Can we please just have instanced housing already?

[Tint]

Japanese players are happy about the housing? Weird. I made a little search on the forum and guess what? There are some complaints about the housing on the japanese forum too.

Well the japanese have more servers despite having less players, wich means there are in comparsion a lot more houses available, since every server has the same amount of houses.

Also japanese players are likely more used to the small size of apartments

[Shougun]

I will probably get flamed - but I'm okay with the current system.

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

*sounds the flamebrigade*

weeeoooweeeooooo

It does take a bit of doing to get house - but it's definitely do-able.
I've done it more than once - I've unsubbed twice, lost my my house, resubbed each time and gone through it again.

I agree with others who say this is not something that everyone is supposed to be entitled to without any work. Actually, anyone can get one, it just takes persistence.

When DC's were changing, I chose to get one on my current datacenter, then move to another server (for my current guild) and go through getting a house there. Which I did (it did take many hours) and then I relocated to a lot I liked and tada I am done.

It's not something you can do without effort - but it's so totally do-able. Both servers I was on are usually congested, so that tells you something. It's just that houses do pop up - you have to be very focused for a time on getting a house. Once you do, then it's done! I don't know, I like the current open housing - I have played many games with instanced housing, and it doesn't feel the same. I hope they don't change it.

Just chill out a bit - you WILL get one, it will just take a little bit of time. Get any small you can, and then you can relocate to the lot of your choice.

Honestly it feels like I just read something by someone who has Stockholm syndrome lol, I know its really not the way you feel (to be fair and I'm not accusing you of it) but the way you described it (to me, in my opinion) just reads as an obtuse system that requires way too many hurdles for the type of game this is. "Spending hours looking for and attempting to buy a house, buying a shell house so you can then use that to spend time waiting again attempting to transfer to another house that you actually wanted" . . . me: "but y tho, this isn't EVE. . .". . .

If you were describing to me some hardcore mmorpg, some serious sandbox, an old school inspired MMO, or FFXI even back in the old days then I'd be like "lol, sounds about right". But the level of difficulty and unenjoyable unnecessary steps (imo), pound the placard, that sort of old day mmorpg design (feeling, obviously it's modern made), limited options, multiple restrictions (location, size, location theme, sharing public space so limited objects, sharing public space so limited theme of objects, etc).. just sounds like I'm reading "I liked it when the MSQ was limited by Raubhan and we all had to wait in line, you will get in just wait your turn and try it enough"... like I know I can get in but I don't want to suffer that system lol. Sounds like you're describing house shopping in real life and no thanks I don't want an accurate system. /tableflip /saltyocean

I think FFXI did something right with the mog rooms (that can now upgrade to two floors too), Wildstar did something spectacularly right with their system (technically Rift is fairly similar, more power even I believe but a bit more piece by piece when building). I think the idea that acquiring a house and playing jump rope to navigate house features as a sort of ultimate content for casuals is misplaced for the type of game this is. And I say that by the way the game describes itself, how we have so many self nerfing features, constantly adding ease of access, their frequent discussion on the importance of easing players into mmorpgs as their first, their competitors, it clearly has a heart similar to WoW (a game Yoshida himself frequently mentions and respects, who also has easy access farming, and sort of housing (garrison)). This is a themepark mmo and this isn't EVE online or something where exclusivity would shine. I'm fine with ultimate glamour ideas though like "final shb zone housing skybox/glamourings being super hard to obtain and very nice sells on the mb". I think this "doesn't fit this game" feeling is exacerbated by FFXIV's presentation itself, beyond the "this is a themepark" Disneyland concept, in that you have these incredibly powerful characters of immense magical and financial wealth (well some of us) and yet getting a house is so limited and full of yellow tape. Since the beginning of the game with the whole crystal scene (where you fly around) I feel like we should have been able to create an end of time (chrono trigger) pocket dimension next to our momma and slap down an aether mirage house there (we take objects to feed into this space and when we dont use she holds that energy like a bank holds money, investing it even- though we may want to adjust that idea now we have more lore lol). Now especially I feel so much this way since the last expansion (particularly thinking of that last zone). That we're so insanely strong, magical, famous, and rich, and yet it's like "please sir, may I have some more" just feels incredibly out of place to me. Obviously we can't do it due to the insane system implications but in a lore sense I should be able to walk up to some random NPC and be like "I want your house, I'm paying for your house, I live here now- this is mine" and the NPC not only gives you a good deal but is excited the freaking WoL wants their home "DoNt YoU KnOw WhO I Am!?" haha (not seriously suggesting we can do that, just a feeling of how "big" we are). To be fair sometimes they don't know or like us but hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say with the incredible levels of power and magic we have and yet we struggle to find a common concept as a home where and how we need it, clearly the people of Eorzea are not a lack for land and if we were going off real life you could just buy a plot out in the middle of no where and be like "build me a house the size of Nanamo's palace, thx".

