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Dragon Quest: Builders |OT| - "If you build it, they will come."

Welp, my extensive rebuild of chapter 3 is finally done after 3 or so months of struggling with NPC AI pathing and playing new games.

Here's the full album to the few decent pictures I could capture of my design, the Lonely Mountain of Kol, since the camera hates being confined in indoor spaces.

http://imgur.com/a/ZWGfQ

Overview of the whole thing:
XOeTwnE.jpg

Funny tidbit: the roof of the tallest building scrapes the vertical build limit- was originally going to make it more steepled.
 

Roubjon

Member
Welp, my extensive rebuild of chapter 3 is finally done after 3 or so months of struggling with NPC AI pathing and playing new games.

Here's the full album to the few decent pictures I could capture of my design, the Lonely Mountain of Kol, since the camera hates being confined in indoor spaces.

http://imgur.com/a/ZWGfQ

Overview of the whole thing:


Funny tidbit: the roof of the tallest building scrapes the vertical build limit- was originally going to make it more steepled.

Yo, that's amazing. It also makes me want to play through Builders for the third time...

Is there a reason you decided to build in Chapter 3 instead of free mode? It
 

vypek

Member
Welp, my extensive rebuild of chapter 3 is finally done after 3 or so months of struggling with NPC AI pathing and playing new games.

Here's the full album to the few decent pictures I could capture of my design, the Lonely Mountain of Kol, since the camera hates being confined in indoor spaces.

http://imgur.com/a/ZWGfQ

Overview of the whole thing:


Funny tidbit: the roof of the tallest building scrapes the vertical build limit- was originally going to make it more steepled.

This album is really incredible. I played the game by doing the time trials right away for each chapter and this makes me want to go back and play again and intentionally take longer
 

Violet_0

Banned
I just finished chapter 1 and am sort of baffeled at the design decisions in this game. Not only does it gleefully destroy what you build at every opportunity, at the end of a chapter all of your progress gets erased anyway. I made the mistake of spending a few hours carefully planning a nice looking town, guess what it matters fuck all - all Dragon Quest Builders is concerned about is that you rush through the chapter with the bare minimum of resources. It actively disencourages the player at every corner to put any thought into the building aspect beyond accommodating points the necessary points to level up your town. It only wants you to care about the mechanics. They took away persistency in a freaking Minecraft/Terraria clone. I feel like they completely missed the point of why the genre is popular

I mean, I still enjoyed my time with chapter 1 despite of it all, but I'm glad I got it for a cheap price. This isn't at all what I expected
 

Roubjon

Member
I just finished chapter 1 and am sort of baffeled at the design decisions in this game. Not only does it gleefully destroy what you build at every opportunity, at the end of a chapter all of your progress gets erased anyway. I made the mistake of spending a few hours carefully planning a nice looking town, guess what it matters fuck all - all Dragon Quest Builders is concerned about is that you rush through the chapter with the bare minimum of resources. It actively disencourages the player at every corner to put any thought into the building aspect beyond accommodating points the necessary points to level up your town. It only wants you to care about the mechanics. They took away persistency in a freaking Minecraft/Terraria clone. I feel like they completely missed the point of why the genre is popular

I mean, I still enjoyed my time with chapter 1 despite of it all, but I'm glad I got it for a cheap price. This isn't at all what I expected

I don't quite understand what you mean. Feel free to load your save file from that chapter and continue building up that town. When do they ever require you to tear down your town and gleefully destroy it? The game actively giving the player some sort of context and progression is exactly why I enjoyed it compared to Minecraft.
 

gaiages

Banned
I don't quite understand what you mean. Feel free to load your save file from that chapter and continue building up that town. When do they ever require you to tear down your town and gleefully destroy it? The game actively giving the player some sort of context and progression is exactly why I enjoyed it compared to Minecraft.

I'm guessing they're talking about the boss battles wrecking your town if you're not protecting it correctly?

