Proposal: Allow castles and keeps to be better customized

[MalagAste]

I hate to say this but the LAST thing I want to see in UO is a big huge 32x32 bare freaking plot... It's disgusting enough to be running around seeing 18x18 bare plots all over... at least if some had the decency to at least put grass on the plot wouldn't be as bad but big brown blobs all over is just freaking sad. IMO every bit as fugly as a bunch of borg cubes or that awful crystiline garbage.

 

[Lady Storm]

As the prechers say AMEN TO THAT MalagAste
Grimiz don't hold your breath
We have 1 dev, of the 5 broadsword team there is just 1. and yes he can spell if (only when the boss says so(I added that for them))

 

[BrianFreud]

Post #89 A Challenge for all you home makers.

LMAO You really need to check your reading comprehension. Go read post #142.

You said 89, not 142. That 8 year old thread only has 103 posts.

A DEV CAN make a new Castle or Keep design for us and we would be able to use the house placement tool to place it. I am sorry that you can not understand that we could have different designs but it would take a DEV, not you, to do it.

I have literally no clue where you're going with this. A new castle-sized non-customizable plot IS a "design". As for the latter, that's simply not true. If you're working from a bare plot, using stone-crafted items, rubble, etc, you can build literally whatever you want, and that requires nothing from the devs other than the initial plot as an option.

 

[MalagAste]

You said 89, not 142. That 8 year old thread only has 103 posts.



I have literally no clue where you're going with this. A new castle-sized non-customizable plot IS a "design". As for the latter, that's simply not true. If you're working from a bare plot, using stone-crafted items, rubble, etc, you can build literally whatever you want, and that requires nothing from the devs other than the initial plot as an option.

And from the outside without stepping on the stairs it'd look like a hideously fugly big brown patch of dirt... NO THANK YOU.

 

[Merus]

And from the outside without stepping on the stairs it'd look like a hideously fugly big brown patch of dirt... NO THANK YOU.

Arguing that C/K owners shouldn't get the option of placing a plot because some might leave only a blank plot visible doesn't hold any more water than arguing that NO house sizes should be customizable because some people leave them as a blank plot.

There are plenty of things I find utterly hideous in UO, but that doesn't mean I get to have them removed just because they aren't my preference.

 

[Kirthag]

I didn't say anything about messing with existing castles or keeps. I suggested allowing an OPTION to change a castle or keep from the base design to a bare non-customizable plot. Options don't force anything.

(emphasis added)

but that is exactly what you are asking for... and you are contradicting yourself, sir
a CHANGE to a castle or keep - regardless of it being an option or not - is still a CHANGE (ie. tampering) with EXISTING items (in this case, a castle) *edited to add cos I hit the damn wrong button*
and once again, will be tinkering with ancient code with lines and lines of checks and balances that would make it near impossible to instance-test without muffing up another system... item... etc.
Case in point, my moon lantern is having an identity crisis as someone reassigned artwork code in the wrong place. Granted, I could turn it back to face another way, but that isn't the point.

the way UO is coded would make for a mass amount of additional code work for "special footprint houses" should they be converted to an empty lot.

I stand by what I said... is best NOT to tamper with existing items so many ppl hold so dear.

submit a request for a NEW 31x31 PLAIN PLOT (that w/b castle sized) w/storage capacity as EXISTING castle and there you have something Mesanna might be able to munch on.

*added again* a NEW option on the housing tool for "specialty lot" is feasible, and easier to add than changing the existing castle/keep/large-tower/L-house footprints to accommodate for an OPTION TO CHANGE that currently placed item.

Yes, you will argue that you want the new empty-lot in the location of your existing castle... well then, drop it and build anew - of course, you're screwed if there is an illegal element (like a tree or pesky twig) in the area. Oh yes, and storage may be an issue as well for all the pixels that have been collected... but there is only so much that can be done.

Remember, the castle's footprint is NOT the full 31x31 squares.... the actual footprint is only for the raised-floor areas of the building, which is why castles could be placed in areas where square-footprint buildings couldn't.

 

[Lord Frodo]

That 8 year old thread only has 103 posts.

And designs were sent to her and still she has said nothing so you think that with a snap of her finger you will get this, LMAO, maybe in another 8 years she might give us different Castle designs and then she will think about your request.

 

[BrianFreud]

but that is exactly what you are asking for... and you are contradicting yourself, sir
a CHANGE to a castle or keep - regardless of it being an option or not - is still a CHANGE (ie. tampering) with EXISTING items (in this case, a castle) *edited to add cos I hit the damn wrong button*
and once again, will be tinkering with ancient code with lines and lines of checks and balances that would make it near impossible to instance-test without muffing up another system... item... etc.
Case in point, my moon lantern is having an identity crisis as someone reassigned artwork code in the wrong place. Granted, I could turn it back to face another way, but that isn't the point.

