It seems SE sees apartments as Housing

[Eraden]

That's the problem - they don't actually promote apartments.

What products are most likely to end up successful? Products promoted in marketing campaigns. We're trained from an early age to become demanding consumers for the things we see being advertised first on TV then later in social media and other places (unless our parents block our access to those things).

As long as SE is going to promote owning a house both in their out-of-game advertising and in their in-game questing, players are going to expect to own a house.

If they don't have enough faith in their apartments to feature them in any marketing, players are going to ignore them in favor of what is featured.

It's a shame because apartments are not that bad if you give them a chance. If you have multiple characters on the same world, you can always try to put their apartments into the same building to create the illusion of having a larger house. They're still not going to suit every player (especially those who will actually do intercross gardening) but a little creativity can create a nice living space.

No, apartments really ARE bad compared to houses. Less functionality (for some of us having other players be able to interact with our apartments IS important), and MUCH less space. Those tiny little boxes restrict people from being able to access a lot of décor styles. Try putting even a single room into an apartment and suddenly you have a LOT less space on your hands. Now, apartments would not be so bad if they were made larger and were allowed access by more tenants. Until they are revamped to be something other than the single-person coffins that they are (a bit of hyperbole here but not far off the mark), people will always go for houses first and foremost.

[Jojoya]

No, apartments really ARE bad compared to houses. Less functionality (for some of us having other players be able to interact with our apartments IS important), and MUCH less space. Those tiny little boxes restrict people from being able to access a lot of décor styles. Try putting even a single room into an apartment and suddenly you have a LOT less space on your hands. Now, apartments would not be so bad if they were made larger and were allowed access by more tenants. Until they are revamped to be something other than the single-person coffins that they are (a bit of hyperbole here but not far off the mark), people will always go for houses first and foremost.

Then you're another player that has never given apartments are fair chance. I've seen apartments decorated in wonderful ways compared to houses that have a few items slapped down then been ignored.

They are not bad. They just aren't as good. It's like saying vanilla ice cream is bad because it's not a hot fudge sundae. No. The vanilla ice cream isn't bad. It's still good. It's just not as good as the hot fudge sundae. If you can't get the hot fudge sundae, the vanilla ice cream can still be satisfying.

It's crap. As a game feature, it's crap. And I'm sick of hearing these mental-gymnastics used to excuse it. Apartments fundamentally suck as "housing" and there's zero excuse for not allowing everyone to get full sized, full-feature houses through sufficient investment into the game.

I agree that that every player should be able to get a house. I've been pushing for that for years.

It is not possible at this point in the game.

If players aren't going to at least utilize what instanced housing is available when they are unable to get a ward house, then SE has no reason to improve the instanced housing system. They're going to stick to the ward system and there will always be players who are unable to get a house because there's no realistic way to expand the ward system big enough to satisfy demand.

I think it could be a double edged sword if they do actively start promoting apartments in that we could end up with apartments also being filled up to capacity due to more players wanting to participate in the system not knowing they exist and then be in the same spot we are now with the lack of houses. Do I think that would realistically happen? Probably not. I think the other issue is that more people will participate and realize they, like me, want more which will exacerbate the current supply issues.

When SE introduced apartments to the game, they clearly stated that it would be far easier for them to increase the number of apartments per building compared to the effort needed to increase the number of wards.

The only reason we haven't seen it happen yet is because Balmung has been the only world with enough housing demand to fill all their apartments.

If more worlds were facing the same situation, they would be much more likely to take action.

I agree with apartments being a part of the housing system, I disagree with the sentiment of "stop being picky". Apartments are objectively inferior to owning a house in the game, that is why people are complaining about house availability.

But their comment does point out why players need to stop saying "we need more housing" and start saying "we need more houses". We've got the housing and few of them are using it because they're holding out for a house.

#FFXIV-houses-fix-the-supply

It's funny because the picture OP posted is written to imply that players who buy this game can easily obtain both forms of housing. Phrasing like "Let's build a house alone or together with friends! You can also decorate your own room." implies that on top of building a home, you can also have an apartment.
For this to be an honest ad that tempers people's expectations to reality, the actual picture of an outdoor housing plot should be nuked and replaced with a picture of the apartment interior. Use of the word "mansion" should be removed as well, because let's be real nobody's getting one of those.

This is the rare moment where the English translation being vague and radically different from every other version actually works in its favor a little bit. You can't define a "little slice of Eorzea," so fans have less room to be upset when the house they expected to own never comes to fruition. Players in other languages however, have absolutely been misled by this ad in particular, assuming the translations I'm reading in your pic are accurate.

Any advertising comes with the drawback of supply not being sufficient for the demand created by the advertising.

