Au Ra Character Creation Screens discussion!

[Wymsical]

I'd just be happier if the height cap was raised from 5'2 to something like 5'6?

 

More leeway with the height scaler in general would be great. With most races it's only five to six inches. Interestingly, roegadyn females are the only ones who get a whole foot to work with.

[Blythe]

I'd just be happier if the height cap was raised from 5'2 to something like 5'6?

 

Agreed.

 

Even 5'0 to 5'5 would seem rather better to me. But I digress Since I'm not SE. Going off the idea of Japanese idols, most would fall in that range tbh.

[Naunet]

On the other hand, Ember has a point - the extremely high levels of neoteny found in the females of the Au Ra DO make them look more childlike, and it is that in combination with the height that makes them look extremely young. I personally find this to be irritating because we already have a race that fills that particular niche (Miqo'te) and I still don't really see what niche the Au Ra fill that was not already filled. Well, the guys at least are more distinct... which only makes the failure of the females to be more interesting all the more conspicuous.

 

If the females had the same super intense angular eyes (and features in general) of the males, that'd help a lot.

[ArmachiA]

It's also interesting to note the bestial aesthetic of the original concept art, particularly regarding the FemRa:

 

 

l

 

The concept art has the FemRa looking voluptuous with much more prominent, savage features. The one on the left also has some kind of scaled growth obscuring the top of their face as if to highlight the unnatural nature of their less humanoid aspects. This design is interesting for me, mostly because it seems like a concept artist drew this up, showed this to the producers, who then went "Hey, this looks good. Let's take this as far in the opposite direction as possible."

 

Concept art for the ManRa runs a similar route. I can only dream of what kind of nightmarish clipping issues would have arosen from the in-game model borne of this design.

 

 

 

 

 

I may have gripes with the blandness of the design, but ultimately Square would rather create something bland and commonly played than something unique that has only niche appeal. I don't agree with their aesthetic choices, but I do understand them.

 

I like the idea of the Fem Ra one there but... to me it just looks like the American idea of female beauty, big breasts, small waist, big ass. They were onto something there for SURE with the claws and the faces. I would have made the breast smaller for a more athletic build (Warring Tribe, constant battle) with a bit of a less voluptuous look. HOWEVER, they look much more brutal than the current incarnation which makes more sense with the lore.

[Spiritual Machine]

If they had gone with the original Au Ra designs, people would have complained about how hyper-sexualized the female bodies were, or how under-muscled or less savage they were compared to the males.

[Altitis Acquired]

There will ALWAYS be people who complain, no matter what. Simply because you can't satisfy them all, and that's because we all want something different. And that's completely alright, because we are individual people with individual thoughts and opinions.

 

However, as things are, if you don't like what you see, then this is simply not what you were looking for and you have the option to leave it be. However, there are people who DO like it and they will have the option to make an Au Ra and play as them. You who DON'T like them can stay with the current race of your choice. ^^

 

This is the new Au Ra race. This is how they're going to be.

 

To you who don't like them or are disappointed with the outcome of this race, I'm sorry that Squeenix didn't reach your expectations this time. But instead have this cute Moogle emote that will hopefully cheer you up:

 

:moogle:

 

Much love to all y'alls. :love:

[Naunet]

I like the idea of the Fem Ra one there but... to me it just looks like the American idea of female beauty, big breasts, small waist, big ass. They were onto something there for SURE with the claws and the faces. I would have made the breast smaller for a more athletic build (Warring Tribe, constant battle) with a bit of a less voluptuous look. HOWEVER, they look much more brutal than the current incarnation which makes more sense with the lore.

 

I ADORE the one with the armor-covered face. And those claws. The vicious tail. That combined with an athletic body would have been glorious.

 

*sigh*

[Nero]

I like the idea of the Fem Ra one there but... to me it just looks like the American idea of female beauty, big breasts, small waist, big ass. They were onto something there for SURE with the claws and the faces. I would have made the breast smaller for a more athletic build (Warring Tribe, constant battle) with a bit of a less voluptuous look. HOWEVER, they look much more brutal than the current incarnation which makes more sense with the lore.

 

 

I would have been interested in seeing the original concept art toned down in terms of proportions--seriously, those FemRa must be suffering ungodly amounts of back pain--and used as the model for the Xaela, at least. The only other race that has such a distinct difference in silhouettes in terms of proportion are the Hyur with Highlanders and Midlanders.

