Request for More Character Customization Options

[Themarvin]

An integer worth of data more would not crash the servers lol

the game is very CPU demanding, which is why you get FPS drops when there is many player characters around, just mentioning it, and that is also very much on the players end as it is..... else you can just got 200FPS+ on a 4080S everywhere empty of people.

[LotteYanson]

the game is very CPU demanding, which is why you get FPS drops when there is many player characters around, just mentioning it, and that is also very much on the players end as it is..... else you can just got 200FPS+ on a 4080S everywhere empty of people.

your local cpu has nothing to do with the server.
the time your computer would take to inflate a hand full of bytes more (on loading) is insignificant
the options would be pre-cached model compositions and would change nothing to the performance if horns A were cached instead of horns B; or if the tail would be a bit more wide, the number of vertices would still be the same, the distance difference between these vertices doesnt matter for the CPU at all.

[s32ialx]

They need to be limited because the server would having a harder time handling many more options, however I do approve of way more options in character making for all races and more, likewise more clothing options and ways to alter the looks within the game, other than plastering two colours onto some of the sets.

so invest, that excuse falls flat with how cheap hardware v performance metrics are these days.

[Catwho]

so invest, that excuse falls flat with how cheap hardware v performance metrics are these days.

It's not a hardware problem on the client side, it's a hardware problem on the server side, and a limitation of networks.

Let's get technical.

Database Query Constraints

You teleport to a zone. There are 100 characters standing around the aetheryte.

Your local client sends a message to the server with "I'm now standing at XYZ. Who is around me?"

The local zone is stored in your system; it can load the environment instantly.

For each of the 100 characters around you, it has to load their names, titles, their character appearances, all their visible gear, and any fashion accessories and minions.

Currently that data package for visual display is wrapped up in a single efficient table, so the character can be queried and all 100 appearances can be sent to you.

(Minions are generally sent via a secondary query a moment later, which is why you have all 100 minions load afterward.)

So your client is constantly sending and receiving small sips of packages from the game.

Databases have several ways of storing data: A null value, an On/Off switch (Boolean true/false), a text string with a character limit, number values, links to other tables in the database (and that can be a rabbit hole with links upon links upon links), and finally BLOBS/CLOBS (binary large objects - usually images. or character large objects - big strings of text.) In XIV, the BLOBS are linked to objects stored locally, instead of within the database itself - this is the character meshes, textures, etc.

The character object sent to your client is a mishmash of the null values, true/falses, text strings, and links to character creation values and gear set tables values, which your local client reads out as a displayed character.

Adding 1 data point for each of the characters is 100 new data points. Add 10 new data points, and its 1000. And those have to be rendered for every single character around you too, not just your character. Every time a new person zones in, the server has to run a character query and send it out to everyone else. And this is happening CONSTANTLY - not just in the place you zoned in, but EVERYWHERE on the server, every second. Data in, data out. And there are also queries that go to other tables every time you open a menu.

But hey, let's assume they now have state of the art hardware in the data center, and their databases can run those queries at the speed of light.

ISP Backbone Limitations

Every second, for the 3000-5000 active characters that the world server currently has online, there's a constant stream of queries going to and from the server and the database. That data now has to get out to the clients... over the Internet.

I suspect the reason that they have the current limited character data is because they found a comfortable raw character table size that can be loaded in a single query and sent in a single packet of data (~1460 bytes of data is the standard maximum payload on Ethernet. IPv6 can technically support more, but it's not standard at all yet.)

Adding more character points may not be "just one more table column, bro" - it could be DOUBLE the packets needed to load all the characters in a given zone because it's now exceeding the maximum payload size of the packet itself.

The time may have come to accept that, though. Double the packets per character, double the character data. Most ISPs can probably handle it. And just add another second of dark screen loading time when zoning in for the second batch of character packets to load.

[TantalusTroupe]

i 100%%%% second this!!!!!! it's such a minor thing but man would i love for sun seekers to have the option to have some lil fangs for themselves, or the option to customize the ears just a little bit more (ie: adding the highlight color onto them like some hairstyles sometimes do) :,))))

[WeebStarz]

I feel like with such a character focused game like FFXIV, that the character customization options are sometimes lacking. I'd like to see some more options when it comes to creating a character, such as having a character look older, or perhaps a different body type! Here's a small list of options I'd like to see:

• Separate Au ra horns from faces, so any face can use any horn type.
• Give all races 'limbal'-like options for eye glows or colors.
• Allow us to make our characters look older, or slightly thicker! I'd love for my au ra's tail to be even thicker, for example. I have some friends that RP older characters, it would be nice to see the wrinkles they're supposed to have in game.
• Add more facial make up options, and allow us to use multiple at once. Having blush and eyeshadow at the same time would be really nice!
• Allow for pronouns to be set separately from body type. If this is hard to do in character creation, you could have a Loporrit NPC in the over-world help you change it, maybe?

What other customization options would you like to see?

I hate to be that person but you know
1) 5+ years to get hats on Viera
2) A whole expansion where double dye channels were a main feature, and gearsets out of two of the new dungeons are not even dyeable?
3) Extra hair styles are sold on the online store

I think you are getting what im putting down

[Fawkes]

2) A whole expansion where double dye channels were a main feature, and gearsets out of two of the new dungeons are not even dyeable?

And sometimes the second dye channel is just like the threads of a button, and that's not even an exaggeration it's a literal example.

[Jakkington]

I would really love the option of having two (or maybe even more!) hairstyles to toggle from in normal gameplay without going to the aesthetician. As in, during character creation or the aesthetician appearance edit menu, be able to choose yourself 2(+) hairstyles you want to be able to toggle between on the fly.
...or perhaps hairstyles connected to glamour plates? That would be so awesome. ^,^

My character has long hair and I find myself going back to the aesthetician constantly if I want to switch from a high ponytail or showing his hair down, so I've been thinking about this for years.

I apologize if this has been a widely suggested character customization trait for a long time ^^; I haven't used the forums much.

[Atlas_Two]

i'd love to mix and match horns between faces (and genders too pls!!) and also be able to edit the size/thickness of limbal rings and their glow.

a flat chest option for all female wols would also be so great!! and at least some way to make slight differences in body types...

[gransmells]

i would really like to see a toggle for dark colored eyebrows! making a character with light hair and light skin makes their expressions more difficult to see, and this would help a lot with that...

im also on team "flat chested female characters" but that has already been spoken of a lot. to add to that, i would like to be able to toggle how the npcs and ingame dialog refers to my character. but that might be too much to ask.