Reclamation of Inactive Housing announced

[Rufalus]

I'm fine with the current housing system. I think a huge amount of plots will become available 45 days after patch 3.1, when it finally kicks people who bought houses back in 2013 and then left the game entirely.

[KadajSynthesis]

I'm fine with the current housing system. I think a huge amount of plots will become available 45 days after patch 3.1, when it finally kicks people who bought houses back in 2013 and then left the game entirely.

It will be 90 days after 3.1, not just 45. After 45 days, the reclamation starts and then it takes another 45 days to get thrown out.

[Eye_Gore]

I'm fine with the current housing system. I think a huge amount of plots will become available 45 days after patch 3.1, when it finally kicks people who bought houses back in 2013 and then left the game entirely.

Thats just it too. This could be part of a bigger plan to do just that. Sure there may be some who only sub for new content that have a house, then leave, but they don't need one anyways. So after the trash is cleared out it may give them an idea of how much extra housing to add into the game.

They may be thinking, "why add housing now, lets clear out the rubbish and see what is really available" Then lets add more after the fact. Who knows maybe it isn't permanent, just a house cleaning measure.

I guess if you look at it from their point of view, they need to do this first, before adding in new wards.

[Spellbinder]

It will be 90 days after 3.1, not just 45. After 45 days, the reclamation starts and then it takes another 45 days to get thrown out.

See the other topic.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post3379215

It's 45 days from 3.1, not 90.

[KadajSynthesis]

See the other topic.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post3379215

It's 45 days from 3.1, not 90.

Okay sorry then, guess sometimes its silly to rely on German texts..

[adn]

My issue with this is that it essentially forces you to subscribe or log in to the game to keep your player house... which is actually reasonable, but a lot of people aren't going to like that because RL happens, etc.

I think a reasonable solution for this would be some kind of way for players to pay "advance rent" on a house to prevent it from being demolished, so for example you could pay something like 10%~20% of the house's original cost (depending on land size and original cost) in order to secure and keep the house for an additional month, and allow players to do that as many times as they like up to a cap of like 6 months. That way if someone has to take a long-term break for a military deployment or a hospital visit, they can rest assured they won't lose their house.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

It absolutely is analogous. Wards are just data on a server. They could just add more availability. The fact is that the math just doesn't work out. No matter how many people relinquish plots, the current system guarantees that there will never be enough for everyone. Not even enough for half. Not even enough for 10%. Not even enough for 1%. That is the fundamental problem.

And just like when there isn't enough gil to go around, the game makes more. Just like when not enough players get gear to progress, the game produces more. Would the game function if only .5% of players had enough gil to repair their gear? No it wouldn't. Would the game function if there was a finite number of armor sets above ilevel 150, and it was only enough for .5% of the playerbase?

No, the game wouldn't function. This is the same thing. This is a digital commodity, and more needs to be produced. If they are unwilling to produce more wards (again, LOTRO has this same system, and it works, SE just needs to copy it) then they should create instanced housing (which they already have all of the assets for, but are now most likely never going to do because having instanced housing would take away the incentive for the .5% of players who own houses to remain subscribed forever, and by proxy eliminating a future feature that would improve the game tremendously). This would be the actions of a company looking to solve a problem with the game.

They aren't doing this because they aren't trying to solve a problem with the game. This is an underhanded way to force people to stay subscribed forever. Very low.

What you are purposing may seem like a simple fix, but implementing a whole new system to accommodate every individual player and Free Company is, in reality, a monumental undertaking. Bear in mind, until recently, the FFXIV team had little more than a shoestring budget to essentially rebuild one of the largest games the company has ever created. These types of development take time and an immense amount of data. Part of what tanked 1.0 was weight it placed on people's computers as it attempting to render far too much under limited server strength. While they may opt for a better system down the road, this offers a temporary solution that is far more manageable in the interim.

And for those complaining about needing to remain subscribed. You can unsub for a month without any fear of losing your house. If the supposed German translation turns out accurate, the time limit is extended to 90 days overall. I suspect that was a mistake, and they intended 45 days to be the actual cut off point. Frankly, I find that reasonable. They are a business first and foremost. Of course they will implement systems that either cater to their consistent audience or attempt to keep people subscribed. It's just good business. A person who periodically unsubs, is less important to them than someone who actively pays monthly.

[LaylaTsarra]

My issue with this is that it essentially forces you to subscribe or log in to the game to keep your player house... which is actually reasonable, but a lot of people aren't going to like that because RL happens, etc.

I think a reasonable solution for this would be some kind of way for players to pay "advance rent" on a house to prevent it from being demolished, so for example you could pay something like 10%~20% of the house's original cost (depending on land size and original cost) in order to secure and keep the house for an additional month, and allow players to do that as many times as they like up to a cap of like 6 months. That way if someone has to take a long-term break for a military deployment or a hospital visit, they can rest assured they won't lose their house.

I agree I think a 45 day timer is a bit short. Personal life issues can affect whether or not a person logs in. The timer should be at least a couple months in my view.

[Dree-Elle]

I think a reasonable solution for this would be some kind of way for players to pay "advance rent" on a house to prevent it from being demolished.

There is! The game can be subscribed to for up to six months at a time, and the account can be set to "recurring payment". No mess, no fuss!

[Kling-Klang]

Cant they just make inns work as instanced housing...