Regalian Rentals Discussion

[Timisc]

As many players have seemingly noticed, there are many vacant and unused rental regions. Many are aware that this is the case of there being a surplus of rents as a year ago there was a constant struggle for rents. There was far too little housing for the player base size and so the World department released three new districts to accommodate; the Trade District, the Garden (or Flower) District, and the Slums. We perhaps overexpanded and now seek to motivate players to use those rents.

There has also been mention from different sources about how Regalia has grown to be a messy cluster. It has been said that navigating the city can be a hassle at certain points and that certain parts of the city are unfinished. As of right now only the Noble Park and new cathedral are the only places gone unfinished, but I still seek to hear the players take on the city.

This thread is, in essence, to address those issues, if they can even be called issues. I am aiming to determine if players simply do not like using rents anymore and prefer the custom regions granted to the community or if it is simply a fact of rents needing to be updated as many districts are well over a year old and thus outdated. I also aim to determine which parts of the city are difficult to navigate or to clustered. I seek to narrow down the issues and then aim to fix them.

Here are a few things to keep in mind while discussing;

• World is aware there are outdated districts such as the districts surrounding the tavern and Black Tower. These are being looked into and will get an update with no set time as of yet.
• World is aware of the supposed navigational issues of Regalia. If this is impacting please do mention so.
• There has been discussion about various changes/edits to be made to certain districts and portions of the city.
• The ongoing Main Street project is the current main focus and will come before other projects are taken on.

This thread is for discussion and does not guarantee that any changes will happen so do keep that in mind. We are willing to hear people out.

 

[AtticCat]

Heya Tim <3

I just wanted to bring that I've heard many people saying that in the Slums it's really rather confusing and clustered- though I do believe that a slummy area wouldn't really be nice and neat, I think that perhaps there should be two or three more open areas in additions to the ones right near the center of the Slums and the gate!

 

[Timisc]

I just wanted to bring that I've heard many people saying that in the Slums it's really rather confusing and clustered- though I do believe that a slummy area wouldn't really be nice and neat, I think that perhaps there should be two or three more open areas in additions to the ones right near the center of the Slums and the gate!

Click to shrink...

This is already being addressed. The Slums should be messy, yes, but lag and navigation should have been taken into account more than it was. This is being sorted and has no set date of when that will happen.

 

[Ghirko]

I myself try to and often do use the regions I take. For main regalia, I quite like the winding streets and haven't had any difficulty learning routes around quickly. It keep the city interesting and patrols for guard a bit more varied. As for the slums, I love the tattered and run down appearance it has however I have found myself becoming confused and finding placing looking very similar to other places, though personally think this is a perk and adds to the setting of the environment.

In all, I feel players just need more reason to use their regions seeing as most private RP can still be done in the tavern, but in a quieter location, such as upstairs. If I can, I would rather do that than trek half way across the map for a quick private discussion.

 

[Film_Noir]

Some of the older rent regions are a bit ugly. x P

I specifically mean like the older houses with basic white clay walls and small sizes that are kind of just tucked in back alleys to fill space. I'd say these kinds of places could be removed, and either replaced with more attractive houses, or with community areas, like hidden little parks or tree groves or other such public spaces or buildings that people can utilise.

When I'm looking to rent, I look for two things: closeness to central areas or important landmarks; and also the uniqueness and attractiveness of the property both inside and the views outside its windows. More unique houses with nice views might encourage people to rent more. Of course, they also take more time to build.

Some of the new districts are also simply too far away from the main activity areas.

 

[nath_n]

Good stuff, it's nice to hear clarification on what's actually happening thanks Tim.

 

[Erzly]

I know for a fact I'm not the only person who gets lost in Regalia, and whilst the diversity is nice to have, perhaps the districts could be scaled down a tad? Differently themed housing is great aesthetics, but becomes a pain when there's overwhelming areas that look the same for many chunks. Not to mention it's hard to find RP on such a broad area, especially if you want to avoid any meta shenanigans.

