Caveat Emptor
by Dlyrius, HSM team writer
I love to decorate. Nowhere else can you have the creative freedom we have in Home, in our personal spaces and clubhouses. It’s like being a kid in a candy store.
Now, having said that, let me get right to the issue that has bothered me for some time. There is no way to say this nicely, so I will call it as I see it: namely, misleading advertising.
For the most part, what you see is what you get. But there are exceptions, and hopefully I can give you Home consumers out there a little heads-up about things to watch for and investigate before purchasing an item or space. Kudos to the designers for all the attention to detail they use when creating new things for us to enjoy; they really do a great job most of the time. But it’s the little oversights that get to me. So lets try to get this organized and tackle it one step at a time.
General Spaces
Normally, these are totally awesome and fairly easy to decorate. However, there seems to be an increase in what I call “dirty space.” I don’t claim to understand exactly what goes into creating an item or space for Home, but I do know a little bit about digital art, 3D rendering, and general construction. So my best guess is during the creation process, invisible collision barriers surrounding an object are not cleaned up. This unseen wall of sorts makes using a particular area or item impossible, or difficult at best.
For instance: the Desert Haven clubhouse skin. At the far end of the bar you are unable to place an item, or even walk through it. You also can’t utilize all of the outdoor space near the club because of more invisible walls blocking your path to the stone wall you actually see. Now I understand the barriers being in place outside the space itself, but inside it?
We have the same issue with the Tycoon Penthouse in the kitchen. The far corner is blocked from placing items, yet you can walk right up to the window. This leaves a giant hole in my decor, and that bothers me.
Pre-Decorated Spaces
The new Hidden Oak Retreat is stunningly beautiful, yet someone felt the need to hinder our creative talents by hard-coding lanterns all over the floor. I don’t know about you, but I would prefer to place my own lighting. It really detracts from the overall look of the space, and makes placing anything in a corner nearly impossible unless it fits over the lantern itself. Frankly, that just looks really silly. I mean, who puts a lamp under a piano or a desk?
There are also floor lanterns at the new Moon Forest Apartment/Clubhouse skin. Now those work; they are outside, and for the most part add to the beauty of the space. But then we go inside and find these tiny tables in both side rooms on a main wall. Gah. The two dressing tables near the doorway are perfect where they are, and I adore the mirrors, but finding matching furniture to work with those little side tables is a nightmare. Is there any chance of offering these types of spaces as decorated or undecorated? That would certainly make my fellow decorators happy, and thrill the masses that aren’t really into that part of Home.
My best guess would be this might done for the decorating-impaired Home users to make things a bit less stressful when it comes to personalizing their spaces. Whatever the case may be, please remember this: There are tons of folks out there, like myself, that are more than happy to help you with your decorating issues. You can find plenty of willing helpers on the forums, the activity boards, and club listings as well.
Space Advice
Don’t purchase a space until you have seen it and asked questions. There are plenty of HCVs and private users who are more than happy to give you a tour and answer any questions you might have. If you are unable to find one of them, ask your friends. Chances are you have at least one out there who is like me and they own more homes than Oprah. I currently have forty-seven estates, and I’m always happy to help anyone out with a tour. I’m sure your friends would be thrilled to share with you as well. If all else fails, try checking YouTube, or even publications like this one. Browse through the back issues; do a search. Chances are that you will find a video tour or a review of the space you are interested in and you don’t have to wait for an invite.
Furniture/Accessories
In the vast majority of the items we see for sale on Home, you get what you pay for: chairs you can sit in, tables you can put stuff on, and doodads to make your house a home. But, again, there are exceptions — and some of them are pretty big.
