New Crown Store Structural Offerings

Wreuntzylla

ZoS met us halfway and added some massive structural pieces. By halfway, I mean to say they are massive, and structural, but not conforming to any style asked for, and the way they were implemented baffles me.

I'll use the "Ballroom" floor pieces as my example.

Pros: Freed up 100+ slots, niche design that actually becomes somewhat impressive when you connect a few up and have a decent amount of floor space.

Cons:

1. The top side is worn and has largish gouges and misplaced tiles. Flip it over, however, and it's good! But of course, flipping it over makes it 10x harder to use since you can't use the right button leveling function. I spent 4 hours stitching 8 together and it still isn't right.

Why make a bad side? My guess is that they don't put any effort beyond cut and paste, in order to increase profit. Ok, but then why make the bad side the top???

Note that when you use it as flooring above the ground level, the bad side will show, it's just easier to cover up bad spots on a ceiling than a floor.

2. The edges. They are so awful I am thinking of ripping the floor out and going back to plates. They look like the exposed edges of cut concrete. I figured, well, they probably added edging to the store as well. If they did, I could not find it and I am still not sure if I can fix it without using so many slots it renders the change a bad decision. I was going to use it for the top floor as well, as thin flooring materials makes structures look wrong, but I don't want to spend another $40-$80 if ultimately I wont use.

Of course, all but one of the issues I am highlighting are largely irrelevant if you use this as flooring at the ground floor level.

Apologies in advance for the low res images. Also, added a pic showing the oddball blemish on the otherwise very useful staircases.

MornaBaine

I was thinking many of the same things with this floor in PTS. It's pretty terrible. And the stairs, while usable for a few odd things, are far too wide to be of any practical application inside a home. The only "stairs" they introduced that are narrow enough to be useful are actually designed to look like a natural rock formation. It's maddening. It's like they're angry at us and saying, "Oh you want floor pieces? Oh you want stairs? Well HERE! Now stop whining at us!" This, followed by maniacal laughter, of course.

MornaBaine

Oh I did want to add though that this temple structure you have built, despite all the challenges, is amazing! I am very impressed and wish I were as creative!

Aurie

Yes I can see your point about using multiple ballroom floors.

I actually just used the one to pave that otherwise horrid scrubby alcove on the terrace of Alinor Crest Town House, with a mostly sunken staircase leading up to it, and blossom trees and raised flower beds with blue lighting to complete the transformation.

So didn't have the same problem.









But now that you've pointed it out, I'm going to HAVE to flip the damned thing over!!

MornaBaine

Oh wow @Aurelle1 that looks wonderful! I would not have actually thought of "paving over" the only "green space" on the property but now... I might just copy you! LOL

Aurie

Thanks MornaBaine

Haha I wouldn't normally even think of paving a green area....but that one was just so sad, souless and meh. Better off without it imo.

@Wreuntzylla how many item slots did your fantastic temple take (or is it a massive library, just noticed the interior walls are bookcases!!)? And how long did it take you to build it?

Wreuntzylla

MornaBaine wrote: »

Oh I did want to add though that this temple structure you have built, despite all the challenges, is amazing! I am very impressed and wish I were as creative!

Aurelle1 wrote: »

Thanks MornaBaine

Haha I wouldn't normally even think of paving a green area....but that one was just so sad, souless and meh. Better off without it imo.

@Wreuntzylla how many item slots did your fantastic temple take (or is it a massive library, just noticed the interior walls are bookcases!!)? And how long did it take you to build it?

I started the day housing came out. The original intent was to house attunement stations. As to slots, it takes all 700.

The structure is a two story library with a third floor temple. My original plan was to recreate the Great Library (of Alexandria). The temple was included for historic reasons, most ancient buildings include some sort of shrine or temple.

The structures were much grander when I started. Originally, the floors were upside down statue bases merged together (same as last week's luxury vendor item) and the temple was a large stone building with a copper roof. As I added attunement stations, other things had to go <sigh>. To be fair, the new temple I based off of Hagia Sophia, and it came out much better than I expected.

There is very little creativity in what I put together. Most of it has a real world analogue. Some of it is challenging, and takes a bit of engineering, but without real world engineering constraints, it's pretty simple. Oddly enough, in-game, the most common question I get asked is how do I make purple lighting... To make that and other arcane and mysterious features, I tap into the vast knowledge store granted to me by our forefathers. With respect to the lighting, memories of color mixing in grade school and a list of ESO lighting furnishings!

