When will houseboats be available again?

[beladona Memorial]

I have been in SL for for 14 years and a Premium member since they rolled out the program.   Okay, so I was at work and missed the land rush when the new region opened up and didn't get a houseboat.  But the last update from Patch Linden was back in April -- four months ago.   This is obviously a very popular perk of being a Premium member, so why hasn't there been more updates letting us know about any progress that is being made?

[Alyona Su]

How long any of us have been in SL is irrelevant; how long any of us have paid for Premium is irrelevant. The technical answer to your question is that they are available now. The true question is "when will a new new one become available or existing once become vacant". The answer to the former part is "weekly" and the answer to the latter part is "almost daily". I know this because I'm continuously checking in readiness for a Csamper and I am seeing several homes and at least a couple houseboats every day.

It's a matter of timing. You must check your LL Home page often. Many are refreshing the page every minute or so.

Edited August 12, 2019 by Alyona Su

[Beth Macbain]

Patch's latest update says regions will be released on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so at the very minimum, there are three new regions a week unless unforeseen circumstances arise. 

That is progress being made. 

Edit - Actually his next-to-last update. The last one was about the auto-refresh debacle. 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Beth Macbain
Added more stuff.

[beladona Memorial]

Actually?  I do think that the length of time one has been a resident and a Premium member should be relevant, and releases should be staggered to take into account not only these factors but time zones.  

I have seen the update about the auto-refresh debacle, but not when new items are available.  In my off-work hours I intermittently refresh the available land.

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by beladona Memorial

[Beth Macbain]

The argument could also be made, and has been ad infinitum, that new residents should get the new homes first.

The fact is that SL wants to both attract new residents and retain their current ones. The current method of first come, first serve doesn't show preference towards either group, and that is fair. 

They are also doing the weekly releases at various times of day during SL's business hours since it requires something like 12 LL employees to be on hand for various technical aspects and trouble-shooting in case of any issues. 

[Alyona Su]

1 hour ago, beladona Memorial said:

Actually?  I do think that the length of time one has been a resident and a Premium member should be relevant

In that case the newest of the newbies will get them *first* because they are specifically designed and intended as *starter* homes. That would put both you and I and the very back of the long, long line. *Be careful what you ask for*.

[Nika Talaj]

Though there hasn't been much in the way of new houseboat releases lately, people abandon them at any time, so doing what you're doing, refreshing manually when you can, I found to be the most likely way to get one.

But there are a bazillion houseboats being built right now.  With the Belli continent, we cannot say that LL has been unresponsive or out of touch with what residents want.  Not only you, but a lot of folks have been wanting moar houseboats.   Get familiar with the the map, or fly around the SSP regions that are under active development.  When you see that an SSP region with a bunch of houseboats has been built up and is named, get ready to refresh weekdays more often between 6:30AM and 3:30PM SLT.  [Note, lately there have been several Tuesday or Thursday releases as well as MWF].

ETA: If you haven't seen it already, take a look at this thread too:

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Nika Talaj

[LittleMe Jewell]

4 hours ago, beladona Memorial said:

 I do think that the length of time one has been a resident and a Premium member should be relevant, and releases should be staggered to take into account not only these factors but time zones.  

 

If you are an older member and have been Premium for a long time but DO NOT own a Linden Home (one of the old ones), then the argument could be made that you didn't take an original home when you had the chance, so why should you get priority on a new one?

If you are an older member and have been Premium for a long time but DO own a Linden Home (one of the old ones), then the argument could be made that you at least already have a free home so why should you get priority on a new one?

If you are an older member, regardless of how long you have been Premium, the argument could be made that the PRIMARY purpose of the Linden Homes is to give newbies a starter home so that they can become familiar with home and land ownership, so why should you, an older member, get priority?

 

Every claim that some class of people should get priority can easily be argued against.  

 

[Rabid Cheetah]

I don't think anyone should get priority.  However, I fully understand why a customer paying $72/year for certain online services would be disappointed by the fact that they're not getting all the features they are paying for.  We're all paying for membership, but only some members get all the perks, like a houseboat?  Then why should the rest have to pay the full membership amount?  This isn't like other online software, where you need to accomplish various tasks to have enough experience points to build a home.  Nor is this something determined by supply and demand, like land prices in certain popular areas being cost-prohibitive for many users.  These homes are a benefit of paying for membership.  So I understand the disappointment that comes from not fully getting what you paid for.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Rabid Cheetah

[Beth Macbain]

2 hours ago, Rabid Cheetah said:

We're all paying for membership, but only some members get all the perks, like a houseboat?  