The problem is they aren't doing a good job of promoting what is definitely available and instead focus on the might be available.

Technically even an apartment could be considered a "little slice of Eorzea" but it's definitely not going to raise the same response as a house.

[Eraden]

Then you're another player that has never given apartments are fair chance. I've seen apartments decorated in wonderful ways compared to houses that have a few items slapped down then been ignored.

They are not bad. They just aren't as good. It's like saying vanilla ice cream is bad because it's not a hot fudge sundae. No. The vanilla ice cream isn't bad. It's still good. It's just not as good as the hot fudge sundae. If you can't get the hot fudge sundae, the vanilla ice cream can still be satisfying.

First, please keep your prejudgments to yourself. You don't know me or what my experiences have been in this game so toss off if you want to get prejudicial like that. I have an apartment. I have seen over a dozen other apartments of friends and FC mates, that have had walls added to create additional rooms. While most of them look somewhat tasteful, they all are incredibly claustrophobic and in some cases, I get the feeling of being a rat in a maze.

[Jojoya]

First, please keep your prejudgments to yourself. You don't know me or what my experiences have been in this game so toss off if you want to get prejudicial like that. I have an apartment. I have seen over a dozen other apartments of friends and FC mates, that have had walls added to create additional rooms. While most of them look somewhat tasteful, they all are incredibly claustrophobic and in some cases, I get the feeling of being a rat in a maze.

I reacted to your statement "No, apartments really ARE bad compared to houses." The only prejudgment that is going on is yours because you refuse to see what apartments have to offer.

You're right I don't know all your experiences but you have shared some in the past posts you've made.

I hope you realize that if an apartment makes you feel claustrophobic, you're going to have the exact same problem with a small house. After all, it's just 2 apartments connected by a stairwell and the ground floor is even smaller than an apartment is.

Getting a medium or large house might not be impossible but it's highly improbable due to the very high demand for those sizes.

What then?

[Eraden]

I reacted to your statement "No, apartments really ARE bad compared to houses." The only prejudgment that is going on is yours because you refuse to see what apartments have to offer.

You're right I don't know all your experiences but you have shared some in the past posts you've made.

I hope you realize that if an apartment makes you feel claustrophobic, you're going to have the exact same problem with a small house. After all, it's just 2 apartments connected by a stairwell and the ground floor is even smaller than an apartment is.

Getting a medium or large house might not be impossible but it's highly improbable due to the very high demand for those sizes.

What then?

Yes, apartments ARE objectively worse than houses, if but for the amount of space offered alone. I have already seen what apartments have to offer. I've told you of my experiences and yet you are doubling down on your BS. Just because YOU might think apartments are adequate doesn't mean they are adequate for others. Besides, why should anyone in this game have to settle for adequate? I have been to a fair number off small houses recently and discovered that their basements are large enough to be split into two rooms without making it feel claustrophobic. I have even placed bids for smalls over the last two Lottery rounds. Once again, you are making assumptions without actually knowing me or what my experiences in the game have been. Toss off.

[Jojoya]

Shh... dont reveal the secret. Mammamia o.o7

It's a safe secret to share because most players find gardening too irritating to keep doing, which is something all those players screaming "I need a house so I can garden" have yet to learn.

There's a reason why when you go around a ward looking at the outdoor decorations there's only a small percentage of houses with a garden patch in active use.

Yes, apartments ARE objectively worse than houses, if but for the amount of space offered alone. I have already seen what apartments have to offer. I've told you of my experiences and yet you are doubling down on your BS. I have been to a fair number off small houses recently and discovered that their basements are large enough to be split into two rooms without making it feel claustrophobic. I have even placed bids for smalls. Once again, you are making assumptions without actually knowing me or what my experiences in the game have been. Toss off.

There's a difference between being worse and being bad. Didn't your grade school grammar teacher explain that?

I've never claimed that apartments are as good as houses but they are still good in their way.

You, on the other hand, go "APARTMENTS ARE BAD WAH WAH WAH I'M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS HOW DARE THEY DISAGREE WITH ME".

And bullshit on feeling not feeling claustrophobic in a small house while feeling claustrophobic in an apartment. The basement isn't that much larger to make enough of a difference. That's you making up excuses, mostly likely because your intent on having a reason to hate apartments.

I get it. You want a house. Guess what? I want every player who wants a house to get one as well. That's why I've been a regular in this subforum for the past 4 years. I want SE to fix the system so every player get a chance to enjoy a house of their own. I've been here pointing out the flaws with the ward system, pointing out how other games address housing so the lack they drama and player antagonism we see here, etc. all in hope that perhaps some day SE will realize this has got to change.

