Today, let's talk about those housing tours that Myrella Windspar gives you. Do you preview houses before you buy them? If you do, do you enjoy Myrella's tours or would you rather just be left alone to wander and discover the neat things about the houses yourselves?
Off to finish up grading a few assignments and then out to enjoy some summer sun! Have a wonderful weekend, Wizards!
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“If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.”
Professor Falmea
I love the tours. They usually don't actually convince me to buy them, but they give me great ideas on how to decorate the homes. Like a decorating guide. If you can, could you make more tours for houses :D. Especially from the bundles :O
When I am adventuring around a castle I will potentially purchase, I like to think of where I could put what and what I could do with each area. At times, I will have only a few ideas then Myrella will help me think of ways to occupy the other areas (Because some of these existing castles are HUGE! But that's certainly not a bad thing!).
Personally, I don't like the guided tours. I hate being forced to stop. I just want to run rampant in the house like a child in a candy store. I don't even really pay attention to Myrella's ideas to be honest. I like making my own ideas.
Instead of stopping people, why don't you make a short story narrative with her ideas written down on a Wizard101 page at Wizard101.com introducing the new house and even make a cool trailer with her in it, saying her ideas? That way when we are ready, we can just go read the page or watch the video trailer. Besides, it would make the page more interesting than the typical info you post up about the new houses. "Yea, we have a new house, it costs this much, go visit it today." Instead of that, we get to read what Myrella says. Just imo.
Imagine this. Myrella waves at you and says "Welcome, Wizard! Today, we are introducing a brand new house, the (house name). Come along, see this, this could be a great garden." Myrella sweeps her hand over the area. She purrs, licks her paw. She shrugs and put her paws up as in "What can you do?" gesture and says "Just saying." Something like that. It's better than having her stand here and talk. It would be more fun and giggle-able. (I just made up that word.)
If you do decide to create the trailers, just please don't forget to caption or write down what she says because I am deaf. I can't hear the voice over.
Thank you for the great Feedback Friday question!
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I'd rather have the option to turn house tours on or off in my spellbook, sometimes I feel like listening to it but other times it gets pretty annoying.
I actually love the guided tours. Sometimes, they are quite humorous! I've always been one to just stop and smell the roses, though, not one to pick the rose and smell it along the way. I love to stop and admire what Paige is showing me, because sometimes she highlights small details I never would've noticed otherwise. Her voice is a great one as well. Honestly, I wish I could review the guided housing tour again if I decide to preview the house again before making my purchase. Hey, that'd be a pretty brill addition in our settings menu!
All in all, for those of us who prefer a slower pace of life, the guided housing tours provide for such a majestic feature as to exploring a purchase before spending gold (or often crowns) on an expensive decision.
I chose 'yes' and that I like the guided tours, but only because it was the option closest to my feelings on it.
I like being able to tour a house that I don't have (or that I do have but want to see it empty) and there are times when the tour guide provides some useful information or something amusing. However, not all houses are available for previewing (namely, bundle houses or crafted houses that you already bought the recipe for) and I prefer to decide at the beginning if I want a 'guided tour' or if I want to run around wild like a bull loose in a china shop.
So, how about making it so that when someone gets to a house, they are given the option of a guided tour or to explore freely? I mean each time someone gets there, regardless of if they have had the tour before or not. The reason I say that is because there are some houses where I've space-barred quickly through what was being said so I could keep moving around, but later wanted to be able to go through it again. But alas, the tour only happens once per house.
To sum thoughts up as feature requests... - Allow previews of all houses, including bundle houses (for bundles no longer available, have a message pop up saying so). - Allow previews of crafted houses even after the recipe is bought (perhaps in the book, can preview the house). - Allow player to choose to have a guided tour or not, each visit. - As an extra idea, when in an area that would have Myrella speaking, have a show up that can be clicked on to hear what would be said. - As another extra, have arrows guide the way towards other areas of the tour, much like the guide arrows for new wizards in Wizard City.
Also want to add, allow the player to have up to three guests join them. Either three of their friends or a friend and that friend's friends, etc. Up to four people maximum, like a dungeon, with the limit being that if the main player leaves, it boots them all out.
Personally, I don't like the guided tours. I hate being forced to stop. I just want to run rampant in the house like a child in a candy store. I don't even really pay attention to Myrella's ideas to be honest. I like making my own ideas.
