Another Housing Suggestion: A 3 Phase Release Plan

Gidorick

Leogon wrote: »

VamppireGhost wrote: »

or simply killing the owner and claiming his/her precious property and all the "Ill Gotten Gains" that came with it.

And turn housing into a non-stop gank fest? No thanks.

lol. nooo @Leogon . you misunderstand! I mean certain homes that have NPCs in them and those homes only become open for purchase once that NPC is dead... and that NPC would be dead forever to you.

ralonasan

Love your suggestion.

But... They're too busy horribly building and not fixing the rest of the game.

Don't hold your breath, friend.

Gidorick

Oh I'm not @ralonasan.... Take a look at my concept repository (link in my signature). If I held my breath for ZOS to implement any of my suggestions I would have died long ago from asphyxiation.

MornaBaine

Goldie wrote: »

I have actually found buildings that are not used in any quest in the game and are never visited. Each factions has 1 in their 3rd zone, and they are all nearly identical aside from location and building style.

Some of us have speculated that these places may be our future "guild housing".

Except that originally they said they were never going to do housing of any sort. So those mysterious buildings could not have originally been intended for that. The one off the coast of Tava's Blessing in Alik'r drives me freaking mad. I WANT TO GO IN THERE!!! ZOS what are these buildings for???? WHEN will we know?????

Enodoc

MornaBaine wrote: »

Goldie wrote: »

I have actually found buildings that are not used in any quest in the game and are never visited. Each factions has 1 in their 3rd zone, and they are all nearly identical aside from location and building style.

Some of us have speculated that these places may be our future "guild housing".

Except that originally they said they were never going to do housing of any sort. So those mysterious buildings could not have originally been intended for that. The one off the coast of Tava's Blessing in Alik'r drives me freaking mad. I WANT TO GO IN THERE!!! ZOS what are these buildings for???? WHEN will we know?????

Datamining shows that they were originally designed for the Thieves Guild content; whether that's still the plan or not though, I'm not sure.

Dubhliam

Wonderful post.
I like how detailed you got into it.

Also, THIS game has a nice housing system that is fairly similar to what you are suggesting.

Everybody gets an instanced home, and people can bid for houses in a "district" map or a few houses in normal maps.

Nylix

Your post is amazing. I've quoted a few things to expand upon your ideas.

"Every player would use the same door to access the space."
Yes, as long as that common door is a Housing District door, rather than the door to my house.

As for the entry to players without a house - make it a street with multiple NPCs who own various levels of houses : Ie, commoner, noble, etc. There could be several examples of each level - showing the different styles available. Conversation will introduce the NPCs owning these, the different types of housing available, and the players could tour their differences with a persuade. If players don't have that skill, they may be trusted entry based on the tally thing I write about below:

"I would personally prefer that the bulletin board offer a “quest” to the player to buy the house and the quest send the player to that particular town’s leader who then might give the player some tasks to perform for the town to prove they are worthy of being a citizen… but I recognize that might not be a popular concept."

I agree that some story quest should go into the acquiring of a residence, but would also say that there should be a tally of the currently existing quests you did for the NPCs of that town. This tally would determine your overall desire to be a part of the NPC community and the desire of the NPC community to have you there as a resident. This concept could also apply to the availability of purchasing larger homes. Ie, a commoner's home for one who finished all quests of the city vs. a noble's home for someone more well known, who finished all quests in a region. This links housing to our character's past and a part of the ESO world rather than "instanced area, box house and done."

"There could also be regression tasks that, if not done regularly, could cause the farm to decrease in yield level. The mine could require reinforcements, the clearing could require the removal of leaves, and the garden could require pulling of weeds."

That would be a lot of work for those of us who would not enjoy repeatables as much. I would make this optional at the cost of hiring a grounds keeper NPC. I wonder if it would be possible to design the NPC ourselves via character creation tools as well? This would be exciting! It would make the home more personal. Otherwise, at least have an option of this gardener NPC to be of any race for variety's sake, determined at random upon hiring. (No warpaint for gardeners, please.) I think this all could be another opportunity to make our homes our own.

My other thoughts:
The best part of Skyrim housing IMO are the community made mods that really focused on character identity. We definitely need to be able to have overall themes to our homes. Not just customization. What I mean by that is not just by money (Ie, home: noble, home: commoner, etc.) and not just by locations of race / region styled themes (Ie, home: Bosmer, home: Argonian, etc.) but also another level of customization that really says what our characters are all about.

We should definitely take advantage of the ability to add entire sections to our homes based on the guilds we belong to.
IE:

• Thieve's Guild: a trapdoor heist planning and treasure room with different levels of practice locks, maps, etc.
• Mages Guild: a portal stone that can move the character over to an extra dimensional small tower library with practice summoning circles, etc.
• Dark Brotherhood: a false wall opening to a sort of sacred room with an array of weapons, the tenets, practice attack dummies, poisonous plants that only grow in low light, etc.
  
  Each of these specific add-ons will reflect our achievements within the guilds we are part of. I would definitely recommend that these add-ons be acquired from the guilds after completion of their questlines, and be offered solely by an NPC within the guild. (No going to random npc in the housing district who isn't affiliated with the Thieve's Guild or Dark Brotherhood to build these rooms. If the NPC needs to be in the housing districts, please make them appear in common clothing, and have their dialogue reveal their association to our publicly unaccepted guilds for immersion purposes. This would not need apply to commonly accepted guilds like the Fighters Guild, or the Mages Guild.)
  
  Similarly, I would like to be able to hire bards as indoor housekeepers or the ability to hire a member of an NPC guild as guards. These two options would also give customization and could also be set up as short quests (Or longer quests!) We would find them in the appropriate locations.
  IE:
  • An old, wandering bard who wants to finally find a home to rest their weary knees. (longer version: Can't settle down until they find a way to retrieve the sentimental possessions of their youth: discarded/lost music scores, paintings, poetry, instrument, etc. Items then get added to your home.)
  • A relatively new thief who needs a safe house after messing up a heist that ran deeper than they knew. (longer version: The guild can't have his face leading authorities back to the guild. First, jail-break the new member. second, complete the heist to keep up the Thieve's Guild respect. Heist item then gets added to your home.)
  • An established assassin who wants a not so dreary place to live, but has no upstanding connections to society, as per their long-standing bounty. (longer version: strike every recorded description of this assassin from guard tower wanted tomes/posters/lists and assassinate those few who have happened to see their face.)
  The guard / homekeeper NPC shouldn't necessarily have full armor publicly declaring their belonging to the organization of course, but a selected emote array would be appropriate.
  IE:
  • Dagger playing for an assassin
  • Coin flipping for a thief
  • Fire summoning for a mage
  I would be especially pleased by the NPC guard's path utilizing the appropriate room addition on occasion after it has been attained.
  
  

nimander99

Wha Bam! @Gidorick in da house

Tipsy

Very nicely done Gidorick.
Earlier today,I was thinking about housing and how cool it would be if we'd also have the option to choose a house in a pocket realm of oblivion.

Meridia's colored rooms
Sheogorath's Asylums
Hircine's hunting grounds
or a house in the Hollow City

Oh it would be fun havin Sheaogorath on a visit now and then ^^ infact if you choose your home in his real he could give you weekly quests to subdue some of the mad neighbours