Housing demolition should be suspended due to Australian bushfires

[LaylaTsarra]

Suspending it would be a nice thing to do, and their heart would be in the right place, but I think the main problem is the level of disruption it causes for everyone else.

Exactly. Any system that has to rely on dealing with natural disasters that results for the most part in having the process shut down time and time again for months at a time is simply ridiculous and unfair to those looking for housing.

[Rhomagus]

The entire root of the problem is how housing is implemented in the first place. Yoshida had said on the lead up to A Realm Reborn that the economy is one of the basic foundational structures of any MMO. So with that in mind, why isn't housing available on the free market like all other craftable items? Housing has just been a poor attempt at introducing some kind of money sink, that really isn't that effective. They want to have non-instanced housing in order for folks to get together and have community events. That's great and all but it is an often unused feature of the housing system and a instanced housing system on top of the already established, what I'll call "neighborhood system", won't hurt housing at all but fulfill a huge demand for a large swathe of the player base.

For the few that enjoy the neighborhood aspects of housing, buy a house in one of the three major zones in which they're available . Instanced housing should be available for those that just want a big old house to decorate and have a garden. They could keep the demolition aspect for the neighborhood system and make instanced housing permanent, regardless of whether you're even subscribed to the game or not, let alone needing to check in every 45 days or whatever the timer is.

Apartments just aren't cutting it. This allows folks to have both a "neighborhood house" and a "personal house" so that these situations where there is a natural disaster, you won't have to suspend housing.

Either that or have a system in place out of game where you can make a non-demolition request and cite the reasons so as to why you're in need of such a request. If you can do a "one time item restoration" request for a unique/untradeable piece of equipment a non-demolition request isn't a whole lot to ask considering the circumstances. This would help individuals who are away from the game for long, indeterminate, and random amounts of time.

Better yet, make the "neighborhood system" FC only and instanced housing private only. Offer an instanced house free of charge for anyone who already has a personal house.

[Raltar]

I hope this thread is not an excuse to take a break from the game without losing a house.

That is exactly what this thread is about.

[ForteNightshade]

The point wasn't players subbing purely to keep a house. The point was players being able to purchase a house and that plot being permanently taken regardless if they use that plot by virtue of them paying a sub, which they would most likely be keeping regardless of the housing if they enjoy the game. It won't make housing availability any more fair than the current timer system.

You're missing my point. Most of those people who barely use their house will still step inside at some point to refresh that timer, thus changing it to a sub based system won't have any impact on availability. What will change, however, is they won't have to continuously turn off the system for several months every time a natural disaster occurs.

[Chewy2nd]

That is exactly what this thread is about.

Like I say, I play everyday, I have no timer to worry about.

[HyoMinPark]

And where do they should stop? Let's be honest, this is one of these "What if the world would be perfect" things that are noble thoughts in itself, but absolutely unrealistic and just to farm upvotes in the end by showing fake online compassion for people you don't know and because it's big in the media.

It may surprise you, but there are people out there that can offer condolences and compassion for strangers and others they don’t know. It’s called empathy. Perhaps you should look up what it means.

I think turning off the housing demolition would be a nice gesture—but, as others have pointed out, it’s a bit tricky since there aren’t designated servers or data centers for Australia/Oceania, really; and a lot of Australian players seem to be scattered about on all 3 regions. It’s also worth noting that, while I don’t have an issue with housing demolition being suspended for natural disasters in a given region, the developers are not the quickest to reinstate it; and that’s where a lot of the problems surrounding the suspensions come into play. They tend to leave it off for, what seems like, way too long.

It's tragic for those families, but so are e.g. car accidents that send you 5 months into rehab, or depression, or money problems to afford the game. The list of possible reasons is long. We all have ups and downs in life, but that does not mean the life must revolve around our problems. A virtual house is surely not the first priority an evacuated person can think off, and even then, it's not that the homes collapes on the instant. You have weeks to access it somehow.

Someone suffering from depression and being unable to play, or someone having to go to rehab or physical therapy after an accident, or even someone hitting a financial crisis and being unable to afford the subscription because of it is not the same as a nation suffering a crisis or natural disaster. If you cannot see the difference between one person’s individual suffering and the suffering of an entire community of individuals, then I don’t know what to tell you.

[HyoMinPark]

We had cases of housing demolition stopped for a while in EU data center after something happened to a country that had nothing to do with Europe so I don't see why now it should be a problem.