 

[FireFan96]

On the topic of rents:
I see rental regions as small areas to have small RP and build communities around. The issue I feel is a major setback are twofold:

• The price of a region can be a drawback to some players. I don't want to spend 300r on a region if I won't get much RP out of it. My last regions I used seriously were the Drache tavern regions, and in the end, 600r a month was more of a sink than a way to have RP on the main street.
• There are a lot of nice regions that just sit there with the owner just leaving the server never to return. I speak of the shop regions that haven't had a sign change since they came out a year ago, or the really nice corner house that is completely empty rented out until March 2019. These are the power regions in the districts, and in my opinion hinders RP for people with fresh ideas, only to just have to wait months to try and experience their concept. But by that time, the spark has faded and life has gone on.

In my opinion, regions need to reduce their rental prices based on the areas. Regions like shops can maintain their 300r price tags, but I do not want to pay 100r for a shack in the slums. I'd be more inclined to test out a district to RP in if the prices are lower, just so that the risk of attempting a new RP scene isn't that high. RP should be inviting, and if the rental regions have to be reduced to meet that openness, so be it.

That and there needs to be a time out for inactive players in regions. If you sit idle on a region for a month or two, you aren't generating RP to the area, and should be evicted to make room for players that may want to spark some life in an outlier district.

On getting players to go to other districts.

The best example I can give is the rise and fall of the harbor district. It was the first region released in a long while, met with video promotions and a plethora of hype. It was great, and was a highlight of my early massive days. Regions were hard to get, because you had to compete with maybe 5 other players, all with ideas of what to do. Every region on the boardwalk had a shop, with players ready to RP their merchants.

The icing on the cake was the hotspot of the region, the Obscure Oyster tavern. With a tp right at the entrance, the slums was the perfect middle ground between sewer and surface RP. Guards hardly patrolled, so you had smugglers hiding contraband everywhere and just living life. It was fun.

But as soon as the Obscure Oyster became inactive, the entire district just died. I would argue that after the second month, the district became a ghost town. All the players I RP'd with just left to do other things, and I sat in my rental region attempting a few things before I said to hell with it and left to the commerce district, which never did anything for me.

So what do I think brings people to the districts? A hotspot. The harbor had the Oyster, the main district has the guard tower, tavern, and everything else. I get that centralized RP is an intentional design, but by being centralized, there is no reason to go further out of the city.

Am I saying we should burn down the willow and sprinkle RP everywhere? no. But I do think placing important buildings different places that have active RP is a good idea. Right now, there are about 10 major regions next to each other: The Tavern, the Alchemy Clinic, the Sawbones clinic, the Merchant building, the Bastion, the Mercenary Keep, the Black Tower, the Park, the Tower Clinic, the Amphitheater, the Bathhouse.. Everything anyone could possibly need is within 100 blocks of each other, which gives nobody any reason to go out further.

I'd suggest taking some of the unused public buildings and moving them further away from the center to encourage traveling and exploration. the trade district has nothing by it, but I think if a government charter set up their HQ there, people would frequent the area more. Heck a nice fancy guild hall would be perfect, since it's the "trade district."

Also, more entrances to the district is better. The Garden district is just kinda, there. You have to exit the north wall and go right. Meanwhile there is a closed door leading to the other side of the garden district. Open the door and have another opening to the district. maybe add a greenhouse over there for the horticulture people to enjoy.

Summary:

• rental prices can be intimidating for players who don't have a lot of money but want to test out an idea
• inactive players hog up good rental regions killing any potential growth to an area
• there are too many key regions close to the center of the city that there is no reason to go further than 100 blocks in any direction.
• the districts in need of activity have nothing drawing players in, such as a hotspot tavern or government charter HQ.

 

[Reaganism]

I think the reason those houses are not rented is because they have zero prestige value. The only reason to rent them is to have somewhere to roleplay if: 1. you aren't aspiring for nobility 2. you aren't aspiring to run a business there.

If business lots are bound to applications, then the situation will only escalate. I judge that the main change from where there was no surplus (starting the time I originally joined world staff) to when there is a huge surplus (now) is the amount of properties available through application, EG charter buildings and noble estates.

I remember back when nobles outbid each other for the "best" regions and I made a fortune with Haute Road 7 (it was /the/ best).

So yeah. Main source of demand was removed, supply kept increasing, huge surplus. All the nobles that got estates in the district let their regions slowly unrent.

Solution? I don't say rip out the noble estate system. I actually disliked the estate hunt since a lot of the good regions remained in the hands of inactive people who rented them for months if not years.

So first, prevent regions from locking under people.

