Why did housing in MMOs degenerate after SWG ?

Mellow44

Originally posted by Mellow44

Originally posted by Azureal

Originally posted by Mellow44

Originally posted by Azureal

Originally posted by Mellow44

Originally posted by Ceridith


EQ2 has a very respectable housing system, the only difference being that they are contained in instanced pre-made city buildings rather than placed in the game world by players.
Aside from that, there is a huge gap in player housing. I personally think it's due to the majority of the genre steering the opposite direction of sandbox gameplay.

 

This is by far the best system for housing.

If you let players build their own houses wherever they want it will quickly turn into a gigantic suburbia and I think that that is a little out of place unless you play Sims Online.

For me I only needed the one room housing at the Inn.

Maybe EQ2s type of housing will return some day to a future MMORPG?

 

 

What are you basing the "suburbia and out of place" comment on? Free-for-all house placement never hurt a single game where it was used. UO and SWG, being the only two I can think of that did it, both benefited from such a system, UO is what, almost 12 years old now and housing is still at a premium on most servers. And dont even get me started on SWGs player cities that were, along with its crafting system, probably the best thats even been. 

 

It pains me to think that paying customers (gamers that is) may never be given that level of freedom ever again.

 

If a game attracts many players who likes to have their own house then it will look like some american suburbia where it once was wilderness at the beginning of the game.

It will be better if the housings are only in existing buildings, you can have small guild towns in the country side but those buildings will be created by the developers and not in an uncontrollable amount by the players.

 

 

 

"It will be better..." sounds like something someone would say if they had never actually seen an open world housing system in place. You never played UO or SWG did you?

 

"It will be better..." cannot be applied to either of those games because they were designed to accomodate an open world system. It was always going to be that way. EQII's housing system works for it because an open world housing system wasnt ever considered, because, to be honest, its far easier for Devs to tack on an instanced housing system at a later date.

 

I'm glad that you finally see my point of view.

And place your house wherever you want will only work in games with lots of empty space and with a small player base.

So maybe some "niche" game will have it in the future?

 

Garfunkel

I've used it in LOTRO and EQ2 and don't see the need for housing in any MMO, except maybe a guild house. Even then it should be real world and not instanced to give status / tangebility.

But personal housing is a waste of Dev time, just give larger banks instead. I mean what do you do in there other than bank stuff? go and sit in there by yourself, or invite a mate back saying come look at my furniture? pointless.

Azureal

Originally posted by Garfunkel


I've used it in LOTRO and EQ2 and don't see the need for housing in any MMO, except maybe a guild house. Even then it should be real world and not instanced to give status / tangebility.
But personal housing is a waste of Dev time, just give larger banks instead. I mean what do you do in there other than bank stuff? go and sit in there by yourself, or invite a mate back saying come look at my furniture? pointless.

 

I guess some people will get it, and some people wont.

 

Youre the latter, by the way.

Garfunkel

Originally posted by Azureal

Originally posted by Garfunkel


I've used it in LOTRO and EQ2 and don't see the need for housing in any MMO, except maybe a guild house. Even then it should be real world and not instanced to give status / tangebility.
But personal housing is a waste of Dev time, just give larger banks instead. I mean what do you do in there other than bank stuff? go and sit in there by yourself, or invite a mate back saying come look at my furniture? pointless.

 

I guess some people will get it, and some people wont.

 

Youre the latter, by the way.

 

Obviously

BlackWatch

If people are tucked away in their houses or player created towns... then they aren't in public view.  This makes the game appear to be barren.  While I think player housing is cool... EQ2, FFXI, and SWG were the only games I played with player houses.  SWG providing the best system, IMHO.... but as the game died, ghost towns really acted as tombstones for a game that has been in the process of dying since it's 2nd year live. 

Vapor

Originally posted by BlackWatch


If people are tucked away in their houses or player created towns... then they aren't in public view.  This makes the game appear to be barren.  While I think player housing is cool... EQ2, FFXI, and SWG were the only games I played with player houses.  SWG providing the best system, IMHO.... but as the game died, ghost towns really acted as tombstones for a game that has been in the process of dying since it's 2nd year live. 