Instead of stopping people, why don't you make a short story narrative with her ideas written down on a Wizard101 page at Wizard101.com introducing the new house and even make a cool trailer with her in it, saying her ideas? That way when we are ready, we can just go read the page or watch the video trailer. Besides, it would make the page more interesting than the typical info you post up about the new houses. "Yea, we have a new house, it costs this much, go visit it today." Instead of that, we get to read what Myrella says. Just imo.
Imagine this. Myrella waves at you and says "Welcome, Wizard! Today, we are introducing a brand new house, the (house name). Come along, see this, this could be a great garden." Myrella sweeps her hand over the area. She purrs, licks her paw. She shrugs and put her paws up as in "What can you do?" gesture and says "Just saying." Something like that. It's better than having her stand here and talk. It would be more fun and giggle-able. (I just made up that word.)
If you do decide to create the trailers, just please don't forget to caption or write down what she says because I am deaf. I can't hear the voice over.
Thank you for the great Feedback Friday question!
I'm with Kelsey, Although I do like Mirella's ideas for some of the rooms I much prefer just wandering through the houses to get a "feel" for them. This is how I decided to purchase the Storm house even though initially it didn't appeal to me and now I'm contempating purchasing the Death house. What I'd like to see is an option whereby you could click on Mirella and be shown a decorated room in a few different styles and by hovering the mouse over the item you could learn wether the item was: *crafted *purchased * won as a drop etc. I know this would certainly fuel my creative streak! James Dreamweaver Michael Stormhammer and the rest
I like the guided tours before I buy a house, but it would be cool to put some furniture in the "house tour" to give us an idea on decorating our house when we get it.
Here's a suggestion, sort of a compromise. Since you already have Myrella Windspar standing at the entrance to each house, you could make it so that talking to her will turn the guided tour on or off.
On a not quite related, but relevant note, I would like it if the guided tour would happen again if you decide to go back to a certain house tour, instead of Myrella not talking if you've already toured it.
I, personally, like the guided tours, because I like how Myrella puts her take on the property. Her suggestions are helpful to some extant, but I mainly like how she puts he own spin and humor on certain areas. The only pet-peeve I have is when I can't find all the dialogue she says. I never like missing out on NPC dialogue.
My suggestion to the whole guided tours would be:
1.) Like PvP King said, adding an option to have guided tours on or off would be nice. Those who don't want the Guided Tours, don't have to be bothered listening to them and those who do, can listen to them. I think that gives the best of both worlds.
2.) I would suggest some kind of percentage icon on the right-side of the screen that tells you how many guided speeches you've heard to how many total guided speeches. For example, you tour a house with 6 castle speeches and you've listened to 3. The icon will show 3/6. It just helps Wizards keep track of how many speeches they've listened to.
and 3.) In accordance to #1, when you have guided tours active, they should always be repeatable in every house. I don't like that when you tour a house and get to hear all the speeches, you can't listen to them again, unless you make a new player. It's disappointing to me.
Overall, I like guided tours, I just wish you could know how many speeches there are, and being able to repeat them upon touring a house.
I preview the houses, but ignore the 'tour guide' entirely. I can easily figure out what to do with room. although the Ice house preview is pretty amusing.
I'd rather have the option to turn house tours on or off in my spellbook, sometimes I feel like listening to it but other times it gets pretty annoying.
I fully support this "let me turn it off" request. Its not just the audio, I can turn sound off, its the annoying text boxes that keep making me stop and click "done". Her commentary is kind of cool the first tour or two you go on, but it gets old fast.
Fangs McWolf for President! Well, ok, maybe not President, but as an "idea-er" for Wizard101. Completely agree with every word written in that post.
Here's my percentage breakdown on Tour feelings:
80% of the time - Frustrated at being stopped every few steps. 10% of the time - Wanting to hear/read what guide has to say, even if it's my second visit. 10% of the time - Interested in guided tour for this part but not that part.
Every percentage would be covered by the "? Button" allowing me to choose to listen or bypass guide.
P.S. 100% of the time - Wishing I could bring my best friend who loves housing as much as I do so we can throw ideas around.
Thanks for answering the poll, folks! Looks like you're divided on the actual tour itself, but everyone wants a preview zone. Stay tuned for an early feedback post!
“If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.”
Professor Falmea
show up that can be clicked on to hear what would be said.
