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Hi mice.

After 10 years of building I've developed a thought or two on a few principles and twists on how to build in Transformice.
First of all - this game is the best building game out there, PERIOD. A few big titles out there all seem to try and claim the title - Poly Bridge, Bridge Construction Simulator, the good old World of Goo - but none can deliver the dynamic and varied building that gets done in THIS one. BIG LOVE!

Second, let's talk about how building is normally done. Build a bridge from spawn to cheese to hole, right? Simple enough! Not always - maps are hard, sometimes, and it can be a gigantic struggle to do it. After a while, though, even the toughest maps seem to get solved by industrious mice. I've done a few too! But I've spent a heck of a lot more time on easier maps which leads me to my first principle:

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Easier maps are more interesting!

A little but personal, I'll give you that, but I find it to be one of the more rare opinions in the Building Circles (shoutout #divinity, #spiritual) where people focus more on the challenge of building instead of just building itself. To me, it's more fun when I can build a map 50 different ways than just a few. I'm not kidding either, some maps out there, you can easily find some 50 ways of doing them, some in more creative ways than others. The best maps, to me, are the big open ones that leave a lot of space for Experimentation! Can I use a rune to hold a plank and lock it after? Am I given the room to support a plank in a creative way other than a usual way?
My point is: you can make a "difficulty 7" build instead of finishing a "difficulty 7" map! Easier maps may be easier but it doesn't mean you have to make an easy build. Some of the best builds I've done have been on so-called easy maps and they've taken me way more time than I'd spend on a very difficult map.

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As a verbal Rube Goldberg contraption, this leads me to a second principle:

MOUSE SERVICE is underrated in building

And what I mean by mouse service: accessibility. Making it easy for mice to either race or finish the map. No steep planks that mice have to walljump to get to the top - have to be able to run (or close to run) along a platform instead of having to jump. It's not possible on every map AND it's more difficult to build like this than it is just let them have a steep plank to get up somewhere. It can completely change how you build a map:

@1303693

(steep)


(easy)

Now that's why I call proper mouse service 8-)

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Onwards! Principle 3:

We should build for the sake of building and not for the sake of solving maps

The key to become the best builder you can be is not to solve difficult maps but to become a master of every trick in the book and you can't find them all if you limit yourself to building 1. within TWO minutes of time 2. only using planks (shoutout allplankers) 3. doing every map with the goal to solve them.
Most builder mice I know do practice a lot in buildtool (shoutout buildtool gang) and IMO, that's where the best building is done. Being able to solve difficult maps quickly is a good ability to have! But I'm very certain that anyone would become a better builder with more tricks in their arsenal. Every minute spent doing something differently is another minute spent learning. By doing as many different and new things as possible, you start to pick up on minor quirks you haven't seen before. One day a plank behaves differently, a box falls in a way you haven't seen before, or a bend in a link gives you some realization. Always strive to do things you haven't done before! Peek behind every corner for tricks!

Those are some general principles, now for some personal ones:

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The aesthetic build is more desirable than the practical build

I'd take a pretty build over an ugly build any day of the week. All the builds I consider my best have been pretty, at least in my own opinion. And most of them have been pretty difficult to build! Can barely describe the wonder I get from building something pretty, when the planks line up, when a beautiful pattern emerges *-*

2 examples:





Another principle:

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Objects shouldn't move after you've spawned them

This one is impossible to do every time. Some objects just have to move by design. That's just how building is, BUT if I can have the object stay in place immediately after it's spawned and not move, I'll opt to do that. It's part of what I call Building With Intent. See the build before you build it and stick to the plan. I can see how this one would confuse a few people.......but try think to about it: place your objects so that they don't move after.

Finally:

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Precision is best practice

I'd rather spend 30 seconds getting the plank to sit right than do it half-assed. I'd rather tear down half a build in order to get one single crooked object to sit right. It's time-consuming and laborious but it's worth it! The final build will be Clean and Proper.

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BONUS: a few techniques I've been using lately

ROOFHOLD: @7851203



Using a rune to hold up a plank and locking them in AFTER you've placed them rather than BEFORE you've placed them



SCAFFOLD: @66



Why oh why do planks never reach? Behold, the scaffold!



It's very simple but applicable in a lot of maps!



Cromulent!

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Well folks, that's all I have to discuss today. I realize that maybe 5 mice will read this and maybe 1 will take away something useful but alas, those are my thoughts! Thanks for your time if you stuck around and happy building. And may the 3 shaman queens bless your soul! And thank you Tig/Meli for making the best building simulator game that has ever graced this earth!

Sincerely, Tact.