and they act as a way to exhaust heat from the body quickly.

Viera, on the other hand, are apex predators that are above average in height on both sexes. Because they are upright they get more wind exposure than the low to the ground rabbit and they have little to no body hair, so heat isn't as much of a problem for them. In fact they are adapted to an environment similar to humans, so they probably would have been living in moderate to dry climates with relatively hot summers.

Since the viera are naturally tall, the evolution of their ear position would likely have went more towards that of the Fennec Fox exhibited here:

They'd probably be the Final Fantasy version of elves. Long furry ears and an above average height with a strong build that bends a bit more towards the mesomorphic side.

[Allegor]

Elezen bodies are generally fine, I actually think the long necks make them unique, plus supermodels tend to have long necks and elongated limbs, I think that was the aesthetic they were going for -- It's their posture, head size, and shoulder area that are noticeably...weird. I don't know how to put it but it's like there are 3 invisible Moogles pulling from each of their limbs and their head, it doesn't feel natural. Female Viera and male Hroth have an overall better body structure despite sharing the same skeleton as Elezen and Roe so I don't really doubt the same would be done for the opposite genders.

That said, it's kinda sad that we would need an entirely new race to 'fix' older ones. I agree with the above comments in that there may be people that won't like any potential character overhaul, but that would be a minuscule portion of people who already play the 2 least popular races. There's more to gain than what's there to lose.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Elezen bodies are generally fine, I actually think the long necks make them unique, plus supermodels tend to have long necks and elongated limbs, I think that was the aesthetic they were going for -- It's their posture, head size, and shoulder area that are noticeably...weird. I don't know how to put it but it's like there are 3 invisible Moogles pulling from each of their limbs and their head, it doesn't feel natural. Female Viera and male Hroth have an overall better body structure despite sharing the same skeleton as Elezen and Roe so I don't really doubt the same would be done for the opposite genders.

That said, it's kinda sad that we would need an entirely new race to 'fix' older ones. I agree with the above comments in that there may be people that won't like any potential character overhaul, but that would be a minuscule portion of people who already play the 2 least popular races. There's more to gain than what's there to lose.

After reading this I just thought about and realized that if they did update the model, they in turn would also have to update the Gear.
And....we all know how that is considering the "missing genders issue"

[Awha]

resource is no a real issue in my view, FF14 is in a great place, they can afford to hire more people to do the work to improve character creation, including the missing gender. But I would sacrifice a dungeon or a alliance raid for those two missing gender in a blink, I care more for character creation in RPGs, but I don't think it's needed to sacrifice one thing for the other.

That is not how running a business works, or working on a project within a larger company. FFXIV does pull in tons of money, but FFXIV is not the only project being worked on within SE, they are given a budget and they have to work within that budget end of story. Putting more resources into character development will take resources away from something else. Also, we do not even know if Yoshi-P is free to allocate the budget without corporate approval which would toss another bone into the mix. It is a give and take. You may feel it one can live without giving up on another, but sadly that is not how it is when you work on a project within a company that has many projects going on.

Different story if FFXIV was the only thing SE was working on. I do not envy their position, and the choices they have to make.

[LuquePlayer]

That is not how running a business works, or working on a project within a larger company. FFXIV does pull in tons of money, but FFXIV is not the only project being worked on within SE, they are given a budget and they have to work within that budget end of story. Putting more resources into character development will take resources away from something else. Also, we do not even know if Yoshi-P is free to allocate the budget without corporate approval which would toss another bone into the mix. It is a give and take. You may feel it one can live without giving up on another, but sadly that is not how it is when you work on a project within a company that has many projects going on.

Different story if FFXIV was the only thing SE was working on. I do not envy their position, and the choices they have to make.

You do have a good point, but we also have to considerer that investment in character development is not waste of money, sell itens in the store like fantasia will make a tons of money, if nerd behide a computer can make a decent mod for customization a company can do it too, I work with IT a long time and I do know what I'm talking about, the only diference is how much the company is willing to do it or not. , if it was up to me I would preferer a upgrade in character creation (more hair. beard, etc) them develop a limited-job like blue mage, I'm sure a lot of people in the community feel the way I do, There is only one way to measure how to prioritize content and that is ask the community for feedback.

