Live Mode Progress and Answering Some Common Questions
Hi there,
Alex here today to give you various updates and news regarding Paralives 🏡.
Planning: Development Roadmap (For Patrons only! Please don’t share)
As you may know, we have a Development page on our website that indicates our progress on the development of Paralives. To give you an even better and more precise look at our internal planning, we are preparing a detailed roadmap to be shared with you. It will be a bullet list of everything that’s been done so far, everything that we are currently doing and most importantly, the features that are planned for the initial release of the game. Features won’t be described in depth because the designs are not final yet and there are some secrets as well but it will give you a good overview of what’s left to do and what’s coming up. I’m looking forward to sharing that with you Patrons in a couple of weeks and then, with everyone a bit later!
Clothing Layering: It’s Working! (For Patrons only! Please don’t share)
One important feature that we originally wanted to include in our Paramaker showcase video from last December but that didn’t make it in time was the ability to wear multiple layers of clothes at once. We recently added a feature to do just that with some of the clothes. The Paramaker now has options to mix and match different combinations of tops, for example. Anna and Jérémie worked hard on that and will be sharing more on the subject in an upcoming Patreon post!
Our goal was to allow combinations of different top layers. Photos by Jonathan Francisca and Heleno Kaizer on Unsplash.
Townhouses: Are They Possible in Paralives? (For Patrons only! Please don’t share)
We are frequently asked if Paralives will support having townhouses, which are often built right next to each other, without any space between them. The answer is yes! You are able to build walls right next to the edge of your lot, allowing neighbour houses to connect. I’m looking forward to building beautiful and detailed townhouses for our town later down the road!
Two townhouses that I quickly built to show you that they are possible. The dotted line indicates the frontier shared between the two lots. You can see that both houses have their own wall built next to the edge of their lot.
Live Mode Progress (For Patrons only! Please don’t share)
Here’s what I’m currently working in regards to the live mode of the game:
Confirming the features to include for the interaction menu, as discussed in last week’s Patreon post.
Designing and building the code architecture needed for a Para to perform various interactions around the house. See this recent Patreon post for more details and an example.
Researching the style and layout for the general user interface in the live mode. This includes the look of the action queue, the interaction menu, the character icons, the needs of your Parafolks, etc.
With that and with Jérémie and Anna working on the character action and character animation systems, we’re getting in a good position for the basics of the live. It’s pretty exciting!
Have a great weekend and take care,
Alex
Comments (62)
You're fulfilling one of my biggest wishes with those townhouses <3
I can't wait to build a bakery with an apartment on the second floor
Imagine telling the parafolk child to do something and they say “uh-un” and shake their head because they’re upset. Maybe they require a parent to give them a pep talk to boost their mood to unlock the action.
So unbelievably excited for these features, specifically the ability to create town-homes and storefronts. In the screenshot it looks like you can have different foundation heights even though buildings are connected?! That would be incredible!! That's one thing that I always get frustrated with in other building games. I love architectural details and options like this and making funky split-level buildings with different foundations, ceiling heights, etc. I really hope to see this implemented! <3
Amazing news! So happy to read all of this, you guys are doing an amazing job :)
Nice looking forward to more updates....
I just thought of this, if we build buidings and homes close to each other. Will paras be able to walk through alleyways as part of the path finder shortcut? Also, will paras walk through tight knit alley ways or will they just go around the building?
Good question 🤔👆🏾 That would definitely add some nice detail to the game
Every time I get a new update in my email, it blows my mind! The art style is gorgeous, the Build Mode looks fantastic, the Paras are so detailed and diverse, and the updates let us actually see the complexity of making these life sim games. This game is such a breath of fresh air in a genre that's basically just one overly-microtransactiony series (*cough cough* The Sims *cough cough*). I have over 1,000 hours with the Sims, but EA's decisions (especially releasing a *broken* pack for full price) are just rubbing me the wrong way. It's really great that there's an indie developer that can scratch that life-sim itch and achieve more with initial development than EA has released as DLC in 8 years. I'm really looking forward to the game and seeing where it will go!
