Flickering Ember

Aren't there non snowy regions of Coerthas as of Heavens ward? Perhaps they get their food from there or perhaps they depend on dravanian territories won in the war? They were already a mountainous region to begin with and probably know how to survive in cold winters. However, with permanent winter, I imagine their population must be hurting but they are too proud to admit it.

My problem with this is there is enough content gated behind pointless quests already. I wouldn't mindvsn in game way to acquire more emotrs but I would like it to be similarly done to the Modern Aesthetics: Ponytail you get from Gold Saucer, something that can be achieved from new gameplay that isn't more....quests nnngh.

Even when I am logged in and click the link, it still links me back to the main forum page.

It just links to the main English forum hub... For me.

Yeah, I have had my feelings hurt. I would like to add on to what some of the other posters in this thread have mentioned. I know I have had my feelings hurt more than once but for this post I have a specific incident in mind. I know in a previous game a few friends had said something to me that I found to be very hurtful. Afterwards, I definitely felt lonely and pitying towards myself but I also considered why my friends had said something so hurtful. In the end, I walked out of the situation recognizing that I needed to make some changes. Though my feelings had been hurt, I realized that my friends were right. After that, I started to make changes and I kept my friendships. So I suppose my advice would be to understand that it is all right to feel hurt but don't let those feelings blind you. None of us want to admit we are wrong. We might even completely overlook that possibility, and not because were too prideful! Try to see another's side and why they said the things that they said. That is not to say that you are in the wrong for having your feelings hurt. But just because someone hurt your feelings doesn't mean that they are always wrong. Keep that possibility in mind.

Challenge... Accepted! I will bring my food loving, food demolishing, food plowing, food vacuuming, furniture destroying roegadyn.

Ember is.... 1 part blind super fighter via Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender 1 part wild woman via Ayla from Chrono Trigger 1 part super affectionate via.....my cat. So there you have it. Mash up of Toph, Ayla, and my favorite cuddly IRL companion. There might be other characters she could resemble buy its these two characters plus one entity! that were used as inspirations from the very start.

Haha! You bet it does! From one character with fire motifs to another : http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayingWithFire

#Blind feral girl inadvertently makes people D'awww

*takes a stab at this* I'm going to guess... http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShelteredAristocrat ?

Moneymaking ventures disguised as events are sort of the issue here, not necessarily the events themselves. I agree with this. Date auctions are pretty common in other MMO's but they usually only happen in preparation for an event or holiday. They only seem to be a big deal here because of how huge and desirable a money sink housing is. Other than that though, there aren't really any events that make use of in game currency. Other MMO communities don't really do that sort of thing. (The only exception I can think of would be bazaar like events, but the in game currency goes to the sellers, not the event holders) I think it would just be better to stop altogether and make events that don't specifically seek to make a profit. Unless you have already given up, pretty much everyone wants a house. If we really want to give back to the community, we could start by ensuring old houses get into role players' hands instead of selling them. However, that has already been discussed in another thread and it would seem that the community is adamant in continuing this practice. This thread could really apply to events in general. As it is common for the same type of events to be held. What others need to understand, though, is that holding events can be tough and really, to be honest, the social events are just easier. I believe it is a good idea to try and brainstorm new ideas that others can use for events. Just keep in mind that it can take a considerable amount of effort to make a server wide event. The last thing I will say is that I think there is only really one more type of fundraising events that can be explored: some type of lottery, which has already been brought up. Although, such a thing would need to be made more desirable, such as adding more rewarding RP opportunities and making sure that the odds to win aren't too slim.

I had avoided making a wiki for Ember for over a year. What really got me to make it was the excitement of creating Ember's relationships section. However, the first thing I did, proud to say, was add a bunch of rumors to both friends and acquaintances' wikis. I will continue to add more as I think them up. Creating a wiki has actually been a lot of fun. Now I just need to create a rumors section for Ember.

Things like day and night have been talked about before and I can't remember if we've talked about the varying seasons on here: A quick forum search turned up nothing. Since it's been relevant for my character, I have been trying to figure out what kind of desert Thanalan is and what the temperatures are like. My own thoughts put Thanalan as a mild desert, as it has a lot of plantlife and animals similar to some of the park regions out in western America. It is also on a coast and although it may still not get much precipitation, it is most likely affected by ocean currents. There is also the question of 'extremes'. Typically deserts can be very hot but can also get cold during the winter. I've been trying to look into this and there are differing amounts of information, particularly because many of the different deserts around the world are in different regions. If Thanalan is at or near Hydaelyn's equator, for example, then temperatures probably won't drop too much with average lows in the 60's. If Thanalan is not near the equator then it probably has a winter where it can possibly snow or get below freezing. 1. What IRL desert do you think Thanalan is most like? 2. Is Thanalan near Hydaelyn's equator? 3. Does Thanalan have cold winters/freezing nights?

