When I first started playing I also thought the building mechanic was janky. But you get used to it quickly and then start to get a feel for how it works. After that it becomes really smooth and feels intuitive. Overall I like it.

Building something on water though like a pier? Ugh, the horror! This yellow dotted help line is really no help at all. That definitely needs improving.

Most of my group just chalk it up to "early access, can't be helped, they'll fix it eventually." But one of them is already pushing for us to move on to another game with a better building UI. Our primary builder is not doing so, but he's definitely hoping for improvements in later versions of the game, and often laughs and jokes about how janky it is (he's played a lot more games than I have that have building mechanics). My group's other players are kind of on the fence about whether to continue.

I'm the only one who feels strongly about continuing to play this game, because I really like it. I just really wish the frustrating building UI would get some love by the devs, so that I'm in a better position to convince my friends to continue playing.

I like it a lot and hope they don't change it.

it has it quirks and there are times you just need to put up ladders or scaffolding in order to get it to snap the way you want... but this also seems to allow more freedom of placement.

Add to that when you deconstruct you get everything back... so there is no need to complain about building ladders etc as it gets returned.

All in all I really like the system and it is miles above games that force snap things just getting close... that removes any kind of freedom and creativity.

Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

I like it a lot and hope they don't change it.

it has it quirks and there are times you just need to put up ladders or scaffolding in order to get it to snap the way you want... but this also seems to allow more freedom of placement.

Add to that when you deconstruct you get everything back... so there is no need to complain about building ladders etc as it gets returned.

All in all I really like the system and it is miles above games that force snap things just getting close... that removes any kind of freedom and creativity.

I think making a wider angle of attack for the "snap" would allow everything you like about the system to remain in place, and simultaneously make it much less frustrating to use.

I call that a win-win.

Originally posted by gibbousmoon100:

Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

I like it a lot and hope they don't change it.

it has it quirks and there are times you just need to put up ladders or scaffolding in order to get it to snap the way you want... but this also seems to allow more freedom of placement.

Add to that when you deconstruct you get everything back... so there is no need to complain about building ladders etc as it gets returned.

All in all I really like the system and it is miles above games that force snap things just getting close... that removes any kind of freedom and creativity.

I think making a wider angle of attack for the "snap" would allow everything you like about the system to remain in place, and simultaneously make it much less frustrating to use.

I call that a win-win.

I tend to disagree as that is exactly what enables more freedom.

Just my opinion.

the elephant in the room is ...you must "see" the surface you want to connect to.... you may have to sit dig build or whatever to "see" that tiny elephant edge and steadily click it.. after a while it becomes much easier thru practice and familiarity.. i spent ages screaming at the things.. and then the roof pieces would break!! because foundation pieces need to be blue at ground level to allow pieces above ground NOT to be dark red..and break ( this takes a few seconds to see with hammer and hover over pieces) watch the colour change.. GLuck!!

The building in Valheim is not the same as many other games which have building in them, so if you are used to a game such as (example) Ark, where the piece just highlights automatically in the vacant spot, then you may get frustrated with Valheim building (until you learn what to do)...

You must select the piece you want to place, then aim your cursor on the edge of the (already placed) piece you want to snap it to... If you can't see the edge of the existing piece, then you can build some temporary scaffolding by adding a roof piece to the wall to stand on and get a higher vantage point, etc.

Once you KNOW where you have to aim your mouse, to add a new piece to your building, it gets much easier, and soon it will be second nature.

To be honest I find the building mechanics in Valheim to be one of the best, and I am a builder in any survival game, love grinding and building. I guess you just have to get used to it.

Well, in fact I've spent hundreds of hours dealing with this in this game, so I have become VERY familiar with its quirks and its workarounds. Sometimes I build workbenches just so I can hop on top of them and get a better angle.

And I haven't played other games involving building, so it's not like I'm already spoiled by superior design in other games. Rather, the problems in this game with jank are such that I think it could really improve the game a lot by being addressed.

The biggest issue is, as I said, the fact that pieces are able to "snap" into place but that the window for doing so is so tiny that it amounts to micro-movements of your mouse, much like pixel-hunting in those old adventure games with bad design. Furthermore, as I said, the direction in which you need to move your mouse to get the appropriate "snap" is often counterintuitive. Both of these issues are things that, while I have no idea if they can be fixed easily, are obvious enough problems that they merit being looked at, imo.

And literally every person in my group of players (all six of us!) has complained about "the building in this game is janky af" at some point, without prompting by me, so I don't think I'm merely being a grouchy cud about it.

Well as you said in your first post, theres little to no complaining about the building in this game so i guess it's not that janky for most people.
To me the tiny snap window is not really a bad thing, as it allows for many different positions you can snap it on without doing too much acrobatics. Hard to explain. Having thousands of hours in games like Ark where it is sometimes impossible to find a good snap (or it just flips on placing), this building mechanism is superior.

Originally posted by Dutchie:

Having thousands of hours in games like Ark where it is sometimes impossible to find a good snap

You just described much of our experience in Valheim.

Originally posted by gibbousmoon100:

Originally posted by Dutchie:

Having thousands of hours in games like Ark where it is sometimes impossible to find a good snap

You just described much of our experience in Valheim.

Ok well, compared to other games I dont mind the snap in this game. I just feel I had to get used to not hold the mouse where I want the part to be, but hold it on the side of where it should snap. Like the lack of threads about this, I also never really heard any of my friends complain about it.

Idk, I like the building in Valheim more than every other survival crafting game I've played. Yea there are moments where you have to be kind of precise but chances are it's because there are a lot of pieces involved.

It is sometimes not easy to get it right, but try to align your piece to the edge of the piece you want it snapped to, and it will work.

And yes, the window where it will snap favoribly is sometimes tiny.

Building in Valheim is very rewarding, as it allows you to build stuff you can't do in other survival games.

So, I think that it is, in fact, one of the highlights of this game.

Your not wrong, just like other parts of the game you kinda get used some things and forget they're issues.