Here's how to do player housing

[kieraTM]

Could someone explain why the community (outside the general toxicity of this forum) seems to dislike player housing so much? Is it even true, or is it just the vocal minority here?

I don't play WoW anymore but I do play SWtOR and I absolutely love decorating my player housing. Decorations drop from all sorts of game activities and crafting, but most come from the in-game market. This kind of sucks because prices can be high but it supports the game which means the game keeps going. Player housing doesn't hurt anyone, it generates money for the company, it gives players a huge time/currency sink in-game, and encourages people to re-run old/obsolete content. It could also spawn competitions and be wonderful for RP players/guilds. It would also almost definitely make me, and hopefully others, return to the game.

So, what's the big deal? It can't just be 'dev time devoted to it detract from other aspects of the game' because that's just BS. The WoW team compared to SWtOR is massive, so surely a few people could work on this without detracting from the overall experience. People might not think the game NEEDS it but how can it hurt these people? If you don't want it, don't play it. How is it any different to something like Pet Battles? An activity I rarely ever played but didn't anger me it was in the game. I didn't go mental on the forums about it. Just move on or participate?

[VMSmith]

Could someone explain why the community (outside the general toxicity of this forum) seems to dislike player housing so much? Is it even true, or is it just the vocal minority here?

See my post right before yours.

It's not just a "vocal minority" here on MMOC, most WoW players adamantly do not want player housing. Because the game is not designed for people who want player housing.

Demands for player housing in WoW are as silly as demands for 40-man raids in Star Trek Online ... it's just not the game for it.

[Andonais]

Blizzard has said it's pretty much not possible and never gonna happen.

[kieraTM]

See my post right before yours.

It's not just a "vocal minority" here on MMOC, most WoW players adamantly do not want player housing. Because the game is not designed for people who want player housing.

Demands for player housing in WoW are as silly as demands for 40-man raids in Star Trek Online ... it's just not the game for it.

But can you explain why, other than 'people don't want it'? Surely something like a small, phased room like OP suggests would work?
The only really plausible arguments I could imagine would be that player housing would cause such a disruption or lag in major cities that it would affect the game for everyone, or that the dev time devoted would genuinely detract from other aspects, but as I said I find the latter reason to be very unlikely.
How exactly is the game 'not designed for it' when new areas, zones, dungeons, phases etc are added frequently and don't adversely affect the game? I have little knowledge of game developing so my post is speculation, but I'd imagine there must be a specifically compelling reason that would outweigh the benefits of including it as a reason to why it hasn't been implemented so far.

[ReleaseDay]

They should learn from TES0

[Biomega]

Could someone explain why the community (outside the general toxicity of this forum) seems to dislike player housing so much?

Three reasons, chiefly.

1. Garrisons - once bitten, twice shy. Garrisons created an expectation that was not (and could never have been) fulfilled; they were the "preview" of a customizable base system and failed spectacularly at it, so a lot of players are simply going no thanks, not again.

2. At the cost of a raid tier - the proverbial price to pay, many people are worried that this would be casual, non-power content that would nevertheless take resources (potentially quite a lot of them) away from "actual" content, i.e. content that gives player power. Following the old maxim of it gives power = it's mandatory & it gives no power = it doesn't exist, many people would rather they put that effort into something else.

3. Engine limitations - WoW's engine is old and clunky, and people are worried that while it may not be literally impossible to do housing well in WoW's old clunker, it would be so expensive that Blizzard would be more likely to just do a compromise and deliver some half-assed thing a la Garrisons. They'd rather have no housing than shit housing, and since chances are the engine is too old to make it easy to do housing well, they'd rather Blizzard not do housing at all than do it badly.

[Reinhart11]

I don't dislike player housing.

In my eyes stuff like more race and class specific customizations, race armor, less restrictions in transmog, race specific campaigns to build up characters and the story of these races as well as investing money into better writers for the game as well as a good rework of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms is more important than housing.