 

I agree with the last part of your statement but .....instance housing is just like instance quests, those cause barren worlds. Everyone is instanced in an MMO now days, kinda of ironic how ppl want a MMO yet want to be instanced, lol retarded.  Anyway player cities that were in SWG actually caused ppl to use them. Either people visited those cities to travel and use city shuttles, find vendors, mish terms, or whatever and while ppl were doing that you could run into ppl all the time in houses and doing things around the cities. That doesnt make it barren. Sticking me in a instance with a ton of other ppl and there are a ton of these instances either housing or questing makes it worse. At least in SWG you would always run around the worlds and see ppl.

Dolmong

I myself is a Housing Fans of MMO !!!! 

I would love to play MMO with Housing (but not instanced... need to be open world)

SWG lasted me 4 years because of dynamic housing and player cities, and I think they are pretty much the top 1/2 MMOs out there that did the Player Cities right !!!

Not to mention SWG added a lot of dynamic on player-driven economy after they put vendors in player housing!!!  That made a lot of people actually go into people's house and get stuffs from them !!! This ideas never get old and who doesn't love to have their *Spending 24 hours decorating Home* to showoff to people?

So ..... I must say, now if there are some other mainstream games going to risk their effort on Housing that did something spectacular like SWG, they got a lot of money from us hardcore MMOs roleplayers !!

*GO FOR IT Fallen Earth* You are the closest one in the market that can put it right !!! 

Dolmong

Originally posted by Vapor

Originally posted by BlackWatch


If people are tucked away in their houses or player created towns... then they aren't in public view.  This makes the game appear to be barren.  While I think player housing is cool... EQ2, FFXI, and SWG were the only games I played with player houses.  SWG providing the best system, IMHO.... but as the game died, ghost towns really acted as tombstones for a game that has been in the process of dying since it's 2nd year live. 

 

I agree with the last part of your statement but .....instance housing is just like instance quests, those cause barren worlds. Everyone is instanced in an MMO now days, kinda of ironic how ppl want a MMO yet want to be instanced, lol retarded.  Anyway player cities that were in SWG actually caused ppl to use them. Either people visited those cities to travel and use city shuttles, find vendors, mish terms, or whatever and while ppl were doing that you could run into ppl all the time in houses and doing things around the cities. That doesnt make it barren. Sticking me in a instance with a ton of other ppl and there are a ton of these instances either housing or questing makes it worse. At least in SWG you would always run around the worlds and see ppl.

 

And that !!! Thats the Dynamic of Player housing/Cities !!!!!  Thats why SWG was so unique!!

You totally had the points !!!!

bbethel

SWG by far had the best housing.

I loved going into other people houses to buy stuff and while i was there i would look at what they did to the house. Then go back to my house and change my house. i did this all the time when i was tried of doing missions or pvping but still wanted to play.

I want some game any game to bring back player made cities.

I hate Instances housing. the interactions is gone. Like in EQ2 i go in my house and turn it into a storage bin. I did the same in FFXI. I spent very little time in my house.

NO MORE INSTANCES.

BRING BACK PLAYER MADE CITIES.

 

nariusseldon

Originally posted by Vapor

Originally posted by BlackWatch


If people are tucked away in their houses or player created towns... then they aren't in public view.  This makes the game appear to be barren.  While I think player housing is cool... EQ2, FFXI, and SWG were the only games I played with player houses.  SWG providing the best system, IMHO.... but as the game died, ghost towns really acted as tombstones for a game that has been in the process of dying since it's 2nd year live. 

 

I agree with the last part of your statement but .....instance housing is just like instance quests, those cause barren worlds. Everyone is instanced in an MMO now days, kinda of ironic how ppl want a MMO yet want to be instanced, lol retarded.  Anyway player cities that were in SWG actually caused ppl to use them. Either people visited those cities to travel and use city shuttles, find vendors, mish terms, or whatever and while ppl were doing that you could run into ppl all the time in houses and doing things around the cities. That doesnt make it barren. Sticking me in a instance with a ton of other ppl and there are a ton of these instances either housing or questing makes it worse. At least in SWG you would always run around the worlds and see ppl.

 

Instance is totally fine with groups. You realize that not every play want to see a tons of other players around. They are there to adventure with small groups.

eggpod

Originally posted by bbethel



BRING BACK PLAYER MADE CITIES.
 

 

Amen to that. Dawntide sounds like it might be headed in the right direction but it's still early in development.

GrandVizier

This topic is now part of a news article published yesterday.  I'm locking this one as a cross-thread.  Feel free to make your way to the other thread to continue this topic.

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/270542/General-Gimme-Shelter.html

Thanks and cheers.