Free Company Housing vs. Individual Player Housing?

To Yoshida-san and Community Reps:

In the latest interview with Director Yoshida at JPGames, Yoshida-san mentions this:

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Yoshida Naoki: About the housing estates for the free companies, at the moment most disciples of the hand or of the land are thinking: “Why are they concentrating on the battle side?” Housing estates are going to be very important for those players, because it is more related to the lifestyle. We can make sure these players, trying out different classes, can really fell like they are taking place in the game, that was really important to us. Even for an MMO it is something very special to have your own house in the game, so we are fully aware of that and we are making sure it is really going to be exciting.

Unlike other MMOs, in which you can only see your own house and each house is based on an instanced system, we want to make sure that other players can actually see your house as well. Around 20 houses can be in one area, you can make houses, not anywhere, but you will be able to decide in which part you want to have your house. You can also design your house itself and have your own garden, maybe you can grow your own Gysahl Greens there or house your own chocobo. You can really customize your own estate.


At the moment, in the Dev Team, you can actually see the mock up of the polygons. So you can see what the estate is going to look like. It’s the Limsa Lominsa version, and the concept is to make it like a European resort area, so it is going to be really beautiful. Up from the hill you can see the ocean, it’s going to be really nice, I believe. I’m looking forward to it.

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So to clarify...

• Is the only way that we can get Player Housing is joining a Free Company? Or will we be able to get our own Player Housing without a Free Company?

I'm glad we'll have a cool Free Company Hangout, but it's nice to have our own personal Mog House as well, without needing to have the whole Free Company there with you (or joining one).

While we're at it (note: Totally Low Priority), for our own private Player Mog House, eventually having our own Mog Crystal to watch the previous Final Fantasy Cinematics we've uncovered so far (from previous Missions, Stories) and listen to Composer Nobuo Uematsu's awesome Final Fantasy Music Tracks would be great.

Can we get clarification on this?

Thanks!

es·tate/iˈstāt/
Noun:
1.An area or amount of land or property, in particular.
2.An extensive area of land in the country, usually with a large house, owned by one person or organization.

While it sounds like the second definition right now, I could see the capacity for the first.

"Estate" could refer to a large patch of land in which multiple players build their individual houses. However, it sounds like Free Companies will still be required. All speculation of course.

i just want a place where i can run laps around a moogle

I would also like my own personal mog house agian

I don't like mog houses. Rather, I like them as a player, but they're limited in what they can do without being bad for the game.

In my opinion, one of the most important things to streamline in an MMO is how easy it is to find people with similar objectives, so that people can log in alone without having to play alone. Mog houses, which take a single player and isolate them from the world, are totally contrary to that objective.

They "worked" in FFXI because there was no reason to stay in your home. You visited your home to grab stuff from storage, get your mail, or to change jobs, but then you went right back out again. I know I don't speak for everyone, but I didn't really treat my Mog House like a real home. My floor was mostly covered in rusty buckets since they were affordable and added to my storage space.

I'd like to see instanced individual player housing, but there needs to be both a way and a reason for other players to come visiting so that there's incentive to make our house look nice (maybe have certain long duration party buffs that can only be cast inside one's own home or something so you stop at a house before going to fight), and for those in it to still be able to hear what's going on outside (a good LFG feature will probably help here).

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Originally Posted by Misteyes

In my opinion, one of the most important things to streamline in an MMO is how easy it is to find people with similar objectives, so that people can log in alone without having to play alone. Mog houses, which take a single player and isolate them from the world, are totally contrary to that objective.

I'd like to see instanced individual player housing, but there needs to be both a way and a reason for other players to come visiting so that there's incentive to make our house look nice (maybe have certain long duration party buffs that can only be cast inside one's own home or something so you stop at a house before going to fight), and for those in it to still be able to hear what's going on outside (a good LFG feature will probably help here).

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Hi Misteyes,

Oh I agree. I don't want a Mog House that's isolated so only you, individually, can ever see it. It'd be nice to show off your own Mog House to others if you want, have a Garden, etc. ^^ (Even set your own choice of Uematsu-san's Final Fantasy Music Track when people visit.)

My original post is asking if we can have our Personal Mog House / Player Housing without the need to join a Free Company (or be bundled with everyone in the Free Company).