Right now, Cucumber is selling some overhanging floor lamps, and while they are a great addition to any household, the display used to promote them seems a bit off. If you go to the showcase space, you will see these lamps being used in two displays there. Now, to just look at them, you would think that you can place a bed right under it and have a really neat look for your bedroom. This cannot be achieved. I personally own both of the lamps as well as the beds, and insofar as I can ascertain, it is impossible to place them as shown at the showroom. At best, you can place them alongside the bed, but then you run into another problem: they are too short to walk under, and you have effectively blocked yourself from sitting on your own bed. I also tried placing one on a table behind the bed to gain some height – still a no-go. The invisible base on these lamps is a problem. Balancing them on a table was a chore to say the least, and they constantly tipped over because they are, of course, top heavy.
To add to the list is a very stylish “extravagant bed” made by Sony. I bought this bed because it fit the color scheme and style of a room I was doing. Much to my dismay, I discovered I had not paid attention to the area of the store I was shopping in. It was under Accessories, not Sofas, where we normally find beds and the like. As beautiful as it may be, you can’t sit on it, much less place a decorative pillow or stuffed animal with it because it floats about a foot over the bed itself. There is also a square hot tub like this. It looks great, but you can’t sit in it.
Throughout all the stores, there are accessories that are tiny when they look big, and vice versa. A kitchen island and kitchen sink from MyDeco.com that you can’t walk into (the island), or place things on (the sink), a scorpion lounge chair you can’t sit on from Square Enix Inc. (Just Cause), and the Ghostbusters kitchen counters/stove that don’t fit together smoothly. These are challenges to be aware of when considering a purchase.
Furniture/Accessories Advice
Your best bet again is to ask a friend who owns it if you may see it before buying it. For me, I tend to tour other folks’ spaces, and if I see something I like, I first look at the “About” section of the item to see where they got it. Then I try it out and ask questions if need be so I can make my decision to buy or not.
Like I said earlier: nearly all of the items for sale on Home are just represented quite well, and you can play with them to your heart’s content. The percentage of things that are not is minimal. If you are like me, and on a tight budget, spending that last dollar on something you got really excited about — only to find out it isn’t what it seemed — can be quite disheartening.
I’m sure this isn’t intentional. It’s easy to tell by the amount of detail and imagination that goes into the digital designs that a lot of time is spent creating it. For that, a standing ovation to the designers! If you happen to run into an item that isn’t what it seems, let people know. Post the issue on the Home forums in the support thread. They can’t fix things if they don’t know there is a problem. Sony and all the other developers for Home want us to enjoy their products, so that we will continue to patronize their stores in the future. By all means please do so — but do so with care. It’s your money, after all.
April 22nd, 2012 by Dlyrius | 14 comments
Dlyrius, a native Oregonian, has been an internet chat addict since the days of the old BBS services.
I could hardly believe it the first time I read that someone liked the baked-in furniture. I was hoping we could unanimously ask Sony and third-party dev’s) to quit doing that. I don’t want someone else’s style and furniture locations forced on me. PLEASE! And yes, I wish they were more careful with details. If there’s a flat surface, one should be able to put items on it. And items should fit right next to each other. One time my Loot stove exploded out from between two “matching” counters. There really, really needs to be size standards and better descriptions of items in the stores and a return policy for those items that don’t live up to their promise.
Don’t get me wrong, I generally loathe predecorated spaces. It is impossible to personalize them. While I did purchase all of the mansion spaces and decorate them the best I could, I didn’t buy them because I liked them. I bought them so I could use the gift panels to help newbies get started without spending any money.
best bad example for baked in? the hill house apartment or clubhouse, the kitchen in it. looks gorgeous….till you try to put something on the counter or stove. nope, one gigantic box. and its location! right in the middle! try setting up a dinner table around THAT monkey. more like snacks for two! and why can you put stuff in the fireplace but not on the kitchen counter. O.O i, myself, LOVE decorating, i go nuts!!! spend hours in there, not coming out till im satisfied. the newest paradise apartment or clubhouse has this god awful bed plopped in there. you all know the one, two of you lay perfectly straight….on each side of the bed. with this giant space in between, like god will smight you if you get any closer. PUT THE CABANA IN FROM X7, one of the few good things FROM that place.
lool, oh, and excellent article,hun, you got this little mouse riled up over it. WOO HOO!
