As I mentioned in my post “Remembering Habbo Hotel” on my personal blog “From the Desk of Sam”, I mentioned that one of my first online games was Habbo Hotel. While I have well and truly outgrown the service, I have been left with a small soft spot for player housing and the like. Provided they give ample customization tools and my friends list is large enough, they generally offer a fun place to chat and serve as a simple way to spend time without being interrupted by all the other joys of the game experience.
Following on from their Letter from the Producer Live Segment at this years Tokyo Game Show, the team at Square Enix have shared a sizable Q&A for a number of aspects in the game – one of which pertains to the upcoming Player Housing event. This Q&A has been included below:
Q. In the housing video, the exterior of each of the buildings changes, but are these all parts that can be swapped in and out?
A. Small, medium, and large houses will all have 5 basic types of houses to choose from. After that, you can change the color of the outside walls, door, windows, roof, roof material, chimney, weather vane, and fencing. For the inside, we’ve prepared a wide assortment of furniture items, as well as a number of furnishings with a very Final Fantasy feel to them. Naturally, the art team has designed each item to fit the setting of Eorzea. Giving players a chance to really live in Eorzea through housing, we look forward to showing players that FFXIV is about more than just fighting.
Q. Will the areas where we build houses be determined by Grand Company affiliation?
A. Not at all. You’ll be able to build a house in whichever housing area you like.
Q. How much will it cost to purchase land and a house?
A. I know you’re all dying to know, but unfortunately the pricing for small, medium sized, and large houses is still undecided. We understand this makes it difficult to save up for a house, but first we’d like to get more gil circulating in the market. We will finalize prices after taking a look at the economy just before patch 2.1. We apologize for making you wait until the very last minute.
Q. We know free company housing will come first, but when are you planning to introduce individual player housing?
A. We would like to introduce this as soon as possible, and will be monitoring server conditions along with your feedback as we decide on the proper timing.
Q. Please tell us what we can do with individual player housing. Can we set our minions to play around the house? Can we make greenhouses and fields?
A. Through updates, we’re planning to make it possible for players to grow gysahl greens and hatch baby chocobos and raise them. Also, we’re planning underground workshops where crafters can build boats and airships.
Q. Will anyone from the free company be able to arrange furniture in the house?
A. This will depend on the authority given to free company members.
Q. Will gil be the only way to purchase free company housing?
A. Our initial plan is for players to use gil. We will consider other methods as we monitor the economy on each server, but this is something we’d like to discuss thoroughly before reaching a decision.
Q. Will players have access to market boards, retainers, and NPC vendors from within the housing areas or their house?
A. We are planning to let players place shops similar to those you’d find in towns in their houses and hire NPCs to manage them. Also, it will be possible to setup stands outside of your house and hire free company retainers to sell items for you. The entire housing area is going to become one huge market.
Q. We understand that furniture can be crafted, but, will all crafter classes be able to get involved?
A. Culinarians, for example, will be able to cook dishes to adorn tables, gatherers will supply materials needed for crafting, and Disciples of War and Magic will find rare items from enemies used to make unique decorative items. There will be something for everyone to do.
[Source: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – The Lodestone]
Want to know more about what was discussed during the “Letter from the Producer Live” segments or just want a glimpse at other aspects discussed during the Q&A? Click HERE!
