Instanced Housing?

[Dustytome]

So a quick question to everyone?

We know that at some point during the 5.xx series we'll be tasked with helping with the restoration of Ishgard, much like how we helped restore The Doman Enclave. The difference being that from what we were told, Ishgard housing may become available sometime after restoration is complete. I'm curious if the current housing system would work with something like that and think it would be unfair to those who actually contributed to the restoration if they didn't at the least get a house of some sorts there.

What would be the best way for the devs to handle that?

We haven't been directly told Ishgard housing is coming at all. The restoration effort is supposed to come with 5.1 unless they're required to push it back. The restoration effort was described as server wide and you'll supposedly be able to earn rewards from contributions. I was surprised they'd make the restoration server wide and I hope players coming in later still get to experience the transformation. I think if Ishgard housing is released it will likely still be a separate pre-announced opening, it will be the usual ward system, people will be reselling the larger plots for hundreds of millions of gil immediately after and the forum will blow up with disappointed housing enthusiasts that didn't get a plot because they got stuck in server queue or kicked from game just before they could get through the placard menu.

I honestly don't think there's a best way for the devs to handle the system they've created. It started off strangling itself when it was on paper. It has been and always will be a supply problem between general supply, district, specific plot locations and size. None of that should be an issue in a digital environment, but they artificially created and continued with that issue from the start. Yoshi was asked in one of the interviews what one thing he'd do differently was and his response was housing. It was a simple response, but I personally interpret it as kind of a "We're stuck with this now" response.

[Eldevern]

...

They can keep some wards as they are and add an instancied housing system.

From my point of view :

1. The lore is not a problem : airship and floating islands already provide solutions.
2. The technics? FC rooms, Inn room, apartments are already here. They could even adapt the airships they already designed for the workshop.
3. The design and the 3D modelisation are mostly the remaining part but since designers always do several creations and 3D models can be adapted, I don't believe it can be a problem : solving 3D issues on glamours for races/genders compatibility is a bigger work.
4. The main "pure" creation would be some kind of central aetheryte and its environment : shops and so.

The housing problems are known for a few years now, if they wanted they could solve it. Let's see if Ishgard and Crystarium reveal some surprises. But I don't make myself illusions. And considering their creations for the mog station, the matters of time and money sounds like bad excuse.

[Wanzzo]

All and each ward could be instanced. 3 instances each. Tripling the number of plots and people with houses.

I can't see any other solution in the long term for the housing big issue.

In this, every time you teleport to your house you will go to the instance that it is. And when you need to decide to which ward you want to go, you then choose in each instance of that especific ward you wanna go.

After some time, let's say 2 to 3 years, they could implement more 2 or 3 instances for each ward again.

I guess when they created the ward system they didn't thought that this game would get so many players. When 2.0 launched they had a big issue of congestion on the servers 'cause there are spaces for only 5000 characters per server (hahaha). They had to attend to the issue by creating more space in each server in the first week.

i think they never thought that this game would be such a success as it is nowadays and the housing system went to a big wrong because of the same population problem and lack of future vision...

[Shougun]

1. The lore is not a problem : airship and floating islands already provide solutions.

I don't want to spoil anything but for the lore I think we are blazing green light- we are ready for take off, lets do this boisssss lol.

I tried to allude to it without spelling things out in my first post but given our airships and floating islands as you said, given just saying "mother crystal gave us a space", and given something else that I'm dancing on top of but not out right saying because spoils... There isn't a lore wall in any way to instanced housing (our game isn't that "physical" and grounded like that anyways, so even if we didn't have some of the above I'm sure we could find a reason lol.. but we do have the above so.. yeah ).

The real wall is just money and time . The money and time required to develop systems and adjust current systems to make it so "it just works". Which could be substantial in both departments, unfortunately.

