Guild Wars 2

Fluffball.8307:

I never understood the obsession with player housing. What the hell are you supposed to do in it? Just afk?

Well there are RPers that would really love the feature. Not everyone likes to pull the afk in old Lion’s Arch. Atm your character in the story might as well be a bum. The home instance for each race, doesn’t really feel like home at all. Just a place you use for your PS, or daily collection of Sprokets quartz and other nodes you’ve got through gem store.

I see these housing posts all the time… Am I missing something? I’m pretty sure housing has been in the game since release. but instead of a single house we get a whole section of a city that we get to add to. Right now it is only resource nodes that we can buy and add to it but its there. I would love to see them start adding more things we could add to our home instance’s but as for a different house where I can go play Sims inside GW2 no thank you I’m good with what I’ve got.

Xenon.4537:

Teofa Tsavo.9863:

Xenon.4537:

Fluffball.8307:

I never understood the obsession with player housing. What the hell are you supposed to do in it? Just afk?

My thoughts exactly. I would really rather Anet spend their development resources on more meaningful things.

Yes, “just afk”.

Everquest 2s most well known player home.. and it is tip of the iceberg as to what can be done besides AFK http://kotaku.com/5893313/dying-boy-gets-his-own-personal-virtual-wonderland-built-by-a-game-community-in-just-four-days/

This home is a bare island from KOS when purchased. Everything on it was created by players, using in game items and assets. The roller coaster is fence sections. Think of a GW1 guild island with no structures and the freedom to create whatever you can think up.

Ignorance of what is possible/existing in the MMO Genre is no excuse to stick thumbs in ears and scream no. Make an effort to know what you are screaming NO about, please.

Dude….

Do you have… any idea… what you’re talking about….

Or do you think that the ability to custom make stuff out of assets just magically materializes from The Mists?

Anet has to devote significant resources to develop a system to let players do all of that. Like I said, I would rather they devote those resources elsewhere.

like what, the LS, more gem store crap, finishers you can only use in PvP?
pffff, i think housing will more then likely be more useful then your so called “better” devotion.

Xenon.4537:

Teofa Tsavo.9863:

Xenon.4537:

Fluffball.8307:

I never understood the obsession with player housing. What the hell are you supposed to do in it? Just afk?

My thoughts exactly. I would really rather Anet spend their development resources on more meaningful things.

Yes, “just afk”.

Everquest 2s most well known player home.. and it is tip of the iceberg as to what can be done besides AFK http://kotaku.com/5893313/dying-boy-gets-his-own-personal-virtual-wonderland-built-by-a-game-community-in-just-four-days/

This home is a bare island from KOS when purchased. Everything on it was created by players, using in game items and assets. The roller coaster is fence sections. Think of a GW1 guild island with no structures and the freedom to create whatever you can think up.

Ignorance of what is possible/existing in the MMO Genre is no excuse to stick thumbs in ears and scream no. Make an effort to know what you are screaming NO about, please.

Anet has to devote significant resources to develop a system to let players do all of that. Like I said, I would rather they devote those resources elsewhere.

Deleted rude and unwarranted ad-hominem remark.

That link is a simple link to a question about what to do besides AFK in a player home and your comment re “meaningful” things. Not a request to implement that exact system here nor an invitation to debate resource allocation. I was attempting to illustrate housing as something to do past “go afk” and to show it could be “meaningful” to a large number of players, as well as “meaningful” in other ways. I was there for that, one of hundreds.

I really love player housing. It’s one of those rare perks that makes a game more appealing to PvE’ers. You could see it like Legendaries or armor skins. It’s mostly cosmetic in nature and could be added to the gemstore for income. We already have home instances and adding nodes is a great concept to help spruce them up and make them more useful. While the home instances aren’t quite the same as housing, Anet could just add more features to the existing instances to make them more like typical MMO housing.

It’s just a novel side feature that adds a bit of customization and ‘ownership’ for players who like that sort of thing.

But must admit rebuilding lions arc is a good chance to implement housing.

Also instead of garantie housing u can buy a house at a certain area with a certain view?

I know that would create slums and common and noble areas but that was a part of human living story.

I likely should start a new thread but they proliferate too much as it is. I’ve had some ideas noodling around in my head on desired housing features these past few days, courtesy of another game’s beta I gave a whirl. During this current phase of communication initiatives, I’d like to reiterate some of my concerns I’ve posted in a more scattershot fashion in the past.

