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#### Thoughts about the new housing system?

i know it's a bit late for such a discussion, but i have been away from glitch for some time. i'm excited about the amazing new changes that TS has been working hard to implement, but i'm going to throw this out here for discussion.
am i the only one who feels that the new housing system takes away from how special it is to own a particular housing type? the charm of a cottage or a bog house, the grandeur of a mansion, and the cosiness of an apartment will all be gone in the future..
same with how i had to give up a crop garden, or having any trees except for an egg plant for my own firefly swarm and herb garden. again, this decision will not be present.
also, how will addresses work in the future? from the customisation that we're allowed, would it be possible to go from say, a brown damp bog street, and emerge into a sunny groddle meadow (or on the moon for that matter)? that sort of takes away the significance of where you live.
all these takes away a little bit of charm from the game (for me at least). what do you guys think? i apologise if any of these were covered before sometime when i wasn't around, or if i misunderstood anything.

Posted 8 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink

### Replies

- it keeps the rain off...well, if it rained. its a place for your stuff.
  Posted 8 months ago by ☣ elf ☣ | Permalink
- I agree that we've lost the feeling of regions and neighborhoods, the "placiness" that was special to many of us. We'll just have to hope that new ways of playing will emerge that will provide compensation for that.
  Posted 8 months ago by Pascale | Permalink
- I agree with Pascale above.
  It was fun going to different regions , and their quarters- to truly feel like you "went" somewhere in Ur. The variety was fun and a change of pace. I too hope something will emerge to compensate ...
  Although I will say there is variety in players home streets- if you travel about- but it's a bit jarring, to me anyway , to go from a dark cavey street , jump a sign- then get jarred by a super bright groddle meadow style street. ....: /
  Posted 8 months ago by serenitycat | Permalink
- I am in particular very much against the development that is possible on your so-called "personal street". I think it is a rejection of Ur itself and a slap in the face of all the talented artists and level builders who have put together such a beautiful world. I went on a gas run to Kalavana recently and it was wonderful - the bottle trees, the varied landscape, the plants, cliffs, bogs, underground areas - everything. Instead, some people would have us substitute a limited linear uninspired and uncoordinated set of 'home streets' containing gas trees. Click on sign - look at crap in yard - dodge it all to get to gas tree - run back to sign - repeat. The background and house can change in a limited way, but it doesn't compare at all to the beauty and carefully created variety that you'll find in *real* Ur. I wish the function of these streets would be limited to dropping items you no longer want so others could pick them up. No plots, no trees, no rocks, nothing else. It's bad enough that we're playing Glitch and not getting out in the the real world, now in Glitch we're not even getting out into the virtual world!
  Posted 8 months ago by WalruZ | Permalink
- I think the new housing system is wonderful. I often wondered when we were in the first beta, what happens to all the housing tracks that have people's houses that don't play anymore? You really don't have neighbors once their gone and you're on an empty street.
  I was lucky to still have a neighbor left on my street. Basically, it was just me and her.
  So what's the point of that? Empty neighborhoods? Makes no sense. The world would eventually just be flooded with housing track signs yet most of the players would never really be active.
  Giving us choices in our yards cuts down on the making of 2nd accounts. I know tons of you went and made 2nd accounts once the tinkering came out so that you could have an herb garden. Now that's just ridiculous. There is no reason for us to play the game in that way. This isn't Yoville!
  No more waiting around for a house to become available only to get all your items ready to move and have it be sold before you can even buy it.
  Perhaps someday we will be able to "place" our house in a certain part of the world but it cannot be like the old housing system or there will be empty hoods all over the place.
  Everyone keeps saying how the new housing will keep people out of the world. I don't know about you but I've been in the world a lot the past few days and I haven't seen this many people running around since the game first went live. So I think no people running around the world is bologna.
