Disclaimer: I’m not trashing or disparaging any of the developers for their hard work. I know game dev isn’t as easy as it seems, and things won’t always be perfect, we won’t always get want we want, and I’m grateful that the Pixeltail team has been so transparent and open to the community about their work.
I will be scoring every new condo item added in this update by 4 criteria:
(Click each for details)
Necessity
How much a condo builder might need an item like this to complete their project. An item that would only be used in very specific circumstances would score lower than an item that would be used for more general circumstances.
Fidelity
The visual quality of the item’s model(s).
Generally, a higher fidelity item will have:
- No harsh polygonal edges. (Proportional to the default size of the model.)
- High resolution textures. (Proportional to the default size of the model.)
- Realistic/believable shading and materials (e.g, a pillow should not look like it’s made of metal, a toaster should not look like it’s made of wood. Rounded edges should be rounded.)
- No bugs or glitches (Z-Fighting, lighting inconsistencies, customization not saving, scaling offset issues, etc.)
Customizability
How customizable the item is. An item with high customizablity might have:
- Coloring options. Ideally, every part of the item should be colorable, including particles and emitted lights, and the color of the item should not be tinted with the original color of the item. (i.e an item that is green by default should not have that green tint influence the player selected colors.)
- Object Variation. Item should have multiple variations available in the edit menu. If necessary. For Example, a Jar item might have an option to remove the lid, and options to fill the jar with either a solid substance or liquid. A new canvas primitive should have half, quarter, and eighth divisions if necessary.
- Canvasable: Any item which could have a generic, labelless version of itself should have one. This is mainly for food items. Jars, bottles, cans, sealed bags, should all have their own respective canvas item for personalization.
Interactivity
How interactable the item is through the game and through I/O. An item with good interactivity might have:
- Item should have believable and expected function within reason. Any Item with similar functions to previously existing items should have similar interactivity. (e.g, a lamp should be able to be turned on and off, and have all light functions. An item with a door or hatch should have all door functions.) Items that are purely decorative, and expected to be decorative will always score a 3 out of 5.
- Any interactivity provided by the item should have some way to be removed for decorative purposes. (A door should be lockable, a machine should have an option to not be useable.) Some objects, like the “Basic Shape Button” allow deactivation of interactivity through I/O.
- I/O functionality: Any interactable item should have inputs and outputs for each interaction. These should be consistent with other items of it’s kind. Chairs should have the same I/O functionality as every other chair.
Each category will have it’s own respective scoring out of 5, which will then be used to determine the overall score of the item.
Item Review: 18.0.2.0 “Bug Fixes Update”
There were 9 purchasable condo items added in this update. All of them will be reviewed.
Item 1, 2, & 3: Basic Door Frame (Half), Basic Window Frame, Basic Window Frame (Half)
Necessity: 4/5
Has a use in almost any condo. While items this simple aren’t very hard to make out of canvas, they are great for reducing your item count and saving you time.
Fidelity: 5/5
High fidelity models, with subtle trims and beveling. The material choices all look pleasing, and the models are consistent with the older door frame item.
Customizability: 5/5
All are fully colorable, and has many choices for shape and material.
Interactivity: 3/5
Purely Decorative, as expected.
Total score: 17/20
Grade: A
All very welcome additions for any condo builder.
Item 4: Rope Fence
Necessity: 5/5
An item that I’m sure many people have been waiting for. Though we already have a “Rope Fence” item, this one uses the model found in the plaza.
You might want to rename this item to avoid confusion.
Fidelity: 4/5
The same model from the plaza. Has detailed wood rings and grain. There is a missing face in the model in the bottom rope hole in variation 4.
Customizability: 4/5
Log side and ropes are fully colorable. However, the top of the log is not colorable. There are variations for different lengths of rope, with and without the post, and a variation for post only. No variation for post without rope.
Interactivity: 3/5
Purely Decorative, as expected.
Total score: 16/20
Grade: A
Has some issues, but overall is a useful item to have.
Item 5: Victorian Gate
Necessity: 5/5
Surprisingly wasn’t in the game already. Very useful for gothic, Victorian, and any Halloween builds. Seems like it’s reused from Dark Voyage.
Fidelity: 3/5
Model is consistent with “Victorian Fence” Item. While the ornamental design on the top and bars is very nice, the model looks really flat, since it’s matching the old and flat Victorian Fence model. Maybe that item and this one need a bit of an upgrade.
Customizability: 3/5
Fully colorable. Has no variations. I’d like to see different lengths, and a version with only one side of the gate?
Interactivity: 5/5
Functions like a double door. Has all the features of a double door, as expected. All expected I/O capabilities are included
Total score: 16/20
Grade: A
Although it looks a little flat, I’m very grateful that they chose to be consistent with older items rather than having this item look nice, but stick out next to the much older fence item.
Item 6 Shutter Door:
Necessity: 5/5
Very useful for industrial, sci fi, or city builds.
Fidelity: 5/5
Looks like a large shutter door. Model has detailed trimming, beveling, and the metal looks as it should. Extremely High Quality.
Customizability: 4/5
Full Colorability. But no separation of frame and door color. Frame can be removed.
Interactivity: 5/5
Functions as expected. Doesn’t have an “open angle” option (Probably technical limitations.) Has expected I/O functionalities.
Total score: 19/20
Grade: A+
Beautiful and useful addition. Great job!
Item 7: Glass Garage Door
Necessity: 5/5
Garage Doors are a big necessity. Especially functional ones like the ones added in this update.
Fidelity: 5/5
Model has detailed trimming and beveling. Glass is not very noticeable. Mechanism model is finely detailed with subtle wear and indentation.
Customizability: 3/5
Has similar customizability to shutter door. Door and frame are colored as one. Only part of the motor mechanism is colorable. Metal frame of mechanism and metal door handle is not colorable. No way to change opacity of glass. I would have also liked to see a variation that’s maybe a bit less worn on the pane frames?
Interactivity: 5/5
Has full expected functionality that matches with the shutter door. Has all necessary I/O functionalities.
Total score: 18/20
Grade: A+
I would have liked to see a bit more customization on this one, but otherwise an incredible job.
Item 8 & 9: Basic Garage Door, Basic Windowed Garage Door
Necessity: 5/5
As stated earlier, garage doors are a big necessity. Extremely useful.
Fidelity: 5/5
High fidelity models with fine detailing. Mechanism model is shared across all garage doors. Wood is consistent with other wooden items.
Customizability: 3/5
Similar issues to the glass garage door. I wish there was a painted metal variation, without wood grain.
Interactivity: 5/5
Same as glass garage door.
Total score: 18/20
Grade: A+
Absolutely beautiful. Also, there is an issue that plagues all of the garage doors, and that is the fact that the door sound is WAY too loud. Please fix.
Conclusion
We had a lot of great high quality items this update. I’m very excited to see all the new items in the next one, as revealed in the dev logs. My favorite item added in this update was the Basic Garage Door.