Housing: Square Enix is failing to accomplish what Lord of The Rings Online did in 07

[PirateRyanG]

I can't help but feel square enix wants housing to be limited. It drives subs that are scared of demolition.

I can't imagine Ff14 tech is worse than Lotro which launched in 2007. I mean, I would hope not.

For those who are unaware, LOTRO has instanced wards, just like FF14.

30 houses per ward, each with a unique address.

As each ward sells out, the game generates a new one. This can continue a good amount of time, with thousands of houses being the cap. While some servers did hit their limit, most didn't. This is because there are four different housing groups a cap of thousands. Even FF14 would struggle to cap that out.

Each house interior is a separate instance (just like ff14)

There is kinda an auto demolition, but not. You have to pay a mortgage using in game gold. It takes like 5 mins to get the currency you need, and you can pay something like a year upfront.

So, how can a game from 2007 (which still gets a sizeable number of players, I want to add) get something right, and ff14 comes up so short.

Why are wards not auto generated when new ones sell out?

The only reason is, surely, Squaresoft doesn't want to miss out on those sweet subs from people scared of demo?

Oh, and I wouldn't believe square when they say steam won't let them use non-steam accounts to login, or to buy stuff away from steam on a steam-created account. Other games have done it. I don't get why it is different with squaresoft. Maybe they just want that sweet cash.

[Atelier-Bagur]

I dont think its just solely because of the auto demolish retaining subbed players. If you havent noticed, they've turned that off for almost a year now (and still is I think? Could somebody fact check me this please?)
Its simply because I think the dev team finds the player created neighborhood system on a server where anyone can visit far more appealing.

However no amount of band-aid fixes can truly help the situation because of the limited server space for each one trying to accommodate every single player. Its a very unfair system and of course we all know that by now.

I just think they really either need to introduce personal housing while still retaining the limited ward space as a "premium" thing or even just allowing players to expand their apartments to accommodate more rooms and allow gardening.

[NekoMataMata]

I dont think its just solely because of the auto demolish retaining subbed players. If you havent noticed, they've turned that off for almost a year now (and still is I think? Could somebody fact check me this please?)

I always wondered about that and I've also guessed that it might be more about company interests instead. They didn't really have a choice but to turn demolitions off when people were struggling to be able to log in. It'd have looked so bad if they didn't.

On the flip side though, I think someone in SE has taken advantage of it and has tried to extend it for the players as long as possible.

[Themarvin]

I dont think its just solely because of the auto demolish retaining subbed players. If you havent noticed, they've turned that off for almost a year now (and still is I think? Could somebody fact check me this please?)
Its simply because I think the dev team finds the player created neighborhood system on a server where anyone can visit far more appealing.

However no amount of band-aid fixes can truly help the situation because of the limited server space for each one trying to accommodate every single player. Its a very unfair system and of course we all know that by now.

I just think they really either need to introduce personal housing while still retaining the limited ward space as a "premium" thing or even just allowing players to expand their apartments to accommodate more rooms and allow gardening.

There is a world crisis going on and the only that think everything is well is some guy sitting in Moscow.

[FireMage]

There is a world crisis going on

What else is new?

[Themarvin]

What else is new?

Just because it does not 'trend' anymore does not mean it is not still a problem, other companies may just think whatever or whatever, but not SE.

[FireMage]

Just because it does not 'trend' anymore does not mean it is not still a problem, other companies may just think whatever or whatever, but not SE.

Unfortunately in this case. Demolition should NEVER be off

[Midareyukki]

I think one thing people forget is that there is no instanced housing because of how our housing system is designed. We have external housing decorations. We have wards. And in those wards, the devs insist they wanted people to interact.

Because of that, there's a lot of space and instances being taken up with a really old framework on top. Even if LOTRO did it, they don't compare to what FF14 has to accomodate. We should have instanced housing in the same vein as IS to help alleviate it, but even then I doubt it'd be enough. Because there's a reason apartments, which are instanced rooms anyway, are limited as well.

Island Sanctuary is a cute start to instanced housing, what we got in it isn't enough. They are a start though. Apartments don't achieve what housing does, not by a mile, but they're a start too. But that's just the design. The real issue comes in having room for more instances. Because, surprise surprise, we have a lot more players. More than Square ever thought they did. So many that they had to suspend the game's sales. I don't think housing nor its servers could accomodate the community as a whole to begin with, much less now that we're this many.

Then again, OP loves whinging about millenials with avocado on toast rather than thinking about solutions to these situations. So I doubt this thread warrants any further merit.

Unfortunately in this case. Demolition should NEVER be off

It shouldn't because of how supply and demand works. Were there a better system where you could satisfy a growing number of players, there wouldn't be a need for it. The issue is that our system is stupidly limited. It was before, it kept on being and it still is. And with each expansion, our numbers grow and all the devs can do is put a band-aid on an exponentially-larger issue.

We need something else, and we need something better than what we currently have if demolition is to be done away with. But doing that requires effort, understanding and it's going to require sacrifices. I just don't see it happen, even if they turn IS into personal instanced housing.

[Solarra]

Was 100% with you up to the last 2 sentences Midareyukki. Not sure what the OPs opinion on millenials with avocado toast has to do with FFXIV's housing issues.

[Midareyukki]

Was 100% with you up to the last 2 sentences Midareyukki. Not sure what the OPs opinion on millenials with avocado toast has to do with FFXIV's housing issues.

I didn't whip it out of my arse, that was what they wrote to me the last time I mentioned anything related to housing.

But that's a completely different topic anyway. I was talking about the financial cost that comes with the pressure of demolition, because it's counter-intuitive to the devs saying they are okay with players "taking a break". And it got taken out of context, because of course it did: that's not the full extent of my opinion on the matter, and it was referring to what I happened to misread from another player's comments on it. OP's reply, on the other hand, was about as obvious as a metal singer at a mime show.

I get it if people disagree with what I say and stuff like that. But that comment was just ridiculous. Though I suppose I am flattered OP thinks I'm that old :P

So I just can't take OP seriously for the life of me anymore. They were already accused of being a troll. Now I just can't think they have their head all there.

On this topic though? You can't compare LOTRO, sure. But the problems run deeper than just the framework. The design doesn't help. Hence demolition being there.