It just doesn't fit this game at all (imo), both in the game's own styling and lore and in the genre type it sits in. It really feels like an old game decision to have limited housing like this, and I imagine it comes from some of Yoshida's old game experience (he was/is a huge fan of Dark Age of Camelot iirc, and our system is very similar to that 2003 housing so I find it possible he used his DAoC experience and housing info to bring our system we have here).

So I guess I'm glad you like the system but the point for many is they don't intend to be happy with the system, I don't intend to ever "chill" about the system honestly (though I also never intend to threaten or call SE names), saying "just chill and you can get a small" for many is like saying "just enjoy the system you don't like" - they're asking for it to be changed because they want it to be changed. Like telling someone that doesn't like an ice cream you're serving to "just like it", lol- no thanks , but I'm glad you like it. In that I've made sure any suggestion I make doesn't destroy the wards (by including them in new features). And of course on the idea of asking for something to be changed or at least voicing displeasure is part and parcel of having a feedback forum. Honestly it doesn't even matter if one of the key devs thought this system was a good idea (on a feedback level, there is nothing wrong or unusual to say "I hear you, but I still don't like it and want it changed and here is why"). Though it does matter on chance of getting a change though lol, especially even lower since adding systems to housing sounds very complex and likely also quite expensive. Like for example SMN were originally to be these small bois only but we were able to get demi and imo that's one of the most awesome parts of the job (we know that Yoshida wasn't really for summoning the primal image, but we were able to persuade him otherwise and I think SMN is for the better because of it and that's not an insult to Yoshida as the dude makes thousands upon thousands of decisions.. not weird that a few might not jive with some people). To be clear, though I said it in another post, even if SE found a way to get enough housing for every person and FC I still think instanced houses will provide a better housing experience in the end, we can have a lot more diversity of choice and power of customization and we don't even need to kill the wards. So I think the system should be "upgraded/shifted focus" regardless of if they think they can meet demand or not, even then if they try to meet demand via their wards they just ensure ghost towns which is unfortunate for the neighborhood experience (sort of a shooting yourself in the foot situation). Also with an instanced system like that you can make smooth progression system, such that a player is welcomed, encouraged, and allowed to invest at a rate comfortable to them (getting more people into the system and allowing them to progress at a rate that makes them comfortable to continue to do so rather than hit a wall of "I'm afraid, I guess no thanks ").

Not that you can't say you do like it, that's totally fair and you probably should mention that- though I add depending on what reasons adding a new system might not only improve your experience but other players too (especially other players). An example is that if more people have houses then it justifies better features and more thorough development of it, new toys and structures to play with. Or like I see some people afraid of the wards dying, and unless the wards are entirely unwanted allowing players more houses wouldn't kill them- so while a warranted concern it shouldn't be one unless the wards are unable to justify themselves. The ward's neighborhood feeling would only be damaged if they were holding players prisoner and players had no desire for that feature, which I think if true is a thorough argument against them then; however, I think those empty spaces would then be filled back up with people who specifically wanted neighbors so potentially even the neighborhood is improved in the long run anyways (unless the entire vast majority hated it and willingly close up shop on their public fronts*, which case it might suffer ...but again... if that's the case then we really should never have had that system in the first place as that's clearly a negative response on a mass level). On top of that there are ways to combine both systems as I was suggesting in a previous post, and you could even technically make it both instanced and ward in a concept like Wildstar's communities (which are super massive zones with multiple houses of friends, basically a make your own ward environment).

*using public front wording at the moment to suggest the idea that ward owners get a small garden front in the wards (basically exactly what we see now, of whatever size plot that is), then we get our interior that works magically much like Howel's Moving Castle, and then instanced zone space (like Wildstar). All instanced house owners will have a house space and instanced zone space, so the difference being ward users will have a little special yard space that we currently know as their ward yard (note that instanced house owners will be able to garden and chocobo inside their personal land, so they're not left out).

