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The new premium home gold rush...


Pixels Sideways
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I heard some folks who wanted one of the new Linden Homes that they were shut out because they weren't logged in with their finger on the button when the limited amount of new homes became available and were quickly claimed.

This doesn't seem fair since LL has totes control over creating the Linden homes sims and types of homes and could easily do this differently.

LL should consider listing the types of homes available -- houseboat, traditional, etc, -- and let members sign up for which one they want and allocate accordingly instead of the first come, first serve rush that left a lot of members out in the cold without a home.

 This way, LL will know how many of each type of home to create so everyone gets their chosen home at the same time.  

Be like Oprah:  You get a home and you get a hoe and YOU GET A HOME!!!

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Pixels Sideways said:

I heard some folks who wanted one of the new Linden Homes that they were shut out because they weren't logged in with their finger on the button when the limited amount of new homes became available and were quickly claimed.

It took two days to run out of houses, houseboats in a day or a bit less. So no matter what time zone people were in they had a chance -- we all had the same chance. A big portion of the folks that got the first (and arguably some of the best) plots were the folks here on the forums who had been watching and waiting for nine months.  

So sometimes it is simply good to pay attention and be aware. The Lab (Patch) told people they were going to run out. I don't think that they suspected they would run out AS FAST --- but maybe so. 

The system has been the system for ten years and there was a run on themed houses a decade ago.  Eventually everyone will have the opportunity to get a house (various styles to come) or houseboat  -- or maybe something we haven't considered :D.  I agree that it wasn't good advertising housing that disappeared and that some folks went premium for with no NEW home to move into. But Patch's team has been working hard and around 695 houseboats will be released in a bit over two weeks from the time they became sold out (fingers crossed but it looks very close). So the folks that missed out will have a second chance. AGAIN, they will need to pay attention.

Waiting list management contains a lot of "paper", time and energy that could undoubtedly be better spent elsewhere. People should be happy that the new continent is so popular. A good sign for the future. 

Edited by Chic Aeon
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I agree with @Chic Aeon. No, we do not need a waiting list. We have one, it's called being premium.

Frankly, the first wave of homes should have gone to the ones the most active/paying the closest attention. Because the majority are active in the community there. It feels alive! Yeah, there are some who just grabbed the new shiny toy just because and has zero plans to ever do anything, but they are outnumbered by the ones actually living and interacting in Belliserria.

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2 minutes ago, Zoya McDonnagh said:

I agree with @Chic Aeon. No, we do not need a waiting list. We have one, it's called being premium.

Frankly, the first wave of homes should have gone to the ones the most active/paying the closest attention. Because the majority are active in the community there. It feels alive! Yeah, there are some who just grabbed the new shiny toy just because and has zero plans to ever do anything, but they are outnumbered by the ones actually living and interacting in Belliserria.

 

I'm not a fan of the 'First Come, First Serve' thingy per se. Rather, I had wished they had shiny new homes already available for all Premium members. Realistically, though, it's a lot of work for them, and they've been at it round the clock, for the last 2 weeks, so the 'First Come, First Serve' deal sounds a lot more equitable that way, considering it can't all be done with magic ("Yes. Instant homes. They're out in stores before the sim is finished!")

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9 minutes ago, kiramanell said:

 

I'm not a fan of the 'First Come, First Serve' thingy per se. Rather, I had wished they had shiny new homes already available for all Premium members. Realistically, though, it's a lot of work for them, and they've been at it round the clock, for the last 2 weeks, so the 'First Come, First Serve' deal sounds a lot more equitable that way, considering it can't all be done with magic ("Yes. Instant homes. They're out in stores before the sim is finished!")

This would not work unless they stopped allowing anyone else to become premium or made a ton more than what their records show for premium accounts. That could have lead to dead zones and ghost towns.

Supposedly many signed up for premium just because of the new homes. So then what? Do they go by rezday? How long they've been premium? I think what they are doing (releasing in waves) is the better option for now. They can gauge demand as they go and as selling out slows down, so can they.

 

ETA~ one thing that they could do, since the playerbase is global, is maybe stagger the releases. (for example: They release the next batch at 8am SL time. Then +4 hours another batch is released. +4 hours after that, another batch becomes available. Etc... So that over a 24hr period, the next batch is released giving those on the other side of the globe a chance as well. Can pay all the attention you can, but most need to still work and everyone needs to sleep.)

Edited by Zoya McDonnagh
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8 minutes ago, Zoya McDonnagh said:

This would not work unless they stopped allowing anyone else to become premium or made a ton more than what their records show for premium accounts. That could have lead to dead zones and ghost towns.