The pictures I posted are fairly empty because I strip everything off when I do floor work. It actually looks much better populated. Assuming I can make the ballroom floor pieces work, I'll add back the more mundane library features I used to have, mainly a collection of bookshelves corresponding to different races/cultures in ESO, matching desks, etc.

I tend to post pictures in this forum when i finish a rework, but really, the structure is so big that folks are better off just touring the place. I realize it lacks the homey touches needed to make it a great construct, and if they ever enlarge the furnishing count, I am going to hire one of the creative geniuses in Devine Design Alliance to fix that.

DoctorESO

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

ZoS met us halfway and added some massive structural pieces. By halfway, I mean to say they are massive, and structural, but not conforming to any style asked for, and the way they were implemented baffles me.

I'll use the "Ballroom" floor pieces as my example.

Pros: Freed up 100+ slots, niche design that actually becomes somewhat impressive when you connect a few up and have a decent amount of floor space.

Cons:

1. The top side is worn and has largish gouges and misplaced tiles. Flip it over, however, and it's good! But of course, flipping it over makes it 10x harder to use since you can't use the right button leveling function. I spent 4 hours stitching 8 together and it still isn't right.

Why make a bad side? My guess is that they don't put any effort beyond cut and paste, in order to increase profit. Ok, but then why make the bad side the top???

Note that when you use it as flooring above the ground level, the bad side will show, it's just easier to cover up bad spots on a ceiling than a floor.

2. The edges. They are so awful I am thinking of ripping the floor out and going back to plates. They look like the exposed edges of cut concrete. I figured, well, they probably added edging to the store as well. If they did, I could not find it and I am still not sure if I can fix it without using so many slots it renders the change a bad decision. I was going to use it for the top floor as well, as thin flooring materials makes structures look wrong, but I don't want to spend another $40-$80 if ultimately I wont use.

Of course, all but one of the issues I am highlighting are largely irrelevant if you use this as flooring at the ground floor level.

Apologies in advance for the low res images. Also, added a pic showing the oddball blemish on the otherwise very useful staircases.

Oh, wow. You built this on the Grand Topal Hideaway? How many crowns did it cost to buy the materials to build that amazing ballroom?

Wreuntzylla

DoctorESO wrote: »

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

ZoS met us halfway and added some massive structural pieces. By halfway, I mean to say they are massive, and structural, but not conforming to any style asked for, and the way they were implemented baffles me.

I'll use the "Ballroom" floor pieces as my example.

Pros: Freed up 100+ slots, niche design that actually becomes somewhat impressive when you connect a few up and have a decent amount of floor space.

Cons:

1. The top side is worn and has largish gouges and misplaced tiles. Flip it over, however, and it's good! But of course, flipping it over makes it 10x harder to use since you can't use the right button leveling function. I spent 4 hours stitching 8 together and it still isn't right.

Why make a bad side? My guess is that they don't put any effort beyond cut and paste, in order to increase profit. Ok, but then why make the bad side the top???

Note that when you use it as flooring above the ground level, the bad side will show, it's just easier to cover up bad spots on a ceiling than a floor.

2. The edges. They are so awful I am thinking of ripping the floor out and going back to plates. They look like the exposed edges of cut concrete. I figured, well, they probably added edging to the store as well. If they did, I could not find it and I am still not sure if I can fix it without using so many slots it renders the change a bad decision. I was going to use it for the top floor as well, as thin flooring materials makes structures look wrong, but I don't want to spend another $40-$80 if ultimately I wont use.

Of course, all but one of the issues I am highlighting are largely irrelevant if you use this as flooring at the ground floor level.

Apologies in advance for the low res images. Also, added a pic showing the oddball blemish on the otherwise very useful staircases.

Oh, wow. You built this on the Grand Topal Hideaway? How many crowns did it cost to buy the materials to build that amazing ballroom?

They are 300 crowns per square, 8 squares inside, so 2400.

Small kudos to ZoS for pricing some great pieces at more reasonable prices than in the past. Not talking about the ballroom though. )

There are some really nice Alinor pieces for a third of what I would have expected.

Incognitius

I wasn't happy with the ragged edges either of the ballroom pieces, so I've covered them up with hedges in my home.



Great work on your temple. ;-) Liked every iteration of it so far.

Aurelle1 wrote: »

Yes I can see your point about using multiple ballroom floors.