I'd hope SE could find some ways to offset the cost by the fact that if EVERYONE has a house then there would be a lot more purchases from their shop for missed out seasonal(s), and they might be able to sell extra space for those who wanted it. Like I imagine the RP community might want to create a network of instances, if the system is creative enough especially- like if someone wanted to extend Ala Mhigo, attempt to make a Castrum (Garlean base), or even a Garlean Warship (though unless SE provides enough creative objects that sounds rather daunting).

Of course if you let people buy more space then it would loop right back into buying more items from the shop, so that'd be a nice loop. Obviously it's not a money guarantee but just trying to offer the idea that it might be able to pay itself off literally given time but also figuratively in that good will of going from a limited system to one that can handle it all (location, size, quantity, creativity, and for those who just can't live without a neighorhood there would probably be a lot more open slots since I strongly imagine most would switch to the more powerful system).

A bit of a tangent but on the topic of airships I actually had thought of it being a sort of less memory intensive "solution" for housing for players who didn't have one, and also for players who didn't want to decorate in such high detail but wanted some control still. Like if you imagine in Skyrim and some other games you buy upgrades to your house that change it's theme and tier but the designers of the game basically decorated it for you (like planning your wedding with a good wedding planner or something). Of course I'd love full control airships too, just thought if SE is absolutely adamant on "can't be done, we can't get everyone their own house, our architecture just can't do it" then maybe a sort of WoW Garrison Airship kind of deal would work out well enough (WoW's Garrison is lower memory and customization to our houses too, though definitely bigger in area since it's a sort of zone space). Made a fairly big "if memory is an issue MAYBE we can have airships for FC and players, for the awesome nostalgia, new unique features, and to act as a home for those without homes": here.

Rather than changing the housing system, I'd rather they expanded Apartments.

Give the option for a Duplex Apartment (size of a small house) and a Penthouse Apartment (size of a medium house).
They'd be instanced, alternatives to owning a full house.

Then, add in Allotments for those who want a garden. (this may be something we're getting in the future?)
Separate, instanced gardens.

Housing can still exist as it is, tailored more for FC's than individuals, but for those who just want their space and functionality, there's cheaper, hassle-free, instanced alternatives.

The best solutions would be to expand inn rooms, add a little garden terrace to them, or expand apartments to allow more furniture to be placed there. Houses would still be desirable, but it would give people more options and opportunities.

I really like housing wards as they are, but can understand the frustration for people on super busy servers with 0 housing available.

I think these are more reasonable solutions, since it'd take less effort (still effort of course, it's not free lol). But at the point of expanding and adding to an instanced system, like apartments, then I'd hope they go wild and not even attempt to keep the heavily limited neighborhood system as the pinnacle of the housing systems.

So I think this is more realistic but I also hope they go far beyond this lol. The limitations in locations and strict controls required are unwanted (imo), and if you want to be limited but near other people then be my guest (starts singing Disney song. . . .), but I also hope another system comes by and makes it pale in comparison.

SE has so many awesome locations and the rate and restrictions that the ward system requires just makes me a bit sad (probably the only remaining thing in FFXIV that just as me go "but y tho /queue frowny face"). I mean in terms of areas you could be in with your housing.. you could almost literally take the Azim Steppe floating platform remove all buildings and then make the area on the platform an area players can put objects on. That castle keep being an optional building players could buy or something. The rest of the "zone" being a backdrop for your living space. That'd be amazing! The near limitless possibilities, handcuffed by our current system.

I'd take an apartment upgrade because I think it could help a lot with the quantity issues people are having (and is more likely lol), but I believe it misses a huge potential upgrade to the housing system- so I personally don't think it's best or most desirable (at least if that was the end point goal, it could act as a stepping stone certainly).

[Wanzzo]

...

