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#### A Compilation of Staff Responses to Questions/Requests in the Great Housing Thread

I made this in an attempt to cut down on the number of repeated questions/requests, hopefully! I’ll include general information and some FAQ I’ve seen about the tester housing too. I give links to posts made by staff where I can; there are multiple links to the same posts sometimes, where the post had more than one bit of info.
I apologize for the variable format and any confusion >.< Italicized text is players' questions/comments and the rest is staff responses or my paraphrasing of their responses. Changes/Additions made after the initial posting will be indicated by a date (example: changes made on March 4, 2012 will have 3/4 in front). If you have questions/suggestions, please ask/suggest away!
**** Remember to read this first: stoot’s main post ****
3/4 As a friendly reminder, Bees! also posted this: "Everything will probably happen in phases. Be patient." // THIS IS THE TRUTH
3/5 About the release schedule for all this new stuff: stoot's words
Sections are as follows: Things as they are atm; Tips for the new houses; About the future (The switch, Things that won't happen, Things that will happen, Other things...); Re some players' suggestions; Re some bugs; FAQ that Millie can answer; Coming soon.
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Things as they are atm:
- Are things I put in my front yard safe? // Your front yard is a public space. Anyone can pass through, so exercise the same sort of caution you would have on Gregarious Grange. x, x (3/5 stoot talks about public vs private space here and here.)
- It seems that friends I've added to my signpost show up as neighbors on my street. Will this info be visible to everyone? // that's the point, yes! x
- House permissions should follow the same rules as existing houses. x (Blocking people should stop them from visiting your home street. (might be buggy atm) x) (3/20 Update! If you block someone who was on your signpost, it would take their name off your post, and your name from theirs if they had a link to your street. x Also, players you block are no longer able to visit your Home Street. x)
- If an item is placed while in decoration mode, it shouldn’t be pick-up-able by others. (There seem to be some bugs with this atm.) x
- Is there any way to get to a sixth friend's house without redoing the sign each time? // Set a teleportation point, teleport from their profile, or follow a sign at one of your friends' houses. x
3/4 - "If the only way to get back into the game is via teleportation, what happens to new players that don't know that skill yet?" // It's not - you click the "leave button. x
- Is there any way to know who has ME on their signpost? // Not currently. x
- If I pay 25 credits to upgrade one of my ceiling lamps to be an octopus, then change my mind and pay 40 credits to make it a jellyfish, then change my mind and want the octopus back, I have to pay another 25 credits... // Don't upgrade the same lamp - get 2 different lamps (and we should warn about this). x
- The five link limit on signposts is unlikely to change. x
3/4 - Going to the new housing (and returning from it) does not cost any teleports. x
3/4 - If you put it [referring to dolls] on furniture, it's locked. If you put it on the floor, others can take it. (Bees! means placed while in decoration mode.) x
- We get to test this stuff until the next things are ready to test. x
- At which point the furniture will be taken away when they release more housing stuff. x
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Tips for the new houses:
- To go to your new house from anywhere, whether at a friend’s new house or in the normal world, enter “/home” into local chat. (edit: type /home without the quotation marks!)
- To return to the normal world, click on the “Return to World” button at the bottom right of the game area.
- To remove an item that you no longer want from your house, drag it back into your furniture bag. x
- To remove friends from your signpost, click the [X] icon next to their name while in edit-mode – edit is at the bottom of the signpost x, x
- Click on something to bring it to the front. There are a few groups which are ordered within themselves though - against wall, behind player and on front of player x
- To keep any changes you make to the ceiling or floor, click the save button at the top of the screen (“buy for x credits” or “get it for free”). x
- Can chairs be turned so that they're not all facing to the right? // Use the menu on the placed item to “Flip” it while in decorating mode.
