Is too much emphasis being placed in Housing - A poll

It's just that I'm a bit confused about all the housing stuff and if I will be able to do anything with it at all. I will most definitely not pay $200 on a virtual lot. I understand that a lot of players here are in there 50s now and can easily afford something like that. But still it's just a virtual square piece of land. I want to have fun doing adventures in the detailed world of ul... I mean the whatever it is called right now.
And even IF you wanted to buy a land slot, they are out of stock all the time.

So my main questions are: Will you be able to build on any land at all without paying an insane amount money/gold (say somewhere deep in the province). If not in multiplayer, what about single player? Or will you just always feel like a NPC when walking through a town?

This is not about the world being unfair. It certainly is and I could afford $200 dollar for a land slot. But this is a game, you play for fun. And I think everyone should be able to enjoy it. If you combine housings with achievements done in the game that would be an entirely different matter. I'm afraid the game will flop if this is just a showcase for old men.

Maybe there is just not enough information yet about what the housing will really be.

 

don, we do not know how much in-game currency we will have to pay for properties and houses yet. However, Darkstarr said this:

People will certainly have the possibility of buying housing properties in-game.

I also consider housing as a luxury/social/RP feature (which a lot of people love).

 

I'm here mainly for the promise of an Ultimaesque single player game anyway, so I am personally somewhat indifferent to the whole housing thing (if the Kickstarter had been for a subscription based MMO, I would have never pledged). Still, for what its worth I've been following the topic, and my view of this whole housing thing I admit has waxed and waned over the past several weeks.

On the one hand, I get it. Its cool. I'm not going to lie, I would like to have a house....scratch that, a hovel would be fine, a place to stash my loot and call home base. I mean, its sort of like in U6 where you had the room in the castle which was "yours" (only better). By that token I get that its relatively easy for the devs to implement and show off. I mean, really, its akin to a live level editor (a very restrictive one, but you get the idea), so it shouldn't shock any of us that we are seeing a fair bit related to it at this early stage. They are building the world, and this goes hand in hand with that.

On the other hand though, with the info which I have been able to assimilate at this juncture, it seems stratospherically priced, to the point where I doubt very much they will run out of lots (maybe that's their intent?). Three to four figures for a virtual house (other pledge perks notwithstanding) is for me ludicrous.

quick sidebar: I know some of you will say that one can earn a property in game, but besides being of possibly no value if playing solo, my understanding is that it would still require a monthly stipends, something which I simply will not do. My gaming is too sporadic to spend money on a subscription basis. I've spent money on MMOs, but it has to be on my terms, not the calendar's, but this is a topic for another thread.​

To me, as a backer who ponied up for the single player game, the question is less one of "is housing being emphasize too much?" as it is "at what cost is it being emphasized?". Thats something which I don't think any of us is in a position to call at this point. I reserve my judgement until they show us a few more alphas (a right which we have paid for I should note). If in 2-3 months they are still issuing releases which have some new features "but look at what we've done with the housing gang!" then I'll be concerned that the game is nothing more than The Sims-Ultima Edition, but until then I'm going to go with the notion that RG and co are not that stupid.

 

Some things I think folks are missing with this tax thing, lets see if I can get this right: The whole reason that property lots are being taxed is to prevent land from being tied up from a player that no longer plays the game. The tax is supposed to be small, BUT it will need to be paid on a regular basis or the land will revert to unclaimed (the original owner does not lose house or items in house). The tax will be paid with IN GAME FUNDS. The length of time that unpaid taxes can go before land is reclaimed is unknown at this time.

Now as to why there appears to be emphasis on housing: Housing involves a lot of the game mechanics, the ability to manipulate anything in any way, stress on an inventory system, and the transition from one type of (for lack of the knowledge of a better term) map to another. These items can be tested and stressed in housing. So the devs get to see performance and the player side gets to play house

The new style homes you see being rolled out now, are promises to backers, there are a few more that need to be made so you will expect to see new ones for a bit more.

If I'm way off target here, don't shoot me!

 

I think you've pretty much nailed it. I'm not sure about stressing the system, but that could be right.

The rest matches my view.