Housing suggestions

[Norna]

Okay, so big pop worlds are having a shortage, and if 3.0 draws in more subs, I can see lower pop servers starting to feel cramped in this area, so I have a few suggestions to hopefully help a bit with the housing shortage (yes, I know, server limitations, but hopefully they'll be able to do it on working servers considering the success of the relaunch):

First, to prevent ghost towns from being created, houses that have seen zero activity of its owners (no sub payment from any personal or FC members) for more than 1 year can be repossessed.

This gives the owner a ticket with which, if they return they can put it back down on any same-size available plot (if the plot is worth less than what the owner originally paid, they get the difference back, if worth more, they are given it in exchange for 50,000 relevant Grand Company seals [Twin Adders in Lavender Beds, Immortal Flames in the Goblet, Maelstrom in Mist]).

If no plot is available, they might unfortunately have to wait or cash in the ticket for the original amount of gil. Furnishings will be stored in a chest by the relevant GC's HQ, so that they can be used for other things if the owner wants to without cluttering up inventory.

Second, instanced apartments in Revenant's Toll. These should be affordable (1mil for a small apartment, 5 mil for a medium and 10 mil for a large, possibly with GC seal requirements, such as 25,000 - 50,000 seals from each GC, lore-reason being to drum up support for Mor Dhona in the rest of the world or something). These should allow limited gardening in flower pots.

Third, instanced apartments in the major cities. Once you've advanced enough in a GC and has paid a enough of relevant GC seals (TA for Grid, IF for Ul, Ms for Limsa) and gil, plus completing a small quest, you can have an instanced apartment in the city, which functions the same as the previous one.

Fourth, let us use the chocobo stables around the world.

Fifth, flying archipelagos and islands. Okay, so the archipelagos would function as the existing wards, where there are different sized flying islands in a neighborhood where you can buy one and build a house. The islands would just be the single, instanced version of that. These are more expensive than apartments and allow more gardening+everything else housing. All come in several sizes/versions as well (some with more plants, some with more crystals, some with more water and so on). This is just a suggestion based on the sky-theme of Heavensward and the flying continents.

Sixth, if a water theme happens, do the same with regular archipelagos and islands. Also, doing underwater housing in instanced "island bubbles" would be cool.

[Cuervo78]

Very good suggestions.
in addition to you third point I would suggest to move the personal room from the FC house to the GC. We need an GC rank anyway to buy them.

[AskaRay]

YES to instanced apartments in Mor Dhona!!!!

[Keydah]

I love your ideas (besides the last two because they're very far fetched) and I'd LOVE to see them implemented. Yes, people might be upset if they came back and their house was repossessed, but that's a whole year of not playing. And it wouldn't too harsh in the case of being able to get a different house for nothing plus possibly some seals, or getting your gil back.

And I really, really want apartments in Mor Dhona - I didn't think about city state apartments though, but I'd love those too.

[Bluevann]

That people should be allowed to unsubscribe for a year and still occupy in-game space with a house they're not using makes me cringe to no end. ESPECIALLY if a refund comes with it.

Really wish there was a plot reset for houses unused for over a month. People who quit and just join every new patch do not use the houses as much as fulltime-paying costumers do. And I'm really tired of these ghost town wards.

Anyways, gonna copy-paste the suggestions I've made in the Balmung thread.

1) Make instanced housing. This allows everyone to have a house, especially if instead of gil it asks for GC points or Main Scenario progress like for most of other games. I'm thinking of an instance similar to the Demon Doors in the Fable games, with house, yard with field, well and whatever. It would start with small, and will be able to be expanded through further accomplishments.



2) Make the housing wards, limited as they are now (since they don't have the servers do add more currently). For a fee (like the current fees we have now), you'll be able to move your instanced house inside the ward. So for example, 4M to move your instanced Small Hut into a Mist Small Plot. Of course, the price will raise with your instanced house's size, and you'll need to select a plot your house can fit in.

This way, all those who want a house can have a house, and all those who actually care to have a neighborhood (and will use it), can have a neighborhood. Houses for all, and no more ghost towns.

[Norna]

I love your ideas (besides the last two because they're very far fetched)[...]

The thing about them is that they very literally would be islands floating in skies and clouds or in the middle of the sea (archipelagos would probably be a smaller version of the starting area in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword except with less stuff, no free-flying off the place and the ground only being a distant LOD if at all visible [could put them above a cloudscape]), so all they would need for surroundings would by clouds/sea and a skybox, unlike the current housing areas which needs trees/cliffs/grass/distant buildings/whatever in the distance. Some thing with the bubble-idea: seafloor, water, a bit a coral aaand done. Time would instead be consumed by creating the islands themselves (and it would be sparse because the players need room to customise themselves).

[Norna]

Well, with the only known change being a demolition timer, I'm necromancing/bumping these housing suggestions of mine. Especially with the new airship exploration, the sky archipelago and island ideas would be nice to have.

You know, it would be nice if you could build your own archipelagos out of single islands (imagine if your have four friends who own single islands, you could choose to have them in the north, south, east, west directions, and they can do the same with their friends and so on).