Thanks.

Btw, we could invite people to our moghouses in ffxi

On the current note, however, i don't really care about the personal mog house. I am very happy with free company housing, because a "clubhouse" is much more fun than a hole you can crawl into and isolate yourself in.

I swear before the Twelve, if there's a moogle in my house I'm going to swat it out with a broomstick.

(Okay, I'm joking, I'm joking, I just spent way too long running laps around the bastards in FFXI...)

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Originally Posted by Alerith

"Estate" could refer to a large patch of land in which multiple players build their individual houses. However, it sounds like Free Companies will still be required. All speculation of course.

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Hi Alerith,

Definitely. I agree that Yoshida-san's comments in the interview sound like a Free Company's large piece of land (estate) gets parceled up / divided for various players who join that Free Company.

I'd just like a personal Mog House / Player Housing without the requirement / restriction of having to join a Free Company to get one. It seems like an unfair requirement.

Lastly, I don't expect that fancy estate for every person choosing the Personal / Private Mog House option (it can be a simple Mog House area); I'd just like the option for any player on each server to have their own Mog House without any forced membership into some group's Free Company.

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Originally Posted by Nayt

Btw, we could invite people to our moghouses in ffxi.

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Ah- that must have been after I quit - I stopped playing a few months before CoP. Either that or I never figured out how.

One thing that worries me about the proposed system is that it sounds like there's a finite number of houses, since they actually exist in the world... unless it's done like the Market Wards where there's an arbitrary number of virtually identical neighborhoods so that they can add more whenever they need them.

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Originally Posted by Misteyes

I stopped playing a few months before CoP.

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I have to say, you missed out on one of the best eras of FFXI.

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Originally Posted by Misteyes

One thing that worries me about the proposed system is that it sounds like there's a finite number of houses, since they actually exist in the world... unless it's done like the Market Wards where there's an arbitrary number of virtually identical neighborhoods so that they can add more whenever they need them.

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While I do admit I see your concern, there is another game that did this that I feel did it fairly well.

In Star Wars Galaxies, you had HUUUUUUUUUUUGE expanses of land where people could place their houses. Guild members could place them within range of each other and make player cities.

The problem with that was that every building was specific to a planet and all looked the damn same.

If they can avoid monotonous building styles, they could easily add stretches of land in 2.0 for housing development.

It's good they are making it so you can have neighbours, I just wish it was non-instanced and visible in the outside world like ArcheAge or Mortal Online or Darkfall or Ultima Online or SWG.

As I understand it the housing is going to be instanced, but each instance is for a set amount of people. Which I find surprisingly acceptable, having neighbors can be fun. How are you supposed to have housing for everybody and non-instanced? It's a huge waste or resources and who would want to walk in an endless maze of housing a areas, it's completely uninteresting.

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Originally Posted by Reliquia

As I understand it the housing is going to be instanced, but each instance is for a set amount of people. Which I find surprisingly acceptable, having neighbors can be fun. How are you supposed to have housing for everybody and non-instanced? It's a huge waste or resources and who would want to walk in an endless maze of housing a areas, it's completely uninteresting.

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If that's the way it ends up being done, awesome. I don't have enough information to be excited or to condemn it yet.

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Originally Posted by Reliquia

As I understand it the housing is going to be instanced, but each instance is for a set amount of people. Which I find surprisingly acceptable, having neighbors can be fun. How are you supposed to have housing for everybody and non-instanced? It's a huge waste or resources and who would want to walk in an endless maze of housing a areas, it's completely uninteresting.

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Your correct, it just doesnt suit FF14. Other mmos as mentioned above like Darkfall did the non-instanced villages/towns thing fairly well in the sense that it limited urban spawling, villages/towns had pre planned layouts in certain locations only, your guild just had to fund it with resources. The downside was you didnt have your own house, everything was for the guild. granted darkfall's world was one massive gigantic seamless planet, the world was built with player cities at the forefront whereas FF's are built with npc at the forefront. It was also a pvp game where you had opposing guilds petitioning sieges to take over or destroy other guild's cities.

