Revised Player Housing Feedback

[Planehopper]

All,

Please provide any questions, constructive feedback, or suggestions on the revised housing system (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=77187) in this thread.

Thanks

[eternal night]

I took my time to read it and the costs and prices seem ok, I am very happy that this is getting implemented, great work.

[Lux]

Very well put together.

I don't know if it's possible to get doorbell scripts to work between different maps, but I can see use in allowing that if it is.

[Planehopper]

Very well put together.

I don't know if it's possible to get doorbell scripts to work between different maps, but I can see use in allowing that if it is.

Oh thats a good idea. Add a bell to ring to alert the inside. Thanks!

[renshouj]

To be honest I quite like it. No real complaints or even questions, everything is very clear and makes sense. A doorbell would be cool tho!

Guess its time for me to muster up some money, go on a few lootruns, and open up the toolset!

[KOPOJIbPAKOB]

I still think the bio requirement makes no sense. The spirit of it is proving the character exists for more than 4 months - it can be done through other means. For example, I have a character who was active for more than 4 months, and I was making forum posts that reflected his activity. Yet he has no bio, as I just never post those, so I must write a bio and wait 4 months after it's published. That's absurd.

[renshouj]

At first I thought it was absurd as well, when it was first introduced. But it has been more than 5 months since Player Housing was first introduced, with the promise that It'd likely expand. It's enough time to have posted something, in my eyes. Posting a journal doesn't need to have personal details of a character. Also bios don't need to be public, they can be privately sent and I'm sure that would count. The bio/journal I feel is a way to standardtize (sp?) the process, and 4 months fly by. I'd be okay with a reduction, but don't really see it as necessary.

[Hoihe]

At first I thought it was absurd as well, when it was first introduced. But it has been more than 5 months since Player Housing was first introduced, with the promise that It'd likely expand. It's enough time to have posted something, in my eyes. Posting a journal doesn't need to have personal details of a character. Also bios don't need to be public, they can be privately sent and I'm sure that would count. The bio/journal I feel is a way to standardtize (sp?) the process, and 4 months fly by. I'd be okay with a reduction, but don't really see it as necessary.

Pretty much all that's needed is a public record of "this character exists, and has been a thing continously for a while."

What content you use to prove that is, from what I understand, is irrelevant.

You could just post a bio describing physical appearance, then post songs every now and then as "current mood".

[Azroth]

A character must exist for at least four months. The timer starts when either a bio or journal is posted to the forums here

I have a question regarding this one.

What of a bio just passed into the DM Team? They don't support rewards, but I would assume they still support secret bio's. If they are at all still interested in reading others for plot hooks, etc.

I do wonder however, how keeping track at times of all that will be. I begin to question how easy or hard it may be keeping tabs on things in more than one location may be for some.

So I am not fully convinced it's a great idea, but- given that others have bio's sent to DM team over the years, and may or may not have posted anything publicly in the desired areas. It may seem those are at a disadvantage.

And since this is primary a dev thing and not a DM thing, they don't have full access and must then request a DM to check the file cabinet for them after before able to proceed.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

It's to possibly not burn up dev area design time with character concepts that might not be devoted to as there aren't guarantees.

[Planehopper]

Revised eligibility to state:

• Players who do not want to post a private bio may submit a bio to the DM team. Devs will confirm eligibility with the DM team by submission date.

[Planehopper]

I still think the bio requirement makes no sense. The spirit of it is proving the character exists for more than 4 months - it can be done through other means. For example, I have a character who was active for more than 4 months, and I was making forum posts that reflected his activity. Yet he has no bio, as I just never post those, so I must write a bio and wait 4 months after it's published. That's absurd.

Harsh.

In order to compromise here, we are going to do the following -

Starting today, Jan-25th through May-31, eligibility can be met by 1) showing a character has been active for four months via verified RP posts and 2) A publicly posted bio or privately submitted bio to the DM Team.

That will allow for those of you that have either put it off, avoided them publicly, or whatever else to still have a chance meet eligibility, while phasing in a more standardized check.

Beginning Jun-1st eligibility will ONLY be met by either a public bio or a confirmed private bio to the DM Team dated at least four months prior, so if you are planning on getting a house 4 months from now make sure your bio is submitted today!

Bios will remain a requirement, public or private, filling a similar role to a guild post required for guild eligibility. But we hope phasing them in will open these up a little sooner to some of you that have been hesitant to post something public in the past.

Thanks

[DaloLorn]

Pretty much all that's needed is a public record of "this character exists, and has been a thing continously for a while."

What content you use to prove that is, from what I understand, is irrelevant.

You could just post a bio describing physical appearance, then post songs every now and then as "current mood".

That has been my stance on it since the beginning, but PH has been quite insistent that it absolutely has to be bios. Posting links to RP posts related to the character is a no-go, with the exception of the compromise he's attempting now.

I still think the bio requirement makes no sense. The spirit of it is proving the character exists for more than 4 months - it can be done through other means. For example, I have a character who was active for more than 4 months, and I was making forum posts that reflected his activity. Yet he has no bio, as I just never post those, so I must write a bio and wait 4 months after it's published. That's absurd.

Harsh.

But not at all untrue.

[Steve]

A bio posted and/ or proof of player investment, is quite the minor requirement for such a gift as player housing possibilities.

Thank you Staffies for making this a part of the player experience on BGTSCC.

[DaloLorn]

A bio posted and/ or proof of player investment, is quite the minor requirement for such a gift as player housing possibilities.

Thank you Staffies for making this a part of the player experience on BGTSCC.

I think you'll find that all of the people who have complained about it so far (in this thread, at least) have complained about the limited implementation of said proof, not about the underlying principle. I agree with the principle; I just think the implementation is arbitrarily specific, and that there are plenty of characters who have had significant impacts on the game world without ever writing up a bio sufficient to become eligible for a house.

More comically, some of those characters (like all of mine) belong to players who have previously made other, less impactful characters eligible for that house. An even smaller subset of those characters (again, including all of mine ) belongs to players who have made tangible, lasting contributions to the server well beyond writing one forum bio.

In a sane system, either one of those factors should be sufficient for eligibility. Neither of them are.

Mind you, I don't have much of a horse in this race either way:

• Of all my characters, Ilhara was probably the most likely to want a house to unambiguously call her own, and she was perfectly willing to use her guild hall for this purpose. (That never really worked out, because Eilistraeen guilds seem to have longevity issues, and can't manage four consecutive months of play... but that does also mean she's getting too shelved to need a house, so it evens out.)
• Most of the others either weren't the householding types, or could easily have been said to have homes off-server. They just use inns and camps on-server, and use "I'm going home" as an excuse to get shelved.
• It's not like I'm actively playing anymore, considering I've emigrated to Ravenloft again due to my growing inability to find/create any RP in my timeslots.

As such, I'm mostly just adding my voice to the conversation to help anyone else who might be in my shoes... and as a preemptive measure in case I eventually wander back to BG again.