If housing is well implemented it could be great evergreen content though, no questions asked.

[BB8]

Could someone explain why the community (outside the general toxicity of this forum) seems to dislike player housing so much? Is it even true, or is it just the vocal minority here?

I don't play WoW anymore but I do play SWtOR and I absolutely love decorating my player housing. Decorations drop from all sorts of game activities and crafting, but most come from the in-game market. This kind of sucks because prices can be high but it supports the game which means the game keeps going. Player housing doesn't hurt anyone, it generates money for the company, it gives players a huge time/currency sink in-game, and encourages people to re-run old/obsolete content. It could also spawn competitions and be wonderful for RP players/guilds. It would also almost definitely make me, and hopefully others, return to the game.

So, what's the big deal? It can't just be 'dev time devoted to it detract from other aspects of the game' because that's just BS. The WoW team compared to SWtOR is massive, so surely a few people could work on this without detracting from the overall experience. People might not think the game NEEDS it but how can it hurt these people? If you don't want it, don't play it. How is it any different to something like Pet Battles? An activity I rarely ever played but didn't anger me it was in the game. I didn't go mental on the forums about it. Just move on or participate?

I think its the minor vocal minority, we will never know.
Personally I think player housing would be an extra to the game.
You can do it or not.
So I dont understand these mega anti's
I would love it.

[Shadowferal]

Garrisons and that damn mission table was a harsh lesson learned regarding the time wasted on shit that supposedly cost Blizzard paying subscribers.
I believe that "Player housing" would be just a pacifier for a small minority in what remains of the playerbase.

[Biomega]

Garrisons and that damn mission table was a harsh lesson learned regarding the time wasted on shit that supposedly cost Blizzard paying subscribers.

Mission table in particular blows my mind. Everyone hated it, and they kept on doing. BUT AT THE SAME TIME they also kept on reducing its importance more and more. It's like they were saying to us "we know nobody wants to do this, but uh... it's just something that we decided must be in the game, so... yeah".

One of the worst features they ever added. Remember ship missions in WoD? Yeaaaaah. What a fucking tragedy that was.

[Shadowferal]

My rewrite will find a far better use of General Nazgrim and Admiral Taylor...and fitting honorable fates than a mission table...(at least written a bit better than what followed later)

[Cosmic Janitor]

Mission table in particular blows my mind. Everyone hated it, and they kept on doing. BUT AT THE SAME TIME they also kept on reducing its importance more and more. It's like they were saying to us "we know nobody wants to do this, but uh... it's just something that we decided must be in the game, so... yeah".

One of the worst features they ever added. Remember ship missions in WoD? Yeaaaaah. What a fucking tragedy that was.

It wasn't just that they removed the importance, they also took out the depth of it in each subsequent iteration. In legion you could at least have a few of the troops still as bodyguard npcs, but they even removed that in bfa and in shadowlands it was just another grind, no more customization, no more items, no special features, just grinding exp and a harebrained minigame that required a simulator to maximize.

[Sableye]

Mission table in particular blows my mind. Everyone hated it, and they kept on doing. BUT AT THE SAME TIME they also kept on reducing its importance more and more. It's like they were saying to us "we know nobody wants to do this, but uh... it's just something that we decided must be in the game, so... yeah".

One of the worst features they ever added. Remember ship missions in WoD? Yeaaaaah. What a fucking tragedy that was.

blows my mind they brought it back for SL where it had literally zero point in existing lorewise or other. At least in Legion it was your forces being sent out, and in BFA it was raiding/scouting parties but SL it was just "Hey here's this thing you can unlock then passively make money, but also it costs a fortune in anima to actually run."

I guess it was just easy to impliment and filled out the covanent infrastructure

- - - Updated - - -

player housing in theory is like a place to hang up your cool sets of gear, see your trophies and RP a little

in practice it would be abandoned after 1 expansion and encourages players to silo themselves off

[Grinning Serpent]

WoW has been massively successful without it so to say they should focus heavily on it is misguided by personal wants.