This contradicts what Fern has explicitly stated on the matter. So unless he was just plain lying, the localization teams do in fact have input on the creation of the material and not just the interpretation of it. I don't really check the main forums. I only check the RPC and the my FC enjin and linkshell sites. I'm rather skeptical about how much input the English side has on the game. But it won't change how I feel about my preferred language, anyway. I'm used to the Japanese ones by now.

*raises hand* Although I am not sure if I count. I used to like anime but I don't really anymore, despite the anime avatar. The older I've gotten, the less I end up liking anime and by extension, some JRPGs. I've mentioned before in previous threads that it's sort of odd that I am even here because I dislike Asian-styled MMOs and vastly prefer western storytelling, such as Bioware's works. I often admittedly feel uncomfortable with how unrealistically beautiful all our characters are and how typically anime-ish the animations are but ultimately I am here because I believe FFXIV is the best MMO out on the market. However, when I was an anime fan I always did subtitles. I had a reason too. A lot of the early dubs were pretty awful before anime got big and I was a fan before it broke out on a larger level. (Ya know, back in the day when if you were an anime fan you paid 40$ for a VHS tape with 4 episodes on it, and no, that is not an exaggeration) Anyway, I always opt to watch something in its original language. The original language is how those characters were envisioned and how they intended to sound. No matter what you do, when you change voice actors, a piece of that character changes along with it. In this manner, I disagree with allgivenover in that, the game is Japanese and almost everything needs to be translated from Japanese. The Japanese are the intended real experience the way the actual creators envisioned them. The localization team did not have any creative effort in writing these characters. No matter what game or movie I am watching or playing, no matter what language it is...I will always listen in its home dialogue if available.

As others have mentioned, it's better to let your immersion be shattered than be forced into a situation that you regret and brings you down. OOC communication is a good fall back however, I really do think you can have your cake and eat it too--that is find a way to bail without breaking character. I think it is good to consider that our characters don't exist on a single strand for a timeline. There isn't only one way your character can possibly react to a situation. Life is filled with many possibilities and our characters can be complex individuals-people. "My character wouldn't do that" becomes a dangerous phrase if it restricts your OOC interests in how you want to pursue your character. Sometimes our characters get involved in things they normally wouldn't do and that's okay. People aren't going to act in a 100% predictable manner all the time. Our state of minds can justify acting differently in a variety of situations while still remaining true to ourselves. Tiergan's linkshell idea is fantastic. Even in every day RP I see a lot of people use "I have business attend to" as a common way to eject themselves from the RP. It can be used for a variety of things. Maybe you want to go do a dungeon or maybe you're not feeling well OOC. In that particular example you posted, the RPer was giving hints as to his intention--ERP. You can also do this same by emphasizing her naivete in emotes or by having her invite friends along during "magical romance ERP time." "Oooooh! We get to ride on a chocobo! I want to see if my friends want to come along too!" You could also let the RP advance forward a little bit in that case. Perhaps she becomes more interested in the chocobo than continuing a conversation. Or perhaps she turns the conversation all about his chocobo. (People do this irl all the time with their adorable babies and adorable pets) Perhaps your character is tired and she just needs to leave. What I am ultimately getting at is you can bail without breaking character. There are so many reasons why you could leave or just turn the RP into something else entirely. You could even do this in tandem with OOC saying "I'm not interested in ERP" or "I don't want to go in this direction with the RP." General advice though: Random RP tells are usually a sign that the other RPer wants to initiate ERP. Right off the bat find out their intentions or insist on using /say.

Lol. Last night I stayed up until 5 am RPing but I did so because I didn't have to go into work until late today. I used to consistently stay up until 6am to RP and then wake up at 1pm but I had a job that let me do that and because of that I usually wasn't home until 11pm-12am at night. Nowadays I go.to bed much earlier. The time I have to be in for work fluctuates across the week. If I have to wake up at 6:30 I almost always missing out on sleep. I should be in bed at 10 on those days but I almost never do. I consider going to bed at 11pm-12am on those nights as me being 'responsible. Often times I end up staying up later though. I'm not always RPing at that point, a lot of the time I just don't want to get to bed. I create a paradox for myself where I dread the next day but fulfill that prophecy through my dreading. I do regret it if I get less than 6 hours, especially if it is less than four. Often times I end up crashing on nights I don't have to wake up early. If the RP was epic, emotional, or just generally exceptional I won't regret it no matter what. Last night's definitely was for me! Yeah, so it ranges wildly whne I go to bed. 11pm-2am is the norm for me, sometimes later, but almost never past 4am. I am trying to get better on the nights I should be in bed early. >_>;

With a name like 'Flickering Ember'? You can bet safely on it being 'fire'.