 

Having the Xaela retain more of their bestial features--heavily scaled arms, claws, longer horns, etc--would have served as a much more interesting differentiation from the sedentary Raen as opposed to splashing a different colour palette on them and calling it a day. And, like you said, it would tie more into their warlike nature.

 

I suppose such duality in physical aspects doesn't make sense if they're supposed to be the same species, but still. That's some lost potential, there.

[V'aleera]

I ADORE the one with the armor-covered face.

I'm not fond of this particular design. How does a perpetually covered face communicate character? Is sacrificing all that detail hidden beneath really worth it when they could just make a helmet with the same aesthetic instead?

[ShoggMommy]

I ADORE the one with the armor-covered face.

I'm not fond of this particular design. How does a perpetually covered face communicate character? Is sacrificing all that detail hidden beneath really worth it when they could just make a helmet with the same aesthetic instead?

 

Not to mention the fact that they have to consider the current armor in the game as it is. They're already having to change the helmets for the horns in the first place. And while I love the fem-ra with the spines all over her arms, think of how much more they would have to change graphically for them. There is quite a bit of armor in this game.

 

Either way though I'm waiting till benchmark before I make my final say on them. I will still play one however.

[Naunet]

I ADORE the one with the armor-covered face.

I'm not fond of this particular design. How does a perpetually covered face communicate character? Is sacrificing all that detail hidden beneath really worth it when they could just make a helmet with the same aesthetic instead?

 

Bah I don't care. I think it looks awesome. If they went with that more vicious design, surely that'd just be one face option anyway.

[Max]

I actually like what I'm seeing, although I'll probably never make one.

 

One thing that's bothering me is the texture of the scales. It's all.. low quality blurry looking. I hope they look less cruddy come Heavensward.

[ShoggMommy]

I actually like what I'm seeing, although I'll probably never make one.

 

One thing that's bothering me is the texture of the scales. It's all.. low quality blurry looking. I hope they look less cruddy come Heavensward.

 

I think they'll look a lot better. They're currently using a Surface Pro for the benchmark images there. And with it being DirectX11 I think we'll see more details.

[Spiritual Machine]

I like the idea of the Fem Ra one there but... to me it just looks like the American idea of female beauty, big breasts, small waist, big ass. They were onto something there for SURE with the claws and the faces. I would have made the breast smaller for a more athletic build (Warring Tribe, constant battle) with a bit of a less voluptuous look. HOWEVER, they look much more brutal than the current incarnation which makes more sense with the lore.

 

 

I would have been interested in seeing the original concept art toned down in terms of proportions--seriously, those FemRa must be suffering ungodly amounts of back pain--and used as the model for the Xaela, at least. The only other race that has such a distinct difference in silhouettes in terms of proportion are the Hyur with Highlanders and Midlanders.

 

Having the Xaela retain more of their bestial features--heavily scaled arms, claws, longer horns, etc--would have served as a much more interesting differentiation from the sedentary Raen as opposed to splashing a different colour palette on them and calling it a day. And, like you said, it would tie more into their warlike nature.

 

I suppose such duality in physical aspects doesn't make sense if they're supposed to be the same species, but still. That's some lost potential, there.

I think it's funny that it's still the Au Ra females that are getting all the attention in this discussion. I mean, I see a lot of dramatic language in this thread, but I feel like a truly even-handed assessment of the race is that they're Miqo'te. Minus cat. Plus demon.

 

And personally I think that's the only reasonable complaint with all the petite young Midlanders and Seekers running around. They're just less unique than they could have been.

 

AND THE SAME GOES FOR MALES.

 

Come on folks, don't act like Lolita-chan's the only problem here while ignoring the angry-looking, triangular, slightly more well-proportioned horned Elezan in the room! There was a lot of potential for both genders of Au Ra to look way cooler than they turned out. Whether due to character data limitations or an old fashioned lack of gumption, we're just going to have to do our best to make the Au Ra we got look unique among the existing races.

 

I'm with Nero that a perfect world would see more physiological differences between Raen and Xaela that would satisfy everyone's itch. But I say a perfect world would take it a step farther and give us some even more hardcore-looking Xaela males as well!

[Michikyou]

I actually like what I'm seeing, although I'll probably never make one.