A houseboat isn't a perk. A Linden Home is a perk, and there are plenty of those available. 

Here's the list straight from the website:

• Weekly L$300 stipend*
• L$1000 sign-up bonus** for first-time Premium Account subscribers
• Priority entry when regions are full of avatars
• Linden Home or 1024m² tier allotment for use towards a parcel on the Mainland
• Expanded live-chat customer support
• Premium virtual gifts
• Exclusive access to Premium areas and experiences
• Increased cap on missed IMs
• Increased group membership limits
• Voice Morphing

[tootsiepop1]

On 8/12/2019 at 9:08 AM, beladona Memorial said:

I have been in SL for for 14 years and a Premium member since they rolled out the program.   Okay, so I was at work and missed the land rush when the new region opened up and didn't get a houseboat.  But the last update from Patch Linden was back in April -- four months ago.   This is obviously a very popular perk of being a Premium member, so why hasn't there been more updates letting us know about any progress that is being made?

There where plenty that came up last week that all that seemed to be popping up. The houseboats are a bit rarer then the homes as it does not seem to be as many so either a area that has them has to come available or someone has to release one which is very rare.

Edited August 13, 2019 by tootsiepop1

[Alyona Su]

2 hours ago, Rabid Cheetah said:

However, I fully understand why a customer paying $72/year for certain online services would be disappointed by the fact that they're not getting all the features they are paying for.

But they DO get ALL the features they are paying for. The old Linden Homes are still easily obtainable, instantly. There is no promise made that as a premium member you will get a Linden Home exclusively on the Bellisseria continent, only that they will get a Linden Home and there are thousands available right this second. This is the paper tiger everyone uses when proclaiming "not getting what I paid for" - stop it, please. (And I do know that you, Rabid Cheetah, are not the one making this proclamation, though you are enabling it in your comment.)

[tootsiepop1]

7 minutes ago, Alyona Su said:

But they DO get ALL the features they are paying for. The old Linden Homes are still easily obtainable, instantly. There is no promise made that as a premium member you will get a Linden Home exclusively on the Bellisseria continent, only that they will get a Linden Home and there are thousands available right this second. This is the paper tiger everyone uses when proclaiming "not getting what I paid for" - stop it, please. (And I do know that you, Rabid Cheetah, are not the one making this proclamation, though you are enabling it in your comment.)

There is no promise but if you want one you should have the option to obtain one that is suppose to be a feature given to you as a premium member. I mean really who still wants a old linden home that has less prims and in a cluttered area where the homes are on top of each other, no landscaping at all yes since some people have been in them for years they have made it possibly to there liking and they have all the right to stay where they like. I myself personally never like the old linden homes and never acquired one for longer then maybe a week and then gave it up to rent. But if your paying for a feature you should be able to get that feature you can not justify how anyone feels for there hard earned money. Like paying for cable premium stations and then they take away two or three of those stations and still want you to pay the same amount I think not.

 

Edited August 13, 2019 by tootsiepop1

[Theresa Tennyson]

1 hour ago, tootsiepop1 said:

Like paying for cable premium stations and then they take away two or three of those stations and still want you to pay the same amount I think not.

 

Just paying for a premium cable station doesn't mean they'll show the movie you want to watch when you want to see it.

[Alyona Su]

7 minutes ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Just paying for a premium cable station doesn't mean they'll show the movie you want to watch when you want to see it.

Ditto. //entitlement_attitudes_are_prevailent

[beladona Memorial]

1 hour ago, Alyona Su said:

Ditto. //entitlement_attitudes_are_prevailent

Guilty as charged.   Guess I expected a gold star or something for having been a denizen of the world for so long -- my bad  🙄

It's rather like when you are renting an apartment in RL for $1500 only to find out that a new resident can have the exact same apartment for $1200.  Not exactly fair, but that's the way that it is.  

IMNSHO, FWIIW:  LL underestimated the desire for a larger packet of land with a higher permitted prim count then they had previously provided as a perk, as well as designing it to entice more folks into becoming new premium members, and was totally blindsided by the resulting land stampede.  Maybe they should come up with some sort of renewal perk when the annual premium membership comes due?  

