Hairstyle Concerns for The New Races

[Penthea]

Doesn't really matter what it feels like to you, the math doesn't lie. 16 for the men race and 16 for the women. Men are given unique fur pattern options but no highlights, women are given highlight changing versions of their hair, both things no other race has. If there's more to come we'll see but yeah, they're very much even Stevens right now

This math doesn't add up nicely. Every viera face can have any viera hairstyle. This is not the case for hrothgar. Claiming that the math doesn't lie in this context is like telling two groups of people that they have an even amount of clothing, but in the case of one group they fit only half of them. So while both groups have the same amount of clothing, only one group can wear everything. The math only looks tidy when you don't bother to think about the end user experience.

And it does matter what it feels like to me because I am a player. This content was made for players. And as a player I am concerned about the very restrictive hair options for hrothgar. If hrothgar cannot even share hairstyles among themselves, then naturally it's going to make players worry if they can use other hairstyles they unlocked or bought. I'm not really too worried about this with viera given how you choose hair for them is identical to the existing races, but in the case of hrothgar we got the au ra horn treatment, and we have seen those horns to only ever be locked to faces.

Seems like this is turning out to be another case of male viera ... As in people not taking something at face value and convincing themselves they will get something that wasn't shown just cause it wasn't spelt out to them directly by yoshi.

The difference is there has been a well known lore reason, since before FFXIV was even a game, for why male viera are never seen. There has literally been zero lore as to why hrothgar/ronso cannot share hairstyles among themselves. So you can argue that players should expect male viera to be unplayable, but you can't make that argument for the restrictions on hrothgar hair. No one had any reason to think that hrothgar hair would be given the au ra horn treatment.

[reivaxe]

This math doesn't add up nicely. Every viera face can have any viera hairstyle. This is not the case for hrothgar. Claiming that the math doesn't lie in this context is like telling two groups of people that they have an even amount of clothing, but in the case of one group they fit only half of them. So while both groups have the same amount of clothing, only one group can wear everything. The math only looks tidy when you don't bother to think about the end user experience.

The math is 16 for both races. That's literally the numbers.


We don't know how they will handle this come release so you can only assume how much freedom they give us to change things. Tis why just looking at the numbers is important. Sure, the Hrothgar have restrictions as we see them right now, but that doesn't change that both races currently only have 8 hair styles and 8 alts to them along with unique traits for them.

I am concerned about the very restrictive hair options for hrothgar. If hrothgar cannot even share hairstyles among themselves, then naturally it's going to make players worry if they can use other hairstyles they unlocked or bought. I'm not really too worried about this with viera given how you choose hair for them is identical to the existing races, but in the case of hrothgar we got the au ra horn treatment, and we have seen those horns to only ever be locked to faces.

My point is that if you're concerned about the Hrothgar you should be concerned about the Viera. If you assume there are more to come for Viera then do the same here ... cause really, we have no clue what to expect

We do know, how ever, that the mishap with the replaced picture on the web site was head 1's hair on head 3 and looking at them I see lil prob with fixing them to work on each head. But we'll see in a month I guess.

The difference is there has been a well known lore reason, since before FFXIV was even a game, for why male viera are never seen. There has literally been zero lore as to why hrothgar/ronso cannot share hairstyles among themselves.

.. LOL, what are you talking about?

I'm referring to this ...

-SE shows Viera in vid.
-We only see females.
-Show final race concept art at the end, only females.
-People (including myself) still assume we're getting males.
-People (not me) get shocked when they find out that them not showing males means there are no males once the Hrothgar come.

In this case its ...

-SE refer to both Viera and Hrothgar having unique heads.
-Holds off on giving either head gear until a later date and gives both races the same number of hair styles and alts to them outside of the Fran helmet.
-SE only show Viera with their racial hair styles in promotional media.
-Release benchmark where they only have their 8 racial hair styles and alts. Also their hairstyles have a unique trait that others don't.
-Last time the released a Benchmark for a new race that race had access to all the shared non-mog hairs in the benchmark.
-People think it's safe too assume they will get the others for the unique head Viera come release for some reason.

Like I said, I try to take things at face value. I don't know what to expect but I wouldn't assume one race is gonna get left in the dust and that the other is safe just cause of a tab.
If you are concerned for Hrothgar you should also be concerned for Viera to cause there's not reason assume everything's gonna be roses for them on release.

Anyway ... as things are I can't help but feel there's more to this then we know. Hoping for the best, prepared for the worse.

[reivaxe]

I think it's called using your head to think logically. Tell me, in all these 5 years of FFXIV when has SQEX treat their customers like crap as in you bought a mogstation item and in this case when you can't use it anymore SQEX just go aww too bad? I'm pretty sure yoshida and his dev team has treated us pretty well if not more than other companies out there. Likewise what you have said can be redirected back to you since all you're doing is just speculating too neither yoshida nor the dev team has come out and said that this are the only options this 2 races get so why are you so adamant about this?

