This week, Topians designed the beach houses of their dreams for a chance to win the title of Hometopia’s Top Builder. Let’s take a look at the five winning designs!
A patio for champions.
We know a party house when we see one. We loved the deck on this house. Between the ping pong table, the jacuzzi, the air hockey table, and the grill, this is the perfect beach house for entertaining—a multiplayer dream!
The bigger the better.
In Hometopia, you can build as big as you want, and this Topain really took advantage of that. We loved the usage of glass in this beach house – everywhere you look you have a view of the ocean!
It’s all about the details.
The interior was even more detailed than the exterior! This designer juxtaposed a nature-forward backyard with a cozy, traditional interior. Not pictured: secret garden gnomes.
Welcome to the jungle!
We loved the unique take on this jungle-inspired themed beach house. There’s no such thing as too many plants! Bonus points for creativity, always!
The perfect house to watch the sunset.
We’re a sucker for a good sunset. This designer really took advantage of the new lighting and day/ night modes that are available in Hometopia to curate the perfect mood. The exterior of this house was a modern dream!
Stay tuned for the next competition! Happy building, Topians!
Hometopia's Top Builders - Best Beach House
Summer may be over, but in Hometopia, it can be whatever season you want. We’re kicking off the Hometopia’s Top Builders competition with this week’s Endless Summer Beach House contest. 🏖️🏘️
Winter is coming, escape by building the beach house of your dreams.
Up to 5 winners will be chosen, with a total of $200 in Steam gift cards up for grabs.
Enter your submission on the Hometopia Discord by September 14th 12pm EST.
Update 6.1
Update 6.1 is now LIVE!
Content updates:
New floaties for pools
Painting corners of wall
Day/Night
Audio for footsteps
Added ambient sounds
Fixed missing materials on items
Reworked and redesigned pools
New and improved pillars
Technical updates:
Vegetation rendering settings
Improved VFX of item interaction
Improved thumbnails quality
Lots of material rework (the ceiling category has been completely reworked)
Reworked bathroom and kitchen models
Thank you for your continued support. 7.0 is coming soon with some big upgrades!
The Hometopia Team 🏠✨
Hometopia Updates: Revamped Multiplayer, New UI, and More Features Coming Soon!
Hey everyone! It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to share updates with you all directly. The team at Hometopia has been incredibly busy reworking systems, fixing broken things and adding loads of new features, so we’re happy to finally be able to talk about some of the exciting new Hometopia updates coming soon.
MULTIPLAYER
First of all, we are working on a complete overhaul of our multiplayer system. We’re totally aware of how problematic MP has been in the past, so we are implementing a new system that will allow for seamless co-op play. No more drops or desyncs. Also, the UI flow for getting into a lobby together will be much simpler than before.
That's planned to go live with our next big update this month, Hometopia update 7.
UI UPDATE
Second, we are replacing all the EA placeholder UI with new UI art, which is looking really great. It's more sleek, more intuitive, and more satisfying to use. We'd love to hear what you think about it. It will go live with update 7, but you can check out this sneak peek now:
CAREER MODE?
Next, you’re probably wondering what’s next for career mode. We yanked the old career mode for several reasons, but mainly because it did not work particularly well. We are replacing it with a cozier, more forgiving and creative version called Home Designer.
It's similar to the old career mode, but designed to feel more chill and approachable. It’s got all the same options from before but lets you work in a freer, more rewarding environment. Also, construction projects will now have an optional blueprint template to help beginner builders get into the swing of things.
Expect to see Home Designer in November with Hometopia update 8.
Later on, Hometopia’s World mode will finally bring community building to life. Players will be able to construct entire neighborhoods and commercial districts, building out the world map one community at a time. But more on that later….
NEW SOUND AND MUSIC
Early Access Hometopia has always been a bit lacking in the ~~ vibes ~~ department, particularly with audio. To remedy that, we have created environmental audio ambience for each location appropriate to the terrain. So Fortuna Shores now sounds like a coastal beach area. Agave Valley sounds like a desert. It makes a big difference in making the locations feel more alive and believable.
