Providing a pathway to your dream home

[ryneheartsgaia]

The one thing that doesn't sit well with me regarding the new lottery system is there is effectively no path that allows you to end up in your dream location for a private house.

If I'm understanding the lottery system correctly someone who doesn't own a house has the same chance to get into a large plot as someone who owns a large house and wants to switch plots.

Seems there should at least be a priority or weighted lottery so that getting into your dream house isn't all or nothing.

For example you could implement something like:

1. ) Lateral moves always get priority. (i.e. If there are 5 people who own a large, and a separate large plot opens up, they should get first chance at the lottery) Eventually a large plot will be vacant for someone to upgrade into since large->large transfers always vacate a plot of the same size.

2. ) In the case that there are no lateral moves, people upgrading one size should get priority. Same concept, medium going into large opens up a medium.

What you end up with is first time home buyers starting in a less desirable small house, or at least having a much lower chance of landing a coveted plot, but at the same time, increasing their odds of eventually ending up in the plot they really want.

[DeNada]

That seems terrible. Why should first time buyers be penalized?

They are paying the same subscription as everyone else and it's unfair to reduce their chances of getting their dream plots too

[Shibi]

The community clambered for years to end relocations. Adding in weights to skew the lotto towards a small few will just bring the same system back, to the communities great chagrain.

[ryneheartsgaia]

The community clambered for years to end relocations. Adding in weights to skew the lotto towards a small few will just bring the same system back, to the communities great chagrain.

The problem wasn't with relocations themselves, it's that someone could swoop in and take a property that new players had been spending hours on a plaque trying to acquire.

Giving everyone equal terrible odds to get into a more desirable house doesn't help anyone except those blessed by the RNG gods.

If you're a first time buyer, eventually you're going to eventually bid on less desirable small, simply because no fewer people are bidding on it. Once you finally win that property, it doesn't do anything to help you move to a more desirable house.

Want to move into the same ward as your FC where a small just became available? Sorry, same crappy odds as before.

Having a "relocation timer" gives people a chance to shuffle their existing plots before making plots available to new buyers. It does not decrease the open plot count. Eventually, first time buyers will be buying plots that people don't want to relocate into, but will increase their chances of getting into a more desirable plot down the road.

If your goal was to get into that beach front small in the mist, but you had to settle for that secluded plot in the Goblet for your first house, you're no closer to that. What if you have your heart set on any house in your FC ward?

I'm not saying that someone can swoop in and take a house you bid on. It's just having timers when you make bidding available to different groups. And if a house falls to everyone to bid on, they would have equal odds as anyone else.

i.e. On Day 1 house is open to only lateral moves, if there are bids, house goes to highest bidder, if not opens to the next group.

The important thing to remember is that this Lottery system is NOT going to work in your favor unless you bid on houses that nobody wants. RNG is going to be terrible for any large or medium, or even highly coveted small, and chances are you won't win which will lead to even greater frustration down the road.

[ryneheartsgaia]

That seems terrible. Why should first time buyers be penalized?

They are paying the same subscription as everyone else and it's unfair to reduce their chances of getting their dream plots too

It's not reducing their chances, it's actually increasing them over the longer term.

In the current lottery system, the majority of first time buyers are eventually going to settle for houses that fewer players are bidding on (unless you're insanely lucky as RNG on desirable plots will be terrible), and once they are in that house, they'll have continually worse odds to get into a better house.

By allowing players to shuffle first via relocation, it gives you the chance once in a home to only compete with those relocating first before opening it up to new buyers. Relocating does not decrease the open plot count.

What if all you want is to get into your FC ward? In theory you could even have a more desirable plot and still have crappy odds when the market would've preferred that your current house was on the market instead.

Hell, you could be in a Goblet large, and want to relocate to a Lavender Beds medium... too bad, go play the cactpot for better odds.

[Hugh_Mercer]

If the server cannot provide more wards to even support player base; then whats up with me paying for the game? I brought this game just for housing and since I started playing 7 months ago I have no frigign chance on Balmung. There's people using scripts to auto buy and ppl like me dont have a chance.

I almost have 100 million gil saved up despite being a new player. Square needs to expand wards or SOMETHING. It's not like they are a muti dollar company.

[Jojoya]

There are too many players and too few plots to allow for weighting in dream plot acquisition. There would still be a massive layer of RNG in having what you want become available, then actually winning that plot over others who also want it.