WoW is fine without it and does not in any way need it. Go play those other games if you want housing.

It's fine without it, but it would be better with it, and it would drive additional revenue. The people that spend the most money in the cash shop? It ain't the raiders, dude... it's the transmog and housing addicts.

They're your revenue source.

[Mysterymask]

It's fine without it, but it would be better with it, and it would drive additional revenue. The people that spend the most money in the cash shop? It ain't the raiders, dude... it's the transmog and housing addicts.

They're your revenue source.

...except this community isn't exactly friendly towards that group

[Speedlance]

Only a tiny portion of people want housing in a game. Its a pointless niche system which isnt for adults.

[Biomega]

It's fine without it, but it would be better with it, and it would drive additional revenue. The people that spend the most money in the cash shop? It ain't the raiders, dude... it's the transmog and housing addicts.

They're your revenue source.

Housing would also be VERY expensive to make, though. WoW's engine is a dinosaur, and while it's not impossible to make housing work on it, doing it well would require so much tech work it would shoot the costs through the roof. They're likely not convinced they'd ever make back enough money to offset that cost.

[rrayy]

It's fine without it, but it would be better with it, and it would drive additional revenue. The people that spend the most money in the cash shop? It ain't the raiders, dude... it's the transmog and housing addicts.

They're your revenue source.

They don't put that stuff in the cash shop. The only thing in the cash shop are mounts and pets. There is nothing that would go in the cash shop that would be for player housing. ANd it won't make up for all the people leaving because their is now nothing to do as all resources were wasted on housing. IT doesn't not need housing and they need to focus on content that gets people adventuring, not sitting in their instances playing house.

- - - Updated - - -

Mission table in particular blows my mind. Everyone hated it, and they kept on doing. BUT AT THE SAME TIME they also kept on reducing its importance more and more. It's like they were saying to us "we know nobody wants to do this, but uh... it's just something that we decided must be in the game, so... yeah".

One of the worst features they ever added. Remember ship missions in WoD? Yeaaaaah. What a fucking tragedy that was.

Massive projection on your part. There were plenty of people who liked it well enough but just wished it wasn't mandatory. Stop acting like everyone has your opinion. They don't.

- - - Updated - - -

But can you explain why, other than 'people don't want it'? Surely something like a small, phased room like OP suggests would work?
The only really plausible arguments I could imagine would be that player housing would cause such a disruption or lag in major cities that it would affect the game for everyone, or that the dev time devoted would genuinely detract from other aspects, but as I said I find the latter reason to be very unlikely.

The latter reason is VERY likely. WoW has a budget. If you use most or all of the budget on housing, there is nothing left over for anything else. There are not the unlimited funds you think there are because the game still has to make money.

- - - Updated - - -

So, what's the big deal? It can't just be 'dev time devoted to it detract from other aspects of the game' because that's just BS. The WoW team compared to SWtOR is massive, so surely a few people could work on this without detracting from the overall experience.

It's called a budget. THe more of the budget you use for housing is the less you can use on anything else. That DOES detract from other aspects of the game. With all that they already do, you cannot sit athere and say they can add player housing while being able to do everything else as the budget stays the same.

[Biomega]

Massive projection on your part. There were plenty of people who liked it well enough but just wished it wasn't mandatory. Stop acting like everyone has your opinion. They don't.

Yeah, so many people liked it they made it less and less involved, less and less important, and finally abandoned it altogether. I can really feel the MASSIVE numbers of people crying out over the loss of that feature. Wailing crowds, everywhere.

I guess the only reason those legions of voices get drowned out is one massive, throbbing, unbelievably girthy projection.

[BrokenRavens]

Only a tiny portion of people want housing in a game. Its a pointless niche system which isnt for adults.

Imagine arguing what is and is not “for adults” in a video game.