I actually just used the one to pave that otherwise horrid scrubby alcove on the terrace of Alinor Crest Town House, with a mostly sunken staircase leading up to it, and blossom trees and raised flower beds with blue lighting to complete the transformation.

So didn't have the same problem.





But now that you've pointed it out, I'm going to HAVE to flip the damned thing over!!

Lovely idea! Sadly ran out of crowns when I was making the back of my terrace a bit more elevated for a better view of Alinor. Got to wait two weeks for my ESO+ renewal.

Aurie

I love the Alinor terrace. Such an unexpected surprise when exploring the house for the first time. And as there is really quite a lot of space there's so much you can do with it.

@Wreuntzylla yes I can see where you are coming from with the Hagia Sophia (have seen it from the outside when we were in Istanbul years ago, but never been inside), and also the Great Library. Being a Margaret George fan, I remember her terrific descriptions of Alexandria in the Memoirs of Cleopatra.

.

DoctorESO

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

DoctorESO wrote: »

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

ZoS met us halfway and added some massive structural pieces. By halfway, I mean to say they are massive, and structural, but not conforming to any style asked for, and the way they were implemented baffles me.

I'll use the "Ballroom" floor pieces as my example.

Pros: Freed up 100+ slots, niche design that actually becomes somewhat impressive when you connect a few up and have a decent amount of floor space.

Cons:

1. The top side is worn and has largish gouges and misplaced tiles. Flip it over, however, and it's good! But of course, flipping it over makes it 10x harder to use since you can't use the right button leveling function. I spent 4 hours stitching 8 together and it still isn't right.

Why make a bad side? My guess is that they don't put any effort beyond cut and paste, in order to increase profit. Ok, but then why make the bad side the top???

Note that when you use it as flooring above the ground level, the bad side will show, it's just easier to cover up bad spots on a ceiling than a floor.

2. The edges. They are so awful I am thinking of ripping the floor out and going back to plates. They look like the exposed edges of cut concrete. I figured, well, they probably added edging to the store as well. If they did, I could not find it and I am still not sure if I can fix it without using so many slots it renders the change a bad decision. I was going to use it for the top floor as well, as thin flooring materials makes structures look wrong, but I don't want to spend another $40-$80 if ultimately I wont use.

Of course, all but one of the issues I am highlighting are largely irrelevant if you use this as flooring at the ground floor level.

Apologies in advance for the low res images. Also, added a pic showing the oddball blemish on the otherwise very useful staircases.

Oh, wow. You built this on the Grand Topal Hideaway? How many crowns did it cost to buy the materials to build that amazing ballroom?

They are 300 crowns per square, 8 squares inside, so 2400.

Small kudos to ZoS for pricing some great pieces at more reasonable prices than in the past. Not talking about the ballroom though. )

There are some really nice Alinor pieces for a third of what I would have expected.

Cool. How about the cost of everything else for that entire structure? And how many hours did it take you to complete it?

Wreuntzylla

DoctorESO wrote: »

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

DoctorESO wrote: »

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

ZoS met us halfway and added some massive structural pieces. By halfway, I mean to say they are massive, and structural, but not conforming to any style asked for, and the way they were implemented baffles me.

I'll use the "Ballroom" floor pieces as my example.

Pros: Freed up 100+ slots, niche design that actually becomes somewhat impressive when you connect a few up and have a decent amount of floor space.

Cons:

1. The top side is worn and has largish gouges and misplaced tiles. Flip it over, however, and it's good! But of course, flipping it over makes it 10x harder to use since you can't use the right button leveling function. I spent 4 hours stitching 8 together and it still isn't right.

Why make a bad side? My guess is that they don't put any effort beyond cut and paste, in order to increase profit. Ok, but then why make the bad side the top???

Note that when you use it as flooring above the ground level, the bad side will show, it's just easier to cover up bad spots on a ceiling than a floor.

2. The edges. They are so awful I am thinking of ripping the floor out and going back to plates. They look like the exposed edges of cut concrete. I figured, well, they probably added edging to the store as well. If they did, I could not find it and I am still not sure if I can fix it without using so many slots it renders the change a bad decision. I was going to use it for the top floor as well, as thin flooring materials makes structures look wrong, but I don't want to spend another $40-$80 if ultimately I wont use.

Of course, all but one of the issues I am highlighting are largely irrelevant if you use this as flooring at the ground floor level.

Apologies in advance for the low res images. Also, added a pic showing the oddball blemish on the otherwise very useful staircases.