Townhomes!! Woo!!! I hope this'll also help with the ability to make apartment buildings possible in the future. Also...I really want to know if placing a window on a shared wall would show the other building's wall, or into the other apartment. (for evil reasons)
I would love apartments! That was one of my favorite enhancements/expansion packs from the franchise that shall not be named.
Fantastic! :)
I am genuinely so excited for the townhouses, that might be my biggest building wish! I remember building hundreds of townhouses in Sims 2 after I found out how to do it with cheats. :D So, so glad this will be possible. I dont know whether this has already been talked about, but will we be able to paint the ceilings? And another thing I thought about: It would be really cool if houses loose value over time and maybe paintings and art gain value, so one could buy an old house for say a reduced 20.000 instead of 40.000 Paralives currency, and renovate it for yourself or to sell it with a profit. And you can sell the old art, without knowing its value before buying the house. Maybe thats too specific/niche, but it would make renovation really fun and add a way of making money. :) Anyway, amazing news about the layering and townhouses!
You guys are doing incredible work, keep it up ☺
I'm super excited for the town houses.
So excited for the town houses. It's just one feature but it makes building so much more flexible! Also they look so good, I love the style of shrubs and trees, and the little flowers!
This Is amazing...imagine how many different styles could be done with layered clothing (I Just Hope generated townies Will not have layers of clothing that don't make sense) and imagine having a townhouse were there Is a party animal Para in one complex and decides to turn on the stereo to dance late at night and in the other complex a Para becomes angry and wants to complain for being loud.
Remarkable !!! Town houses !? Are you kidding me 😱❤️❤️
I am happy to support you <3
Incredible work! :D
I’ve been wanting townhomes for a very long time. I was never able to do it anywhere else thank you for implementing this feature. I am more than happy to keep on giving you money every month.
Layered clothing and townhouses? Really? Am I dreaming?!
I am really proud to be able to support this amazing game and I am so excited to know more about the development of this game. I can’t wait to get my hands on the game as soon as it’s finished and to play it
TOWNHOUSES! Something I've wanted since Sims 2. A dream come true.
HECCC YEAAAAAA TOWNHOUSES LETS GOOOOOOO
Will multi-layer clothing effect paras body temperature, Depending on the weather? Will clothing contribute to a certain increase or decrease in degrees in paras body temp? Like say a bomber jacket and long sleeve shirt and jean is keeping para warm in winter, but if they change to wearing shorts it will decrease their body temp and make them cold.
We do plan to make clothes have some effects on the gameplay! It's possible, for instance, that players will have to make their Para wear jackets in the winter or otherwise they would get very cold. We will be able to confirm more details related to that down the road, when we work on that part of the game. Thank you for your suggestions!
Oh this is so awesome! No idea how happy this makes me <3 I cant wait to build a business square in town that's not separated and are actually connected to each other <3
Layering clothes 🤯🤯 Townhouses??? 🤯💀 Okay but for real oMG, the PAM and gameplay possibilities for this!!!
Very exciting news! Keep up the amazing work guys 🤍
Thanks so much everyone for you kinds words and support! Very happy you liked the post
Keep up the great work, We all believe in you and we hope you all believe in your self!!💚
Hello guys! I’m not toxic, just don’t understand why do people SO exited about townhouses…?🤔 I’m really curious, please someone explain it to me!!🙏🏻🙏🏻
Another idea to add on to why townhouses are such an amazing feature is the ability to allow players to create more accurate recreations of real or fictional places. One great example of this that I know people tried to recreate in the sims but wasn't able to do it as accurately is Sherlock Holmes' rowhouse, 22 Baker Street, as well as the street the row house sits on itself.
This is so exciting! I LOVE the fact that we're able to create townhouses! Keep up the great work!
