🔧 Breaking and Repairing + 🚶♂️ Better Character Animations + 🪑 Build Mode Menu Improvement
Added 2023-12-01 14:30:06 +0000 UTCHi, it’s Alex!
Today, I’m sharing two live mode updates and one about the build mode. This post is for Patrons only so please don’t share it 🔐
🔧 Breaking and Repairing Objects
In last week’s post, we’ve shown you how Alejandro made it so items can become dirty as you use them in live mode. Good news (or bad news for our Paras): some items can now break and cause a mess that you have to clean up! This also comes with the new repair skill so don’t worry, this toilet should be up and running again pretty soon.
A Parafolk will have to mop that… (please note that the puddle placement and water animations are a work in progress)
🚶♂️ Walking Around Smoothly
Richard and Alice are currently working on making the character walk more smoothly and naturally.
Up until now, when a character needed to turn, they just kind of rotated instantly toward where they were heading:
That’s a sharp turn! As displayed in the GIF above, the characters used to simply move toward the clicked location.
Now, we made it so the character turns around like you would in real life. So if you need to go directly behind you, you would first do a 180 before starting to walk. If you need to go to your right, you would start walking while rotating to your right:
Beautiful! You will see characters walking around all the time in this game so we felt this was an important improvement to do.
🪑 Build Mode Menu Improvement
In Paralives, there will be hundreds and hundreds of furniture and objects that you can place in build mode. To organize them all, the interface needs to be as easy as possible to navigate. In other words, players shouldn’t have to search for 5 minutes to find coffee tables in the menus!
At the moment, the menus are divided in main categories and subcategories. Each of them has an icon and a name. This creates a lot of text on the screen and takes up a lot of space. Last week, Chloé suggested that we change the look of the subcategories so that their names are not displayed:
This change would make the interface easier to parse because it has less text. It would also take less screen space. Finally, it might make it easier for players to memorize where objects are because it’s easier to remember icons than text. Please note that the icons are just sketches for now so it’s not the final look.
Have a great weekend!
Alex
Comments
I honestly much prefer text and icons. Maybe make both an option some how? The text and icons is much easier to skim through as someone who’s never looked at it before, and I can imagine just the icons feeling clunky and frustrating for new players.
LesbianRaichu
2024-05-27 02:06:47 +0000 UTCThe tiniest of animations make the biggest of differences. Love that you’re focusing in on the detail of turning. It looks great.
Sarah
2024-02-26 06:25:17 +0000 UTCI thought Kitchen Clutter are Shaving Utensils
FinFan 83
2024-02-21 21:22:02 +0000 UTCIt is probably a lot of work, but maybe some day it would be awesome if all things could break, not only appliances. Like repairing a sofa or a chair? <3 Love the work you are doing!!!
Masha
2024-02-21 09:57:09 +0000 UTCI agree with this comment. I, too, would be sitting there trying to figure out what some of these icons are. A hover over showing the subcategory name would be AWESOME! Thank you so much for all that you are doing!
greeneyedsims
2024-02-09 19:04:02 +0000 UTCIs it possible to make the names of the sections appear as alt text on hovering the icon? Having names actually associated with the icons will be able to help people talk about where to find things ("Oh it's in the clutter tab!") but I personally remember things better when I can have an image and a name association. Edit: It looks great in either way even if you do not do this! I just figure me and people like me benefit from being able to hover for text is all.
Jessica Gehrig
2024-02-04 04:37:28 +0000 UTCClutter ! Clutter 💗 owh
bohnita roy choudhury
2024-02-03 07:26:18 +0000 UTCNot gonna lie, I like the cartoony / sketch look of the water animation.
Minimouette
2024-01-22 00:23:29 +0000 UTCWill you be adding animations for incidental actions like catching yourself on a door handle or bumping into a table? On a slightly related note, will you be adding blind Paras/ deaf Paras and gameplay relating to them?
