First of all I'd like to say that this system should work as ADDITIONAL system not as replacement of the current one. Probably will looks an utopic idea, but would resolve a lot of problems.
1) an NPC sells the terrains at your choice:
- Grassland
- Wasteland
- Snowy Land
- Mountain Top
- Star Island
- Dungeon Area
- Graveyard Area
- Volcanic Area
Those terrains can be immediately available or some could also be unlocked as reward...
2) when you buy a terrain, you get a VIRTUAL place (instanced and outside the maps):
- by any character of your account you should be able to reach your home through your character context menu option "Go Home" that uses the same rules of recall.
- you can have only 1 terrain, and this terrain is reachable by any shard without transfer tokens (except siege and mugen).
NOTE: your character can't cross shards.
- the terrain has a default dimension of 48x48 tiles and is fully customizable
3) Customizing your house
- To design your home you need a special architect tool that puts you in customization mode (no more house sign).
With this tool you can also see all your terrain details (like the current house sign).
- In design mode the gump should be a bit different:
* Walls: shows every kind of walls available, then by selecting a wall you see just it (not every shape available) and with some arrows you can turn it or make it short or just add a window.
* Doors: same as the walls.
* Roofs: same as walls.
* Floor Tile: same as walls.
* Containers: this allows to place container without making it with a carpenter. Some arrows should be present like for the walls for turn it or raise/lower it.
* Decorations: like for containers here you have all the deco and fornitures items available in the game, some must be unlocked before use.
* Stairs: this allows you to build the stairs with any shape. Like for the walls you have each stair piece and it can be turned or raised with some arrows.
NOTE: there should be also this 2 options for the each customization part:
- Draw square: makes you select 2 points and then it draws a rectangle between them filled with the selected item type.
- Draw square (border only): makes you select 2 points and then it draws a square between them with the selected item type (not filled).
* Commit: once committed the house you pay the building tax (same price of the current system) then you can begin to build the house. In the architect tool you'll see the required materials to make your house.
The materials required are based on what kind of items you have used for your house and how big your house is. Basically you will need: granite, wood and iron.
The amount of resources required is based on your carpentry skill:
-0.5% every carpentry skill point (= -50% at 100 carpentry).
You get also a 10% discount if you have masonry.
You can deliver the resources by your architect tool: "Allocate Materials" then select the stack/commodity to use.
When you have allocated all the required materials the button "Build" should appear allowing the house to be created.
The house should not appears immediately, the building time should be 10 minutes per floor (50 minutes to build a 5 floors house).
If you just edit your house the materials and building time should vary based on the number of changed tiles (30 seconds per tile).
You can't access your house since while is building.
* Export Menu: this menu should alllows you to export your design in 4 different ways:
+ Export structure design: export the design of the structure without deco or containers in a deed.
+ Export structure and deco design: create a deed with the current structure design and deco.
+ Export finished structure design: export the design of the structure without deco or containers in a deed. This deed requires to be filled with all the materials before use.
+ Export finished structure and deco design: create a deed with the current structure design and deco. This deed requires to be filled with all the materials before use.
The success chance to export a design is based on the Architect skill and floors number. Each design requires 10 blank scrolls.
* Import Design: allows you to import an exported design.
NOTE: you can import any design, but you can't edit if you don't have the proper architect skill.
For example. If you have 0 architect and you import a 5 floor design, you can commit it, but you can't edit the design until you don't reach at least 110 skill.
4) Architect Skill
A new skill should be added in order to customize your terrain.
This skill should not be counted in the total skill cap so everyone can raise it.
Basically this skill set how big you can make your home:
- the customizable square square should be: 0.4 * Architect Skill (5 minimum).
So at 0 skill you can design house 5x5 top, at 120 skill 48x48 (whole area).
- the number of floors are also defined by this skill:
0-25 = 1 floor
25-50 = 2 floors
50-90 = 3 floors
90-110 = 4 floors
110-120 = 5 floors
To raise this skill you must export house designs.
