Housing ReclamationFollow

I feel like this could still be added in addition to the current housing system... maybe just as an expansion of the inn rooms, but make the rooms bigger so they're closer to small houses in size. The perk of owning a house in one of the wards would be having a yard, and also having a property that's visible to everyone, which is kind of a cool thing.

I really like non-instanced housing areas where people can gather and you're not in an isolated, instanced bubble. But adding instances for those who don't have houses would be a good solution so everyone could enjoy things like furnishings.

Edited, Oct 23rd 2015 3:32pm by Thayos

What message are you sending as a developer when you say that your product is meant for casual players, but you implement housing that is limited to a select few; specifically those who play the game enough that they can actually afford it(read: not casuals)? Sorry, but the community argument was never on the table because there isn't enough space for it(pun intended).

I still prefer truly communal open-world zones to instanced regions, even if you can hand-pick your neighbors. Part of what makes open-world areas interesting is you can't hand pick who moves in next door, and you can't completely customize everything all around you. It adds a touch of realism that you can't get with ultimate customization.

I agree but since the space in such a place is inherently finite, it's a flawed design in an MMO space; this should have been obvious from the beginning of the design process for this system.

Given this most recent development and combined with several previous ones, I believe we have enough data to conclude that SE's design process is at best inherently flawed and at worst deliberately sloppy. This isn't even sort of the first time they've made a design choice that simply doesn't work in an MMO that is played by even a moderately-sized playerbase.

Housing space, instance timers, UI design, retainer limitations (oh but not if you pay more...)... the list goes on and on. For whatever reason, SE has adopted a design process that fundamentally does not work when a lot of people are playing their game. You simply don't design multi-user online experiences this way. You haven't for decades. Why are they doing it?

Back in caveman times I was doing game development on MUDs. For anyone that doesn't have their dead sea scrolls handy, those were the text-based precursors to MMOs. The most popular MUDs were played by maybe a few hundred people at any given time, most were much smaller accommodating a few dozen at once.

When I was designing a system or a feature for one of those, I always did so with an eye toward making sure that whatever I was designing could be expanded as much as needed. Whether that meant making sure that my design worked in a large space as well as a small one or if it meant a hard limit on something to keep memory requirements under control, but that could be expanded with an in-game command if necessary. If I, a total amateur, could figure that out, then it is impossible that a real game designer couldn't.

SE has shown through their implementations that they either don't have a grasp of simple future proofing, or they don't care about future proofing which is probably more concerning a possibility.

Where are our PF menu options for Heavensward content? That could've been tossed in with one of the hotfixes if the menu items weren't individually hardcoded or something.
ALL character data is seriously being sent and saved every 15 seconds? A: For the love of god, why? and B: Why are we sending data that isn't being altered?
Housing for a strictly limited number of people in a game played by hundreds of thousands? Are you serious? With no plan in place to handle player turnover?
Adding TP bars to the UI means that they have to take UI elements off the main screen? The hell?

I love FFXIV. The game has its problems but it's a solid piece of work and it's fun to play. I just don't understand why SE is so bound and determined to do such an awful job at game design.

Anyway rant over, had to get that off my chest.

There are just too many players who would make use of player housing to pull off anything in an open world setting. The only way it would work is if servers had a lower limit for total players, but that is counter-intuitive to making a world feel more.. alive. I get that you want realism, but there is often a disconnect between what is realistically possible in our world vs what makes the world of Eorzea realistic. Instanced zones for housing provide the best compromise for both players and developers.

housing is a failure imo
the lolneighbourhood is such a waste of possible resources we could have used for actual creative customization.

They failed horribly at housing , its boring, allows for almost zero player creativity. (using carbon copy furniture in carbon copy homes in carbon copy wards to boot lol how exciting!) with the only ability to lolrotate is shameful in a modern mmo

1/10 no more then that

not to mention the lack of availability for so many players after this long...wow

I like ffxiv O.o but the housing end of it is embarrassing unless one is very very easily amused, which most ppl with functioning gray matter...are not.

Agreed. Sometimes I wish SE would hand Yoshida a blank check.

They realize it. This is why I'm "cynical" because the success came by...doing the bare minimum..so now they don't actually have to go out of their way until they start losing a sizable chunk of players. Even the EU datacenter apparently was plagued with issues for certain groups and those technically should be a brand new cluster. Though I'm willing to bet, much like XI getting the shaft, XIV may not have as much allocated to it now in order to save money for the FFVII remake and the other older IP remakes they announced they're going to do recently.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. When you break it down, I've been playing the same stupid game for like 20 years now.

Exactly or housing servers. I like the subdivision idea and having neighbors.




Might be too late by the time they figure it out.

Problems is after loosing millions for years SE had to somehow finance their debt and those people want their money back and they dont care about the future of some games.

But anyway this is not the fix. All that is going happen is they yank some housing away from people that worked hard for their house. They give it to some new players that use it for a month and never comeback just like now. Tell me how this stops the problem with people not using their houses?

They need to fix housing and give it a purpose so people use their houses and subdivisions. They are empty and will always be empty the way it is now.

There is so much potential with housing instead it some side thing that has no purpose what so ever other than a little decorating.







Edited, Oct 26th 2015 3:22pm by Nashred

It still only says

Forty-five days of inactivity
The estate will be automatically demolished. Still nothing on the 90 days:




Way too short.

Yea Tesee has been gone 21 days right now helping family out. Even if she gives someone access I dont think it matters it has to be the owner. She is never gone 45 days but her first thoughts before leaving of getting home is not I need to jump on and check her house.

I am going to have to log her on but not everyone has someone who can do that.



Edited, Nov 10th 2015 11:00am by Nashred

To be honest, I don't even use my house. I think my wife would have fun with it, but she barely plays.

Thinking maybe I should try to find a FC on my server that needs one. It's just a small, but someone else could actually get real use from it. For me, it's just a cosmetic piece. My personal needs are all taken care of by the FC house.

What SE should do is have some kind of incentive program to encourage people with personal houses to sell their real estate to FCs.


Edited, Nov 10th 2015 8:15am by Thayos