Dev Diary #186 Composing Blueprints

[Nikki Severin 1148]

Hey there, Ylanders! 

We're not gonna beat around the bush too much this week. You know the 1.8 update is going to be the next in the line of improvements to the game. And because it will be mostly a "polishing things up" kind of update, we want to, once again, hear from you! 

This time, let's talk about blueprints and compositions. We know they're not, well, the best they can be. We hear you. But we want to do something about it! 

So this Dev Diary should serve as a confirmation of the fact that we know, that blueprints and compositions could be better and also as a space to discuss what we can improve! Let us know what what you like and don't like, hit us up with improvements that you would suggest or point out what you think would be a good idea when it comes to blueprints and compositions. 

That's it for this week and we look forward to reading your ideas! 

Stay classy, Ylanders! 
 

[Jarda 157]

Tlumočím nápad kamaráda: bylo by dobré kdyby byla možnost u stavebního stolu stavět i bez materiálu a po té do stanice donést potřebný materiál jako v blueprintu, nebo když by při stavění došel materiál byli bychom upozorněni na to že materiál došel, ale byla by možnost bez přerušení ve stavbě pokračovat a po te materiál dodat.

 

I am interpreting a friend's idea: it would be good if it was possible to build at the construction table without material and then bring the necessary material to the station as in a blueprint, or if the material ran out during construction we would be warned that the material ran out, but it would be possible without Interruptions in the construction continue and then deliver the material.

[Mello1223 591]

blocks that are not marked as "building" should clearly be used in the blueprint.
possibility to use in blueprint boats and rafts.
the blueprint pivot should always be in the grid.
and it would be great to have the option in the group template editor and the ability to create this group with a script.

it would be completely brilliant if we could use at least an animator or a rotator in a blueprint.

[jchob 354]

[ EDITED ]

compositions, are good as it is now, i cannot think of any better way to do it.

Then, blueprints... oof...

First, to make a blueprint is not user friendly. Its hard for us to help new people even using videos. The share process is also not user friendly, like everything, because we need to go to windows folders and deal with copy&paste (basically).

Other thing is it can only be taken with DLC owners, which i agree because blueprints is a major "tool" we can implement in our maps. As said before, we can make blueprints for whoever doesn't own the DLC, but its not user friendly. We know we have the workshop to upload blueprints, but they would be available for everyone, which some players dont't want to.. just share with close friends.

another thing is, from what I've heard, it hard or even imppssible to line up different blueprints. The bigger the blueprint is, the most time we need to wait it to load up, so, players thought about split the big blueprint and make several small... but they don't line up).

anyway, ecen only DLC users can make blueprints, it would be easier if we had an option "save as blueprint" likewise to saving a composition.

Another thing is concerning what type of items can be taken into a blueprint, but I guess that would require a lot work from the team.

Well, i guess @spiritchaser28 will be a great person to help with ideas, im just stating what Ive heard and some from my own experience

Edited July 29, 2021 by jchob

[jchob 354]

@Mello1223 also mentioned a cool feature for scripting?

[Yo HasLEGO 193]

It would be ideal if we could freeplace and -rotate and precision-place blueprints like any other block.

Regarding the blueprintable items, as JC said, I imagine more items would be difficult but it would be awesome if we could blueprint every craftable item (steel rods being of the highest priority ?).

[spiritchaser28 920]

Wow okay! Sit back and relax because I got a long list. 

Making compositions is pretty good as @jchob mentioned above, with the exception of an occasional color bug or blocks that get turned during updates. These things usually get fixed in the hotfixes so I got no worries there.

Then let's talk about blueprints....

First and foremost I would like to be able to capture blueprints directly in editor instead of having to import it into a legacy map and use the camera. The camera is awesome if you build something in the world and feel like keeping the build as a future blueprint, but I think it should not be the only way to save blueprints.

Second let's talk about blueprint placement. With every update there always seems to be something that makes them more difficult to place in the world.  Ships and vehicles being at the forefront of that issue. We used to be able to place a ship in the water, then pick a spot on land somewhere closeby that looked like a convenient spot to place the table....now it's a different story. It sometimes takes me several times trying to place a ship in the water before it actually accepts a very tiny area that the game deems acceptable. This sometimes feels like I am performing delicate surgery. If I barely move my mouse the red box will appear around the blueprint and I can't place it until I find that tiny area again. Placing the table is also very time consuming but has gotten a little better, but mainly I think you should be able to place the table anywhere you wish (except within the actual blueprint) even if it is a mile away from the blueprint....that's my opinion. With 1.7 it became even more difficult to place vehicle blueprints because the car chassis seems to now have a mind of it's own about placing it. Sometimes the chassis is completely flipped upside down compared to the rest of the blueprint and of course it won't let you place it anywhere on the ground so now I have to reload the blueprint several times until the chassis is in an acceptable location.

Third, as jchob also mentioned above, it is now more difficult to use blueprints in a manner that would be best described as "modular" building. Say you have a bridge and have 3 or 4 separate blueprint pieces for that bridge, short pieces, turns,  ramps, etc. It is very difficult now to line these up because it doesn't work the way it used to work. We used to be able to freeplace and make very tight fitting builds with those sorts of blueprints, but now it just seems as though it operates in increments of 5 degree angles and the grid. You all improved this a bit with 1.7 bringing back the ability to rotate the builds using F,G, and H keys but it still needs a little work. Perhaps we can choose one block in the blueprint as a "snapping block" and pick another block outside the blueprint as the block that it snaps to?  Just a suggestion  that may make placing them easier.