5) Commissioned Designs
This is a system like the bulk order deeds: on each town you can speak to the town architect to get a "Commissioned Design" quest.
The quest requires a house design with certain specifics. Here is a list of the possible ones:
- The number of floor required is based on your architect skill.
- Structure ONLY: this quest requires a design for a home without forniture.
- Decorated Design: this quest requires a design for a home with structure and decorations.
- Corners number: the wall structure must have the specified number of corners.
- Specific forniture requirement: the design must contains the specified fornitures
- Specific wall style: the design must use only a specific kind of walls.
- Finished design: the design must be finished (with all the required materials).
The rewards:
The rewards of the "Committed Design" quest should be:
- Deco items project deed: unlock a decorative item for your customization tool.
- Wall style project deed: unlock a wall style for your customization tool.
- Roof style project deed: unlock a roof style for your customization tool.
- Stairs style project deed: unlock a stairs style for your customization tool.
- Door style project deed: unlock a door style for your customization tool.
- Floor style project deed: unlock a floor style for your customization tool.
- Architect Power Scrolls
- Bank Check
- Titles: "The Well-Known Architect", "The Famed Architect", "The Legendary Architect", "The Reknowned Arhitect"
When you reach 120 in architect skill, you should be able to use a new option in the architect tool: "Import Deco".
This option should allow you to import new deco items from items found around the world (like stealable artifacts). The item will be available as new deco in the customization tool, but the selected item is destroyed in the process.
I think that's all... basically I think this system should greatly improve the housing system, especially for the fact that you can access your house and items from any shard without continuous transfers.
Obviously to let friends/co-owners in this new house, they must have a rune that works until you still friend/co-owner. This should definitively fix the problem of public house unauthorized access/stealing
The current house system should also stay as it is, so it can be used for vendors and for siege/mugen where the new system is not available (for obvious reasons).
The deco/containers items into the customizing menu are just necessary so we can avoid to have a crafting skill just for making deco once in your life (by spending much more resources), and also allows to place deco items where you want without moving them into the moving crate everytime you customize your house.
Probably we will never see a system like this in UO, but as always I just like to share the idea
1) an NPC sells the terrains at your choice:
- Grassland
- Wasteland
- Snowy Land
- Mountain Top
- Star Island
- Dungeon Area
- Graveyard Area
- Volcanic Area
Those terrains can be immediately available or some could also be unlocked as reward...
2) when you buy a terrain, you get a VIRTUAL place (instanced and outside the maps):
- by any character of your account you should be able to reach your home through your character context menu option "Go Home" that uses the same rules of recall.
- you can have only 1 terrain, and this terrain is reachable by any shard without transfer tokens (except siege and mugen).
NOTE: your character can't cross shards.
- the terrain has a default dimension of 48x48 tiles and is fully customizable
3) Customizing your house
- To design your home you need a special architect tool that puts you in customization mode (no more house sign).
With this tool you can also see all your terrain details (like the current house sign).
- In design mode the gump should be a bit different:
* Walls: shows every kind of walls available, then by selecting a wall you see just it (not every shape available) and with some arrows you can turn it or make it short or just add a window.
* Doors: same as the walls.
* Roofs: same as walls.
* Floor Tile: same as walls.
* Containers: this allows to place container without making it with a carpenter. Some arrows should be present like for the walls for turn it or raise/lower it.
* Decorations: like for containers here you have all the deco and fornitures items available in the game, some must be unlocked before use.
* Stairs: this allows you to build the stairs with any shape. Like for the walls you have each stair piece and it can be turned or raised with some arrows.
NOTE: there should be also this 2 options for the each customization part:
- Draw square: makes you select 2 points and then it draws a rectangle between them filled with the selected item type.
- Draw square (border only): makes you select 2 points and then it draws a square between them with the selected item type (not filled).
* Commit: once committed the house you pay the building tax (same price of the current system) then you can begin to build the house. In the architect tool you'll see the required materials to make your house.
The materials required are based on what kind of items you have used for your house and how big your house is. Basically you will need: granite, wood and iron.
