Hometopia News

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!

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 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 🏠✨

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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.

[h3]MULTIPLAYER[/h3]
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.

[h3]UI UPDATE[/h3]
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:



[h3]NEW SOUND AND MUSIC[/h3]
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.

[h3]CARS AND PEDESTRIANS[/h3]
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.

[h3]CAREER MODE?[/h3]
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 updating it with a cozier, more forgiving and creative version. It's similar to the old career mode, but designed to feel more chill and approachable.

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 Career Mode in 2025.

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….


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!

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. Click here for more details.


Update 6.0 is now LIVE!

Content updates:

• 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 🏠✨