Hello Bioware/EA and SW:TOR community,

 

after watching videos of other mmos presenting their housing features, I have realized once again, how much I miss it here! It looks really interesting in Wildstar or ArcheAge.

 

So my question is, are you feeling the same? It would be interesting to know if the dev team from SW:TOR has something to say about this.

 

Greetings

Ship in SWTOR = House in any other MMO.

 

You get one for free for every character if you simply complete the intitial class storyline.

 

Now, if you want to discuss when ship customization is coming.... you will get a lot of interest from the community here.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Andryah

If im honest i wouldnt be shocked with all the stuff they are doing for quality of life. The wall of crazy hasnt been mentioned in a long time so they prob went look ea this is our plan for the future and ea went, meh what the hell fill your boots.

 

If they can think of something to charge us cc for they will prob do it.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Shingara

Ship in SWTOR = House in any other MMO.

 

You get one for free for every character if you simply complete the intitial class storyline.

 

Now, if you want to discuss when ship customization is coming.... you will get a lot of interest from the community here.

 

Actually, I support the idea of player housing. I do not live in my ship.

I'd love an in-depth player housing system to rival that of many other MMO's around. I enjoy the game for what it is but player housing brings an extra dimension imo.

 

Some engaging non-combat activity to partake in when Operations/WZ's/FP's and dailies grow tiresome.

 

It could take many forms but 'instanced player housing' would be one I'd support fervently.

Actually, I support the idea of player housing. I do not live in my ship.

 

You don't live in a house in an MMO either. Unless you are playing a virtual MMO within a virtual MMO.. and have a virtual basement, with virtual pizza and virtual Mountain Dew.. etc. etc.

 

Player ships in SWTOR serve many of the exact same functions and have many of the same features as personal houses do in other MMOs. They are portable.. which is unique.. they have no yards... and cannot currently be customized for looks and appearance.. but you can already put things like mail boxes, GTN terminals, target dummies.. in them. You can even dress your obnoxious droid up as a bulter if you want.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Andryah

Here we go again.

 

Instead of stating (again) why I think houses would cause more issues than they are worth to most players, I'm going to point something out about the player classes themselves.

 

Only the Sith Warrior and the Sith Inquisitor (and MAYBE the Imperial Agent) could be said to have the opportunity to have a house, conceptually speaking.

 

Jedi: They give up worldly goods, officially. They might live somewhere, but it'd be a communal thing at best. Even the knick-knacks they might pick up on the way would be subject to being given away in some fashion.

 

Smuggler: It's outright stated that their ship IS their home. They are wanderers, chasing the "horizon" (and credits). They might eventually settle down, but only after they retire. Maybe.

 

Trooper: I have to admit, I'm not sure about this one. I'd accept that it could be included with the Sith as something that might have a real home. Any Troopers, I'd appreciate your opinions.

 

Bounty Hunter: Same as the Smuggler, for pretty much the exact same reason.

 

Imperial Agent: Like I said, maybe. But since I get a distinct "Bond" vibe from the class, I suspect any 'homes' would be temporary at best.

 

Sith: Yes, I can see them with a stronghold of some kind, somewhere. Unlike the Jedi, personal possessions aren't frowned upon. It's also canonical, since there are Sith Lords with strongholds. You even break into a few

 

Overall, the player characters are pretty much on the move constantly. They might take breaks, but they don't "settle down". That's why Bioware considers the ship to be the player's 'house'. Would I like to be able to add decorations and furniture? Sure. Make letting friends aboard easier? Yes. Allow for those hologame tables to actually work as a minigame? Oh YES.

 

But an actual, separate house? More trouble than it's worth and it doesn't really fit the concepts used in the player characters.

 

EDIT: Also, in most other MMOs, there is one planet you live on. The only exception I can think of is SWG, and I believe most players would pick a "homeplanet" and stage to their adventures from there. That's not the case in SWTOR.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Uldihaa

@Uldihaa: I agree with everything you say. If they do anything about "player housing" they should just add customization to our ships. I would rather live in my ship anyway, then have a building I go to.

I'd rather have decorations for my ship than a house on a planet.

1. Create a character - Lord Smash-A-Lot (a Sith Warrior going Dark Side)

2. Level from 1-50, going all Dark Side and being a ***** about everything.

3. ???

4. Water flowers and decorate the fireplace?

 

Just a joke, but with the ships already serving as a "home" I dont think it would mix very well with the current content or context for that matter. Give us more options with our ship, sure. My wishlish includes a revamp of the space-combat/ship before an actual house/apartment feature.

