Free Realms Detailed Housing Guide

Free Realms Detailed Housing Guide by Andrew Diamondhorn

Hello! This is the building guide, I hope that it covers what you were/are looking for! If not, ask and I will cover and add it as soon as I can!

Let’s start with basic knowledge:
Obviously the remove option will remove an item and put it into your inventory (labeled new if you do not click it) and the move button will allow you to move the object as if placing it for the first time. So let’s get into some more detailed things.
First, there are 24 different rotations that all objects can be placed at

The green block is the starting block, and to get the same rotation again, it takes 12 turns, turning can either be done by placing and using the rotation arrows, or using the mouse wheel before placing

Now your character (human and pixies) take up an area about the sizes of two squares stacked on top of each other

BLOCK COMPARISONS

Not all blocks are created equal, some are wider, others are taller, and they all don’t have the same shapes! Here I have compared every block with the simple square block, which is about half of the size of a character*stripped blocks do not have guide lines(see below) so be careful, only normal blocks have guide lines*

CLT AND ALT FUNCTION

Many people have heard of a feature that has recently started to been used, but here all along. The clt alt scroll trick. It will move any desired object in a rotation vertically, this is the only way to get these angles without placing other stuff. Simply hold clt and alt at the same time, and use the mouse wheel and scroll. Scrolling either up or down will change what direction the object will rotate. There are a total of 7 different rotations. Remember that turning the mouse wheel in the other direction will make the items flip the other way.

Other angles are possible, you just need either a combination of these(ex: placing low ramp then ramp will equal a very odd angle) or using other items (check the using blocks for angles section)

UP AND DOWN FEATURE

The up/down tool is a very useful tool. It raises and lowers objects to certain heights. However, there are gaps that are in between what you can do. Starting at different locations will always effect where it goes. The object will raise/lower in the same position as it was, so you can keep that hard to get angle, mouse wheel rotation and the clt/alt feature still work while in this option. Here is a picture starting from ground level. Remember starting at different heights will cause it to keep the same distances, but not the same height. I cannot stack a flat on one, place one on the ground, and raise them to the same level.

*the ground is not always even, so don’t act like it is, some more recent lots like the wugachug lot and the mines lot do*
**any flats placed on the ground in most lots and houses will have grass showing through, make sure if you do not want it to show that either the flats are raised or you are in a clear area**

BLOCK ANGLES

Now that we know the basic functions of housing, perhaps we can move on to certain ways to get special angles using other blocks, and have even walls/floors without using the up/down and rotation functions. Block meshing will also be described in this section.

First off, angles for the half circle blocks (both up and down) are exactly the same, so for the sake of easy pictures I will be using the upper half. The half circle blocks give many angles, some ramps and others slides, its not as easy as the clt/alt function, but it is what we all used before we know about it. there are 8 different angles on each of the two half circle blocks.

Simply place the circle on a surface that is lower than the platform, where it goes is complete guess and check. Then place a flat at the desired angle on the half circle.

If you cannot place a lower platform, or you just don’t want to, that’s fine. Just simply place the half circle on the desired surface, then place that flat at the desired angle, remove the half circle, and start placing flats under the flat, until it is in place(many flats will most likely be needed) once you finally get a block in the right place, simply remove all the other flats you had used.

*arches work in the same way half circles do, except they have different angles, arches have 8 angles as well*
Ramps and wedges also have angles, however, they only have one angle each, and all you do is place the flat on top of the ramp or wedge block. This is simple isn’t it? I don’t need a picture I hope

Getting those odd angles that you want are a pain, so perhaps try different combinations with the different block angles and the clt/alt angles to get some fancy angles.

EXTENDING WALLS AND FLOORS WITH FLATS

Extending walls is much like extending floors, only difference is the angle of which you do it at. However just in case people do not like the clt/alt way, have no fear, there is a way to get those straight walls without it. Just simply stack two square blocks on top of each other (or raise one to that height with the raise/lower feature)and place the flat on the side. If you stack the blocks, you have to make sure that the blocks are stacked straight or the flat will give you placing issues when you go to place it.