Oh, wow. You built this on the Grand Topal Hideaway? How many crowns did it cost to buy the materials to build that amazing ballroom?

They are 300 crowns per square, 8 squares inside, so 2400.

Small kudos to ZoS for pricing some great pieces at more reasonable prices than in the past. Not talking about the ballroom though. )

There are some really nice Alinor pieces for a third of what I would have expected.

Cool. How about the cost of everything else for that entire structure? And how many hours did it take you to complete it?

Well, more than I'd like to admit! However, most of it is purchasable with gold. I don't know if the pieces I am currently using to lower the item count can be made in-game.

MinuitPro

Thank you so much for sharing, I haven't looked for something like this in a long time. Welcome to my next crown sink. I too really wished this would be in game for gold though. This will make finishing my maze much easier.

Can anyone confirm if you can cast ground attacks on it? I know typical materials (planks, etc) never allowed them to work for say, custom dueling arenas.

Jaraal

Yeah, I mentioned on the test forum that most folks would rather used the good side of the floor, and could they make that the default side, but apparently it fell on deaf ears.

Also, the floor, stairs, walls, fountains, etc are craftable, if you don't want to pay crowns. And you can buy limestone walls from the Summerset housing vendor for 250 gold each.

driosketch

First off, awesome design.

Secondly, is it possible to level a flat block, raise it in the air, and level your floor pieces against the underside so the good side shows up and they remain uniform in tilt? I ask having tried using stacked curved limestone walls for my new spiral stairs that just refused to want to remain uniformly leveled.

Jaraal

Get the Immaculate Construction add-on, you can create perfect spiral staircases, lay out perfectly flat grids, etc. Everything can be numerically positioned on the x, y, and z axis.

Wreuntzylla

driosketch wrote: »

First off, awesome design.

Secondly, is it possible to level a flat block, raise it in the air, and level your floor pieces against the underside so the good side shows up and they remain uniform in tilt? I ask having tried using stacked curved limestone walls for my new spiral stairs that just refused to want to remain uniformly leveled.

Did you turn off surface drag?

driosketch

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

driosketch wrote: »

First off, awesome design.

Secondly, is it possible to level a flat block, raise it in the air, and level your floor pieces against the underside so the good side shows up and they remain uniform in tilt? I ask having tried using stacked curved limestone walls for my new spiral stairs that just refused to want to remain uniformly leveled.

Did you turn off surface drag?

Yes

SofiDesune

Anyone else that have experienced when flipping the ballroom floor to the nice side, furniture stops being functioning? Like chairs etc?

Wreuntzylla

driosketch wrote: »

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

driosketch wrote: »

First off, awesome design.

Secondly, is it possible to level a flat block, raise it in the air, and level your floor pieces against the underside so the good side shows up and they remain uniform in tilt? I ask having tried using stacked curved limestone walls for my new spiral stairs that just refused to want to remain uniformly leveled.

Did you turn off surface drag?

Yes

Was a thought. The thing inevitably turns on without me having turned it on and it drives me batty for a 10-20sec until I realize what is going on.

SofiDesune wrote: »

Anyone else that have experienced when flipping the ballroom floor to the nice side, furniture stops being functioning? Like chairs etc?

I am almost done with my remodel and have placed 40 crafting stations with only very minor issues and those issues all occur at seams between pieces of ballroom floor. I flip every single ballroom floor section.

SofiDesune

SofiDesune wrote: »

Anyone else that have experienced when flipping the ballroom floor to the nice side, furniture stops being functioning? Like chairs etc?

I am almost done with my remodel and have placed 40 crafting stations with only very minor issues and those issues all occur at seams between pieces of ballroom floor. I flip every single ballroom floor section.

[/quote]

Really? I cant get it to work at all for me

Woefulmonkey

I am sorry you are not happy with what they have provided so far, but you sure seem to have made good use of it.

The images provided are very impressive.

I agree they need more stuff like this in various styles is still needed as well as more fully populated bookshelves, counters, dining tables and so forth.

They should also provide a 'Rotate' function that allow you to turn objects by a specific number of degrees as well as better 'sliding' logic so objects that are rotated 180 degrees can still be shifted and leveled.

Hopefully this is just the start of a trend.

Wreuntzylla

To the contrary, I'm moderately pleased. My only gating issue dealt with the edges, which i may have solved

fter tinkering a bit I was able to cover up the edges and still have about 140 fewer slots when all was said and done.