Second, make regions unique and not mass copies. The old Ithanian district was /the/ place to make money because the buildings were unique and big, and 7 is the best since it has a corner entrance, higher interiors and a glass-roofed ceiling on top!

I think it's seven anyhow.

Third, there is this issue I faced too as a roleplayer. I don't have the patience to furnish empty estates. And I know many share the sentiment, I made moolah doing decor for others. So I suggest rental regions are pre-furnished, or furnishing regions is made easier one way or another.

 

[Beetletoes]

Maybe decreasing the size of the city so rp is more concentrated and it's easier to find? If so many regions are unused, do we really need them taking up space?

 

[FireFan96]

One thing I forgot:

Spoiler

I had to jump on one of the spawn buildings just to show the issue. Because as soo as you spawn in, you are facing north, right to the tavern.
Can you see the Trade district? Nope, you are facing away from it.
Can you see tha cart tps that lead to other parts of the city? Nope, it's tucked away in an alleyway with only a hologram saying what it does.

What do I see? three NPCs that do the exact same thing, and a fenced off area.

My proposal:

• Get rid of all three of those NPCs. I am literally standing over another shop NPC in the image. having 4 of the same thing at spawn is a waste of space and looks poor from an advertising standpoint.
• change the tent in the following ways:
  • the fenced in bit is the perfect place to put the carriage tp at. It's out of the way, but still easy to see from spawn.
  • place the world spawn point inside of that tent. A player would then walk out perpendicular to the road, giving them a 50/50 change to go one way over the other, which encourages exploration to the Trade district.

 

[diCardinale]

Let someone bring back the Obscure Oyster as an idea to revive the Harbour district (and revert it back into a rent region like it was before it was a staff house), because like some have outlined before me, the Harbour district was the liveliest after the Golden Willow sphere of influence. I remember when Harbour district houses in the Obscure Oyster sphere of influence where frequently used and possessed may other player run businesses and whatnot.

 

[FireFan96]

Let someone bring back the Obscure Oyster as an idea to revive the Harbour district (and revert it back into a rent region like it was before it was a staff house), because like some have outlined before me, the Harbour district was the liveliest after the Golden Willow sphere of influence. I remember when Harbour district houses in the Obscure Oyster sphere of influence where frequently used and possessed may other player run businesses and whatnot.

Click to shrink...

I think having some of the tavern regions as rental regions would be a good idea, referencing the oyster. They should be like 0r a month and given out initially by staff or some raffle, and then players take over from there.
the oyster was good because it was a rental region so permissions were easy to do, but also enforced activity else staff would revoke the permission. The only downside was when the region did become inactive, it became a staff house and then when said staff members left, it never got new owners, so the entire area died.

 

[DrFong]

I live in Regalia. I care about it a lot. So, let me say thanks for working to make our city better. Regalia is a living city made of the people who roleplay there and grind their rent every month. Rental properties allow a feeling of ownership and I feel like they are really important to the "flavor" of Regalia.

I'm going to share some of my thoughts about the situation.

Teleporting around with "/as find rent" reveals one of the problems. It's usually impossible to tell where you are when you step out of the rental property and look around. Much of it might well be the same street. Don't get me wrong. Regalia is a beautiful build, it's a beautiful street. However, the city has gotten so big it's all begun to look a bit "samey".

Have you ever been to Disney World? The park is divided into "lands", each with it's own distinct theme, color pallet, props, characters, etc. Also, each park is built around a very distinctive and easily visible monument. See Cinderella's Castle, Epcot's geodesic dome, etc. These tell you at a glance where you are and give you a taste of what you can expect from the area. I could see this type of design used in Regalia to make our neighborhoods into places where more players would be proud to live.

This is used as part of a plan to cultivate more "neighborhood pride". We Fongs used to have a big mansion in the Poor District, so we sort of adopted all the players who lived there. They could come to us if they had problems. Maybe nobles could be responsible for different districts? They could start getting to know the neighbors and having some friendly competition between the residents. This could also involve a neighborhood watch to keep an eye on properties that aren't being used for roleplaying. More neighborhood-centric organizations and events. Cough Cough.. Poor District Swap Meet.

