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Clover · **12-21-2014, 04:52 AM**

I LOVE the new race. When I saw it yesterday, I became so obsessed with them. It's one of those times that you see a character or a setting and suddenly inspiration hits you with sheer force.

I'm personally very glad that SE decided to make such a beautiful race instead of monsters or furries; I wouldn't play those, and as Kat said, most people wouldn't either. At least not past the initial hype for new shiny things.

So yes, the waiting is going to be painful for me, as I already know my character's personality and what she needs. I see a lot of potential in this race and the whole Ishgard setting.

Ashren Dotharl · **12-21-2014, 04:54 AM**

(12-21-2014, 04:52 AM)Artigan Wrote: Emo race, the males look cool, I wonder if they'll have some nice facial hair options, or if they'll just be another pretty boy/ dainty girl type? The horns are cool though. I'll roll a character called the Iron Dragon in homage to Iron Bull.

Doesn't seem like they are going to have facial hair, instead it looks more like they will have facial scales.

Edit: Also wanted to point out that SE hasn't released any lore details on them yet, so anything you see or read at this point is entirely speculation and fan theorycrafting. Them being the children of Shiva and Dragons isn't canon yet, and seems a bit farfetched. The only thing they have said is that they are from Ilsabard. While it is possible that they could be the children of Dragons and Shiva (or just the children of Dragons and Hyur perhaps) that were exiled or fled from Eorzea initially, I think it's far more likely they are just another race that exists in another part of the world that come to Eorzea with the rest of the Doma refugees (like Yugiri) to escape the Empire.

Oli! · **12-21-2014, 05:10 AM**

(12-21-2014, 04:34 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote: As far as a beast or alien race, one thing you really have to consider is how much work that requires. It's not as simple as just making the new race and throwing it into the game, if they have a different body type or head shape than the other races then they now have to go through and edit every single piece of gear in the game to fit that new shape, as well as make sure that every new piece of gear they design has two versions that can fit all the other races, and that race.

Because of that I can say with relative certainty to never expect a new race to come out that doesn't fit the Human+ mold.

Yeah, I thought about that side of it, but generally when it comes to that sort of thing, the counter-argument would be pointing to all the games that buckle down and do that anyway. Which are quite numerous, really. Add into that fact that there are increasing numbers of dev-tools that are capable of reformatting geometry based on character models (yes, those exist), and the technical limitations shrink as well.

I think it's more of an aesthetic choice as opposed to a technical design one.

Ashren Dotharl · **12-21-2014, 05:17 AM**

(12-21-2014, 05:10 AM)Oli! Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 04:34 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote: As far as a beast or alien race, one thing you really have to consider is how much work that requires. It's not as simple as just making the new race and throwing it into the game, if they have a different body type or head shape than the other races then they now have to go through and edit every single piece of gear in the game to fit that new shape, as well as make sure that every new piece of gear they design has two versions that can fit all the other races, and that race.

Because of that I can say with relative certainty to never expect a new race to come out that doesn't fit the Human+ mold.

Yeah, I thought about that side of it, but generally when it comes to that sort of thing, the counter-argument would be pointing to all the games that buckle down and do that anyway. Which are quite numerous, really. Add into that fact that there are increasing numbers of dev-tools that are capable of reformatting geometry based on character models (yes, those exist), and the technical limitations shrink as well.

I think it's more of an aesthetic choice as opposed to a technical design one.

No game comes to mind that had beast races that didn't have them from the start. TESO for example had the Khajit and Argonian from the start, EQ same deal, WoW as well. All of these games had the luxury of starting development for armor with the idea that they needed to develop different sets of gear for different body types and what have you. It is a lot different when you take a game where all races use the same exact models and then add in a race that now uses an entirely different model, because you have to then spend extra man hours to redesign old gear sets.

While it's likely part of the decision is aesthetics like you said, I think the root of the decision and ultimately the main reason is technology and time required.

Edit: Side note, I've noticed from the artwork and renders that they don't really have any visible ears. I'm wondering how they'll have earrings displayed, like if their have earrings somehow attached to their horns or something.

