REQUEST: Replace the Current Land Purchase Mechanic With A Weighted Lottery

[forumaccount]

Do not get me wrong I do think SE should do something to fix the situation but wasting time adding a bandaid fix that one can personally already impose the same effect on themselves seems like a waste of time and resources.

One wants to live it up to RNG then all they have to do is check every so often and leave it up to RNG.

One cannot personally impose the effect of the suggested solution upon themselves. The current system is already weighted. It's just weighted based on how much time you spend physically/virtually waiting in game clicking on a placard. One is penalized for not sitting in place, as their odds are reduced by not spamming the placard. The solution I've suggested eliminates the waste of time, while additionally making land purchasing more equitable. Saving countless user hours is not a bandaid fix.

[Awha]

- It is not a player made problem, it is the intentional design of the developers. The current mechanic not only incentivizes, but demands that the player spend hours to get a plot, as they are required to be physically present in location to qualify for the purchase if they make the rng timing. This gives way to the emergent dominant strategy of plot camping, as it is the only way to maximize one's eligibility at the cost of real world time. In the alternative I suggest, one only has to be present in location to queue up, and to purchase when notified if they received purchasing rights. Eligibility is equally maximized by default, and additionally weighted based on current property ownership, and the time one has spent in queue (mind you the time spent in queue is still time enjoying all the other systems of the game, vs. sitting at a placard). There are only time and gameplay benefits to the solution I've suggested.

- The suggested solution is a simple fix. It wouldn't require any altering of the current housing mechanics, or the timer. It would just be the addition of a queue people are placed in when they click the placard. Maybe even an additional UI window to keep track of queue progress.

- People are going to play the game in the most optimal fashion as per the rules and systems the devs have set forth. Optimal gameplay routines are derived from the development team's game design.

- But I agree, they are essentially the same random draw, minus days of wasted time. So there are no drawbacks to implementing the solution.

Problem is leaving the current requires zero extra effort to be put in, the suggested system requires some effort no matter how small. So zero is less then 1 so your suggestion objectively does require extra effort on the devs part for a system as you admitted is the same random draw so why bother.

The solution is simple do not want to spend hours clicking don't. I never spammed a placard to get a house I just randomly check every so often click a few times and come back later.

One cannot personally impose the effect of the suggested solution upon themselves. The current system is already weighted. It's just weighted based on how much time you spend physically/virtually waiting in game clicking on a placard. One is penalized for not sitting in place, as their odds are reduced by not spamming the placard. The solution I've suggested eliminates the waste of time, while additionally making land purchasing more equitable. Saving countless user hours is not a bandaid fix.

I knew I should have mentioned they can self impose an rng / lottery system on themselves but not a weighted lottery system in itself but I figured that was a given.

You are only penalized if you let it. So you did not get the house try again. Clicking for hours is a choice a player has to make.

I rather any effort put into housing have a lasting impact not trade one janky system for another janky system because some players cannot help themselves from clicking at a placard for 20 hours. I am sorry if someone want to do what amounts to using a beehive as a flesh light then complain about the pain afterwards they will not get any sympathy from me. No one told ya to do that.

[forumaccount]

weighted based on the overall amount of time a player has spent in queues for land purchases

Way I read this is if you be online longer time = bigger chance? So if that's correct that means people who can't be online as much will be punished by your suggestion.

Yes, much the same as the current system. Queue weight (or purchase exp) would be accrued from every different plot queue you participate in, so it would have a net effect over time. The benefit, is that while online and in queue you can play the game still. Also, you can queue and afk, and go to work. So it is an improvement to the current system.

You did, you said she were yelling.

I clearly did not.

It's player caused due to flippers. It was not part of the orginal design. Maybe you haven't been playing so long?

- Please be more specific about what you believe to be caused by "flippers". You took a quote from the first line of a post, where the rest of the post explains in in detail why the waste of player time is directly caused by the current game design.

[forumaccount]

Problem is leaving the current requires zero extra effort to be put in, the suggested system requires some effort no matter how small. So zero is less then 1 so your suggestion objectively does require extra effort on the devs part for a system as you admitted is the same random draw so why bother.

- I never said the system wouldn't require any extra effort to put in. The effort required to implement the suggested solution is negligible at best though compared to the rest of a patch/expansion development cycle. They would both be equally as random yes, but only one solution will save players' time.

You are only penalized if you let it.

- That's factually incorrect. Under the current system, your odds of getting a house are diminished if you don't maximize your time at the placard. You are at a disadvantage regardless of how you feel. The suggested solution eliminates this, as well as saves time.

I rather any effort put into housing have a lasting impact not trade one janky system for another janky system because some players cannot help themselves from clicking at a placard for 20 hours. I am sorry if someone want to do what amounts to using a beehive as a flesh light then complain about the pain afterwards they will not get any sympathy from me. No one told ya to do that.

- Saving countless player hours and encouraging them to spend more time playing the game is a lasting impact to a janky system, that will be janky regardless. Elitism and contempt are no reasons to not encourage a service to be improved.

[Shibi]

OP, the problem would be amplified by a lottery, and a weighted one would tilt the market in the bot's favour.

People with bot armies just need set them to click on placards and they are guaranteed a win.

A thousand bots with 200 hours all before you now in the lottery queue.

[TaleraRistain]

- It is not a player made problem, it is the intentional design of the developers.

It's very much a player made problem, and your solution would only benefit those who caused the problem in the first place, ie those who aren't interested in a house for itself but who want to resell it, which is why bots would be involved.

We did not always have a timer. When we didn't have a timer, resellers would buy up houses and then people would pay them to relinquish so the buyer could take possession immediately. This was partially stopped by the implementation of the random timer, though they messed up by allowing moves to bypass it. Bots are used to get possession of a house so that reseller can then sell the right to move to that plot to someone else. The only requirement is that the someone else has a house so they can bypass the timer.

That's why even your idea would be rampant with bots. Especially if there was anything that was implemented in it that would give them an advantage, as your suggestions would do.

Also, as someone else mentioned, we did choose housing being affordable. A long time ago, housing price was based on population. Very small servers were very cheap. Very large servers were expensive even for smalls. At player feedback, SE equalized the price across all servers.

[LianaThorne]

Oh, we back here again?

Still hard pass on the lotto system.

[NanaWiloh]

I am getting the



Feeling from the OP.

[Halivel]

Unironically asking, where should I post a thread requesting Square Enix not recommend all housing posts go into a megathread?

Nowhere.

There's a reason why they ask us to put things of same topic into big threads instead of creating new ones: big thread is far more likely to get their attention than a small thread with 2 replies that will drown on 10th page 2 days after (especially considering you posted this in General Discussion, which is a huge off-topic section with dozens of trolls whose threads will just outnumber your both in amount and activity).

It's very much a player made problem, and your solution would only benefit those who caused the problem in the first place, ie those who aren't interested in a house for itself but who want to resell it, which is why bots would be involved.

Also this. The housing system was never perfect, but its current accessibility issues are, in fact, largerly community's (or resellers's, if you wish) fault, just like several other non-housing related restrictions.

[Imora]

Do we still have problems with that one guy that has several houses type issues? A house per alt? Restrict it more. Problem solved? Though you'd end up with them just buying more accounts.

I don't like the housing here. Every other game I've played with housing, it was instanced. Much easier solution. Weekly rent, don't pay, get locked out til you do. No demo. Done.