Blueprint:Home — First Impressions Review
by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
Raise your hand if you played with Legos as a kid.
As a youth, I was obsessed with Legos. And though they started getting more specialized, the ones I loved the best were the plain, flat grids with bins and bins of generic pieces.
Could I build the Sistine Chapel? No. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that I had a blank canvas to let my imagination run rampant. The final product wasn’t as important to me as the act of exploring what I could come up with. Sure, most of the creations were rubbish; you try to create Nottingham and Sherwood Forest and you end up with something vaguely akin to the Dresden aftermath as interpreted by a chimpanzee. But every so often you’d end up producing something really unique and cool, and it felt so much better than just recreating somebody else’s artwork from an instruction manual.
Creating something unique and interesting, when everyone has the same tools, is a real challenge. Ever try any of those RPG Maker games? Your mind explodes with how dazzling your Tolkienesque adventure is going to be, only to quickly discover that even with so much of the foundation already built for you, you are still incapable of the patience or skill necessary to do more than just stare at the screen until you get fed up and put in NBA Jam instead.
Reviewing nDreams’ Blueprint:Home, then, is a bit of a challenge. How do you review something that requires you to build it first? And how do you review a world-builder based on what it does offer versus what you’d like it to offer?
Let’s start with a capsule summary of what this review entails: Blueprint:Home, despite some flaws, is quite an achievement as it presently exists; it has the potential to become a long-term cash cow for nDreams, and it may ultimately be most important for the impact it has on personal estate design overall, not for what it offers by itself.
Tenshi Ventures
Before we dive into the meat of this review, something important needs to be pointed out: no one’s ever tried something like this before in Home. Remember, Home is running on a foundation that’s several years old, and frankly wasn’t designed to do half the things it’s been bent and twisted to do. And pulling off a production as complicated as Blueprint:Home required nDreams to go and get outside financing from Tenshi Ventures. Without that funding, this concept would still be in development, and god only knows when it would’ve come out.
This is important to point out because there are limitations when working with the Home engine, and while the consumer is free to be as merciless as they want, I’m inclined to cut a third-party developer some slack when they try to deepen Home by developing something truly new and different. I also have very little patience for some of the whiny brats on the Sony forum who start bleating and caviling about price, even to the point of suggesting that the application itself should have been free to purchase; even if we ignore the tremendous pressure nDreams must be under to deliver sufficient ROIC to justify the outside investment they received, the pricing is quite fair. There’s this attitude from some in the Home community that everything should be priced cheaply so that the consumer can consume everything a product has to offer, and that’s just plain ridiculous.
Want everything to be “cheap” in Home again? Fine. Kiss most of the third-party developers goodbye. Kiss most of the intricate and complicated games and spaces goodbye. Let’s all go back to day one of open beta, wear exactly the same clothing, talk about how cool “Chain Swing” is, and brag how fun closed beta was because we got to hang out with some red jackets.
You children. Jesus.
Are there some drawbacks to Blueprint:Home? Absolutely. You can save five different estate designs, but you can’t save five different furniture arrangements. That’s a drawback. And whenever guests enter your space, you have to save and reload the estate so they can actually see it, which is a minor annoyance — although, as Gideon pointed out, there’s some benefits to this for machinima purposes. You also can’t wedge any large furniture through the width of a standard doorway, meaning you need to build a double-wide doorway for rooms in order to put stuff inside them.
nDreams real estate for sale
There are more problems: the uniform nature of the building blocks makes it very difficult to create something that looks warm and inviting, as opposed to something vaguely institutional. The background environments are very sparse, likely due to how much memory the application itself chews up. The rooms have ceilings, yes, but no roof — which again makes it look and feel unfinished. And, of course, you can’t (at present) add a second story. Nor is there a bird’s-eye camera to enjoy viewing your creation from anything other than ground level.
Okay, these are drawbacks. They suck. And a consumer has every right in the world to decide that Blueprint isn’t worth it because of this. But, as nDreams’ Joe Dale has already pointed out, this is only the very first iteration of this concept; assuming it performs sufficiently well financially, there will be further uprading and innovation to its functionality.