Also, to accompany the ambiance, we’ve added new music tracks that give a chill, lofi beats sort of vibe, which really lets you tune out and focus on building. Of course, music is subjective so we’d love to hear your thoughts if you think this musical direction works for the game.
Audio updates are coming this week, in update 6.1.
CARS AND PEDESTRIANS
In addition to the audio, we’re making neighborhoods feel much more active and immersive with the addition of pedestrians and cars. No more empty streets and sidewalks, neighborhoods will bustle appropriately depending on how busy the location is.
That’s planned for September in update 7.
So, you can see we’ve been busy with lots of exciting stuff in the works! Thanks so much for all the support as we’ve worked through the early access snags. Know that we’re committed to making Hometopia the best builder we can, with tons of new features and content planned for the future. Expect to see regular feature updates posted here in the coming weeks!
Update 6.0
Hello everyone,
Heads up! We've removed the old Career Mode in preparation for our new HOME DESIGNER mode. You can still access the old Career Mode via a beta branch. Please see the following link for more details:
Lots of prefabs, models, and materials have been reworked.
Added new driveways, rounded pathways, and sidewalks.
Doors and Windows reworked.
Introduced new high-quality roof materials.
Vegetation across all locations has been reworked.
Technical updates:
New advanced global search for the item catalog.
New sound effects and VFX.
Interior lighting improvements.
Improved pools.
Removal of Career Mode. (See above!)
New Player Guide and pop-up hints.
New First Time User Experience Tutorial.
Improved thumbnails.
Thank you for your continued support. Work on Update 7.0 has already begun, and we can't wait to share it with you!
The Hometopia Team 🏠✨
Update 5.0: Full Catalog Overhaul!
Hello Topians!
Get ready for an enhanced shopping experience in our game with the revamped catalog update! Our latest core store update is a complete overhaul, featuring a sleek new design and improved UX, making it easier than ever to find and enjoy your favorite items.
Technical updates:
Reduced RAM usage
Loading times improved
Enhanced performance on the main menu
Updated tutorial
Added Courtyard for My Homes and Sandbox
Standardized plot size across neighborhoods
Improved lighting and performance in neighborhoods
Improved stability and synchronization in multiplayer
Content updates:
Stair width can now be customized!
Full, partial, and individual stair options
Added twelve new pathways
Fences and railings now expand properly
Added some gates!
New fence and railing style options
Each stair handrail now comes with a matching railing which can be placed independently of the stairway
Hundreds of reworked materials
New and reworked fireplaces
Corrected rotation of item thumbnails
Greater customization options for many furniture pieces
New materials category added to the store, providing surfaces that can be applied anywhere
Added mass placement for the pathways
Can now place sconces, wall planters, and shelves on railings and fences
Lots of bug fixes! Some highlights:
Fixed bugs related to the porches
Corrected issue that resulted in smoky glass
Inspect tool now correctly selects base building items
Many more!
We hope you enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed creating it for you. Stay tuned, as we're already hard at work on Update 5.1!
The Hometopia Team 🏠✨
Update 4.1!
Hi Topians!
Our latest game update (Update 4.1) is now live!
Please see the changelog below:
Fixed issue with random street lights in Neighborhoods
We realized you don't need Hollywood special effects when you're building your dream home. We've cleared away the smoke and mirrors so you can focus
Fixed UI displaying wrong preset when using autodetect
Fixed missing money icon in plot purchase
Fixed shadows creating a line artifact
Fixed objects not always casting shadows
Fixed issue with levitating water when switching floors
Fixed walls turning on when switching to first-person mode
Fixed error with undo function not removing water
Grass should no longer appear inside pools
Fixed issue with some save files not loading. All your favorite homes should be back from vacation
We dimmed a rogue candlestick's desire to light up the entire room
Adjusted floor planner text
Current version number should always appear now
Framerate should no longer lock at 60 frames with VSync on
Fixed box shadows for some light sources
Improved graphics card memory usage
Improved shadow qualities
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Happy building, The Hometopia Team 🏠✨
Update 4!