I'm fine with LOTR style neighbourhoods. Its a step up for SE at least, FF11 always felt too much like an offline RPG at times, it didnt have the social aspects associated with western mmos, this is a nudge in the right direction for FF14

I'm hoping there is at least some variety in the buildings in each instance (i.e. not 20 individual houses - i'd like a farm, a barn, a town hall for the LS?, i think Yoshi-P has hinted at the type of housing via the small settlements that were implemented a few months back, i would have liked big mutli room mutli floor houses like in SWG rather than one room houses (why is it houses in FF games always seem so small lol)

My only question is, is housing just going to be one off thing which no one will care for in future updates - when its implemented we will have our houses, gardens, chocobo pad, decorations i guess for homes; but then what else? i'm intrigued to know what Yoshi-P will add to it in updates (what other functions will be implemented) or whether it will fall by the way side.

We asked Yoshida-san after free company housing and summons, i'm quite sure he means housing is free company related.

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One thing that worries me about the proposed system is that it sounds like there's a finite number of houses, since they actually exist in the world

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im pertty sure its going to be instance housing maybe 1 physical place to actually enter, like in FFXI

I'd drop 50 mil for my own personalized Gridanian manor...

This sounds like exactly what I was asking for months and months ago. XD Instanced housing areas that could hold a bunch of houses. Little neighborhoods. :D They sound so fun, I can't wait! :D I want my own garden~

Side note: Mog houses would break the current lore. :x Moogles aren't our little helpers like in FFXI. XD
Who knows what will happen after 2.0 though. Maybe they'll be in need of work? O.o;

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Originally Posted by Nabiri

Side note: Mog houses would break the current lore. :x Moogles aren't our little helpers like in FFXI. XD
Who knows what will happen after 2.0 though. Maybe they'll be in need of work? O.o;

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People keep saying that, but for some reason people seem to insist on calling them mog houses even though everything points to the fact that they're going to be almost nothing like mog houses (and unless they do a massive retcon on the current lore, will lack even said mog).

Personally, I like what I've heard so far about their plans for housing. One-house instances like in EQ2 always felt rather cut-off, while LotRO's neighborhoods tended to be ghost-towns were you never saw your neighbors. Hopefully, if they can focus it around companies, they'll avoid both problems.

Wait....

Player housing?

Dark Moogle fight?

....

You have to beat the Dark Moogle to get a private residence!!!

I think it would be so great to have LS housing as well. Have the botanists or w.e growing plants in the garden, the cookers cooking in the kitchen, and stuff like that.

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Originally Posted by Altanas

I'm hoping there is at least some variety in the buildings in each instance (i.e. not 20 individual houses - i'd like a farm, a barn, a town hall for the LS?, i think Yoshi-P has hinted at the type of housing via the small settlements that were implemented a few months back, i would have liked big mutli room mutli floor houses like in SWG rather than one room houses (why is it houses in FF games always seem so small lol)

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Hi Altanas,

Thanks for your insight. :) I never played Darkfall or LOTR, but yah I think having every player house be non-instanced would be overkill (on a full server, navigating through Thousands of individual Player Houses would be daunting). (^_^;

I'm fine with Free Company Housing, but I'd love to see individual Player Housing made available as well. That being said, that concept art for the Estate (probably for Free Companies only :(, looks amazing.

I think it'd be a great gil sink to offer up fancier player housing (without any Free Company memberships), as an aside.

I hope we get a Dev Response to this (about Individual Player Housing).

JPGAMES.DE, Frederick: So called “free companies” are going to be implemented with the release of FINAL FANTASY XIV 2.0, additionally player housings and the summoning of the primal Ifrit are planned features. Can you give us some details on this matter?

Yoshida Naoki: About the housing estates for the free companies, at the moment most disciples of the hand or of the land are thinking: “Why are they concentrating on the battle side?” Housing estates are going to be very important for those players, because it is more related to the lifestyle. We can make sure these players, trying out different classes, can really fell like they are taking place in the game, that was really important to us. Even for an MMO it is something very special to have your own house in the game, so we are fully aware of that and we are making sure it is really going to be exciting.

Unlike other MMOs, in which you can only see your own house and each house is based on an instanced system, we want to make sure that other players can actually see your house as well. Around 20 houses can be in one area, you can make houses, not anywhere, but you will be able to decide in which part you want to have your house. You can also design your house itself and have your own garden, maybe you can grow your own Gysahl Greens there or house your own chocobo. You can really customize your own estate.



