[Caboozles]

One of the points of Korvara that has been contentious at times- some liking it, some disliking it- has been the lack of player housing.

I've considered myself a critic largely because I don't think people need to hide away in their private corners for RP and I (initially) believed it created healthier public RP.

But I think there's currently a bit of a conundrum where some people have access to these private quarters and others do not. Places like the Duke's or Don's Manors, Geladyne's Castle, etc. have given some people access to private quarters.

It has gone from public to private privilege, benefitting only the few.


I don't think the solution is inherently opening up a housing district so EVERYONE can have a house, but I think there need to be more 'empty houses' where people can spend an RP or two having some private RP that they'd do anyway in a different spot, or can claim for those whose RP involves office work or jobs, even if but temporary.

[Toffee]

I think a great example of this is Lavender's House (a building north of the Vale) getting past the filter by being advertised as a neutral meeting ground before becoming just a private player house. I don't know if it's gotten use besides the occasional gathering but it's wild how that made it through.

Using the space a place like that takes up and making it useable for some generic houses like the one that exists above the Azure Meteorite would be better.

[Sawrock]

I'd prefer player houses myself in such a way that actually ties with the economy of the world. Make at least one player-run inn per city so that renting rooms can be a thing, while there's limited actual player houses that the governments of each nation sells to players. Yes, this would cause money to funnel towards those who run nations, but hopefully that can be put towards crafting equipment, making supplies, etc.

With the expectation that having a house is something you need to be decently active for- not like a login timer like G6, but more just you can't be juggling alts upon alts to have a house in every country, and "losing" your house isn't the end of the world.

With a "public use" house that everyone can claim lies a problem- the Gertrude's House problem. Roleplaying a random house is yours gets extremely awkward when use is in high demand.

[Poruku]

This ties into an overall problem with korvara in my opinion where there's actually a ton of opaque, exclusive groups that barely interact with the outside world. The exclusive private housing is a part of this, along with the way private events are also a privilege for the few who are in those groups.

But personally I am generally an advocate in favor of private housing. If someone wants to rp making breakfast for their spouse or 14 hours of cuddle rp behind closed doors, I don't care. It's just that we don't have enough players so we have to force people to go outside and touch grass otherwise we would have not enough people in public.

So yeah it's fine, I like the increased public activity. But indeed this has turned into a problem where people still yearn for those private places, and a select few actually get it... It's not very fair. The overall demand is still there, yet most need to suck it up for the greater good. I always thought this was a bizarre solution to the perceived problem...

Either way, player housing is probably not coming back. Ok, fine. But a middle ground would be nice. Maybe apartments? An inn? Shared spaces?

Here's an idea. What if the asago house spaces in each city were one huge map and you cant get more z-levels? That way you can see everyone's houses. Less secluded. I also like saw's idea of keeping it to a select few public spaces that switch owners but can be customized

[WaifuApple]

Don't mind the idea of having certain unused spaces be turned into nameless houses so long as people don't go round sticking their names on them and respect that this is meant to provide people with a temporary space. All of the tents on the map - or most of them at least, barring ones spawned by EMs - have interiors that allow this, so a few houses on that front wouldn't be problematic. People would have to learn to share, and there's the possibility of one not always being available, but that's the only way I see it working without opening too much to the problems of private housing.

[Toffee]

Don't mind the idea of having certain unused spaces be turned into nameless houses so long as people don't go round sticking their names on them and respect that this is meant to provide people with a temporary space. All of the tents on the map - or most of them at least, barring ones spawned by EMs - have interiors that allow this, so a few houses on that front wouldn't be problematic. People would have to learn to share, and there's the possibility of one not always being available, but that's the only way I see it working without opening too much to the problems of private housing.

Something I forgot to mention about the aforementioned house is that not only was it slapped with a bunch of "this is my house" signs but also "you can't enter my house or else you'll trigger magic traps" signs which only reinforces the point. People claiming/getting their own personal, private spaces mapped and then barring it entirely from other people.
I'm not really sure a good solution. But it sure is something!

[caliaca]

Hi yes

I was talking to Cabs about this privately and despite being one of the people who benefitted from this in the past I'm in agreement with them. I suggested in our DMs to have 2 hours in each country, themed to fit the individual styles, that anyone can claim for a limited time with a sign outside to say its currently in use. Of course, this relies on a trust system, but I'd like to think we can give it a shot, and we're already doing it somewhat with the tent system.

[Trexmaster]

What problem are we preventing with barring private housing at this point?

Everyone is already secluded to their own corners as is, with a select few areas being designated public RP spots. All that has changed is, as the OP stated, a select few get access to these ordained private areas.

As Sawrock stated, shared locations for housing would be very awkward. Rooms, such as those typically found in inns or barracks, don't have this issue due to their general abundance, as it is rare you'd find every single room in the area in use at one time. Consistency is more important for the sake of immersion when it comes to houses, as it takes one out of the scene having to explain why the house they're now using is somewhere else and looks much different.

I honestly think we might as well reintroduce housing districts to an extent and allow them to be governed by their respective nations. One of the issues G6 had is that player homes were not inherently attached to where they physically were. A G6 house could be anywhere in the universe. Or even outside the universe. Player homes were not strictly IC. Some were just event spaces. Some were entirely new locales outside the playable area.

For Korvara, player houses would actually be where they are, allowing them to create a sense of community in physically living near other characters. Player governments would have (more of) something to manage. Taxes could be paid on them. Money would see purpose. This of course could all be fluff but the point is it'd provide a lot to the life of the world. Then if you want to RP with those using their houses? You know where they are and can ask, as opposed to them being forced off client.

As far as I'm concerned the primary issue with player housing before was how detached they were from everything else at times. I believe better integrating them into the overall roleplay environment would alleviate the major concerns. Since you cannot tell me that the absence of player housing has curtailed anyone's desire for private roleplay at this stage of Korvara's lifespan. 

Everyone should have the opportunity to have a space they can truly call their own, not just a handful of people. If people want to socialize, they will socialize, and seek out interaction. If people do not want to socialize publicly, taking away the space they'd be in otherwise simply means they will not be on the client.

[Rendar]

I'm in agreement here, honestly. There's a lot of spaces that are "Oh, this is where my family farm is" (No shade to Drezdin. I'm using the Welsh Ranch as an example.)

This is a spot that he can RP at and call his own, does it have an internal map? Nope! But it's where his character has a homestead. Telegrad is the largest country by a fair bit, with miles-upon-miles of sprawling farmland, and dozens of smaller communities that aren't mapped out because "That's literally so ambitious that a lot of it wouldn't get used/seen whatsoever."

It's not really asking for much, considering how things go. There are hotspots of RP (Vale, Telegrad Gate, Meiaquar Venue, Geladyne Entrance) that people go to if they want social interactions, but if you're wanting to RP a scene privately with someone (Whether this just be domestic RP, or wanting a quiet place to go on a date or a semi-personal event line that doesnt really require an eventmin)?

You're just kind of told "Sucks to suck." and have to sit there playing pretend with it more than anything. God forbid if you use an area that is already mapped in game to help set the ambience for the encounter (Want a small cottage house for an RP? There's the one in the Tundra! But also if the owner finds you they'll attack you!)

It's.. just all around silly, and detracts from things. Being able to in-game make these maps and save them to a housing item or some such would be good. Maybe call it a Housing Ticket. Let the location(s) be more governed by the governments of that area.

[Lolzytripd]

What's worse in my opinion, is when someone obtains one of these coveted private houses then just ghosts the game for months