Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Revamp Man]

It works in every other MMO. it would be incredibly easy to maintain once implemented, and it adds another layer of collecting for collectors. It's 100% a good idea. As long as it's an evergreen feature that is built on and maintained in subsequent expansions.

no no no you see WoW is super duper unique and housing just cant happen in any way shape or form

its not like WoW clones like runes of magic had player housing since 2007

[ChairmanKaga]

Lich? or what kind of class checks these boxes for you? since in my imagination it was always class idea with lowest chance of being possibly added to the game, to drain that WotLK nostalgy if there any left.

Yeah I have no idea I just thought the runic language controls things and all the geometric spell effects could lend itself to something new.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Agreed. Housing is one of those features that has a massive up front cost, but afterwards is largely maintainable through simply making & adding new objects you may well be using in the world anyhow. It would give a ton of new collectible items to the game which aren't simply Mounts/Pets/Transmog/Toys, which means new rewards to incentivize content that isn't related to player power, something WoW really could use more of.

It's not even that massive. You need an intern/script to churn out items for already existing assets, an engine dev to write you the DB integration/framework and one designer that looks over it to make the recipes. Maybe someone to make a "pretty" UI if you want more than vehicle controls, though you could probably repurpose parts of the transmog/char creation screen. The absolutely biggest part is already there, the art assets.

Edit: Alas, I still stand with my last statement in my sig, the WoW playerbase doesn't deserve housing.

[AngerFork]

It's not even that massive. You need an intern/script to churn out items for already existing assets, an engine dev to write you the DB integration/framework and one designer that looks over it to make the recipes. Maybe someone to make a "pretty" UI if you want more than vehicle controls, though you could probably repurpose parts of the transmog/char creation screen. The absolutely biggest part is already there, the art assets.

Edit: Alas, I still stand with my last statement in my sig, the WoW playerbase doesn't deserve housing.

Don't forget about the building tool, in essence how you set down the items in the place/setup you want. The UI can do some of that, but especially to make it WoW level you'll probably want something a little more flexible a la FFXIV's setup. You'll also need a server engineer as there will be a lot of people using these houses (though this isn't as necessary if instanced). You'll also need a couple of designers to figure out how/where to set up housing/portals for entry. But yeah, the main hurdle is the art assets & those are largely already in place.

FWIW, I do think the player base does deserve housing if they want it.

[Sharby]

Instanced player-housing = dead overworld.



Non-instanced housing = terrible system for a majority of people aka FFXIV style.



I just don't see it being worth it unless we want cities to be ghosttowns. They would have to add something valuable that only cities offer, kinda like XIV does with the glamor dresser. But then that would leave houses feeling incomplete as they don't fufill every purpose, which would mean people would just flock back to cities and housing districts would be ghosttowns instead, just like XIV.

[Revamp Man]

Instanced player-housing = dead overworld.



Non-instanced housing = terrible system for a majority of people aka FFXIV style.



I just don't see it being worth it unless we want cities to be ghosttowns. They would have to add something valuable that only cities offer, kinda like XIV does with the glamor dresser. But then that would leave houses feeling incomplete as they don't fufill every purpose, which would mean people would just flock back to cities and housing districts would be ghosttowns instead, just like XIV.

Runes of magic style
one place to access it like the garrison
cosmetic stuff in it only

boom

[KayRule]

Instanced player-housing = dead overworld.

This already happens without player housing.

[Varolyn]

I would be ok with Player Housing but I would just be nervous that Blizz would half ass it and we would end up with Garrison’s 2.0. At the bear minimum we should at least be able to choose our location for our house (which actually was intended for garrisons) for some sense of individuality. Otherwise I would rather them just do class halls again.

[Shadochi]

Epilogue: Judgement tomorrow!

Even if we know her fate I am still excited for this as its a questline we didn't get to see earlier... tbh just furthers the point that they should test less on PTR or mask it like its a test of something else/out of context if they need to test something specifically for some quests.

They should really step away from the almost everything on PTR model

[Zulggun]

This already happens without player housing.

Then why encourage it even more? Blizz should revamp the cities, make them more interesting, give them purpose, give reason to see people. Not spread the population even more.

[Wangming]

This already happens without player housing.

This. If only you could have interesting open-world content as well as instanced housing. Such a conundrum. Oh how convenient would it be if there were an immensely popular chinese mobile game to rip off.

[KayRule]

This. If only you could have interesting open-world content as well as instanced housing. Such a conundrum. Oh how convenient would it be if there were an immensely popular chinese mobile game to rip off.

Yeah, there is a way to do it.

I just think people saying it shouldn't be done because it would "kill the overworld", something that's been dead for over a decade is a joke.

[Shadochi]

IMO best to do for player housing is make it phased like Garrison.

But it needs to be phased or instanced otherwise a lot of players will not be able to get it if there is a limited number of plots in the world that aren't phased or instanced.
And have it like original idea for garrisons where there are plots in every zone. And then if you have it in that zone or are visiting someone who has have that area phase you

Guild halls imo would be better in capitals, phased, but they aren't really player housing.