Thanks backarch! I also love the cabana’s at x7. I truly wish the beds we can purchase worked in the same fashion. They are a great way to look comfortable and have a easy conversation at the same time. Unlike when I sit in a chair and look like I have a back brace on, or the top half of my body disappears into the furniture every time I utter a word. Hopefully the devs will see this article and keep in mind that us DecoNuts need more attention to the little details before releasing an item because we sure pay attention to them when we buy and use them
I agree with your assessments here Dlyrius. It is good advice to look before you leap when it comes to buying anything in Home. Nice article.
Thanks Burbie, Lord knows my collection of items is beginning to border on the OMG levels. So anytime someone wants to see an item or space, let me know. I’m more than happy to share what I have with anyone who wants or needs to see it.
One more ‘caveat’. In the Nebula air ship, you can’t butt anything up against some of the walls. In fact there is a large gap that you can’t manipulate and it runs in a straight line dowen the sides. Grrrrr. HULK SMASH! I love the scenery in the Nebula air ship but it’s theses things that keep it from being a 10. I too am not a fan of the ‘dead beds'(as I heard it called from friends) and they are active items which does hurt my usage of them. There is also the luxury beach crib. This place has the most blatant false advertisinng I have seen to date. The summary in the estates store reads that it has a hidden room of technology. It’s so hidden that it actually doesnt exist. Wish I could get my money back there.
Yeah, i have that space too and if they aren’t going to let me see the hidden room of technology, at least take the sounds out for pete sake. they drive my dog nuts LOL
In general, I don’t like baked-in furniture. An exception is something like the Lockwood gift machine, an active item that doesn’t count against the item limit because it’s baked-in ,,, or the Santorini apartment kitchen, which is unique for unique architecture. I still would prefer to have a choice.
Not baked-in, but strange, is the bed for the French Chateau. I don’t use active beds but it came in the bundle: it won’t fit on the so-called second floor (which is really a balcony) in a convenient way. LOL
I love the kitchen in the Santorini apt with one exception.. no fridge! LOL, the small chrome one fits in there perfectly, but i would dearly love to put my little coffee maker in that cubby on the counter. sadly that is blocked off from placing anything in it. As for the active beds, i don’t get it. we can sit in a chair and its not active, so why is laying down active? and they are so dang long, i haven’t seen an avi over 6′ tall yet, and these beds are made for basketball players
Where to begin? First off it drives me nuts the attention they give to some things and others you say what where they thinking?First why wouldnt they have put a moon next to the earth in the space appt? They made the sun but no moon?And if it had the cycles it would be even cooler or even made it look like the ooblags casino sky when u firts walk in there or able to change it how ever you like from a few choises would be even cooler. The music in the saloon why cany you not turn it off. And some homes you can hang quit a few items up and some only two stupid especialy when there are like 10 blank walls. They do need to let you place more items in your spaces also.And why they wouldnt of made a baseball cap for girls with the poney tail sticking out the hole in back those short hair styles make them look like boys. I wish every space had a loot tv in it. It would be so much better. Man i could probably go on for ever but i will save some of my ideas for later.Ya they need to do smothing about some of the things. And i will be trying to preview a space some how before i buy it. because i have been very unhappy with quite a few spaces now.
Aaron: i would be more than happy to show you any spaces i own you would like to see. As for the Loot eod being in every space, well rumors have it that they are going to have a portable one very soon, hopefully sometime this summer. i have already begun placing an active item as a place holder in spaces i want to install this truly neat and unique product! Yay LOOT!!
Man if play station is about video games why wouldn’t they make more. Like an arcade where games are a penny to play and like they have every video game cabinet ever made in the world so you can play it. Or just ad air hockey in the bowling ally and even a pinball game or two in there also would be great.And maybe make a penny option at the casino because every body has a penny left over from almost every purchase. I could just keep going but i will stop for now. It drives me nuts?