  Posted 8 months ago by Eye Wonder | Permalink
- i would personally like to see a sort of compromise. like, if you buy a house in the bog, you get a bog house. you get to change how the yard and the building looks, but they would be limited to a bog design. same with indoors, except that you can choose whatever sort of deco you want. the only thing that's limited would be say, the walls. these would still look boggy.
  serenitycat managed to put what i couldn't into words. i want to feel like when i go somewhere, i really did travel to a certain place, and not like i'm just loaded into a different screen.
  of course, what Eye Wonder brought up is a good point. i've always thought that it's far too easy to get a house in glitch, to the point that people who only stay for a couple of days can buy one, and then never log in again.
  maybe a sort of system can be put in place where you share neighbourhood streets, but not the static ones that are in place now?
  Posted 8 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink
- @Eye Wonder: I love the new concept too. Like you, I've seen more people online and Glitchens are everywhere!
  Posted 8 months ago by Echo | Permalink
- I agree with Eye. I think there won't be a problem with people getting out into Ur. I have not seen a lack of people in Ur. I have used the gas route, and I go to Kalavana and Jethimadh for gas. Both ways of getting resources have their places and don't detract from each other. The fact that there is a choice is beautiful within itself.
  Also, it is up to people to decide if they want to get out into Ur. If they want to pay exorbitant prices to get things so they don't have to wander out of their home street, then that's their prerogative. They will get what they need in a way that suits them best. There will be plenty of things out there that will urge people to get out (new animals are already going to be one thing).
  More is coming to the housing as well, so people will be able to make a more fully bog-like house in all aspects if they wish (like making the interior match the exterior better).
  It's another beautiful thing that players can use the wonderful art given in this game and create their own nook in the world with their own style, whether it is fluid or hodgepodge (how can one blame them for hodgepodginess when there are so many artistic styles to love?). I doubt the designers feel like it's a slap in the face when there is the whole world out there with their expert touches and the players are so eager to showcase the points of the world they love best.
  I will agree that losing that location sense of belonging is sad, but I think that this is all better overall.
  Posted 8 months ago by Little Miss Giggles | Permalink
- anyone knows how the new system will deal with addresses? it cannot possibly be /home all the way.. right?
  Posted 8 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink
- I second that question, SilvermaeL!
  and I agree with everyone who has been saying that they still get out into Ur - I do the routes when I need a quick fix, and go out into Ur other times. if people want a sense of "place" (which I totally understand; I love Kajuu), they could always create a "neighborhood" using signs that only point to others of the same kind of place. the housing is, bottom line, much more flexible now, and doesn't have to be used in a purely functional way.
  Posted 8 months ago by Slugbug | Permalink
- I liked the former 'placiness' as detailed above, but I like almost everything about the new housing. Only one thing more is not to my liking and that's because my old bog house, to me, was absolutely sublime in its rooty, curvaceous beauty. The new angular houses just don't excite me. I think, if truth be told, as a veteran bog-dweller I'd just as soon stay in my old house.
  Can't please everyone, though, and I'll do whatever there is to do in Glitch, and have fun.
  Posted 8 months ago by Osprey | Permalink
- They said that the interiors will be able to be more like the various ones that we saw in old housing, Osprey, so I wouldn't give up hope that you can have a curvy interior to go with a curvy exterior. :) We've got a lot more iceberg to see.
  Posted 8 months ago by Little Miss Giggles | Permalink
- I love the creativity we're finally afforded through the new homes - and I'd think the designers would be tickled to see how creative others have been with their designs. I love looking at the pictures of people's home interior designs. Here's hoping we get similar options with exterior designs. I have to agree it would be cool, if we had one jump out to Ur point from our homes, so we'd have 'place' in game...though I am curious to see how the direct home jumping and then direct jumping back into Ur from where we left is going to fully function after the transition/reset...I think there are some neat aspects to that as well.
  I am hoping that the 'group halls' will give each of us that sense of community/neighborhood when they finally get around to implementing those. Especially since so many of the neighborhoods in Ur became ghost towns...
  I'm waiting to see the full implementation until I make my decision about things. Agree things are too boxy, and not sectioned enough yet...but we're in the first two stages of test of this. They said it would get rolled out in stages, and there is more to come. I would like much more customization, but I'm waiting to see what else they have in store. Once they tell us that's it...if they haven't implemented the curvy rooms, the various options for balconies, basements, windows, etc...then I'll get concerned. Until then, I'm just going to enjoy the ride.