It's a problem that could only be solved through instanced housing, which would allow every player to get the housing site of their choice regardless of how many other players have the same one.

If the server cannot provide more wards to even support player base; then whats up with me paying for the game? I brought this game just for housing and since I started playing 7 months ago I have no frigign chance on Balmung. There's people using scripts to auto buy and ppl like me dont have a chance.

I almost have 100 million gil saved up despite being a new player. Square needs to expand wards or SOMETHING. It's not like they are a muti dollar company.

If you're playing a game just for access to housing, FFXIV was the wrong choice of game and Balmung was most definitely the wrong choice of server (any of the JP servers except Tonberry would have been better).

Being a multi-million dollar company doesn't give them automatic access to the server infrastructure space needed. They have to contract for space with physical data center companies that have enough available to handle all the game server needs.

If you're really interested in only housing, give RIFT a try. Their Dimension system is fully instanced though there is a paywall to have multiple housing instances active at the same time (first 2 are free). Their system has both prefab buildings in addition to building blocks you can use to design your own (not limited to interiors by the way - the outdoor housing features are extensive). The general game content is decent though not great, but their housing system is several steps up from the housing in this game. That should be appealing since you only care about housing.

ESO would be another one to try. It also allows players to purchase multiple housing locations per character.

[ryneheartsgaia]

There are too many players and too few plots to allow for weighting in dream plot acquisition. There would still be a massive layer of RNG in having what you want become available, then actually winning that plot over others who also want it.

You're not wrong. But it's made even more ridiculous if for every house everyone has equal bidding priority. Sure RNG still sucks if you're trying to upgrade from a medium to a large, and even if you're 1/20 trying to get out of your current large to that sweet Shirogane beachfront plot, but as currently described, the RNG is insane on any plot that someone would actually covet.

While first time buyers might find appeal in this idea that everyone has equal odds to get into any plot, we'll all soon realize it's a nightmare when equal odds means everyone has a less than 1% on a plot that might come up once every few of months if that... and sure it might seem nice when you get into your first house cause only 2-3 others bid on that Goblet small, you'll soon realize it's all uphill from there...

I'm sure there's a better system than a priority system lottery, but a priority system lottery is far better than a free for all lottery on any plot...

[ryneheartsgaia]

If the server cannot provide more wards to even support player base; then whats up with me paying for the game? I brought this game just for housing and since I started playing 7 months ago I have no frigign chance on Balmung. There's people using scripts to auto buy and ppl like me dont have a chance.

I almost have 100 million gil saved up despite being a new player. Square needs to expand wards or SOMETHING. It's not like they are a muti dollar company.

I mean, technically it is expanding in 6.1 with 1.4k new plots. You're biggest challenge is that a first come first serve, when the new housing drops is more in your favor than a lottery system where you have to freeze up a bid while other players bid on other plots... do you find the most undesirable plot and hope less people bid on it, or do you use your bid on a plot you'd rather move into? It's a tough call, and there's no right answer, only RNG.

Best advice in your current situation is to wait as long as possible to bid to see where you have the best odds... but other people are also thinking the same thing...

At least in the system I'm describing, if you do settle for crappy small, it at least gives you better odds of landing a better plot in the future... in the current system it does not... in fact your odds will never be as good again until they open up another housing district...

[Jojoya]

I'm sure there's a better system than a priority system lottery, but a priority system lottery is far better than a free for all lottery on any plot...

The better system is a fully instanced housing system where players get their choice of the housing they want, and other players having the housing isn't a road block.

Let me use RIFT as an example since it's the housing system from another game I'm most familiar with.

There's a Dimension (what their housing is called) named Castle Fortune. It's a very large dimension (about the size of New Gridania) with a fairly highly starting item limit so it was pretty popular when I was playing. There is no limit on the number of players that can own that specific key. All they need to do is obtain one either by participating in the seasonal event where the key is sold, having one drop from a housing loot box, or purchasing from a player that had obtained the key from either source.

That is what this game needs. If every player wants to have LB 3 for their house plot, they should be able to get it no matter how many other players also own it.

Long time players shouldn't be given significant advantage by a MMO when it comes to obtaining items (though some advantage occurs naturally through player experience). When newer players face a barrier in obtaining the items they want to have (such as a house), it becomes discouraging and they are more like to quit the game. As other players leave through normal attrition but there are no new players coming in to keep world populations healthy, a MMO starts to die.

A free for all lottery truly is the best way because every one has an equal chance, and having an equal chance helps to keep them engaged in the game.