Shanty Towns - an early-game housing option

Hello. I helped to kickstart the game back in the day, but only recently have started to actually play the game. I wasn't entirely interested in testing and "unfinished" game, so have waited until the development has started to settle down. Also here because of an e-mail that stated that things were better and offered a free house (and greyhound pet), but of course being an early-game player I can't afford a lot to put it on or the taxes required.

I know housing is thought to be an "endgame" sort of feature, but I for one would like an option to have a house even in the early game. The way I figure it, everyone should have a place to live, and upgrading to a bigger home would be the endgame goal. Why have such a major feature of the game be missing to so many? My solution to this is a new town type, a shanty town so to speak, that allows for small shacks to be placed to, at the very least, offer a roof over the head for all the homeless avatars out there.

There wouldn't be much to them, just a block of about 100 shacks, a crafting area, and the usual assortment of NPCs. One of the NPCs would be a merchant selling shanty-sized deeds for the affordable rate of 1,000 gold (which can be acquired after a few hours of playing or two days of oracle tests) and some basic furniture (a bed, a storage chest, and not much more). Taxes would be at the rate of 50 gold per day, affordable even to someone playing casually once per week.

The shacks will, of course, not hold many items but it's still a way to try out decorating a place and storing some items for later. Some features might be limited, such as not allowing vendors.

These towns will be distinguished on the map not only from an unique icon, but clearly labeled as a "shanty town" next to their name. Some good locations would be next to the "starting areas" (solace bridge, blood river, highvale) and major cities (Central Brittany, etc.). More locations can be added as needed, even perhaps multiple right next to each other.

So, in summery, I would like an option for the impoverished to have a place to call their own, even if it's not much.

 

Why not use a room at an inn? There are several players who built inns that they let new or even old players live in free of charge or for a very low fee. The rooms are big enough to decorate them nicely.

In this forum you find listings of inns and others places for rent as well as free places for living.

Nowadays many inns are not much used, as it is so easy to get your own row home very early in the game through the free POT row lot deed for completing one of the Outskirts quests (doable with an investment of few hours of playing) and the low tax of 250 gold a day (= half of the Oracle wellfare).

 

We do have inns... They should add some NPC-run inns in NPC towns if they haven't already IMO.

Other than that, something I would like to see is being able to set up camp, where you would be able to open up a scene in the wilderness and set up a tent, a campfire, and portable crafting equipment and such. I posted a suggestion thread a long time ago on that here.

Shanty towns, idk. I'm not going to argue against it but I think it would be a bit weird to shanty towns on the map. Another similar thing might be public camp grounds within towns where players can set up their own things, like the refugee area in Soltown.

 

A deed can be aquired by finishing any of the Outskirts and then telling the main quest NPC "Deed".

It costs 250g a day, but you can get 500g a day for free by visiting the Oracle and telling her "Test". Answer correctly, and you've covered two days of taxes.

 

I suppose this is my biggest sticking point. To do this I would have to log in every other day, and can't use the money for anything else. If I take a week off, the house is gone. The alternative is to grind for gold. I heard somewhere that the average rate is $2,500/hour of work. This pays for 10 days of rent. Put another way, you would have to put in 36 and a half hours of work per year just to pay for rent. That's time that could be better put elsewhere. I'm just looking for a way for a casual player, who only plays a few hours on the weekends and doesn't know all the secrets to the game, to be able to experience home ownership at the most basic level to get the most out of the game.

Admittedly I'm a bit antisocial, so the idea of asking around for a place to live or even living in a player-owned town is a bit uncomfortable. Now an NPC-run inn in a NPC town would be a good solution. Just a few affordable apartment buildings here and there would open up the options quite a bit.

Now that's a good idea.

 

If you're not going to play then why bother with a house?

You can also upgrade that deed to tax-free using COTOs.

 

Things have changed housing is for everyone now and totally free if you like. Right now you can do one of the outskirts quests and get the row deed. The oracle pays the cost of the taxed deed since you get 250 gold a day for right answers. If you need tips on how to answer the oracle come to Wizards Rest behind Owlshead in HIdden Vale. In the Oracle building is a book that explains how to answer correctly. We have many more QOL things and the game is getting better and better. I am Majoria in game if I can help to catch you up. Again Welcome back. So much good has happened with more coming.

 

Hmm a shanty town would be a lot more social than asking for a free room at an inn.

 

Thank you. That's good to hear.

 

I'm not going to offer you a space of mine, because interaction with other players would be a must in my places. But I know many people that rent out rooms where you would never hear from them or see them after they set you up as a tenant, and player owned towns that are so sleepy you are wondering if anyone ever goes there but you. I assure you NPC towns are much more active than the majority of player owned towns.

When I started the game I simply picked a random inn from the forum I linked to in my other post and sent the owner an inquiry through whispers. Since most inns have so many vacant rooms, I think the chance of being told "no" is extremely low.

Not saying that your shanty town suggestion is a bad one, but I think the vast majority of players here see no need for this feature.

 

Dear would-be slumlords ,

Inns are for those coming in...

I think it would be a shame to diminish the need of what's already been developed, programmed and purchased by others for this same exact, specific purpose and further dedicate gaming company resources to create more counterproductive content to accommodate those who seem not to wish to fill them

Sincerely Signed for the 1% and the Inn Keeper's Union
Terribly Sorry About That! ~
~Time Lord~

PS: These are not the views of Portalarium or any person employed by them.
The Time Lord is only a devilishly handsome, eloquently versed idiot and babbling court jester who pops in and out of existence rarely knowing much about anything... really

 

Agreed

The Purple Dragon Has Inns & Rooms Thru Out The Lands





Lazarus Long
Slumlord / Innkeeper