If you want people to go anywhere other than Main St. and the Willow Tavern, people need to have pride in where they live and have a reason to hang out there. The places people rent have to be cool and distinctive enough for people to care about them. As Miss O stated above "make regions unique and not mass copies". That means more rentable bell towers, tree houses, airships, mausoleums, anything other than a box made of wood and stone. It's going to take a lot more time, but people will love Regalia all the more for the extra work.

 

[Conflee]

I like to try to give my rent regions a specific purpose and use when I take one, be it a house for a specific characters, etc. In the last 6 ish months I haven't had much use for any of them really beyond spotty RP and storage because I've fallen off of casual, day to day social life RP. Depends on what others here say but it might just be that casual household/family RP is becoming less popular.

 

[Reaganism]

Teleporting around with "/as find rent" reveals one of the problems. It's usually impossible to tell where you are when you step out of the rental property and look around. Much of it might well be the same street. Don't get me wrong. Regalia is a beautiful build, it's a beautiful street. However, the city has gotten so big it's all begun to look a bit "samey".

Click to shrink...

A simple issue I would like to highlight related to this!

1. Unrented regions should have door perms enabled for non-owners seeking to explore them.

2. There should be a way to determine the name of a region from the outside. Right now it's a mess trying to guess the house number and street name from surrounding regions or trying to enderpearl into balconies to trespass the region.

 

[Timisc]

1. Unrented regions should have door perms enabled for non-owners seeking to explore them.

2. There should be a way to determine the name of a region from the outside. Right now it's a mess trying to giess the house number and street name from surrounding regions or trying to enderpearl into balconies to trespass the region.

Click to shrink...

Both simply aren't possible. First would make it so even when someone claimed the region randoms would be able to open the doors. The latter would only be able to be done with signs or holograms, both cause too much lag. World staff open doors when they see rents are unrented, best we can do.

 

[Wumpatron]

Let someone bring back the Obscure Oyster as an idea to revive the Harbour district (and revert it back into a rent region like it was before it was a staff house), because like some have outlined before me, the Harbour district was the liveliest after the Golden Willow sphere of influence. I remember when Harbour district houses in the Obscure Oyster sphere of influence where frequently used and possessed may other player run businesses and whatnot.

Click to shrink...

Just a thought, would you think a staff monitored system similar to noble estates or the Dark Lady Emporium in the Slums would be good for something like this? Similar, if not identical, to the system that will be implemented for mainstreet shop regions once they are updated.

 

[Timisc]

I will also say I have quite a few things to think about since some suggestions sparked better ideas.

 

[DrFong]

Both simply aren't possible. First would make it so even when someone claimed the region randoms would be able to open the doors.

Click to shrink...

Lock your door once you rent the house?

 

[Timisc]

Lock your door once you rent the house?

Click to shrink...

Not that simple. Locks cost regals, but the issue still remains that players would be able to access things like Black Tower and other charter buildings/public buildings. It would cause issues.

 

[Reaganism]

Both simply aren't possible. First would make it so even when someone claimed the region randoms would be able to open the doors. The latter would only be able to be done with signs or holograms, both cause too much lag. World staff open doors when they see rents are unrented, best we can do.

Click to shrink...

Can't areashop execute commands when a region is unrented similarly how it does when a player rents them? I think you could alter perms for the for rent regions independent of perms of general regions.

I know the second's the more impossible. Though Marty made maps for newly released districts, a reference map could be helpful. Issue is, only staff can make them since a lot of regions are inaccessible to players.

 

[diCardinale]

Just a thought, would you think a staff monitored system similar to noble estates or the Dark Lady Emporium in the Slums would be good for something like this? Similar, if not identical, to the system that will be implemented for mainstreet shop regions once they are updated.

Click to shrink...

I think a system like the noble estates was first in place before the place became a rent region, so imo a system like noble estates for placed like the OO would work well like it did in the past.

 

[Reaganism]

I think a system like the noble estates was first in place before the place became a rent region, so imo a system like noble estates for placed like the OO would work well like it did in the past.

Click to shrink...

Systems like that require manpower and when things get derailed spoiled players get salty in forum posts.

 

[Wumpatron]

Systems like that require manpower and when things get derailed spoiled players get salty in forum posts.

Click to shrink...

Try me, it would take minimal maintenance, I'm not making promises, but I am playing around with the feasibility of it. Don't get excited though, because it isn't a system that really needs to be implemented, but it is possible.

