Housing Suggestions

[Almagnus1]

In no particular order, here are the next batch of changes SE should make to the housing system:

1. Restrict Large houses to FC only.
2. Restrict housing NPCs to FC only.
3. Increase garden spaces on all houses to the large house capacity.
4. Add five wards to all neighborhoods with every major patch (4.3, 4.4, 5.0) until the issue is resolved.
5. Forcibly release houses are are in violation to the ownership terms defined in 4.2 and provide the owners at least a month of warning prior to the patch this goes live to make arrangements so the automated rules don't do it for them.

It's time to slay this problem and end the slum lords for good.

Otherwise we're going to keep seeing videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znbBHGzjSB0 appear because the housing system is fundamentally flawed.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Restrict Large houses to FC only.[*]Restrict housing NPCs to FC only.[*]Increase garden spaces on all houses to the large house capacity.

I can somewhat agree with this, though it won't accomplish much. Personally, I don't see the reason or need.

Add five wards to all neighborhoods with every major patch (4.3, 4.4, 5.0) until the issue is resolved.

... why? What does this even accomplish except to punish personal house owners for literally no reason.

Add five wards to all neighborhoods with every major patch (4.3, 4.4, 5.0) until the issue is resolved.

They have said multiple times now the servers simply cannot handle that significant a load. No matter how many times people bring it up, we will never have unlimited houses.

Forcibly release houses are are in violation to the ownership terms defined in 4.2 and provide the owners at least a month of warning prior to the patch this goes live to make arrangements so the automated rules don't do it for them.

And how, pray tell, do they "make arrangements" when you cannot sell or even give houses anymore? Someone with a personal large would simply lose it for nothing. Hardly a "fair" system.

It's time to slay this problem and end the slum lords for good.

Otherwise we're going to keep seeing videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znbBHGzjSB0 appear because the housing system is fundamentally flawed.

There will always be "slum lords." Some people buy larges simply to have them as a status symbol and there isn't anything SE can do short of draconian methods like taking away plots that aren't decorated to a certain standard. Even if larges were made exclusive to FCs, people will make dummy FCs to snatch them up. Entropy/Angered has over 30 FCs. Evidently, the restrictions did nothing to stop them. It sucks for Zelpa she didn't get her large but that's bound to happen when they only release six larges per ward.

[HyoMinPark]

[*]Restrict Large houses to FC only.

I personally don’t see a reason for this. I think instead, we should advocate for adding more large and medium houses per ward, rather than just 6 per ward.

[*]Restrict housing NPCs to FC only.

Why? This is an arbitrary change. Why should FCs only have access to Material Suppliers? Or Menders? Or Junkmongers? I harass my Junkmonger every day for Dark Matter; why should I lose access to that—or anyone—if I/they don’t have an FC house? There’s no reason for this restriction.

[*]Increase garden spaces on all houses to the large house capacity.

This is the only point I agree with you on. The garden plot restriction is an arbitrary restriction that makes zero sense.

[*]Add five wards to all neighborhoods with every major patch (4.3, 4.4, 5.0) until the issue is resolved.

They will never do this. The developers already scoffed at the idea of dynamic wards, and while this is slightly different from them, it’s basically the same thing: adding more wards until the housing demand “stabilizes”. Instead, the devs should either seriously considered instanced housing, and/or improve on apartments. And I mean adding in vast improvements to them (size/space, storage, design, adding in an instanced area for gardening, considering making “FC apartments” a thing, adding in the option for tenants, etc.; they basically need to make apartments a comparable/competitive option against a house).

[*]Forcibly release houses are are in violation to the ownership terms defined in 4.2 and provide the owners at least a month of warning prior to the patch this goes live to make arrangements so the automated rules don't do it for them.

I don’t think what a certain FC on Ragnarok did is fair—I think it’s stupid actually; I don’t care how many world-first raiders they need to craft gear for on Day 1 of a new tier...you don’t need 40 houses/workshops to make GEAR—nor do I agree with the couple on Mateus, and I think something should be done about the situations, but SE won’t do anything. Because, technically, no “rules” were “broken”—the 1 Personal/1 FC per server per account rule was not in place when the Mateus couple bought their plots (plus, they’ve been grandfathered into the new system, which is basically excusing their owning of 30 plots in SE’s eyes), and the FC on Ragnarok “technically” has different accounts all owning different plots. It’s an exploit, I won’t deny that, but the 1 Personal/1 FC per server per account rule wasn’t broken.