Supposedly many signed up for premium just because of the new homes. So then what? Do they go by rezday? How long they've been premium? I think what they are doing (releasing in waves) is the better option for now. They can gauge demand as they go and as selling out slows down, so can they.

 

Isn't that kinda what I said?! 'First Come, First Serve' is not ideal, but as they can't build all these homes at once, it's the most practical solution to do waves of batches while they're having teams of 'moles' diligently work on building more.

Edited by kiramanell
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If people are premium and pay, and are also paying for other items, they should get a home the same as any other premium payer. They should have waited build the region then released the homes based on how many currently have homes, plus an additional percent.

A poll on the type of home people want would also help them in deciding the builds. 

Only looking for 1 home for use for our two newer avatars, nt our 14 year old premium accounts

Edited by anthonytorino
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First come first serve is the only practical way of doing this and is how LL have always released land or homes.

There has also been months of hype build up over SSP and It took 2 days for them to all be allocated. The exact moment of the land drop wasn't known, but we had been bouncing up and down for a least a week prior expecting something any day now.

 

I'm sorry you missed out, there will be more soon, and they will be first come first serve too. Just means you have to pay attention.

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I lived in the old linden homes area, when there wasn't a dead chicken to be found. Everyone pulled up his nose for those areas. Now there is something new and flashy and just like back then everyone makes a run for it. Untill it gets old, ruined or simply not cool. Then you hear nobody. I missed the launch of the new linden homes, refreshed like a crazy and managed to get a house. I am gratefull and happy. I do understand everyone is frustrated, but common... SL is working overhours to get more houses done. I am pretty sure they were suprised by this demand too. Not to mention they were there to fix errors on the new plots too. So can we now all relax and be sure that soon everyone will have a place? I am aware I sound like Betti Spaghetti, but the "NOT FAIR" topics come out my nose.

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23 minutes ago, anthonytorino said:

If people are premium and pay, and are also paying for other items, they should get a home the same as any other premium payer. They should have waited build the region then released the homes based on how many currently have homes, plus an additional percent.

 

And, in principle, I don't even disagree per se. But there's also realism: considering how much work is involved just making these new homes/scenes, we can't just expect them to work on it for over, say, a year, only to release a deluge of them all at once then. So, the approach in waves does feel equitable to me.

Also, I'd like to think the 'First Come, First Serve' principle is proportionally equitable to demand: the more you want it, the higher the chances are of you arriving here in time to snag one up for yourself (and vice versa: if you won't come here, on a more or less regular basis, to check for availability, chances are you probably really didn't want it as bad as you thought you did).

Edited by kiramanell
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17 minutes ago, CoffeeDujour said:

First come first serve is the only practical way of doing this and is how LL have always released land or homes.

There has also been months of hype build up over SSP and It took 2 days for them to all be allocated. The exact moment of the land drop wasn't known, but we had been bouncing up and down for a least a week prior expecting something any day now.

 

I'm sorry you missed out, there will be more soon, and they will be first come first serve too. Just means you have to pay attention.

I have to agree with you there, first come first serve basis. Look if you didn't get a Linden Home right away, wait until the second phase rolls out. I am sure, you will get a home then. 

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3 minutes ago, kiramanell said:

But there's also realism: considering how much work is involved just making these new homes/scenes, we can't just expect them to work on it for over, say, a year, only to release a deluge of them all at once then. So, the approach in waves does feel equitable to me.

Yes, and as it was, it's been 8 - 9 months since we first discovered the SSP regions on the grid (take a look at the creation date of the SSP thread here in the forums), which are their planning and build regions for the new ones.  So even for the first batch to actually be released was an 8 month wait.  While some of that was probably start up time, and getting up to speed time, can you imagine how long 10 times as many houses as the first release might take?  Especially since they are not doing "cookie cutter" copies of regions, but are making them more individual.

Even if they had signups and polls, a lot of the premium account information and house preference is bound to change over a year or two's time.

I think releasing in phases is probably the only manageable way.

 

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The old  Linden slums homes are a great example of what happens when you get carried away and make way more than the demand.

I only hope that when everything is finally released, LL's house-lucky-dip algorithm isn't entirely random and sneakily favors putting new claims on regions with active populations to keep the community aspect alive.

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2 minutes ago, CoffeeDujour said:

The old  Linden slums homes are a great example of what happens when you get carried away and make way more than the demand.