... Have you bothered to read what I'm saying?

I've said serveral times that I/ we dont know what's gonna happen but this is all we have to go on. I've said that for all we know both HROTHGAR and Viera will have all the hairs on release, or that maybe they will only have the ones you pay for or win or earn in events cause that's money and it makes no sense to tell these players they can't buy glam for the hair anymore... Or maybe this is it, this is all we get. I'm cool with any case personally.

My only point has been this strange idea that Viera will get the hair but they will just screw over HROTHGAR. If there's more to come for one I think its clear that there's gonna be more for the other to cause of the why they've been handled.

[JunseiKei]

Not directly the same, but tons of us complained that horn types were tied to faces with Au Ra and I remember a lot of push back saying it didn't matter. Now I just find it a bit ironic. If they're going to "fix" Hrothgar and Viera, they better give the same treatment to Au Ra.

[Fumpr]

The head/hairstyles issue has me really on the fence about switching to Hroth. I have been looking forward to them as a race since they were announced, but knowing that those limited customizations will be even more limited using the aesthetician worries me.

[Duskane]

i wouldn't call it 16 hair styles
there just facial features no different to adding scales on au ra if they go and add them to "hair" to make them a option for all faces like viera sure but right now there just add ons

these guys are cool i hope Hrothgar and viera get the hair the rest of us have earn,bought and unlocked over the years

[Brynne]

My point is that if you're concerned about the Hrothgar you should be concerned about the Viera. If you assume there are more to come for Viera then do the same here ... cause really, we have no clue what to expect.

I agree with Penthea on this: there is far more reason to be concerned with Hrothgar than Viera, given how the options are presented. Even if the benchmark represents what we are getting at launch for both races, there's the fact that you (currently) cannot change the face option with the aesthetician. Because hair is tied to face for Hrothgar, this means you'd have to fantasia every time you wanted a new hairstyle (unless SE changes this, which they have given no indication that they are doing). With Viera, at least you can change your hair regularly, and if they later on add in the missing hairstyle options, you don't need a fantasia to use them.

It's possible that SE will have some kind of workaround in the aesthetician, but there's no reason to assume that at this point, so yeah, while there is concern about hair for both races, Hrothgar looks to be in a more worrisome state.

[reivaxe]

I agree with Penthea on this: there is far more reason to be concerned with Hrothgar than Viera, given how the options are presented. Even if the benchmark represents what we are getting at launch for both races, there's the fact that you (currently) cannot change the face option with the aesthetician. Because hair is tied to face for Hrothgar, this means you'd have to fantasia every time you wanted a new hairstyle (unless SE changes this, which they have given no indication that they are doing). With Viera, at least you can change your hair regularly, and if they later on add in the missing hairstyle options, you don't need a fantasia to use them.

It's possible that SE will have some kind of workaround in the aesthetician, but there's no reason to assume that at this point, so yeah, while there is concern about hair for both races, Hrothgar looks to be in a more worrisome state.

Oh, I agree that the Hrothgar situation is far more perplexing on how it will be tackled in game with the final version. Will they basically allow you to change everything but your race and height to make up for this when you go to the aesthetician? Will they make it so that the hairs aren't locked to their face come release seeing how that replaced promo image from some time ago shows that hair can fit other heads with a bit of work? Will both races be given all the hair and Hrothgar simply have their racial styles stay divided up between the faces? Will the aesthetician have a "face tab" for the Hrothgar that acts as their hair selection (locked to w/e base head you picked) and just give them a number uniquely beastly versions of hairs you unlocked in game?

IDK, but I do find that from a game design PoV it makes absolutely no sense to release a race that demands players pay $10s to change their hair style when playing. Nor does it make sense to take away all the rewards and monetary hair styles people have earned when they play either of the new races. We're kinda very much in unprecedented territory here ... sure, the aesthetician doesn't currently allow XYZ but he also doesn't currently have a "fur" tab and this is the first time hair has been the only difference in some "face options".

As it stands both are showing a severe lack of hair options compared to the last race benchmark and if you are to assume there's more to the story for one it should be assumed that the other has more to be discovered as well. Even more so when the other would require a $10 potion to change styles if nothing with the aesthetician changes.

[Fumpr]

Also, not a concern, more of a gripe, how the heck did no one on the team working on hroth think of a "bald" (not furless) hairstyle? I'd gladly play face 1 with no hair.

[zeylos]

I honestly think that this makes me want that they only chose 1 single race even more, since if they did chances are they would have as much customization as the others, and while it's easy to make a female viera stand out its super hard to make a male hrot that stands out, so I wish SE only did 1 but to its fullest potential and with both genders. Guess we will have to see if they decide to add new hairstyles and the missing genders, lets hope so I guess