I'm sorry you guys are currently getting a wave of skepticism and hate on Twitter right now by some influential members of the Sims community. It's frustrating to witness because they often admit that they're not patrons, so they're judging from a distance.
They just doing that because the sims is a hot mess right now just trying to save face. A bunch of haters 🙄
REALLY excited about layering. This is probably my most wanted feature for PAM. May I have a suggestion (if its of course not already planned) ? I would like to see layering as functional gameplay feature - for example, when my parafolks go outside, they would just take a jacket or coat on as another layer, once they are inside, they would just take it off.
That could be really cool to see! It's not planned for now but maybe we could attempt something like this eventually! A bit like we did for shoes that are removed when walking inside a house
Oh...my....GOD! I'm almost crying to see that it will be possible to create real townhouses to each other 😭 ❤️ Imagine the possibilities! I'm falling in love with Paralives more and more every day. You are making great progress, please keep it up!
Words cannot describe how happy I am about layering clothing. It’s something I’ve been wanting in games for a LONG time. Thank you so much for making it possible in Paralives!
I cannot wait to play this regardless of possible launch issues
"Teehee we made it so y'all can layer clothes and have functional townhouses" HOLY COW!!!!! WOW!!!!!
this game is gonna come out and im gonna spend months designing outfits and homes before i even get to a live mode
THE BOOTS ON THE PORCH? THE ROCKS UP TO THE EDGE OF THE BOUNDARY? IM GOING TO THROW UP
TOWNHOUSES?! im Screaming im Crying im throwing around my TV
Coincidentally, I asked about townhouses in that farmhouse update on youtube. Well I'm satisfied! ♡ And i know lots of people will be happy about the layering system in the works. This game will be great, I just know it
Layering....townhouses....detailed roadmap!!!! OOOMMMMMMGGGGEEEEEEEEEE!!! Every update and post I see gets me even more excited and I'm at the point now to where even if parafolk were stick figures at release I would still be happy with all the features, design, and possibilities you are all showcasing!!! Great job, and I cannot express how thankful I am that there is a team who actually cares about the product and the future consumers. The teams care, dedication, and love for Paralives shines through in every update and post!
I feel so privileged to have been a patreon and watched this project grow from a one-man operation to an intriguing game that is looking more polished by the day! Thank you for taking the time to listen to the community supporting you and implementing our feedback!
I'm so happy about the townhouses and layered clothing! And it will be exciting to see the road map and the planned features for the Paralives release!
So exciting! 😍😍😛
So happy there's layered clothing 😍
I’m so proud to be part of this community and see the consistent progress your team makes! Upon the release of this game, I’ll be very emotional after having observed the development and WORK you guys have put into making this game such a positive experience for us. Thanks Alex and team!!! Can’t wait to see your roadmap and the goals you have set for yourselves!!
I agree!!! It’s our little baby that we’ve watched grow up😭
I keep having to pause and breathe because every section just blows my mind and I didn't know my head could explode this many times and still be intact!!! 🤣 I can't say how damn excited I am for a roadmap and a list of "features that are planned for the initial release of the game"!!! Mainly because I'm vibrating from excitement so it's hard to type! Then you blow my mind again with making some layering happen after I was so sure it wasn't feasible and being fine with that. You just keep making the impossible happen and I can't even!!!!!!!! 🤯 I've wanted townhouses since you first mentioned them and THEY. LOOK. SO. GOOD!!! I love the colours in that screenshot too 🥺 To summarise: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Super thrilled about townhouses!!!!! And layering clothes ❤
Can't wait for the more detailed roadmap!
So exciting! Townhouse yea! Layers on clothes OMG yes!!!
YESSSS I'm so excited for layering. That will make each clothing piece infinitely more versatile. Townhouses are also exciting!
Omg finally terrace houses 😭
TOWNHOUSES
You had me at townhouses 😩 😱