  I love that we have more options now...we can roam our friends' streets or we can gather in Ur. Just because we have home streets doesn't mean we're banned from Ur...and since that is all still there, this is just in addition to the wonders of Ur.
  Posted 8 months ago by b3achy | Permalink
- I've never been really all that interested in the new housing. It's a great job of giving us customization but it gets boring to me after five minutes.
  The whole home street resource routes thing is completely unappealing and I will never use them.
  I confess that I think Glitch is heading in the wrong direction. It's starting to look like other games now.
  The only reason I log in these days is to chat with my fellow Greeters.
  Posted 8 months ago by Piratice | Permalink
- I have to be honest - I really, really, REALLY (!) love the /home thing and truly hope the concept of being able to get to your house from anywhere sticks. For me it removes all the tedium of to-ing and fro-ing over the same streets repeatedly where I can't even pick anything up until the next game day. Now I am actually spending a lot more time getting out and about around Ur than I did before because I'm not wasting teleports to get home just to pick stuff up / tend the garden etc. I never spent so much time out in Ur before.
  Posted 8 months ago by geekybird | Permalink
- From the perspective of a relatively newer player (joined in the beginning of February), I love the new housing. In fact, I consider it a huge improvement from the old housing, as the old houses never had that much appeal for me. Perhaps it's because I had just bought the "old" house for a week or two before the new houses came out and I had not had much time to get attached to it. The neighborhood was always empty and there really wasn't much to do or decorate in the actual house either.
  On the other hand, with the new housing system, I've met a bunch of other people whether going down resource routes or just randomly wandering from street to street and seeing when I hit a dead end. As for the new background update which allow you to go from an enchanted forest to the moon to the spooky forest within a couple of streets, I don't mind the sudden switches at all; I love to see the diversity in how everyone designs their streets! :)
  Posted 8 months ago by Omnika | Permalink
- I think the housing update is a huge step in the right direction. People have been begging for more creative control in game, and now they have it. For those that don't like decorating, I think it would be nice to have a random auto-decorate button, similar to what we currently have for our house exteriors. That or allow key-holders to decorate so a friend or hired interior decorator could do the work.
  Posted 8 months ago by Shepherdmoon | Permalink
- I agree with both sides. I really miss the sense of place we had with the old houses; I felt like I lived somewhere. Now, I have a house, but it doesn't feel like living in it the same way. There is no "far from home" or "conveniently near my house," so I don't have a sense of traveling. I haven't only lost my sense of place at home, but in all of Ur, because it used to be all in relation to home.
  On the other hand, I love the customization of the new housing. Everyone is really creative in their designs, and there is a lot of room for expression. I am excited about the new features to come, and hope that Group Halls can be set in a specific place. That would solve most of my complaints since it has been said that homes will be able to connect to the halls.
  Posted 8 months ago by Fernstream | Permalink
- I still go all over Ur to get the resources I need. I still appreciate all the art that has been produced, and if anything, we're using even MORE of the art that has been produced by the very talented artists that work on this game. I will miss saying "I live in Kajuu, I live in Chakra Phool", but TS also has to do what's best for the greater good of the game. The housing blocks in one area stagnated whenever a new resource was introduced elsewhere. Having our housing in our Glitchen imaginations just makes more sense and makes the world more balanced. I'm sure that we will all adapt to the changes, and we will find new ways of being "from" somewhere soon enough.
  Besides, we still haven't seen all that TS has up its sleeve, I'm sure. We're in a period of transition, so sitting tight and grinding for XP is what I recommend for now. ;)
  Posted 8 months ago by Laerwen | Permalink
- +1 to sitting tight and being patient. There are Things To Come. Soon(tm).
  ETA that the "soon" is in good fun, and I think the devs are awesome, and usually on time anywho.
  Posted 8 months ago by Fernstream | Permalink
- It _is_ convenient to be able to get to your house from anywhere, but nevertheless, I prefer the old housing system. I chose my location with care, and I know my neighborhood -- where this or that vendor or shrine is located, where the good quoin spots are, shortcuts from here to there, etc. Even if I'm tired, I _like_ coming home to the neighborhood, walking back through the familiar streets, passing the personal landmarks that tell me I'm almost home.
