Chalet Popularity

[Storii Darkheart]

Is it just me or does it seem like the Chalets are not really as popular as every other theme? Except maybe the Campers, but that’s understandable given the smaller size and such. 
 

Every time I give up my house and try for something new there are always Chalets available. 
 

What’s everyones opinion on them so far? 

[Sister Nova]

The chalets are still being rolled out, so until they've all been taken they will appear on the available page. This is the usual situation as each theme is released.  Cabin and camper regions are released periodically too (some nice coastal regions still in development).

[Tanzanite Amethyst]

I waited to long for the stilt homes I wont be giving it up none too soon, the Chalet are cute, but not my cup of tea😊

[Storii Darkheart]

I have a stilt as well but I’m really tempted to try a Chalet again! I don’t love being on the water as much as I had assumed I would. 

[TT120]

The Chalets don't really do anything for me.  Neither do the stilts.  I seem to like the Log Homes and the Campers the best and I even had a trad for a while.  

[Trinity Blakewell]

I saw the stilts on the edges of East Bellisseria tonight (aka Logland). As far as I know. none of them have been released yet. It's really beautiful on the coastline. So there's some more stilts to look forward to (but who am I kidding, we know who will dominate getting those homes).

[Storii Darkheart]

I went boating through those earlier! They look quite nice! Not my cup of tea I think but beautiful area!

[Matthieu Quander]

Tastes vary, so one person's favorite theme is another's least desirable.  A lot of people, including myself, have mentioned that the chalets are not a favorite, but the same has been said about every theme, including houseboats.  Lucky for us, we have many themes from which to choose, with more on the way. 

As @Sister Nova mentioned, the last three new theme rollouts (log homes, stilts, and chalets) have gone this way.  When the stilts weren't all grabbed within a few weeks, people were even questioning whether too many new Linden Homes had been built. 

Not everyone reads the forums or the Bellisseria group chats, and many don't try for a new home often, so they may not even be aware that the chalets have been released.  It took several weeks for the demand for both stilts and log homes to catch up to the supply.  I think we will see the chalets in the queue for a while, but there will probably come a time when more will be needed.

[Tanzanite Amethyst]

I got my stilt home when they first came out and was super lucky on the spot I got, I'm forever in love🥰😍

[Rabid Cheetah]

 

Some.  Of us.  LOVE.  CAMPERS!

Edited May 5, 2021 by Rabid Cheetah

[Storii Darkheart]

I didn’t mean it like that haha more that most seem to go for the 1024m2 parcels instead heh

[Milk Pixelmaid]

I’m not a fan of chalets but it’s growing on me. I might even get one, lol! 

[Evangeline Arcadia]

I think maybe part of it is that with the chalet releases it's created (finally) a situation where there are enough homes to meet the demand for a LH, whereas with previous releases there were still lots of people waiting for a home. So perhaps they seem like they are not being snapped up so quickly because the demand is being met, rather than there being a scramble for a house as with other theme releases. Also maybe they aren't as popular so people aren't abandoning the home they have already have to get one.

It stills seems to me that the Stilts and houseboats are the most popular as less of those seem available on the land page, whereas you can often now find one of the other themes available (I think, I could be wrong).

[Maitimo]

I prefer to be near beach/sandy land and Chalets don't have any of that, so my preferences are Stilts, Houseboats, and certain Trads and Campers.  I tried a Chalet for a brief while but I only stayed with it about a week, then I tried again for a Trad and landed my dream spot.

Chalets are being rolled out still, which is why they are always available on the land page right now.  Once that stops, we'll get a better idea of whether it remains a popular theme or not.

I am pretty sure that houseboats are the rarest theme; it's VERY rare to see one of those on the land page. Vics are probably the next rarest to appear.

[Trinity Blakewell]

I prefer to be near water too, and tried out the Chalets, but ended up going back to a stilt. I do like the interior layouts of the Chalets, perhaps best of all the home types. I'm kinda "traditional first-life" so I want space for a bathroom, kitchen, etc.

[Persephone Emerald]

I'm bumping this thread rather than starting a new one to ask:

What would make Chalets more appealing to you?

They have open floor plans that people like, road and water rez zones, sailable rivers, an attractive environment, and cute animal statues.

Are the exteriors or interiors too boring? This could be remedied with shells or more textures.

Are the windmills too noisy? This could be remedied by lowering the volume on them.

I think they'd be good for Medieval roleplay. Is there a reason people who do Medieval RP wouldn't want to live here?

I think the community center is great. I think the restaurant would be perfect for events such as weddings or birthday parties. The zip lines and balloon rides are fun. Should LL or the BBB hold Octoberfest events here?

What is missing from this theme that people want in it?

[Teresa Firelight]

The only thing that would make chalets more appealing ot me would be to rework the neighborhoods so they are not mostly crammed together with mostly cement/bricks/tiles and had more nature and a lot more water.

[Nika Talaj]

When you asked this question about the Fantasy theme, there was an outpouring of very specific answers.  There's nothing specific about the chalets that I don't like, they just don't speak to me as much as other themes do.  So it's not that it's a BAD theme, it's that I like other themes more. 

I found the interiors a little boring,  the neighborhoods came across as kind of repetitive.  I thought maybe the homes might work better in a really alpine landscape or among a LOT of placid ponds.  The ones along the rivers have potential, but I didn't have the patience to roll and roll and roll to try to get one of those, given that the homes weren't screaming WANT at me, like the Meds do.

[Matthieu Quander]

4 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:

There's nothing specific about the chalets that I don't like, they just don't speak to me as much as other themes do.  So it's not that it's a BAD theme, it's that I like other themes more. 