Too extend the wall, simply place a flat on one side with part of it sticking out away from the wall(or stack a lot of blocks on top of each other, I prefer the flat way, so make sure you remove the squares) then go on the other side and place a flat on what was hanging out, and the wall is even! Walls can be extended either left, right, up, or down like this.

floors and ceilings act much like the same (in fact, they are the same.) they also like to act like a wall, to place a ceiling, you have a few choices, either use the up/down feature, or stack two square blocks on the wall, and place a flat on those, remove the squares when done *if you use both the square tactic and the up/down for the same ceiling/floor, they will not always line up, so stay with a certain way*

Extending the ceiling/floor is exactly like extending a wall, place a flat and then place one on the other side

BLOCK MESHING

Why are those blocks changing color? Why, that’s just block meshing, in some cases you might not want to block mesh, while in others it’s a good thing, that’s completely up to you, to cause block meshing, simply place any block closer than normal, this can be done with flats, squares, arches, half circles, ramps, wedges, and every other kind of block. The blocks will over lap and cause them to block mesh. The colors do not stay still though. They will go back and forth between all the blocks within the mesh. Objects can also be meshed, so be careful.

GUIDE LINES

A way to avoid meshing is to follow what I call the guide lines, there’s some on each and every block. By making the guide lines of blocks overlap, you will cause block meshing, by keeping them outside, the meshing will hardly be noticed. If the block is the same color, it will flash the same color back and forth, however, different colored meshes will flash all present colors.

ALIGNMENT

Alignment and stacking are very closely related. If you are trying to line up items, you have to look where the edges of the blocks are. You can also look at the guide lines to check if everything is lined up, this also goes for stacking, just refer to the guide lines on two sides, that way you know if it is truly even

Now that we have covered the basics and angles, lets get into more harder stuff. Here I will show you how to build using items other than blocks. Since there are more items than I can count though, I’m only doing the common stuff.(dressers, shelves, tables and rugs)

First off, dressers

Dressers are commonly used for wood like texture walls, counters, and some times flooring. Make sure that the dressers are all the same color, wooden or smooth.

Flooring/ceiling with dressers:

This is pretty straight forward to do, simply place the dressers with the clean side(the one without the knobs) facing outward **there are no guide lines on objects, so you absolutely have to use the edge of the item at hand to see if they are aligned**

Then, place dressers all around the area that you want your floor/ceiling. Then place dressers in the middle to create a filled area(you can still mesh with objects, so be careful) to obtain a ceiling, either place the dressers on raised objects or use the up/down feature.

Dressers can make very easy counters, both bar like and square. Bar like is simply placing them all in a row(raising some and then placing more is a neat way to get those overhead counters).
Square counters are basically like floors, except you can put something over them to cover them up instead of using dressers to fill in the holes(you can use those too)

Dresser walling is unlike counters and floors, unless you want a really think wall, knobs will be showing on one side. To build walls with dressers, simply stack them on top of each other.

SHELVES

Shelves are one of the most commonly things used to build with in the realms, with their small shape and small thickness, it’s easy to get that wood or smooth feeling you always wanted.

Building walls and floors with shelves is unlike anything shown so far, first off, you need to place a shelf(long or medium) long ways with the clt/alt feature. One it is vertical, place another shelf (facing the other direction of the same size) and have them overlap a bit, this will cause them to look and act like a small wall

Windows can also be created with shelves, just simply take one medium shelf(or corner)and place it where you with the window to be, raise it and flip it 180 degrees, make sure that it is leveled with the top of the walls. Once that shelf is in place, place another one and raise it to the desired height.

Doors are much easier to make than windows, just simply place a shelf (as if you were making a window) raise and flip the shelf, and make sure it’s even with the top of the walls

Roofs/ceilings/floors are lot harder to create than walls windows and doors. You will need a flat of either kind to do this.
Vertically rotate the flat block until it is standing up straight, close to the wall (about a shelf distance away) place shelves on the flat, when you need to place the next shelf (that is not either left or right to the one you placed) you need to redo the flat, this does take forever in making it, but it’s worth it in the end

RUGS
Rug building is exactly like building with flats, so I won’t do much here except point you to the extending walls and floors with flats(above this)

TABLES

Tables vary in many different shapes and sizes(coffee tables, standard tables, side tables, etc.) so for this guide I will be using standard tables to show how you build floors and walls with tables

Floors with tables are one of the few easy things you will come across in building, just simply place them end to end for a quick and easy floor!

