The problem to get houses now

[RaidenBlack]

Hello
I don't understand the solution to COVID-19 for the housing and with this i mean i understand that it's nice that people don't lose their house when they can't pay the game but that destroyes the game for the new people that want a house now. I think there should be added a couple of new house slots to improve this because it's not possible to get a house now in this situation. If i am wrong pls let me know that is just my thoughts about it ^^

Raiden

[Vidu]

Its not as easy as you might think to "add a couple of housing slots" - if they could just do that, dont you think they would have already done that?

So... you're not wrong - would be nice - but its not possible. And right now they're already working under more difficult circumstances than usual, which will delay the upcoming patch, so I dont think its a good idea to add anything else to their plate. Specially not something they couldnt do under normal circumstances like add more housing.

On top of that: We're working on unlocking a new housing district (most likly) right now - so there is that. And until then... get an apartment?

[RaidenBlack]

So when you see it on the technical way it's very easy to add more instances ^^ but ty anyway for the answer i just think they could solve it on other ways then this ^^

[Kytrin]

So when you see it on the technical way it's very easy to add more instances ^^ but ty anyway for the answer i just think they could solve it on other ways then this ^^

They've said repeatedly that they have loading, memory, and other issues with housing the way it's set up now, and the fix isn't as easy as adding more wards with a snap of their fingers. Not unless we want the housing servers to crash regularly or not load at all for folks with slower systems. Heck, that's why they haven't increased the garden slot limit since it came out.

I agree they could solve the problem in other ways, but those ways would require a complete rework of the system they have now, and would eat a lot of resources and time that could be used for other content. So ja, it sucks for folks trying to find a house, but that's simply the situation we have right now and it's unlikely they'll change it any time soon.

[Vidu]

So when you see it on the technical way it's very easy to add more instances ^^ but ty anyway for the answer i just think they could solve it on other ways then this ^^

Apparently, it isnt all that easy from a techincal standpoint to add more instances in this game - or they would have done that already. They are aware that theres a housing shortage, that more people would like to own houses and they need to do something about it (they discussed the possibilty for larger apartments in the future, for example).
What makes you think that its so easy for them to just add more housing without knowing their ressources and their code?

The wards arent instances in the sense that they only exist when someone enters them (which is the case for the inside of a house), so they're putting constant strain on the housing servers - which is, as Kytrin mentioned, the reason why we got more indoor but not more outdoor slots for example.

If you think you can solve this better and faster than the current team... have you considered applying for a job there? Because from all we know right now, they dont have a fast and easy solution, they have no magic wand to just add more houses and are instead slowly working on other solutions (while also maintaning everything else ingame, right now under more difficult circumstances like working from home). Thanks to building this game on the bones of 1.0 the code is apparently a mess and not that easy to just be changed or adjusted. So it might not be as easy as you think to change this - from a technical standpoint.

[Madbunny]

Thanks to building this game on the bones of 1.0 the code is apparently a mess

They said 2.0 was built as new game and not just upgraded version 1.0. So if SE claims that the code is a mess means they didnt learn anything from the original game:

The original Final Fantasy XIV released in September 2010 to largely negative reception. As a result, then-Square Enix President Yoichi Wada announced that a new team, led by Yoshida, would take over and attempt to fix the issues with it. This team was responsible for generating content for the original version as well as developing a brand new game which would address all of the previous release's criticisms. Initially dubbed "Version 2.0", it features a new game engine, improved server infrastructure, and revamped gameplay, interface, and story, fully replacing the original.

[Jojoya]

They said 2.0 was built as new game and not just upgraded version 1.0. So if SE claims that the code is a mess means they didnt learn anything from the original game:

I would take some of the things said in your quote as tentative from the way it's stated. It sounds more like a statement of what SE hoped to achieve when they announced the revision to the game as opposed to being an after the fact statement of what did happen.

We know now ARR was still built in large part on the 1.0 game engine plus consideration for promises for PS3 support that limited what they would be able to do at the time. They had to use much of the original in order to get it released quickly. There are extensive histories on the development of ARR all over the place.

They learned a lot from the original game. Ask anyone who played both. But it doesn't mean that they got everything right the second time around. They continue to make improvements to the game, especially now that PS3 and 32 bit support is gone.

[RaidenBlack]

ty for the answer that helped me to understand it ^^ could you tell me where you got this informations ? i am more or less new in this game ^^

[Kytrin]

ty for the answer that helped me to understand it ^^ could you tell me where you got this informations ? i am more or less new in this game ^^

Unfortunately, I can't cite a particular source. These are things they've talked about off and on in various live letters and fan festivals and such over the years when people have asked. It's a pretty frequent question, and their answers essentially distill down into "There's strain on the servers we can't fix just by getting more servers.", "There's problems with loading, especially for those with slower systems.", and "Taking the time to dismantle the current system to implement instanced housing or something would eat a ton of time and resources."

At this point most folks are hoping that they'll work out a way to revamp and upgrade the apartments since those ARE instanced already, and theoretically would be much easier to grant upgrade features to like alternative floor plans, greater size, SOMETHING that allows an outdoor-ish area, etc. And, encouragingly, they've mentioned in the past that they're looking at ways to do exactly that. There are a fair number of people, myself included, who would be willing to give up their house if the apartments had a solid upgrade like that.

[RaidenBlack]

I understand ty for all the answers ^^