Please Remove the Inactivity Timer

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sylvaneste

Those are all or mostly small plots, that is why no one is buying them. Have you been in a small house......throw some items in there, and your camera is staring at the back of your head, and there is nothing to look at. Let alone throw a party.

I have watch "small" house FC's throw parties on their EMPTY lawns, as well as in other locations. Simply because the house is literally too small.

Who cars if SE has to actually do work to make every house to be able to upgrade to a large. After all, some of you are saying it is a gil sink system. More people who upgrade, more gil gets removed from the server. Then maybe will no longer see the bots in quarrymill running into and through the ground!

Or people selling houses for 450 million!

---

Purchased houses on Spriggan as of this morning (early am Pacific (US) time) in Mist, Goblet and Lavender Beds. Every housing district has 720 smalls, 252 mediums and 108 large plots for a total of 1,080 per district and 4,320 per world.

Mist
Small - 61
Medium - 54
Large - 81

Lavender Bedst
Small - 38
Medium - 74
Large - 52

Goblet
Small - 19
Medium - 16
Large - 14

My alt is only 21 so doesn't have access to Shirogane. It tends to be the most popular district so more houses are likely to have been purchased there. Perhaps someone with access could give us the numbers.

Make of the numbers what you want. Looks to me like not every FC is interested in owning a large, or even a medium in many cases, considering what is still available 3 weeks after the wards opened. It also seems pretty clear that blocking individual purchase of a house so only FCs can own is going to leave massively empty wards. Only 13% of the plots in the housing districts I could access have been sold.

As for who cares if SE has to do work to change the wards to fit your vision of what they should be? You clearly don't but intelligent players do. Nothing exists in a vacuum.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

Purchased houses on Spriggan as of this morning (early am Pacific (US) time) in Mist, Goblet and Lavender Beds. Every housing district has 720 smalls, 252 mediums and 108 large plots for a total of 1,080 per district and 4,320 per world.

Mist
Small - 61
Medium - 54
Large - 81

Lavender Bedst
Small - 38
Medium - 74
Large - 52

Goblet
Small - 19
Medium - 16
Large - 14

My alt is only 21 so doesn't have access to Shirogane. It tends to be the most popular district so more houses are likely to have been purchased there. Perhaps someone with access could give us the numbers.

Make of the numbers what you want. Looks to me like not every FC is interested in owning a large, or even a medium in many cases, considering what is still available 3 weeks after the wards opened. It also seems pretty clear that blocking individual purchase of a house so only FCs can own is going to leave massively empty wards. Only 13% of the plots in the housing districts I could access have been sold.

As for who cares if SE has to do work to change the wards to fit your vision of what they should be? You clearly don't but intelligent players do. Nothing exists in a vacuum.

---

I literally posted the number of FC houses on Spriggan two posts ago...

Anyway, 710 fc houses as of right now on Spriggan. 763 for Twintania.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sylvaneste

Those are all or mostly small plots, that is why no one is buying them. Have you been in a small house......throw some items in there, and your camera is staring at the back of your head, and there is nothing to look at. Let alone throw a party.

I have watch "small" house FC's throw parties on their EMPTY lawns, as well as in other locations. Simply because the house is literally too small.

Who cars if SE has to actually do work to make every house to be able to upgrade to a large. After all, some of you are saying it is a gil sink system. More people who upgrade, more gil gets removed from the server. Then maybe will no longer see the bots in quarrymill running into and through the ground!

Or people selling houses for 450 million!

---

That screenshot shows 3 empty mediums, 1 empty large, and 1 empty beachfront small; all are some of the most coveted plots in the game. It's just funny to see. I don't think Spriggan or Twintania should be used as an example of the housing system working since they're still closed to personal purchase, rather they're examples of the fact that FC demand is far overmet with what we have and that it's personal housing people want.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kenky

Common misconceptions

"The Inactivity Timer is meant to stop people owning several plots"

"The Inactivity timer is meant to stop overcrowding"

"Housing is for everyone"
Also wrong. While yes, everyone deserves the right to have a go at housing, not everyone is going to GET a housing plot. The Housing Plots need to remain a finite resource in order to keep a demand. If everyone could get one, then there goes a major gil-sink for the game. It's doing its job. What people seem to enjoy ignoring is the apartments out there for people to own a house.

