Concerned About Housing

House decay was answered in the Housing FAQ:

As stated many many times before, this housing limit will go up over time so more people till have the opportunity to own them. These will simply be starting numbers. Heck, for all we know, by the end of Beta there may be 5-10x the amount of housing available and I'd expect a server wipe at that point as well going from Beta into release. There will also be multiple server wipes throughout the process of Alpha/Beta as well as they work out bugs and such.

 

Well that answers the decay thing! I'd not seen that regarding pledgers before. Thanks for pointing that out. Still I stand by my other points.

I'm not stating all this because I want to complain but because I think this housing issue is going to haunt the game and I want SotA to be successful as much as anyone. Sure, I have people I can share with. Most players (particular post release new players) won't be so lucky.

 

I've said many times, it's not something I'm worried about. As someone who is playing a pure crafter character, a house is something that is very important to me. It will be my work shop, storage facility and means of making gold with vendors. However, I know I'll eventually get one because even if I don't get one right from the start, they will certainly add more areas as the need arises.

 

Actually, would you happen to know if Portalarium have a policy they will release and when they would release it on how many new housing lots of what type they will open in Episode, 1, 2, 3, and so on?

 

I don't think they have anything in stone yet. There will likely be a ton of content added once Alpha starts and they can test a lot of what they have designed right now out. Plus, people like Hairy Man have been designing things like this for the game as well so maybe they will add some player made houses as well

 

I don't even think, thats such a large problem.
Its planed, that not all players get a house. How mentioned, i heard something about 20% or something. But this is a very old number.

The backers of course get a tax free plot. That was aswell very important for me. So i can have the whole experience and don't have to work for the tax.

But aswell important is and this is the important thing for the 150$ addon buyer, that they can take a plot before the ingame player earns enough money to pay for some plot owning right. And i am sure there is something like this ingame. And the 150$ give them the secure, that they come into the world with a plot owning right. So they can go and take a plot from the beginning, before the player without one, can earn enough money ingame to buy one. So something like a affirmation, to get a plot.

 

Honestly, I like how they've been structuring the housing mechanics so far, but even as far as crowdfunding goes, I find the property deeds a bit too expensive: IMO, a $70-100 range would have been more appropriate, with the consequence of lots more people pledging (instead, as it is, funding will come in as a slower trickle). Anyway, no problem, I'll be pretty happy to visit other people houses/establishments at the beginning, while trying to collect enough resources in order to buy one myself

 

A key concern with selling plots before release is that they can't let too many dry up, lest new players feel like they already missed out on the game on day 1.

Is anybody else afraid of buying a plot on the grounds that they could lose it later? For me, its citizen or nothing.

 

Hmm, yea got this concernes aswell. I wonder, how easy it will be to earn the taxes for the plot, if you are still a new player.
One of the reason i prefered the tax less plot with the higher tier aswell and woudn't go for a addon plot.

 

I doubt that taxes will cripple active players. The most they will do is scare players who want complete long-term security. I'd love to see a pledge option for $350 that had just a tax free plot, but such an idea probably would do more harm than good.

 

I also highly doubt they want people concerned with earning enough to pay taxes in the game. That wouldn't be terribly fun. Its more of a mechanism to ensure that only active players fill towns. Once players become inactive and their bank accounts run dry, then their plot gets freed up for someone who is active and wants to actively use the plot.

 

Pretty new to this housing discussion here. How much are these houses going to cost ?

 

House costs in-game have not been publicly released. Many people are concerned about how much the "upkeep tax" each month (with in-game gold) will run. This upkeep only effects online play; offline play (single player) there is no upkeep.

If housing is important to you (either as vanity or functionality) for online game play, then you need to concider a few things. Supporting at a level that is Citizen or higher gives you a deed that is tax free. You only need to log in every few months to keep your plot of land from reverting to your inventory. If you do not support at a citizen level, you have to pay in-game currency to maintain your plot of land. If you don't, it will revert to your inventory.

 

If this experience will be anything like UO (and i expect it will be at the very least similar) then there will be plenty of housing to go around, and I would also definitely expect them to release more, and more as the game grows and new episodes are released. I currently can't afford to pledge enough for a plot of any size but I plan on bumping it up little by little until i can afford it (mainly just want the dev access).
I doubt they will sell out the entirety of the habitable land before the game is even released.

Also, I remember the days in UO of scraping and saving every penny i could to save up enough for the smallest house plot i could afford. Running around for hours looking for a spot, and the absolute joy of finding that spot where your tiny little house fits! Ahhh the memories....

 

Taius, housing is quite limited by comparison to UO. An early estimate was that 20% of players would own housing (though each land expansion will, presumably, bring more plots with it). I don't believe anything official has been said regarding wilderness housing, but I imagine that, if it is implemented, it will be much more limited than in UO.

 

That is unfortunate, I would like to see wilderness housing personally but I can see how that is a whole different hurdle to accomplish.

 

This whole housing issue is a bit of a put off. I missed the original kickstarter and came to the site excited to potentially join up. But I have a *real* problem with feeling like something as integral and wanted by most players may be limited based on how early someone came in or how much more they paid. The starting pledges are already in the neighborhood of a persistant game (I can think of one right now launched about a year ago). As a long time player of the Ultima line I am really interested, but I am not sure how enjoyable the experience will feel if I struggle for a satisfying location. I can also think of a number of ways that this can form artificial barriers between players.

This also sounds like something that will discourage fresh players?

There is another large space world kickstarter that is making as much in additional funding or more by offerring advanced ships, but while a newer player may not get the same design the advantage is not permanent, and equivilent ships are available to all.

Anyway, not meaning to get into an argument, and nor do I wish folks ill who want a good "plot"/house, I totally understand it. Maybe someone can explain to me more clearly that I am misunderstanding this dynamic?

 

I dont think this is the right way to look at it. Early backers are nto necessarily pledging to get stuff no one else gets, (property) but to back the game first and foremost, and then to get first dibs on location location location whining about the fact that later on someone gets something similar without the location perk and the decorative baubles for less real cash would just show that the person didnt understand the concept of BACKING the game. Just my take on the issues.

 

I played UO as a late starter back in 2001, but I wasn't discouraged that I didn't have a house, I enjoyed the game without property so I'm sure it's safe to say there will be plenty of fresh players or original from UO that will enjoy the game with or without a house as I did. And for the record, I pledged money for kickstarter but have not bought property for SotA so I don't feel any less enthusiastic to play without property.

 

I have this aching feeling that midnight on the last day of the month is going to be pretty interesting. The clock strikes twelve and you'll see people desperately running around V/T/C's to see if spots have opened up. I can hear the screams now "But...but....but....my house was right here!"

But seriously, it will be weird. Guilds, at least smaller organized guilds, will probably assign members to different locations to "scout" lots. Single players will be lurking about and ready to pounce. A sad land-driven chaotic dance...

Has there been a number thrown around as to how many lots a single player can have?