Can we get normal manly males ?

[Vyrerus]

I would not consider the facial option I use or the "older" face they have effeminate in the slightest. .

I consider every Au Ra male face, except for the old man one, to be more or less classically Biseinen(Bishōnen but fully adult). When I was Au Ra male for a couple of years on my main, I used the young looking one, as I liked those horns best (also on my Raen alt on Sargatanas). Though I generally like the one Theodric use's face a bit better. I don't think their more slender, smooth faces are a bad thing, nor the fact that they are slightly less manly than the other manly options in game . I just find the complaint funny, cause in my eyes, OP has more manly options available already. (If I had to do a hierarchy of masculinity it'd go something like Roe Male = Highlander > Hrothgar > Au Ra M > Midlander >= Catboi > Bunny Boi from what we've seen > Lalafell) - (Of these I've played Roe, Highlander, and Au Ra for years at a time. I tried Midlander and Miqote and could only stand them for about a week).

I think y'all basically want Biseinens with muscle sliders heh. Not a bad thing to want. I'd very much like to not have to hide jawline weirdness with facial hair, but that is the option I've got for my favorite race/clan/face combo.

I also think that Highlander faces all play out better outside of the character creator and in motion. A large reason why I stopped being Au Ra, other than being purely sentimental/attached, was that I liked the emotes that Highlander male faces convey, as I feel they convey situations within the story responses more accurately to my own face/how I feel etc. That and... Male Au Ra run like lanky catboi and have very slender hips.

[Lauront]

I consider every Au Ra male face, except for the old man one, to be more or less classically Biseinen(Bishōnen but fully adult). When I was Au Ra male for a couple of years on my main, I used the young looking one, as I liked those horns best (also on my Raen alt on Sargatanas). Though I generally like the one Theodric use's face a bit better. I don't think their more slender, smooth faces are a bad thing, nor the fact that they are slightly less manly than the other manly options in game . I just find the complaint funny, cause in my eyes, OP has more manly options available already. (If I had to do a hierarchy of masculinity it'd go something like Roe Male = Highlander > Hrothgar > Au Ra M > Midlander >= Catboi > Bunny Boi from what we've seen > Lalafell) - (Of these I've played Roe, Highlander, and Au Ra for years at a time. I tried Midlander and Miqote and could only stand them for about a week).

I think y'all basically want Biseinens with muscle sliders heh. Not a bad thing to want. I'd very much like to not have to hide jawline weirdness with facial hair, but that is the option I've got for my favorite race/clan/face combo.

I also think that Highlander faces all play out better outside of the character creator and in motion. A large reason why I stopped being Au Ra, other than being purely sentimental/attached, was that I liked the emotes that Highlander male faces convey, as I feel they convey situations within the story responses more accurately to my own face/how I feel etc. That and... Male Au Ra run like lanky catboi and have very slender hips.

I tend to look at femininity as consisting in rounder, softer and sometimes fuller facial features, verging more towards neoteny; obviously there is variability, much as there is with men, but that's what I regard as its main thrust. It's why I see the faces I mentioned for Au Ra as so at odds with it. You can arguably push the Magnai face in that direction, and certainly the "youthful" one is inherently that way. However, I usually opt for squarer jaws, more angular chins and a fairly long, mildly convex nose - basically the aesthetic of the blood elves from their concept art (and better implemented now in-game as well.) I consider it better to think of masculine facial features as resulting in a number of possible archetypes that are distinctly masculine, rather than resulting in one specific one, i.e. broader/squarer, although that does correlate with it. Biseinen might be the right term for it, provided it isn't taken as being "pretty" as opposed to handsome, but it seems like a pretty broad term.

I don't even tend to rate Hrothgar in that regard. Yes, they're very muscular, but their faces are so far from human they don't register in my mind along the usual masculine/feminine dichotomy. I'd say in terms of my preferences, Au Ra are at the ideal point, followed by Elezen, specific Midlander and specific catboy picks, highlander and then the rest. Male Viera I am reserving judgement on to see the full spectrum of their options.