SofiDesune wrote: »

SofiDesune wrote: »

Anyone else that have experienced when flipping the ballroom floor to the nice side, furniture stops being functioning? Like chairs etc?

I am almost done with my remodel and have placed 40 crafting stations with only very minor issues and those issues all occur at seams between pieces of ballroom floor. I flip every single ballroom floor section.

Really? I cant get it to work at all for me

[/quote]

Before anything else, I recommend the following (after reading what I wrote farther beloww).

Take 2-3 different pieces of interactable furniture and try setting them on a known good surface. Keep the ones that set the easiest in inventory. Place one of your upside down ballroom pieces in midair (higher than you can jump onto) and make a ramp so you can get onto it. Then try to set the pieces you put into inventory. If even one sets, it's obviously something else and you might consider the following.

1. Zones/ Z-Axis

Zones

With interactive furnishings, there are two 'zones' to worry about. There is a proximity exclusion zone extending from each object in which you can't set any other object. If you do, it will cease to work. There is also a player interaction zone inside of which the player must be to interact with an object.

Most people understand the exclusion zone. However, most people don't realize that there is a sliver of distance at the end of the exclusion zone in which the object may go green and you still can't interact with it after setting. In that case, just move it a hair more.

Similarly, when setting two interactive items next to each other, the second item you set will often show green and you can interact with it after setting, but it kills the functionality of the first object. After you set the second item, it pays to make sure you can still interact with nearby interactive objects.

The exclusion zone doesn't appear to ever change dimensionally. However, if you are setting two interactable items next to each other, the player interaction zone changes to accommodate more than one intractable furnishing in one area. I think this has more to do with ZoS' targeting system than any furnishing. In any event, the point here is that the furnishing may be working fine, but you might have to jockey your toon around a bit until you can interact with the particular furnishing. Sort of like loot you can't seem to pick up.

Z-axis

The z-axis range in which a player can position themselves to use some furnishings is small. So small that even 1-2 steps of a stair case can be an issue (Dwarven platform with attached stairs (not the altar). This is a particularly irritating issue with crafting stations.

2. Proximity

The distance the exclusion zone extends is angle and object dependent.

For example, I can set two crafting stations on a floor to be a hair width from touching, without issue, but if i have a ceiling a couple meters above a station (primarily the woodworking stations), it won't set. As another example, I can try to set a blacksmith station and fail in a 5 meter range from another blacksmith station, but for reasons I can't explain, sometimes I can set them withing a hairs breadth by simply rotating the station around its axis using the F-key function (sometimes with a little jockeying as well).

If you want to place an item on a surface of an object into which you have already sunk a different object, things get funky, but number 3, below, typically will fix the issue.

3. Finding the Green (mini-game)

In most cases, you can set a furnishing with a simple right-click and it will go green and work. However, depending on terrain, the object, nearby objects and how close you are to a zone wall, you may have to try different angles and depths/heights.

I typically right click and move the furnishing up and down if a furnishing fails to go green. Sometimes the furnishing will set off the surface you are placing it on and sometimes you will need to sink it into the surface. Most times there is a good bit of space in which the object will go green. Sometimes, however, the set point is so tight that all you'll see is a flash of green as you move the item, or you might be moving to fast and never see the flash. In those cases, it's a pain, but you just have to get the green to pop steady and it will set fine.

If I don't get green, I'll change the angle/rotation/z-axis/etc. and do it again. Rinse and repeat. In most cases, once you get the hang of it, the process takes 0-30sec. In some cases, it's taken me 10-20min. I'm can be stubborn when I want something in a particular place...

Wreuntzylla

Woefulmonkey wrote: »

I am sorry you are not happy with what they have provided so far, but you sure seem to have made good use of it.

The images provided are very impressive.

I agree they need more stuff like this in various styles is still needed as well as more fully populated bookshelves, counters, dining tables and so forth.

They should also provide a 'Rotate' function that allow you to turn objects by a specific number of degrees as well as better 'sliding' logic so objects that are rotated 180 degrees can still be shifted and leveled.

Hopefully this is just the start of a trend.

If "sliding logic" is what I think it is, yes, so much yes. Maybe a way to tag 2+ surfaces. I would also be ecstatic to see a grid function that turns your work area into an environment similar to CAD. I spend more time with overall alignment than anything else.

I personally don't think we will see any advances given that pretty much everything since they released housing is just taken from something existing in the game. Although, they may decide to use us as guinea pigs for some future game.