 

One thing that's bothering me is the texture of the scales. It's all.. low quality blurry looking. I hope they look less cruddy come Heavensward.

 

I think they'll look a lot better. They're currently using a Surface Pro for the benchmark images there. And with it being DirectX11 I think we'll see more details.

Sadly Dx11 doesnt improve textures on models. Only lighting and background details.

[ShoggMommy]

Meena:

Sadly Dx11 doesnt improve textures on models. Only lighting and background details.

 

 

Oh really? Aww :< I'm sad. 

But it should still be better than a cam image of a screen.

[Naunet]

I actually like what I'm seeing, although I'll probably never make one.

 

One thing that's bothering me is the texture of the scales. It's all.. low quality blurry looking. I hope they look less cruddy come Heavensward.

 

I think they'll look a lot better. They're currently using a Surface Pro for the benchmark images there. And with it being DirectX11 I think we'll see more details.

 

FFXIV doesn't have hi-resolution textures, which is probably what you're seeing. Boy do I wish it did. The game looks fine from a distance, but it's very obvious up close. >_<

 

Honestly, the horribleness of the scales/armor and the extremely limited customization (pretty much expected but still) are my biggest beefs with the Au Ra. I could actually be okay with them if their horns weren't tied to face types, if they had more than four horn options, if the scales/armor were better blended to their skin at the edges so they looked like a part of their body instead of poorly done cosplay...

[ShoggMommy]

It's still a lot better than many other MMOs I have played. I personally play everything on Ultra but that's also just me. Would I like more, high detailed stuff? Yeah, but I still think the game itself, including the characters and armor are beautiful.

 

I think the biggest concern is that the horns clip/paste on the hair, so I'll have to find a style that will work better for mine when I make her. Though I do like the race from what I've seen.

[Michikyou]

It's still a lot better than many other MMOs I have played. I personally play everything on Ultra but that's also just me. Would I like more, high detailed stuff? Yeah, but I still think the game itself, including the characters and armor are beautiful.

 

I think the biggest concern is that the horns clip/paste on the hair, so I'll have to find a style that will work better for mine when I make her. Though I do like the race from what I've seen.

Sadly PS3 support eliminates that. Until PS3 support is gone, we wont be getting any re-textures.

[Altitis Acquired]

Could be worse... Could be World of Warcraft textures.

[Harmonixer]

As someone who's still looking forward to the race being playable... that hair is straight up fuckin' stupid looking and really out of place.

 

Can't wait for it to be the most original punch line EVER.

[Seriphyn]

As someone who's still looking forward to the race being playable... that hair is straight up fuckin' stupid looking and really out of place.

 

Can't wait for it to be the most original punch line EVER.

 

Right, I hope that both Au Ra supporters and detractors can come together and agree the male Au Ra hair is actual shit.

[Altitis Acquired]

As someone who's still looking forward to the race being playable... that hair is straight up fuckin' stupid looking and really out of place.

 

Can't wait for it to be the most original punch line EVER.

 

Right, I hope that both Au Ra supporters and detractors can come together and agree the male Au Ra hair is actual shit.

 

I like it, so no. As I've said earlier, it's cool to see a race appealing to shonen anime.

[Naunet]

Could be worse... Could be World of Warcraft textures.

 

You'd have an argument there if WoW still had its Vanilla-through-BC textures. It's had high resolution armor designs for a long while now, though.

 

As someone who's still looking forward to the race being playable... that hair is straight up fuckin' stupid looking and really out of place.

 

Can't wait for it to be the most original punch line EVER.

 

Right, I hope that both Au Ra supporters and detractors can come together and agree the male Au Ra hair is actual shit.

 

Oh definitely. The male hair is ridiculous, and not in any good way.

[Altitis Acquired]

Could be worse... Could be World of Warcraft textures.

 

You'd have an argument there if WoW still had its Vanilla-through-BC textures. It's had high resolution armor designs for a long while now, though.

 

As someone who's still looking forward to the race being playable... that hair is straight up fuckin' stupid looking and really out of place.

 

Can't wait for it to be the most original punch line EVER.

 

Right, I hope that both Au Ra supporters and detractors can come together and agree the male Au Ra hair is actual shit.

 

Oh definitely. The male hair is ridiculous, and not in any good way.

 

I still think FFXIV looks better.

And still disagree on the Au Ra hairstyles. ^^

But as said, can't please them all.