Topic

Staff Topic

How to Test the New Houses

OK! Now you can test some parts of the new housing system. We're concentrating here on furniture and decoration (later releases will add the ability to craft new furniture, expand houses, cultivate land and use imagination to grow your yard and home street).

To try it out, get in the game type "/home" in local chat (it is deliberately hard to do right now so that people don't get confused and think this is *the* permanent switchover — this house is just for your testing and customizations will eventually be reset). When you're at home, there will be a new button which takes you back to the regular game world.

Once you go inside, you'll see the new furniture tab by your inventory and a "decorate" button at the top-right of the game. Go crazy. Upgrading furniture is all free right now (in the future, some upgrades will be subscriber-only and some will cost credits).

You can't get any more furniture for now and you also can't give, trade or sell furniture until the next release (or maybe the one after that). However, you can bring your stuff over to the new house and not worry about it getting lost when we reset (we'll keep it all safe) — it is just the furniture customizations that you'll lose.

To move furniture around and place items on furniture, you need to be in "decoration mode", which will hide your avatar and allow you to use the arrow keys to pan around your house.

You'll be switched to decoration mode automatically when you drag something out of your furniture bag, but you can also hit the "decorate" button in the top right of the game window.

To change wallpaper, ceilings and floors, hit the "swatches" button which appears in the top bar when you're in decoration mode. You can stamp the patterns on or drag them into place. For wallpapers you can either to a single segment or the whole wall at once.

Finally, though the land outside your house is fixed for now (you can't expand it or add/remove resources yet) you do have a customizable signpost outside: you can use that to add up to five signs pointing to the home streets of people from your friends list.

Any questions? Thoughts? ;)

See also:  Blog post  •  Video Demo

Note: If you don't see any furniture (or just your trophies) inside your furniture bag when you enter your house, type "/home" again.

Note 2: You can type "/home" from wherever you are in the world, including other people's houses.

Note 3: We will give plenty of notice before the real switchover to the new housing system and, if you own a regular in-world house at that time, all of the items inside it will be moved over automatically. You don't have to move everything yourself.

Note 4: Many questions and answers have been summarized in this (unofficial!) FAQ

Posted 12 years ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • @Bees i have the same problem as Windborn, had 5 rugs,logged off back only 2 rugs. Have refreshed many times still the same. But have to say TS has done a wonderful job well done :)
    Posted 12 years ago by 2020smoke Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh, man, I love this so much. I have many feelings, but they're probably all best rendered by sort of a high-pitched excited-monkey noise.
    Posted 12 years ago by Meghan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bexatious: can you open a help ticket please? pretty sure that's not related to the new houses
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bexatious...Did you check your decoration inventory?
    Had a chair go into my bag space and the bag it replaced showed up in a decoration slot lol
    Posted 12 years ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bees

    /leave then /home doesn't fix it
    refreshing doesn't fix it
    restarting browser doesnt fix it
    and new bug fix didn't fix it.
    I still only have 2 rugs, and I started with 5
    only 1 bed, started with 2.
    Don't remember what my other starting numbers were.
    Posted 12 years ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Enjoyed decorating my place!

    Question - will there be an option to upgrade to a larger house? I fear that I've hoarded so much stuff at my old place that they all won't fit in the new place. You might have already answered this question so sorry if I'm repeating.
    Posted 12 years ago by Jojo Bloom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • 2020smoke &  WindBorn : odd, i see it too. we'll look into it
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Jojo Bloom: yes, house expansion is coming in the next release (it says so in the first paragraph of the topic!)
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wow!! Mood is dropping like crazy while in deco mode!
    Posted 12 years ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • sgjo: known issue, yeah
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cool, thanks :-)
    Posted 12 years ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks TS!  This is awesome!
    Question: When the final move comes, will our piggies, chickens, butterflies, herbs, crops, and trees be converted to seasoned eggs, seasoned beans, and seeds since they don't fit in the new house?  Or will we have to use the animal youth potions on our animals and harvest herbs/crops before the switch (I guess if this is the case, then we can't save our trees  :(         )?
    Posted 12 years ago by Ari Cloud Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @sgjo: Thank you!  <3
    Posted 12 years ago by Mahalla Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ari Cloud: it's likely there will be no saving of trees and crops (just plant new ones!). animals may get moved automatically
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's really nice! Great job!

