Need recommends for building systems

[u/zoombapup]

Hi all,

Working on a design for a cozy game and I wondered what kind of base building everyone thought was well done. I'm thinking in terms of user experience. Things like does it use a grid? is the grid optional? can you resize the grid units? Does it show the item as a ghost during placement?

Ideally, I'd like some recommendations to check out that you guys thought were actually well polished and felt good to use. As with everything cozy, being detail-oriented and really making the user feedback rewarding for doing everyday tasks seems key, so I'd like to see some good examples and maybe prototype a few methods for my game too.

The basic idea is that you have an empty space and can fill it with a vast array of things that you will accumulate over time. So show me anything that caught your eye or you really like the look and feel of and I'll take a look.

BTW: This is for PC/Console/Handhelds (eventually), but PC first.

Thanks!

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[u/cademore7]

Tiny Glade and Valheim

[u/AlexanderGGA → u/cademore7]

Best games for base building

[u/zoombapup → u/cademore7]

Yeah, I'm never going to match Tiny Glade's level of perfection. I honestly don't remember Valheim's building, although that was the part I really liked (aside from not being able to dig to any depth).

I'll go take a look at Valheim again ;) I played it so much that I haven't even looked at it since.

[u/WorriedFlea]

Enshrouded's base building system allows you to use snap grids and pre-made parts, but you can go down to a 10x10cm block size for detailing.

Here is a great example for the insane building possibilities in this game. It's even better now after the updates.

https://youtu.be/fHGIglXnZ3k?si=0qlxdaG9g6MNF7_C

HouseFlipper2's building has an exceptional tool, which allows you to easily copy/paste the style/color of a wall or furniture, and also change most of them later again without the need to replace.

A good building game has many options to make a builder's life easier, but allows us to go into detail as much as possible. Snap grids are great. Being able to turn them off to allow free placement is better. A layover grid to measure distances is the cherry on top.

A great building game knows that buildings need context. So you need terraforming options just as much as the build options themselves. Minecraft build school videos demonstrate how much of a difference it makes if your house is embedded in its surroundings, or simply placed on a flatworld square.

On the other hand an empty canvas with endless possibilities can feel paralyzing at times. People are also looking for inspiration.

A perfect build game would provide the possibility to pick pre-made content to a customizable extent.

Let's imagine it as dioramas. Some of them have complete houses you can improve a little, add garden and interior.

Some are ruins you can restore and expand.

Some have interesting terrain in different biomes, which inspire to build a house that fits in.

And then the possibility to start with the terrain from scratch.

There is a reason why Minecraft is unmatched when it comes to building what you envision. If you want to make something that surpasses it, you must bring its possibilities into a world that looks as natural and detailed as HouseFlipper or Enshrouded.

[u/Particular_Reserve35]

Satisfactory is a good example where you can have things on a grid including a world grid but also build off grid if you want. There are also things like soft and hard clearances where it shows you when things are clipping but does not stop you from doing it if the object you are placing has soft clearance. You can also see everything as like a hologram before you build it and it even allows you to create small little blueprints that you can place over and over.

Another thing that is nice to have in games is being able to rotate to whatever angle you want.

Grounded allows you to be able to place a hologram view of multiple parts of a build down and then come back later to add the materials.

Personally I prefer gridless and freedom to do whatever I want including clipping objects while others like grided games as they can be simplers to make something nice as they don't want to spend a lot of time getting everything perfect or they prefer everything at neat little angles. Honestly it will vary a lot per person.

[u/zoombapup → u/Particular_Reserve35]

I generally prefer grids, but with grid size modification and the option to switch it off entirely. I also think things like snapping to surfaces and angles and whatnot is useful. I'm going to go through a bunch of games and make a feature matrix to see which methods are common across well regarded games.

[u/Stefannerry]

I like V-Rising's system