Katmare
2024-01-13 14:52:11 +0000 UTCim late to this post but i want to say i like the icons more than with the text but i also think that hovering over an icon should display text of what they are
Ella Pilchik
2023-12-23 03:17:31 +0000 UTCThis is looking great! just incase you didn’t notice the shadows seem to go a little intense when the paralives starts to move
Sebastian Loser
2023-12-14 18:53:32 +0000 UTCTurning animation is much smoother. Only hiccup I see is that the color of the trousers flashes to a different color while walking, just a split second. Is there a way to remove that? The icon-only interface for the menu is much cleaner. Would it be possible to add floating text when hovering over the image, just to clarify what the image is? Or maybe be able to toggle the floating text feature on/off?
jrrt1459
2023-12-10 20:53:48 +0000 UTCWow! What a great improvement!!👍 Go for it ❤️❤️❤️
Nathalie Carluccio
2023-12-10 16:01:54 +0000 UTCLove everything about this post! Improvements are the best! I would say the broken toilet is a been there done that animation with other games. I like when someone mentioned the clogged toilet in a previous comment. Having the paras have to go at it with a plunger is less immersion breaking because how often is a real life toilet going to break in that way? Maybe never… & if the sink breaks, the paras would have to mess with the pipes instead of the top of the sink. Idk if that’s possible but just some feedback 🤗
Felicia Bailey
2023-12-09 17:26:54 +0000 UTCOMG I love the Build Mode Menu improvement! Could you add the name of the subcategory when we hover over it? So when we hover over the curtains it says 'curtains' instead of only showing the curtains picture? It took me a while to figure out the first decor item was a pillow 😅
pekeniax
2023-12-09 05:57:09 +0000 UTCWalking around smoothly is awesome! I love to see all the details that we don't think about that you need to implement in the game!
Fenite
2023-12-08 18:27:31 +0000 UTCI love the fact that there are diffrent designs of pupple 🌟 And I think it will be even better if there was only one Puddle where water flows 😄
Fenite
2023-12-08 18:25:19 +0000 UTCI easper that the objects will not be broken every week like in the sims, and that the repair skill is more realistic than in the sims 😳
Fenite
2023-12-08 18:21:47 +0000 UTCI would love a favorite button for the decor items. I wish I had it all the time in the game that shan’t be named 🙊
Chloe-oe-o
2023-12-07 17:35:50 +0000 UTCLooking amazing team. Every post gets me more excited to play this one day
SIMplycoya
2023-12-07 16:43:26 +0000 UTCDon't worry, they'll add an option for you can see what the icon represents.
Lucie Baha
2023-12-05 21:12:06 +0000 UTCYeah, Having option to do icons, text, or both would be better, especially in beginning learning what is what. Chloé does have a point, less wordz on screen can make things better perhaps a compromise option - icons with hover text. What is that? oh, ok. proceeds to do a thing with minimal vibe disruption. edit ninjad by LightDeficient
Zuzakiin
2023-12-04 08:18:52 +0000 UTCWhile I understand wanting a less cluttered menu, I honestly don't like the change from having words and icons to just icons. I had to double back and look at the old menu with the words on them to be able to even know what the cushion icon was of. Could you maybe make a less cluttered menu a toggleable option? Like in the game settings users who want a less cluttered menu could toggle theirs to be symbols only while other players could choose to keep the words there? I just know me personally a lot of times images only aren't intuitive enough for me to know what they represent 🤷🏿♀️
Kechi
2023-12-03 18:29:31 +0000 UTCWhat caught my eye is the dice icon! If we click that do we get a random decor object?!?!? That would be great! When there are too many choices I like to pick a few objects at random and then create a design from there. In the other game I use physical dice. The option to 'pick random from category' would be such a time saver ... Will the randomizer (if that's what it is) work with CC, too?
Jane
2023-12-02 18:53:44 +0000 UTCI like the menu changes to look like those little jewelry tags. Its a nice look. Curious, would it help organization if the categories were color coded in some way?
Chase Belcik
2023-12-02 13:49:59 +0000 UTCPerhaps there could be a mouse over, like some text if you stay over an icon long enough.
