Trasak said:@HemlockReaper
DDO did something like that where only levels 1-5 were available at launch. DDO was also even more buggy than Vanguard was at launch so I am not sure if it is a fair example to go by.
The max lvl when DDO released was 10.
Granted, you got ability upgrades 4 times per lvl to better represent D&D advancement in an mmo format since lvl 20 is basically max lvl before you go into epic levels. I always considered it to be similar to having lvl 40 on release the way they broke down each lvl into 4 parts.
The thing DDO did that I think would gather a lot of hype for Pantheon is: well before closed beta even started they released a publicly available character creation generator. It allowed people to go through the character creation process and fine tune how they wanted their characters. Nothing was saved. It just allowed people to plan ahead.
I know Pantheon isn't to the point of having a finished character generator (and maybe this wouldn't be as useful in Pantheon as it was in DDO because character creation options here are more limited). But I remember it causing a lot of hype and discussion about different builds and what people wanted to play. It was a great thing for the game.
Also, as someone who was in alpha for Vanguard and phase 1 closed beta for DDO, there were a ton more bugs in VG...not even close.
I'll play the game whether housing is in at launch or not. I DO like housing a lot, and therefore its eventual inclusion -or not- will undoubtedly influence how immersed I remain, long term. That appears to be true of many others. I'd prefer to see houses built with materials produced by crafters, rather than just buying a pre-existing structure. Different styles would be available and only a style that matches the architecture of the local city can be built in that neighborhood. No Ogre houses outside of Faerthale for example, only Elven. Thus preserving immersion while giving players numerous options.
My preference is for open world housing rather than instanced. One implementation that appeals to me would be to have housing neighborhoods planned for the outskirts of cities rather than out in the wilds. Large expanses of lowbie areas outside of cities will be useful at release and eventually become less populated as the game ages. Good 'urban planning' at the beginning of the game could leave plenty of areas to be 'developed' over the years, while keeping the vast wilderness areas wild.
If it's instanced housing, I will not partake, unless there is some huge storage benefit.
It's it's open world, I would probably partake after I've done most of my leveling and was reaching max level.
Usually, once I get up in levels, and will find more time between leveling sessions is when I tend to start tinking around with tradeskills, housing, and other alternate gameplay.
Fulton said:If it's instanced housing, I will not partake, unless there is some huge storage benefit.
It's it's open world, I would probably partake after I've done most of my leveling and was reaching max level.
Usually, once I get up in levels, and will find more time between leveling sessions is when I tend to start tinking around with tradeskills, housing, and other alternate gameplay.
I don't think you have to worry. If it comes to fruition as has been talked about it will be guild based housing. That we know. With how anti-instancing the team is, at the very least, I would expect the outside of the guild outposts to be open world.
Not only have the devs discussed it at least a few times but it is right there in the FAQ:
Housing isn’t currently a planned release feature. Doing housing properly is a big deal. We don’t want instanced housing or open world housing where urban sprawl takes up half the world and people can’t find a place to make their home. Post launch, we are looking at some ideas that affect gameplay such as Outposts that guilds could set up in areas appropriate to their level, and other players could visit their outpost. When they are done, kind of like the Wild West, you can pick up your wagon of stuff and move your Outpost. Again, this idea would be a post-launch feature.
I personally do not like housing because I feel it just draws people away from cities and communities and that is the opposite of what should be sought after. We do not need any reason for people to leave the hubs of the game to just hide in their single person domains. I want to see players having to go through cities for things, not just being able to port into and out of their little private studios.
I like the idea of Guild outpost having housing, but I also think areas chosen by the devs to fit the environment without causing clutter, such as a house by the lake, or a cabin in the woods, HemlockReaper’s Castle by the sea (.)(.) ect, could be considered Prime real estate that comes with a premium cost would be great as well other forms of housing, maybe A little bit of housing in cities, instanced for the slums and limited open world at premium rates.
I'm jumping into this thread late, but here's my take on instance v. non-instance housing..... Hybrid.
There should be instanced "apartment sytle" housing for those that aren't really interested in having a large house. The instanced housing should not have an associated upkeep cost. It should just be a few rooms in size, but multiple different styles and number of rooms, that resides at an inn or tennament style building. Each inn or tennament building should have a finite number of "apartments". When that one is full, you should have to go to another one to find your place to live. There should be the availability for this style of housing in even "small towns" like some of the ones that we have seen in the videos.
There should be non-instanced "house style" housing for those that want "something more". The non-instanced housing should have an associated upkeep cost as a money sink. This non-instanced housing should come in multiple sizes, but be limited as to where it is, and how many each town can have. There should be the availability for this style of housing in even "small towns" like some of the ones we have seen in the videos as well as "randomly" dotting the countryside, in designated areas, but not so many that it becomes an "eyesore". The ones out in the countryside should have a higher upkeep cost than the ones in the towns.
I will not include guild halls and what-not in this particular post, but they should also be a thing, both instanced and non-instanced, following similar rules to housing.
That's my two cp on the subject of housing.