[Sugani]

If Blizzard decides to go that route of course. Why wouldn't they? If we're talking world revamp, locations like Gadgetzan should be revamped to reflect what has occurred since the Cataclsym. Further, Goblins AND Worgens should be able to come home to both Kezan and Gilneas. It really makes perfect sense.

It's like poetry, it rhymes.

[Ophenia]

Then why encourage it even more? Blizz should revamp the cities, make them more interesting, give them purpose, give reason to see people. Not spread the population even more.

Player Housing is not supposed to come with all the services available in cities. Just keep the AH out of the Player Houses and most of the people you currently see in cities will remain only for that.

Adding Player Housing also doesn't prevent them from doing anything that would make cities more interesting. There could be a balance between cities and houses (as it exists in most games).

I'm playing Lost Ark here and there, and the Stronghold has unique features, but nowhere exhaustive enough that you'll never go to cities anymore. The game is extremely alive thanks to a clear split on what to do where (we'll see in the long run if that's due to LA being "new" here).

Overall that's all about balance. A cosmetic-only housing system takes time to develop for very narrow benefit as people will just never go there. But if there are utilities, you shouldn't put them all here otherwise they're never going out of their houses anymore.

[Wangming]

Yeah, there is a way to do it.

I just think people saying it shouldn't be done because it would "kill the overworld", something that's been dead for over a decade is a joke.

Me too. That's why I'm making fun of them. The thing is, even if player housing has fuck all functions besides an actual customizable space (as opposed to Garrisons with fixed spots and architecture) people will still do it. And it will keep them occupied longer than another dungeon or some mandatory bullshit system.

I know it isn't an MMO, but there is a reason why I brought up Genshin Impact. You have instanced housing, cities you need to regularly return to and open-world content that stays relevant from the first level to the last. It can be done.

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Overall that's all about balance. A cosmetic-only housing system takes time to develop for very narrow benefit as people will just never go there. But if there are utilities, you shouldn't put them all here otherwise they're never going out of their houses anymore.

I think you underestimate the power of cosmetics. People actually take time to pick faces and hair color for their wow characters even though it won't matter after they get their first helmet. Hell, people spend half an hour or more chiseling the faces of their Cyberpunk 2077 characters even though the game is in first-person mode and all you get is short glimpses in the mirror. If player housing can be customized, and every path and/or event adds new items, it will keep people content longer than any feature they've put in so far.

[KayRule]

Player Housing would also greatly help with them overhauling professions to actually be worth bothering with.

[Ophenia]

I think you underestimate the power of cosmetics. People actually take time to pick faces and hair color for their wow characters even though it won't matter after they get their first helmet. Hell, people spend half an hour or more chiseling the faces of their Cyberpunk 2077 characters even though the game is in first-person mode and all you get is short glimpses in the mirror. If player housing can be customized, and every path and/or event adds new items, it will keep people content longer than any feature they've put in so far.

I don't underestimate - I fully agree with you on that aspect. But it has, as you said in your last sentence, to come with regular updates with new customizations. Otherwise people will spend one week collecting all they can, build their cozy home, and never go there again if there isn't an uninterrupted stream of additions with new tables/curtains/windows/garden stuff/etc at every patch.

[Wangming]

Player Housing would also greatly help with them overhauling professions to actually be worth bothering with.

Oh, don't get me started on professions in WoW. Jesus, such a waste of potential.

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I don't underestimate - I fully agree with you on that aspect. But it has, as you said in your last sentence, to come with regular updates with new customizations. Otherwise people will spend one week collecting all they can, build their cozy home, and never go there again if there isn't an uninterrupted stream of additions with new tables/curtains/windows/garden stuff/etc at every patch.

Agreed. But this is true for any content, isn't it? Update it, or it gets boring. Like if you run the same dungeon for months it gets boring, so the new patch needs to add new dungeons. If you abandon a feature, it dies. That's the way for MMO content. It isn't unique to housing.

[Zulggun]

Player Housing is not supposed to come with all the services available in cities. Just keep the AH out of the Player Houses and most of the people you currently see in cities will remain only for that.

Adding Player Housing also doesn't prevent them from doing anything that would make cities more interesting. There could be a balance between cities and houses (as it exists in most games).

I'm playing Lost Ark here and there, and the Stronghold has unique features, but nowhere exhaustive enough that you'll never go to cities anymore. The game is extremely alive thanks to a clear split on what to do where (we'll see in the long run if that's due to LA being "new" here).

Overall that's all about balance. A cosmetic-only housing system takes time to develop for very narrow benefit as people will just never go there. But if there are utilities, you shouldn't put them all here otherwise they're never going out of their houses anymore.

I don't think Blizzard would be able to balance it or even make two at the same time. In the end, if I had to choose I'd much more prefer then to expand on open world and grouping modes than instanced 4 walls where I can look at chairs and table for hours.
Because otherwise what's more to that? Make it a farming simulator? Or cooking one? Is this WoW anymore?