Also just for fun for those who are like Wildwhat? Wildcars!? This video does a decent job showing off the huge amount of creativity (you get to see cities, space ships, and other ideas- imagine that power but with FF graphics.. the absolutely wonderful things this community could create.. Even now they already do amazing work with the limited system (far limited in comparison like a Rift or Wildstar), I want to see this system unchained and become more of a standard feature of the game that grows with you- I cry (lol) at the lost potential: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Q8wS-TR84

Sorry for writing so much but honestly one of the few things (only one to this degree) in this game that actively makes me frown/disappointed in it's potential (and for a long time, I'm making my own salt mine over here lol). Where I just feel "...why..." because even the pros of this system could be done via other methods, at least most of them to similar effect. Obviously the whole idea to me is to kill rarity and greatly expand on creativity and power of the system, so if the enjoyment is to prevent others from having a house they desire then well yeah I guess that will go away but neighborhood doesn't have to die unless the truth is no one or exceptionally few likes it. 'Why' isn't really an argument of course and there are answers like "money" "devs thought this was a good idea" both of which are huge reasons, but that is why I try to say why I think it shouldn't be this way or at the minimum their next MMO shouldn't replicate this system. At least as it is currently, I think the public front idea above works fine as there is both types of spaces then (ward bundled with an instanced personal zone, and instanced houses with personal zone for those who don't care for the wards- of course with the ability of instances dynamically growing to meet demand like in other MMORPGs). Trying to not only say there is displeasure and how the system causes it but also referencing real world examples (as functioning examples, I don't mean to say it's as easy as ctrl + c lol) and saying what is desired in general. Trying to be clear on thoughts, reasons, expectations, with a goal of feedback and change, not enraged and wont call names (the team works very hard, they don't deserve that) but I've no interest in chilling on this issue (to me) either lol.

[Arthrun]

So I since I got an apartment because I am unable to get a house currently. And I am happy with it enough even though I just wish there was something a little more with it. If they can just allow me to have one more level within it I would have absolutely no need to have a house,heck make it cost 2 million instead of 500k to have a second level within your apartment than that I would legit gushu over it. The apartment rooms are just a tad too small for what I would really like to do

[deadman1204]

it wouldn't be so bad if game mechanics like gardening were not locked behind house ownership.
Its HORRIBLE game development have stuff locked behind owning a house - and then not let 95% of players own one.

[Vulcann]

Too bad your opinion is not shared by everyone else.

it doesn't have to be shared by everyone else, as long as there are people who are unhappy about it which it seems quite a few are then people are allowed to complain. because a game like this is always evolving and always changing and even the design choices of the great Yoshi-P can be questioned and changed.

[rockman0]

rewarding of furnishings from seasonal events that people without houses can't even use

That's what gets me. The way the housing system is set up, the vast majority of players can't even get one. Yet they insist on giving us items that we can't use if we're a part of the majority that can't get a home. It doesn't make any sense.

Maybe it's meant to be some kind of social commentary...

[TheForce]

then this is a terrible design choice and no one should be happy about it.

Nice job trying to force your personal opinion onto others. Definitely not narcissistic at all.

Stuff like this is why I can't take any of you seriously. You're venturing into the realm of subjective arguing, which is totally pointless btw.

[Kaedan]

it doesn't have to be shared by everyone else, as long as there are people who are unhappy about it which it seems quite a few are then people are allowed to complain. because a game like this is always evolving and always changing and even the design choices of the great Yoshi-P can be questioned and changed.

Please don't take what I say out of context. That statement was in reply to you claiming the system is objectively "terrible" and "no one should be happy about it"... which is utter crap. I was informing you that not everyone shares your opinion and there are a very many people who do in fact LIKE the way it is now.

Complaining is never to be allowed or encouraged, btw. Constructive criticism is perfectly fine, however. In fact, the reason we got Apartments was because people asked for instanced housing. That was SE and Yoshida's response to the call for instanced housing.

But the housing system in the 4 cities isn't going to change, so there's no point in complaining about it. Yoshida and the team designed it that way on purpose, and there are many thousands of players who prefer non-instanced housing (there's a reason non-instanced housing is extremely popular in MMOs).

And as I already mentioned, there's a good chance that the Ishgard Reconstruction will provide some kind of instanced housing, but we'll have to wait and see.

[MsQi]

/yawn

So they took some away in shadowbringers?
The chart is meaningless without referencing number of players

[JowyAtreides]

That's what gets me. The way the housing system is set up, the vast majority of players can't even get one. Yet they insist on giving us items that we can't use if we're a part of the majority that can't get a home. It doesn't make any sense.

Maybe it's meant to be some kind of social commentary...

Everyone can get an apartment.

The only things that they've given us that can't be used is the paddling pool and something else during the same event.

But that may change by the end of this year...