I find it amusing but also a little bit sad. I'm more interested on reading people's anecdotes/experiences with female highlanders and roegadyns and would love it people posted more on that subject. I am also interested in reading the debates on why and how SE made the design decisions they did with Au Ra, though. At this point, I know I am not the OP but would be appreciative if we started a new thread for Au Ra so we could continue both topics.

Anyone but me find it ironic that the thread has become about Au Ra instead about muscular female highlanders and roegadyns?

Female roegadyns DO have a dramatic height slider though. It is a one foot range versus 4/5 inches. Most races and genders only have a range of 4. So, it could be done and they could really appeal to some of the minority players like myself by just introducing a variety of options in the character screen. Here's hoping benchmark doesn't disappoint. That picture bothers me a little. The folks in the picture are an exceptional couple as far as humans go. They are outliers and not the norm. Everyday real life humans aren't THAT sexual dimorphic. I find that in fantasy, that dimorphism is typically exaggerated. The picture, I don't feel, makes a strong case for Au Ra. I would say using animal species who already have sexual dimorphism as norm is a better example.

What bothers me is the degree of sexual dimorphism introduced simply to appeal to conventional notions of attractiveness: Males can be beastly. Females cannot. I don't care for that. The style of the race should make sense as a holistic whole. It doesn't, and the reason is because they were afraid the player base would reject a beastly female. I don't see a positive in this, though it is not surprising. I'm just going to quote this for emphasis because Aya is much better at wording things than I am. This is the reason why I don't like the sexual dimorphism in Au Ra.

Yeah, to be very honest, if they had not introduced female roegadyns, I would not be playing this game. I don't really like the overly pretty aesthetics Japanese RPGs tend to employ. I prefer some grit. Even with roegadyn females, the race selection is pretty weak for a RPer who prefers a more....D&D like selection of races. I am definitely NOT the target demographic for this game. I'm not that much of an anime fan except for a few that really stand out. (Points at avatar, Ranma 1/2 ) This game is amazing which is ultimately why I am here despite not liking the aesthetic too much. But I gotta love my character or I won't be able to get into a MMO no matter how awesome it is. Fortunately, I really like female roegadyns, so. :3

I was a little hesitant to talk more about Au Ra since this thread isn't really about them....But I'll take a moment to share a thought that hopefully doesn't make the thread go too off-topic. Interestingly, female roegadyn are the only gender/race with a height min/max higher than 4-5 inches. Female roegadyn have an entire FOOT in height range. While I love thick, muscled, badass women, I was anticipating Au Ra for their dragon/reptilian themes. I don't mind their doe-eyed looks as much as I do their height difference. I know some folks like it but I don't. They look like children next to the men. It's the same reason why some folks don't like lalafells pairing with other races. However, the fact that female roegadyns have such a huge height range gives me hope for a tall female Au Ra. So pumped for Benchmark! (And a big height range would give a little something for everyone too! ) Why exactly should all of the genders in each race conform to a similar height criteria? It makes the Au Ra more different and unique that way. I agree that not all races should need to have similar height ratios or be devoid of sexual dismorphism. However, I don't know if I would say Au Ra are 'unique' in that way. I think roegadyns actually already have A LOT of sexual dimorphism. I mean, yeah sure, female roegadyns are muscular but compared to a male roegadyn they are actually very, very small in build. The sexual dimorphism is already here with roegadyns. I think it would be unique if the female Au Ra were the larger ones and the male Au Ra the smaller ones. (Which also exists in nature with several species having larger females) Our MMO backgrounds are probably different; in the MMOs I am used to...pretty much all the races were already highly dimorphic so for me, personally, it's not new or unique based on my background.

I was a little hesitant to talk more about Au Ra since this thread isn't really about them....But I'll take a moment to share a thought that hopefully doesn't make the thread go too off-topic. Interestingly, female roegadyn are the only gender/race with a height min/max higher than 4-5 inches. Female roegadyn have an entire FOOT in height range. While I love thick, muscled, badass women, I was anticipating Au Ra for their dragon/reptilian themes. I don't mind their doe-eyed looks as much as I do their height difference. I know some folks like it but I don't. They look like children next to the men. It's the same reason why some folks don't like lalafells pairing with other races. However, the fact that female roegadyns have such a huge height range gives me hope for a tall female Au Ra. So pumped for Benchmark! (And a big height range would give a little something for everyone too! )