Player houses

August 2007 - Town meeting - Houses implemented

Currently on Sale

Andy says: I am afraid I have no houses for sale at the moment.  The market
           seems to be in a bit of a slump, but I am certain it is only a
           temporary situation.

Houses Sold

                 House                    Minimum   Sold For     To           Current Owner
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  0 Bleys's Villa              A prize for the writing contest   Bleys

  1 Cranberry Manor in Tantallon            25000   15.555.556   Tollie
  2 Bramblewood Mansion in Tantallon      1000000   11.000.112   SerIn
  3 Blackskull Manor in Neville            100000   10.100.101   Mynx
  4 Tedburn House in Tantallon              50000    7.000.011   Eubulides
  5 Oakridge Mansion in Tantallon           60000    7.000.001   CaLLaNDor
  6 Primrose Cottage in Neville             25000    6.775.001   Veruka
  7 Wavecrest Manor in Norton               40000    6.666.667   Caitlin
  8 Dedelf Tower in Dalair                 250000    6.600.002   MooT
  9 Marble Manor in Thranarack              50000    6.333.334   Chun
 10 Unicorn Tower in Tantallon              50000    5.480.001   VaLKYR
 11 Orchard House in Neville                20000    5.000.001   Wok
 12 The Weeping Willows in Neville          20000    3.249.033  (Tinuviel)       Shepherd
 13 Bedrock Place in Thranarack             20000    3.205.001   Mintis
 14 Greyhound Place in Tantallon            30000    3.100.001   Erekose
 15 Jade House in Thranrack                 20000    3.100.001   QUItA
 16 Stonecrest Manor in Thranarack          25000    3.000.001  (Arcarius)       Reed
 17 Bloodstone Mansion in Thranarack        20000    3.000.001   JuanKa
 18 Willow Cottage in Norton                20000    2.888.790   SmYtHiE
 19 a nameless hut in Tantallon             20000    2.000.001   Elle

Where

Funky over at aafordummies.com has made some cool maps over the residential areas. Go have a look!

Houses - Maps

Cyprum

I personally like Cyprum so much that I intend to move there soon myself. However, Cyprum is not for everyone. Elves and dwarves do generally not seem at home there.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Cyprum's Residential Area

Dalair

The houses in Dalair may not be the largest ones available, but they can be good opportunities for people on a lower budget. Of course, there are also those who prefer to live near some of the dark activities that go on there, and I am happy to provide my services to them as well.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Dalair's Residential Area

Duender

Duender welcomes humans, elves, and in particular half-elves and those who are members of the Eldar. The inhabitants are not particularly friendly towards orcs, however.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Duender's Residential Area

Gemynd

Gemynd is primarily a human city, but members of any race are welcome there, as long as they follow the local laws.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Gemynd's Residential Area

Neville

The available properties in Neville appeal to different groups of people, those who prefer a quiet village life as well as those attracted by the dark aspects of killing. I am happy to serve everyone, however.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Neville's Residential Area

Nepeth

Many people with an academic interest like having a house near the great Nepeth library, but others are more interested living in the merchant district, or near the nobility.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Nepeth's Residential Area

Norton

Norton seems to appeal most to those who enjoy wandering through the wilderness, rangers and others who share their outlook on life.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Norton's Residential Area

Tantallon

Tantallon! The cosmopolitan city! The center of the world! Where else can you find everything you need within reach. It is no wonder the houses there are the most popular ones. Of course, they are also somewhat expensive, but many people do not seem to care about that.

From X, houses and if applicable current ownership:

6s,1w,1n - Bleys' Villa (Bleys) 6s,2w,1n - Bramblewood Mansion (Serin) 6s,2w,1s,1e - Gargoyle Manor (Aule) 6s,2w,2s,1e - Blackrose Cottage (Hektor) 6s,2w,3s - Greyhound Place (Erekose) 6s,2w,2s,1sw,1n - Oakridge Mansion (Callandor) 6s,2w,2s,1sw,1w,2n,1w - Palfrey House (Spoo)

AAfordummies.com - Map of Tantallon's Residential Area

Thranarack

Many dwarves say that Thranarack is the only proper place to live. I am afraid that members of the other races would not feel welcome there.