    Some stuff i've noticed:

    - Doors... can't be edited;
    - Closets;
    - Different spaces in and out (houses) - I like the view from my house in Salatu; :)

    Anyway I suppose that you're planning all that already.
    Posted 12 years ago by Kul Koba Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I seem to have a canopy bed in my personal inventory in the spot where my bag of tools used to be. 

    Edite to add screen shot: http://bit.ly/zphKwn

    I can't remove it and I don't want to have lost all my tools!
    Posted 12 years ago by domestipithecus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Kul Koba: all on the todo list!
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Maybe it's pointed out already..(don't have time to read all the posts)..but when i drag an inventory item from the house back into one of my opened bags, it will not go to the appointed location (lit up slot inside bag) but into the first available slot. Hmm..i hope that makes sense.
    :-)
    Posted 12 years ago by Alisah Subscriber! | Permalink
  • domestipithecus: we're looking into this. a relaod will probably clear it up
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks! I reloaded and all is well. Love the new stuff!!
    Posted 12 years ago by domestipithecus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wanted to see if the crop plots could be moved and it worked but now I can't put them back where they were. When I try they just slide to the bottom of the screen still usable but in the wrong place. :/
    Posted 12 years ago by Leithwyn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Leithwyn: cna you take a screenshot to show what you mean?

    edit: no matter, i see!
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Having a great time playing--
    Industrial Space Ship desk (listed for 40 credits) and SpaceShip table (listed for 25 credits) are the exact same item. 
    Also-Not sure how you want to spell/space/cap. spaceship.
    Posted 12 years ago by Hobbes4All Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Suspects Hideout: well spotted!
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • My backyard is messed up. The garden spots and trees won't go back up they are dropped to the bottom.
    Posted 12 years ago by Eye Wonder Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I see references to doors, but I see no doors in my furniture bag, nor do I see anything having to do with doors in the decorator mode.  If it's possible to add a door, how is that done?

    BTW, the housing customization is awesome, and it adds a totally new dimension to the game. However, having a signpost with slots for only 5 friends is already giving me a headache.
    Posted 12 years ago by Splendora Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Neat new update - congrats on getting it out there 6 days before the wailing and gnashing of teeth began!  Most of the things I've noticed thus far seem to already be reported.

    One thing that wasn't clear was that in the decorating inventory, each item only allowed me to place it in my house once.  If I wanted another stool, I had to upgrade a second stool and place it (because when I tried to place the first stool I had upgraded for a second time, the original stool would disappear and the second one never appeared).

    Good point on the counter perspective being inconsistent with the rest of the furniture.  Also the furniture placement seems to be a little off...like someone's recommendation that it would 'snap to grid'.  Currently with the placement of my counter, anything put on it sets too low (about 1/2 way down the front of the counter).

    Look forward to the progressive updates...thanks, for injecting fun back into the game...

    ETA: agree with the rest - only 5 friends is WAY WAY too few...I liked the old FS implementation of everyone on your friend's list was by default on your signpost (though they limited the number of friends to 300).  Maybe only have 5 names displayed (like on FB, where you id your top x friends), but when you click on the signpost have a drop down list?
    Posted 12 years ago by ~Pink Flamingo~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Splendora: no adding of doors at the moment. as for the signpost - pick wisely! (or change often)
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Beach Bum: each stool is one stool - not sure what you mean there. you don't have an infinite number. it's either in your bag or in your house.
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks Bees!...yes, I figured that out the hard way...it wasn't clear to me at first...
    Posted 12 years ago by ~Pink Flamingo~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you, thank you, thank you! I LOVE my little house! I've decorated it all up and taken screenshots to remember what I did.

    Is there any way we could put locations on our signposts instead of friends? It would be nice to have some favorite places right there and ready to go.

    Anyway, great job! I can't wait to see what's coming up next!!!
    Posted 12 years ago by KatyaR Subscriber! | Permalink
  • KatyaR: that's what teleportation is for!
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So far, so good! I am liking it! Keep up the good work!
    Posted 12 years ago by Fstra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have looked but may have missed this: placed icons are not lining up properly so they appear to "sit" on a table, counter or shelf.  They are still offset a short distance from the "path" as they are when you place them on the ground, so they seem to be floating above the furniture.
    Posted 12 years ago by Midori Bearsdale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • tooltips for designs and furniture names.  eg, i don't know green striped wallpaper is called that until i test it out.  
    Posted 12 years ago by WalruZ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Feedback: This. Is. Awesome! 
    and also - shame on you for making me loose sleep - it's 3 in the AM here on GMT+1 - and I'm STILL playing around (this is a compliment!) Glad I'm off work tomorrow!

