An Open Letter to Yoshida-san: Please Slice One Zero Off the Housing Prices

[Edellis]

How about this then:


If people saw nothing wrong with the housing prices, then more would be sold. You don't need 'people complaining on forums...or stats' People vote with their time and gil. If the gil isn't being spent on this content...then there must be a reason why.
And the only plausible reasons are
<wrong>

All indicators point to the low amount of current housing being completely intentional. The price scale may need a bit adjusting, but still completely intentional.

You people who are complaining the most are being very shortsighted in your complaints. Mainly, if housing was actually as affordable as many of you want it to be, then Square would have a second issue on their hands, being nobody can have a house because the space is all bought up. In an amount of time, the cost system will probably have served its function, and FCs will actually have housing. People who can't wait will have one as well. As time passes, most FCs will be in possession of one.

Then, newcomers to the game won't even know about these issues because it won't even be an issue anymore. But then there's the timeline where the costs are made much more lenient, 99% of the playerbase has access to it day one, and a bunch of really annoying problems crop up that become FAR more difficult to solve than the current one.

Server stress is not an issue with the housing system, I cannot believe so many people are twisting the description of the system around like that. It's not creating random instances, it's designed around itself. 100% of the housing being used would not create any stress the feature wasn't already designed around.

I can't believe people think this is a ploy to drag out subscription services. I think Square Enix has made some stupid, horrible, completely terrible decisions in the last 7 years (cough-->FFXIII<--cough), but even I wouldn't insult their intelligence like that. It doesn't even make sense to describe it as one.

[Allyra]

then Square would have a second issue on their hands, being nobody can have a house because the space is all bought up.

You are implying they don't already have that issue on their hands...(they've already stated it is one they are working on)

I mean seriously, even old school MMOs could handle infinite instancing. This is a very very very poor excuse.

[Edellis]

You are implying they don't already have that issue on their hands...(they've already stated it is one they are working on)

I mean seriously, even old school MMOs could handle infinite instancing. This is a very very very poor excuse.

I personally don't think infinite instancing is more appealing than the system they have now, mainly because it's just a more refreshing approach to the housing idea. That's just a matter of preference. I do not agree with the idea of changing their design of the game just because people complain that it isn't like other games. That has got to be one of the biggest creative flaws of this recent generation of gaming, and i'm tired of seeing it happen because companies fold to the loudest child, or are just too paranoid to do something else.

Our fundamental stance toward housing prices was that we wanted to ensure that plots would be evenly distributed, avoiding a situation in which the wealthiest players could easily buy up all available plots of land. Please understand that while we will be adding servers and expanding housing areas as soon as we can, it is simply physically impossible for us to accomplish this easily, in a matter of one or two weeks.

The issue isn't with the current space, it's with the hypothetical extra space they'd need if everyone on the server instantly bought up all the land plots. Comparing FFXIV to a completely different game that has a similar feature is not an argument. Especially if it's an older MMO.


Edit:

It's impossible to really tell if FFXIV's current housing system architecture is a result of FFXIV's packet usage, or Square's limited netcode knowledge. But in regards to this issue, it really doesn't matter either way.

The only complaints I really sympathize with are the Legacy Server people, but that's only because i'm not a legacy player and have no clue how their economy works. But to the people who:

a) say this is a shifty subscription gimmick
b) say this is a technical issue coverup
c) feel entitled to day-1 100% accessible personal housing for all players

Then I really side with Square on this one. All of these "ONLY PLASUABLE REASONS" just sound ridiculous, and really only seem to be based around assumptions about SE based on, what im guessing anyway, are previous bad experiences. The pricing on other servers may need some tweaks, but I'm totally behind everything else.

[Allyra]

I personally don't think infinite instancing is more appealing than the system they have now, mainly because it's just a more refreshing approach to the housing idea. That's just a matter of preference. I do not agree with the idea of changing their design of the game just because people complain that it isn't like other games. That has got to be one of the biggest creative flaws of this recent generation of gaming, and i'm tired of seeing it happen because companies fold to the loudest child, or are just too paranoid to do something else.

Except the initial design was to be unlimited. It was stated several times that their concept was that once a zone filled up, a new one would be created. On top of that they have addressed it as an issue of hardware and they are working towards making new zones.

They aren't changing it because of people's complaints, they are changing it to strive towards what they have always wanted it to be. If you can't see this, it means you haven't been paying attention to the live letters from the beginning.

[MariyaShidou]

You people who are complaining the most are being very shortsighted in your complaints. Mainly, if housing was actually as affordable as many of you want it to be, then Square would have a second issue on their hands, being nobody can have a house because the space is all bought up.

Housing system is not in persistent overworld, it is instance here. Instancing in the first place is there to prevent people from running out of access... I also thought they didn't have this issue in FFXI, no?

[Edellis]

Housing system is not in persistent overworld, it is instance here. Instancing in the first place is there to prevent people from running out of access... I also thought they didn't have this issue in FFXI, no?

