Customization

[Character] Is Palia a game that has character customization systems dedicated to it, or will gear be more of an aesthetic thing in general?

In general, visible “gear” in our game is purely cosmetic. There may be gameplay items that are visible, but they are not intended to interfere with any “look” you are trying to achieve. This gives players more choices to express their identity, rather than picking gear for the best possible stats.

[Character] How diverse will clothing/customizing your character be? Can I go from 'retired socialite with a husband who died of mysterious circumstances and now owns a winery' clothing to farmer hobo with one one available overall in the wardrobe?

You can absolutely shift your outfit and our goal is to have a wide variety of options; fashion is a big part of our game’s culture! But at launch, realistically, these will be pretty limited compared to our ambitions. Our plan is to constantly up our fashion game and give you everything from runway looks to hobo chic. That being said, we do plan to allow you to change clothes from the available options fairly easily through any wardrobe furniture item, including allowing you to save outfit configurations for quick swaps.

[Character] Are there plans for a barber/stylist?

When you create your character in the beginning, we’ll have a lot of hairstyles and colors you can choose from. We currently do not have a barber or stylist in the game, but as we flesh out our roster of Villagers we do want to include one for players to go to for hair customization, as we feel hairstyles are a key part of player identity and expression. We're also very open to hearing what hairstyles you want to wear, so please let us know in #suggestions-and-feedback!

[Character] Will there be chromatic changes/options to change the colors of clothing/armor/equipment? If so, will it be RGB choices? Or extremely limited by a set of colors?

Our current system has you choosing pre-existing color palettes—we call them variants—so for each outfit piece you’ll have a number of options to choose from right at the get-go. This will likely be the system we have in place for the game’s launch, though a lot of consideration is being done to make sure we’re catering to the kind of themes, colors and patterns our community wants to see.

[Housing] How much creativity will we be able to pour into our housing and decoration?

This is an area close to our hearts and critical to the identity of Palia. Our goal is to always be expanding the creative possibilities available for players to customize their housing plots. So expect a robust system at launch that continues to regularly expand with new content and systems over time. For example, we started the pre-alpha without the ability to customize wallpaper, but added it halfway through. Now it’s a new system we’ll be producing new content for regularly.

[Housing] Will we be able to express ourselves through the exterior of our houses? For example, the choice of putting a structural beam in a different place, expanding the house to a side of choice, having a multitude of room shapes to choose from, etc.?

There will be a lot of choice to be had in your home’s design, including the exterior. Additionally, wherever the system is at launch is just the beginning and we expect the player base will help us decide which new housing customization features we’ll prioritize first.

- Aidan

[Housing] Will there be multiple aesthetics (themes) possible to decorate a home in? Like rustic western with stump chairs and rough wood? Gothic Victorian with black candles and lace? Hodge podge colorful with multicolored patched furniture?

One of the big themes of the game is “making your home uniquely yours”, so we’re working to build as many different types of furniture as possible. We also don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, so if there’s not an aesthetic that works for you now, just wait, we’ll be continuing to make more and more styles for you to make your house feel like your home!

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[Housing] For those of us who are "interior design challenged" will there be starter templates that we'll be able to build our houses from?

Eris: Okay, first of all, I feel so seen by this question because this is DEFINITELY ME when playing other games. One of my favorite parts of our housing system is how we go about giving players the tools to interact and set up a nice and attractive place of their own.

When you start building out your home, it begins as an empty space just waiting to be filled. As you progress in your Furniture Making skill, you’ll unlock recipes for more decor pieces to choose from. They are categorized in themed sets, so it’s entirely possible to have your whole home be the Log Cabin set, for example. Or you could mix and match from a number of themes as you unlock more options.

While the rooms won’t come with “templates”, we’ll have different room sizes and add-ons that will allow players to build some pretty nice-looking homes. Perhaps you can find inspiration from visiting a villager’s home or that of your friends and others in game as well! We really want to encourage players to share their creations and have others be inspired by that.

Aidan: To add to this, we wanted the housing customization in Palia to be accessible and easy for anyone wanting to decorate their home—and have it look good. But there are also some advanced options for those wanting a bit more control and expression. We think the system we have in place is a good balance that will appeal to many players, and can’t wait for more people to check it out.

Ashe: If you want to see screenshots of rooms (and other adventures) from our Testers, check out our blogs recapping Alpha 1 and Alpha 2!

Alpha 1: https://palia.com/news/adventures-in-alpha-exploring-every-corner
Alpha 2: https://palia.com/news/a-closer-look-at-alpha-2

[Housing] Will there be customization beyond the house? (Garden, Backyard, Etc)

Gutterfoot: Yes, we have lots in store planned for outdoor housing customization for Palia! You’ll be able to have fencing and walkways, with all sorts of customization styles available, including different styles and sizes to choose from. Another thing I am personally looking forward to is adding in flowers and other types of decorative plants. Right now we have gardening, and these are all harvestable crops. I know people want some flowers and other flora to freshen up their home plots, and we’re working on that! We’ve got lots of fun things in store.

[Housing] Will Player's Houses Be Instanced Or Present In The Open World?

Gutterfoot, Sr. Game Designer: Currently, player’s homes are instanced, which allow anyone on your friends list to come and visit to cook, garden, and more together. From your plot you will be able to jump into global chat, access your friends list, and fulfill friend requests. We talk a lot at the studio about how we can build on this, increasing a players’ immersion in the world of Palia. And we are currently working on even more features around how you can play together at your home that we’re excited to share in the future!

[Housing] Are houses location-based (select house by a river, for example)?

Gutterfoot, Sr. Game Designer: While we don’t have any plans for location-based homes right now, we absolutely love this idea and have had lots of great discussions around this. We have gotten lots of great feedback from testers around the environment in the home plot, and we hope you enjoy what we have to offer! 

[Housing] Not sure if it’s been asked, but is there any plan to add aquariums and terrariums to show off all the fish and critters we can catch?

Eris: Psst, a version of this is already in the game!

Ashe: Here’s a sneak peak using screenshots from Tester Mirian! Please note screenshots taken from current tests are works-in-progress, and may appear different at launch~

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