WildStar made a big splash at PAX East this year among not only players who have been following the game’s development, but also among people who were just hearing about the game for the very first time. Part of it was due to the dedication and friendliness of the team, part of it was due to the quirky humor and art style of the game, but one big feature really caught the eyes of anyone who checked out the game; player housing.
Player housing is set to become one of the big features in WildStar, something that has many players very excited. After seeing some of the ways players can utilize and customize their house at PAX it is not hard to understand why they are excited. From unique designs to special bonuses, the housing system is sure to be a feature players will be able to sink many hours into in their WildStar adventure. Keep on reading to learn all about the different features that were shown off and that have players pumped.
Players are going to be able to start working on their house starting at level 6. You just need to drop some cash at your local Protostar representative in order to buy a plot of land. Once you head to your land you’ll need to clear it of some enemies, but then you’re welcome to start working on your house and making it as beautiful, or bizarre, as you want.
There are two components to designing your house, the exterior and the interior. Exterior decorating has two main components; “hooks” and “plugs”. Hooks will be used for your decorations. You will be able to place decorations on pre-defined hooks to give your place a unique look. This seems like a fairly basic set-up that anyone used to a game like the Sims will be able to easily pick up. But things get a little more interesting when it comes to the “plugs”.
“Plugs” are modules that add something special when placed into “sockets” around your home. Plugs have a variety of different functions and the plugs you utilize will likely be strongly influenced by what type of player you are. Do you love to craft? Build a crafting station. Are you a hardcore raider? Build yourself a a personal raid portal. Do you want a quick supply of ore right outside your front door? Then get yourself a mine. These are but a few options that players will have access to, and most plugs will offer daily quests and/or buffs for players who use them.
When you move inside your home the “hook and plug” system of customizing your home is abandoned in favor of a more freeform method. From the looks of things players will have control over the size, placing, and arrangement of the items inside your house. Developers showed off an example of the kind of freedom players will have by building a makeshift loft out of a series of bookcases. That’s only one small example, but it’s looking like players will have a huge amount of freedom when it comes to customizing the interior of their house. You’ll also be able to change things such as floor tiles, surfaces, wallpaper, all the things you would expect to be able to change when customizing your home.
The big draw for making the interior of your home as nice as possible comes in the form of rested xp. Whenever you log out of the game when your character is inside your house you’ll get rested xp, and the nicer your house is the more xp you will gain. “Nicer” in this case refers to standard comforts; nicer furniture, more lighting, cool decorations, all these things can increase the amount of rested xp you accumulate. Again this is a system that anyone who has played the Sims will be very comfortable with.
You can keep your home a private and secluded place if you want, but chances are you’re going to want to let your friends in on the action too. You will be able to enable friends and neighbors to visit your home, or you can make a full on public area and let anyone come check out your abode. There are some distinct advantages to getting more players into your zone. For example, say you have a mine outside your house but cannot log into the game for a week or so. All that ore sitting out front isn’t doing anyone any good if it just sits their unmined is it? Well if you get a buddy to come mine the ore while you are gone not only will they get some ore but you will as well. This kind of system encourages players to work together for a mutual gain, and that’s a damn good thing in my book.
There is even talk of letting your friends get inside your house for some fun too. The developers are toying around with the idea of letting players enable decorating privileges to other players of their choosing. This could be a interesting feature that would allow you and your friends to make changes to each other’s houses as long as you give the okay.
The player housing system in WildStar is looking like it’s going to be a ton of fun, and it’s just another reason to look forward to the game. If you’re as excited as we are make sure you head over to the official WildStar page and sign up for beta testing!