I mean it makes complete sense in the grand scheme of the story... honestly most of the design choices make sense in the grand scheme of the story, but if you're looking for a more straight Minecraft/Terraria clone then maybe it would be a little disappointing.

To me, it NOT being a straight clone is why I like it so much, though.
 
They took away persistency in a freaking Minecraft/Terraria clone. I feel like they completely missed the point of why the genre is popular

If you want to recapture that feel without being concerned with the "mechanics," then Terra Incognita mode should be right up your alley. The story chapters will then only exist to serve as gateways for you to unlock more materials.

Personally, I prefer the story chapters due to the limitations set.

In case anyone's interested, finally finished that chapter 3 rebuild, for realsies, this time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy5261QVL8Q
 

Violet_0

Banned
I don't quite understand what you mean. Feel free to load your save file from that chapter and continue building up that town. When do they ever require you to tear down your town and gleefully destroy it? The game actively giving the player some sort of context and progression is exactly why I enjoyed it compared to Minecraft.
I'm guessing they're talking about the boss battles wrecking your town if you're not protecting it correctly?

I mean it makes complete sense in the grand scheme of the story... honestly most of the design choices make sense in the grand scheme of the story, but if you're looking for a more straight Minecraft/Terraria clone then maybe it would be a little disappointing.

To me, it NOT being a straight clone is why I like it so much, though.
If you want to recapture that feel without being concerned with the "mechanics," then Terra Incognita mode should be right up your alley. The story chapters will then only exist to serve as gateways for you to unlock more materials.

Personally, I prefer the story chapters due to the limitations set.

In case anyone's interested, finally finished that chapter 3 rebuild, for realsies, this time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy5261QVL8Q
I looked through some of the reviews yesterday, the EGM reviewer mentions my issue with the end of chapter 1 and describes it pretty well
Except, there was a catch: the materials I'd worked hard to collect, the items I'd made, the building directions I'd learned, they all had to be left behind. My single biggest moment of disappointment with Dragon Quest Builders came as I sat there looking upon my new building site as the realization of what the game really was fully sank in. I had gone in thinking I'd be building up my own piece of Dragon Quest legacy. First a village, then becoming a town, then transforming into a bustling city or perhaps even a kingdom. Instead, I was being tasked with doing that multiple times in a row—all in small scale

I'm wasn't looking for an identical Minecraft clone. The last time I played MC was during the beta, I know the issues with the game - the lack of any goal, no story, no characters, no tasks that push you on. After a couple hours you lose the motivation to continue. I was hoping for something more like Terraria but with a much tighter story focus, sidequests, the idea of slowly building up a bustling town and fill it people, and I got that as well, but you then learn that the game is designed around moving from town to town and restarting every time under presumably harsher conditions. Whatever you build doesn't last, how you built your town doesn't matter, you just put in the bare minimum effort to tick the checkboxes. The sensation of growing a cool town that you invested many hours into to make it aesthetically pleasing, carefully designing every single nook and corner, isn't there

I haven't tried the Terra Incognita mode yet but I'm pretty sure it gets boring and unstatisfying fast without the story, quests, characters and goals, which is the usual problem with this genre
 

Roubjon

Member
I kind of understand what you are saying, but everything you felt you didn't get, I did. It's up to the player to do what they want with what they are given. I mean, look at bagandscalpel's post above yours and see what he did within Chapter 3. It's nuts.

Imagine if you could go back to your old town. What would you do there differently if you could walk from one town to the next?
 

Violet_0

Banned
I kind of understand what you are saying, but everything you felt you didn't get, I did. It's up to the player to do what they want with what they are given. I mean, look at bagandscalpel's post above yours and see what he did within Chapter 3. It's nuts.

