Welcome Back to Britannia houses!

[In Flames]

When will these houses fall?

I'm still losing money because of them (over 1000$ all tallied up, and I just reupped two accounts). I really wish someone on the dev team would just drop by here and say something like "oh hey, we have a fix for that coming". Or maybe even "We're sorry about you this in game issue costing you extra money, where is this problem house located and we'll look into taking care of it".

Seriously. 5 minutes of your time (devs) is all I need. I've been paging for I can't remember how long (all to "sorry, we can't do jack for you, please email this issue" type responses). I've sent in an uncountable number of emails (and not a single response), and all I want is for one little, broken and buggy feature of the game fixed. Hell I'd settle for that single house removed. Granted I wont ask for that as other people may have the same issue.

 

[Blesh]

I don't understand how the back to brit houses are costing you RL cash?

 

[In Flames]

I don't understand how the back to brit houses are costing you RL cash?

Once upon a time I found a spot where I had to wait for two houses to fall to place a castle (did my homework, long unseen char, long unseen guilds etc), then along came WBTB, some guy (from the long dead guild) came back, we talked, he placed a house in the middle of them all, then, was never seen again. Since then, the houses I was waiting for in the first place have fallen. That WBTB house is still there as a naked plot. Staring at me, every day,

 

[Blesh]

I understand your frustration, however, if i learned anything during my time in UO, its that sometimes you have to cut your losses and move on.

I hope they fix it for you soon. ::huggles::

 

[In Flames]

Thanks, but after waiting so long if I decide to cut my losses, I will sell my accounts to recoup some of the loss, and move on.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

My plain, simple question is this: How do you know that house is not attached to an active account?

I've seen people sit months and years on an empty house plot, and you're fairly sure they're inactive, and then something happens in the area, and whammo, that plot is gone, and up comes a bigger house/keep/castle/whatever.

In short, I'm asking, "How do you know that person isn't just waiting for you to quit?"

 

[Experimental]

My plain, simple question is this: How do you know that house is not attached to an active account?

I've seen people sit months and years on an empty house plot, and you're fairly sure they're inactive, and then something happens in the area, and whammo, that plot is gone, and up comes a bigger house/keep/castle/whatever.

In short, I'm asking, "How do you know that person isn't just waiting for you to quit?"

Straight from the house owners mouth.. "I just came back for the promo" and a few days later he told both the OP and me that he's quitting and he hasn't been seen or heard from, even from his guildmates in around two years now. He doesn't post, he doesn't get on icq anymore and every avenue to contact him has failed.
I spoke to his old guildmaster several months after he told us he was quitting and he said he was also told the same thing from the householder and hasn't heard from him since.

 

[DarkVoid]

Straight from the house owners mouth.. "I just came back for the promo" and a few days later he told both the OP and me that he's quitting and he hasn't been seen or heard from, even from his guildmates in around two years now. He doesn't post, he doesn't get on icq anymore and every avenue to contact him has failed.
I spoke to his old guildmaster several months after he told us he was quitting and he said he was also told the same thing from the householder and hasn't heard from him since.

I think you shouldn't always trust that someone would actually and reliably cancel their accounts. To put it simply, he could've just put credit card details or loaded gametime on the account, left the plot to wait for either the credit card to go invalid or wait out the gametime put on the account, and has completely forgotten that they even had the account holding a plot there.

All you can do in this case is wait for the inevitable lucky break, when the account finally does go into a non-payment period that's long enough, house decay should kick in and decay the house. Until that happens, however, there is nothing you can do about the situation.

EA/Mythic certainly won't interfere with active accounts that are not in danger of being suspended for TOS violations, so all you can do is wait, not even Game Masters will interfere with other active accounts.

 

[Trevelyan]

I have about 3 or 4 houses, perhaps more, that are still around as a result of the return to britannia programs. At the time, however, it wasn't known that the houses would stay. I waited until they would start decaying so I could reactivate but they never did.

Now, things have changed, and I no longer have the money/gametime codes to reactivate accounts just like that. I don't store anything in them and all I would want are the lockdowns.



What I think would be a good idea is to make another return to britannia program (if the idea isnt already in the works). Allow everyone to grab their stuff off these houses and then start them decaying again once it is over. Plus, it gets me to look at some other accounts and characters to see if id like to reactivate some accounts permanantly!

The only issue? There may well be a lot of empty spots on shards... making UO look a lot less inhabited..

 

[Sarsmi]

I'm waiting on houses in three different spots now to be able to upgrade to castles. Only one of them is really painful, because I haven't ever seen the house owner and that house has been there for years. They have parrots though, so we're not talking like a decade of non-habitation, but ugh. I honestly think that house will be there forever.

FYI some houses are just on free, non paid for accounts. As in, that person worked for EA or even just knew someone at EA and never has to pay for their account. So when they stop playing their house will just last forever. And yes, I know of two houses that are in this situation because I know the people personally. I know it used to be true that GMs could play for free, as many accounts as they wanted. So if they get set up for free with billing it may just last forever and ever. Lotta houses out there that will just never drop.