AAfordummies.com - Map of Thranarack's Residential Area

Help house

The "house rules"

                            The "house rules"
                          =======================

A house is always the property of a single person.  Multiple people can share
a house, but only a single person is the legal owner.

The legal owner is the only person who can sell the house or give others
the rights to modify or enter it.

Should the owner of the house commit suicide or abandon the house for a 
longer period than one year, the house becomes the property of the ruler
of the land, and may be auctioned off or sold to a new owner.

How to modify a house

                           How to modify a house
                        ===========================

The way a room looks can be modified with the command
 
        change room <new room description>

In a similar way the smell or sounds of a room can me modified with 

        change smell <new sound description>
or
        change sound <new sound description>

In addition, you can change the "short" name of the room with

        change short <new short name>

Finally, the "exterior" look of the house can be changed with

        change exterior <new exterior description>

Adding items to a house

                         Adding items to a house
                      =============================

It is possible to add items to a room, and once that is done they become a
permanent part of the room description.  Such items fall into two categories,
portable and non-portable.

Portable items can be placed in a house, where they become a part of the room,
until they are removed again.  The furniture and most other items sold in the
Cyprum market are of this kind, but other items may or may not be "placeable"
in this sense.  All portable items can be installed and removed with the
commands

        place <object>
and
        remove <object>

Some items also offer alternative commands, for example, in addition to
the command 'place painting', you can also

        hang painting on wall

Non-portable items include things like fireplaces and marble floors.  Once
installed, they cannot be removed except by destroying them.  They can be 
obtained at various places around the world.

Allowing others to change a house

                     Allowing others to change a house
                  =======================================

The owner of a house can allow others to change the house.  There are
two commands for this purpose:

         authorise <name>
         revoke <name>

Anyone authorised to make changes to a house can change the look, smell or
sound, as well as install/remove items as described above.

The command 'authorise all' will allow anyone to modify or vandalise the
house, while 'revoke all' (or "authorise none') will revoke all existing
authorisations.  The command 'authorise' with no arguments will list those
currently authorised to make changes to the house.

Inviting people into a house

                       Inviting people into a house
                    ==================================


The owner of a house can invite people, meaning that they are allowed to
enter the house at any time.  The commands related to this are:

         invite <name>
         uninvite <name>

There are two special cases: "invite all" makes the house open to all
and "uninvite all" (or 'invite none') means that only the house owner and
anyone authorised may enter the house.  Note that anyone invited, but not
authorised with the 'authorise' command can only observe, but not not make
any changes to the house.

To see who have been invited, use

        invite

with no arguments.

Selling a house

                            Selling a house
                          ===================

If you want to sell your house, you can use the command

         write deed

You will then get a deed which you can sell or auction off.  Anyone
obtaining and signing this deed will become the legal owner of the
house.  Be careful not to lose the deed.