I only hope that when everything is finally released, LL's house-lucky-dip algorithm isn't entirely random and sneakily favors putting new claims on regions with active populations to keep the community aspect alive.

 

[citation required]

I find that hard to believe. From what I know about servers (ahem), I would think any kind of load-balancing would be more sensible (aka, trying to fill the least occupied sims first).

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4 minutes ago, CoffeeDujour said:

It's easier to load balance if you have some regions stocked and others idle. One person one each is the worst possible situation, you can't have half a region.

 

O, I'll take half a region. 🤩

Good point, though.

EDIT: Kinda makes you wonder how they're doing it, really. Obviously, opening up an entire new region for each new person wanting a Premium home, would indeed be server suicide. On the other hand, if those regions were already opened, then cramming everyone onto 1 single region would, ere long, get you, lag-wise... well, mainland. :)

Edited by kiramanell
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I appreciate your replies.

This isn't about paying attention. People I heard from were well aware of the new premium membership homes and the date they would be available. They didn't have the time (or access) to hover at a computer all day waiting for the start signal or refreshing. And they shouldn't have had to.  No one should.  They are paying the same premium membership fees as everyone else.  Some have been members for years, one person I know holds a weekly event, others are less engaged in the community but that still should not make them more or less eligible to have the same access to the new homes as everyone else.

The idea that some folks because of their level of community engagement in SL are more entitled and should have had first shot at the new homes is straight out of Orwell's "Animal Farm" when the authoritarian pigs declare "some animals are more equal than others."

Also "That's the way they've always done it in the past" is no excuse for not improving the user experience which encourages user retention.  Offering new premium members new homes and not delivering sets a negative tone.

The moles are LL employees (or contracted) so saying they worked really hard on making these homes, sims, etc, so cut them some slack is a rather odd perspective since that is their RL job.  Not to say they shouldn't be praised or appreciated for their talents and hard work but they do get paid to create content for SL so they're not some volunteer org toiling away on their own dime.

I realize there will always be subsequent ptemium members signing up however, current premium membership numbers are not an unknown since LL derives revenue from the fees and setting up an online query is not a lot of "paper" to pull in info from members to determine what type of home they want so LL could gauge how many of each to provide. 

The roll-out of the Linden homes was not thought out very well in advance otherwise there would have have been more than enough new homes for every member.  Would members have had to wait longer? Yes.  Would it have been a fairer process to wait so everyone who is a current premium member could get a home at the same time? Yes.

The only way rolling out a limited number of the new homes would have worked fairly would have been via a lottery and would still require a pre-selection of home type by premium members..  

 

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This limited roll out has helped in how the future homes and regions will be developed. They are able to listen to community feedback, and also fine-tune the bugs they had, instead of roll it out to everyone a year from now, and have the bugs happening to 10x the number of people (and taking 10x as long to get to everyone as a result). 

Edited by stlshayne
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12 minutes ago, Pixels Sideways said:

This isn't about paying attention. People I heard from were well aware of the new premium membership homes and the date they would be available. They didn't have the time (or access) to hover at a computer all day waiting for the start signal or refreshing.

Nobody, absolutely nobody, except LL knew the date they would be available.  Those of us on the forums that were actively monitoring things were still guessing about the release date just hours before they were actually released -- see pages 44 and 45 of the SSP thread.

My understanding is that they were released around noon - on the 15th of April.  I had to work that day and had other stuff going on, so I didn't get home and online until roughly 7 hours later.  There was still enough availability in the houseboats at that time for me to spend the next 1.5 hours selecting and abandoning - using multiple alts - in order to get what I considered to be a super location.  Ditto with the houses. 

The houseboats were not completely gone until sometime really early on the morning of the 16th, SLT, and the houses not until roughly 48 hours after launch.  How do you figure that that required anybody to hover at their computer all day waiting or refreshing?

 

The constant whining by so many has just got me flabbergasted.

 

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I've been a premium member for years, but I don't monitor the forums.  I guess this means that those of us who don't have no way of knowing about new advances to our paid memberships?  It's been two weeks since the release, and I've yet to see a single in-world notice about a new premium benefit.  Perhaps something sent out to premium members would have been in order?  But that's just the opinion of one RL customer service rep....<grins>

Thanks for the great info here, and I look forward to eventually snagging my own new home!

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There really was a lot of time.

We weren't sat here waiting like hawks for them to go live and missed the start by half a day. When we did find out (from a friend!) and after I'd posted the announcement to the secondlife sub-reddit, Kitty and myself spent most of the first the day wandering around the regions talking each other into getting one.

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