Personally, though, I’m quite excited to play with the new tools nDreams has given us all. Maybe it’s the way I’m wired, but I tend to agree with Tony Robbins when he says that when someone complains about a lack of resources, they’re usually complaining about a lack of resourcefulness. Let’s not ignore a very important point: finally, someone has given us the ability to create something in Home. And until Hellfire Games’ Home Tycoon hits the scene, this is still the most widely-available way to actually build something of your own design inside Sony’s walled garden.
So what can we build which fits a cookie-cutter motif?
Well, for starters, the footprint on this space is farking huge. I could probably build a decent recreation of Skara Brae from The Bard’s Tale in this space. For that matter, given the right style pack, I could probably build a replica of the real Skara Brae. Seriously, you could build a small RPG village with Blueprint:Home. Or you could build some barracks — particularly with the asylum pack. The thing about Blueprint:Home is that it lets me feel like a dungeon creator for some classic RPG game like Wizardry. Think of the mazes that could be built with this!
And, though I haven’t had time to try it personally yet, I’ll bet money you could build the mother of all MiniBots battlefields with this thing, or set up a couple of Heavy Strike cannons and have a crazy game of dodge ball.
The real benefit of Blueprint:Home, though, is that it forces Home developers to really evaluate what the selling points are for a personal estate. Personal estates are a supersaturated marketplace, and what nDreams has done is to turn the personal estate itself into a game. While they may be somewhat limited on just how deep they can dig their rabbit hole, the lesson for other developers is obvious: it is no longer enough to just sell a pretty box. The box has to do something. Seriously, it took this many years to offer another estate besides Harbour Studio which allows users to change the wallpaper? Really? Why aren’t there more estates which offer users the gorgeous bespoke scenery that only a development team can provide, coupled with tons and tons of options — flooring, lighting, wallpaper, etc. — to personalize the experience?
So. How to score something like this?
Well, in terms of concept, it’s a 5/5. The execution is a bit lacking, but no one else has ever tried this before in Home. And, to be fair, this is just the beginning. So I’m giving it a 4/5. Blueprint:Home itself may be somewhat flawed and limited, but it’s also something unique for Home, and I daresay we should all strive to have the ingenuity and imagination to maximize what it does offer. Kudos to nDreams for taking a chance and sinking the time and money into developing it, and hopefully it will jump-start some genuine creativity amongst other developers to resuscitate what is a nearly moribund market segment in Home: the personal estate.
- You get to create something!
- Could turn into a really deep experience
- Wake-up call to all other Home developers
- Building-block uniformity is a turn-off
- Can't save furniture arrangements
- No second floor or roof
August 2nd, 2012 by NorseGamer | 15 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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Is it basic? Yes. Is it what we wanted? Yes. So what else needs to be said?
This is such a great start for those of us who have been asking for this since 2009. It’s concept is simple. Create an estate themed the way you want it. How cool is that? The fact that nDreams already has packs/add-ons is pretty awesome and promises even more if sales are robust. I think they will be.
So what’s missing? A lot. But those crazy cool guys at NDreams have been collecting feedback like no body’s business and I think they will make Blueprint even better pretty soon.
Since we had a free minibot space/game, everyone expect new ones to be free. But they are two really different things. Minibot multiplayer is base on an already existing game and blueprint is … totally new and it’s way, awesome! The major drawback is that we can save only one furniture settings. I was expecting like most people 5 places for the price of one ( well, one and half
)
Yes nDreams will sell add-on in tid bit pieces (give the razor, sell the blade) But face it. How many hours of fun can we have with that? All that for a base cost of $8.00!!!
The footprint is huge and it’s all I was asking for a 1st iteration. The price is not cheap, but the product aint cheap either!!! Certainly worth more than a mechjet and I have no regret on my mechjet.
Thanks nDream. We wanted it. You gave it to us, and the price is fair.