Afua
2023-12-02 07:04:52 +0000 UTCthe walking still has some sliding but it is a MASSIVE improvement of what it was before ❤️❤️
Creative Jamie
2023-12-02 04:53:02 +0000 UTCThis looks excellent! I am thrilled with the progress of the game. A couple things - First, I would MUCH rather see a more realistic broken/clogged toilet. Perhaps the tank overflowing or having the toilet appear clogged would be better. I don't care for the fountain animation like in TS4, it seems too "kiddy" if that makes sense. I also think to help with accessability (and dense people like me) adding a line of text that appears and states what the category is when you hover over the image would be very helpful. That way you can know what the "room divider" icon means. Amazing work you guys :)
It'sMike64
2023-12-02 04:39:52 +0000 UTCOh great idea! That also helped with the text not taking up all the space. And agreed. Some icons you might forget what it is. Or hard to guess. 😊
Marita Svendsen
2023-12-02 01:25:59 +0000 UTCExactly.
Fran Smith
2023-12-02 00:27:40 +0000 UTCMe too. I love the sketchy look of the menu just the way it is. It really suits the game. :-)
Fran Smith
2023-12-02 00:26:21 +0000 UTCI think items should definitely be searchable by more than just their name, there should be some (even if perhaps invisible) labels assigned to them to make them easily searchable.
Maxx
2023-12-02 00:11:46 +0000 UTCLove it, please still show the text when hovering over the icon! I think some icons are unclear like the room divider.
LightDeficient
2023-12-02 00:00:09 +0000 UTCLove that smooth turn, looks very natural. I think the "stopping dead in their tracks" still needs some improvement, though, maybe the walk cycle should be slower at the beginning and end or something? When they stop walking it kinda looks like the feet are walking on air for a second there. I think the build categories are much cleaner and easier to navigate like that. I think the name of the category should still show when you hover over it since some (new) players may not recognize some of them by their icon right away, but otherwise, less is definitely more here
Maxx
2023-12-01 23:51:21 +0000 UTCThey mention in another comment that there will be a mouse-over tool tip, so it's win-win. :-)
Fran Smith
2023-12-01 23:34:03 +0000 UTCIt's nice to see how the animation is progressing! I love to watch how this game changes and grows over time. I'm a little confused about changing the labels from text to icons only. Will there be an option to have the text as well? I think it would be a lot harder for me to remember which category is which from the icons alone.
Impish
2023-12-01 23:22:48 +0000 UTCaw it's so heartwarming to see this game progressing! Looks better every time ^_^ One thing I'd maybe change: I wasn't a fan of curtains being in the decor section in the game that shall not be named, because curtains seem like the natural next step after windows, and switching between categories was annoying. But if it's easy/quick to get to the decor section after adding in windows, without lots of switching back and forth, maybe this isn't a problem?
TriforceSims
2023-12-01 21:37:48 +0000 UTCI love the new interface in build mode. But I really LOVE the little sketches as icons. I hope you keep it (if not exactly like them then close) it has such a cosy feel and fits the Paralives vibe 😊
Amanda Hannu Näckros
2023-12-01 20:02:12 +0000 UTCChloé is right, this is much more user-friendly ! I am also a firm believer in using filters/search rather than clicking endlessly to find things, but that requires to know how an item is named. If items have funny/pun-y names, it becomes really hard to remember (I think the search in That Other Game 4™ is the worst possible search engine there is because of this issue, for instance, and I exclusively use the filters which still requires some scrolling). I seem to remember there was talk about being able to assign custom tags to assets, too ? Or maybe I'm misremembering. Once we're in the bed section, is there a sub-category (and as such, sub-icon) for single and double beds ? Items breaking is a lot of fun. Well, in games, at least. I hope to be able to buy rundown buildings for my Paras to renovate, so it'd be super cool if you could somehow BUY items that need fixing ? It'd also make it possible to roleplay scavenging for abandoned items, or finding them on a landfill, etc.
ladyteruki
2023-12-01 19:20:06 +0000 UTCI agree with this. I love the icons and can clearly understand most of them. But for a couple, text appearing while hovering would help a lot. Great work, as always 😍
Wendy S.