But SE doesn't see things the same way. They're willing to provide enough apartments (unless you're on Balmung) but not enough houses.

When you can't get the hot fudge sundae, at least enjoy the vanilla ice cream until the hot fudge sundaes are available again.

[Eraden]

It's a safe secret to share because most players find gardening too irritating to keep doing, which is something all those players screaming "I need a house so I can garden" have yet to learn.

There's a reason why when you go around a ward looking at the outdoor decorations there's only a small percentage of houses with a garden patch in active use.



There's a difference between being worse and being bad. Didn't your grade school grammar teacher explain that?

I've never claimed that apartments are as good as houses but they are still good in their way.

You, on the other hand, go "APARTMENTS ARE BAD WAH WAH WAH I'M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS HOW DARE THEY DISAGREE WITH ME".

And bullshit on feeling not feeling claustrophobic in a small house while feeling claustrophobic in an apartment. The basement isn't that much larger to make enough of a difference. That's you making up excuses, mostly likely because your intent on having a reason to hate apartments.

Again you are making assumptions about me. The size of a small house's basement allows for partitioning into a 2x3 and a 3x3 room. While the 2x3 room is a bit too snug, the 3x3 room is plenty large to give an open feel. The first floor room is large enough to remain as a single room with plenty of space. For me, apartments are bad because there is no way for me to partition them without having all of the rooms becoming claustrophobic. If you want to nitpick on grammar, knock your socks off. My point is that apartments lack the space of even a small house and that heavily restricts their customizability without making them uncomfortable for players like me. Oh, by the way, please tell me where I have ever said that "I'm not going to listen to what anyone else says how dare they disagree with me"? I read all the opinions of posters to this forum. Some of these opinions I agree with, even some of yours. Some I do not. I have never said "how dare they disagree with me". Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Finally, if you have actually read some of my other posts, you would have known that I am also a proponent for an expanded apartment system. A house is not my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is simply having enough space to create a living quarters with multiple rooms without me feeling claustrophobic.

[Solowing]

It's a safe secret to share because most players find gardening too irritating to keep doing, which is something all those players screaming "I need a house so I can garden" have yet to learn.

There's a reason why when you go around a ward looking at the outdoor decorations there's only a small percentage of houses with a garden patch in active use.



There's a difference between being worse and being bad. Didn't your grade school grammar teacher explain that?

I've never claimed that apartments are as good as houses but they are still good in their way.

You, on the other hand, go "APARTMENTS ARE BAD WAH WAH WAH I'M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS HOW DARE THEY DISAGREE WITH ME".

And bullshit on feeling not feeling claustrophobic in a small house while feeling claustrophobic in an apartment. The basement isn't that much larger to make enough of a difference. That's you making up excuses, mostly likely because your intent on having a reason to hate apartments.

I get it. You want a house. Guess what? I want every player who wants a house to get one as well. That's why I've been a regular in this subforum for the past 4 years. I want SE to fix the system so every player get a chance to enjoy a house of their own. I've been here pointing out the flaws with the ward system, pointing out how other games address housing so the lack they drama and player antagonism we see here, etc. all in hope that perhaps some day SE will realize this has got to change.

But SE doesn't see things the same way. They're willing to provide enough apartments (unless you're on Balmung) but not enough houses.

When you can't get the hot fudge sundae, at least enjoy the vanilla ice cream until the hot fudge sundaes are available again.

Keep on posting +1

[FuraMal]

I get it. You want a house. Guess what? I want every player who wants a house to get one as well. That's why I've been a regular in this subforum for the past 4 years. I want SE to fix the system so every player get a chance to enjoy a house of their own. I've been here pointing out the flaws with the ward system, pointing out how other games address housing so the lack they drama and player antagonism we see here, etc. all in hope that perhaps some day SE will realize this has got to change.

This is great. Quit arguing with, trolling and harassing players that leave feedback here.

[UkcsAlias]

While most of them look somewhat tasteful, they all are incredibly claustrophobic and in some cases, I get the feeling of being a rat in a maze.

Like in most cases when players can make content, they are generaly bad at organizing it well. They just want to dump in everything, and make a mess that way. Accept the limitations, and you can make it feel rather open. I have 2 large aquariums acting as a wall in my appartment to split the 2 areas, removing like 25% of the posible space i could use. And it doesnt feel cramped up at all because of effective space usage. The space that acts as doorway on that ended up being a good 3rd location in the room.

A house is nice, but if the person remains equaly bad at organizing it doesnt change a thing. But for those who organize well, it definitely will be a nice addition. But claustrophobic responses are still down to the players themselve.

For me the biggest miss is the additional farming options. Outside of onions there isnt realy anything worthy to grow.