Reclaim land from inactive accounts post 3.0?

[Titor]

Would you still be against it if there was a complete refund system? All items and gil was refunded?

I think that yes, I would be alright with a full refund system. However, it would need to be in the form of a gil refund, and not just a voucher to buy another plot, because who knows how long that one would be waiting for the exact plot they had bought to open up (same grade and size, in a location they desire).

At least with a full refund one would not be out much gil, and could just await the opening of new wards/relinquished plots to get another house. My biggest concern with force-relinquished is the amount of time and effort it took to get the gil, which would without a refund be lost. I do agree that it would be ideal for houses to be used by active players. I just know I personally would not want to lose all of the gil I saved up and bought my house with if unforeseen circumstances took me away from the game.

[Eidolon]

Honestly wish SE would just give us more wards. Sadly I don't understand the complexities of data and programming so I'm not going to claim it's easy/seamless to try and add more in. Even still, they clearly lack the supply to match the player demand of having more houses and should work on it.

It's kind of their own fault in my mind, though. This scarcity was caused by putting Player housing in the same places as FC Housing.

[Viridiana]

Except that those people who leave with plans to return are in the minority,

Even if they're the minority, doesn't mean they should be screwed. Not saying I'm actually against a land reclaim, but I think it should be done in a manner that has the least ill effects. For example, I'd personally think the time limit should be bigger than 31 days, maybe 45 or 90; and I support the idea of reimbursing them with a voucher for another house; and we should definitely be getting additional wards.

[Cutie_McSnuggles]

You already forfeit leadership of a Free Company after 35 days, why should housing be any different? Play the game, or pay the price.

FC leadership and housing are two VERY different things. If an active FC has their leader leave for an extended period of time for any reason, even if they fully intend to come back, it can leave them completely powerless to do anything. As has been stated and restated there are many reasons why someone may need to stop unexpectedly for longer then they may intend. And when an FC leader comes back they can easily be reinstated and it's as if they were never gone.

Also that last part, play the game or pay the price? That's a great way to alienate anyone who goes inactive for any reason. Good luck getting them to ever come back.

[MageBlack]

I think that yes, I would be alright with a full refund system. However, it would need to be in the form of a gil refund, and not just a voucher to buy another plot, because who knows how long that one would be waiting for the exact plot they had bought to open up (same grade and size, in a location they desire).

At least with a full refund one would not be out much gil, and could just await the opening of new wards/relinquished plots to get another house. My biggest concern with force-relinquished is the amount of time and effort it took to get the gil, which would without a refund be lost. I do agree that it would be ideal for houses to be used by active players. I just know I personally would not want to lose all of the gil I saved up and bought my house with if unforeseen circumstances took me away from the game.

Ok, that's good then. I wouldnt want anyone to be out that amount of gil either. It would have the opposite effect on housing and scare people off it. I don't think 31 days is enough, maybe after 3 months after your sub runs out, that would be a good litmus for people not playing. There are many other things that need to be done for housing too, like limit the amount of plots to, at the minimum, 1 per character and you have to have a certain level before buying a plot, a full refund system, make personal housing instanced and separate from FC housing, etc. Not sure what their future plans are but I have confidence they will be able to find some solution, it will just take time.

Regardless, we need some kind of band aid, More wards, before they drop the FC Airship patch. I at least want a house for our FC, then I can get a personal room and I will be pacified, for now

[StrejdaTom]

I think the best idea is to withdraw land ownership from people who haven't subscribed for more than 3 months and send them half the price of the land via mail.
I think that it is fair plus everyone has the right to take a few months break so sometimes you just don't have the money.. but more than 3 months seem to much to me.

[Catwho]

I'm of a mixed mind about this, since I'm now on a server with 0 houses left available.

Many of those houses are empty, the gardens untended, the chocobo stables full of poop...

I think that after 6 months of not paying a sub fee, the land should be reclaimed, and the lowest tier house gil cost returned to calamity salvager. So if you paid that 90 million for a large on a legacy server, you'll get 27 million back if you were gone for longer than six months. Yeah, your house is gone, but if you were gone for half a year (without paying the sub fee) then you weren't exactly paying your rent, so to speak. If you paid your sub fee, then okay, you've paid SE for the server space and electricity needed to keep your house's data alive. Didn't pay the sub fee? Oh well, here's some of your gil back.

[MageBlack]

Square Enix is not the world's largest video game publisher, they most likely have to make do with what they have.

I'm on your side for everything you said, except this.

They are number 10 on a top 10 list. That the highest but not some poor scruffy company or a newcomer with no clout.

top 10 richest video game developers in the world/

[Titor]

Why would you not want to give back the full cost? Or at least the cost that the person played at whatever snapshot of deflation they had bought it at?

Or, perhaps the best, would be to give the voucher that could either be redeemed for a plot of the same or lower grade, OR be vendored to an NPC for the amount back of which they paid for the house, that way, if they wanted to wait until a new house opened up they could get it very quickly, or if they would rather buy a smaller house they could sell the voucher, get their gil back, and wait for any plot to open up.

Net-wise the gil sink would remain the same. Just instead of the person who bought it first providing the 'sink', the new buyer provides it. Either way, the same amount of gil will be net kept out of the economy.

[AkashiXI]

You should lose your plot if you go away, months at a time, IF you're also not paying your subscription. For those who say real life comes up - yes, it happens s to everyone. That, however, should not bleed into a game where plots (on many servers) are either completely full or 95% at its compacity. Why should my friend, who quit 2 months ago, retain his plot even after cancelling his sub and stating he'll never be back? It makes absolutely no sense.