Log of Town Meeting August 2007

Adinos says: they come in all sizes, from one-room shacks, to 20+ room
             mansions
Adinos says: now, as for how they will be sold....
Adinos says: we will be employing a real-estate agent, who calls himself
             Honest Andy.
Adinos says: we will give him houses to sell, but later house owners can use
            him to sell their houses as well.
Adinos says: there will only be a few houses for sale at a time, so they will
             trickle into the market for weeks or months.
Adinos says: when a gouse goes on sale, andy will accept a sealed bid.
Adinos says: while the house is for sale, it will be open for inspection
Adinos says: so you can see what you are bidding on.
Adinos says: the bidding period lasts one week.
Adinos says: at the end of the time, the person with the highest bid will get
             the house, for one coin more than the bid of the second highest
             bidder. (like eBay) basically, you specify the maximum price you
             are willing to pay
Adinos says: the house owner can then do certain things.... decide who is
             allowed to enter the house, and who are allowed to modify it.
Adinos says: you can modify what the rooms look like, but you will also be
             able to add items that last over reboots.
Adinos says: no, but the minimum price Andy will consider is 20.000
Adinos says: the maximum is 100.000.000, however
Adinos says: in a few days (answer to when honest andy will appear)
Adinos says: there will be. (a help file soon) in the meantime, just look at
             the housing districts.
Adinos says: houses are 100% rogue-proof.....well, supposed to be
Adinos says: no ranger foraging.... but you will eventually be able to grow,
             say, apple treess there
Adinos says: there are issues of privacy - you don't want just anyone to walk
             in, and loot your place, or watch you having mudsex.
ShinRiKyo says: well if you do it with the windows wide open...
Adinos says: you can peer into the entry room, but that's it
Adinos says: now, later on someone might start offering butlers, maids,
             gardeners, or recreational slaves for rich house owners....there
             are some pets on the way
Adinos says: also some items here and there are being changed, so they will
             become semi-permanent features of houses if you install them.
Adinos says: like a chest, you take it.... place it in your house and it
             survives reboots, but you can remove it at any time
Adinos says: the 100 numer is for the housing districts currently being
             added. they can be expanded if needed. I don't know if that will
             be the case
Adinos says: if you abandon the house for longer than a year, you lose it
Adinos says: the houses are somewhat like a glorified, multi-room scytheroom,
             withe the exception of allowing multiple people to work together on
             editing the house, and the possibility of adding furniture and
             other items (paintings, chests, mirrors,, whatever) that last
             over reboots
Adinos says: and yes, andy will of course "advertise" the houses he has to
             potential buyers
Adinos says: limited to one tell per reboot though
Adinos says: of course, you can always go and visit andy and check his list
             of available houses
Adinos says: houseowners can sell their houses through Andy, or transfer
             ownership to others by giving them a deed.
Adinos says: however (and this is important) each house has one and only ONE
             owner. jo joint ownership for couples or groups.
Adinos says: there are no keys.
Adinos says: h houseowner just specifies two lists, which may be "all",
             "none" or a list of people...
Adinos says: the first list is for those allowed to enter.
Adinos says: the second list is for those allowed to change the house

Sorted 2006 Information

Items and Furniture (will last through reboot) - 2006

Adinos says: they will allow items to last through reboots
Adinos says: the basic house it completely bare
Adinos says: owners can modigy descriptions, and also add various interactive
items.
Cosm asks: fires? safe storage? beds?
Makeway says: what is the price going to be... and yes... all three of cosm's
questions
Adinos says: for example, you can install a bookshelf, and place books in it
that you find anywhere in the world... those books will remain
even through reboots
Adinos says: now...the question, and what I really wanted toi hear... what
kind of interactive items would people like to be able to
install
Adinos says: I have coded a few so far
Cosm asks: like?
Adinos says: fireplaces, bookshelves, paintings,
Fice asks: code servants?
Cosm asks: beds?
Makeway says: Fire beds... Anvils
Adinos says: various furniture...beds, chairs, couches
Adinos says: it is possible to add servants, slaves, butlers, or whatever,
but that is not a part of the initial code
Adinos says: items that are "installed" will last through reboots - items
that are just left in the house will work like anything
else....that is, they disappear at reboot

Adinos says: but not all items can be installed....
Adinos says: and most of the installable items have no real game benefits s
such
Adinos says: now, some houses alco have backyeards, or even gardens in the
center - roman villa style
Adinos says: so you can also install things like fountains, birdbaths, fruit
trees and such
You ask: trees that grow edible fruit?
Adinos says: edible fruits....sure... but only in the autumn 
-)
Adinos says: fir/anvil.... not sure - something to discuss with balance, I
guess
You say: so only in cities
Adinos says: only in cities. 12 houses in stormwind, and a similar number in
the other cities
You ask: how accessible? I assume we get a key for the house?
Adinos says: you get a key, yes... and you can give a "spare key" to truested
friends
Adinos says: Tantallon, I mean
Makeway asks: you are only going to allow 100 HOUSES TOTAL?

