Housing placement issue

[Ysara]

Why are there hundreds and hundreds of houses all over the server but not hundreds and hundreds of people playing? I would find it hard to believe that all the houses placed are attached to accounts that are logging in regularly and actually playing on the shard. And are people allowed to have more then 1 house? I can't even find a place to put ONE 18x18. I've been looking for a few days now. I got desperate enough to place a classic built house cause they are really small. I really needed the storage. Living out of the bank just doesn't cut it after a while. lol

Not being able to place an 18x18 custom plot would be a deal breaker for me. I love building and decorating my house in UO. It's one of the reasons that keeps me coming back to the game. I would hate to leave the server because of that. I have made some friends here that I would like to continue playing with. I'm not sure what to do. If there is some list of house plots that are becoming available, I would really love to be able to have one.

If it's true that people are allowed to have more then one house I think that this is a huge mistake. There is just not enough room for everyone to do this. And also since there is no room to place houses on valid terrain it's pretty uncool to charge someone tokens for a staff member to place a house for them. It's not the players fault there we are being forced to go with houses on invalid terrain because all the others are taken. I just want to have one 18x18 to call my very own. Is that too much to ask?

If anyone has any advice I'm definitely willing to listen. Thanks for taking the time to read this!


Update edit: Thank you so much to everyone that replied whether you were against or for me. I truly appreciate all the time that you have given me. I was able to find a spot due to the help of the awesome Dreamstalker. She has been such a great help and a wonderful chat partner!

[Wil]

Why are there hundreds and hundreds of houses all over the server but not hundreds and hundreds of people playing?

http://www.uoex.net/codex/accounting

I can't even find a place to put ONE 18x18.

Search Malas and Magda thoroughly and you'll find spaces for everything except castles. And you might find space for a castle.

Regards,
Wil

[Ysara]

OMG, I forgot that those were added here even though they are staring right at me from the Malas teleport gate menu. rotfl Thank you soooo much for reminding me! If I find a spot you will be my new hero! <3

Wow I thought that the accounts were deleted after 3 months of activity? 6 months is just crazy. If someone hasn't logged in for 3 months without letting anyone know then it's a safe bet they aren't coming back. I wouldn't be surprised if the server hasn't lost a lot of people over this issue.

While running around I saw so many empty plots that are taking up space and I mean COMPLETELY empty. Like no storage or walls, nothing. I don't know why someone would want to take up something like that that they are not even using. They could let other people have it that are actually going to use it and get some enjoyment out of it. If the accounts are going to be kept for so very long then they should make a rule that if you take a large housing plot then you need to do something with your house or it will be given to someone else. That should keep the greedy, lazy people from just taking up space. (Literally) Just my 2 cents worth.

[Ysara]

@ Wil How long has it been since you have been to those zones? I've been running around for about 45 minutes now through each faucet Magda Luna, Mook, and Umbra and I am not seeing anything so far. Do you know which area on those maps that I should find the free spots?

[Ysara]

I just ran into 3 huge castles belonging to player endeR. All placed together taking up prime spots with no deco or anything in them. This is really unfair to the new players. I am getting seriously frustrated. I've been running around for hours now. I can't even play the game the way that I want because of this. Something really needs to be done about this. It is not good at all.

[Superduke]

I've never had issues placing an 18x18 tbh. Lately it's very well possible to find castle or keep spots as well. Houses fall regularly so just do you daily runs and it won't take long before you get your desired plot.

[Ysara]

@Superduke You must be like the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow or something then cause I sure have not had any luck and I've been actively looking for a few days now. Or maybe I need to borrow you as a good luck charm?!

It would be nice if we could start a list of players that need housing spots so that we can be notified (in order of account creation) when they become available. I don't care about taking the other person's stuff when their house falls so I would be fine if I was notified after it was all taken or had decayed. Thanks for the encouraging reply Superduke. I will keep searching but it's getting old really fast.

[Versales]

Placing an 18x18 shouldn't be that difficult, there is plenty space. That being said, there are several options open to you. You could place one smaller home and start using that for storage while you continue looking for an open space. You could also purchase a home from a player who has already placed one. You could find a spot you like on rough terrain, and pay the staff to place for you, (You said you didn't like this option.) Consider that if you were on OSI or a non customized shard you wouldn't even have this option, so I think it's pretty awesome that the staff is willing to do this. You could also post on the forums that you are looking to buy an 18x18. You could save your gold/ed and advertise that you are looking to buy two merged 18x18s.

I don't think that there is any problem with players owning as many homes as they wish, this adds to the shard not take away. Some homes here are simply magnificent and wouldn't be possible on regular shard rules. I recall +C saying once that allowing players to have as many plots as possible helps the shard economy. It gives the illusion of scarcity, thus people are willing to buy and trade for prime real estate. Granted there are a ton of empty plots sitting around, but some players use them as investments. Possibly one day there will be a shortage of housing and these players can cash in.

There might be shortage of house placements you can easily find, or want. However, that shouldn't be taken as a shortage of housing.