Hi Topians! Update 4 has arrived!
As we continue this journey together, we're committed to further enhancing the game experience, ironing out any remaining issues, and introducing exciting new features. Update 4 is a reflection of that!
Changelog:
Revamped lighting and graphics settings
Fixed some light interactions
Fixed issues with wall replacement
Stair fixes!
Continued rework of existing items
Performance improvements!
The Plot Planner is now operational! You can freely place and remove plots
Added better visibility for Item Thumbnails
Known bugs:
The stairs in the tutorial and starter home are slightly off-grid; this is strictly cosmetic.
Huge thanks to everyone involved in playtesting and bug reporting! We will keep the updates flowing.
Happy building, The Hometopia Team 🏠✨
Update 3.1!
Hi Topians!
Thank you very much for your support of Update 3.0. We really hope that our efforts over the past few months have enhanced the overall performance and stability of the game for you. We are eagerly anticipating Update 4.0. In the meantime, we aim to work on further improvements and bug fixes with your help. Today’s update is what we refer to as Update 3.1.
Please see the changelog below:
Items:
Centered the rotation pivot of items to align with the visual center of the object. This adjustment is most apparent when stacking objects on one another and rotating the base object.
Made minor modifications to how objects collide when being placed.
Inspect Tool:
Corrected the links to the Store for items, colors, and materials.
Reworked the auto-scroll feature to center Store cards in the viewport.
Grid:
Addressed an issue where the grid would not appear after pressing the Snap to Grid button (Shift) and then selecting and moving an object. This issue is now fixed.
Painting:
Introduced particles and sound when switching between colors, with particles now tinted to reflect the chosen color.
Enhanced the stability of outlines when aiming at a paintable region of an object.
Outlines:
Improved the visual stability of outlines when selecting, hovering over, and moving items.
Bugs:
Resolved a bug where, occasionally, after exiting painting mode, it was impossible to select objects.
Debug:
Removed Debug Record Mode. We intend to introduce these capabilities to the game in the future!
A big thank you to all who have been playtesting and reporting bugs. Your efforts are key to making the game better, and we deeply appreciate your support. We promise to keep the updates coming and to improve the game continuously. Thanks for being such an important part of our community!
Happy building, The Hometopia Team 🏠✨
Hometopia Update #3!
Hi Topians!
We are excited to announce that a significant update is now live on Steam! This update brings a host of major enhancements, minor improvements, and crucial fixes to enhance your experience.
We've been hard at work based on your feedback! Please find the detailed change log below.
Major Changes:
Performance: Improved overall game performance for a smoother experience.
Grid System: Changed placement grid for more flexibility in game design.
Object Rotation: Enhanced object rotation, allowing objects to be placed closer to each other diagonally.
UI Update: Introduced a new input controls UI!
Reflection Probes: Reflection Probes have been temporarily disabled as we plan a comprehensive rework.
Minor Changes:
Graphics Settings: Added settings for Anti-Aliasing (AA) and Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI).
Audio Settings: Introduced 2 additional audio settings for an enhanced experience.
Performance Optimization: Implemented a system to ensure the game always runs on NVIDIA or AMD high-performance processors when possible.
Visual Update: Updated terrain color in Staghorn Point.
Fixes:
Environment Fixes: Fixed terrain and grass color inconsistencies in Fortuna Shores and Palms.
Settings Presets: Resolved an issue where settings presets were being overridden.
Collision and Placement Fixes: Addressed collision issues with the bathtub as well as a misplaced hole in multiplayer doors.
Menu Navigation: Corrected "return to map" with "return to menu."
Object Interaction: Fixed issues with the floating shelf collider, Yorkshire Sink rotation.
Improved client note formatting.
Visual Enhancements: Addressed rendering issues with game map trees and improved many Jobs houses.
Stability: Fixed a bug where Unity might crash upon closing the game.
Thank you for your continued support as we upgrade the game! As a reminder, if you love Hometopia, please leave a review! It really helps.