- To preview any item of furniture without paying anything, click on it while it’s placed, and it changes in-place (you can drag the choosing window aside to see). x
- Not everything has to stay against the back wall. Try dragging it forward. x
- WASD as well as the arrow keys work in Decorating Mode. (this wasn’t in the original release)
- “Butterflies and chickens go in and out of the new house, but piggies stay outside? Do we have to use the sticks to keep them out, or should they not come in?” // Use animal sticks! Q: x A: x
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About the future:
---The switch---
- Whether you move items over to the new house or not, they will not be lost (and will be moved over automatically when the switch occurs). Crops and trees will be lost on the reset of the new housing, but everything else will be saved and transferred. Animals may be moved automatically. x, x, x, x (stoot says the switch is a long way off x)
- Credits will not be required to expand your house, and xp/level won't be transferred into credits. x
- "Are the sample prices any indication of what things will cost?” // Some indication, not the final prices x
- Will we all have the same starter home (like in the trial) or will it be based on our current home? // It’s likely you’ll get a refund on your current home and then get a starter home based on some other factors. x
- please, let us keep our old houses as a beta-gift! maybe with credits? // probably not, sorry x
- "Will the doors just close and be generic now? Will the building there still exist?" // Some buildings will still exist and be explorable, but most will be gone. No block streets either. x
3/4 - "I'm assuming we're going to be spending Imagination rather than Credits." // Not for furniture. Imagination is used to "grow the world". Soon! x
3/4 - "I dislike that most items cost many credits." // More free options wil be available when we release the real thing. x
3/4 - How will our stuff be moved? Will it all be in boxes for us to unload, or will stuff get transferred to our new houses in the places that they were in in our old houses? // probably in boxes. x but impossible to say right now. x
---Things that won't happen---
- "Will we have the option to "save" our house modifications like we save our outfits?" // maybe in the future, but not in this release. x (later: We're probably not going to do that. You never know, though. x)
- Will we be able to put items in the foreground (e.g., in front of the avatar, which is in the middle ground)? // no items, just (some) furniture x
3/4 - "are we going to have access to the world map from inside our house?" // probably not x
---Things that will happen---
- Everyone who is asking if we will tweak the visual of placement of items on surfaces or the look of items or whether we will add more options in the future, etc.: yes — this is an early testing release of part of the whole system. We're not done yet. x
- we'll have (more) non-credits options for all furniture x
- Most/all furniture from existing houses will be upgrade options x
- There will be no limit to the number of furniture items we can possess. x
- It'll be up to you what plots/features you want in your yard(s). x, x (whatever combo of trees, gardens, rocks, jellisacs, etc that you want x)
- Round-y rooms, Firebog styles and more free options are coming. x
- will we get our own mailbox? // maybe, probably! x (3/5 You'll be able to access your mail from your home street, but not necessarily through what looks like a mailbox. x)
- No doubt decorators will get additional badges? // Probably! x
- Will the new housing Home Streets and neighbor connections be available in API methods such as locations.streetInfo? // once we release it for reals x
- "Will we be able to buy/upgrade to [firefly swarms and barnacles] in future releases" // yes, you will be able to cultivate the land and start producing those things. x
- "Will we be able to add to our mining resources as in upgrading from 1 metal rock to a sparkly?" // yes! x
- "Please also let us have the option of rooftop gardens in a somewhat sterile mansion" // This, or something like it, will be an option. x
- "I'd love it if our yards were sufficiently high so that rainbow potions could be used without 'disappearing' into the sky." // When you add floors to your house (next release), your garden gets higher. x
- "Will lamps/light fitting be turn on/off able?" // Yes. x
3/4 - Will we get windows? // Yes. x
3/4 - Hoping all styles of furniture will eventually be consistent across an entire line of furniture so you could have a completely themed house. // Yes x
3/4 - We're working on making all the sizes (of objects, like a firefly jar) make more sense. x
---Other things...---
- Questions about access: Link Answer: We haven't made all the final decisions yet on access control, but the best way to think about it is a public street which is designed/maintained/controlled by one player. x
- "i love the way the swatches panel is drag-able. any chance that the main UI might be broken apart into modules or pieces like that?" //We're doing some UI overhauls shortly. x
- About trading/buying/selling furniture: Question and Answer
- This basically ruins the point of Ajaya and Neva Neva right? Since you can just go back to your house, drop off your stuff, and go back in again? // We have a plan to make this not suck, don't worry x
- Any thoughts on creating your own blocks, ala the current housing system? I realize the signpost thingy kind of lends itself to this but what about (perhaps in the far future) allowing players to put their houses on another player's street (or a collective street) to create a neighborhood/block? // As you correctly guessed, this is the purpose of the signpost, while still allowong the owner control, over their public street. group controlled land is a planned future thing, but is a ways off. x
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Re players’ suggestions (the ones that staff responded to):
---Objects---
- Taxes, (riding) lawnmowers, mailboxes coming sooooooon x
- Potting shed in the back – perhaps x
- a plop rug to go with a piggy decor? // neat/gross idea! x
- functional furniture // yes! x (examples) (later answer: "Will i be able to use my furniture; ie, sit on chairs, sofas?" // It's not presently planned, but we're thinking about it. x)
- I think that it would be cool to have pantry shelves for storing produce for a kitchen area. and fire places/stoves. // pantry shelves — yes! x
- wall dividers to be able to "separate" my rooms // "coming soon!" x