Norsling.. Lego’s were alright but I liked Hot Wheels. you member, You MEMBER!? Full tracks that connected all over the front room. Had the gas station and built my own parking lot and designed a nice mini city as well. creative either way. Much like this article. thanks, Norse
I totally tried the RPG makers of PSone and PS2. I failed SO hard at that it wasn’t even funny!
…
Ok… It was kind of funny.
cons -you cannot hang pictures
pros- the Aurora environment is very cool
I honestly thought I was gonna be a first-day buyer for this, I really did. But then I made the mistake of comparing the two regions and their offerings. Now I’m just confused! It seems a bit cheaper to do this in EU, but my furniture count is rather lacking in comparison over there now, so it makes more sense to buy US, but that’s a personal thing.
NA Home is VERY good at creating bundles and deals, something rarely seen over in the EU Home. And with the way things go in NA Home, I’m inclined to wait it out for a good “starter-pack” bundle to come along and push up the sales to those less whale-like, heh. What would you call these people Norse, krill? lol
As far as creation goes, the virtual sky’s the limit! Never underestimate how far some people can push boundaries. Look at ALL the Home machinema created so far, then look at Home Legacy Origins. I can’t wait to see what people will make with Blueprint…
I used to spend hours with my son building Lego masterpieces with working elevators, spiral staircases and built in kitchens, it was a blast!
Finding that I can’t save furniture allotments was a bit of a downer, but I love the space and the ability to create my own concepts. With the memory useable, it really isn’t a surprise we can’t save them I guess.
It takes time and patience to figure it all out and make decisions, and I can’t wait to get some less garish wall combinations to use. The bright color combos they have aren’t my thing. I like the stone walls and used them quite a bit.
No pictures is a bummer, but understandable as we are “creating” the walls themselves. They may be in the mix for later, who knows?
The one thing I totally wish could change is the ability to angle walls and objects, not just use the four compass points, similar to what we can do with our furniture.
But the fact that I can’t save my furniture settings, in a way, will actually make we go back to this space time and again to come up with more ideas and change it, rather than sit on my laurels once I get my “perfect” places built.
With new design packs coming on a regular basis this place will become a cash cow, flaws and all. When packs come out that pique my interest I will continue to buy them just so I can go back and rebuild my space. As a decorating lover, this space will be a fun meta-game of death and rebirth, much less staid as the ones we have been given so far.
I mean lets face it, many of us decorate spaces then don’t go back to them for months afterwards unless we meet someone new to show around. This place can end that forever as we can constantly evolve it.
I have said to many people that this space can become a machinmists dream, and I believe it will as it gets better and has more choices made available. And the gaming aspects like minibots are endless.
Good job NDreams! And thanks for bringing imagination back into Home!
I haven’t tried it yet either but I watched a friend create with it last night and it’s pretty impressive.People with pvr’s will be able to get interesting shots of the building sequence.The pricing seems fair enough to me.I was a little disappointed with the lack of detail to the background environments but pleased with the ambient sounds.
I had a hard time making this work at first. My first few houses materialized a hundred feet in the air, and froze the drafting table! But after several tries, I managed to start a house, then I was off to the races. My one-room house soon grew to six, including a bathroom. (My friends then spent hours trying to figure out how to keep people from peeking in the windows of the bathroom, despite my protests that this was Home, and nobody would really be using the toilet in here!) It was all grand silly fun, and I got my $7.99 worth of enjoyment just running back and forth tweaking windows and textures while they made remarks.
Suggestions: I think we should be able to mix-and-match walls, floors and ceilings from the different packs. For instance, I wanted the white tile floor from the Minimalist pack in my bathroom, but I was using the Paint pack for the walls, so I was stuck with carpet. I’m not sure why the items are linked like that. Sure, they go together visually. But surely that’s just a “serving suggestion”, and if I want to mix whitewashed brick walls and a sci-fi flooring, shouldn’t that be my choice?