Imagine if you could go back to your old town. What would you do there differently if you could walk from one town to the next?
the game has to be structured in such a way that the old town remains revelant throughout the game, either by having only one town that grows larger with time, or occasionally getting new quests in old towns, which you can connect to via teleporters. Or even better, make the towns dependent on each other. My problem with DQ:B is that the game deemphasizes the building aspect of ... a building game. It doesn't require any more from you than to fill up rooms with certain objects, or re-building from a blueprint. If the genre is like digital legos, then making the player follow the instructions exactly to the letter is on of the worst things you can do in a game that wants to encourage creativity
 
My problem with DQ:B is that the game deemphasizes the building aspect of ... a building game. It doesn't require any more from you than to fill up rooms with certain objects, or re-building from a blueprint. If the genre is like digital legos, then making the player follow the instructions exactly to the letter is on of the worst things you can do in a game that wants to encourage creativity

I fully appreciate the point you made about the lasting legacy of your specific creation as it pertains to the rest of the game, but at the same time, do appreciate the chance to move on to a "new project" as it were. Ultimately, moving between old and new towns with a teleportal, like you described, is basically what you have, already- you'll never see all the developments together in one view.

Though, I do take issue with your Legos analogue, since real Legos only come with a set of basic instructions. The most impressive designs are still the ones they tease you with, and never tell you explicitly how to build. Demanding creativity doesn't make me feel anymore accomplished.
 

Munti

Member
Well, I finally finished this game yesterday (exactly when DQB2 was announced, lol).
It took me faaaar longer then I thought that it would but I really enjoyed it and liked it quite a lot :). It was even difficult in some parts. For me, it's definitely less a minecraft clone and more a great RPG with interesting mechanics.

The biggest suprise,however, was the story.
It's basically a direct sequel of the alternate ending of the very first dragon quest game. It greatly expands its lore. You get to know details about towns, npcs, items, lifestyle of townspeople, backgrounds and history of the world and much more of the original game. Heck, even characters and places of the first game appear, in 3D! For veterans of the series, that surely must have been a nice gift.

I also thought it interesting how the hero of the original game is been presented as a villain.

I have a question about the post-credits scene:
Does it imply that this was only a dream of an architect :(
?
 

Pepboy

Member
Well, I finally finished this game yesterday (exactly when DQB2 was announced, lol).
It took me faaaar longer then I thought that it would but I really enjoyed it and liked it quite a lot :). It was even difficult in some parts. For me, it's definitely less a minecraft clone and more a great RPG with interesting mechanics.

The biggest suprise,however, was the story.
It's basically a direct sequel of the alternate ending of the very first dragon quest game. It greatly expands its lore. You get to know details about towns, npcs, items, lifestyle of townspeople, backgrounds and history of the world and much more of the original game. Heck, even characters and places of the first game appear, in 3D! For veterans of the series, that surely must have been a nice gift.

I also thought it interesting how the hero of the original game is been presented as a villain.

I have a question about the post-credits scene:
Does it imply that this was only a dream of an architect :(
?

I also finished just a few weeks ago and wanted to add that I agree -- it was much longer game than I expected. I thought it'd be like 10-15 hours but I'm pretty sure it took me 30 or more to finish the campaign. I mean I wasn't rushing the entire time, but it was meatier than I expected.

Also agree to the story. As for your last question...
I was also a bit puzzled how to interpret it. Personally I thought that it's possible the Goddess infused the builder's corpse with new life. In the last chapter, the Goddess mentions she won't follow you / watch over you. I'm not sure, but I interpreted this to mean she won't revive you if you die, you'd have to reload your save. But at some point she apologizes. I mean the Goddess did it once before, she could do it again, right? However, I also thought it might just be a hint that DQ Builders 2 was being considered for development. Like a typical "the story isn't over yet" teaser at the end of MCU movie credits. But it's been a few weeks since I saw it so maybe I'll try to catch it again if I have some spare time.
 
I'm playing this game again! The announcement of the sequel simply injected back in me the desire to play it again. I couldn't contain it! I'm playing in chapter 3. I didn't get the challenge of building the extravagant baths. I'll go for that, and after I'll replay the chapter to finish it in 30 days.
 

Roubjon

Member
Yo, that's amazing. I was literally thinking of Builders this morning and I want to make a little hobbit town in the FIrst Chapter.
 

