This is the original quote from the Game Informer website on player housing in TESO.

"Some things, like player housing, aren’t making the transition to an MMO because of the constraints inherent to an online game, but Zenimax Online is including everything that makes sense."

This whole statement is full of things that annoy me. First they say because of constraints inherent to an online game.... Really? Is this the excuse your really going for? I didnt see those constraints in EQ2. I didnt see them in any other MMOs that had player housing. In fact there are no inherent constraints with player housing in an online game. You made that up. Then they say they are including everything that makes sense. So that means player housing must not make sense. So the heroes of the realm are all homeless.... Yah that makes sense huh? Dont think so.

Listen... Housing is a part of TES. From Morrowind to Skyrim it became a part of the game. So taking that aspect of the game out just makes me wonder, what else are they going to sacrifice?

For the past few years game companies have been putting player housing on the farthest back burner or out right not including it. And it doesnt make sense. There are alot of people out there who want it. More then most people think. So what does player housing bring to a MMO? Well its not just a place to store your stuff. Here is a small list.

1) Money sink - These are always important. They help keep the economy stable. Well semi stable. You need money sinks.

2) Time sink - They help slow players down. Those that want to use it anyway. This means more time playing the game and hence longer sub time. Which means more money coming into the developer for other development. Trust me here, players will spend hours a day playing Barbie Dreamhouse. I have seen it and partaken in it myself. Its a mini game all its own.

3) Lower graphics - Its real simple. Look at Ogrimmar. This place can be a graphics nightmare with all the players running around, crafting, sitting and talking, etc. But if there was an instanced house those could go into it wouldnt be so bad. The big hub cities wouldnt look like an ant's nest.

These are just 3 benefits of player housing. And it wouldnt be game breaking to add it in. It wouldnt be something that would require a total rewrite of the game code. The only real argument is taking resources from the rest of the game development. But would it?

First look at the hero engine. The tools used for it are amazing to say the least. I have watched the videos and talked with developers using it. The tools can do alot more then most think. Secondly look at games where one guy adds in a ton of good content on his own in a short time and he isnt a developer. Now imagine a team of 10 experienced game developers with the hero engine toolset. How long and how much time would it take? Not as long as we would think.

Its real simple here. Instanced housing. So several people can click on the same doors and be taken to their respective house. There are going to be towns. In those towns there will be buildings that are just eye candy. Now set up those doors to be clickable. purchase and recurring rent fees. Smaller ones are cheaper then bigger ones. Next design the instanced rooms. Now you have that get the models ready for furniture and such. Make them craftable, quest rewards, loot drops, and NPC purchasable.

And there are so many ways to go about this. Have your houses in town but also add cabins out in the wilderness the more "hunter" minded of us could buy. Maybe a high fenced area with a cabin in the center. Clicking on the fence gate takes you into a small instanced area. There you can set up some hides outside. Place your crafting tools around there. Make it look all homey and what you would want. Maybe purchase upgrades that adds a small pond for fishing.

Ok its not simple. But its alot easier then you think and its not game breaking. Like I said its a time sink. That makes it worth its weight in gold. Even if just 10% of the people take advantage (and you know it would be far more then that) and you have 1 million subs that is 100k players that would be subbing longer thanks to that. Even if its just one month extra that is 1.5 million dollars added to the development of the game. Hey there is a couple of new dungeons right there or pay to more employees to fix some screw up in PVP.

Player housing is not some illegitimate step son you keep locked in a basemant. Its a good addition to any MMO and adds alot of benefits to the game world. More so then it takes away. If it did take away anything.

There is still time for the developers to add it. And trust me. If the bulk of their community stood up and said "WE WANT IT!" they would have to listen. And at the very least give a real reason why they chose not add it. Cause I willing to bet the real reason is "Well WoW was a success without it."

Thanks for your time

No, it's not simple. Not in the slightest.

I have my doubts that players would want instanced housing for a TES game.

I don't get the fascination with player housing personally. A bank vault works just fine in my opinion.