And before anyone says "Apartments aren't houses" or they're not proper instanced housing? Stop being picky. Yeah, you may not get every system with an apartment, but apartments don't auto-demo, they're permanent and about 3/4 the size of a Small (interior at least). For the price you're asked for its purchase, it's a pretty great deal. For everything else, just join an FC and get permissions to grow / water plants. Boom. There you go. All of the systems at your disposal.

---

I'm not sure how your brain works, but your conceptions are wrong on all of this. What it is and what it is meant to do, is right there in it's name INACTIVITY TIMER. If you are inactive, you lose. Why should a house plot sit there if the owner never uses it? My game-hubby got a plot, decorated it, but never used the house so it went up for auto-demolish even though he was subbed. That is it's purpose. Sub or no sub, if you aren't using it you should lose it. Plus, the rules on this are fairly easy, "enter your house once every 30 days". I mean, shit if you have a house and have it decorated, you should be using it each time you log in to play... summoning bells alone to pull retainers instead of using one by the MB all the time is reason enough to enter your house at least once. Why would you think for a second, just because got a house and spent the gil for decorating and whatever, that they should rightfully keep it if they are unsubbed or never even enter it for months at a time? How is that fair to anyone else? Also, for you to say "Stop being so picky" means you have a house, at least one. Get permissions to grow/water, boom! Yeah, not that simple or fair/accurate/etc since FCs have multiple members and limited in gardening space.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TR_RA

I'm not sure how your brain works, but your conceptions are wrong on all of this. What it is and what it is meant to do, is right there in it's name INACTIVITY TIMER. If you are inactive, you lose. Why should a house plot sit there if the owner never uses it? My game-hubby got a plot, decorated it, but never used the house so it went up for auto-demolish even though he was subbed. That is it's purpose. Sub or no sub, if you aren't using it you should lose it. Plus, the rules on this are fairly easy, "enter your house once every 30 days". I mean, shit if you have a house and have it decorated, you should be using it each time you log in to play... summoning bells alone to pull retainers instead of using one by the MB all the time is reason enough to enter your house at least once. Why would you think for a second, just because got a house and spent the gil for decorating and whatever, that they should rightfully keep it if they are unsubbed or never even enter it for months at a time? How is that fair to anyone else? Also, for you to say "Stop being so picky" means you have a house, at least one. Get permissions to grow/water, boom! Yeah, not that simple or fair/accurate/etc since FCs have multiple members and limited in gardening space.

---

The Inactivity timer is fine. You should probably read the first post and see how the OP claimed the Inactivity Timer were all of the things I listed.

And yes, I have a house. I was one of the lucky ones to get it through the current system, but I assume me admitting that means my words means nothing now? Because you'll warp it into some asinine statement of "Well, they have a house. So they dont know what they're talking about" like some people have done here. Not that simple or fair/accurate to assume FCs would welcome new players and make use of the systems they may not be using?

Well, damn. Guess my assumption that FCs would welcome any new player they get, especially when they use the systems of an FC is factually wrong because this one random player said so. Back to the books for me, I guess!

Demolish housing all together, and stop this foolish idea of something personal or private in this game. Spend the server recourses on more game items, better duneons and better area for exploration, gathering and quests.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kenky

And before anyone says "Apartments aren't houses" or they're not proper instanced housing? Stop being picky. Yeah, you may not get every system with an apartment, but apartments don't auto-demo, they're permanent and about 3/4 the size of a Small (interior at least). For the price you're asked for its purchase, it's a pretty great deal. For everything else, just join an FC and get permissions to grow / water plants. Boom. There you go. All of the systems at your disposal.

---

It took me owning a house to really appreciate my apartment, honestly. After finally getting a house, I realised it just wasn't for me. I don't like the stress behind it, and I ended up just using one floor pretty much anyway. Apartments are super customisable in comparison to houses with permanent structural layouts where as with apartments, you can make your own layouts. On top of that, they never get demolished due to inactivity and thus you'll never lose your items.