SkyOdin

Member
So, with the announcement of DQB2 spurring my ass into gear, I finally finished my chapter 4 rebuild.

Behold, my castle equivalent of an OC with angel and devil wings!
That is pretty cool. I've been playing more of the game too, though I haven't built anything that ambitious.

I have also recently been playing through DQ 2 and 3 for the first time in case DQB 2 references them as much as the first one references DQ1. I have discovered just how much DQB already references items and sprites from those two games and their remakes. The dev's attention to detail is pretty impressive.
 

Owari

Member
Pretty dumb they would announce this for the Switch (in April no less) instead of the sequel. Without multiplayer no one will be interested, no one will buy, then we'll never get the sequel on Switch.

Really confusing decision.
 
Pretty dumb they would announce this for the Switch (in April no less) instead of the sequel. Without multiplayer no one will be interested, no one will buy, then we'll never get the sequel on Switch.

Really confusing decision.

wat, only confusing thing is you asinine logic
 

Owari

Member
DQB1 was just announced for Switch. Instead of 2. Baffling. This game was great but without multiplayer it's ultimately empty. Porting a game that released years ago instead of the new sequel is also really weird.

No one will buy this port due to lack of MP, then SE won't port the sequel.

So dumb.
 
the fact that a port of the 1st game in west was confirmed at the same time as the jpn pretty much says there are bringing 2 to the west, no reason to bring 1 switch to west if 2 aint coming
 

Roubjon

Member
My laptop broke and because of that I couldn't work on the game I'm making. I was so creatively frustrated that I started a new game in Builders lol. This game is a 10.
 

jonno394

Member
So happy this game is coming to Switch. I tried it on PS4 but knew I'd prefer it on a handheld (but wasnt willing to buy a Vita) so getting this in March-April time will be great!
 

clem84

Gold Member
I've just begun to play this game. I'm in chapter 1.

When you build a house, you have requirements in order for it to be considered a house. 2 blocks high, door, torch, etc...

I have just built a new building in my chap. 1 town and it's not being recognized as a house for some reason.

- I made it with 3 floors
- I have a door at ground level. this floor is 4 blocks high and there is a torch.
- I have stairs going down to a basement. The basement is also 4 blocks high. It has a torch, beds and pots.
- I have a third floor beyond the ground level one. Stairs go up to it. It's 2 blocks high. It has a torch.

And yet, all this is not being recognized as a house. Did I break some rule when building it?

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgBJa0Fmr6M&feature=em-upload_owner
 
I've just begun to play this game. I'm in chapter 1.

When you build a house, you have requirements in order for it to be considered a house. 2 blocks high, door, torch, etc...

I have just built a new building in my chap. 1 town and it's not being recognized as a house for some reason.

- I made it with 3 floors
- I have a door at ground level. this floor is 4 blocks high and there is a torch.
- I have stairs going down to a basement. The basement is also 4 blocks high. It has a torch, beds and pots.
- I have a third floor beyond the ground level one. Stairs go up to it. It's 2 blocks high. It has a torch.

And yet, all this is not being recognized as a house. Did I break some rule when building it?

I've had that mechanic get funky on me too when trying to build something too elaborate. There's probably some rule that wasn't made clear by the game. I think it has to do with verticality. So in your case, your house has more than one floor. This might be it. Try making each floor its own 'room' maybe.
 

Roubjon

Member
I've just begun to play this game. I'm in chapter 1.

When you build a house, you have requirements in order for it to be considered a house. 2 blocks high, door, torch, etc...

I have just built a new building in my chap. 1 town and it's not being recognized as a house for some reason.

- I made it with 3 floors
- I have a door at ground level. this floor is 4 blocks high and there is a torch.
- I have stairs going down to a basement. The basement is also 4 blocks high. It has a torch, beds and pots.
- I have a third floor beyond the ground level one. Stairs go up to it. It's 2 blocks high. It has a torch.

And yet, all this is not being recognized as a house. Did I break some rule when building it?

