Player Housing?

Realm-Reaper

Will we have player housing similar to SWG? You know, a place of our own with an actual location on a map. A place we can decorate and customize.

Fumbles

No information on player housing has been released yet.

Scepter_cme

I will say that player housing is not a focus of the team at this time. They're face deep on many other features for our game.

sashalanda

 oh I hope so! Housing you can decorate as yoru own, really helps immersion into a mmo. Mmo's can be like another life.  Plus helps with storage too

Cptn_Quint

Well to update the answer of the topic, in a fairly recent developer chat here on mmorpg.com, the developers confirmed that there wouldn't be housing or guild halls in the games initial release

gatebuzz

OK. I'm curious (please dont take this as a flame) but how is it that player housing increases immersion in a given game. Surely all it does is replicate "The Sims" all over again - that dreaeded time-suck that caused me WAY too many hours of missed sleep.

I'll freely admit that I am a total packrat (heh, I admitted it live on air in my podcast even) so the ability to store my excess stuff would be nice. But housing? How does having a place AWAY from the main-flow of the player population and ALL-BY-YOURSELF help the immersion in a MMO (where the emphasis is "massively multi-player")? How does it help immersion in the game's missions and story-line when you're squirreled away and not playing the content?

It makes no sense to me. Surely it's better for the overall community to press players out into the big-wide-world and have them play the game together. If I wanted single-player house-decorating I would play "The Sims" on my PC, and disconnect the network cable.

joachimpeipe

Player housing is critical to game longevity.  I played SWG from Dec 03 to Oct 05.  The ability to modify the in game world and have PvP and other content that is generated through player interaction really hinges upon customization.

We had total customization of territory, custom crafted items, and custom appearance modification at any time during game play. The more control you have over your avatar, house location, custom possession, conveys and encourages a feeling of ownership. 

SWG had a model of what mature gamers look for in a game.  Social and interactive spaces that co-exist with the in-game narrative and action elements.  Rich crafting, housing, and customziation is an imperative to have long term, mature players.

 

Cpt.Stubbing

Just please dont let it be crappy housing like LoTRO. I hope if they have it, it will be more like EQ2 or SWGs was.

ClaudeFR

...which is a high chance for the game to fail like so many other games/studios in the youngest past.

Let me elaborate:
We are observing an interesting trend in the gaming industry which is developing something not different
to something already existsing, repeating mistakes over and over again instead learning from the failure
of others.

More and more, releases are simplified (not to say dull), talking about "Expansions" even before the initial game is released.

This is clearly a synonym for "we are running out of funds and time, we need to throw it out now even if its half done - we will add/fix later".

Gamestudios are astounding alienated with the reality here, totally ignoring the fact that such
strategy will lead in most cases (if not all) to a business disaster.

The most important thing for a new product/game is the reputation based on the very first impression.
Its the word from mouth to mouth and the gamemagazines (reviews) deciding over a games fate
at a very early stage!

Almost no one (only a very low percentage) is willing to revisit a game after its initial reviews.
So in other words: Get it done right from the start or simply forget it, there is almost no second chance.

Customers began to take the freedom to pass on games since they are just another number
on the list of "i dont play"-titles. There are enough games already offering the same boring gameplay.

Players dont want to spend another 50 bucks just to get confirmed that this was actually wasted money.
Compared to gamestudios, customers are learning quick - they are able to avoid doing mistakes again. They have learned
no to buy a game blindfolded before it has been tested and reviewed by trusted game magazines and personal friends.

A good number of gamer are not going to buy the box, reading about another dull shooter, grindmill, levelbased
game just in another dress (doesnt matter if Fantasy, SciFI or whatever).

A good number of gamer are not going to buy the box, reading about a 7.1/10 score for the game.

A good number of gamer are not going to buy the box, reading about a game with like 50% content, the rest following
later as an "Expansion" - which (btw) will most likeley consume some extra bucks.

If any gamestudio still dont get what is essential to the potential customer and what not, let me suggest they
look up the latest games (start with Vanguard over DnD, ending with SWG) again to start understanding the market
and how it works, what IS important to a player and what NOT.

Of course, there are many player not really interested in housing or RP or community and things like that.
But that is not important! Important IS, that there is always the same amount of player which ARE interested
i such things - and that is an easy math: You double your subscription numbers by satisfying this group as well,
you dont need to be a rocket scientist figuring that out.

But the "bonus" is: The player not interested in such mechanism will STILL subscribe if its build in - he can simply ignore
the fact that these gamemechanisms exist. But the player who will care for these things cannot "ignore" them not existing.

Do not make the mistake looking to World-of-Warcraft because this game is an exception to the rules, following
no rule in real - its success is based on some very different aspects, but thats a different story.

The gamestudios need to rethink and understand the CURRENT gaming-world and relearn how to make money. The current way
of the gamestudios is as wrong as it could be. This bold statement is backed up by the latest "incedents" we all aware of.

Gamestudios underestimate the huge changes which took place within the customers reigns the last year after all the
flops, after all the let-downs, after all the disappointments. The gaming world has made 180 degree change
the last few moth - but the gamingstudios are still living in 2004/2005.

No one is buying a car without brakes, relying on them being delivered 4 month later - but then for another good amount
of bucks. Honestly, where these guys come from? It must be a far far galaxy.
(I do hate car analogies as well, bear with me this time please)

Regarding Stargate i just read what will be NOT included in the game - which is EVERYTHING making a game different, making a game
worth to pay for, giving a game diversity and immersion.

When i read about SGW i have a Dejavu - it wasnt any different to what i read the last year - quickly half finished released
games relying on fixing/additions while operated but finally going down the hill very quickly due to their incompleteness.
We are facing nothing different here with SGW.

All left is a shiny combat simulator placed in the Stargate-World.
I do believe: It makes no difference if a char has long ears or is a gnome or a Jaffa or whatever:
The underlying mechanism is the very same. And its the very same boring quick, if there is nothing else to do, lacking machanisms
supporting a community and a social interacting for all the RP's out there.

Even the high anticapated LOTRO begun to suffer from that, thats why Book 11 was thrown out quickly to work against that
devastating trend.

No guildhalls, no playerhouses, no vehicles, no spacecombat, no spaceships, no decorating, no nothing - i mean, what the hell
am i going to buy ? The vey basic protocol-functions of the Unreal engine ?

Im sorry, i can download their product-demo for that without paying a monthly fee - and it will be the same "fun".

Im brave enough to say:
Bookmark this posting and reread it 6 month after release, the game has most likely failed (assuming it goes live as that)...

MAYBE other gamestudios are willing to take postings like this SERIOUS.

One thing for sure:
I survive EVERY flop - the studios wont. I have a long standing...gamestudios not.
I can wait for studios getting a clue coming up with the right product.

Its the studios decision, they need to choose a side: Top or flop ?
The way to both was just posted -IMO of course.

EDIT:
1)
Sorry for the bad formatting - the editor here is acting up.

2)
Wall of text hit for 2356 damage