Instanced Housing

[Khryseis_Astra]

The reason theres no "neighborhood feel" is that youve taken the houses and spread them out too far. Ul Dah, Gridania, Limsa, Kugane and Ishgard each have 30 different wards, and people in the subdivision dont see people in the main division unless they use the aethernet to switch over(and vice versa). Do the math, and that means that the houses we have are currently divided over 300 different locations per server. Thats too spread out for any area to feel busy unless theres a specific reason(venue, etc) to be there.

This brings up a good point, and one that some of us have addressed in our ideas for instanced housing: have a directory set somewhere in the neighborhoods that are entry points for the instanced plots. Like if you’re thinking of Lavender Beds, as an example, put it in Dappled or Wildflower Stalls, where there’s housing NPCs, a market board and a retainer bell. Even if we could teleport directly to our instanced plot, which isn’t a given, this area would still end up being a place of high activity because it ends up being the closest market board location for anyone with instanced plots. You’d probably see more of your neighbors that way, with the upside that you don’t have to deal with their decorating styles in your own personal space!

In the wards, I’ve maybe seen a neighbor twice since getting my current plot this summer. I don’t really care about that, but it just makes me laugh when I hear people going on about how important “the neighborhood feel” is, when most of the wards are ghost towns, for all the reasons mentioned above and more. Which is why I’d be more than happy to leave the wards to venue creators and those who care about having a special place in a neighborhood, to have an instanced plot all to myself, surrounded by nothing but the beautiful scenery.

[Reinha]

This brings up a good point, and one that some of us have addressed in our ideas for instanced housing: have a directory set somewhere in the neighborhoods that are entry points for the instanced plots. Like if you’re thinking of Lavender Beds, as an example, put it in Dappled or Wildflower Stalls, where there’s housing NPCs, a market board and a retainer bell. Even if we could teleport directly to our instanced plot, which isn’t a given, this area would still end up being a place of high activity because it ends up being the closest market board location for anyone with instanced plots. You’d probably see more of your neighbors that way, with the upside that you don’t have to deal with their decorating styles in your own personal space!

No need to reinvent the wheel. Apartment building entrances can be teleported to and they have a market board, a summoning bell and a stable. Apartments have a directory and you can visit other people in the same apartment building who have their door unlocked. Bigger apartments with a yard would work within the system we already have and require minimal development time compared to another separate system.