New Idea: Instanced Houses

[Maeka]

So, to alleviate some of the housing problems that exist, why not add some instanced housing available to every player?

Said housing would be in an instanced zone (kinda like your quarters or apartment), but only an outdoor area that is treated the same way as an actual house, only it isn't visible to the open world and other players could only go there when you invite them.

Because of these restrictions, it should be cheaper (2mil instead of 3mil for a small?) but in every other way, it should function pretty much the same as current housing.

That way, you could potentially allow every player to have one (only if they do not already own a property though).

I wouldn't mind these restrictions just to GET a house, I don't really care if anybody else sees/interacts with my house or not. Just having one for my own personal use would make me more than happy and give me something else to enjoy in the game.

EDIT: A small little bonus to this idea, is that you could make the setting around the house be nearly anything -- a cabin in the middle of a forest, or perhaps a house on a beach, or even one in the snowy mountains and it wouldn't really change much (other than maybe where you go to physically access the instance).

[Penthea]

This idea has been submitted hundreds of times by now. I think if SE wanted to put in fully instanced housing we would already have it. They have had plenty of time to introduce it. They seem to be more interested in trying to improve the current system; Shirogane which will function like the other housing districts, the fc house transfer and the addition of the demolition timer (which is arguably not an improvement), wards and apartments last year.

Not saying it's a bad idea. Just saying that it really looks like SE don't want to go down that route.

Well if SE want to continue on the road they're on the first thing they should do is drastically improve apartments. They should be much bigger, have tenancy so they can be shared and have a balcony where players can do some gardening and furnishing. And obviously also dramatically increase the amount of apartments. Additionally they should give more tenancy slots to home owners. It makes no sense that a cottage has the same amount of tenancy slots as a mansion.

[Rawrz]

If there was an option under the housing menu to setup warp directly into your house/fc room/apartment most of the not having a house downsides would be Eliminated.

[Kio]

Been wanting this for a long time but if it is instanced there's no reason to deny any player access to one even if they already have a house in a ward.

[Claviusnex]

I've felt this way for a long time and I have a house. Instanced housing implemented the right way could provide more of a community than the current wards that are largely devoid of players.

[Kohdo]

No thanks. One of the draws of housing in Eorzea is that neighbourhood feeling. I know what OP is getting at with this, and it's a good idea to solve the housing unavailability crisis, but I'd rather SE work on improving the current system than throwing it out and moving to instanced housing.

[Maku]

I really like the neighborhood feeling of the wards, IF people actually stayed in the housing areas. Before switching servers I had a mansion in a non-subdivision of the Mists and I think I saw maybe two other FCs in that whole ward. All the other houses were owned but it was never populated to the point that it felt like a neighborhood.

[RichardButte]

I really like the neighborhood feeling of the wards, IF people actually stayed in the housing areas. Before switching servers I had a mansion in a non-subdivision of the Mists and I think I saw maybe two other FCs in that whole ward. All the other houses were owned but it was never populated to the point that it felt like a neighborhood.

This.

There's absolutely zero community in wards right now, so much so that there's no point to having them and even LESS of a point to not introducing proper instanced housing of some kind (and this is coming from a mansion owner).

[Elamys]

I really like the neighborhood feeling of the wards, IF people actually stayed in the housing areas. Before switching servers I had a mansion in a non-subdivision of the Mists and I think I saw maybe two other FCs in that whole ward. All the other houses were owned but it was never populated to the point that it felt like a neighborhood.

I saw someone in my Mist neighborhood for like the first time ever today.

[Legion88]

There is instanced housing available, even if you say it is not good but it is available: appartments.
I know, i would like some ability to garden there and maybe an upgrade up to a middle house, but it is instanced and it is available right now.

The last time i really saw some kind of neighborhood was before private houses were available. When the plots were empty or owned by an FC and maybe i'm not really honest to myself but i think much of the broken feel of the neighborhoods comes from the private houses who seems to be never visited.