How did we get here?

[Besame]

Let's stop pretending that FC's NEED houses more than individuals.
FC houses are nothing more than glorified personal houses with few members getting access to the benefits and most members getting nothing out of it.

Spot on! Been in numerous FCs, all the same with benefits to leader and butt buddies. My FC now is shared with a friend, my hubby and a couple others and we actually share and have access to everything. FC buffs are almost useless for members and few ever wanted to pay 300k for access to a room they could lose at a leaders or officer's whim.

[ToasterMan]

TLDR: We got here because some people made bad decisions when designing a product.

[Mikki]

And again, the whole reason they can be mad to begin with is because they can "afford" to be mad. I don't disagree that the reason people are mad because they can afford a house but can't get one, but that the only because they can afford the house. Do you own a Ferrari or a Rollroyce? Do you wake up every morning antagonizing over the fact you don't have one of those? Most people don't, we just move on with our Camry or Accord. But of course if a Ferrari is so cheap that you can buy it after just a year of saving, yet because supply is so limited your chance of getting one is next to none, of course you will be mad.

You always gonna have problem, you always gonna have people complain, but the fact of the matter is back when housing was expensive and not available to Private, SE had a much smaller problem on the plate than they do now.

Spot on, basically what I was trying to say. I think housing needs to go back to it's former price points. Were they ridiculous? Yes. But if SE isn't going to increase supply to meet demand then they need to lower demand by increasing price. Simple economics. Sure it will suck for those who are casual players or dislike crafting/gathering. But it'll be much better if the price is so high that only the dedicated can get it. Then not only can they actually get what they worked hard to get BUT they will be able to have immense pride in it as well.

Apartments should be what the casual people who don't make a lot of gil can buy. Apartments should be better than they are with much more space so that it isn't so upsetting to be stuck with one. But housing should definitely be exactly as Yoshi-P intended it to be; a luxurious extra that would be limited to only the most dedicated. On that note, however, I think apartments for FC's should also be a thing and an apartment should be AT LEAST the size of a small house currently. This way it would not be blocking new or small FC's out of the benefits that come with a home.

[Brynne]

I think housing needs to go back to it's former price points.

I can agree with this suggestion if they stop gating content behind housing. Make a gardening instance attached to the apartment building so that anyone with an apartment can have a plot; put an entrance to the free company workshop in the grand company they're affiliated with - however these things fit. But if housing is meant to be scarce and expensive, and having it is simply meant to be a point of pride, putting content behind it is a very bad idea.

[Mikki]

I can agree with this suggestion if they stop gating content behind housing. Make a gardening instance attached to the apartment building so that anyone with an apartment can have a plot; put an entrance to the free company workshop in the grand company they're affiliated with - however these things fit. But if housing is meant to be scarce and expensive, and having it is simply meant to be a point of pride, putting content behind it is a very bad idea.

100% agree. That's why I think that apartments should be available to free companies and I definitely agree that gardening and workshops shouldn't be excluded. There's no reason for it and SE can't be surprised when everyone wants access to these limited things. If I recall correctly, they didn't exist at first (I couldn't ever hope to afford a house back then so I didn't actually look into what they offered but I never heard talk of it so I assume not). People weren't so upset and I bet that's a huge part of why. SE is shooting itself in the foot. Limited resource that offers content exclusive to it which gives desirable items as well as a the ability to decorate for fun which many people enjoy doing (just look at The Sims), offered at an extremely affordable price. Hm......... How did anyone think this was a good idea? lol..

[Brynne]

Limited resource that offers content exclusive to it

Honestly, if they removed the 'exclusive content' part, it would probably reduce a LOT of the outrage over the 'limited resource' part. I doubt anyone would object if gardening were gated behind apartments, since they can simply add more if supply runs out. Plus, if workshops were accessible for any FC of a certain rank regardless of housing, some of those shell FCs that are just holding houses for workshops would likely free up their plots for people who actually want to decorate, too. It wouldn't solve everything, obviously, but it would sure help a lot. >.> That's what I think, anyway.