I think apartments would be better if they offered three different sizes (small, medium, large) + access to an instanced outdoor space for gardening. The only things I miss about having a house is the yard + 200 item count + having a sense of neighbours because I never see my fellow flatmates. I'm really not into FCs anymore and I'm sure there are plenty others, so "join an FC to garden" (not to mention one may not ever get access to garden depending on the FC) isn't really a solution for everyone. But yeah, apartments are great.

I really think Apartments would serve well enough if:

A) FC Apartments were available which would have the extra door to the workshop/FC rooms and access to all the associated features.
B) Both individual and FC Apartments had an instanced "communal garden" area, that could be accessed from the lobby, that is its own instanced outdoor space, where you never see other players, can decorate with outdoor furniture, and can have at least one garden plot.
C) Apartments had at least a 200 placeable object count (same as a small house currently has).

This would make an apartment the equivalent to a small house sans the basement. I would imagine this would require a price hike on apartments or perhaps just make them a new type of "Deluxe Apartment" with a higher price tag. Doing this would likely eliminate the need to add more wards in the future and give access to all housing features regardless of whether you have an apartment or house.

No, housing is so limited we need the timer, active players deserve houses over players who dont even get on. Im sorry, but the timer is 30 days, possibly even 45 days if i remember right, until you loose the house. You have 1 full month to keep it, and logging on for 1 minute isn't going to kill you, you can even set a reminder on your phone if you forget to log on a lot.

I also never believe the busy excuse, even on my most busy days i can find the time to log on for at least 30 mins to an hour. Things happen, but if you're busy for 30-45 days straight and cant log on for even a minute why are you even playing an mmo?

To be able to take a break from the game and unsub for more than a month would be nice but no, because I still like my house a lot I am locked to this game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leloa

To be able to take a break from the game and unsub for more than a month would be nice but no, because I still like my house a lot I am locked to this game.

---

Which is why we need an enhanced instanced housing system. You would then be able to take a break without losing your house since your ownership wouldn't prevent another player from also owning.

But until that happens, the demo timer is going to remain. It makes no sense to leave a limited resource in the hands of people who are not playing the game and might never return when others who are actively paying and playing also want that resource. It's your choice to pay to remain tied to something in a game you don't want to play.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kenky

Common misconceptions

"The Inactivity Timer is meant to stop people owning several plots"
Wrong, but only by a technicality standpoint. The Inactivity timer was not meant to discourage or punish / penalize people having multiple plots. Just ensuring that they need to enter every plot once every month to maintain ownership. The timer itself originally was to ensure that, regardless of the player fluctuation, That there would still be availability On top of that, players that own multiple plots are from before the housing rework. Meaning they got those houses legitimately and played by the rules and systems they had at the time. SE can't do anything about it, as it would be deemed unfair for them to rip the houses the players earned away from them. No exceptions.

"The Inactivity timer is meant to stop overcrowding"
That's OUR fault, not SEs. They've tried time and time again to get us to spread out and, frankly, we just spit in their face. Nothing much can be done when people are stubborn.

"Housing is for everyone"
Also wrong. While yes, everyone deserves the right to have a go at housing, not everyone is going to GET a housing plot. The Housing Plots need to remain a finite resource in order to keep a demand. If everyone could get one, then there goes a major gil-sink for the game. It's doing its job. What people seem to enjoy ignoring is the apartments out there for people to own a house.

And before anyone says "Apartments aren't houses" or they're not proper instanced housing? Stop being picky. Yeah, you may not get every system with an apartment, but apartments don't auto-demo, they're permanent and about 3/4 the size of a Small (interior at least). For the price you're asked for its purchase, it's a pretty great deal. For everything else, just join an FC and get permissions to grow / water plants. Boom. There you go. All of the systems at your disposal.

---

Timer exists to continue subs, end of story, regardless how SE trys to show it, they are not the gaming messiah, Yoshida is not jesus, and by god i know he and his team try very hard with this mess of a game and spaghetti code and they succeded a lot, but SE itself i call greedy wtih the subs, mogry store, subs for retainers, etc.