Actually, your lantern is having issues that only date back a month, to an error when they first added both artworks.

Adding 2 new plot options (keep footprint and castle flootprint) don't change anything about existing castles or keeps. They only provide an alternate option for the owners of those types of home. That's only a "change" to existing castles in the same way that Lasher was a "change" to horses or unicorns.

submit a request for a NEW 31x31 PLAIN PLOT (that w/b castle sized) w/storage capacity as EXISTING castle and there you have something Mesanna might be able to munch on.

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS PROPOSAL *IS*.

Yes, you will argue that you want the new empty-lot in the location of your existing castle... well then, drop it and build anew - of course, you're screwed if there is an illegal element (like a tree or pesky twig) in the area. Oh yes, and storage may be an issue as well for all the pixels that have been collected... but there is only so much that can be done.

Storing your stuff when moving or switching from a classic home to a custom home has always been a pain, but it's nothing new. As for the former, I agree, that'd be annoying. Perhaps since there'd be no customization the devs might be able to make it a house menu option to just switch between the two house designs (castle or plot), same as we can switch base designs. That would avoid the need to temporarily store all that stuff, as well as avoiding placement issues and allowing plots even when there'd be trees/etc that otherwise would block placement.

 

[Lord Frodo]

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS PROPOSAL *IS*.

So have you submitted your request to Mesanna?

 

[BrianFreud]

So have you submitted your request to Mesanna?

Look at the thread title.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Look at the thread title.

LMAO So the answer to that is NO I did not submit mu proposal to Mesanna but I did start a thread on Stratics, does that count.

 

[Lady Storm]

If he had and requested an answer..........

Look at it this way....
Brian wants a blank plot that is a castle size.
Will it happen?
I'd say Hell no.... but he is free to ask. Stranger things have happened...
Kirthag has it about right.
What Brian wants is to build using player made stone and items in game is to make a monster castle of his design.... not a flat piece of ground.
Now think of it....
A castle alone is not a lag beast....its a single object.
All that stone and items.......not to mention height in there could be a legendary crash of other players who ever go near the darn thing!
I am not saying it would be ugly... he could restively conceive of a lovely design..... he has made in the past mind boggling buildings.

Oh if you read the log in page of UO you will see there is a Meet and Greet on Izumo on the 30th at 9 am ET. Brian why not go and ask her.... hey why not all of us go and see this question's answer?

 

[BrianFreud]

@Lady Storm, at 9 am on a Monday, I'll be at work.

This thread is becoming repetitive; the few of you against this idea keep rehashing the exact same arguments, flawed as they are.

Houses do not load when you don't step on the stairs, unless they use the reed-type flooring. Given that a non-customizable plot could not use that floor type to begin with, that'd be a non-issue for keeps or castles. Therefore, you would have no greater lag than you do right now. You can even test this. Find any castle with a paver level. You'll notice that it's not loading that level until you step on the stairs.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

LMAO You really need to check your reading comprehension. Go read post #142. A DEV CAN make a new Castle or Keep design for us and we would be able to use the house placement tool to place it. I am sorry that you can not understand that we could have different designs but it would take a DEV, not you, to do it.

Well anyone knows you could take a castle and with a tool make it a 24 x24 plot. That's not rocket science. That's not beyond reality. I don't think anyone believes they couldn't do that. Bonnie doesn't want to so it ain't gonna happen. That's the whole story.

 

[Sellingahouse]

I have a custom castle. 3 full floors of pavers and 2 floors with only parts covered in pavers (I have a hidden floor between 2nd and 3rd floors). It has over 2.3k items locked down for deco and many deeded items that don't count as lockdowns. There is no lag until you step on the steps.

I have played this game forever just for my houses. Please let us have an empty plot the size of a castle . Just think of what we could do with a plot that size. Don't listen to the folks that say they cause lag and are ugly, many of them would be happy with a castle lockdown count 7x7 grass plot.

 

[Kirthag]

I have played this game forever just for my houses. Please let us have an empty plot the size of a castle . Just think of what we could do with a plot that size.

In this whole thread, this is how it should be worded.

I'm not against larger empty-lots, sounds like a great idea and my crafter would die of delight for such a thing.
It is in the wording.... @BrianFreud - consider how you word your request.
And don't post it to Stratics... this is not the medium for serious requests to the game producer. A legit email writing the pros (and cons if you wish) that would show benefit to BROADSWORD, not just the players, will get ever more attention than a post on Stratics.

Sidebar:
And I am aware of my lantern and the circumstances with it, I am not stupid. That is just an example of how the smallest of things can get muffed up when code work is done.