 

[tootsiepop1]

2 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Just paying for a premium cable station doesn't mean they'll show the movie you want to watch when you want to see it.

But I am still paying for it so does not matter if they show something or not, I still expect my station or a reduce price.

[Chic Aeon]

46 minutes ago, beladona Memorial said:

LL underestimated the desire for a larger packet of land with a higher permitted prim count then they had previously provided as a perk, as well as designing it to entice more folks into becoming new premium members, and was totally blindsided by the resulting land stampede.  Maybe they should come up with some sort of renewal perk when the annual premium membership comes due? 

Not really sure that is true although I understand it is the prevalent thought.  Patch was very clear in his talk at Home Expo that LL KNEW they would run out of the new plots very quickly. He actually pretty much warned folks to be on the ball. A lot of us had been watching the homes for nine months so we were obviously invested.   It takes very little thought and some simple math to see that when Bellisseria opened there was no way it could accommodate all the people that would want a spot --  not even COUNTING the ad campaign to "go Premium" folks that joined and then found out there were no new houses left. 

 

I personally think something bigger and brighter and shinier (if not as inexpensive) is on the drawing board.   I am not saying what it is only because there was a little bit of "insider info" that I shouldn't have been a party to. And I do NOT tell secrets out of class; I believe in keeping them.  So, perhaps by the end of the year things will settle down and there will be enough houses for all the folks that want them.

 

There could also be fewer people in the future (I am hoping not but we don't know what will happen). Higher Premium costs, inability of some folks to continue cashing out, closing shops and leaving -- and other things to come -- will likely have some effect on the player base.  Hopefully the new video ads and the Super Duper Premium when it arrives will balance that out. 

[Beth Macbain]

5 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

 I am not saying what it is only because there was a little bit of "insider info" that I shouldn't have been a party to. And I do NOT tell secrets out of class; I believe in keeping them.  

Why even mention this then? I would hope that whoever is feeding you “insider info” sees this and is a bit more circumspect with what they share and who they share it with in the future.

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

[Luna Bliss]

42 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

I personally think something bigger and brighter and shinier (if not as inexpensive) is on the drawing board.   I am not saying what it is only because there was a little bit of "insider info" that I shouldn't have been a party to. And I do NOT tell secrets out of class; I believe in keeping them.

How much money would I have to pay for you to reveal what's coming?  ;0

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

8 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

How much money would I have to pay for you to reveal what's coming?  ;0

Luna I will pay you what you paid Chic plus 15% more.

[Chic Aeon]

47 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

Why even mention this then? I would hope that whoever is feeding you “insider info” sees this and is a bit more circumspect with what they share and who they share it with in the future.

Actually almost ALL of the info was public.  Why not share with you?  Well for one thing the person that talked out of turn might lose their job. That's good enough for me.  For the folks  doing the research and going to the meetings and such, the idea isn't a big leap at all and was even mentioned officially LONG ago, and maybe someone else will put the same pieces together and come forth with their theories WITHOUT endangering someone's job. 

 

My point was that the number of Bellisseria homes, the rollout plan, the subsequent changes in policies are part of a bigger picture --- one that will make sense if it all comes together in a few months -- or so --- or "SOON".   

 

Even before I got the "icing on the cake" info -- I had already mentioned this possibility on the forums. But it is one thing to have a theory and another to have MORE than a theory --- at least for me.    AND, it is certainly possible that "the plan" may not materialize simply because something else takes priority or that LL makes a shift in direction.  If and when the newness IS announced we will know. And of course I am not going to poke you and say -- "see?"  simply because you wouldn't believe me anyway. And that is fine. 

 

Just block me and you will never have to read anything I write!  That works too.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Chic Aeon

[Chic Aeon]

14 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

How much money would I have to pay for you to reveal what's coming?  ;0

I know you are kidding but there is no number. My RL friends KNOW that I don't pass along info. And when two friends are involved I am often heard to say, "sorry, can't tell you. Told in confidence".  They never seem to complain too much. I mean if I told THEM the other person's secret, then would I do the same with their "private info"?   

 

Just something I have done my whole life. 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Chic Aeon
spelling

[Chic Aeon]

And remember what is PLANNED and what actually happens in SL --- are often two different things :D. 

 

I will be waiting to see if it actually happens too

 

 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Chic Aeon
adding info