The amount of resources required is based on your carpentry skill:
-0.5% every carpentry skill point (= -50% at 100 carpentry).
You get also a 10% discount if you have masonry.
You can deliver the resources by your architect tool: "Allocate Materials" then select the stack/commodity to use.
When you have allocated all the required materials the button "Build" should appear allowing the house to be created.
The house should not appears immediately, the building time should be 10 minutes per floor (50 minutes to build a 5 floors house).
If you just edit your house the materials and building time should vary based on the number of changed tiles (30 seconds per tile).
You can't access your house since while is building.
* Export Menu: this menu should alllows you to export your design in 4 different ways:
+ Export structure design: export the design of the structure without deco or containers in a deed.
+ Export structure and deco design: create a deed with the current structure design and deco.
+ Export finished structure design: export the design of the structure without deco or containers in a deed. This deed requires to be filled with all the materials before use.
+ Export finished structure and deco design: create a deed with the current structure design and deco. This deed requires to be filled with all the materials before use.
The success chance to export a design is based on the Architect skill and floors number. Each design requires 10 blank scrolls.
* Import Design: allows you to import an exported design.
NOTE: you can import any design, but you can't edit if you don't have the proper architect skill.
For example. If you have 0 architect and you import a 5 floor design, you can commit it, but you can't edit the design until you don't reach at least 110 skill.
4) Architect Skill
A new skill should be added in order to customize your terrain.
This skill should not be counted in the total skill cap so everyone can raise it.
Basically this skill set how big you can make your home:
- the customizable square square should be: 0.4 * Architect Skill (5 minimum).
So at 0 skill you can design house 5x5 top, at 120 skill 48x48 (whole area).
- the number of floors are also defined by this skill:
0-25 = 1 floor
25-50 = 2 floors
50-90 = 3 floors
90-110 = 4 floors
110-120 = 5 floors
To raise this skill you must export house designs.
5) Commissioned Designs
This is a system like the bulk order deeds: on each town you can speak to the town architect to get a "Commissioned Design" quest.
The quest requires a house design with certain specifics. Here is a list of the possible ones:
- The number of floor required is based on your architect skill.
- Structure ONLY: this quest requires a design for a home without forniture.
- Decorated Design: this quest requires a design for a home with structure and decorations.
- Corners number: the wall structure must have the specified number of corners.
- Specific forniture requirement: the design must contains the specified fornitures
- Specific wall style: the design must use only a specific kind of walls.
- Finished design: the design must be finished (with all the required materials).
The rewards:
The rewards of the "Committed Design" quest should be:
- Deco items project deed: unlock a decorative item for your customization tool.
- Wall style project deed: unlock a wall style for your customization tool.
- Roof style project deed: unlock a roof style for your customization tool.
- Stairs style project deed: unlock a stairs style for your customization tool.
- Door style project deed: unlock a door style for your customization tool.
- Floor style project deed: unlock a floor style for your customization tool.
- Architect Power Scrolls
- Bank Check
- Titles: "The Well-Known Architect", "The Famed Architect", "The Legendary Architect", "The Reknowned Arhitect"
When you reach 120 in architect skill, you should be able to use a new option in the architect tool: "Import Deco".
This option should allow you to import new deco items from items found around the world (like stealable artifacts). The item will be available as new deco in the customization tool, but the selected item is destroyed in the process.
I think that's all... basically I think this system should greatly improve the housing system, especially for the fact that you can access your house and items from any shard without continuous transfers.
Obviously to let friends/co-owners in this new house, they must have a rune that works until you still friend/co-owner. This should definitively fix the problem of public house unauthorized access/stealing
The current house system should also stay as it is, so it can be used for vendors and for siege/mugen where the new system is not available (for obvious reasons).
The deco/containers items into the customizing menu are just necessary so we can avoid to have a crafting skill just for making deco once in your life (by spending much more resources), and also allows to place deco items where you want without moving them into the moving crate everytime you customize your house.
Probably we will never see a system like this in UO, but as always I just like to share the idea