In practice, Elezen are let down badly by their anatomy and stiff animations, so I find myself jumping between Au Ra and Midlanders (usually derplander, for the strong jaw/nose/stubble options, or the Oboro face for more delicate features) depending on what I feel like playing at any given point, but I prefer Midlanders slightly for their more fluid animations for casters. Just wish they could be customised with more muscle. I even wish the same could be done with Au Ra and hope that they one day get a muscle tone slider.

With Au Ra I do think the emotes can verge on being a bit goofy at times, but I do think the assertiveness fits their unga bunga lore, so I can overlook foibles in SE's design, like the weird hip design in armour.

[Vyrerus]

unga bunga lore

I laughed pretty hard at this, and I still am. It's true though lmao.

Also realize I left Elezen out of my hierarchy... whoops! I guess I'd put them at even, maybe slightly lower than Midlander. They're so skinny.

Understandable about Hrothgar, really. For me... one of the faces they have kind of reminds me of my dad, especially if it's wearing glasses. My brain since then views most Hrothgars as, "Cat Dads." or "Panther Fathers."

Maybe I place too much importance on musculature, but a lot of old games did too for sex differentiation. Like Mystic Ark where you could play as a guy or a gal, and their main differences were that the guy had a tunic and the woman has a long dress. The guy has insanely broad shoulders with Schwarzeneggeresque arms. But if you look at their art, they're so similar that if it weren't for the dress and the girl's side braid... they're basically both women in appearance lol.

[Saefinn]

I think there is argument for more facial hair options, which I know there was a pretty big thread for and I'm all for that.

However, beyond that? I think you've got a lot of options for masculinity. I disagree that hyur look feminine I think they're just pretty neutral. I think some races are more suited for masculine looks and some more suited for more feminine looks and I appreciate that choice, because it accommodates different things people are looking for. But taking Miqo'te for example, there are ways you can make them look more masculine, maybe not a hulking brute level of masculinity, but Nunhs for example, tend to be more masculine. And glamour choice can help with the effect. And I'm with other people in that Highlands don't look like Tarzan, there are some pretty decent looking highlanders out there.

With male Au Ra, I don't think of them as effeminate, but you are capable of making effeminate ones and pretty masculine ones. But I like to think my Male Au Ra Warrior is pretty masculine.


That said, I am all for more choice in general, because people can customise more to what they envision for their characters. Maybe once they've finished Viera and Hrothgar (as they were released incomplete) they'll put those resources into adding more options for all races.

[Sotaris]

if they had more facial options and REAL eyebrows and maybe I would made one already XD

[Puremallace]

Hyur is the real man race.

[Pinkmonkey54]

I think your main concern is the lack of facial hair options. With the proper facial hair you can make any if the races look “manly”. Though I don’t know if it would work with the male vieras. So far they look very feminine. Personally, I’d like more tall female races. The dragon ladies would have been so nice if they were around the same height as the dudes. Very elegante!

[Eldevern]

If the idea is Hyur middlanders mostly look too young and lack of facial hairs, I agree. That's one reason why I don't play male character.

Roegadyn look too "wreastler", Highlanders... seriously... no really I can't (too tall, too wrestler and those faces... hell no), Ao Ra are too tall, Miqo'te... that's not it either (too short, the tail, the running animation, the rest pose, everything is a big no-no)... XD

Roegadyn beard but middlander body, that's it... if it could be.

[ReynTime]

If the idea is Hyur middlanders mostly look too young and lack of facial hairs, I agree. That's one reason why I don't play male character.

Roegadyn look too "wreastler", Highlanders... seriously... no really I can't (too tall, too wrestler and those faces... hell no), Ao Ra are too tall, Miqo'te... that's not it either (too short, the tail, the running animation, the rest pose, everything is a big no-no)... XD

Roagadyn beard but middlander body, that's it... if it could be.

Roes look like barrels with limbs.

[Eldevern]

Roes look like barrels with limbs.

Said by a potatoe


More seriously : Cid is probably based on Highlander.