  Also, for me these is no comparison between the new housing and my existing bog house. I live in a medium-size house with the big rocky backyard, and it's fabulous. The ledges! The hiding places for all my stuff! The ladders! It's so visually interesting -- way more so than the new housing, imho. And the old bog houses have a lovely, warm ambient light that I've not seen replicated in the new housing.
  (If you want to see what I mean, here's my current house -- Upper levels: lem.to/p/5nK7; Basement and yard: lem.to/p/ijeT)
  I, too, wish we had the option of foregoing the new system and retaining our old house. I would gladly give up the ability to expand, decorate and cultivate. Yes, it's fun to play around with that stuff (at least, at the moment, while it's all free), but I agree with the OP that much is being lost.
  Posted 8 months ago by Aldebaran | Permalink
- Maybe if we could only type /home when we were within a certain distance of a designated region (perhaps it would be determined by the background we chose, although the moon & rook forest would screw that up...)....anyway, minus those two which would need figured out, it would allow us to have the new homes but still feel like we have a placeness to live in same as the old homes.
  I like the new houses but I agree...it doesnt feel like travel or a sense of belonging when you click a signpost and are suddenly thru 5 different scenes or whatever..
  Edit to add: I'd also like to see us be able to somehow "design" in game additions to our house look, even if it was to change the colors within each design or copy/paste elements from outside Glitch using a linked url in a designated space on the house or whatever. Like if I want to place a tattoo design on my house, I copy one from the web and paste it onto the house via some method the devs create and BAM!, there it is. Glitch Ink on my house! Using ones that an artist made, no matter how much we love the great artist devs here, its cookie cutter & very Facebook game like or even any BFG or PlayFirst game where you achieve something and get to choose a new decor from select choices.
  Posted 8 months ago by Dagnabbit Rabbit | Permalink
- I'm not sure why some people want more restrictions. I have a home. It's in Chakra Phool. Know where my brand-new /home is? Chakra Phool. It's still my territory and my happy place and I can spend every minute of every game day there if I choose.
  Yes, I will miss my particular old bog home. I love it like crazy. But when I want to challenge myself with limitations on my gameplay, I can/will/do challenge myself. Woo woo freedom! I love both the concept and the execution of the new housing. I even have neighbors now. And I am losing nothing, except for the old house itself.
  Posted 8 months ago by Aleph Zero | Permalink
- Actually you live on Your Street, Aleph. The game tells you so every time you visit. Perhaps if the loading screen didnt say that constantly since we get it already, or said Your Street in Chakra Phool, based on background or home design or whatever, or even an arbitrary street address that does nothing but sound nice, perhaps a drop down screen of all former addresses so we can choose one, perhaps even our old address, it would be a happy fit for people who miss their region plus people who like the new home as is. We are just tossing around ideas regardless.
  Posted 8 months ago by Dagnabbit Rabbit | Permalink
- for those who like the idea of being able to get back home from anywhere, get teleport!! using tele to get back home feels like i magically transported myself from A to B. /home feels like i'm being loaded into a screen that's entirely separate from the bigger Ur.
  don't get me wrong, i'm absolutely stoked about the new deco options. but i, like what Fernstream described, just want to feel like i live somewhere. somewhere a real part of Ur, not just an arbitrary faceless (no Ur address) screen with my name on it.
  when i bought my shimla mirch home, i agonised over how near it would be to groddle, to my friends' places, to ix and uralia, whether i want herbs or crops, trees or fireflies and barnacles. the new system is going to take all that away.
  customisation is cool and all, but certain restrictions do provide a more concrete sense of the game world. it's like if you start a game with unlimited money and say, if i want a challenge, i can just not allow myself to spend more than a certain amount a day. doesn't work for me :/
  i wonder if TS can provide any input on how it's all going to work out?
  Posted 8 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink
- I think it will all make sense in the end :)
  Posted 8 months ago by stoot barfield | Permalink
- Yep.
  Posted 8 months ago by Rook | Permalink
- *agrees with stoot*
  Posted 8 months ago by Little Miss Giggles | Permalink
- ahhh stoot!! i guess that reply (vague though it is) means i have nothing to worry about. any chance of more details though?
