Poll: Ability to change block shapes or separate items?

    Do you prefer a single construction element where you can change the shape at any time, or individual items for every single shape? 46

    1. Single construction element with the ability to change the shape at any time (25) 54%
    2. Separate items for every individual shape (16) 35%
    3. I don't care (5) 11%

    Deutsche Version

    We had various block shapes in the Java version (blocks, slopes, cylinders and the according corner pieces). Every shape was considered a separate "Item" which needed to be crafted individually. Sometimes this resulted in crafting the wrong items (e.g. an "inner" corner piece was required, but an "outer" corner piece was crafted accidentally).


    Do you think it would be a good idea to reduce them to a single, universal building element, which enables you to change the shape at any time? The game could store the last selected shape per item stack, so you can still have different stacks of blocks with various shapes. Textures would still be bound to individual items.


    This approach wouldn't be as realistic as in the Java version, but it would be a bit less frustrating if the different shapes were no longer treated as separate items. What do you think about it? Feel free to leave any feedback :)

    I don't like the change any time approach at all. It's not immersive and out of the usual way rising world acts.


    Change shape on a working bench... Yes. Change in inventory... No.


    That's good at 7d2d where you need to build fast and efficient while fighting for your life. But in rising world it would be like using a drone to put a brick ib place on your castle wall. It doesn't fit, in my opinion

    The first option is exactly what 7d2d does for the blocks and it is the most convenient thing ever, I have countless times crafted the wrong shape in RW :lol:

    Quote from Minotorious

    The first option is exactly what 7d2d does for the blocks and it is the most convenient thing ever, I have countless times crafted the wrong shape in RW :lol:


    Exactly. Convenient, simple. For creative i see the positive effect.


    For survival.. In that case we can get rid of most work benches. Why have a grinder? Just do it in inventory. Why have a spinning wheel? And so on


    I like the idea to recycle unused blocks. But just change the shape with a click is not what I'm used to from rw :(

    Quote from Avanar

    For survival.. In that case we can get rid of most work benches. Why have a grinder? Just do it in inventory. Why have a spinning wheel? And so on


    I like the idea to recycle unused blocks. But just change the shape with a click is not what I'm used to from rw :(

    Not really the same thing though, all that would change is that instead of picking the shape of a block on the blockbench you would just craft a generic block there and choose the shape when placing it.


    Gameplay-wise it doesn't change anything really unlike getting rid of crafting benches that you mentioned. Also the recycling would still be there for when you made too many blocks of a specific kind that you no longer need.


    Unless ofc you really need the immersion value of a block costing 4 stone while a half block costing 2 stone or a triangle block 3 stone to make etc.

    Of course it changes. Its immersive if i have to craft 10 corners and 2 slabs at a work bench or if i just have 12 blocks in my inventory and change the shape via my inventory at any time i want.


    Basically i would skip the step to craft something. The block bench would be a useless step as it's just a passage from stone to block. Nothing else. I don't see that fitting. The same if i take wool, create a shirt at the weaving bench and via inventory i change that shirt in colour, style, etc as i need.


    Part of the imnersion i am talking about is that its necessary to think ahead of what i need and then take efforts to create it.


    That's okay for creative but not survival, as i said already

    Quote from Avanar

    I don't like the change any time approach at all. It's not immersive and out of the usual way rising world acts.


    Change shape on a working bench... Yes. Change in inventory... No.


    That's good at 7d2d where you need to build fast and efficient while fighting for your life. But in rising world it would be like using a drone to put a brick ib place on your castle wall. It doesn't fit, in my opinion


    Exactly... i like how the java rising world is handling stuff, you want to craft something use that specific bench to craft it.

    Separate items for every individual shape its the way it should be as official java Rising World, keep the game immersion dont trow it away.

    Thanks a lot for your feedback so far :) Obviously this isn't an easy decision and both approaches definitely have their pros and cons.


    Quote from Ash_lee

    Maybe have universal block for creative mode, and non-universal for survival?

    This feature definitely makes sense in creative mode, however, we're mainly looking for a solution in survival mode ^^ The Java version already had a few feature which worked fine in creative mode, but were extremely cumbersome in survival mode. We want to encourage people to create amazing buildings in survival mode too, without having too much trouble or quitting the game out of frustration...