People are already not too happy with lore being altered, retconned, etc... I very much doubt those same people would be ok with potentially thousands of players lining up at the same building to enter their "house" in a TES game.

Show me the lore retconning. I mean players only know so much from the books in the games, etc. They don't know what happened in every year of every era.

The fact the capital of Valenwood doesnt walk anymore and the fact Bretons/Orcs and Nords/Argonians/ and Dunmer are working together.

Theres a lot more to it...

Yeah, player housing would be cool if they decided to add it. Would it be gamebreaking to add it? No. Would it be gamebreaking to not add it? No.

Personally, like Phaederuss said, I'd be perfectly happy with a bank vault type of thing to put any extra goodies that I don't want to carry around with me. Even in the single player games, I've never messed with houses. Why would I? My character is a travelling adventurer, he has no need for houses.

Now, if they were to give me an option to set up a camp, with a small tent and a campfire, that I could place out in the wilderness.....

I just dont see it when there are houses every 1 inch next to each other.

Or am I thinking too much?

My guess is the guys that, you know, make the game know more about the history and lore than you do. It's kind of like if you went up to Tolkien and told him that he messed up on the lore in The Return of the King or something. He'd tell you to GTFO.

Not really. TESO is being made by Zenimax Online Studios, and all the lore of the TES franchise belongs to Bethesda Game Studios.

Yea. I mean I've gotten a house here and there in Oblivion and Skyrim, but it's kind of a vanity thing that just doesn't interest me.

Players wouldnt be lining up... First if the server holds the traditional 3000 players do you think they would all be going into their houses and the exact same time? Second iif you had several doors in each town with the "player house" option the players would be spread out going into their houses. But you answered your first question as you said "potentially thousands of players" so even you can see its doable.

For those that just want a bank vault. Fine. Good on ya. But for those that want player housing it would be there. We are not talking about an integral ingrained into the storyline part of the game. We are talking a minigame, a time sink, money sink, and just something fun to do for those that want it. Akatosh forbid the game actually has something fun for some people....

Oi, total fail.

Also, keep in mind that Zenimax Online Studios rejected MK, the mastermind behind all the TES lore. So thats why the lore is in danger...

It'd be more like RA Salvatore writing a story in the LOTR universe, and he change a few things in the past that weren't really mentioned but just vaguely mentioned.

Zenimax isn't the ones who wrote the lore, even though they are in touch with the ones at Bethseda who did. It's entirely possible they could change something to fit (such as the capitol of Valenwood that has already been mentioned).

I highly doubt that people within the same company are just going to screw everything up just like that. They're not stupid. Do you have a source for them "rejecting MK"? Whatever that means.

They didn't, but they have all the access to the guys that did. They're all under the same umbrella, that is Zenimax.

MK=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/General:Michael_Kirkbride

He said it himself in the lore forums. I cannot find the post atm.

thinking too much.... If you take doors in eyecandy houses around a town it wouldnt be houses every 1 inch. I am not talking SWG player housing. You wouldnt "drop" a house where you wanted. You would go to a door in a town or a cabin out in the woods. Click on it and menu opens up offering you the option to rent the house. Smaller one house up to big mansion style homes if need be. Priced accordingly. Then when you wanted to enter your house you would just walk up to that same door and click on it.

If you wanted to visit a friend or whatever you just click the opposite button to get the menu to visit and a list of players that are currently residing there. Its quite simple.

This is also a segway into guildhalls and such as well. Most games, I have seen, that dont offer player housing never have true guild halls. Oh they say they want to add them. But they never do. Look at Blizzard. They have been saying they are going to add them since the game first came out. 3 expansions later and still no guild halls.

If you have larger mansion style homes also available then you have ready made guild halls. Just put in the code to change from a player house to a guild hall and everyone in the guild can come in automatically.

You missed the point.

If people are already unhappy with lore being retconned/altered, what kind of stance on "immersion" do you think they would take if you and I, along with three other people, all entered the same "house" with a dozen or more people coming in behind us or leaving as we come?