Partial Phasing or instanced neighborhoods as a solution to housing?

[Makeda]

We know the problem is that there aren’t enough neighborhoods and the server resources to spin up neighborhoods make it prohibitive to spin up an infinite number of them.

So what about instancing neighborhoods and then phasing people in to them.

Essentially: first person into housing zone who owns “plot X” spawns a neighborhood. Other houses are then filled in based on:
1. Not currently assigned to another instance.
2. Most number of hours spent in home since last server reset.
3. If #2 is null, Most recently accessed inside of the home in last month.
4. Random if none of above.

But, everytime a neighborhood has no one in it on the outside of a home, the instance is deconstructed.
And, if a neighborhood has been constructed for more than 24 hours it gets deconstructed after a 5 minute warning to clear out (some exception made for large scale RP events like those guys that run theater plays).

Finally If the number of constructed neighborhoods reaches Y, and a homeowner tries to go to their plot that is not in any constructed hood, the least active plot in the same lot as theirs that is currently empty is phased out and replaced by theirs.

If somehow all Y copies of their plot are currently in use, then they enter a queue and can play normally until space opens (the 24 hour limit will eventually force this but the odds of this event should be low...).

[Makeda]

Half formed idea still... that of course SE will never see anyway...

But instancing at the neighborhood level seems like it could solve the lack of houses issue and the lack of resources issue at the same time.

[Penthea]

I am having trouble understanding your post. Are you suggesting that neighbourhoods will "spawn" based on whether any plots are bought, and if they are bought they will form a neighbourhood? Instead of what it is presently, which is a fixed neighbourhood regardless of whether plots are purchased or not.

[Jojoya]

Honestly, that sounds like a complicated mess that would be prone to bugs and glitches as the game tries to adjust to the online population.

Better to have static neighborhoods with walled plots, each plot having an entry portal leading to the instanced housing of the player that has chosen to live at that location (access to a specific house would be done the same way we access apartments). From inside the instanced housing, a scenic view would appear very similar to the views we currently would get though it wouldn't display the furnishing layouts neighboring players are using.

Because you'd have more players traveling through the same common areas to reach the instanced housing, it would make the neighborhoods feel more lively when in those common areas. The drawback is you would lose the ability to see other players pass by when inside an instanced plot.

Whether the common areas would end up with too much traffic, causing lag issues, is hard to say but that should be partially offset by the game no longer needing to load each individual outdoor furnishing and fixture.