2023-12-01 18:21:04 +0000 UTCThat's a fantastic improvement on the walking animation! I love it! I also really like the hand drawn icons on things, it somehow fits in my opinion.
V Nebula
2023-12-01 17:41:24 +0000 UTCTbh I think an easy to add the text is just have it appear when you hover! This way you keep the icons, but you're still able to know what it does if you don't understand the icon
Und3rgr0und -
2023-12-01 17:39:14 +0000 UTCWow 😍😍😍 Such a amazing job! I am SO impressed of the improvement of when a para turns around! It looks so much better and such a small thing really makes a big difference and it gives a good impression! ❤️ This really makes me inspired to make my own game someday! ❤️ To see these improvements! ❤️
Lisa-Marie Berzelius
2023-12-01 17:31:42 +0000 UTCI prefer the icons over the text: after a short exploratory phase of learning what each icon represents, it will become second nature to remember where everything is!
Michael
2023-12-01 17:26:11 +0000 UTCThank youuu!
Toba
2023-12-01 17:19:56 +0000 UTCSorry about that! They might take a moment to load because they are big. If they never play, try opening the post on another device
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 17:18:16 +0000 UTCAre you using the patreon phone app? It used to happen to me too, you may have to use the web version.
Angela
2023-12-01 17:18:14 +0000 UTCThe gifs are not loading for me. 😞
Toba
2023-12-01 17:14:26 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! I think the shadows appear buggy because of the GIF compression. They look better in the game
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 17:14:07 +0000 UTCNice update. One thing I am concerned about is those shadows. There is a lot of distracting dithering going on there. This was a problem that a lot of older game engines had, but shouldn't be happening in a modern game. I do hope that gets addressed.
Gage Eakins
2023-12-01 17:08:42 +0000 UTCCouldn't agree more, this should be a togglable setting. Some people can remember icons well but I have visual impairment and constantly have to hover over icons to see what they really mean.
Gage Eakins
2023-12-01 17:06:23 +0000 UTCI love the new turning/walking animation, it looks so good!! And tasks like repairing toilets and other things look like they’ll be fun to do, unlike in real life lol. Also I know the build mode subcategories look is temporary but I do love how it looks now, all cute and sketchy. I’m looking forward to seeing the final version! It’s also making me even more excited to see what all the options are when it comes to decorating. You guys are doing great work like usual, keep it up!
Holly
2023-12-01 16:48:57 +0000 UTCYes, the label would be shown when hovering the icon! The accent colors for the game are currently blue and red. It's true that having an accessibility option to change that would be great, thanks for sharing the idea!
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 16:29:14 +0000 UTCLove the ideia of icons instead of text!! Also, never thought i would say this but i cant wait to fix random broken toilets! Ahahah <3
Raina Amorim
2023-12-01 16:20:16 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! It's true that having an option so that player can choose their preferred display setting could be great! Regarding character postures and walking styles, we are considering adding more of them later but it might not make it for the release of the game
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 16:19:16 +0000 UTCThank you!! Gifs took 10-20 seconds to appear for me here on Patreon earlier today so it could be that they are slow to load
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 16:17:28 +0000 UTCLove the amount of details the team is paying attention to and accomplishing. The walking animation seems like a small tweak but it makes a world for difference! I like the condensed menu and I assume if you hover over the icons it would display the text. It's similar in the sims 2 so it makes sense. Appreciate all the hard work and updates!