Yeah, the issue you are having has to do with a house that is multiple floors. You can really only build rooms, not houses. But if you build a house with multiple rooms, make sure there is a door which makes each room distinct.
 
I've had that mechanic get funky on me too when trying to build something too elaborate. There's probably some rule that wasn't made clear by the game. I think it has to do with verticality. So in your case, your house has more than one floor. This might be it. Try making each floor its own 'room' maybe.

This is correct. The game doesn't care if a house is a house, but it only checks for specific room conditions inside what the game defines as a "room." On those floors you have, do you also have the walls enclosed (with a door) to make it a room? If not, that could be your issue.
 

clem84

Gold Member
I've had that mechanic get funky on me too when trying to build something too elaborate. There's probably some rule that wasn't made clear by the game. I think it has to do with verticality. So in your case, your house has more than one floor. This might be it. Try making each floor its own 'room' maybe.

Yeah, the issue you are having has to do with a house that is multiple floors. You can really only build rooms, not houses. But if you build a house with multiple rooms, make sure there is a door which makes each room distinct.

Thanks. Will try that. So I'm guessing basements are impossible to build, unless the stairs leading to that basement are outside. Actually I'll try that.

edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgmZnNwnSdU

Well I put a door on each floors with the stairs leading to them outside and it didn't work. I think I'll ditch the multi floor design for now. :D
 

Roubjon

Member
Thanks. Will try that. So I'm guessing basements are impossible to build, unless the stairs leading to that basement are outside. Actually I'll try that.

edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgmZnNwnSdU

Well I put a door on each floors with the stairs leading to them outside and it didn't work. I think I'll ditch the multi floor design for now. :D

That room should work. Are you sure it's a complete square. and that the outside corners of the square are not missing?
 

clem84

Gold Member
That room should work. Are you sure it's a complete square. and that the outside corners of the square are not missing?

I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with it. I think it was too close to the city limit. I added a wall inside and it worked. All three floors are recognized now.
 

SkyOdin

Member
Thanks. Will try that. So I'm guessing basements are impossible to build, unless the stairs leading to that basement are outside. Actually I'll try that.

edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgmZnNwnSdU

Well I put a door on each floors with the stairs leading to them outside and it didn't work. I think I'll ditch the multi floor design for now. :D
I build multi-floor buildings all the time. I actually just built a Cantlin that had multiple two-story buildings and an elaborate underground complex, and it all worked fine.

Here are the basics:
Doors are the basic building blocks of defining rooms. When you build a door, the game checks the spaces adjacent to it to see if they are enclosed by walls. If there is a space below the maximum room limit that is fully enclosed, it moves on to the next step. The game then checks if that enclosed space has a light source inside, and if it does, the space then officially counts as a room.

The actual rooms are only two blocks plus the floor below. The door defines the height of the room and at what elevation that the room's furnishings will count towards the room's contents. Objects placed above the height of the door don't count towards the room's contents.

So, if you want to have a two-story house, you just need to build a door on the second floor. Either give the second floor a balcony or external stair access. Alternatively, just use a door to divide two internal rooms on the second floor. One door can be used to define two different rooms on either side of it.

Basements work the same way: as long as you have doors and torches, you can create as many rooms as you like underground. When building basements though, it is particularly important to remember that there is a maximum room size. If you try to make a room too big, the game will recognize it as just open space inside of your walls, rather than as a room. So, if a space you are building fits all the criteria for a room but still doesn't work, try making it smaller.
 

SkyOdin

Member
Btw, you don't need to have external staircases for large buildings. Internal staircases still work, so long as there is still a door somewhere in the room. For example, since you need a dividing wall on your second floor anyways, the door dividing those two rooms would suffice for both rooms. So you could have an internal staircase come up into one without issue.
 

clem84

Gold Member
I made external stair access for both floors. I guess I didn't have to. Thanks for the tips.

This game is awesome. I can definitely see why Minecraft was so addictive for those who played it.
 
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