Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida dispatched his 41st missive today to deliver some beta news, screenshots and hopes of good fortune for the year. Yoshida took some time to discuss the upcoming closed beta set to begin next month and revealed a few new screenshots of the new title screen for A Realm Reborn and the character creation system. All races will be available during the first phase of beta, but some of the customizations will be limited until later.

Although all races will be available from phase one of the beta test, not all customization options will be available. We're putting a lot of work into various options such as hair styles and colors (a whopping 192 shades are being planned!) based on feedback from the alpha test, and everything should be ready by phase three.

Yoshida also posted a few images of his trip to a temple to draw an omikuji, a strip of paper with fortunes on them. While Yoshida didn’t draw the best fortune in the batch, he did receive a small blessing, which is a sign of good luck. So maybe that will mean good things to superstitious FFXIV players.

Source: FFXIV Producer’s Letter