I would think Ship decorating will be something like update 3.5 or 4.5. The big thing in the middle of the 3rd or 4th major expansion. I think we'll get a space upgrade before the housing upgrade.

Actually, I support the idea of player housing. I do not live in my ship.

 

Well I DO live on my ship and I'd love having some ship customization options and maybe an augment table and a jukebox in my ship too.

Well I DO live on my ship and I'd love having some ship customization options and maybe an augment table and a jukebox in my ship too.

 

Hear, hear. Those would be fine additions, as would the ability to actually name our ships and at least give the captain's cabin a makeover once in a while. I mean, sure, your ship is your place of business and some areas need to reflect that, but even a dashing smuggler likes a bit of luxury once in a while. And an elegant boudoir would be a near necessity for an agent, right?

We require player housing. It is settled.

I personally dont see the problem with both sides of the camp, some people want to live on there ship, some people want to live on land whilst others here would love guild space stations or ships. Here is the thing, everyone wants to customize there ship. And depending on what they are doing with the SSSP we could very well see ship jobs.

 

But when it comes to this aspect of gameplay IE extreme social both camps have merit, both camps have been downtrodden by the extreme thempark seen in wow and is followed like a religion by alot of players, dont cross that line or thou shall be damned lines coming thick and fast when ever uttered.

 

At the end of the day, we all pay subs, or those of us posting and as such we all invest in the game, we arnt in a democracy but we sure do all have our own opinions on what could be added to the game, its biowares job to priorities what goes in, not the other players.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Shingara

Here we go again.

 

Instead of stating (again) why I think houses would cause more issues than they are worth to most players, I'm going to point something out about the player classes themselves.

 

Only the Sith Warrior and the Sith Inquisitor (and MAYBE the Imperial Agent) could be said to have the opportunity to have a house, conceptually speaking.

 

Jedi: They give up worldly goods, officially. They might live somewhere, but it'd be a communal thing at best. Even the knick-knacks they might pick up on the way would be subject to being given away in some fashion.

 

Smuggler: It's outright stated that their ship IS their home. They are wanderers, chasing the "horizon" (and credits). They might eventually settle down, but only after they retire. Maybe.

 

Trooper: I have to admit, I'm not sure about this one. I'd accept that it could be included with the Sith as something that might have a real home. Any Troopers, I'd appreciate your opinions.

 

Bounty Hunter: Same as the Smuggler, for pretty much the exact same reason.

 

Imperial Agent: Like I said, maybe. But since I get a distinct "Bond" vibe from the class, I suspect any 'homes' would be temporary at best.

 

Sith: Yes, I can see them with a stronghold of some kind, somewhere. Unlike the Jedi, personal possessions aren't frowned upon. It's also canonical, since there are Sith Lords with strongholds. You even break into a few

 

Overall, the player characters are pretty much on the move constantly. They might take breaks, but they don't "settle down". That's why Bioware considers the ship to be the player's 'house'. Would I like to be able to add decorations and furniture? Sure. Make letting friends aboard easier? Yes. Allow for those hologame tables to actually work as a minigame? Oh YES.

 

But an actual, separate house? More trouble than it's worth and it doesn't really fit the concepts used in the player characters.

 

EDIT: Also, in most other MMOs, there is one planet you live on. The only exception I can think of is SWG, and I believe most players would pick a "homeplanet" and stage to their adventures from there. That's not the case in SWTOR.

 

 

I agree with that. After playing STO and ending up playing 3 hours of Dabo with most of my guild ,in the guild masters ship...was awesome! The fact friends can come on each others ships and wander round is cool and bet against each other was even better (if a little addictive). but saying that there isn't a "free fly" mode on SWTOR to say meet up and hop on a friends ship. it would have to be done like the ship is docked and you come aboard

I see no room for ship customizations

1) They have too distinct a style of themselves. As a result, any customizations will have to be class-specific to even remotely fit in. So, you will NEVER be able to customize your ship to your personal taste, unless it already matches your personal taste.

 

2) Ships are way too cramped. Especially the Bounty Hunter ship, but the same applies to most other ships. You simply won't find the airlock anymore if more junk gets added.

 

3) Cutscenes. About every corner of the ship is used for cutscenes at some point. Making parts just "disappear" for the cutscene will give a very weird result. "Hey, where did the table go? And I'm sure there was a comfy couch there instead of some crates! And why am I always standing behind this locker at the end of a cutscene? There goes my fleet travel again"

 

So ship customization? Sorry, but I don't see it happen in even the least acceptable manner. Some very minor pre-defined and pre-positioned customizing perhaps, similar to the captains' cabin in Mass Effect 2, but that's it.