Dani White
2023-12-01 16:04:11 +0000 UTCi see you said yes for hovering titles!! so ignore that
Maija Herbst
2023-12-01 15:41:20 +0000 UTCi love the menu!! few things tho: are the labels shown when you hover over the icon? is the accent colour the one shown? or just a random one for the sake of showing? if it’s the one mainly used throughout the game, would you be able to change that individual colour? (i.e. i have vision problems and the colour makes it a little hard to navigate. i think the spider-man games did that with enemies??) thank u for all you’ve been doing c:
Maija Herbst
2023-12-01 15:37:59 +0000 UTCIs it weird that I thing the sketchy look of the icons currently are pretty charming? :P
Michel Mac
2023-12-01 15:28:07 +0000 UTClove this!!
Connor
2023-12-01 15:12:34 +0000 UTCAs a list person, I actually prefer having the text there. Would it be possible to maybe have it so people can toggle between modes depending on what they prefer or what works best for them? I’m willing to bet there would be a lot of people who have a strong preference one way or the other, especially those of us who are neurodivergent and think a bit differently. Or on the flip side, I’d imagine lots of people with dyslexia would probably prefer images. I know the team has mentioned before that accessibility is something that was important and that team members try to keep in mind when designing things. This would be a really nice accessibility feature to have that would be helpful for a lot of people. The updated turning/walking animations look great though! Huge improvement and looks much more natural. Would be cool to maybe see some slight differences in the way their posture and/or movements are depending on age or physique (grandpa probably isn’t gonna be walking with the same posture and mannerisms and pep in his step as a teen or young adult would for example). Just my two cents! Thanks for the update and hope the team has a wonderful weekend!
AbbeyCat
2023-12-01 15:04:38 +0000 UTChuh, weird the gifs are only showing in the email. Either way, I really love the amount of progress this game has been getting. Really makes my Friday morning.
Carelle
2023-12-01 14:51:01 +0000 UTCI agree, I will always prefer having the text there even if it takes up much more space.
Kat
2023-12-01 14:48:20 +0000 UTCThat sounds great! Thank you guys for thinking about making this game as good as it can be 😁
Kiiiwiii
2023-12-01 14:45:02 +0000 UTCYes, I was thinking of doing that!
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 14:44:18 +0000 UTCI'm so used to sharp movements in games, but I looooove the smoothness. Made the character feel more human and real
muppetbones
2023-12-01 14:43:48 +0000 UTCPersonally, I'd love to have the text or non text menu buttons to be toggle-able Text helps me memorize and understand it better! :)
Star Zoë
2023-12-01 14:42:24 +0000 UTCThe water animation is temporary and will be improved a bit but glad you like it so far Yes! There would be a tooltip when you mouse over a category so that you can know its name
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 14:42:01 +0000 UTCThank you! We are working on the idea of repair attempts not always being successful but I can't 100% confirm it right now
Alex Massé
2023-12-01 14:39:47 +0000 UTCWith the subcategories, could the name be displayed whilst hovering over that certain menu? Just go make it extra clear for people. Look forward to your updates
Kiiiwiii
2023-12-01 14:38:38 +0000 UTCI really love handrawn water animation! It fits the game so well and creates a cohesive look with pervious handrawn animations (like the sparkles and loading icon). For the build menu, how about a compromise and a tooltip would appear if your hover over an icon for 3 seconds or more? That way if you don't want to guess what an icon mean you can just wait, but there wouldn't be an abundance of text on the screen either
Domon0310
2023-12-01 14:37:27 +0000 UTCI like the improvements on the build mode! Also, When repairing objects, will there be a chance that the repair will fail depending on the repair skill (probably even kill the para when broken object is electronic)?
Julio Saliba
2023-12-01 14:35:43 +0000 UTCLook awsome
Sláine Sheils
2023-12-01 14:34:59 +0000 UTCOooh the improvement on turning is so good!!!!! Suddenly realise I need to buy a new computer so I can actually play this when it gets released 🤣🤣
ZombieZmaj (Jenni)
2023-12-01 14:34:00 +0000 UTCI was worried about those sharp movements, so glad to see you guys made them move smoothly!
sourmilk
2023-12-01 14:33:16 +0000 UTCLovely work. Smoothness in animation-transitions is very important
Enes
2023-12-01 14:33:04 +0000 UTC