Walling with tables is a bit harder though, but still pretty easy. Simply place flats going up and down(they have to be even, so use the extended wall tactic) and place tables on the flats! Just remember to place them on the side that you want the top facing, we don’t want random legs sticking out(downside to tables)as to where the flat goes to get no gap is complete guess and check, all tables vary

UNDERWATER BUILDING:

yeah you heard right! With about an hour of failures, i have came up with an effective way to build under water!

first off, get in the water yourself

then place a flat over your head, others will see you on top of the flat, but you will see yourself below it

next, zoom in all the way, you should see something like this

finally, place whatever you want under the water (in this case, the green stripped arch)

and there ya go! a quick and easy way to build under water!

-read separate guide I had made here: http://www.mysticmayhem.net/index.cgi?bo….ead=1620&page;=1

UNDERGROUND BUILDING:

This has been told to people in game for a while now (me and a friend first found out how and started telling people)building underground is an easy concept to grasp, but very difficult to do. First off, you NEED porters to do this, no other way. Place one porter on the ground, make sure you can easily get to this if you want to go back. Turn the camera angle until you can barely see under the ground. Place any object that you can stand on underground. Place the porter on that, and go through the porter. (This cannot be done at the wugachug lot easily, but it can also be one above the new cave lot through the holes in the ceiling)

LETTERING

Lettering comes quite in handy, from spelling your name to messages to you want to tell the realms. Lettering is a very important design category to do. Here are some pretty straight forward pictures for each letter of the English language (you might want to click to veiw it full size)

Now these letters are not perfect and they do have room for improvement, but these are just the basic ideas for lettering and building words with blocks

BLOCK INSTERTS

Ever wanted something made out of blocks? But never found the right size? Don’t worry! There is a way to get that size! With block inserts!

To insert a block, simply place a normal block, and raise it slightly until you get to the height you want it(must use up/down feature)

Then, very gently, place another block under it (they will mesh so be careful)

And now you have a new sized block!

SNAP TO GRID

Some of you may have noticed the snap to grid button in the corner of your inventory.

This button changes the invisible grid on the lot. It makes it much more dull, so it is easier to align objects. However, you also do not have as much freedom as to where you want the object. Here I’ll show how much of a difference there is between the normal grid system (what most people use) and the snap to grid system

Snap to grid is easier for beginners, or people who cannot align objects, while however it is harder to do many of the things mentioned in this guide. (i perfer not to use it)

RAILING

Railing are walls that can be jumped over, just helps people from falling. They are commonly made with small objects like shelves and garland, and square blocks. You mainly see them on pathways and race tracks. To create a rail, simply place it down and place many of them in a row. Simple as that.

FENCING

Fences are rails that cannot be jumped over. Pretty easy to create.

Fencing prevents people from jumping over certain things, various objects can be used to fence without any edit (flats, tall blocks, pipe blocks, anything taller than your character) however, some items allows your character to jump over, like square blocks, shelves, garland. To make an object that isn’t able to be jumped over (what a fence is in housing) out of items that are, either raise them, or stack them until you cannot jump over them ( 2 square blocks either stacked or one raised a bit will prevent people from jumping) fences are any object taller than what a character can jump.

Fencing is commonly used with narrow pathways that are high up and race tracks.

-you can insert blocks(see above) and still have a fence-

PET TRAPPING

Pets can be a pain while you’re building, don’t you wish you could stop them from running all over the place? Well now you can! Simply place any block (or thick item) at the front of the gate where you enter the house or lot. After words port to the lot or house again, and all your pets should be trapped either in the block, or right before it, an arrangement like this should stop pets from entering

(note that some times when using flats that pets escape)

this design is your best bet, you can also use pet traps to trap other housing animals, like the turtle or chicks

OBJECTS GOING THROUGH FLATS

Some people may have noticed that there are small lines sticking out through flat blocks, ever wonder how to do it? Well now you can! Simply place the object you want to go through the flat block (in this case the shelves and the dresser)

Once the objects have been placed, simply take a flat and place it as well, in some cases you could raise it, if not try various ways to get the flat to either raise, or place the flat first and raise it. Once you get the flat to raise, raise it to the desired height and there ya go! A quick and effective way to get objects to go through flats!

V-SHAPED SLIDES

Slides come in many shapes and forms, here is how to build the popular V-shaped slide!

