That's great... but can we have an INSTANCED Housing area

[SerLuke]

2% was a number pulled from thin air, like statistics normally are . Was just to say if they make progress that's awesome (I don't expect mountains to be done all at once), but if they barely make progress then it shan't be called done or close to done.

To be clear though adding more wards would not make me feel any % improved. They could add 10000 new wards, 100x more wards than players- I'd think they would have made a mistake doing that (would have certainly killed the neighborhood, new meaning to ghost town lol). Making apartments in the wards be able to upgrade into pocket wards, that'd be something though.

Instanced houses is the desire, not more wards (and at least for my own desires it's been this way since inception of their system, I've not been waffling about on that idea lol).

Okay so just to make sure I’m understanding you, hypothetically if they got the server capacity so they had enough wards so everyone and every FC was able to own a house in the current system, you wouldn’t be any more happy?

[Shougun]

Okay so just to make sure I’m understanding you, hypothetically if they got the server capacity so they had enough wards so everyone and every FC was able to own a house in the current system, you wouldn’t be any more happy?

I think you'd have killed the whole purpose of wards if you did that (neighborhood be dead in the vast majority of circumstances, more so than already).

I would be impressed they were able to do that, and I might think if this is literally the best you can do then so be it.. but if we could hypothetically gauge happiness as a value I'd only move slightly upwards and a lot of other feelings would increase some being negative. My reaction would be like a sincere "wow that impressive" and a sarcastic "well done".

I believe the wards function better when they're limited, each time the wards expand I think they shoot themselves in the foot- and I think their limitations shoot the housing potential in the foot.

Desire: Everyone can have a home, and that the feature set of housing increases greatly. Both of these are important to me. (I don't seek the destruction of the wards, and I actively look for ways that ward users and instanced users could benefit together).

The ward system prevents us from getting larger houses and larger yards, it prevents us from using certain objects and themes, it holds us back in our ability to place objects, the wards in my mind are shackles. Making impressive shackles comes with mixed feelings, lol.

It's an old video and Wildstar isn't the only game to do this, but this is and has been for a long time my end goal desire- I linked a fairly short "trailer" of that system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Q8wS-TR84 .

I'll be impressed if you made 1:1 housing via the ward system, but it's not what I wish for and will be disappointed in quite a few ways (limited and missed opportunities, system that's defeating itself when it expands, etc).

[SerLuke]

I think you'd have killed the whole purpose of wards if you did that (neighborhood be dead in the vast majority of circumstances, more so than already).

I would be impressed they were able to do that, and I might think if this is literally the best you can do then so be it.. but if we could hypothtically gauge happyness as a value I'd only move slightly upwards and a lot of other feelings would increase some being negative.

Desire: Everyone can have a home, and that the feature set of housing increases greatly. Both of these are important to me.

The ward system prevents us from getting larger houses and larger yards, it prevents us from using certain objects and themes, it holds us back in our ability to place objects, the wards in my mind are shackles. It's an old video and Wildstar isn't the only game to do this, but this is and has been for a long time my end goal desire- I linked a fairly short "trailer" of that system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Q8wS-TR84 .

I'll be impressed if you made 1:1 housing in via the ward system, but it's not what I wish for.

Okay so basically SE is damned if they do and damned if they don’t? Let’s say they switch to instance only for future housing to satisfy the people who are asking for that, but you’ll get an out cry for people who wanted a house to display in the current ward system. So what’s the solution that will make the most amount of people happy?

[Shougun]

Okay so basically SE is damned if they do and damned if they don’t? Let’s say they switch to instance only for future housing to satisfy the people who are asking for that, but you’ll get an out cry for people who wanted a house to display in the current ward system. So what’s the solution that will make the most amount of people happy?

In the previous post you read that I said I don't want to kill the wards, and I also just added that to this one. I disagree with you and I think you're making the conversation overly simple to make it sound like there is no where to go and we should just stop (or at least I strongly felt you were going for the "throw the hands up in the air huff out of the room ending the discussion" direction, which is not where I was leading you as I had already said what I think would be grand nearly for everyone). If that's not your intention then please understand and sincerely take in that I have no desire to kill the wards, and want everyone to gain benefit of a more powerful system.