I’m going to use game names simply because it is easier to describe if the reader knows what the heck I’m referring to. The three games I’ve played with involved housing systems are Horizons, LotRO and Archeage, so I’ll use those. I’ll list a feature I enjoy and describe how well it was done in those others – this is due to GW2 beta discussions of the devs looking at the fun/unfun parts of other MMOs and tossing out the unfun parts.

Guaranteed Spots. LotRO did this via making as many instanced copies of neighborhoods as necessary to meet demand. While you couldn’t necessarily get the exact lot you wanted, and were out of luck at moving in with your guild if random others bought up the land, you were never locked out of buying a lot in the neighborhood style of your choice. Some method of being able to for-sure set up with your guild would be lovely, perhaps making some 500-lot instances designed for guild use?

On the other hand, HZ and AA both use open world land rush models, leading to much rancor in the player base. Finite space that is less than the number of players causes Bad Things.

Permanent Ownership I’m hazy in my memory of HZ but I think there were no taxes to pay once you got your patch of land. LotRO required taxes, payable a certain amount of time in advance if desired, or you lost your plot though at least all your furnishings and décor came back to you for reinstalling if/when you bought a replacement lot. AA currently demands biweekly taxes with no prepaying possible, and will return furnishings etc.

Taxes, bills, required logins to administer your property are Not Fun. They especially do not fit in GW2’s philosophy of allowing a player to walk away from the game for a lengthy period and pick up where they left off. This means that open world lots simply won’t work, because those demand that they be taken away from those not tending to them lest any newcomers be permanently frozen out of ownership.

Pretty Settings HZ did this moderately well, and AA has got one or two that I’ve seen. However, both succumb to a cheek-by-jowl subdivision feel because they have to cram all the lots together in designated areas. LotRO does very well at it, setting up lots with plenty of acreage by streams or waterfalls or up on hills and cliffs, with each neighborhood fitting the style of the culture it uses.

I’m sure ANet would make things gorgeous. Preferably there would be a variety of cultural styles and terrain, though maybe not so rigidly locked in to a neighborhood style as LotRO. Not everyone in a guild will necessarily want the same kind of house.

-cont-

Individual Style Which leads to the hope that each player can set up housing that suits the character. Put enough space between homes – heck, have some isolated home spots that are just hermit hovels in the woods, or camp sites, or whatever – that the individual lot can look as desired in structure and décor no matter what the next house over is doing. HZ let you build your own (or have others help) using crafting to bring ikittenllion stone blocks; that game had large community projects like bridges, so it was a core game mechanic anyway. LotRO doesn’t limit furniture styles, but architecture is dictated by the chosen neighborhood. AA seems to be completely individual, if not terribly spacious.

Deep Customization Options, options, options. The more house styles the better. AA has 4 cultures and a number of house options, each with a number of color options, though it still tends to look like a subdivision. The more things to put in the houses or around them, the better. LotRO has a ton of furniture styles, shrubberies, trees, hammocks, rugs, tile and paneling choices, wall paint, etc. HZ let you build up your lot however you liked from basic building blocks to make different buildings, patio designs, hedges, and so on. AA looks like you basically get one building, farmable plants, and plenty of furniture.

Be able to place the décor as desired, too. Make it sized to the type of home it is. LotRO’s hook points are far too sparse, limiting what you can put inside. A hobbit burrow with acres of empty floor space just looks wrong. AA seems to allow infinite gradation and orientation of item placement (I have not and will not test it personally due to the biweekly tax issue). HZ didn’t have furniture at all other than what came with building types, and everything was to a far larger scale than made sense.

Robust Permissions Be able to fine tune who can enter your home, and what they can do once inside. Preferably have a created list possible, so for example your whole guild could add items or operate lamps or whatever, but only your beloved special person could remove or rearrange items.

Character Bound? Altoholics might want a mansion for their noble, a grungy apartment for their street rat, a pyramid for their asura, a steading for their norn … I can see that being a problem, though, and it may be that one would have to pick the alt most in need of a nice place to live.

Usefulness I personally don’t give a darn for personal craft stations, bankers, etc. I can get to any of those I need to in game in moments. But I know a lot of players see no other point to personal housing, so there should be a way of adding these things. I would prefer they be integrated into the home – a banker at a desk in a separate room for instance – rather than just randomly standing around creeping on social interactions.

Ok, that has got to be my first seriously huge wall of text in these forums ever. I won’t TLDR it because the headers cover that

I’d like character bound but I don’t think this game could handle it. Don’t ask me why since its just a feeling.