    Idea: Add a sentence a la "type /home whereever you are, to get to your new home - no signpost or TP point needed" - to the original post. There's a lot of comments on that one :)

    Idea on purchase of upgrades to furniture ect: 
    Present: you can view a single item, and then buy / discard. 
    Idea: sample several items at once before commiting to a purchase. Eg.: I like to test a few different wallpapers with this chair/shelf/xxx before I can decide - I prefer to look at the whole picture. Istead there could be some form of time constraint - say 3 mins to look at your handi-work before it reverts back.. or something :)
    Posted 12 years ago by Hen vla Ham Subscriber! | Permalink
  • WalruZ: good idea!
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Chicken Bug:
    I added a chicken to my house and then placed a chicken stick by the back door to keep him in place. I tried to use him to incubate some eggs but then noticed he's acting funny. And he TOOK my eggs! He never sat down or anything, just is standing there, like a statue. 

    And now that I'm looking at him, he's not moving at all. Not even a little. KFC doesn't even phase him. Is he some new breed of robot-chicken? Here to eat our butterfly eggs and spy on the piggies? 

    He was acting so normal earlier.... 

    I reloaded and he was still standing there. I tried KFC! again, this time with feeling, and he jumped. He knows he's been found out. He gave me one caterpillar back, but not the other... I wonder if it has been squirreled away to become one of his minons...? 

    Or maybe it's just a bug. 
    Posted 12 years ago by Squiggle-Squee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hen vla Ham:
    editing topic: good idea
    preview mode: that makes everything more complicated, so it's unlikely to happen
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The furniture and what-not in our new houses will go away, I presume, with reset.

    What about the inevitable huge mounds of junk that is so popular to leave lying all over?  Will everything in the new 'test houses' be erased? 

    Is it safe to place our Icons in the new houses?
    Posted 12 years ago by Polo Reede Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Polo Reede: that question has been answered roughly eleventy billion times in this thread already - your items will not be lost
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wow this is cool!!  ISSUEs

    An issues I noticed. Don't know if anyone else already said this so if it is a are a repeat sorry.

    - If you put some thing up and take it down, you can not place it again. I had this issue with both a chair and a trophy. I put them up and then dragged them back to the boxes below and when I went to place them again they would not place. I just used another chair but the trophy (fruit changer)  will not place.

    - Just noticed the chair in my inventory after I left the house. OK I was wrong - one of my bags changed to look like a chair and then I could not access things in it. Stuff went into it that is how I noticed. logged out and in and that fixed the bag.

    -Now the chair is back in the room in the wrong place and I can not move it.

    I was in a party and went to test home and went returned to world was not back in the party, but back where I left from.
    Posted 12 years ago by Star Gazer Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I was able to log in using a different browser (Firefox worked, Chrome kept having issues), and everything looks great!!  Super-excited to see how this goes!! :D
    Posted 12 years ago by Ashbet Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is wonderful!!!!  Had lots of fun decorating!  I was having the same issue with my trophies being the only thing in list of furniture to show up right.  If my mouse moved over it, it would be labeled correctly though.  LOVE the yeti bed!!!!!  
    Posted 12 years ago by kat65 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *head desk* *head desk* *slaps computer*

    I can't get in. I've sent a help ticket. But I want in NOW!!!

    It all sounds so neat! Aarghh!!! *whimper*
    Posted 12 years ago by Spayem Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm sure it's been said eleventy billion times already but I love being able to play music from my music trophies!
    Posted 12 years ago by GirlWhatSqueaks Subscriber! | Permalink
  • GirlWhatSqueaks: i know, right???
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Impressive test.. really like the "test" items and looking forward to more selection (i.e...  goth, frilly/froofoo, manly, homey, seaside, HOLIDAY???)
    Posted 12 years ago by bad2dabone Subscriber! | Permalink
  • bad2dabone: for sure!
    Posted 12 years ago by Bees! Subscriber! | Permalink
  • AWESOME!!!!!  Luv it!
    Posted 12 years ago by aerio Subscriber! | Permalink
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