It pays the game becasue SE not gives them money to work with the game, so they are FORCED to rob people of there wallets, i love this game but SE itself is such a scam, i can't wait till Yoshida can start really from scratch without bad influences from SE with his next project.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Saix027

Timer exists to continue subs, end of story, regardless how SE trys to show it, they are not the gaming messiah, Yoshida is not jesus, and by god i know he and his team try very hard with this mess of a game and spaghetti code and they succeded a lot, but SE itself i call greedy wtih the subs, mogry store, subs for retainers, etc.

It pays the game becasue SE not gives them money to work with the game, so they are FORCED to rob people of there wallets, i love this game but SE itself is such a scam, i can't wait till Yoshida can start really from scratch without bad influences from SE with his next project.

---

Every game company is greedy. They are for-profit companies, not charities. They are out to make money and that means offering things people want to buy.

It's hard to find any multiplayer online game that doesn't sell optional items, content and/or services you have to pay extra to get. Stop making it sound like SE is so horribly different from the rest when it's not.

If you object so much, why do you continue to patron these greedy gaming companies when you could stick to purchasing from game companies where a one time purchase gets you every thing possible for the game? I'm sure there are a few that exist somewhere out there if you take the time to look.

The timer does not exist to force players to continue to subscribe. Even players who are actively subscribed will lose their house if they don't enter it for 45 days. The timer exists so that a limited resource can get in the hands of those who will actively use it if the current owner is not.

We the consumers ultimately decide whether or not to spend money on the product provided. You can be an ignorant consumer and pay money for something you aren't actively using, or you can be an intelligent consumer and pay money for something you are actively using.

If you know something requires continued use to retain possession but you don't want to maintain continued use, why did you buy it in the first place? That's being the ignorant consumer.

If you're only intermittently playing FFXIV when new content gets released and find you want to have long gaps between your subscription periods, you're better off buying a different game to get your housing fix. It's not like FFXIV is the only game that has housing or that we're only allowed to enjoy a single game. You can be playing both.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

Purchased houses on Spriggan as of this morning (early am Pacific (US) time) in Mist, Goblet and Lavender Beds. Every housing district has 720 smalls, 252 mediums and 108 large plots for a total of 1,080 per district and 4,320 per world.

Mist
Small - 61
Medium - 54
Large - 81

Lavender Bedst
Small - 38
Medium - 74
Large - 52

Goblet
Small - 19
Medium - 16
Large - 14

My alt is only 21 so doesn't have access to Shirogane. It tends to be the most popular district so more houses are likely to have been purchased there. Perhaps someone with access could give us the numbers.

Make of the numbers what you want. Looks to me like not every FC is interested in owning a large, or even a medium in many cases, considering what is still available 3 weeks after the wards opened. It also seems pretty clear that blocking individual purchase of a house so only FCs can own is going to leave massively empty wards. Only 13% of the plots in the housing districts I could access have been sold.

As for who cares if SE has to do work to change the wards to fit your vision of what they should be? You clearly don't but intelligent players do. Nothing exists in a vacuum.

---

This intelligent person [who does finally own a house, but I digress] thinks SE needs to swap to instanced housing asap.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redheadturk

This intelligent person [who does finally own a house, but I digress] thinks SE needs to swap to instanced housing asap.

---

I agree. Enhancing the existing instanced housing system to give players a greater of variety of options within it, including house plots and not just different apartment sizes, would be far better than continuing to pour resources into a ward system that struggles to fill demand.

But I also understand it's not a change that SE could make overnight on a whim even if they made that decision. We're not going to see things getting any better soon.

At this point, I think we're stuck waiting to see how Ishgard housing turns out. For now it looks like it's going to be another ward based housing system but I still remember the information Yoshi-P shared at the EU FanFest about new technology they're working on that would allow players to view non-instanced housing areas from inside an instanced housing area. Hopefully it means that Ishgard housing will be using that technology and what we'll get is instanced housing organized within a ward layout.