I think this is the answer.  There's nothing inherently wrong with the Chalets.  The homes simply aren't as appealing as those in other themes.  Personally, I think the landscaping and public areas are fine, but it feels more like a vacation destination than a place I would want to live for any meaningful length of time. 

I think if a windmill home model were added, you might see an uptick in Chalet occupancy, much like we saw when treehouses were added to the Fantasy theme, though too many might ruin the aesthetic of the area or attract an invasion of Don Quixote avatars. 

The only other thing I can think of would be to rework the entire area as a winter theme, but that likely would not be cost effective.  

[Raspberry Crystal]

14 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:

When you asked this question about the Fantasy theme, there was an outpouring of very specific answers.  There's nothing specific about the chalets that I don't like, they just don't speak to me as much as other themes do.  So it's not that it's a BAD theme, it's that I like other themes more. 

I found the interiors a little boring,  the neighborhoods came across as kind of repetitive.  I thought maybe the homes might work better in a really alpine landscape or among a LOT of placid ponds.  The ones along the rivers have potential, but I didn't have the patience to roll and roll and roll to try to get one of those, given that the homes weren't screaming WANT at me, like the Meds do.

I had seen river parcels that I liked, and decided to be patient and roll on for a few days, but it actually only took three goes to get a lovely spot next to a pond, with the river right behind, and close to a rez area.
I can bend my mind to think of the Alpenrose as a traditional english cottage and that is what made the difference for me, especially away from the main theme items, like windmills. My decor is tending towards domestic1930s, but not very strictly.
The spring flowers and surrounding terrain details are so lovely, especially the marshiness of the river with broken branches and other details.
Driving up the side of the water channel the houses are broken up by green spaces, and it gives the impression of riding through villages, which is lovely.

How to improve things? 

For me, more variety in the exterior finishings would be ideal, some weathered traditional (small) brick options would work a treat. I'm sure stone would appeal to others.
Maybe some more textured interior wall finishes could work, panelling for instance, or limewash render?
I imagine some would find a smaller house model appealing if they fancied a small-holding, growing veg etc. It would leave more room.

There are probably too many 'estate houses' with pretty streets, but not much individual about them and kind of bend the brain thinking about vintage houses built in the layout of modern house builders, it doesn't quite feel 'right'.

I would love a snowy Belli theme, but maybe it would be better to have a different theme with traditional alpine chalets for that? Not sure what they would call that theme, 'Alpine' maybe? This style is certainly popular in world already. This might relieve some of the pressure for those who want to go down the full festive decor route and take some of those 'snow rugs' out of the greener themes?
 

[Maitimo]

On 12/21/2023 at 2:58 PM, Persephone Emerald said:

I'm bumping this thread rather than starting a new one to ask:

What would make Chalets more appealing to you?

What is missing from this theme that people want in it?

For me it would be beach-front properties on sandy land. But they won't do that because there are other themes which offer it.

[Sid Nagy]

They are too big IMHO. Too much room to fill with  too little LI allowance.
 

[Persephone Emerald]

12 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

They are too big IMHO. Too much room to fill with  too little LI allowance.

So a smaller, cottage size house would be a good addition. 🏠 

[Aethelwine]

I rather like the Chalet I got, but I got lucky with the location... nothing between my back yard and the main waterway and not too far to walk to a rezz zone. The house style works for me with open downstairs kitchen\ diner\ lounge space and two rooms upstairs a bit of trelacing outside the side door makes for a nice flow to a little quiet back garden area overlooking the water. I am not one for clutter so I don't get close to using all the Prims I have available. My log cabin is bigger and I think when I had the Victorian that was too. So I don't think house size or layout or the buildings themselves have anything much to do with their perceived unpopularity.

I think if they are less popular it has more to do with them being released after the other styles. For me access to water for rezzing is my main criteria for picking a home. The exception being my log cabin, where I rather like the sense of rural isolation even though the region is fully occupied. I quite enjoy the 10 region horse or bike ride to the coast.

Whilst the Chalets do have some rivers and water edge parcels . In a lot of places houseboats have been put in there. Trads seem to have it better for riverside parcels. And the South coast Victorians can be lovely.

All in all I think Chalets aren't so bad just victims of being late in the release cycle.

[UnilWay SpiritWeaver]

On 12/21/2023 at 6:58 AM, Persephone Emerald said:

What would make Chalets more appealing to you?

Getting rid of log homes.

As in... the only reason I'm not in a Chalet is because I found a coastal log home where I was able to get the 'Grand View' window to face out over the ocean.

To me... Chalet is an amazingly well done theme and I am utterly baffled as to why it's not more popular the Victorians and Trads.

I lost my interest in Victorians when we couldn't paint them because they're supposed to be an absolute riot of wild colors (they're also supposed to be slammed up against each other like two horny GIs at a night club who've just spotted you on the dance floor...  but we can't have urban themes I guess). And Traditionals are OK - better since they updated them. But nowhere near as nice as the Chalets.

If it were me, I'd change about 1/3 of the Trads, Vics, and Chalets to be "mixed theme" letting someone in those regions rez any one of the three on their lot. Not done randomly but in an organized fashion - this area here is mixed-use, those areas are not. I'd be more inclined to want one of them if it was in a neighborhood that looked more like "real life" does in an older city - where you've got a Victorian slammed up against a modern townhouse on one side, a container home on the other, and the folks across the street have a Craftsman.

They could make it so you have a boat dock but that'd be weird. Still; people love those.

Let the homes be rotated to any of the four facings. That would have a small impact on a few plots but not a major one like it would if you could rotate Grand View log homes the other way as well.

Otherwise... it just is what it is.