Some Final Thoughts on the 2017 Shirogane Housing Release Fiasco

[Vahlnir]

You know what would've helped with inflation? Auctioning off plots. I'm serious, and taking the time to auction them off would have allowed more people the chance at plots as well.

No, an auction is not the solution I would prefer, absolutely not, but if they had implemented it that way, I would've defended it even if I'd been outbid on the plot I wanted. As it is, I don't think I will ever set foot in Shirogane ever again, because I really don't want to be reminded of what I'd hoped to have.

An auction would be more of the same, just spreading it out over a period of time. They'd still be bought and the majority of people would be outbid by a longshot...and still be left out of housing entirely. This would literally solve nothing.

[Mysterysword]

This would literally solve nothing.

People are mad not because they didn't get a house, but because they were screwed entirely out of the chance of getting one, due to server bottlenecking. An auction would've given them the chance to try for it.

Also, this would've hurt scalpers just that much more, and I am in favour of any plan that prevents people from easily buying multiple houses to sit on, as well as any plan that takes more gil out of the servers.

[Lazaruz]

People are mad not because they didn't get a house, but because they were screwed entirely out of the chance of getting one, due to server bottlenecking. An auction would've given them the chance to try for it.

You're right that in the long run, odds are this could potentially hurt scalpers, as to recouperate costs they'd need to go to rather outrageous prices for selling (but even that is a gamble, as I know some people are indeed willing to pay a arm and a leg if it means they get that plot they dream of), but I disagree quite heavily that a auction system gives everyone a even remotely equal chance at the plot, due to the fact that some players have amassed quite the fortune in gil effectively due to spending a significant part, if not most, of their time playing the MB. So while you would solve what was and to my knowledge has for the most part allways been the primary issue with big releases like this, namely server bottlenecking, you'd only replace it by something else, namely people getting outbid by hundreds upon hundreds of millions more then they could possibly hope to gain without getting involved with the Market Board trading.

And speaking personally, I dont know what would be worse. Failing to get a plot because the server hardware is older then it should and I basicly got unlucky on logging in. Or having houses effectively only avaliable to those who spend significant ammount of time learning and taking advantage of Market Board trends to the point of amassing millions upon millions in gil

Plus there's the ever present danger that since what only REALLY matters with a auction system is those last few minutes/seconds, unless players can acess and bid from wherever, the odds are quite substantial for either performance issues (meaning that AGAIN you were unable to win because of hardware issues), or outright crashes depending on how hard players would congregate in the area

[Vahlnir]

People are mad not because they didn't get a house, but because they were screwed entirely out of the chance of getting one, due to server bottlenecking. An auction would've given them the chance to try for it.

Also, this would've hurt scalpers just that much more, and I am in favour of any plan that prevents people from easily buying multiple houses to sit on, as well as any plan that takes more gil out of the servers.

This would probably hurt scalpers, but they're only a symptom of the problem. The problem would be left unsolved, and a lot of people (aka most of the player base) would still be without a house. This would also, as stated above, just give people an edge if they have an excess of gil. It wouldn't matter if a person had enough to buy a plot at the base price, it would depend on who's richer and that's not fair either.

[Mysterysword]

This would probably hurt scalpers, but they're only a symptom of the problem. The problem would be left unsolved, and a lot of people (aka most of the player base) would still be without a house.

I know, it's a solution that treats the symptoms of the problem, rather than addressing its source. In other words, thoroughly incompetent and short-sighted. How much would you like to bet that it's the first thing the company decides to implement?

As to the issue of gil, well, as it is, the system is already unfair. You don't go into a housing ward with a few hundred grand and expect to get a plot, anyway. Most people who want, hope, or even expect to get houses, go into it with millions. And, once again, there is entirely too much gil to go around as it is, so taking it out of the system by any means necessary will always be a good thing.

[Vahlnir]

I know, it's a solution that treats the symptoms of the problem, rather than addressing its source. In other words, thoroughly incompetent and short-sighted. How much would you like to bet that it's the first thing the company decides to implement?

As to the issue of gil, well, as it is, the system is already unfair. You don't go into a housing ward with a few hundred grand and expect to get a plot, anyway. Most people who want, hope, or even expect to get houses, go into it with millions.

...because it costs millions to get a house.

[Mysterysword]

...because it costs millions to get a house.

Yes, and that's not fair either, now, is it? Nothing will ever be fair until the company decides to give us all everything for free, in equal amounts. I didn't say the auction system would be fair, I just said it would help with inflation, hurt scalpers, and give more people a chance at the house they want.

[Vahlnir]

Yes, and that's not fair either, now, is it?

It's fair because gil is easy to make even as a non crafter. Some have more, some have less. I was more or less referring to those who have an excess of it, and decided to buy a house by maxing out the bid or buying multiple this way. What ISN'T fair is the lack of houses available, which is why people are upset right now. I have a house myself but I disagree with how things are being handled.

[Foestriker]

Adding some ideas to the instanced housing pile:

Some people don't care for using the exterior part of their house, so maybe expanding on apartments/FC rooms and being able to upgrade to at least small and medium house interiors (large apartments would stretch the imagination a little too much, and imagine a small FC house with large FC rooms). Then doing the 'one ward with each house having multiple instances' OP mentioned would give you the interior+exterior option.

But that begs the question of what to do with the actual neighborhood part of the ward as the plots would be kind of plain if it was just a house with no decorations sitting there. So, as a gil sink, I was thinking about how they could have a system in place where you can bid on having the exterior of your instance of that plot as the exterior that everyone in the ward can see, and at the weekly reset, whomever bid the most gil wins. Or doing it more raffle style where more gil is more likely to net you a win, but it's not guaranteed so it's not always the same person winning every time.

[Mysterysword]

Once again, an auction is not the solution I would prefer. Instanced housing and dynamic wards are what I want, and what everybody should be throwing their support behind. But it feels to me that SE is just going to throw an auction system at us, because so far, half-assed solutions to inherent flaws in their ideas has been their M. O. in this area.

They could just admit they messed up and actually fix it, but they won't, out of stubbornness. This is what disappoints me, because it seems like such a massive turnabout from their attitude between 1.0 and 2.0.