Fourth on the list is the amount of blueprints we are allowed to have. It currently says the cap is 50 ,although I've counted and it's just a few more than 50 before the game tells me I have reached the limit of number of blueprints allowed. I have a folder with about 800 or more blueprints. Most I cannot use in the game unless I decide to copy and paste one of those files into the game folder and remove another. This all seems counterintuitive compared to the amount of compositions we are allowed to have which seems limitless.

Fifth on my list is cosmetic. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if we could save the particle effects we add in editor to a blueprint. These are just visual effects, but I think if they were allowed like glow colors are allowed you would see some absolutely incredible blueprints being created. Maybe the cost of these effects could be magic dust or ylandium dust or both. and maybe you can limit the amount of effects used so the amount of animations does not bog the game down. Did I mention that I would love this? I really would love this. I really really REALLY would love this LOL

Finally number 6 on this list. There are currently several craftable items in the world that we are not allowed to have in blueprints. Most of the smaller things I understand and of course the items that cannot be crafted like plastic blocks I also understand (but I would love to see that in the future).  The 3 big items I would love to see allowed in blueprints are more of the storage containers like chests, and drawers.....some energy items like Ylandium generators buttons, levers and spotlights, and some of the furniture items like tables, beds and chairs.  Other items should be steel rods, wood poles, Spikes, lanterns and lantern chandeliers etc. That's actually a long list of items and I realize it may take some time to incorporate them all but those are the 3 big ones on my wishlist.

@Nikki Severin You said above "

 We know they're not, well, the best they can be. We hear you. But we want to do something about it! 



 

 This is the best thing I have heard all year.

I have been a good boy Santa. LOL. 

 

Edited July 30, 2021 by spiritchaser28

[Midonyxgirl 3]

making sure that when we get blueprints that all of the blocks are capturing  and not like half the buildings are missing. then we can create more wonderful creations in editor and bring them to our ylands that would be awesome, oh and making sure that all of the blocks are there upon completion so we do not have to patch them up please and thanks, oh and more boat options like a glass bottom boat hull that would be awesome

[spiritchaser28 920]

25 minutes ago, Midonyxgirl said:

making sure that all of the blocks are there upon completion so we do not have to patch them up

It sounds as though you are trying to capture welded blocks or groups. If you unweld and ungroup those in editor, most should be captured unless they are not craftable (Plastic, Cheese, and Chocolate blocks as an example) There's a list on wiki of all the blocks than can currently be captured. https://ylands.fandom.com/wiki/Blocks_Allowed_in_Blueprints

[zarwil 393]

Something I'd like to add is the unbearable lag you get when a large blueprint you're trying to place intersects with some other building. It makes it impossible to decompose creations into modular units that are meant to snap together.

[Nikki Severin 1148]

Thank you all for your wonderful ideas and great input! 

We have compiled it all and are going through it as we speak! 

[empeorgame3(2) 15]

In Exploration new mode the blueprint must be optimized as compositions.

[spiritchaser28 920]

1 hour ago, empeorgame3(2) said:

In Exploration new mode the blueprint must be optimized as compositions.

Do you mean that when you take a picture with the blueprint camera that it also saves it in editor as a composition?  This can be done currently by placing the blueprint in a legacy map, then opening the legacy map in editor and selecting the composition and storing it.

 

 

[empeorgame3(2) 15]

Yes I mean this.

[spiritchaser28 920]

Just thought of another few items item I would like to see included in blueprints. All the ladders.  Specifically the Steel ladder, ship ladder and rope ladders. And these basic shape blocks (I realize you will have to make these craftable but I think it's easy enough to give recipes. Just use stone chunk maybe?)

[zarwil 393]

@spiritchaser28

Yesss, please for the love of god add these blocks to explore!

Edited August 7, 2021 by zarwil

[spiritchaser28 920]

9 minutes ago, zarwil said:

@spiritchaser28

Yesss, please for the love of god add these blocks to explore!

I managed to get some of them in explore. The rocket ship encounter found in the arctic allows you to demo them. But It would be much better to craft them and allow them in blueprints.

 

[FallujahMedic -FM- 9]

I know it's a relatively simplistic answer and one that may or may not be possible, but couldn't we just be given the ability to create something in the editor and then be given an option that says "Save as Blueprint"?

[spiritchaser28 920]

4 hours ago, FallujahMedic -FM- said:

I know it's a relatively simplistic answer and one that may or may not be possible, but couldn't we just be given the ability to create something in the editor and then be given an option that says "Save as Blueprint"?

This is one of the things I have wished for since I first started playing with editor. Perhaps another suggestion I can think of is an option in editor that only displays blueprintable entities, since so many blocks cannot be captured (yet) in a blueprint. It could save some confusion for those people just starting with making blueprints in Ylands. It could be an option when you are first creating the map. instead of choosing, flat terrain, water, archipelago, etc, you could choose blueprint builder (also a flat terrain style map, but with no game logics, and limited entity selections ....i.e. no monsters, NPCs, uncraftable items, etc.) I say this because there is a huge learning curve currently regarding what can and cannot be allowed in blueprints. Can't tell you how many times I spent hours on a composition only to find out the block style I was using wouldn't be allowed. I am a patient person though and have become proficient in knowing what is and is not allowed, but that's after several thousand hours of experimentation and reading wiki entries.

Edited August 25, 2021 by spiritchaser28

[FallujahMedic -FM- 9]

You hit the nail on the head there!

For a game that's rated PEGI 7, some aspects (particularly blueprints) are unnecessarily complicated. The average user should not have to spend an inordinate amount of time researching every exception/caveat to a tool that should be as basic as "point and click".