 

[Babble]

I doubt they will fall soon.
Too much trouble for too little gain so I guess they just accept the few houses standing.

 

[Blesh]

Thanks, but after waiting so long if I decide to cut my losses, I will sell my accounts to recoup some of the loss, and move on.

I don't blame you. That's exactly what I did, however not for the same reasons.


Best of luck to you.

 

[Lorax_Pacific]

How do you know they didn't like coming back, but went to a different shard? Now maybe they have multiple houses across shards and are holding the spots by paying the monthly fee in case they decide to return to your shard. You don't see them because they didn't really like that shard vendor prices. At some other shard they are getting tons of power scrolls and stuff to later transfer. Or, hey they liked Siege and are holding a production house spot in case they decide differently.

There are so many hypothetical situations that you posting this is really just an assumption on your part. Move on...

-Lorax

 

[Ralco]

I still don't understand where this is costing you RL money.

 

[Lord Chaos]

I still don't understand where this is costing you RL money.

Its costing money to maintain the accounts to hold the housing spots.

 

[In Flames]

I think you shouldn't always trust that someone would actually and reliably cancel their accounts. To put it simply, he could've just put credit card details or loaded gametime on the account, left the plot to wait for either the credit card to go invalid or wait out the gametime put on the account, and has completely forgotten that they even had the account holding a plot there.

All you can do in this case is wait for the inevitable lucky break, when the account finally does go into a non-payment period that's long enough, house decay should kick in and decay the house. Until that happens, however, there is nothing you can do about the situation.

EA/Mythic certainly won't interfere with active accounts that are not in danger of being suspended for TOS violations, so all you can do is wait, not even Game Masters will interfere with other active accounts.

It wasn't a currently active player. He was just back for the promotion to see what had changed since he HAD quit.

He didn't quit then, he quit long before, checked it out, and just didn't come back.

So again, I will say, and hopefully for the last time, it is NOT on an active account.

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

Didn't you just make this same post like 2 or 3 weeks ago? It already has been said that they are aware of the problem and that they have been working on ways of fixing it. Making new posts over and over saying the exact same thing won't make them work any harder. Sucks that you have to have 2 houses holding the spot. If you don't want to wait then you can cut your losses and buy a castle somewhere else on the shard or you can close those accounts and re-open them when it gets near 90 days saving yourself some money. If you are keeping those accounts open and paying for them every month then most likely you are using them which means you are not wasting money paying for them but paying to use them which means not losing money. If you want to make sure thats the devs know you are frustrated then post in the ask the devs section every couple of weeks instead of here. At some point these posts about this same WBTB house should be considered spam or trolling.

 

[DarkVoid]

It wasn't a currently active player. He was just back for the promotion to see what had changed since he HAD quit.

He didn't quit then, he quit long before, checked it out, and just didn't come back.

So again, I will say, and hopefully for the last time, it is NOT on an active account.

How can you prove that without having access to the account holding the plot that you want gone? The short answer: You can't because you have no access to the account owning the plot, and therefore can't prove anything. If you did have access you'd have reactivated it and dropped it already yourself and wouldn't be ranting uselessly on about it here.

I say again, you don't have any proof that the player cancelled their account, and therefore have no expectation that the plot would drop. Stop ranting uselessly on things that you have no control over and move on with your life. Seriously, just keep an eye on it and something will happen eventually. If these really are bugged houses EA/Mythic will someday get around to fixing them and they will then drop, but until then all you can do is wait, complaining's not going to get it fixed any faster.

 

[Ezekiel Zane]

The problem is , sure he can't prove it's on an inactive account to you and I, but a GM or developer should surely be able to determine if the house is on an active or inactive account?

He believes the house is on an inactive account based upon speaking with this person when it was placed and the other circumstances at the time. If I recall correctly you don't have to enter any valid or updated payment information to log into an inactive account during the WBtB promotions. So the comments about a credit card or payment method expiring aren't relevant.

There are quite likely hundreds of these houses on each shard. I see no reason why GMs, couldn't at least attempt, to determine if a particular house is on an active account or not. It may not be easy and or quick to do but it's certainly got to be possible. The house does maintain account information not just character's. Get account name then check to see if it's paid for or not. If it hasn't been paid for in years then the house should be able to be deleted.

 

[hen]

Maybe the guy with the plot is trying to out-wait you so that HE can place a castle. Looks like he's wearing you down.

 

[Smoot]

I know ive "quit" for a few years, but let the account run. Alot of people do. Not even going to comment on the RL money thing, it shouldnt be an issue.

 

[wee papa smurf]

Reading over all these posts i still cant see how this is costing you RL cash?
If its because of accounts you had active to try and place a house there then thats just silly, i would of deactivated the accounts till the spot was available? Sure would not of let the cost run in to £1000's! (or $1000's for those overseas )

 

[Lord Chaos]

Reading over all these posts i still cant see how this is costing you RL cash?
If its because of accounts you had active to try and place a house there then thats just silly, i would of deactivated the accounts till the spot was available? Sure would not of let the cost run in to £1000's! (or $1000's for those overseas )

If he/she deactivated the accounts, then their placeholder houses would fall and the spots might be taken.