[Awha]

You do have a good point, but we also have to considerer that investment in character development is not waste of money, sell itens in the store like fantasia will make a tons of money, if nerd behide a computer can make a decent mod for customization a company can do it too, I work with IT a long time and I do know what I'm talking about, the only diference is how much the company is willing to do it or not. , if it was up to me I would preferer a upgrade in character creation (more hair. beard, etc) them develop a limited-job like blue mage, I'm sure a lot of people in the community feel the way I do, There is only one way to measure how to prioritize content and that is ask the community for feedback.

For us as players it may seem like a good investment, but we do not make the choices. They go based off the data they have, and if SE gives them a budget they have to work within that budget end of story. Character development is not cheap, easy, or quick. Based off their statement regarding this may be the last new playable race, I think it is safe to assume that their data does not show that it is a good investment of time or resources with the budget they were given. For us it may not be a waste, but for those handling the budget it may seem like a waste, and to a degree I think it is safe to assume that based off their stance of maybe no other playable races. It is easy as a fan and costumer to voice how we would spend money, but a lot goes into managing a budget and difficult choices have to me made. I am sure they have a giant list of features they would love to add to the game, that the players would enjoy. It is just not that easy.

While I am not SE, from my perspective dealing with large projects I would never base my business choices solely off the vocal majority, I would also go based off our data we have collected, and would weigh that data from more then what the "vocal" community wants. That works if your aim is towards an enthusiast market, but I do not think that is SE's goal with FFXIV. I am going to make a large assumption but my guess their data shows that majority do not really care all that much about character creator and for most they create their character and sort of forget about it. Maybe outside hair styles and glamour, many may not alter appearance all that much or even switch to a new race when they are released. I am sure people do, but they properly felt that money would be better spent elsewhere.

In the real world when it comes to running large projects sacrifices have to be made. They are not fun choices to make, but they have to be made.

[zeylos]

For us as players it may seem like a good investment, but we do not make the choices. They go based off the data they have, and if SE gives them a budget they have to work within that budget end of story. Character development is not cheap, easy, or quick. Based off their statement regarding this may be the last new playable race, I think it is safe to assume that their data does not show that it is a good investment of time or resources with the budget they were given. For us it may not be a waste, but for those handling the budget it may seem like a waste, and to a degree I think it is safe to assume that based off their stance of maybe no other playable races. It is easy as a fan and costumer to voice how we would spend money, but a lot goes into managing a budget and difficult choices have to me made. I am sure they have a giant list of features they would love to add to the game, that the players would enjoy. It is just not that easy.

Imo, Male Viera and Female Hrotgar > PvP, Ultimates, A couple glamour sets etc

[SturmChurro]

Imo, Male Viera and Female Hrotgar > PvP, Ultimates, A couple glamour sets etc

I'd definitely rather have overhauled PvP (that was good) and good new glamour than male viera and female hrothgar.

[Awha]

Imo, Male Viera and Female Hrotgar > PvP, Ultimates, A couple glamour sets etc

You are also properly part of the vocal minority. I would like for a fat body type, and for me that is worth more then any other form of content but I know in the grand scheme that it would simply be a bleep and would not be the best use of time or resources. This is already feels like a budget expansion, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that SE properly mandates a certain amount of FFXIV's money goes towards marketing and promotions, which prob does not leave Yoishi-P as much as he would like to work on the game itself.

Though I would rather have three ultimate fights per expansion over the missing genders. You see how this sort of works? Cannot go based off the vocal part of the community wants, have to go based off projects, trends, and data they have within house. May not be a fun opinion, but if the playable races put that much strain on development and limited other forms of content like dungeons, fully fleshing out the fishing boat, pvp chances, more ultimate, more blue mage content etc . . . I rather they never add another playable race.