I doubt it - but I'm still going to hope.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redheadturk

This intelligent person [who does finally own a house, but I digress] thinks SE needs to swap to instanced housing asap.

---

I like the housing districts the way they are. I'm not opposed to having instanced housing exist alongside those.

I agree with the removal of auto demolition for inactivity however all the plots should then be given back to the oldest players who lost their houses for inactivity but still have their characters they bought the plot with on the world. Regardless of them still playing the game or not.

You most likely got a house because because someone lost it to inactivity timer. They should have it back.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hasana

I agree with the removal of auto demolition for inactivity however all the plots should then be given back to the oldest players who lost their houses for inactivity but still have their characters they bought the plot with on the world. Regardless of them still playing the game or not.

You most likely got a house because because someone lost it to inactivity timer. They should have it back.

---

I completely disagree with removing auto demolition for inactivity. No way should a house be taken by someone who doesn’t even use it.

You are exactly right, I got my house because someone didn’t enter their house for more than 45 days, a beautiful small on plot 47 of the Lavender Beds. I checked multiple times a day for that plot hoping one would open up someday.

I spent a straight week gathering/crafting to decorate it (still tweaking it a little to get it JUST right :) ) and enter it DAILY. Its somewhere where I go to craft in peace, to veg out to orchestrion music, and get materia melds until my crafters are back up to 80. That house is very much loved by me and all plots should go to those who truly want to use it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hasana

I agree with the removal of auto demolition for inactivity however all the plots should then be given back to the oldest players who lost their houses for inactivity but still have their characters they bought the plot with on the world. Regardless of them still playing the game or not.

You most likely got a house because because someone lost it to inactivity timer. They should have it back.

---

No, they shouldn't. They failed to meet the requirements to retain ownership of the house.

The subsequent owner should not be punished for their failure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hasana

I agree with the removal of auto demolition for inactivity however all the plots should then be given back to the oldest players who lost their houses for inactivity but still have their characters they bought the plot with on the world. Regardless of them still playing the game or not.

You most likely got a house because because someone lost it to inactivity timer. They should have it back.

---

Sorry, but someone who couldn’t be bothered to step into their house for 45 days doesn’t deserve the property. The timer exists to prevent people from quitting the game but permanently retain their now-unused house.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

Sorry, but someone who couldn’t be bothered to step into their house for 45 days doesn’t deserve the property. The timer exists to prevent people from quitting the game but permanently retain their now-unused house.

---

I remember a thread months back of a guy who lost his house cause he did nothing but sit on top of it. Could not be bothered to enter it even once, he came to the forums to complain that simply being in your yard should be enough to reset the timer. Funny thing was he could not give justified reason as too why he would not enter his house every so often. :confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

Sorry, but someone who couldn’t be bothered to step into their house for 45 days doesn’t deserve the property. The timer exists to prevent people from quitting the game but permanently retain their now-unused house.

---

Don't get me wrong here I am all for the demolition thing as it allows everyone to get a chance for a house however I am not for people getting their houses thanks to the timer asking for that timer to be removed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hasana

Don't get me wrong here I am all for the demolition thing as it allows everyone to get a chance for a house however I am not for people getting their houses thanks to the timer asking for that timer to be removed.

---

I'm confused. You said a few posts back I agree with the removal of auto demolition for inactivity

You are either for or you're not.

There is this M house at Gridania that is next to my old fc house, the FC it belongs to has like 5 members and in 2-3 years i never saw someone. Its open but inside is basically just a chest and thats it. EMPTY. For years. No, such ppl should not keep it, though im pretty sure they do shady stuff there lol

Imo the timer is too short, like, why should i stay subbed till 5.2 if im done with everything i can? ther needs to be a line between making a vacation from the game and leaving for a year lol


-Imagine you fly into vacation and your house is torn down and a new one build? lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Arazehl

I'm confused. You said a few posts back I agree with the removal of auto demolition for inactivity

You are either for or you're not.

