Apartment windows with a (nice) view

[tinythinker]

Apologies if I missed a thread specifically on this. I did see in a search on it that many people mentioned window views, such as these examples (out of many) in threads on larger topics.

I would like to suggest two features for the apartment system. The first is to add balconies so that players with apartments can get an outside view, use outdoor furniture, and garden. The other is to allow players to expand their apartments, making them wider and potentially adding full or partial second floors.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ew#post4441578

BIG scenic windows in private chambers with view of outdoors, roof deck access for gardening, chocobo stable access

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post4568686

I'm just focusing on windows with views in this thread because:

1. I would like to have this feature.
2. Threads can be derailed over small quibbles/side issues, but this is just the one topic.
3. It is a specific thing that is less of a hassle for developers than many grander ideas.

There is nothing wrong with grander ideas, but for those living in-game with apartment life, if there is an option for a large window showing off the local scenery it would be very welcome.

It could even be "lazy", or as devs tend to call it, economical or efficient. All apartments in all wards and all floors could just have the same view. A nice view above the ground of something pretty that still shifted with the weather patterns and day/night cycle outside.

This would allow for more value to the apartment through its aesthetic appeal while being less of a coding hassle to implement than a more involved situation where you had to be realistic based on ward and floor level. Plus, honestly, like real-life apartments some "real" views would be quite bad. The simpler option gives everyone a nice view no matter where your apartment is located.

It would still take a decent amount of work to implement, though, so it would be understandable if other issues for the game in general or housing in particular are given a much higher priority than this request, but I wondered if anyone else would be interested in such an incremental quality of life improvement.

Thank you for taking the time to read (or at least skim) my suggestion. Apologies if it's been discussed to death already, but I did do a quick search for it.

[Jojoya]

I'm hoping they add such a feature if they expand apartment options to include sizes. We've seen it with the inn room in Kugane so certainly they're capable of doing it. I doubt they would change current apartments and FC rooms to include it, though.

[BiffWellington]

This is a great idea! And I think there'd be a lot fewer complaints about the housing shortage if an apartment could provide more of the same amenities as a house.

[not_ya_wify]

You know if you just want a view for aesthetic reasons, you can make one.

[tinythinker]

You know if you just want a view for aesthetic reasons, you can make one.

Which is very cool. Those are awesome. Having the option to see a view of the actual zone where the housing is located -- one that changes with the day and weather cycles to give the illusion of being a "real window" -- would also be very cool.

The latter option as proposed in this thread would be especially nice for people who like the added realism ("oh look it's raining now") as well as those who don't have the time, crating skill, or gil to make the type of DIY views you thoughtfully shared.

In any case, I'm impressed how creative some people can be

[MizArai]

Which is very cool. Those are awesome. Having the option to see a view of the actual zone where the housing is located -- one that changes with the day and weather cycles to give the illusion of being a "real window" -- would also be very cool.

The latter option as proposed in this thread would be especially nice for people who like the added realism ("oh look it's raining now") as well as those who don't have the time, crating skill, or gil to make the type of DIY views you thoughtfully shared.

In any case, I'm impressed how creative some people can be

They've said in the past that we can't have gardening in apartments because they were made with no ties to the weather of the residential areas. If you want a window that shows the actual weather, then you're running into the reason we can't have gardening in apartments. If you just want a window with a view, that could possibly switch day/ night lighting, that might be a more feasible request.

[tinythinker]

They've said in the past that we can't have gardening in apartments because they were made with no ties to the weather of the residential areas. If you want a window that shows the actual weather, then you're running into the reason we can't have gardening in apartments. If you just want a window with a view, that could possibly switch day/ night lighting, that might be a more feasible request.

Losing the weather is fine. It's mostly just getting a sense of changes outdoors along with the view. Day cycle still offers that.

[Elamys]

They've said in the past that we can't have gardening in apartments because they were made with no ties to the weather of the residential areas. If you want a window that shows the actual weather, then you're running into the reason we can't have gardening in apartments. If you just want a window with a view, that could possibly switch day/ night lighting, that might be a more feasible request.

There's absolutely no reason to not have real gardening available in apartments (like planter boxes) because the weather doesn't affect the apartment. First of all, the weather in game doesn't affect outdoor gardens. You still have to water your plants even if it rained nonstop all day before. Secondly, it doesn't even work like that IRL and you can grow all the individual seeds in pots anyways. SE hasn't said we can't have gardening in apartments. They said we can't have balconies with furniture.

[Penthea]

You know if you just want a view for aesthetic reasons, you can make one.

Definitely, and you did show excellent examples.

However this obviously doesn't fix the real issue, which is that SE told us we were getting apartments, and what we got was fc rooms without the fc attached. I remember when the apartments were launched a large amount of people were disappointed with the lack of anything resembling a balcony, myself included. So many of us expected to have a little outdoor area. And can we be blamed? We were told we were getting apartments, not merely relabelled fc rooms.

And no I wouldn't care if the scenery of the balcony was instanced so that what you see outside is technically not outside at all. I would only care that it looked nice and allowed the use of outdoor decorations, including a gardening patch.

[not_ya_wify]

A balcony with access to outdoor furniture is different from just a view. You can fake a view. A lot of people do open window set ups. But people in apartments don't have access to yards and gardening