  Posted 8 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink
- Feeling a bit isolated in my shack and will miss passing the time of day with my neighbour, Eyewonder.
  My /home is cute but has a lonely feeling and I am there as little as possible. I do like being able to pop back for things and drop things off easily without using teleport energy.
  The home streets take so long to load that I don't use the resource routes as it drives me bonkers, loading, loading, loading, harvest one tree, loading, loading, loading.
  looking forward to the making of the sense :)
  Posted 8 months ago by Miss Parsley | Permalink
- I think it will make sense too, and stoot, that comment for some reason is extremely reassuring.
  Posted 8 months ago by Fernstream | Permalink
- The new housing causes a tremendous amount of lag, and reloading doesn't help much; one trip between the house and the home street, and I'm lagging again. (By contrast, I can travel through multiple regions in the rest of the world without significant lag.)
  Posted 8 months ago by glum pudding | Permalink
- I liked my old house...but I LOVE my new one :)
  I'm thrilled with the new arrangements!
  Posted 8 months ago by Pickle Bob | Permalink
- ok, so the housing update is in progress. the new announcement doesn't give me much hope for any making of sense though. it seems like it'll be exactly the same as the preview we got, minus our old homes.
  i'll no longer live at Lowland Track. instead, i'll live at one of many generated streets, SilvermaeL's Home Street. the name is more personal, yet so much less a part of Ur.
  while i'll enjoy the greater customisation that comes with the new system, i feel that this is a step back for Glitch. a great deal of the social aspect is lost. you'll no longer meet new neighbours who just moved in, or see familiar faces when going home. neighbourhood associations will cease to exist.
  i think i found my biggest gripe. my home won't be in Ur anymore.
  i do hope there's something i missed, and that things will make sense. because it sure doesn't now.
  Posted 7 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink
- I love the new house. I go more places than ever.
  I don't want to think anymore.
  Thinking has given me a headache and cause crankiness with most of my friends.
  Just go with it. Why must every change be so hard?!
  Life is too short to stress game changes...
  You know what really pisses me off.
  NOTHING that has to do with glitch... ~.^ It is the real life b.s. that really makes a day go to crap.
  Posted 7 months ago by Thursday Soleil | Permalink
- SilvermaeL: in about 2-3 months it'll make more sense.
  Posted 7 months ago by stoot barfield | Permalink
- People: WALL SECTIONS.
  You can make ROOMS.
  ...
  Sorry.
  It's the little things sometimes!
  :D
  Posted 7 months ago by Joan Holloway | Permalink
- Can we actually make the rooms now, or do we just have the wall segments :P? I can't seem to get in game and check ;)
  Posted 7 months ago by Liza Throttlebottom | Permalink
- I never met my neighbors, anyway. I think many of the houses in my old quarter were owned by permanent absentees and I rarely even saw a glitch there. It didn't feel like a neighborhood, just a place. The quarter and the glitches who lived there weren't my "neighborhood", Salatu was, but only because I walked those streets when going to or leaving the anonymous cracker box I lived in.
  I feel more neighborly to the people on my street sign, because I go and visit their streets for harvesting and see what house they have chosen, what background they prefer, whether they leave things out for passersby to share, whether they have installed gardens on their street, etc. I like the new system.
  Posted 7 months ago by Filox | Permalink
- Well, I mean, considering the housing set up (as it was), wall sections is as good as close to rooms as we're going to get. I think. Though, I guess I don't really know how they'll work.
  I wish it was morning.
  :(
  Posted 7 months ago by Joan Holloway | Permalink
- stoot: oooh there's more planned for housing?
  Filox: yea, that's a problem with the old system. but with the new system, the customisable street signs mean everybody will simply choose their closest friends as neighbours. there's no sense of location anymore, no "hey, somebody moved in/out", or "my house is in salatu" anymore.
  i would prefer the old system, but somehow changed to solve the 'permanent absentees' problem. i'm hoping that's close to what stoot and the rest of TS have in mind!!
  Posted 7 months ago by Silvermael | Permalink