At the moment, in the Dev Team, you can actually see the mock up of the polygons. So you can see what the estate is going to look like. It’s the Limsa Lominsa version, and the concept is to make it like a European resort area, so it is going to be really beautiful. Up from the hill you can see the ocean, it’s going to be really nice, I believe. I’m looking forward to it.

http://jpgames.de/2011/10/jpgames-de...naoki-yoshida/

a in game dorm room....with roommates lol. Be kinda cool if there was no door closing off your room so all your roomies can see how u did up your room...

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Originally Posted by Alerith

Wait....

Player housing?

Dark Moogle fight?

....

You have to beat the Dark Moogle to get a private residence!!!

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Hi Alerith,

Nice idea! :) It'd be an interesting way to incorporate the reason for Moogles to be involved with your "Mog House." :)

That being said, it doesn't have to be a "Mog House" but whatever Private Housing we have; hopefully we don't have the restriction.

i just want a place to log out besides the damn street
\

I really enjoyed the housing set up that DAoC had, something along those lines would me amazing ^^ obviously the DAoC version had alot of room to improve but it was an awesome concept.

easy way to avoid retcon :)

Step 1 - Fight dark moogle and defeat him for the first time (could even be lesser fight like "It kills with Fire" for Ifrit)
Step 2 - Rescue a good moogle he had imprisoned, who imprints to you, indebted for life
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - Profit!!!

I think if this is going to be tied to the free company system, each company should have a base of sorts (mansion/fortress/etc.) and each member of the company has a room assigned to them in the base. Of course the DoL/DoH would be heavily involved in its construction, and with each new member that joins the crafters and gatherers would have to supply materials and build the room for them (or you could just buy the materials I guess, but crafting would still be necessary). Think Suikoden series. (but not exactly)

I think there should still be player housing of some sort since people need their personal space. If you were to shack up in the company base then circumstances happen that involve you leaving/being removed, your stuff has to go somewhere.

Pretty sad, yet somewhat amusing mental picture actually. You get thrown out of the company, so you have to clean out your room and tie down all your belongings to your personal chocobo (maybe drawing a cart?) and find somewhere else to dwell. :(

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Originally Posted by Orophin

I think there should still be player housing of some sort since people need their personal space.

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And I suspect they will.

For example, they have the zone to the northeast of Gridania, that could be a perfect area for community based housing, and the innkeeper in the adventurer's guild. I wouldnt be surprised if your own personal room would be merged with the estate if you join one, and standalone otherwise, and the inn npc can transport you to either if you don't want to browse them manually via the zone. Based on the concept art, the same area might also incorporate something like a pvp coliseum, and...dare I say chocobo race tracks? :o

i can live without a mog house if they add an additional 200 more spaces in a diff. tab inventory @_@

so it seems like a community of clustered houses.... it doesnt seem too bad considering MMOs your expected to interact as opposed to hermiting inside a private mog house.

wow people are so obsessed with mog houses.

So many other mmos do housing better than stupid mog houses. Ultima Online and SWG were some of the first MMOs and had waaaaay better housing systems. You could actually build them in the persistent zones.

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Originally Posted by Dreamer

People keep saying that, but for some reason people seem to insist on calling them mog houses even though everything points to the fact that they're going to be almost nothing like mog houses (and unless they do a massive retcon on the current lore, will lack even said mog).

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Do you say Auto-mobile or Car?
It's the same thing just two diffrent words.

I think FFXI players relates better to MH rather than plain "House",
the concept seems to be going same direction.

MH in my book is still my personal house, with...or without the Moogle.
(I would exhange the Moogle for a Moomba or Mandragora any day, then it can still be MH)

I see some comments against a lonely instanced housing area, and tbh it's a nice place to be if you feel like being away from the hectic city life. Nothing like organizing your stash, checking your mailbox and seeking PT or waiting for an event in privacy. But the housing system that has been announced sounds also very interesting to me, I highly doubt I'll see my neighbors often though.

The best part is that they are instanced, so that the cities aren't filled with tons of random housing areas. That would have been pointless.