My biggest issue is the fact that the furniture is not saved with the layout. I can see why this is so, but it does mean that we can only really “inhabit” one apartment of the five saved layouts at a time, because as soon as we move into another we’ll need to redo the furniture. Perhaps more “features” (like the pillars, stoves and glass walls) are the answer. If your basic furnishings are features that are stored along with the walls, it won’t be as hard to add the extra little touches when you call up an apartment. But a “stored furniture option” would be much appreciated.
I see that we can hang pictures on the four poles by the drafting table. This brings up a question: could pictures be added as a “feature” — perhaps as a pillar-like object that will hold a wall-hanging item. There would be a limit on the number of pictures you could add to an apartment, and, like furniture, the pictures themselves would not be saved with the layout. But it would be a big step in the right direction. (I’m thinking “build-it-yourself art museum” here.)
I found myself thinking what kind of style packs I would like to see next. The upcoming Asylum and Office packs will be fun for machinima, though they don’t appeal to me personally. But I would like to see a Greek / Roman / Egyptian Classical pack. Those styles would work well with the square look of the structures. And a Medieval Castle pack, with crenelations along the top of the walls.
Thank you, nDreams, for giving us such a great new toy!
I’m still of two minds over this space.
Like the article says, the concept is great but the execution seems to be a work in progress. And I understand nDreams’ position here. They’re trying something completely radical and forced to work within the constraints of the Home platform. The space seems a little buggy from what I’ve read. I’m willing to wait for them to patch it up before buying.
I’m more concerned with the actual flexibility allowed by the application. There seems to be a lot of “buts” and “maybes” involving with creating an apartment to one’s personal specifications. I’m all for treating personal spaces like games unto themselves and pushing their boundaries. Of course, Sony removed the ability to employ many of the “features” to which I’m referring. Now, nDreams is selling this space that allows the user the freedom to create but it’s limited to a fairly rigid framework at this point. It will be interesting to see how far they can push its features.
The price of the space seems appropriate enough. I’d have a bigger problem spending money on future decorating packs knowing that I could only save one complete apartment at a time. Tearing down a meticulously designed and furnished space to use new packs would be frustrating.
I’ll probably end up buying the space if I feel like the fun factor outweighs the limitations, bugs and other drawbacks. Basically, I’d like to know that I can build one or more personal spaces that I would actually use and not just buy it for the sake of building something.
I, too, am waiting for the bugs to be fixed before I buy. I hope nDreams know they have a lot of sales pending those fixes.
For me it was Sims that I was hooked on when I was young(er) and I designed and built homes for hours, day after day. I’m eager to try out those designs in Blueprint before too long.
I got it immediately on Wednesday. Now, with some experience over the last 3 days, I’m still discovering things. Of the things I’m not happy about, I’m not yet sure which are valid and which are due to my ignorance. I’ve only tried the included blueprints. This weekend I’ll try the do-it-yourself. I suspect it will be a while before i will know how I really feel about it. Meanwhile I love the concept and want to support it. And the Aurora environment is *very* nice — as well as free!
Bugs were always going to be there, how they are fixed is the thing that makes a bug an issue or not. Blueprint feels like a simple version of the sims house creation which has one issue for me, atmosphere, there is none, lakeside cabin has a certain ambience that keeps me going there, which cant really be done in user generated spaces. Lego is a great example as Lego suffers from similar user generated issues, if theres not enough bits of lego your options to build are limited and it get boring quickly, so you end up as your best option is to build whats on the box and leave it, because its the best of what you can build with the parts you have. If you go on other social applications like imvu or second life or play games like the sims, you can see how hard it is to generate user created spaces that have the right atmosphere, complexity and design to keep people using that space.
I agree with you on the atmosphere Gary but never underestimate imagination. I foresee amazing things emerging from Blueprint. Sure, it’ll probably never have the quick-fix solutions that most people will want for ease of use but I’m willing to bet that those with the ideas, time and therefore better understanding of the systems will produce some crackin’ stuff. Anyways, a limited buncha Lego bricks is more challenging, not limiting