 

[Conflee]

Just a thought, would you think a staff monitored system similar to noble estates or the Dark Lady Emporium in the Slums would be good for something like this? Similar, if not identical, to the system that will be implemented for mainstreet shop regions once they are updated.

Click to shrink...

Try me, it would take minimal maintenance, I'm not making promises, but I am playing around with the feasibility of it. Don't get excited though, because it isn't a system that really needs to be implemented, but it is possible.

Click to shrink...

It would be interesting. Having larger shops and a kind of hub-location there etc. I threw an idea somewhere else to connect the Slums and Harbor to let criminals have easier access to the City for RP (since Docks etc are usually seedier in most settings I though it was the best place). So having everything interconnected, maybe even a smaller black market area with tiny stalls, all kind of possibilities.


To take it even further, there could be a few of these in the city. "Harbor Market", "City Market"(main street), "The Dark Lady Emporium" (Slums market basically), etc all serve the same basic purpose- trying to drive RP in areas. They could all be managed with similar systems to make it simpler for staff to swap back and forth and work in multiple at once or switch where they focus based on what needs the most attention at the time.

EDIT: On the topic of central vs free flow RP, I'd note these areas generate RP in the vicinity as well, not just in their location only. The gates of the slums are the most active area of the whole place. The streets around main street show a similar trend. This would probably offer similar results as long as the new Central Location is kind of open. Meaning not just one way in or out, ways to pass through it to get places etc.

Would be nice if the harbor was more expansive too, given Regalia is a trade hub and a naval power.

 

[InDogsWeTrust]

A simple issue I would like to highlight related to this!

1. Unrented regions should have door perms enabled for non-owners seeking to explore them.

2. There should be a way to determine the name of a region from the outside. Right now it's a mess trying to guess the house number and street name from surrounding regions or trying to enderpearl into balconies to trespass the region.

Click to shrink...

Tbh, my solution has been:

/as find rent

Look at the inside

Look at the name (lets say NarrowStreet1)

/as tp narrowstreet2 , 3, 4 etc until I find one with an open door

Check out the outside.

Huh. Guess all those extra regions are good for something.

 

[Proudbucket]

My guess is that world/game staff can open doors manually.
Probably they don't do that because it is not rewarded and players don't bother to make tickets for that.

Suggestion:
Once per month make a game of unrented property hunt.
Staff goes around, finds unrented properties, makes sure their doors are open and marks the properties with a wool pattern. Staff can then claim points for marking a number of properties. Perhaps also add a prize for the one that got more properties.

This makes sure that unrented properties remain accessible and creates a dataset of unrented properties that can be used to identify problematic locations.

 

[Eccetra]

I quickly want to pre-phrase this by saying this is all my personal opinion and not reflective of staff or anyone other than myself!

I'm also doing this on my phone so excuse me.

Related to what @Miss_Ortonnaise mentioned earlier regarding Ithanian properties, I think that a culprit in the diminishing demand for houses is the ever-increasing amount of noble estates. This is rich coming from the person that manages it, and is likely to cause some backlash, but hear me out. I have begun to notice that as soon as a noble family meets the criteria for a countryside estate, they will usually apply for one--regardless of if their family size or activity dictates a need for such a large estate. From this, they leave the town estate system to pursue the bigger fish, leaving empty town estates. To fill these empty town estates, smaller, and more budding families have begun applying for town estates; families who, a year ago, would have undoubtedly bought and used regular Regalian housing. Because permission regions are so easy to obtain and becoming ever-easier, it is almost as if Regalian housing is becoming obsolete. This is obviously up for discussion as I could be wrong in this thought, but I believe that reducing or stopping the production of countryside estates would reverse this, leading nobles to once again use town estates, and commoners to once again use player housing. As another means for world staff to gain points, I think building more event areas to be used in and out of Regalia would be appreciated by many. Jousting arena, a ballroom like the old summer palace thing, a second hunting ground, etc.

A few other comments on the topic of this issue: I agree with @FireFan96 that the cost of Regalian housing is likely a turn off. I don't believe that it is too expensive per se, but I think that more primely located houses should have higher rents whereas the less-popular housing have a smaller price tag. Because non-combatant regions are also becoming easier to get, players will be avoiding paying for houses if they absolutely can. I don't know if the old system of requiring payment for estates was problematic, but economy-wise, this /could/ help.