Oli! · **12-21-2014, 05:26 AM**

(12-21-2014, 05:17 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:10 AM)Oli! Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 04:34 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote: As far as a beast or alien race, one thing you really have to consider is how much work that requires. It's not as simple as just making the new race and throwing it into the game, if they have a different body type or head shape than the other races then they now have to go through and edit every single piece of gear in the game to fit that new shape, as well as make sure that every new piece of gear they design has two versions that can fit all the other races, and that race.

Because of that I can say with relative certainty to never expect a new race to come out that doesn't fit the Human+ mold.

Yeah, I thought about that side of it, but generally when it comes to that sort of thing, the counter-argument would be pointing to all the games that buckle down and do that anyway. Which are quite numerous, really. Add into that fact that there are increasing numbers of dev-tools that are capable of reformatting geometry based on character models (yes, those exist), and the technical limitations shrink as well.

I think it's more of an aesthetic choice as opposed to a technical design one.
No game comes to mind that had beast races that didn't have them from the start. TESO for example had the Khajit and Argonian from the start, EQ same deal, WoW as well. All of these games had the luxury of starting development for armor with the idea that they needed to develop different sets of gear for different body types and what have you. It is a lot different when you take a game where all races use the same exact models and then add in a race that now uses an entirely different model, because you have to then spend extra man hours to redesign old gear sets.

While it's likely part of the decision is aesthetics like you said, I think the root of the decision and ultimately the main reason is technology and time required.

WoW's Worgen had body structures that were vastly different from anything else that was playable / wore a lot of armor at the time. That definitely counts as something that was added since the start of the game, and a similar argument could be made for the Pandaren. In a similar vein, EQ had the Froglok, which despite existing earlier on, only became playable (and thus required lots of armor to be made and reformatted for them) after a patch later on in the game's life.

Although one could still make the argument that these games had the general idea that there might be more beast races, I think that that pre-planning is easily balanced by the fact that a lot of the tools that could be used to smooth the process along did not exist, and everything had to be done manually anyway.

Ashren Dotharl · **12-21-2014, 05:32 AM**

(12-21-2014, 05:26 AM)Oli! Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:17 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:10 AM)Oli! Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 04:34 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote: As far as a beast or alien race, one thing you really have to consider is how much work that requires. It's not as simple as just making the new race and throwing it into the game, if they have a different body type or head shape than the other races then they now have to go through and edit every single piece of gear in the game to fit that new shape, as well as make sure that every new piece of gear they design has two versions that can fit all the other races, and that race.

Because of that I can say with relative certainty to never expect a new race to come out that doesn't fit the Human+ mold.

Yeah, I thought about that side of it, but generally when it comes to that sort of thing, the counter-argument would be pointing to all the games that buckle down and do that anyway. Which are quite numerous, really. Add into that fact that there are increasing numbers of dev-tools that are capable of reformatting geometry based on character models (yes, those exist), and the technical limitations shrink as well.

I think it's more of an aesthetic choice as opposed to a technical design one.
No game comes to mind that had beast races that didn't have them from the start. TESO for example had the Khajit and Argonian from the start, EQ same deal, WoW as well. All of these games had the luxury of starting development for armor with the idea that they needed to develop different sets of gear for different body types and what have you. It is a lot different when you take a game where all races use the same exact models and then add in a race that now uses an entirely different model, because you have to then spend extra man hours to redesign old gear sets.

While it's likely part of the decision is aesthetics like you said, I think the root of the decision and ultimately the main reason is technology and time required.

WoW's Worgen had body structures that were vastly different from anything else that was playable / wore a lot of armor at the time. That definitely counts as something that was added since the start of the game, and a similar argument could be made for the Pandaren. In a similar vein, EQ had the Froglok, which despite existing earlier on, only became playable (and thus required lots of armor to be made and reformatted for them) after a patch later on in the game's life.

Although one could still make the argument that these games had the general idea that there might be more beast races, I think that that pre-planning is easily balanced by the fact that a lot of the tools that could be used to smooth the process along did not exist, and everything had to be done manually anyway.