- "the ability to have an air vent like in Krystal Kaos" // good idea! x
3/4 - "Jukebox to change music?" // Displaying all your blocks on a shelf is part-way there, but this would be cool. We have some plans... x
3/4 - "Vendors in our homes?" // We have some ideas along these lines, but not in the next few months. x
3/4 - "Hell-Style housing?" // Assuming you mean "can i have...", then probably! x
3/4 - "a private room that not even keyholders can enter?" // perhaps! x
---Abilities---
- An undo button would be cool. x
- Flippable icons are also cool. x
- pictures over doors? // It’d be nice! We’ll think about it. x
- It would be great to be able to decorate the floor like the walls, so different parts will have different flooring.// Possible future change, though release 2 will show why it’s like that atm x
- tooltips for designs and furniture names. eg, i don't know green striped wallpaper is called that until i test it out. // Good idea! x
- Rotatable wall hangings. // A possibility, but not planned right now. x
- "I would like to be able to switch furniture back to the un-upgraded original versions" // I agree, so maybe! x We should add that! x
- "allow us to fill the picture frames with photos made using the Snapshotting skill" // yes! x
- It would be really nice to have, say, an option in the player menu when you click on someone to "Go to their Home Street" so we could visit all our friends more easily. // yes, you will likely be able to do this from their profile page or in-game menu. x
- "the ability to re-size objects as well as flip them" // This is unlikely, though not impossible - the furniture is drawn at a certain size to look good at that size. Many pieces also have in-built platforms and surfaces that would look wrong at different sizes. x (Perhaps simply offer a large and small version of certain items, instead? // That's certainly possible x)
- flexibility in placement: allow every object to be placed on either a foreground, mid-ground, or background plane (or anywhere on the wall). // while it sounds like a good idea, items are allowed to be placed where they would look correct. if you placed a bed in front of your character the perspective would be very messed-up (there are issues with perspective now, but this would be ten times worse) x
- I'd like to be able to use the mouse to move around in decorating mode (dragging the area around, if that makes sense). good idea, suggested by a few people. we'll look into it x
- Adjust size for the art that hangs on the wall? // we have some plans for the wall art. Soooooon x
- use the swatches on all furniture and not just walls/ceilings/floors" // interesting idea, we'll have a think about that. but there will be many more options when we launch for real x
- "I really would love to have a choice of different styles of windows to put on my walls (with a choice of curtain styles, of course" // we're working on some windows (and curtains!) x
- If the number of items will be unlimited, the sorting by type is even more important. // Sorting by type would make sense! not sure why we don't x (later: yup, that's coming. x)
- Being able to sample several items at once before committing to a purchase. 3 mins to look at your handiwork before it reverts back.. or something. // that makes everything more complicated, so it's unlikely to happen x
- One thing I would like to be able to do is preview all upgrades together without purchasing, as we do in wardrobe. I want a "cart" that I can put items in and remove them. // I don't think we'll do that - it makes everything more complicated for players. you don't so it in your own house irl, but you manage to get by ;) x
-"It would be great to have some of the decorations buyable via currants" // Highly likely! x
- "Will we be able to change the height of our ceilings in the future?" // Probably not, but multiple floors will be available. x
- "I would love to have the option, while in decorating mode, of selecting an object and being able to nudge it one pixel at a time using the arrow keys." // This would be cool, but we have no concept of selecting an item (aside from while you're dragging it) atm. x
3/4 - "Was hoping there would be something for us to use those blocks and bricks that we craft in game." // Coming soon. x
3/4 - "Can we get floor and ceiling colors in sections vice [sic] only the whole floor?" // Perhaps - it doesn't work like you'd think because of perspective. x
3/4 - "I wish we could supply our own textures or designs for walls, floor, and ceiling." // Animal crossing style! maybe! x
3/4 - "I'd like to put my own pictures into frames (and sell them to other glitchen!!)." // Wouldn't that be awesome??? x
3/4 - "Would there be a way to get a grid overlay when in design mode?" // Hmm, interesting idea. x
3/4 - "something to finally allow us to go on vacation/be hospitalized/get a temporary total amnesia without having to worry about the well-being of our animals" // good idea! x
3/4 - "It would be nice to know who has visited our street." // cool idea! x
3/4 - "also it would be cool if the bed were bouncy when I jump/walk on it" // omg yes! x
3/5 - "Perhaps lights on when you are logged on and lights off when you are not on-line." // I LOVE this idea! x
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Re some bugs:
- If you don't have furniture in your bag, type "/home" again and it should appear. They're working on a permanent fix. x
- BUG: I place a shelf on the wall. I drag items from my inventory to the shelf just fine. I have a bag open in my inventory. I try to drag an item from the shelf to an open space in my bag and although the bag slot is highlighted it drops the item into a main non-bag inventory slot. // known issue! x
- "I dropped a regular inventory item in my new backyard (as pig food), when I dragged it back into my inventory, the game went back into decorate mode. I don't think it should do that." // We'll fix that! x
- When I place an icon (or a musicblock trophy) on top of a counter it looks as if it's floating instead of resting on top of the counter. // we will fix it x
- "When I tried to drag the items back to my bag, I got a message that the item was too far away to proceed." // Bug! We will fix. x
3/4 - "When I drag items from house to inventory while in decoration mode, they don't go to the slot I placed them in." // A known bug, sorry! x
- Some people saw much more furniture in their furniture bag than they have now – that was a bug where ghost items showed up, but they never really existed. Explained here.
