New 7.1 hairstyle looks nothing like the winning hairstyle from the 2023 contest

[NeotenyPikachu]

It really looks like the character just stepped out of the shower than the contest entry it was 'inspired' by. It's really underwhelming, especially since people have been waiting for that winner to be implemented. Hopefully the hair can be reworked in some of the smaller patches to actually resemble the contest winner.

[Kacho_Nacho]

It really looks like the character just stepped out of the shower than the contest entry it was 'inspired' by. It's really underwhelming, especially since people have been waiting for that winner to be implemented. Hopefully the hair can be reworked in some of the smaller patches to actually resemble the contest winner.

I agree. At best, it looks like a first draft. What's really shameful is Creative Studio III has shown they can do textured hair. There are mobs and bosses with such hairdos in the game. So, it's not a limitation due to the game engine.

I've suggested this before, and I'm going to suggest it again, Creative Studio III should reach out to the modding community to help lessen the workload. Square Enix could treat them as independent contractors.

Square could just send out a call for hairstyles, gear, improved 3D models for the environment, etc... The artists could then submit their work where it could be scrutinized by the people of Creative Studio III for appropriateness, bugs, and quality. Then if the work is acceptable, Square Enix pays the artist, the copyrights of the work passes to the company, and Square lists the artist as a contributor in the end credits of the expansion. Done.

Not only do I feel doing this would dramatically improve the appearance of the game I believe many artists would jump at the chance to have a work accepted by Square Enix on their resumes.

[meo-lee]

I really hope they fix this before the patch somehow... I was so excited to see more natural hairstyles but it looks like they barely put any effort in. Even the general texture looks unfinished but the way they did the shape is also really bad.
I'm beyond disappointed with how bad this was butchered.

[SpecterSaru]

Listen. I know that the game has to appeal to as large as an audience as possible. But I feel non-white people are asking for the bare minimum of some actual representation. There's no excuse anymore. If no one on the modeling team knows how to model textured hair hire somebody. The people are out there. The inspiration is out there and y'all know what I mean without me saying it.

"Inspired by" is an insult not just to the artist, but to people who have this texture in their actual lives. It's all fun and games to make an "afro" that people can wear as a joke and those poor excuse for locks that definitely aren't afro-textured hair. But when we finally start asking for some proper representation the devs spit in our face. I was so ready to switch to this hairstyle and am met with total disappointment.

[malkavcandy]

extremely disappointing. there's next to no textured hairstyles in the game to begin with, and this one would have been a very welcome addition if they had bothered to implement it properly. really hoping they'll do better and try to remake this one as it should be

[SorcerorNobody]

I can't really add much to what has already been said, so I'm just going to throw my support behind this. I understand there are probably some limitations on hair modelling, but not to an extent that excuses this.

Please do better.

[NonBinaryNyan]

I'm not sure if wet effects were left on for this preview or what, but I don't think that could account for all of this. PLEASE go back and do this hairstyle correctly. You selected a wonderful design for the contest that brings in personal representation that players (especially Black and other People of Color) have wanted for ages. Let players with textured hair see that in their WoL.

I understand that hair is one of the hardest things to render in 3-D animation, but please hear this with respect: if modeling this kind of textured curls is outside the skillset of your team, PLEASE contract an Artist of Color to do the work.

[lukacatte]

First time ever even making a forum account just to comment on this.

This hairstyle is the most disappointing thing I've seen in a long time from the FFXIV team. Not only does it not even resemble the winning contest entry, like it is meant to, but it doesn't even measure up to FFXIV's current graphics standards. Even if this hairstyle was not 'inspired by' a tight-curl hairstyle and was simply one they wanted to add into the game regardless, it looks like someone drew on the character models in MS Paint. This does not even measure up to the graphic quality BEFORE the graphics update.

Please, SE. Take another look at this and realize how bad this represents your big graphics update and reflects poorly on your inclusion of diverse hairstyles.

[Dodu]

I really think this hairstyle needs to be redone. The original winner was clearly going for a textured hair approach, and the version we're receiving in game does a very poor job at portraying this. The game already struggled a lot when it comes to more diverse hair choices, and I am incredibly disappointed with how the winning hairstyle was executed in game.

[Doragan]

It's so disgusting and ridiculous. Where the hell are the curls?

I said it already, but Dragons Dogma 2 and Elden Ring got quite excellent curly and coily (black) hairstyles.

Do better. This is abysmal. Stop failing your black players, thank you.