First, place a flat at a slide angle (or steep slide, refer to the clt and alt angles section) and place a ramp block (or two wedge blocks) on the bottom side of the flat

Once the ramp block has been placed, place two rectangle blocks on the ramp like so

Finally, remove the flat and the ramp blocks and you have one section of your very own V-shaped slide! Continue this pattern until you have all the blocks in place that you want.

TWISTY SLIDES

While we are on the topic of slides, ever wonder how to build a twisty slide? Well here is how! First, you can use either the V shaped slide, or flats. Place a flat at the slide angle that you want

Once done, place another flat at a slide angle, facing a different direction at the end of the first block (line up the edges of the blocks up for a better looking slide)

Continue the pattern until all the blocks you want are placed.

Once all are placed, raise them all to the desired height, there you go! Might not be the prettiest of slides, but it’s a twisty slide!

-this can be widened by using more flats per angle rather than one- –if you use a ramp angle, you will not slide, however it does make a twisty ramp–

SPHERES

Ever port to lot or house and your eyes land on a sphere like object? Well here I’ll show you how to build just that! A sphere made out of arches!

First off, you will need a lot of arches, and I mean A LOT of arches. Take a few flats, and raise them to where you want the sphere (make sure they are all even)

once the flats are right where you want them, start placing them on the bottom side of the flat, one arch per rotation until you have the whole bottom side filled with arches.

once the bottom side is complete, simply go to the top side and do it all again! Make sure you remove the flats however (this will be tricky to do as in some cases the blocks with want to fight with you)

and you have a full sphere to play around with!

SEPERATE FUNCTIONS FOR SHIFT,ALT, AND CLT

Ok, I have lied to you this whole time, for the Clt alt combo of rotating blocks, you really only need to hold down the alt key. The shift, clt, and alt keys each have a different effect on the blocks, the alt key does all of the rotating like in the clt and alt trick (though I would still hold down both if I were you) the clt key locks the object in place (that’s why you should hold down both, however you do not have to.) shift is a fun key to work with, not only is there the normal grid and snap to grid, but there is what I call the shift grid. Simply hold down shift and you can place blocks or objects in an even smaller grid!

(i really cant show pictures for either the Clt or Alt keys)

TAP POP UP ITEMS

As we all know a few items cause a tab to pop up asking if we want to click on an item, here is a picture list of every item (so far, both SC and coin) that cause that tab to pop up. (note: some items do not cause a pop up, but can be clicked on)

click to make it blend your food

makes everyone’s head appear larger (veiwed by everyone)

lets race! (pop up will not appear)

lets race… again! (starting checkpoint is also the ending checkpoint) (pop up will not appear)

everybody dance now!

ya pee in the pool, ya swim in the toilet

each gravestone gives a different effect

grilled block anyone?

dum dum, give me gum gum!

watch out, he might steal your hat….

boo! (pop up will not appear)

lets dance! (does not make your character dance)

let there me light! (click to turn on) the wug lamp will do a jump up movement

X marks the spot

yarg! also a move able item (see below)

come sail away, come sail away come sail away with meeee!

rock out to 6 different tunes! (does not make your character dance)

yum! roasted worm to go with grilled block! (each has a different movement)

blast your “friends” to the moon, and beyond!

go skele! go skele!

shake that snowman thing! (has different movements each time you click, keep clicking to find them all!)

dum dum, you bring me gum gum?

shrinks everybody’s head, (everyone sees it) also great for making stew to go with grilled block and roasted worm!

click to flush! (Mr. Fishy…)

choo choo!

-also, every snow globe is click able, no pictures available-

*VIP Juice bar and Party pool are both clickable, no pictures at this time*

ITEMS THAT MOVE YOU

Some items automatically move you, weither is up and down, porting you to another part of the lot, or just a simple jump. Here is another list of every item that automatically moves your character.

all beds move you, every kind, SC and coin

comes in 3 sizes {large(SC), medium(SC), small(coin shop)}

come sin 2 sizes {long(SC), short(coin shop)}

comes in 2 sizes {long(SC), short(coin shop)}

two way porter (original porter)

one way porter (second one to come out)

multi porter (sparkly!)