As said previously I think ward users will get a pocket world alongside instanced users, the purpose of the wards will be explicitly for that public facing image. The wards will NOT be destroyed, unless no one likes them and everyone abandons them via their own volition (since the system doesn't require you to leave the ward to get a pocket space)- in which case that's the ward's own issue.

[Moonlite]

If anything the fact that they are alotting more resources to more wards proves anything we are never getting instances. At this point the server probably has alotted more resources to wards then actual open world zones. I feel sorry for the people who will never get a house and sorry for the players that see resources wasted to run more wards instead of more open world zones.



One thing that is pointless, but I am curious about. A question to the people who are attached to the wards. Why couldn't they just shrink one ward down and make all players entering and exiting their house that ward. Put all the vendors, maybe even put in a Rowena shop from anything old content, a beast tribe vendors could be opened from a quest, MBs and retainer bells. Finally something that worked well when Aion launched for gathering people up is a spot to get crafter buffs, that only last in that area. Seasonal events could happen more with only one housing area entrance as well.

[Jojoya]

If anything the fact that they are alotting more resources to more wards proves anything we are never getting instances. At this point the server probably has alotted more resources to wards then actual open world zones. I feel sorry for the people who will never get a house and sorry for the players that see resources wasted to run more wards instead of more open world zones.

I disagree. I think they are working on a new form of instanced housing (possibly related to the Ishgard reconstruction but it's not ready yet.

There was a question about why balcony doors in mansions don't lead back outside at the EU FanFest. YoshiP went into considerable detail about a new technology they're working on that would reflect what's going on in a non-instanced area within an instanced housing area.

It would make no sense for SE to go to that much effort just so the tiny number of mansion owners can have a working balcony door. It makes a lot of sense if it's for a new instanced housing system that would make use of the technology.

The new wards are likely a stopgap to try to meet some of the overwhelming demand for houses has while they finish development on the instanced housing.

Your followup query isn't pointless. It's very relevant to the problems with the current ward system in general. Trying to favor one ward with special activities wouldn't sit well with players who live in the other wards that didn't have that activity. It would also be a loading nightmare because of the way the game has to render outdoor furnishings placed by players on top of all the additional players running around in that ward. Many players with older computers and basic PS4s already struggle with loading in the wards. Such an event would likely cause their game to crash if they tried to attend.

Seasonal events are better off in the city states that are already designed to handle the increased load. The wards aren't.

They can't force players to only enter a single ward because then house owners in other wards wouldn't have access to their houses. The only way it could work would be if all housing plots were instanced in the first place instead of just the house interiors.

Instanced housing wouldn't keep people tired to their account subscription. With the current system it forces people to keep and active sub and login once in a while else you lose your house.

Which is a fallacy that people need to let go of. If the wards were their attempt to keep people subbed, they'd make it easier for players to get a house and remove the temporary Caretaker storage for houses that are demolished to tie them to the game even tighter.

They also wouldn't be suspending demolition following natural disasters if they were using houses to keep people subbed. The vast majority of players who take advantage of the suspension aren't affected by those disasters.

[Sclair0]

They've made a couple of teases/hints towards player farms over the last year, I wonder if thats an instanced housing solution they're working on. Just a lonely farmhouse in a random skybox with the region of your choice in the background.

[Raldo]

Since I haven't seen it mentioned yet...

I, personally, refuse to purchase a house plot until the inactivity auto-demolition timer is removed, and I think that's only feasible with instanced housing.

"but apartments..."

You and I both know that apartments are no replacement for a full-blown house.

[SerLuke]

sorry for the players that see resources wasted to run more wards instead of more open world zones.

we’ve gotten the same amount of open world zones each expansion so I’m not sure what this is referring to?

[Moonlite]

we’ve gotten the same amount of open world zones each expansion so I’m not sure what this is referring to?

World stability was quoted as a hurdle for more wards. As they are always up and using resources. You don't think those resources could be used else where instead of running all those wards?