Either way, whether or not the person is actually paying or not, the houses belonging to accounts that aren't paying should drop, except special memorial buildings or blessed buildings.

 

[Rosalinda]

I can't see EA doing anything about these houses - the problem is, there's still PLENTY of house space on all shards altho, I grant you, not for castles. If they're on inactive accounts anyway, there's no financial incentive for EA to remove them, is there?

 

[Aran]

Nobody is stealing your money, losing you money, costing you money, or otherwise hurting you.... BUT YOU.

Move ON.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

I'm still losing money because of them (over 1000$ all tallied up, and I just reupped two accounts).

Sorry, but this is just so stupid that I am at a loss for words. I don't mean to insult you, but this sentence does not exactly prove your intelligence.

 

[Trevelyan]

You could, of course, always buy a castle

 

[jbfortune]

You do realise that you can only pay for accounts 1 month in 3 to hold a house right?

 

[maroite]

So you have extra accounts, to hold spots for a castle... and are complaining about a house not dropping after almost 4 years or so? ($1000 divide by 2 accounts is $500 divided by $13 is what roughly 4 years)

And now are talking about "cutting your losses" by quitting all together. lol

You could have probably bought a castle for 200$... rolleyes:

 

[Kafka72]

You do realise that you can only pay for accounts 1 month in 3 to hold a house right?

1 month in 4 technically speaking. After time runs out for the paid month the 90 day grace period kicks in so that'll get you roughly 120 days or 4 months per payment.

 

[ingsmsico]

bump

I know tons of these houses that are still standing on LS

Frankly, it is ridiculous. Nevermind the OP's silliness. These houses need to go.

 

[Lady Aalia]

I know how you feel... i have 2 houses like that right in my village...

I used to hold a little cabin in the hopes that one plot would fall last time they announced they would fix thoses houses, I sent in all the details.

Both of those houses have been there since at least 2005 when Yew was still a swamp since they are no longer placable today ( i checked on other shards)

One plot will fit a lg tower the cabin i had and the plot next to it. but after waiting for 3 years i sold the cabin 2 years ago...goood thing i did too.
Since both houses are still there.

I did all my homework too, owners cannot be found

 

[ingsmsico]

I did all my homework too, owners cannot be found

it's because the houses are placed by people who got an e-mail saying they could play for 1 week free. the probably logged on one time, placed the house and logged out and it has been sitting there since.

OR, as I did, I logged on about 15 old accounts and placed houses all over the place just because I could. I'm sure other people did this too.

I can't figure out why the Developer's are asleep on so many issues. there is a disconnect between what the reality is in-game and what they say and do. it has never made sense historically, and it doesn't make any sense today. it's like they don't even play the game.

they should have 1 day of the week where all they do is play UO all day.

 

[smip]

Once upon a time I found a spot where I had to wait for two houses to fall to place a castle (did my homework, long unseen char, long unseen guilds etc), then along came WBTB, some guy (from the long dead guild) came back, we talked, he placed a house in the middle of them all, then, was never seen again. Since then, the houses I was waiting for in the first place have fallen. That WBTB house is still there as a naked plot. Staring at me, every day,

Just because you have never seen him does not mean he still does not play. Boy, I wish that GM's can come along and delete all the houses where I would LOVE to place a castle myself... Geee.. let me try this... Page gm.. Please remove these houses or plots so I can place my castle.. after all, I'm loseing $1000 because these fools are takeing up MY spot.

Yeah.. that will really cut it eh?

 

[smip]

Maybe the guy with the plot is trying to out-wait you so that HE can place a castle. Looks like he's wearing you down.

LOL I did this on Lake Austin, Ice Island in Felucca. Took 3 years but the other guy's plot just dissipeared one day. I had 2 plots sitting there for that long. Waiting paid off. Spent a few years in that castle after that.

With that being said... I saw a post a while back that if you suspected a plot that was not active.. or not on an active acct..they wanted you to pm them on the boards and they would check into it and delete them if they were not on active accouts or under investigation. I forgot who that was but maybe someone can find that old post.

 

[Tinsil]

LOL I did this on Lake Austin, Ice Island in Felucca. Took 3 years but the other guy's plot just dissipeared one day. I had 2 plots sitting there for that long. Waiting paid off. Spent a few years in that castle after that.

With that being said... I saw a post a while back that if you suspected a plot that was not active.. or not on an active acct..they wanted you to pm them on the boards and they would check into it and delete them if they were not on active accouts or under investigation. I forgot who that was but maybe someone can find that old post.

Chrissy posted that, and good luck with it actually working.

 

[Xelious Norwood]

i know for a fact the WBB houses are bugged I have one, been there for years now, i dont use it at all either. I cant even remember the acct its on to remove it, otherwise i would.
There are tons of them all over, i recently emailed cords of about 8 unowned homes which were ones EMs placed for events long ago and have sat empty since. I returned about a month later and they were all gone, but have no idea what would happen if you emailed about suspected abbandoned accts. It really needs to be addressed or just let malas be able to place castles and keeps, personally id rather not see that. I honestly think they should remain only in tram and fel but a fix needs to be put in reguardless.