---

I took that first post as more of a tongue-in-cheek response pointing out that the op almost certainly got their house thanks to the inactivity timer and is now trying to have it removed to prevent themselves from losing the house to inactivity in the same way the person who originally owned it might have. To me, both of hasana's posts seemed to be in favor of the inactivity timer.

These days available houses are rare. I know on my server the only time you see a plot open it’s because either a) someone relinquished or b) the inactivity timer (guessing this is more common). After a plot opens you might see some shuffling around as people relocate, but the thing that’s probably going to kick the whole thing off is the inactivity timer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lolli282

I got my house ... a beautiful small on plot 47 of the Lavender Beds. I checked multiple times a day for that plot hoping one would open up someday.

---

Maybe I'm veering into off-topic territory here, but congrats! Plot 47 in Lavender beds is tied with Mist’s 49 for my favorite small in the game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kuroka

There is this M house at Gridania that is next to my old fc house, the FC it belongs to has like 5 members and in 2-3 years i never saw someone. Its open but inside is basically just a chest and thats it. EMPTY. For years. No, such ppl should not keep it, though im pretty sure they do shady stuff there lol

Imo the timer is too short, like, why should i stay subbed till 5.2 if im done with everything i can? ther needs to be a line between making a vacation from the game and leaving for a year lol


-Imagine you fly into vacation and your house is torn down and a new one build? lol

---

How do you know they aren't using the workshop?

That's one of the big drawbacks with the system, at least for FCs. They can only have a workshop if they own a house, even if they don't care about having a house as a meeting place for members.

SE would have been smarter to attach the workshop to the affiliated Grand Company headquarters and not to housing. Housing districts don't even have an airship landing. The city-states do.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by An0nn

Maybe I'm veering into off-topic territory here, but congrats! Plot 47 in Lavender beds is tied with Mist’s 49 for my favorite small in the game.

---

Thank you! It’s my dream plot. I don’t really want a medium but if I did it would probably be plot 16 next door. I’m fortunate to share with someone living on plot 49 Mist so I get the best of both worlds. My husband has plot 45 in Goblet, which is a fantastic small there too. :)

Back to topic, the only reason we got plots at all, let alone our wonderful ones is thanks to the timer. We got our houses knowing the rules and intend to keep our subs active to retain them. I think if you want to quit because you’ve finished all the new stuff in the patch and would prefer to take a break till the next one you should stick to an apt, that’s what they are there for. To give you a taste of housing without the full commitment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lolli282

Thank you! It’s my dream plot. I don’t really want a medium but if I did it would probably be plot 16 next door. I’m fortunate to share with someone living on plot 49 Mist so I get the best of both worlds. My husband has plot 45 in Goblet, which is a fantastic small there too. :)

Back to topic, the only reason we got plots at all, let alone our wonderful ones is thanks to the timer. We got our houses knowing the rules and intend to keep our subs active to retain them. I think if you want to quit because you’ve finished all the new stuff in the patch and would prefer to take a break till the next one you should stick to an apt, that’s what they are there for. To give you a taste of housing without the full commitment.

---

It was my dream plot too! I had an old character ages ago in that plot. I deleted it, but I wanted to get 47 back on my current. I finally did when they added the new wards during 4.2. I stayed there until this last round of ward additions, when I moved to a medium because I wanted more space. If I could have somehow stayed in 47 and upgraded the interior, I would have done it in a heartbeat! Not only is the view beautiful, but the mb and bell are right next to the entryway and there's that pretty little ledge out back overlooking the waterfall. I think 45 in Goblet is the one with the pond out front and the view of that waterwheel around the side, right? That's a great one too!

Yes, with the current housing situation, some sort of inactivity timer is a necessity. I agree that apartments are the best solution available for someone who wants a house without feeling chained to the game, though I guess I can also see how some people feel like apartments are underwhelming compared to houses. It would be nice if apartments were eventually expanded upon in some way to make them feel more like an instanced alternative to the ward system.

Solid disagree with OP. If you are never using the plot, you don't need it. Sadly plots are limited and thats not gonna change. They should go to people who will use them.

Otherwise most plots would eventually be used by players who only play a few weeks after each patch.