Moving on, I would like to propose (I think this was mentioned earlier but I can't remember by who) that some of the regions further out in the city be removed and instead replaced with large, public buildings to draw crowds. In particular, I would love to see another opera house or theatre. Not only would this reduce excess, unwanted properties, but it would draw interest to the properties already there. Other ideas for buildings to use as "monuments": another park, charter buildings, racial (Elven?) district, another bathhouse (popular!), event spaces.

While the only "officially" unfinished districts are the ones you have mentioned up there, I still find places around Regalia that have an unfinished vibe to them which might be deterring players from renting in the region. Namely where large portions of roads or districts have been replaced, but the replacement not blended back into the surrounding streets. Off the top of my head, the amphitheatre comes to mind. There are also some empty spaces just outside of the noble assembly court and beyond that area, towards the giant church. (Forgive me for not knowing what its name is!) I could be wrong in this and it honestly could just be my OCD, but I sometimes avoid RP in these areas because it doesn't feel "flush".

Finally, on the topic of the slums, I would greatly like to see a reduction in houses and more open gathering areas. While it's meant to be cluttered and "slummy", a couple of more open main roads could do wonders for navigation. Once some more gathering spots have been established (with seats and taverns), I believe the removal of the sewer tavern would be the next step for getting people to use them. The Dark Lady Emporium seems to be doing wonderfully from what I've roleplayerd there, so a similar thing but "on" the slums (as opposed to under the slums) would hopefully fill in some of the unused space.

 

[Jalapeno690]

Any word on any faction worlds updates?????

 

[Conflee]

A few other comments on the topic of this issue: I agree with @FireFan96 that the cost of Regalian housing is likely a turn off. I don't believe that it is too expensive per se, but I think that more primely located houses should have higher rents whereas the less-popular housing have a smaller price tag. Because non-combatant regions are also becoming easier to get, players will be avoiding paying for houses if they absolutely can. I don't know if the old system of requiring payment for estates was problematic, but economy-wise, this /could/ help.

Click to shrink...

On this specifically I have heard there are still some medium-sized areas that are 500 a month though that might not be true anymore if it is oh my god why.

While the only "officially" unfinished districts are the ones you have mentioned up there, I still find places around Regalia that have an unfinished vibe to them which might be deterring players from renting in the region. Namely where large portions of roads or districts have been replaced, but the replacement not blended back into the surrounding streets. Off the top of my head, the amphitheatre comes to mind. There are also some empty spaces just outside of the noble assembly court and beyond that area, towards the giant church. (Forgive me for not knowing what its name is!) I could be wrong in this and it honestly could just be my OCD, but I sometimes avoid RP in these areas because it doesn't feel "flush".

Click to shrink...

Agreement there as well 100%. I tend to avoid picking houses in outdated or unrefined looking areas, such as some of the Commerce District and anything near the Ampitheatre etc. I usually go for simi-recent locations, because they look nicer and tend to be more often than not, properly regioned. (I say this because as @Jaehaerys specifically will know as he has helped me and Fenlee twice with this now, some houses aren't built to be region-friendly, with exterior walls being editable in some levels, and upper levels leaving players with strips of floor space they cant touch annoyingly, etc.)

Beyond the normal region issues, I think a general Quality Inspection is in order where staff check all the houses that are older than a year (especially Tudor-Style ones as they tend to have the most region issues), make sure the regions aren't wonkey af, or the exterior isnt horrendous to look at, mark them all down on a document and that could be a nice, large scale project to fill World Staff work during the slower times this next yearish.

 

[Markisbeest]

Related to what @Miss_Ortonnaise mentioned earlier regarding Ithanian properties, I think that a culprit in the diminishing demand for houses is the ever-increasing amount of noble estates. This is rich coming from the person that manages it, and is likely to cause some backlash, but hear me out. I have begun to notice that as soon as a noble family meets the criteria for a countryside estate, they will usually apply for one--regardless of if their family size or activity dictates a need for such a large estate. From this, they leave the town estate system to pursue the bigger fish, leaving empty town estates. To fill these empty town estates, smaller, and more budding families have begun applying for town estates; families who, a year ago, would have undoubtedly bought and used regular Regalian housing. Because permission regions are so easy to obtain and becoming ever-easier, it is almost as if Regalian housing is becoming obsolete. This is obviously up for discussion as I could be wrong in this thought, but I believe that reducing or stopping the production of countryside estates would reverse this, leading nobles to once again use town estates, and commoners to once again use player housing. As another means for world staff to gain points, I think building more event areas to be used in and out of Regalia would be appreciated by many. Jousting arena, a ballroom like the old summer palace thing, a second hunting ground, etc.

