User:Barrister/Sandbox2

How to Create a Floor Plan
The most important thing to remember: DO NOT MAKE PERMANENT CHANGES to the rooms you're examining.


 * When viewing a room, always use the close box in the upper-right corner to discard your changes. If you use the "Discard Changes" button, it will work, but it's only a few pixels away from "Commit Changes" and irreparable damage.
 * You need 4 pieces of furniture. Substitutions are okay, but make sure you use items that are 1x1 in size.
 * a brightly-colored "bundle of cloth" - for finding open floor spots
 * a "tap" - for finding open walls
 * "scrolls" - for finding open tabletops
 * "sink" - for finding walls that can have things adjacent to them without necessarily being able to hang anything on the wall
 * Very tall walls sometimes allow for wall hangings that are higher than normal. (See estate: great hall.)  YPP simulates these tall walls by placing an extra hidden row behind the normal wall.
 * Ship decks often have raised sections. YPP simulates these by shifting the layout to the left or right, as needed.  (See merchant brig: main deck.)
 * I strongly recommend doing a few practice runs on rooms that are already mapped like shacks and cabins. See if your results match up with the ones recorded on the wiki.
 * DON'T MAKE GUESSES. I have found numerous surprises on the walls, the floors, everywhere.  (See estate: garden for surprising open floor spots.)

When I'm starting a floor plan, these are the steps I take. The order matters.
 * 1) Click "Arrange Furniture" and immediately remove everything that can possibly be removed from the from the room: both props and regular furniture.  Be thorough.  REMINDER: As long as you avoid clicking "Commit Changes", this is harmless.  The furniture will not decay and the props are safe.  If you commit the changes, however, that's bad.
 * 2) Measure the room.  I treat the room such that the "west" and "south" are the open walls.  "North" and "east" are the closed walls.  Rooms are measured by width (west to east) and then by height (north to south).  I usually drag the bundle cloth around the room to get the width and then the height.  Note that if there are any functioning walls (for either the sink or the tap), then I add one space to the width/height, as appropriate.  Extra tall walls will increase the size of the room, too. NOTE: Ship decks don't have walls; it takes some experimentation to find the edges.  Also, some rooms that appear to have walls, don't really have them.  (See townhouse: attic.)
 * 3) Map the north wall.  Use "W" for walls that can't have anything hanging on them.  Use "A" for walls that can.  The northeasternmost tile is usually an "X" (empty space).
 * 4) Map the first row, adjacent to the north wall.  Watch out for yellow arrows and other obstructions.  (Mark those with an "O".)  When you reach the wall, use the tap to check if it can be placed facing west.  If the tap can be hung, use "D".  Otherwise, just use "W". NOTE: It may be possible to hang the tap, but not see the results because it is hidden behind something.  Mark those with "A" or "D" anyway.
 * 5) Repeat above step for every row.
 * 6) Use the sink to find any surprise walls.  This can often happen adjacent to staircases.  (See manor: entrance hall.)  The staircases should then be marked with "W" and not "O".  REMEMBER: Try the sink in both of its usable orientations.  (It has two that orientations that are always invalid.)
 * 7) Use the scrolls to search for tabletops.  In shoppes, for example, there are sometimes special tables for ordering that cannot be removed.  But they can have tabletop items placed on top of them.
 * 8) Use the close box to restore the room to its original state.