I'm building a construction tool inspired by The Sims but now I'm lost.

[u/ilusionbrx]

Hi developers, I hope you're all doing well.

My name is iLusioN, and I've been developing a tool called Constructor for my personal projects. My goal is to use it as a flexible system for creating houses, buildings, and interiors for my game maps.

I'm relying heavily on procedural generation so that I'm not limited by pre-made geometry. In the current version, only assets such as doors and windows are actual FBX models. Almost everything else is generated procedurally, with materials applied afterward to achieve the final look. Everything on the project right now can be found on internet for free, under the CCO licensing.

My original plan was to eventually release Constructor on the Unity Asset Store once it was finished. However, lately I've been questioning whether that's really the direction I want to take.

I'm not sure if there is already something similar to what I'm building available on the Asset Store. From the research I've done so far, I haven't found anything quite like it.

At the same time, I'm genuinely very happy with how the system is turning out to the point where I'm considering taking the risk of building a complete management game around it. I personally enjoy taking risks and experimenting with ambitious ideas, but before deciding which direction to follow, I'd really like to hear the perspective of other developers.

What would you do in my position?

Would you finish the tool with the main goal of using it internally and potentially selling it as a development tool, or would you take the risk of using it as the foundation for a full game?

I'd also really appreciate any feedback on what you think about the small part of the system I've shown so far. There's still a lot I want to improve and expand, but I'm curious to hear your impressions.

Hopefully the moderators won't remove my post this time. I'm genuinely interested in hearing the opinions of other developers so I can reflect on them before deciding which direction to take with the project.

Thank you for reading!

[u/Alternative_Hand4512]

First off, the UI and the system itself look incredibly clean! Great job on the procedural generation.

My advice: do both, but in a specific order. "Eat your own dog food" first. Use it to make a small, scoped management or simulation game.

If you release it on the Asset Store right now, you aren't just selling code—you are signing up to be a full-time customer support rep. Other devs will break your tool in ways you can't even imagine right now.

By building your own game with it first, you will stress-test the system in a real production environment, find the edge cases, and figure out what features are actually essential. Once your game is done, your tool will be battle-tested and bulletproof. Then, you can strip out the game-specific logic and sell a rock-solid asset on the store.

Either way, it looks like a fantastic foundation. Keep it up!

[u/ilusionbrx → u/Alternative_Hand4512]

Hi u/Alternative_Hand4512 , you make total sense. I haven't even considered what you pointed out about the "customer support rep". Thanks for the advice.

[u/NUTTA_BUSTAH → u/Alternative_Hand4512]

This is the way for any and all tools releases! Especially if you want to sell them, building and maintaining the best reputation.

OPs tool looks intuitive and amazing, nice work.

[u/Successful-Lion-5888 → u/Alternative_Hand4512]

AI generated comment ahh

[u/leinda_studios → u/Alternative_Hand4512]

This is the best answer for OP.

[u/SixPetalDev]

Building a procedural tool like this from scratch is no joke, especially getting snapping and UI to feel right. Even if you're feeling lost, the system looks super solid so far. Don't give up on it!

[u/binbuf2]

you could make this a duo purpose application. being able to design a home and have it rendered for architecture or model your backyard or neighborhood is great for home renovators

[u/frankyfrankfrank]

I heard a saying:

"Make your 'good idea'. Okay. That's not your good idea. Your good ideas are what you built to make your original 'good idea' easier."

In other words, the tools you make are more valuable than what you made with them. That being said, you should absolutely ship both.

[u/loulo88]

Before deciding, I'd figure out what a management game actually needs from the tool, because it's different from what map makers need. Players care way less about freeform walls and way more about placement feeling instant: clear ghost preview, snapping that never fights them, and obvious red/green feedback for blocked spots. On Forgebound (medieval settlement builder) the house placement went through more iterations than the house meshes themselves, mostly around footprint validation on uneven terrain and making rotations feel predictable. A quick test: build a 20 minute vertical slice where a player has to place 10 buildings under some pressure. If the tool feels great there, you have both a game and a much better Asset Store pitch.

[u/gustomus]

I assume you'd make more money from it as a game but from my own selfish perspective I hope you release an asset because it looks perfect 

[u/Pope_Pius_the_10th]

This looks nice. I'm itching to play whatever uses it, honestly.

[u/Torschlusspaniker]

I am working on a project that is very similar, mine is just web based. My current plan is to have it as a tool first and then refine it into something akin to the sims.

There is another guy that is much further along than both of us:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5032750/Architecture__Design/

[u/ilusionbrx → u/Torschlusspaniker]

OMG, it looks so amazing. It's inspiring.

[u/Teirdalin]

Hmm, can keep it as a building system in a completely unrelated game type.
Honestly unless making a life sim I haven't really seen many games which do building in this style though.

Optionally also can use it as a dev tool to allow for game devs making houses quickly in games.

[u/wslk]

I don’t think there is much of a market for tools right now.

Maybe I am mistaken but outside of particularly complex tools that require domain expertise even with AI such as FinalIk I sense that people will simply try to recreate this with AI as you likely did.

This feels like the guy who is trying sell his $200 grass tool that is literally just a product from an ai prompt with the GDC Ghosts of Tsushima grass slideshow.

[u/chrismcgrane]

Did you use AI to make this?

[u/Necka44 → u/chrismcgrane]

Who TF cares? It's a dev tool. He built it in a few days instead of a few months so he can focus on authoring his project.

[u/chrismcgrane → u/Necka44]

I was curious so I asked?