 

For any customization that you could actually even call customization, I see instanced apartments as the best option. Simply an elevator door on some planets and/or spacestations, with the wellknown blue or red button, and maybe a popup to enter some number, leading to an instanced floor with one or more apartments on each floor. Throw in a loadingscreen, for all I care.

Apartments with just bare walls (preferably colorable), a window with a nice view fitting the planet or spacestation, and let the player him/her self fill it with furniture and stuff. Maybe even personal vendors where crafters can put things for sale. I'd actually even suggest to let the players place the walls within their apartments themselves. A wall can take lots of space to fill an apartment, while costing a minimal amount of resources.

 

Don't want an apartment and live on your ship? Fine, then don't rent an apartment.

You want customizable guildships instead? Great idea, but do tell who gets to do the customizing. Oh, right, only the guildmaster, right? That makes it an entirely unrelated suggestion, since the vast majority of players is a guildMEMBER at best, and thus still wouldn't have access to the customizing bit. Face it, you will not grant your latest member the privilege to paint the walls pink. So it's a great idea, but catering to only a very small minority of the population. Customizable Player Housing first, and THEN we'll discuss Customizable Guildships.

Aye... another player housing debate. This thing just keeps coming back. I wonder why that is...

 

I'm a supporter of player housing, just because I like to have my own "space". I know my ship counts as space, but I can only have three of my friends over at a time, because of stupid group restrictions.

 

I see the logic behind "jedi aren't allowed this" and "smugglers are always traveling" and bla bla bla, but it's my sub and it's my characters. I'll play them the way I want, not the way BioWare or anyone else thinks I should.

 

I'd be willing to give up on player housing thing, if I could have more than three guests on my ship.

 

All things said, though, I think guild ships/stations should be a higher priority. I can RP on my ship, and hang out there. Finding a free place for a guild event, on the other hand, can be a massive chore.

I see the logic behind "jedi aren't allowed this" and "smugglers are always traveling" and bla bla bla, but it's my sub and it's my characters. I'll play them the way I want, not the way BioWare or anyone else thinks I should.

 

Then by that logic....

 

SOME TIME LATER...

 

*lands TARDIS in Cybermen Earth*

 

Rose: Look! It's the Doctor! I knew he'd come back for me!

 

*Darth Moonshadow steps out of the TARDIS*

 

Actually, babe...it's the DARTH-ter.

 

DARTHTER WHO

 

COMING THIS FALL ON BBC 7

To clear this up, although I don't have the official quote, I know for a fact a few months ago they commented about housing on the forums.

 

 

Playerhousing (like SWG) is something that is currently not on their priority list. However if there ever comes a chance they feel necessary for the creation of Player Housing, Ships will get a dramatic customization feature update first.

Then by that logic....

 

SOME TIME LATER...

 

*lands TARDIS in Cybermen Earth*

 

Rose: Look! It's the Doctor! I knew he'd come back for me!

 

*Darth Moonshadow steps out of the TARDIS*

 

Actually, babe...it's the DARTH-ter.

 

DARTHTER WHO

 

COMING THIS FALL ON BBC 7

 

So...your logic is "A jedi with an apartment on Coruscant" equates "Sith with a TARDIS" .

 

I'll vocalise your argument. "If we allow people to break character and have housing, then that will lead to extreme foolishness"

 

Three responses to that.

 

1: So? Don't play with them.

2: Anyone that stupid is probably going to be just as stupid with or without housing. So you end up accomplishing nothing.

3: If your going to be afraid of potential changes, just because of the most extreme possible outcome, then you're going to breed stagnation.

Actually, I support the idea of player housing. I do not live in my ship.

 

By the way the storylines go, your character does live in their ship!

 

That said, it be nice for my companions to have their own rooms and thus new ships!

Hey ISDcaptain,

 

I forwarded this along to our Lead Designer, Damion Schubert, and this is our current statement on Player Housing:

 

“We’re not saying never, but it’s not on our immediate roadmap. If we were to expand on this in some direction, we would first focus on improving the degree that players can customize their ship interiors, but even that feature is a ways down the road.”

 

 

From an older Player Housing post few months old.

Ship customization would be nice. But house... nope. Normandy > Anderson's house.

If Bioware can't raise the quest log from 25 to 35 or 50 quests because doing so will cause server lag and issues for players, then I don't see player housing being implemented any time soon.

 

I don't care for player housing, I wouldn't partake if offered, but think of the money they could make on the CM. 250 CC for a couch, 175 for a table/lamp combo. 1700 for a wardrobe to keep old gear.

 

Of course, EA being who they are, virtually nothing would drop in game to decorate your house with. It would all be purchased on the CM.