SPECIAL BLOCKS

There are special kinds of blocks in the SC shop and the coin shop that vary from the normal blocks (used in this guide) here is a list of every block (both SC and coin shop) that vary from the normal. Not every block has guide lines however (only normal, black, white, and spotted have them) however, all blocks are the same size as their normal kind (cheese arches are the same size as normal arches, spotted flats the same as normal ones) so building with them shouldn’t vary much.

*Could and storm blocks do have normal blocks within all that fluffiness, so you can treat it as a normal block, just don’t forget to blow away all that smoke *

-card duelist block through ice cube block are from the new treasure wars game-

**All blocks from TW(Treasure Wars)are smaller than your standard block and will be difficult to build with**

JACKPOT PLANTS

Jackpot plants come in handy if you are in need of coins. Once you place this tree, you cannot move it out of the house or lot, however, you can water it for coins and your friends can water it too! You can move the plant around the house or lot. Every so often the plant will grow, giving you more coins (friends get coins just for watering it, their value does not increase {15 coins per water} yours does though the more times they water it) there are three stages, small medium and large. Small gives you 500 coins, medium 700, and large 1000 coins! After 30 days however, the tree will turn gold and you have a brand new golden tree! (which sells to coin shop at 2500 coins) the golden tree can be taken out of the house or lot, however it does not give coins.

GIFTING ITEMS

Gifting items (pinatas, trees, baskets, etc.) act like jackpot plants, once placed in a lot or house they cannot be removed, but they can be moved around. They look almost exactly like the forms of closely related items (coin shop 50 coins, 45 for members) Instead of coins, the items give out one holiday related item,one item per gifting item and per day. Definitely worth getting.

HOUSING DIRECTORY

The housing directory is the newest feature that has been added to housing. It allows people to submit houses so everyone can visit them without having to add massive amount of players. Any submitted lot or house can be voted on with a 1 to 5 star rating system. You can search for houses as well, either by typing in the name of the house or lot, or by typing in the owner’s name (ex: Andrew Diamondhorn, Nymo, Crimsonhaze, Firstname Lastname103, etc.) once a house or lot has been submitted, it cannot be decorated unless it has been removed from the directory, which results in a loss of ratings and votes. Houses cannot be voted or rated unless they are submitted.
(update: if you have been losing votes on your house or lot, Pex has stated that votes do go away after 30 days to keep the popular list fresh)

NAMING

Naming lots was just recently introduced along with the housing directory. It allows you to choose the name for your lot or house. Simply press the pencil icon near the top of your screen and you can create a name using the three wheels (not free handed like guilds)

It allows a bit more freedom rather than having 12 small houses, at least you can name them.

MIS-PLACED POTRTING SPOTS

Sometimes, you don’t get ported to the correct spot in the lot, no one knows why and its different here and there. Every mis-placed porting spot for lots and newer houses are the same, the corner of the map. However, the older houses (Large Wilds House, Small Wilds house, Apartment) have different locations for some reason. Heres a picture of them *no picture for the corner port spot*

Large Wilds House

Small wilds House

Apartment

LOT AND HOUSE SIZES

We all know that each of the many lots and houses are different sizes, here is a list of every lot and house (minus the cave lot due to its irregular shape and the bat cave lot for the same reason) along with their measurements (all have been measured with a simple square block)

Vale Stream Lot
H 74.5
W 27
L 137.5
volume 276,581

Note: can build outside of fence, only on the west side. (most likely bug, currently unkown at this time)

Merry Vale Lot
H either infinite or not found yet
w 59(with in fence)
L 79(with in fence)
volume:either endless or no found yet
ground: flat

It has been recently known that you can build ANYWHERE in the lot, however, it is now that you cannot build pass the rainbow barrier(s) but you can pass the fence

Shrouded Glade Lot
H 79
W 58
L 75
volume 343,650
Ground: Flat

Wugachug Lot
H 72
W 58
L 75
volume 313,200
Ground: flat

Bog Shore Lot
H 72
W 57
L 74
volume 303,696
Ground: Bubbled

Shrouded Stairs lot
H 76 (-6 per step)
W 40
L 104
volume 316,160 – 13,680 = 302,480
Ground: Terraced