While I agree that Worgen are very different body type than the other races in the game, if you go look at any Worgen wearing armor you will notice that WoW pretty much just didn't design armor for the body parts that were different, essentially making it so Worgen never wear visible boots because they don't want to design paw shaped versions, and most of the helmets are just stretched over their head in the same way they do it for the Tauren. Same thing goes for the Draenei.

TheWizard · **12-21-2014, 05:34 AM**

(12-21-2014, 04:52 AM)Clover Wrote: I LOVE the new race. When I saw it yesterday, I became so obsessed with them. It's one of those times that you see a character or a setting and suddenly inspiration hits you with sheer force.

I'm personally very glad that SE decided to make such a beautiful race instead of monsters or furries; I wouldn't play those, and as Kat said, most people wouldn't either. At least not past the initial hype for new shiny things.

So yes, the waiting is going to be painful for me, as I already know my character's personality and what she needs. I see a lot of potential in this race and the whole Ishgard setting.

That's pretty much how I feel. I got all sorts of ideas and plans cooking in my mind. The males in their starting gear kinda remind me of Oni while the females are just cute as all heck. Sorta remind me of Castanics in a way.

Oli! · **12-21-2014, 05:35 AM**

(12-21-2014, 05:32 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:26 AM)Oli! Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:17 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:10 AM)Oli! Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 04:34 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote: As far as a beast or alien race, one thing you really have to consider is how much work that requires. It's not as simple as just making the new race and throwing it into the game, if they have a different body type or head shape than the other races then they now have to go through and edit every single piece of gear in the game to fit that new shape, as well as make sure that every new piece of gear they design has two versions that can fit all the other races, and that race.

Because of that I can say with relative certainty to never expect a new race to come out that doesn't fit the Human+ mold.

Yeah, I thought about that side of it, but generally when it comes to that sort of thing, the counter-argument would be pointing to all the games that buckle down and do that anyway. Which are quite numerous, really. Add into that fact that there are increasing numbers of dev-tools that are capable of reformatting geometry based on character models (yes, those exist), and the technical limitations shrink as well.

I think it's more of an aesthetic choice as opposed to a technical design one.
No game comes to mind that had beast races that didn't have them from the start. TESO for example had the Khajit and Argonian from the start, EQ same deal, WoW as well. All of these games had the luxury of starting development for armor with the idea that they needed to develop different sets of gear for different body types and what have you. It is a lot different when you take a game where all races use the same exact models and then add in a race that now uses an entirely different model, because you have to then spend extra man hours to redesign old gear sets.

While it's likely part of the decision is aesthetics like you said, I think the root of the decision and ultimately the main reason is technology and time required.

WoW's Worgen had body structures that were vastly different from anything else that was playable / wore a lot of armor at the time. That definitely counts as something that was added since the start of the game, and a similar argument could be made for the Pandaren. In a similar vein, EQ had the Froglok, which despite existing earlier on, only became playable (and thus required lots of armor to be made and reformatted for them) after a patch later on in the game's life.

Although one could still make the argument that these games had the general idea that there might be more beast races, I think that that pre-planning is easily balanced by the fact that a lot of the tools that could be used to smooth the process along did not exist, and everything had to be done manually anyway.
While I agree that Worgen are very different body type than the other races in the game, if you go look at any Worgen wearing armor you will notice that WoW pretty much just didn't design armor for the body parts that were different, essentially making it so Worgen never wear visible boots because they don't want to design paw shaped versions, and most of the helmets are just stretched over their head in the same way they do it for the Tauren. Same thing goes for the Draenei.

That's the sort of armor detailing I'd expect for any beast race, really. Helmets are stretched over the head because, well, you've got to cover the head. GW2 does the same thing with the Charr. If you've got a long head, you're gonna have a long helmet.

Also, most boots actually are visible, they're just designed as open-foot variants. Boots with prominent cuffs or flairs will still have those design elements present. Covered paws would look silly anyway.

Like doggie booties.

CalebAgron · **12-21-2014, 06:27 AM**

Overall I'm excited about them and will for sure make one when they are released, I'm glad they made it a "dragon/hyur" mix instead of another "fluffy cutesy" race. But if I'm going to be nit picky I do see others point on how the men look too much like Elezen and the females miqo'te. They should have given the males less of a "elezen long neck" and more of a muscular and or "cardassian" kind of neck. But we will see, still excited regardless!