[Dustytome]

The problem is the amenities a house provides are too good, especially when it's attached per house and further per fc. When a 500 person fc and a 1 person fc both with the same size house - have access to the same number of airships and the same number of gardens, someone botched up the design somewhere along the line. If you keep these things attached to housing, but remove the incentive for having multiple houses for these amenities, you might see a lot fewer of these satellite fcs crop up. Figuring out a way to provide gardens/airships locked to characters or accounts would help. Gardens could be fairly simple with a greenhouse room/botany lab where players can unlock gardens for their characters/account (plus we could be rid of the scarecrows, bonus!). Airships might take some brainstorming, like one per account and unlocked via a large sum of gil. Keep the fc a requirement if you need to, but an fc + house shouldn't just net you up to 4 airships and however many submersibles we end up with.

[Almagnus1]

The problem is the amenities a house provides are too good, especially when it's attached per house and further per fc.

I agree, and until there's no functional difference across all houses, or FC housing is superior to personal housing, I don't think we're gonna see much change.

If you keep these things attached to housing, but remove the incentive for having multiple houses for these amenities, you might see a lot fewer of these satellite fcs crop up.

That's the goal.

[QUOTE=Dustytome;4569525]Gardens could be fairly simple with a greenhouse room/botany lab where players can unlock gardens for their characters/account (plus we could be rid of the scarecrows, bonus!).

That would make sense in Gridania, perhaps as an unlockable through the Botanist?

Airships might take some brainstorming, like one per account and unlocked via a large sum of gil. Keep the fc a requirement if you need to, but an fc + house shouldn't just net you up to 4 airships and however many submersibles we end up with.

Isn't there a Garlond Ironworks office in Mor Dhona that we can use personally? I mean, it's not like we don't have a story connection to Cid and co in game or anything... oh wait...

[Flashgordon1975]

The problem is the amenities a house provides are too good, especially when it's attached per house and further per fc. When a 500 person fc and a 1 person fc both with the same size house - have access to the same number of airships and the same number of gardens, someone botched up the design somewhere along the line. If you keep these things attached to housing, but remove the incentive for having multiple houses for these amenities, you might see a lot fewer of these satellite fcs crop up. Figuring out a way to provide gardens/airships locked to characters or accounts would help. Gardens could be fairly simple with a greenhouse room/botany lab where players can unlock gardens for their characters/account (plus we could be rid of the scarecrows, bonus!). Airships might take some brainstorming, like one per account and unlocked via a large sum of gil. Keep the fc a requirement if you need to, but an fc + house shouldn't just net you up to 4 airships and however many submersibles we end up with.

People act like the rank and file members have access to all of this. That is simply not the case in most instances....so please stop using the access to facilities as a reason. It is infuriating..This is why you see personal FC's popping up.

[Mahrze]

...

This would solve nothing.

Housing is limited by choice and they haven't expressed any intention to invest in more server capacity. This is obvious on other server issues that have been consistent since SB launched.

Retroactively harming players for making questionable use of the system is inherently wrong and is a far shot from a solution.

Housing for players was made as a "gil sink" and for the most part it works in that intent. The fact that these can't be extended to additional gil sinks like: lot size (without the need to relocate), modular building design and upgrades to rooms, gardens and workshops is where the issue is really at.

The only way these have ever been a "gil sink" in their shallow depth is by multiple house purchases because for some crafters, its not that difficult.

[MizArai]

People act like the rank and file members have access to all of this. That is simply not the case in most instances....so please stop using the access to facilities as a reason. It is infuriating..This is why you see personal FC's popping up.

Dusty is trying to make an argument for giving these to people, like personal gardening plots via Botanist Guild in Gridania or maybe just renting space from some poor farmer sap in Gridania or La Noscea. People having access to personal airships through Garlond Ironworks in Mor Dhona, or maybe whatever the airship company was in Ul'dah via Ixal beastman tribe unlock (after so much rep heir-kid or daddy could grant us access), or maybe even through Foundation where we can use airships to go to diadem. I believe they're trying to give other options besides having personal FCs for people to be able to use these amenities. Which really sounds like a great idea to me.

[Dustytome]

People act like the rank and file members have access to all of this. That is simply not the case in most instances....so please stop using the access to facilities as a reason. It is infuriating..This is why you see personal FC's popping up.

It's not currently the case no. If you're fc doesn't allow that access you have to branch off and create your own fc and take up another house just for that access currently. The point of the suggestion is to alleviate the need for more houses to be taken up just for garden/airship access. Imagine if the fc that took up all those plots just for additional workshop access could have just purchased (through gil via the workshop) a submarine slot for each character or each account and buying further houses provided no additional benefit other than having the house?

[Flashgordon1975]

I can't disagree with that. I think any content gated behind an FC is silly. Some people do not want to be in an FC.