    Quote from Groovaholic

    How about crafting/adding another work station called "A Recycler" so we can put anything that we don't want and get a % back of that material ???

    Having a recycler would be definitely a great addition, irrespective of how we handle the blocks (a recycler would be useful for all kind of items) :)


    Quote from Avanar

    Exactly. Convenient, simple. For creative i see the positive effect.


    For survival.. In that case we can get rid of most work benches. Why have a grinder? Just do it in inventory. Why have a spinning wheel? And so on

    It is our intention to find a good balance between realism and convenience ^^ But I'm not sure if this is really the same as removing all crafting stations and enable the player to craft items just from the inventory: Basically you still need a crafting station to turn your raw material into a processed element. E.g. turn wool into cloth, turn metal and wood into a tool, or turn stone or wood into a construction element (i.e. a block).


    Quote from Deirdre

    With an undo option wrongly created things could be past.

    I'm not sure about an undo-feature for crafting :thinking: Having that for building (e.g. when accidentally removing a plank or object) may be helpful though...


    Quote from Avanar

    Basically i would skip the step to craft something. The block bench would be a useless step as it's just a passage from stone to block

    You still have to select the desired material / texture at the workbench - you just don't have to decide which shape you want to craft. It's like having a generic "construction element" which can be post-processed when placing it. Actually IRL you would also modify your construction elements while building: If you build a wooden cabin and find out the size of one of the planks don't fit, you would simply cut off the protruding part.


    I've also posted this already in the german topic, but I guess it makes sense to move this discussion to the english section as well :saint: If changing the shape of a block after crafting it is problematic, there is also another aspect that may cause trouble - the ability to change the size of a block while building. The new version enables you to resize any block while building without the need for special tools (just like the planks and beams in the Java version). Why am I able to enlarge a block to 3 times its original height and let's say 5% of its original thickness, but I'm unable to remove a part of it and turn it into a slope?


    Now one could argue that we could remove the resize-feature so people have to craft the correct size right at the workbench, but I guess that would be very cumbersome and frustrating :dizzy:


    We're also working on a feature which allows you to move the upper part of a block independently of the lower part. I don't want to promise too much, but for instance, you could just resize the upper part of a block to turn it into a square pyramid with the apex truncated. I've attached two images about that feature:


    This feature gives you a lot more possibilities when it comes to building, but you can only use it to its full potential if you can modify the block at any time (just like the ability to resize a block). This feature effectively also changes the shape of the block, so if I'm able to do that, why can't I just turn the block into a slope or cylinder :thinking:


    It would be a pity if this feature was only accessible in creative mode :(

    how about having the block table be able to change the shape of an item already made. so if you made 100 cubes, you can change them to wedges at the table . This way you dont have to go out and cut down a hundred more trees to make all the different shapes you want, you can just recycle the shapes at the table.

    also it would be nice to maybe have a finishing table, so once you have the shape you want you can go to the finishing table to get the texture you want. also allow us to change the texture of premade blocks at this table so you dont have bunches of blocks of various shapes with unwanted textures.

    Quote from Gillwin

    how about having the block table be able to change the shape of an item already made. so if you made 100 cubes, you can change them to wedges at the table

    The only problem with this approach would be that it requires a separate UI inside the crafting menu (one which allows me to insert the particular stack of cubes I want to modify), which makes the crafting menu a bit more complicated... :/

    In this case, I'd prehaps prefer to rely on a recycler which could give me back the original resources (or at least some of the original resources) so I can craft a new stack.


    Quote from Gillwin

    also it would be nice to maybe have a finishing table, so once you have the shape you want you can go to the finishing table to get the texture you want. also allow us to change the texture of premade blocks at this table so you dont have bunches of blocks of various shapes with unwanted textures.

    Basically this is a good idea, but it would introduce some issues when it comes to resources: What happens if I want to turn my stack of stone cubes into a stack of wooden cubes? If this still requires wood as ingredient, I could simply craft a new stack :thinking:

    red51 - i appreciate your answer, though it was exactly as i expected. I understand fully why you think about this. But i still think its not the Rising-World-way. You put so much efforts in making it realistic and immersive. But with reshaping a block out of inventory you open a can of worms, believe me.