Kismet · **12-21-2014, 06:34 AM**

(12-21-2014, 05:34 AM)TheWizard Wrote: That's pretty much how I feel. I got all sorts of ideas and plans cooking in my mind. The males in their starting gear kinda remind me of Oni while the females are just cute as all heck. Sorta remind me of Castanics in a way.

I was reminded of them a bit, too! (But the Au'ra are less, uh... sensual, to put it as nicely as possible.) I've already got a concept brewing in my head for one. Waiting's gonna be absolute torture!

Artigan · **12-21-2014, 06:37 AM**

(12-21-2014, 06:34 AM)Kismet Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:34 AM)TheWizard Wrote: That's pretty much how I feel. I got all sorts of ideas and plans cooking in my mind. The males in their starting gear kinda remind me of Oni while the females are just cute as all heck. Sorta remind me of Castanics in a way.

I was reminded of them a bit, too! (But the Au'ra are less, uh... sensual, to put it as nicely as possible.) I've already got a concept brewing in my head for one. Waiting's gonna be absolute torture!

Lmao, "less... sensual." You mean not as erotic or slutty?

Kismet · **12-21-2014, 06:40 AM**

(12-21-2014, 06:37 AM)Artigan Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 06:34 AM)Kismet Wrote:
(12-21-2014, 05:34 AM)TheWizard Wrote: That's pretty much how I feel. I got all sorts of ideas and plans cooking in my mind. The males in their starting gear kinda remind me of Oni while the females are just cute as all heck. Sorta remind me of Castanics in a way.

I was reminded of them a bit, too! (But the Au'ra are less, uh... sensual, to put it as nicely as possible.) I've already got a concept brewing in my head for one. Waiting's gonna be absolute torture!

Lmao, "less... sensual." You mean not as erotic or slutty?

I SAID I was trying to put it nicely. XD

Edit: Plus, it's a synonym anyway, so...

(12-21-2014, 06:27 AM)CalebAgron Wrote: Overall I'm excited about them and will for sure make one when they are released, I'm glad they made it a "dragon/hyur" mix instead of another "fluffy cutesy" race. But if I'm going to be nit picky I do see others point on how the men look too much like Elezen and the females miqo'te. They should have given the males less of a "elezen long neck" and more of a muscular and or "cardassian" kind of neck. But we will see, still excited regardless!

Totally agree with all of this.

Bryn · **12-21-2014, 06:45 AM**

(12-21-2014, 03:17 AM)Aya Wrote: I'm really not a fan of sexual dimorphism when it seems to mainly exist to avoid making an "unattractive" female version, and I feel like that's what we're looking at here.Â I also am not inspired by the idea of the race itself.Â So, overall, I'll give a resounding "meh".Â Don't think I'll ever make one :-]

This. The males look pretty badass, but the females are so disappointing. They look like Miqo/Midlander females with a scaly tail stuck on. They don't look like they are even from the same race, it's so bad.

Kismet · **12-21-2014, 06:53 AM**

Actually, if I was going to add another nitpick... The males are kind of too slender and lanky for my tastes. The Elezen have already got that aesthetic covered. If they were broader, I'd be a lot happier with them. (And I'm saying that in addition to my wishes that the males & females were more equal visually.)

Clover · **12-21-2014, 07:10 AM**

(12-21-2014, 05:34 AM)TheWizard Wrote: Sorta remind me of Castanics in a way.

Same! And this is the reason why I'm loving Au Ra males. Castanics have always fascinated me, and I don't regard them as mere erotic material; I see them as dark, feral, yet beautiful creatures in all their monstrosity. Also, the Au Ra females just killed me in the best sense possible, they look so fragile! If we add the general atmosphere Heavenwards seems to have, I'm getting dark and even melancholic vibes from the race as a whole, which my brain translates into pure inspiration.

What can I say? I'm in love. I need to know about their lore soon and check if it's anything like I'm imagining it to be. My mind has simply gone wild.

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Thoughts on the Au Ra?

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