Blackspore Swamp Lot
H 69
W 52
L 77
volume 276,276
Ground: Flat

Lonely Island Lot
H 56
W 64
L 76
volume 272,384
Ground: All edge Beveled

Sandy Beach Lot
H 40
W 70
L 79
volume 221,200
Ground: Beveled end

Seaside Lot
H 39
W 66
L 79
volume 203,346
Ground: Flat

Briarwood Lot
H 39
W 57
L 76
volume 168,948
Ground: Flat

Snowhill Lot
H 50
W 48
L 62
Volume 148,800
Ground: Flat

————————-
HOUSES

Blackspore Swamp House
H 72
w 61
L 78
volume 348,192

Large Wilds House
H 40
W 62
L 75
volume 186,000

Small Wilds House
H 39
W 47
L 36
volume 65,988

Apartment (given to every character in the game)
H 4
W 9.5
L 10.5
volume 399

WELL KNOWN BUGS AND GLITCHES

as we all know, there are some bugs and issues with the housing server. Here are a few major issues, just so people are aware of them.

porting to the wrong spot in a lot (this has no word on it so far)

magically falling through the floor/ground of lots (no word so far)

blocks/objects “pushing” your character when being placed (Floyd {dev} has stated that it is trying to prevent you from being trapped inside the object, possibly trying to redo this)

your character/others not being shown on your screen (nothing said yet)

others not seeing that you have moved items inside your lot/house fixed!

rotating blocks sometimes “fight” with you before you can get them to rotate to the correct angle you wish(nothing so far)

to be added soon section:
pipes (iwill add this eventually)
sparkle effect
smoothing curves

I hope this guide was useful for you, if you did not find what you were looking for, please feel free to ask, I will cover it and add it to the guide as soon as I can. I would like to give thanks to the people who have helped me obtain certain items, take pictures, or even take measurements.

Chammy Pie
Sev Kenek
Steffy Rabbitheart
Zadria Kindleriver
Floyd Sharpspear
Joe Tidewalker
Kaden Skycliff
Layla Littlenymph

I do offer in-game help if needed, just post here or send me a PM if you need any help with any housing projects of yours!

This has been the housing guide, from Andrew’s School of Block Design!

FAQ:

Is there a function difference between the 2 checkpoints?

Yes, with normal checkpoints, the end is the last one placed, mainly used for non-enclosed tracks. Circular ones, the starting checkpoint is also the end, making you have to go in a complete circle in order to finish.

How far can you build under before you are disconnected from the housing server?

Honestly, I don’t think there is a limit, if there is I could not find it.

Is it in the rules to place objects outside the lot or house?

Pex ({former}Ambassador) had stated that it is against rules to build underground, however they do allow people to, they do not enforce it and if you lose items down there they will got get them back. However you cannot even place an item outside the invisible wall, so I don’t think that’s even an issue

If you place a porter at the bottom of a body of water, how high will you float up?

You will float all the way to the surface, unless there is an object in your way, in that case you will float up to whatever is blocking you

Which lot has the biggest area?

The shrouded glade lot is the biggest lot, however, the blackspore swamp house is bigger.

Can I control the height/distance of platforms?

No you cannot, they are a set height and distance, however you can choose between the short coin shop one, or the longer SC one

Why do my blocks sometimes slide out of position right before I click them?

It is a slip of the hand, literally! Just slowly move it into position and try not to move while you click, patience is key in building!

Aside from specialty blocks, is there any difference between SC and coin shop blocks?

Besides special blocks (shown above) there are no differences between the two, a red square from SC is the same from coin shop.

How come that when I place an object, then move it, that I see it moved, but my friends see it in the same spot?

It is a bug that has been around for well over a year, no known cause or solution has been mentioned yet.

What does the snap to grid button do?

It changes grid systems within the lot or house, it gives the builder less freedom, but if your just starting out or have a shaky hand, this might be for you.

How do you keep your pets from running all over the place?

Simply place flat blocks in front of the gate that you enter, report, and all the pets should be trapped inside the blocks unable to move.

How many blocks can be placed until you start to lag out?

That really is not based on the house or lot, but your computer. My desktop can handle my briarwood lot, however, my laptop cannot.

If i lose my membership, will any member placed items stay inside my lot? or will they be removed?

currently, any member’s only item placed inside a house or lot will stay inside the lot or house once your account losses membership.

Can you place one porter in one lot, then place the other end in another?

technically yes you can, they just won’t work. For them to work, they must be placed inside the same lot or house in order for both porters to work properly.