Adinos asks: anuhow...I have noted down the suggestions so far.... any other
items you would like to be able to buy for a house ?
Adinos says: ah, yes... you can change the description, smell and sounds in
the room.... but to get any kind of interactivity, you need to
install an item.
Adinos says: examples are beds, fireplaces, fountains, bookshelves and such
Adinos asks: trashcan ... ok. anybody want a bath?
Adinos asks: hmm... a fishpond in the garden...?
Adinos says: and regarding the anvils...I have to discuss that with Balance
Adinos says: but the fireplaces are pretty much approved already
Adinos says: you will be able to buy furniture, paintings and a lot of other
items in the maket in Cyprum
Adinos says: if the house has a garden, it will be a safe place for planting
seeds
Adinos says: keep in mind....if we see an overwhelming demand for houses, we
can always add larger housing districts

No taxes - Repossession after 1 year inactivity - 2006

Adinos says: no taxes...but....
Adinos says: if a houseowner does not log in for a year, the house is ...
well, repossessed

2 to 24 rooms - 2006

Adinos says: smallest house is 2 rooms - largest is... uhm 24
Adinos says: most are just 4-8, though

Selling, trading and buying houses (prices) - 2006

Adinos says: well. the thing is... owners can trade houses, or even auction
them off
Adinos says: the houses will be in the various cities. Tantallon for example
Adinos says: there will also be a real-estate agent, who will occasionally
sell new houses....
Adinos asks: a question... how much do you think players would pay for,
say... an 8 rooom house in the residential district of Tantallon?
Fice says: 500000
Chronos says: Half a mil is good.
Djula says: 500000 seems a bit steep.
Fice says: that is 8 rooms
You say: they should be costly to buy AND to keep
Chronos says: Half a mil for 8 rooms? It's that bad at all.
Fice says: 2 rooms 75k

Adinos says: I guess we will initially auction a few houses off... using the
real estate agent ... meaning that the house will be for sale
for 48 hours before bids are opened

Makeway says: Wow Adinos sounds like toy's for the super rich to me...
Makeway says: I assure you your top 100 players witll buy up all the
hosues... Piggy/chun will buy prolly 10 houses one for each alt
Sifl says: Like I said earlier, I think houses should be rewards for
donators. You pay to help keep the game running, and in reward,
you get a house. The size/complexity of the house depends upon the
donation, and you can make additions later on if you donate more
to the game.

Chronos says: I have 400k to my name. I rank 728'th for money. 400k is lot of
money to many players, but there is a staggering number of
players who have far more than I do. Those houses will be a toy
of the rich, especially if they're limited to only 100.
Fice says: no real world money tie in, that will ruin this game
Makeway agrees wholeheartedly with Fice.
Makeway says: donator's shouldnt get houses
You say: no real money, but they should be expensive in gold
Fice says: no one can attack anything in the post office? maybe leav e them
there
Ragnhild says: I suspect auctioning is a good way of deciding whether all of
the, say, 200 people who have a million will actually want to
spend it on a house.

Adinos says: well... we can add more than 100, of course. the city of Cyprum
could easily add 30-40 more, for example.... and we could add a
few houses in various small villages all over

Sifl asks: I assume that when you own a house, you will log in there?
Adinos says: but keep in mind, in addition to the purchase price, people also
need money for furniture and such

Ragnhild says: The Tantallon lots can be more expensive than, say, Norton
houses. :)
Ragnhild says: (Even though Norton is of course much more ideal a place to
live!)

Adinos says: indeed, but keep in mind that as players can trade houses, the
price will be determined by the market

Chronos says: Adinos, why can't the 'housing district' be more dynamic?
Simply walk into the district and use a command like 'enter
home' or som somesuch, and the game puts you into YOUR house?
That way, there would be no physical limit to the number of
houses available.

Adinos says: as it is, you can walk around the hoses, see what they look from
the houside and such....

Adinos says: just having a portal to all the houses simply wouldn'pt be as
fun.
Adinos says: besides, it would destroy the market

You ask: so when do you expect them to be ready?
Adinos says: houses will not be for everyone.... it is that simple
Adinos says: the house code is pretty much ready
Fice asks: if you want one, go kill andeli 45000 times?

Break into houses - 2006

Adinos says: the big question now is if it should be possible to break into
houses or not

*** According to my sources, Law gave an oppinion shortly after that
*** the player houses should all be impossible to break into. Due to
*** the strain it would cause of Laws resources.

Sharing houses (communes)- 2006

Ragnhild says: I guess there can be communes, where a bunch of people team up
to get a house in one's name.
Ragnhild asks: Oh, do you have a means to have more than one key to the
house?
Adinos says: you can give spare keys to anyone you want...so a group of
people could buy a house together