Click to shrink...

I agree with this tremendously, as I subconsciously am already planning my way to getting an inner city estate (so I think I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but eh?), however, I disagree with your solution of adding less of these builds. I personally think these builds (High estates, but also normal estates, the future main street shops, the willow shops and possibly the above suggested hub locations, perhaps even charter houses (though perhaps a bales price tag would be more appropriate here)) should have a monthly price tag aswell, along with the activity check and further requirements.
I believe these will make people consider the strategic placement, space and prestige value of such properties more and grant more consideration to simply obtaining a normal rental region.
Not so much that they become unattainable for the poor folk, but perhaps enough to make them consider perhaps another property first, one that doesn't have such intense moderation on it.

 

[Film_Noir]

@Eccetra I have a concern in that if large estates and/or country estates are taken away or become too much focused on activity checks then it'll be an annoying thing rather than a good thing. Speaking for myself, I use my estates or charter buildings (which I currently don't have a charter building for the guild for) for events and meetings. These things don't happen everyday like RP in the Willow happens, but they are there when needed and the space is large enough and varied enough to cater for the various event or meeting ideas that I have. I don't like being reliant on World Staff when I want to host something. When I want to host an impromptu event, I want to be able to do it with no hassle and set the place up in a way that I'm happy with. Also, I'm GMT. I fear that some activity checks might happen at night, when I'm asleep. It's a practicality thing.

 

[Timisc]

As another means for world staff to gain points, I think building more event areas to be used in and out of Regalia would be appreciated by many. Jousting arena, a ballroom like the old summer palace thing, a second hunting ground, etc.

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All of these already exist. There's a jousting venue in the countryside, multiple ballrooms spread around, and I made a second hunting grounds that is open to the public several months ago. This may just be an example, but felt I should mention these exist.

On the topic of nobles not using rents, I don't believe they necessarily have to. A perk of being nobility and being a model roleplayer is you get a better build for your family. Country estates are specifically for nobility and town estates should only be more model citizens, not just anyone that is active. For example, Wulfram Kehlen is a commoner but has shown to be politically active even going as far as managing to sit on the assembly floor as a stand-in for a noble head. That is someone who should be granted a town estate, not just some rich commoner who is active on the server. The rentals more so are for the commoners which vastly outnumber nobility. That's the target audience. Of course, nobles can use rents for businesses, etc., but commoners are who the houses are built for. My two cents to solve that issue.

As for the sections of the city that feel undone, I am going to make a thread at some point that will allow players (or staff) to point these things out so it can be brought to World's attention instead of people just mentioning things that are fugly.

 

[Eccetra]

On the topic of nobles not using rents, I don't believe they necessarily have to. A perk of being nobility and being a model roleplayer is you get a better build for your family. Country estates are specifically for nobility and town estates should only be more model citizens, not just anyone that is active. For example, Wulfram Kehlen is a commoner but has shown to be politically active even going as far as managing to sit on the assembly floor as a stand-in for a noble head. That is someone who should be granted a town estate, not just some rich commoner who is active on the server. The rentals more so are for the commoners which vastly outnumber nobility. That's the target audience. Of course, nobles can use rents for businesses, etc., but commoners are who the houses are built for. My two cents to solve that issue.

Click to shrink...

@Film_Noir
I don't think I really worded myself correctly. I'm not hinting that countryside estates should be removed from people or be subject to activity checks. Rather, I'm insinuating that the bar should be set higher to obtain one. Baron is a relatively low rank, and even a family with only 1 active player could qualify for the estate. Regardless of if it was justified or used.

Currently, no players bar one utilize the large town estates because by the time they would qualify for one, they simply move up to countryside estates instead. Again, this might be a minute issue, but I still feel that there should be a reduction in the realiance of countryside estates to fill the existing houses.