Reclamation of Inactive Housing announced

[LeoEmpire]

I'm opposed to this also, at first I didn't really care that much since I'm in one of the largest and most active FCs on Balmung so this really won't effect me. But after thinking about it, it is a bit mean to some of the players to work so hard to buy a house they love and decorate it the way they like to suddenly have to worry about losing it should they decide to take a little break for any reason. I've known quite a few people who will stop playing a game for months and eventually come back to it. Should they be punished? Absolutely not. Considering how it was when the content was first introduced, it seems unfair to change the rules on them now. I think housing is a problem in itself, but any solution that attacks players is unacceptable.

[CUTS3R]

So SE band aids (badly, I might add) a problem which should have been solved by them improving what they have currently, and people think this is a good thing?

What's especially absurd here is players can lose their house even if they're still paying subscription

This change should only affect inactive accounts and the timer should be 2-3 months minimum. Ridiculous.

Totally agree, i dont use my house that often, but be sure that from now on i will always log out inside it to reset that timer every time. I willl even log in and and out every few days when im taking small breaks from the game.

I farmed my ass off to be able to afford mine and all the stuff inside it the same day new wards were being added. The last thing i want is to loose is my house to people being late to the party, simply cause i didnt go to my place for a while. Even though i would still being technically paying for it through the monthly sub.


The solution is to add more houses not taking them from players already owning them. It solves nothing.

[Eye_Gore]

Having a baby doesn't really keep you from being able to take 2 minutes to long into the game to keep your house, neither does job loss either unless you can't pay your sub in which case it doesn't really matter cause you not able to play the game anyways.

I was going to say when my wife and I had ours, it actually gave me more time to play. Leveled up all my DoH's playing one handed while my little one slept in my arms. We ended up having to have emergency c section and was only in the hospital for 5 days. If you're in labor for 45 days, I think the game will be the last thing you're worried about.

Maybe its just me but all these what ifs. If I had any of them, the game would be back burner material, its interesting to see people's priorities in life.

[Syrehn]

So SE band aids (badly, I might add) a problem which should have been solved by them improving what they have currently, and people think this is a good thing?

What's especially absurd here is players can lose their house even if they're still paying subscription

This change should only affect inactive accounts and the timer should be 2-3 months minimum. Ridiculous.

You don't agree with the Inactivity Timer and think it's a band-aid fix. Ok no problem, that's your opinion you're entitled to voice it.

So then let's assume that switching to an instanced housing or instanced/ward combo housing model is completely off the table (which it basically is regardless). Now, while keeping in mind that hardware/data storage (particularly SAN) is expensive, meaning adding a schwack of wards wouldn't be a viable option, I'm curious to know how you (or others) would suggest they improve upon the system they currently have? What steps would you try to take to ensure sustainable accessible housing to the masses?

If I were to answer my own question the first few things that come to mind for me personally are:

1) Restrict housing to 1 personal & fc house per account per server - Unfortunately SE hasn't done this yet and it's the first thing on my list.
2) Implement an Inactivity Timer - I'd prefer 60 days with the removal of "un-retrivable" status from housing items so that all items can be reclaimed.
3) Personal House Sharing - This would be great for friends/family's. This is actually SE's next step but not sure if it will make to 3.1.
4) New wards/sub-wards added periodically - This would be dependant on supply/demand + company financial reviews.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

I'd like to address the concerns of the person who mentioned military members, being a former one myself.

That's a legit concern and I hope SE factored that in. However, did they not also mention early on that they were adding a system to grant rights /privileges to up to 5 other friends as far as accessing your house and features of housing? This would work as someone who plans to be away can elect a caretaker of their estate if you will (just as you'd want someone to check up on/maintain your home while deployed).

Yes, this means putting your trust in a fellow player to help you, but as this is an MMO, we already do this in more important ways as is.

[Sicno]

I'm opposed to this also, at first I didn't really care that much since I'm in one of the largest and most active FCs on Balmung so this really won't effect me. But after thinking about it, it is a bit mean to some of the players to work so hard to buy a house they love and decorate it the way they like to suddenly have to worry about losing it should they decide to take a little break for any reason. I've known quite a few people who will stop playing a game for months and eventually come back to it. Should they be punished? Absolutely not. Considering how it was when the content was first introduced, it seems unfair to change the rules on them now. I think housing is a problem in itself, but any solution that attacks players is unacceptable.

In another thread I gave up on trying to get people to feel any kind of sympathy for those who worked hard to get and decorate their beloved homes if they commit the sin of needing or simply wanting to take a break. They'll gladly pillage on other people's stuff with no remorse if that gets them what they want, as if current house owners were to blame for the housing problem. Learning that I'll never be allowed to take a break from paying and playing and the attitude I've seen here really discouraged me from keeping playing in the long term.

[StrejdaTom]

I'd like to address the concerns of the person who mentioned military members, being a former one myself.

That's a legit concern and I hope SE factored that in. However, did they not also mention early on that they were adding a system to grant rights /privileges to up to 5 other friends as far as accessing your house and features of housing? This would work as someone who plans to be away can elect a caretaker of their estate if you will (just as you'd want someone to check up on/maintain your home while deployed).

Yes, this means putting your trust in a fellow player to help you, but as this is an MMO, we already do this in more important ways as is.

Military members were the first I thought about.
The thing you wrote makes sense and I hope it will work like that.

[solracht]

Somewhat repeating myself here but I have a feeling there would be a lot less complaining if they were simply moving inactive players aside to make room for active ones... the problem is they're going far beyond that: they're also deleting gil and items if you unsubscribe.

Not Redeemable from the Resident Caretaker
-The construction permit required to build an estate.
-Furnishings destroyed upon removal.
-Housing exteriors.

and

* Players will have thirty-five days to redeem items from the resident caretaker before they are made irredeemable.

Can any of the reclamation supporters explain how this is acceptable? I can't understand how anyone can say this is a good step when in comes with these strings attached. Losing the house plot in order to make room for active players is one thing, permanently losing your gil/item investment is a very different matter.

[NanaWiloh]

And this is why i think the german info text is more right (or clearer)

45 days time to enter the house before it get marked as an inactive house
45 days time to enter the house to remove the inactive mark before it get demolished

in total 90 days

A post on the JP forum has confirmed that the time frame is 45 days not 90. Homes will be demolished and the plot put for sale again after 45 days of inactivity, SE has just worded it badly and people are getting confused.

[Neira]

The resale situation doesn't apply to any of the abandoned FC houses in my housing ward. I researched them for my panel at AWA when I discussed this topic. They're all dead FCs. All of them. One with a single member. She might log in to keep the house, or let it get reclaimed and take the money.

Personal houses? Perhaps. But I'm in a main ward and the majority of the abandoned houses are FC houses. (Heck, one is a lot without a house on it at all.)

I think you emphasized the wrong part of your post. Change the emphasis around a little, and you're clearly in agreement with me.