Individual Style and Customisation – I’ve been thinking for a while that I’d like to see (if ever implemented) housing done in some sort of modular way. It would suit an account bound system as well. Say you start with a Norn lodge foundation and then you can add a Sylvari tower or Asuran lab annex or Charr steel outhouse or whatever. Or none of it, just stick with Norn. But with plenty of different style options within this. It would be an awful lot of work for them though.

Taxes – I dislike the way some games have had this. Donari, you mention Lotro, and Daoc had the same. I’m thinking that since GW2 is a pretty violent place then gold sinks can come from hiring security, or something.

Anyway, since this has come up again I’d thought put something down here.

edit: and I still stand by what I said on page 1. I just like speculating about it.

We don’t even have Guild Halls.
So.. Nah.

To me a guild hall would be a scaled up personal house. LotRO does that with having some estate-sized homes mixed in with the smaller ones, and those have meeting hall areas in them.

Though I’ve seen some excellent ideas about making guild halls out of airships. I’d prefer airships with a little more detail to them than an outer deck and a cargo area with some platforms, though. Individual cabins for guild members, etc.
—-
Gold sinks from housing: Right! I don’t think the taxes are meant as a gold sink so much as a control method to prevent congestion of abandoned lots. However all the furniture and such? Boy howdy can that take a lot of money to gather together. Make it craftable (LotRO does, I loved making those rugs) and tradeable, and the TP will collect all the sales tax one could want.

You know what will be cool?

Guild Halls and inside them a place to build guild members houses!
Why it is cool?

1 A reason to have a guild other then guild mission

2 Something to spend influence and something new to unlock and build for a guild (most of the guild are maxed up already) – you would have to “build-unlock” more housing slots with influence

3 You will be living near your friends from the guild

4 There will be normal guild halls things nearby to use interact

5 RP guilds will die from happines If they could build and improve their “small town”

6 Imagine, new player join guild and go to guild hall then visit guild members houses nearby. Visit all, introduce himself. Fun.

7 Something to work on while we wait for “content”

8 I hate when people say this is waste of resources. Thats what MMOs are for – play with people, have fun, work on things like: your look, your place, customize them.

wasting resources? (look at “feature pack”) yeah right. I would rather have them “waste resources” on housing and guild halls then on another living story.

9 To people that ask what would we do in house.
socialize, customize, have fun, have a brake from farming?

I have question to you housing haters. What you do in game right now? If you leveled your character, gear them up, playthrough living story episode. There is nothing to do more. So you afk right now, or grind.

I dont need player housing. If I want to play sims I will build there my home and whatever I want. You cant have that much customization in mmorpg. So I dont need housing. I dont want to farm nodes in my home instance, because you have 300 nodes outside in world and only 4 nodes in your home instance..
What else will you put ? Gardening ? So you can have 10 plants… But still you have gardens outside of the world with 10 plants, or 20, or 5…
You have pve for farming. So housing is garbage. You have bank, auction house, crafting station in Every city pretty close, so you dont need it in house…
Just imagine that your whole World Map is your House, you can do whatever you want in your big world house.

Biohazard.7523:

I dont need player housing. If I want to play sims I will build there my home and whatever I want. You cant have that much customization in mmorpg. So I dont need housing. I dont want to farm nodes in my home instance, because you have 300 nodes outside in world and only 4 nodes in your home instance..
What else will you put ? Gardening ? So you can have 10 plants… But still you have gardens outside of the world with 10 plants, or 20, or 5…
You have pve for farming. So housing is garbage. You have bank, auction house, crafting station in Every city pretty close, so you dont need it in house…
Just imagine that your whole World Map is your House, you can do whatever you want in your big world house.

housing system is great adition to mmo’s i would love it, but i can see your point and lightly agree with you, just because of the game model, it is possible to add housing but what would be the point in this game?

If this could be deployed in game would be nice to work more like lineage system, districts for housing in main cities that would work more like a HoM where guild could unlock some weapon, prizes, evolve the base, and have asuran gate to their Guild Hall instance for the GvG scenario, guild houses on Lineage were possible visited by anyone passing by.
But many thing on this game contraries the implementation of housing system, like the overflows of an instance, (main reason “has a player” hate games with overflows).

Housing system for how much cool it sounds, at the state gw2 is it is impossible do deploy it and make it work for something that worth’s it.

Also there are more important changes to be addressed than a housing system.

They could easily add a little instance in the main cities for GH’s. I thought about this and probably could add it near the Queens Arena – there was a portal there unused.

We have a home instance – it wouldn’t bee too hard to do but nothing fancy like what some of these people want. Too much time to put into game fluff.