It's instanced in the fact that it's run separate from the overworld, but it's different in that each instanced home is on an "overworld" type area that supports many players and many homes. I assume they were going for a "real life neighborhood" type gig. Instead of creating an instanced house and a few players and occasional visitors, it creates an instanced "town" that loads whatever houses are present in that area, along with any players who happen to be there, along with any players who happen to just be strolling by.

It's not quite the same as your typical MMORPG housing system. If every FC house was in its own, singular instanced area, then yeah I don't think we'd have this issue. But we do, because it isn't designed that way.

[Kallera]

I hate how right now only the jp thread has a chance of eliciting any new response until January. Bad prices are still bad, and the action itself raises questions on whether we should expect similar disparities in in future content.

[crashoverdrive]

I hate how right now only the jp thread has a chance of eliciting any new response until January. Bad prices are still bad, and the action itself raises questions on whether we should expect similar disparities in in future content.

I like it +1

I hope they will fix the price at christmas ^^

[LiadansWhisper]

All indicators point to the low amount of current housing being completely intentional. The price scale may need a bit adjusting, but still completely intentional.

I do think it's intentional. But I don't think that's a good thing.

You people who are complaining the most are being very shortsighted in your complaints. Mainly, if housing was actually as affordable as many of you want it to be, then Square would have a second issue on their hands, being nobody can have a house because the space is all bought up. In an amount of time, the cost system will probably have served its function, and FCs will actually have housing. People who can't wait will have one as well. As time passes, most FCs will be in possession of one.

I disagree. I don't think we're being "shortsighted" at all.

When we were originally told about housing, Yoshi said that when one housing zone filled up, another would be opened up. That there was no "limit" on the number of housing areas, so everyone would eventually get a house. That this has now apparently changed is not our fault - we (everyone, really) were going on what we were told.

Then, newcomers to the game won't even know about these issues because it won't even be an issue anymore. But then there's the timeline where the costs are made much more lenient, 99% of the playerbase has access to it day one, and a bunch of really annoying problems crop up that become FAR more difficult to solve than the current one.

I've actually had friends that I was trying to lure to the game say they weren't interested after they saw the housing situation. I've also had newcomers to my FC who have asked why we don't have a house, and when we explain the pricing and those issues, they were rather distressed. I mean, it's just ducky to go wander around a housing area, staring at plots you'll never be able to afford. That sure is great advertising to newer players who are not yet committed to a subscription!

Server stress is not an issue with the housing system, I cannot believe so many people are twisting the description of the system around like that. It's not creating random instances, it's designed around itself. 100% of the housing being used would not create any stress the feature wasn't already designed around.

Except that is what Yoshi said. He said that they simply don't have the server infrastructure to support more wards than we currently have in place, and they are having to work on adding more.

I can't believe people think this is a ploy to drag out subscription services. I think Square Enix has made some stupid, horrible, completely terrible decisions in the last 7 years (cough-->FFXIII<--cough), but even I wouldn't insult their intelligence like that. It doesn't even make sense to describe it as one.

I'm not sure what it is (beyond a kick in the teeth for those of us on Legacy servers). I can tell you what it isn't, though.

It isn't fun. Not even marginally.

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*facepalm*
Sure is a lot of crying.. FYI housing has already been acquired by a few free companies on Behemoth.. not Legacy.. It's obtainable if your willing to put some actual effort into it. So boohoo I can't afford one personally for 2-3 months (I'm estimating 80 days if no one else in my FC contributes) but this is FC housing, not personal. It is meant to be a group effort that takes some actual time, effort, and teamwork.

Or perhaps everything should just be instantly gratifying & soloable so it sucks out any sense of accomplishment attached to it and loses any sense of longevity, so we're all bored of subscribing in 2 months. Because that would never happen..

Um, sweetheart...Behemoth isn't a Legacy server. Your prices are FAR less than the prices on my server, which is. I agree that the prices on your server are totally reasonable. I just wish that the prices on my server were as reasonable.

Please don't be ignorant.

-----------------------

It's instanced in the fact that it's run separate from the overworld, but it's different in that each instanced home is on an "overworld" type area that supports many players and many homes. I assume they were going for a "real life neighborhood" type gig. Instead of creating an instanced house and a few players and occasional visitors, it creates an instanced "town" that loads whatever houses are present in that area, along with any players who happen to be there, along with any players who happen to just be strolling by.

It's not quite the same as your typical MMORPG housing system. If every FC house was in its own, singular instanced area, then yeah I don't think we'd have this issue. But we do, because it isn't designed that way.

The houses themselves are separate instances. No, the yards are not, but the interiors of the houses are separate instances.

[Edellis]

The houses themselves are separate instances. No, the yards are not, but the interiors of the houses are separate instances.

Woah woah woah. Alright, I didn't know that.

Okay nevermind you guys can complain about the server infrastructure problems. That actually changes everything.