    Soon players will come and ask - why can i change a concrete block in my inventory from square-shape to a triangle but i can´t cut off the arms of my long-arm-shirt (sorry, don´t know the right expression) to a tshirt?


    Being able to switch the blockshape inventory is convenient. But other things are not. So there will be a descrepancy between this process and others. I wonder why that should be. Why to use an anvil to create plates and poles out of a metal bar? Or if you have these parts, why do use a Tier 2 workbench to assemple them?


    I wrote im surprised about this approach. I am because it doesn´t fit in to the usual concept of this game. And honestly, i seriously doubt anyone was ever about to abandon the game because he constantly mis-clicked the shape of a block. Yes, it might happen but really that often? And even if, stone and wood is available in abundance. Mining even just one hour means to have at least a full chest with stone (depending on the tool you use). And i think the new version will be similar. In the end there is stone everywhere and wood is, thanks to planting trees, also available almost everywhere.


    But as it seems some people are interested in this feature, maybe its worth to consider a compromise? Like a tool (wood/stonesaw, chisel, etc) to be available in an equipment slot of the inventory in order to be able to change the shape. Or maybe a mobile recycler, that you can hold in your inventory and when needed just place it in front of you and when aiming the block at it you can change the shape. Thats still not what i personally think it should be but i guess thats part of a compromise.


    After all you do what you think is right. Until now you didn´t disappoint me with this game, its by far the one i played the most - ever.

    Quote from Avanar

    Change shape on a working bench... Yes. Change in inventory... No.

    This has my vote. Circumvents problem caused by incorrectly create blocks, sometimes even wrong textures. But maintains immersive survival mode. :thumbup:



    P.s. Maybe option on workbench/blockbench to deconstruct blocks back to stone/wood etc.?

    Changing textures or blocks on the fly is something we can do in creative mode. However, when it comes to survival? I kind of like the block bench as it separates this game from most others such as Minecraft. Sure we don't have a 2x2 grid but the simple kind of works but there's always a trash can. We have a mining drill and it mines a stack of stone in less than a minute and a chainsaw that takes down a tree fairly fast. Please bear in mind we also have that tier-II workbench that could be used for creating advanced machinery later on. Perhaps you need over 2K lumber or type of block for a building project? You create it pops up as a blueprint, put it together add electricity, and voila it works. The point is let's leave the block bench in for survival and look to other methods because in creative mode you can change all these. In survival, if we're going for realistic? Why not grind that material down for something else or simply void it in a trashcan then get more material.

    My experience showed a grinder or recycler is a very unnecessary object. If created too much or wrong parts, use a crossbar or keep them for later. If buildings would cost a lot of materials, there would never be superflues stacks in inventory, as the materials first have to be collected and were not available in aboundance. I call that realism or survival.

    Quote from yahwho

    This has my vote. Circumvents problem caused by incorrectly create blocks, sometimes even wrong textures. But maintains immersive survival mode. :thumbup:



    P.s. Maybe option on workbench/blockbench to deconstruct blocks back to stone/wood etc.?

    Personally I feel the grinder is heavily under-utilized in the old version. The sledgehammer is great for recovering from a mistake but we still need a means to destroy blocks and recover raw stone again or maybe turn it all into gravel. And when I see the objects and mechanics in the unity demo I get the feeling we are moving away from the minecraft style storage chest which I felt was never the Rising World way in the first place. The new chests seem to let you have objects in them placed as if you would place them in the world. Perhaps we need to move towards more specific storage solutions for raw materials. I have never played Medival Engineers but from what I have seen they have storage devices for wood and for stone. i get the impression from the hay-filled animal feeder that Rising World will eventually go this way. so maybe we just store raw materials, recycle building materials and keep chest storage to a minimal.

    Quote from red51

    In this case, I'd probably prefer to rely on a recycler which could give me back the original resources (or at least some of the original resources) so I can craft a new stack.

    Yes this! recyling of unused or old construction is a very natural way. like i said above, storage for raw materials and recycling (rather than a trashcan which despawns objects) is probably the way to go, especially now when dropping an object no longer despawns it (like in real life).

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