Request for More Character Customization Options

[BrokeAndTired]

Package this with the height slider to minimum with a young face and et voilà, you got yourself a young looking WoL.

You can talk me to death about different body shapes, I get it and I'd happily agree with you, but like I said, I have seen too many bad actors in this game to want to try this. Hell, I'd want a flat chest for myself, but at the cost of seeing "teens" running around? Pass. There's just too many and not enough slots in my blacklist.

However you'd be right, I could always report the bad actor if they're found out and they'd be the GM's problem. But I'd rather not have this implemented as it's not a good time, as I mentioned before.

Ah, this sounds like a personal problem more than anything. Best of luck to you!

[VanillaWafer]

Ah, this sounds like a personal problem more than anything. Best of luck to you!

And good luck with your wishlist.

[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.

[Heavenchild]

I'm most likely gonna be cooked for saying this, but I'm against the whole flat chest thing for females mostly due to a lot of bad actors using that to create "teen" WoLs.

While I am for the androgynous look, don't get me wrong, there's just too many players that infamous Google Doc list that mod their characters into "teens." At least then, I wouldn't know if there was one next to me so I wouldn't care, so long they don't get weird on me.

With the advent of what payment processors are doing, probably not a good idea to ask.

For me, this also sounds more like a personal issue. There are teens out there with very large boobs, and they’re still teens.
And there are adults with almost none or none. Having boobs or not doesn’t define whether someone is a teenager or an adult.
That logic just makes no sense, sorry. D : (It basically only distinguishes children from teens/adults. But the races don’t even look like children anyway.)

And by the way, in most eastern games people do play actual teens. Even in FFXIV we’re surrounded by tons of teen NPCs or “wonder children.”
Our WoL is basically the only one (according to the trailers) who actually ages, while everyone else stays the same. xD

All that’s why I really don’t see a problem with giving female characters the option of a flat chest. Personally, I love the androgynous look. It can also make a character
look more like a cute or cool fantasy/anime guy than like a girl. I think it would be a really cool option for a lot of people.

[velkettin]

Package this with the height slider to minimum with a young face and et voilà, you got yourself a young looking WoL.

You can talk me to death about different body shapes, I get it and I'd happily agree with you, but like I said, I have seen too many bad actors in this game to want to try this. Hell, I'd want a flat chest for myself, but at the cost of seeing "teens" running around? Pass. There's just too many and not enough slots in my blacklist.

However you'd be right, I could always report the bad actor if they're found out and they'd be the GM's problem. But I'd rather not have this implemented as it's not a good time, as I mentioned before.

you can already very easily make characters that look like teens, i don't think this would make much difference. people that want to be gross are going to do that no matter what.

[Horika-Re]

I'm not sure I entirely buy the technical limitations on the character creator as an excuse. I used to play Aion, which came out in 2009, and it has an awesome character creator. I do think there is a lack of investment and I hope that after the graphical updates are finished they have the time and resources to give us a real character creator that implements the suggestions on this list, because they're all very awesome.
If I had to add to it, I would agree that Miqo'te face marking should be optional, just a simple click on and off, and maybe sliders for the various face features, not just a choice of 1-6 with very little variation to it. Maybe add in the option to adjust the size of Miqo'te ears a bit too. You don't have to go nuts but large and fluffy, small and fluffy, large and clean, small and clean?

[PercibelTheren]

Adding onto this, let Hyurs have pointy ears. Bam, instant half-Elezen like Hilda.

[HeavenlyPeaches]

Also idk if it's mentioned already. But I would love to select a idle face! So when afk or just standing you are not just giving resting bitch face. I'd love to always have a smile on

[potatsdevourer]

I am gonna say this again.

Give. Our. Male. Highlanders. Eyebrows.

It is ridiculous to see them in Solution Nine which in any way has no connection to Ala Mhigan culture and they also have no eyebrows? Sorry, I am not buying it.
Oh and I am talking about proper bushy eyebrows. Extra if there is toggle between bushier or thinner or shaved version.

And beards option, not every male Highlander want Face 4 when the only regular beard option is on that face type?

Or, alternatively, let us pick more than one facepaint?

[Eorinn]

make lalafell squisher