SE has so many awesome locations and the rate and restrictions that the ward system requires just makes me a bit sad (probably the only remaining thing in FFXIV that just as me go "but y tho"). I mean in terms of areas you could be in with your housing.. you could almost literally take the Azim Steppe floating platform remove all buildings and then make the area on the platform an area players can put objects on. That castle keep being an optional building players could buy or something. The rest of the "zone" being a backdrop for your living space. That'd be amazing! The near limitless possibilities, handcuffed by our current system.

I'd take an apartment upgrade because I think it could help a lot with the quantity issues people are having but I believe it misses a huge potential upgrade to the housing system, so I personally don't think it's best or most desirable.

Totally agree! There is an area close to Hawthorne Hut (with a big closed gate) that could be an entrance to a new housing area as well.

It's not hard for them to create more new housing places in already existing areas. What about one of those empty villages near Ishgard (after the end of the thing with the big flying things - talking like that to avoid spoilers). Some places there could become a cold but cozy village for adventurers...

The same goes for some big (and useless) areas in HW. Just make an entrance and when you click on it you will get some wards to go (or not at all). They could create subterranean areas, snowy ones, islands, and so on... just use what we already have!

They don't need to create more only in new maps. There are no rules to follow about this obligation to this 'avant-garde' of new maps.

[IttyBitty]

I'm sort of surprised they didn't make the Sea of Clouds into an instanced housing zone, like the Sky Pirates. Everybody can buy their own floating rock. If they wanted to get fancy, they could populate the zone with houses from your friend list.

[Ethryon]

Wildstar housing system was one of the best system i saw in mmo, if they could implement the same or similar system to the game, that would be awesome.

[Evogolist]

We haven't been directly told Ishgard housing is coming at all. The restoration effort is supposed to come with 5.1 unless they're required to push it back. The restoration effort was described as server wide and you'll supposedly be able to earn rewards from contributions. I was surprised they'd make the restoration server wide and I hope players coming in later still get to experience the transformation. I think if Ishgard housing is released it will likely still be a separate pre-announced opening, it will be the usual ward system, people will be reselling the larger plots for hundreds of millions of gil immediately after and the forum will blow up with disappointed housing enthusiasts that didn't get a plot because they got stuck in server queue or kicked from game just before they could get through the placard menu.

I honestly don't think there's a best way for the devs to handle the system they've created. It started off strangling itself when it was on paper. It has been and always will be a supply problem between general supply, district, specific plot locations and size. None of that should be an issue in a digital environment, but they artificially created and continued with that issue from the start. Yoshi was asked in one of the interviews what one thing he'd do differently was and his response was housing. It was a simple response, but I personally interpret it as kind of a "We're stuck with this now" response.

I remember hearing them, either doing the fan-fest mention something something about the possibility of housing eventually being tied to the restoration effort, but I could be wrong as I tend to cycle through certain Youtubers to get a translation of the live letters. So I may have heard it from one of them, which would mean they put out wrong and false information. So my apologies for the assumption if I'm wrong.

[TwistedTea]

I'd hope SE could find some ways to offset the cost by the fact that if EVERYONE has a house then there would be a lot more purchases from their shop for missed out seasonal(s), and they might be able to sell extra space for those who wanted it. Like I imagine the RP community might want to create a network of instances, if the system is creative enough especially- like if someone wanted to extend Ala Mhigo, attempt to make a Castrum (Garlean base), or even a Garlean Warship (though unless SE provides enough creative objects that sounds rather daunting).

Of course if you let people buy more space then it would loop right back into buying more items from the shop, so that'd be a nice loop. Obviously it's not a money guarantee but just trying to offer the idea that it might be able to pay itself off literally given time but also figuratively in that good will of going from a limited system to one that can handle it all (location, size, quantity, creativity, and for those who just can't live without a neighorhood there would probably be a lot more open slots since I strongly imagine most would switch to the more powerful system).

Really like this idea. Everyone wins and SE possibly gets additional revenue.

Your thread is amazing and kudos for putting so much thought into it :

Airship Content, Bringing Back the Nostalgia & Maybe a Feasible "House" for All(+FC)