Article on Massively about housing... UO mentioned/referenced.

[Assia Penryn]

I found it an interesting read and was nice to see UO mentioned in modern news, even if it not all shining... it did make mention of it celebrating it's 17th year anniversary.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/09/19/working-as-intended-lessons-from-the-history-of-mmo-housing/

Enjoy.

 

[James Moriarty]

Since im now playing Archeage and this article covers both UO and Archeage it was a good read thanks

 

[Deraj]

A housing system is an incredibly smart gold sink for your MMO economy, and your MMO economy is something you should care about if you're building a sandbox with awesome housing. You can drain inflated currency from the wealthiest landholders through housing maintenance and taxes and ensure that your players aren't in the habit of claiming land for the claim's sake.

You heard the lady, make it happen Broadsword.

 

[James Moriarty]

You heard the lady, make it happen Broadsword.

as stated in the article it cant be done now in UO. If you add a gold tax to the game now, I have enough gold to pay for my castle for the next 10 years. Then I would stop paying my subs when I didn't want to play for any given amount of time. When I play other games as I am now with ArcheAge I would stop paying my monthly Subs to UO and let the gold tax payment cover my absence

 

[Deraj]

as stated in the article it cant be done now in UO. If you add a gold tax to the game now, I have enough gold to pay for my castle for the next 10 years. Then I would stop paying my subs when I didn't want to play for any given amount of time. When I play other games as I am now with ArcheAge I would stop paying my monthly Subs to UO and let the gold tax payment cover my absence

Were there a house tax, hypothetically speaking, it could scale based on house size and location. If your account is inactive then normal decay can apply as usual even if the house is well funded. Bear in mind that the purpose of this is to act as a gold sink. It can be combined with the current system without replacing it. With that said, I am neither advocating or condemning this idea. But it would be funny to see just how well it would go over on this forum.

 

[old gypsy]

Were there a house tax, hypothetically speaking, it could scale based on house size and location. If your account is inactive then normal decay can apply as usual even if the house is well funded. Bear in mind that the purpose of this is to act as a gold sink. It can be combined with the current system without replacing it. With that said, I am neither advocating or condemning this idea. But it would be funny to see just how well it would go over on this forum.

*shrugs* I'd just give the house away and spend the rest of my UO life traveling and camping. It's the gypsy in me, I guess...

 

[Peekay]

No mention of EVE Online, the true sandbox MMO. It even has a housing-esque format in regards to Player-Owned-Structures and Sovereignty.

 

[Tempest992001]

If they did house taxes or maint fees, I for one would be closing my accts and moving onto another game or just saving my money for real life stuff.

 

[kRUXCg7]

If they did house taxes or maint fees, I for one would be closing my accts and moving onto another game or just saving my money for real life stuff.

I agree. Stop that gold sink nonsense, it's too late anyway. Concentrate on making the game more fun instead. I don't see myself calling my aunt and uncle to tell them "Hey, look how much fun I have now playing UO - I am allowed to pay house taxes and maintenance fees!"
Once I am finished paying my house taxes - what's next - accounting as a skill? Armor refinement?
Sorry for the rant. But on some days I think back in the days at university accounting was more fun than current UO's armor refinement.