- We're working on the bug with kicking/house entry right now and it will be fixed soon (this is an early test of part of the housing system — expect bugs and something less than the complete set of features). x
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FAQ that Millie can answer:
- Some of my trophies don’t show up. // The trophies that aren’t showing up are on top of your trophy cabinet in the old house. To get them to show up in the furniture bag at the new house, move the trophies inside the trophy cabinet.
- Having trouble picking up/moving trophies after you’ve placed them in your new house? Try leaving the decorating mode, and either picking it up like a normal object (thru the menu or dragging it into inventory) or moving closer and picking it up in decorating mode (dragging).
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Coming soon:
- Cabinets/storage (next release) x (counters will also serve as storage: x)
- Garden stuff (next release) x
- Outdoor furniture (next release) x (later, stoot said, “Everyone who is asking if we'll have garden furniture: maybe!” x)
- Multiple floors (next release) x
- House expansion (next release) stoot’s original post (will be expandable to much bigger than existing houses x)
3/4 - Option to change music in your house (next release, probably) x
- Customizable doors x
- Customizable house exteriors x
- Choice of environment/view for home x, x
- Yeti chair x
- Mood and energy loss will go on-hold while you decorate. x [3/5 This has happened! x]
- Naming our home streets x
Also! If you didn’t already try it, try zooming out to see more of your house – it’s great fun! Described here.
==================
I'll try to keep up with the huge thread/amend things as new info comes up. Sorry for the huge post!
3/4 For another summary of the same thread, see Abby Cadabra's post here!
3/23 The second housing update is approaching! See this thread for a link to the blog post and more info.

Posted 10 months ago by Millie | Permalink

### Replies

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- I've added some staff responses outside of the main official thread. The info added today will have 3/5 in front.
  Posted 9 months ago by Millie | Permalink
- Honestly, after reading all of the above - I am even MORE super excited to get all the updates coming!! I would LOVE the idea of "digging-out" our own little cave area for egg tree and jelliasics and barnacles, etc :-P almost like a CELLAR in the house - will that be how we get those or will they just be on the regular sunny land?
  I love you guys sooo much!! - thank you for all you do!! <3 Namaste <3
  Posted 9 months ago by Noola | Permalink
- Awesome! Thanks Millie!
  Posted 9 months ago by natsumi | Permalink
- THANK you for this :)
  Posted 9 months ago by Cupcake | Permalink
- I like some ideas but I'm afraid not all like having to loose my already existent home.
  Posted 9 months ago by ScriptServer | Permalink
- 1. Can we have a sign post to a LOCATION? (Already existing housing block posts) ew, gated communities; ;(
  2. can we have Ix or Bog style Streets? (with accompanying resources)
  Posted 9 months ago by meeshynoob | Permalink
- @meeshynoob
  1. That's what teleportation points are for ;) Also, the current housing block signposts will be going away once we switch over to the new housing (which is admittedly a long while off).
  2. You might want to suggest that in the main and official thread, as that's where the devs/staff asked for feedback. :)
  (I also understand your concern about gated communities - voice that concern over in that main thread too!)
  Posted 9 months ago by Millie | Permalink
- Millie, Can you give us some idea of how long "a long while off" is? I thought I read that something might happen the end of March or first few weeks of April. I'd appreciate some sense of what will be happening when. That info will inform how I play the game. Thanks in advance. Millie are you a developer or staff?
  Posted 9 months ago by Peachesan | Permalink
- No, I'm neither a dev or staff member. :) Most of the info I've collected in this thread is from staff members' posts, though.
  Here's a link to stoot saying that the changeover from old to new housing is a long way off. (So no, I don't know when the switch will happen, but judging by the way big updates will be released, it won't happen for several months. But that's just what I think, not necessarily what will happen!)
  As for the next update, it will be at the end of March or the beginning of April, according to stoot here (same link as the last one). And it sounds like that update may include storage/cabinets for our new tester houses ;)
  Btw, staff members' posts will be indicated by the blue box thing next to their posts, so you'll know who is or isn't staff. You'll see it when you follow the links above. :)
  Posted 9 months ago by Millie | Permalink
- Thanks Millie for the clarification between changeover and update. And thanks for all your work in compiling this thread.
  Posted 9 months ago by Peachesan | Permalink
- You're welcome!
  Posted 9 months ago by Millie | Permalink
- Wheee.... Next release soon, more questions/answers to be had! :)
  Posted 9 months ago by Tibbi | Permalink
- Yea Millie!
  Posted 9 months ago by meeshynoob | Permalink

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