Which instance was this specifically? To my knowledge, they tend to isolate housing timer suspensions to the data centers of the region that is actually affected (e.g., when the suspended NA’s timers due to the hurricane that came through). I can only think of one instance where there was massive suspension, and that was in HW 3+ years ago—it’s no longer the norm to turn them all off for a single region being affected.

My point is that I don’t think they would suspend all housing timers on all data centers because it doesn’t seem prudent. They would likely have to look at their logistics and see where the “majority” of Australian players are located (which, I believe, is on Tonberry usually? Unless that’s changed...). But, ultimately, the biggest issue is that they leave the timers off for too long, and that makes people mad because players quit, but their houses are still frozen.

[Alleo]

+1 for the OP. I mean the JP housing demolition timer was out for quite some time too, so why would be it be bad or anything if they would do that for other parts of the world too?

[Jojoya]

Someone suffering from depression and being unable to play, or someone having to go to rehab or physical therapy after an accident, or even someone hitting a financial crisis and being unable to afford the subscription because of it is not the same as a nation suffering a crisis or natural disaster. If you cannot see the difference between one person’s individual suffering and the suffering of an entire community of individuals, then I don’t know what to tell you.

You're acting as if only one person at a time is suffering from an illness or a financial crisis.

The reality is the number of people currently hospitalized across the world because they're suffering from severe illness/injury or who are having a sudden financial crisis right now is far greater than the number of people who have been displaced so far by the Australia fires.

Why are you saying "tough luck" to all those hundreds of thousands of people while you expect extremes of compassion to displayed toward those few thousand displaced in Australia?

I'll go back to what I said before. SE is in a far better position to know how many FFXIV players have been impacted by the fires since they can tell what players listing a residence in the fire zones have stopped playing. I'm certain they will make the right decision based on their knowledge.

They don't need players who only have a vague idea of what's happening in AUS telling them to suspend demolition so they can take a 6 month break from the game and not lose a house in a game they aren't playing while those who are playing can't get one.

[HyoMinPark]

You're acting as if only one person at a time is suffering from an illness or a financial crisis.

The reality is the number of people currently hospitalized across the world because they're suffering from severe illness/injury or who are having a sudden financial crisis right now is far greater than the number of people who have been displaced so far by the Australia fires.

Why are you saying "tough luck" to all those hundreds of thousands of people while you expect extremes of compassion to displayed toward those few thousand displaced in Australia?

Go back and actually read the comparison that I was responding to. The person I was responding to was bringing up specific instances that would impossible for SE to possibly cater to: car accidents, rehabilitation, mental illnesses, financial crises. These are far too widespread than something like a naturally occurring disaster that is more clustered together and concentrated in the area and the individuals that it affects. It’s honestly as disgusting to me that you are trying to skew what I was saying by claiming that I’m acting as if these things don’t affect more than a single individual at a time as it was the original poster I replied to thinking that people who post compassions and sympathies online are only looking for virtual internet points.

There is a difference between things like what they listed, which affect more than just a single person but they are ultimately limited to an individual type of suffering, and something like a natural disaster, which affect an entire community, if not nation sometimes (which would translate it into a more group type of suffering). One is easy for a company to cater to; they other is not.

SE has already long set a precedent of pausing demolition in favor for natural disasters. I would wager to say that the fires in Australia qualify as such. What they choose to do with housing demolition is ultimately up to them, but I am not against them pausing the timer for this situation. So long as they know when to resume it, and do not allow it to stay off for too long. Sometimes, the periods of time that they leave the timer paused have been a bit excessive. Though I know that recovery from a natural disaster can be extremely long and tedious, I think leaving timers off for 6 months may be pushing it. But what do I know? I’m just telling people suffering from other problems “tough luck, buttercup”. Apparently.

I'll go back to what I said before. SE is in a far better position to know how many FFXIV players have been impacted by the fires since they can tell what players listing a residence in the fire zones have stopped playing. I'm certain they will make the right decision based on their knowledge.

They don't need players who only have a vague idea of what's happening in AUS telling them to suspend demolition so they can take a 6 month break from the game and not lose a house in a game they aren't playing while those who are playing can't get one.

Can you prove that this is what the OP of this thread is advocating for? Or what I’m advocating for? Or anyone else in this thread? While I’m sure that there are people who would love to take a 6 month break with no fear of losing their estate, I think it’s a bit unfair (and, honestly, quite rude and presumptuous) for you to be applying this to the OP or myself when neither of us have ever said that was our intentions.