[Octavius Thorn]

When I first came to the shard I was discouraged by the massive empty ugly shoe boxes as well. I am neighbors with the player you mentioned what he has done is a crime against all uo decency lol But give it time you will find a nice place you may have to upgrade a few times and once you get the right place this shard has an endless supply of deco items and don't get me started on the addiction that is the yard wand.. oh and houses come up for sale all the time on the market forum

[Maze Scarlethart]

While running around I saw so many empty plots that are taking up space and I mean COMPLETELY empty. Like no storage or walls, nothing. I don't know why someone would want to take up something like that that they are not even using. They could let other people have it that are actually going to use it and get some enjoyment out of it. If the accounts are going to be kept for so very long then they should make a rule that if you take a large housing plot then you need to do something with your house or it will be given to someone else. That should keep the greedy, lazy people from just taking up space. (Literally) Just my 2 cents worth.

I know some people use those empty plots are placeholders so when the houses surrounding them drop they can take up the spaces and build a larger house.

Some people sell them.

Some of those plots may be in the process of being customized, since it costs gold each time you finalize your house some people may choose to just save the design in the customization menu until they have finished it to save the extra gold it would cost to finalize it multiple times.

And then there are people like myself and several others that I know who use their empty plot for deco contests. It would be kind of silly to redesign your main houses for a deco contest so we build our entries, leave it up until the contest is over and then just tear it down and wait for the next one to come around.

Good luck with your house hunting, I will PM you if I see anything open.

[Ysara]

@Versales Wow, I see everyone telling me that there are plenty of places for me to be able to place an 18x18, but not one reply has said exactly where one is. I would take the first one that came along. As I stated in my original message I did break down and get a crappy classic small house. As of now I finally found an 18x18 plot in the snow. It is definitely not somewhere I want to stay if I don't have to. I am stuck in the corner behind a castle that I am sure is not being used. The bright white snow is really hard on my eyes so I would prefer somewhere in the grass or desert.

Letting players have lots of houses is a very bad idea. The day that I have to pay someone for a spot of land that they didn't have to pay for will be the day I leave this server. Some people may be willing to do that but I am not. I think that the majority of people wouldn't be. I bet that even the people that are buying up the plot spots for investment purposes wouldn't pay extra to anyone else for that plot of land but they want to charge others. I think that it's an unfair mechanic. Just because the person got there first should not give them the upper hand.

Comparing this shard to OSI doesn't really work. We are all choosing not to play on OSI for our own reasons. I like to take advantage of the custom items and easier skill gains just to name a couple of reasons. Also comparing anything with the OSI housing especially doesn't work because OSI only allows 1 house per account. That means there is less of an overload of houses belonging to just 1 account. They don't need to have a staff place houses on invalid terrain because everyone has a fair chance at placing a house. Plus don't houses decay on OSI if you don't refresh them by opening the door? (Kinda wish that was in effect here.)

[GreenBar]

I can't even find a place to put ONE 18x18. I've been looking for a few days now... If anyone has any advice I'm definitely willing to listen. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

My advice is to keep looking and use your head. Think of where you're going to find the type of plot you want. I know of several dozen spots that fit 18x18 and are currently empty of a house. Know of over a dozen empty Keep sized spots. They're out there and in quantity.

Side by side 18x18, castle, and 2x2/Four Square 18x18 spots are the harder ones to find. I sell housing plots and don't bother with anything but these top 3 types. There are just too many of the rest freely available to even try to match players with them.

[Ysara]

@Octavius Thorn Thank you so much for your understanding! I am addicted to deco so I've already been there and done that. I think though that the yard wand is adding to the issue of others being able to place houses. I think some people are using them spitefully and putting rocks and hedges haphazardly around their houses so that no one can place a house near them. it's really sad that people play MMOs that are full of people yet they have no cooperation in their hearts.

Some people have made some really gorgeous houses and I love that BUT if they are not using them then they can be torn down and someone else can build something equally as gorgeous. I've already said what should happen with the "ugly shoe boxes" as you so aptly described them! If people were required to decorate then they would not be in for it. I've been playing on private UO servers for about 14 years now. So I have been down the path. lol I have never had this much issue placing a house.

@Maze Scarletheart Thank you for letting me know about the people having the houses saved for deco contests. You are right that it would be silly to redecorate your main house every time for a deco contest only to have to change it back afterwards. I think a good solution for this is to make a special area for people that want houses for this. There are some maps in the game that only admin can access. These can be set to allow player access and then you can go to town! This system would make it so that these extra "temporary" houses would not interfere with the players that actually want to "live" out of the houses they place. There is one spot especially that is huge. It's completely open with green grass. I can't remember what it's called. It's been years since I've done any UO server administration. Anyway, that area would be perfect!

Thank you both for your responses. I appreciate the feedback and the especially the players with understanding and encouraging words for me!

[Ysara]

@GreenBar So would you be willing to part with any of that knowledge or are you saying that I will have to pay extra for it?

@Maze Scarlethart Sorry hon, I forgot to say thank you for being willing to PM me if you find a good spot. This is so awesome of you! I really appreciate the extra time you are willing to give to me.

[Octavius Thorn]

also keep in mind that it is 2 houses per account and of course we are only allowed 1 account, getting a 3rd house slot comes at great expense so its not that players can just place endlessly extra slots are very expensive. Be patient youll find a great spot