FFXIV should take a note from SUIKODEN

[Acyd]

Breath of Fire 2 did this back on SNES.

You find an old run down village. You start fixing it up, NPCs you find come live there, you can choose 3 different styles of architecture for the town, and all your characters you dont use kinda live there when not in your party. In the end if you did it right, the whole town could lift out of the ground, and you use it like an airship.

[HeavensSword]

And even though Suikoden did it way earlier, WoW fans would still say that FFXIV copied Garrisons if this feature were to be added.

[LystAP]

And even though Suikoden did it way earlier, WoW fans would still say that FFXIV copied Garrisons if this feature were to be added.

Well, going by the OP's description, it would essentially be a "Garrison".

[Duelle]

And even though Suikoden did it way earlier, WoW fans would still say that FFXIV copied Garrisons if this feature were to be added.

Depends. The garrisons in WoW are very lackluster when it comes to choices available. You're sort of placed into the garrison and at most you just have to run chores (mining ore, picking plants, assigning and collecting work orders). Nothing in it can really be customized outside of trivial things (what color drapes are placed over buildings and what race the guards that patrol the garrison are). The only real notable thing about it is that a LOT of the story characters you run into while questing on Draenor hang out at your garrison after you meet them. For example, you encounter WoW's resident master hunter (Hemet Nesingwary) and after doing a radial quest for him he decides to hang out at your garrison.

I guess the comparison in FFXIV terms would be if you were given your own castle, and as you complete quests some of the involved NPCs would start hanging out at your castle because, well, who DOESN'T want to hang out with the Warrior of Light? Say that after completing the stuff in Forgotten Springs some of the girls from the U tribe decide to hang out at your castle. And then you run into Fufulupa from the MSQ and the moogle involved in the bard questline. Perhaps Sylvie from the CNJ questline decides to sometimes pay you a visit. Or maybe Aldis. You get the idea.

The fact that WoW can have their current bug-ridden garrison system but not instanced housing after 10+ years of subscriptions fueling them still irks me somewhat. F2P games have instanced housing/personal spaces and have for decades. Why the bloody hell can't games like FF14 and WoW?

There is this. I wasn't thrilled with Garrisons and if you check out the WoW forums, they're compared to facebook games rather than an actual housing system.

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I'm on the fence as far the OP's idea goes. I liked the Suikoden games but the castle was the place to bring everyone together and little more. That's why the protagonist (and Thomas in III) is the Tenkai Star, AKA the one that is the gathering point for the other 107 stars of destiny. I guess you could argue that the WoL is the gathering point for everyone, but I don't see the type of character variety to support a Suikoden-like castle system or something based on WoW's garrisons.

On the flipside, if this were a Suikoden game, Hildibrand or inspector Briardien would be the one who collects info on everyone. And I'm sure lots of people who jump at the opportunity to make Hildy a permanent part of their lives.

[Nikita]

Well, going by the OP's description, it would essentially be a "Garrison".

Which in my opinion is pretty terrible since it cuts you of from the rest of the world by putting you in your own instance never to see another player again (mostly).

[odintius]

Knowing how the servers are, if they added this it might bring down everyone's internet service worldwide from the strain of resources required, besides from the obvious sarcasm I wouldn't mine something like this though. :P

[DreadRabbit]

The fact that WoW can have their current bug-ridden garrison system but not instanced housing after 10+ years of subscriptions fueling them still irks me somewhat. F2P games have instanced housing/personal spaces and have for decades. Why the bloody hell can't games like FF14 and WoW?

Anyway, I adore Suikoden. Truthfully Lominsa really takes me back to how Suikoden towns tend to feel like with the looks and the music. Though considering that an instanced fortress seems to be tougher to code given WoW's "success" with garrisons, I would much rather an instanced personal housing first to test the waters.

[kyuven]

The fact that WoW can have their current bug-ridden garrison system but not instanced housing after 10+ years of subscriptions fueling them still irks me somewhat. F2P games have instanced housing/personal spaces and have for decades. Why the bloody hell can't games like FF14 and WoW?

A lot of it has to do with server strain.
Those F2P games you mentioned were usually designed with this concept in mind. For example, EQ2 had housing from the word "go," while EQ1, by the same company, didn't, so they had to add non-instanced housing.
SWTOR merely adapted the pre-existing system they use for personal story quests and let you customize the space, allowing for housing. Plus they had personal ships from the word go (which were basically personal "rooms" inside an instance. You could communicate with people in the same type of ship as you via public channels while you were there).
Basically, instanced housing isn't something you can easily tack onto a game unless they're precedent. FFXIV's only precedent is the inn rooms, thus our only "personal housing" is basically customizable inn rooms.
In addition MANY of these systems take time. WoW's devs appear to have or had a personal vendetta against things like housing, bards, and glamour systems, so they rarely added them. In XIV, they are AWARE we want customization, and are very likely working on it, but at this time they clearly have limitations they're working with.
FFXIV did not have housing from the word "go," and thus this takes time.
Add to that there's simply not a lot of motivation to work on something people are going to complain about no matter what you do.
Make it easy? It cheapens having and *earning* a house.
Make it too hard? It's too haaaaard!
The players will never be satisfied, so they're definitely going to take their time and make a focused approach, rather than cave to every single demand.
In other words, no big castles staffed by named NPCs. At the most you'll get one staffed by your retainers and hireling NPCs.

[Riepah]

I'll definitely support anything that lets me have my own castle and upgrade it through various means, becoming bigger, livelier, more useful. I always love it when games allow me to have my own place to upgrade, like NWN2.

I'll actually look at this "Suikoden" game now, as I've never played it before.

[HeroSamson]

Suikoden 1 and 2 were the best games in the franchise up until they started to stray off into the updated graphics and hopping out of the 2D market.

3rd suikoden was okay so was the 5th one but if you asked me I would of much rather had them stick to the 2D anime style 108 star's of destiny.
They went to psp it turned into a legend of legaia wanna be game and the DS version looked so bad it was like I was playing a N64 game and the graphics were bad.

I loved the 2 sound tracks from part 1 and 2, I wish they never dabbled into the 3D/2D going into full 3D on psp.

Genso suikoden team needed to take a page from NIS america and stick with the 2D like they did with Disgaea.

More characters more fun factor, 2D spells look better than 3D, spells and 2D animation was better as well. Suikoden kind of reminded me of chrono trigger with the combo rune magic and joined attacks.

I really wish konami hadn't messed up that series, this is coming from someone who owns the whole series, Suikoden 1-5 and tactics except for the 2 others DS and Psp I feel that those 2 games but I have tried them and was not really happy what I seen.

Actually I wouldn't mind something from Suikoden here and that is the guy who made suikoden 1 and 2 sound track I am sure his music would kick major butt and I wouldn't mind if SE use runes also to give special abilities like that its too bad konami didnt make a MMO out of Suikoden cause that would be awesome.

Favorite rune was Pahn's boar rune and Turtle mcdohls Soul eater rune and Rage rune and vicktors clone rune.