If you need detailed information on how to surface in Sandbox Mode in House Flipper 2, you can benefit from this guide.
How to Surface in Sandbox Mode
A full tutorial, from start to finish, on how to surface in Sandbox Mode. This includes tiles, paint, wallpaper, and even making rusty railings. This guide ONLY assumes you know how to enter your house in Sandbox Mode.
Where is the Tiling Tool in Sandbox Mode?
In Sandbox Mode, there is no tiling tool. Instead, you must use the Surface Finishes tool, which is the icon that looks like a paintbrush.
In fact, the Surface Finishes tool is used to place the following surfaces:
- Paint
- Stone
- Wood
- Wallpaper
- Metal
- Worn Surfaces (aka Grimy)
- Other Surfaces (such as moss, drywall, wooden shingles, and particle board)
Because of this, you do not need to purchase any of the surfaces you normally would in Story Mode.
Selecting the Appropriate Tool for the Job
To place tile, wallpaper, paint, etc. we need to use the Surface Finishes Tool.
1. Enter Sandbox Mode and go into the property that you wish to edit your surfaces within.
2. Right-click on your screen to bring up the Tools menu box. It is a large box with many options.
3. On the second row, select the image that looks like a paintbrush. This is your Surface Finishes tool, and it will tell you as much when you hover over it with your mouse.
Locating General Surface Types
You are now in the Surface Finishes tool.
1. Press Q to open a Customize box and to select the type of surface you want (stone, wood, etc.).
2. A Customize box appears with two options: Material and Rotation.
The default Material is red brick, as indicated by the image of red bricks at the top right).
The default Rotation is 0, as indicated by a slider.
If you have more than these two options it is because you have previously selected a surface. If this is the case and you require further instruction, please ignore any additional options at this time.
3. Left-click the square box with the red brick image, or whatever it is you have showing in the Material section on the Customize page.
4. A new Customize box appears. At the top of the new Customize box you have seven tab options in the following order, from left to right:
Paint (Blue paint dripping down tab)
Stone (Gray brick tab)
Wood (Diagonal brown wooden slats tab)
Wallpaper (Green rainbows on yellow background with upper left corner turned down tab)
Metal (Tab is a gray rectangle with a diagonal light sheen going from left to right)
Other (three circles in a triangular pattern tab)
Grimy (tab with a tiny bit of red brick on the left, and the majority is a black, gray, and white mess)
This is where you select whether you want paint, tile, wood, wallpaper… All of it.
Material: Selecting a General Surface Type
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Before you select colors or anything else, Material should be the first thing you select on your Customize page. This will determine whether or not you have a color option (or two of them) as well as any other available options to manipulate the material with.
I Want Paint
1. Select the Paint tab at the top of the Customize box, which looks like a tab with blue paint dripping down it
In this tab, you will see all of the available paint styles that paint can create: Stucco, Old Plaster, and Venetian Plaster.
2. Choose your paint style from this tab by left-clicking on the box of paint style that you want.
Example: Bill would like to apply a nice Venetian Plaster to his walls. He clicks the Paint tab at the top of the Customize box to receive his options. Already knowing what he wants, he left-clicks on the Venetian Plaster box on the page to make is selection.
3. Once your paint style is selected, it returns you to the first Customize page you saw, with some additional options.
I Want Stone
1. Select the Stone tab at the top of the Customize box, which looks like a tab of gray brick.
In this tab, you will see all of the available basic stone types. For example: Gray Granite, Stone Blocks, Subway Tiles, etc.
2. Choose your base stone type from this Stone tab by left-clicking on the box of stone type that you want.
Example: Jane would like to apply a nice granite to her floors. She clicks the Stone tab at the top of the Customize box to receive her options. After a moment, she decides on the Gray Granite and left-clicks that box on the page. Her basic stone type selection is now made.
3. Once your base stone type is selected, it returns you to the first Customize page you saw, with some additional options, including color and patterns.
I Want Wood
1. Select the Wood tab at the top of the Customize box, which looks like a tab of diagonal brown wooden slats.
In this tab, you will see various types of wood for you to choose from. For example: Dark Wenge, American Cherry, and European Walnut.
2. Choose your type of wood from this Wood tab by left-clicking on the box of wood that you want.
Example: Chris would like to apply a really nice wood to his front porch. He clicks the Wood tab at the top of the Customize box to receive his options. After a bit of consideration, he chooses to go with European Walnut, as dark woods tend to be more elegant in his mind. He left-clicks that box on the page and his selection is now made.
3. Once your base stone type is selected, it returns you to the first Customize page you saw, with some additional options, including type of wood, color, and patterns.
I Want Wallpaper
1. Select the Wallpaper tab at the top of the Customize box, which looks like a tab of green rainbows on a yellow background with the upper left corner turned down.
In this tab, you will see all of the available wallpapers to you.
2. Choose your wallpaper from this Wallpaper tab by left-clicking on the box of of wallpaper that you want.
Example: Beth is absolutely obsessed with cows. It is possibly an unhealthy obsession, but she is obsessed nonetheless. She wants her entire guest bedroom to look like a cow paddy, complete with cow wallpaper, with the hopes of raising a baby calf in there. Despite the likely need for some serious help in the psychosis department, she proceeds with her plans in sandbox mode. For now. She clicks the Wallpaper tab at the top of the Customize box to receive her options. Being obsessed with cows, she absolutely wants the cow print wallpaper and left-clicks that box on the page. Her wallpaper selection is now made.
3. Once your wallpaper is selected, it returns you to the first Customize page you saw, with some additional options. That is where you will select the coloring on your wallpaper.
I Want Metal
1. Select the Metal tab at the top of the Customize box, which looks like a gray rectangle with a diagonal light sheen going from left to right.
In this tab, you will see different types of metal surfaces that you can choose from.
2. Choose your metal from this Metal tab by left-clicking on the box of metal that you want.
Example: Sven is in a heavy metal band and wants to deck out his barn in a really cool industrial theme, complete with metal beams across the ceiling. He clicks the Metal tab at the top of the Customize box to receive his options. With a unique style of industrial in mind, he selects the Black Iron option as his metal. Happy with his choice, his selection is made when he left-clicks the box.
3. Once your metal is selected, it returns you to the first Customize page you saw, with an additional option for a Cut Pattern.
I Want a Different Material (Other)
1. Select the Other tab at the top of the Customize box, which looks like three gray spheres set into a triangular pattern.
In this tab, you will see material surfaces that do not fit into the other types of surfaces, such as drywall, wooden shingles, and cork.
2. Choose your material type from this Other tab by left-clicking on the box of material that you want.
Example: Gloria is creating a house where others can perform tasks. One of these tasks happens to be painting some walls. Rather than keep the look of the basic red bricks, however, she wants the house to look like it already has drywall up on those bricks and is ready for painting. She clicks the Other tab at the top of the Customize box to receive her options. Seeing precisely what she wants, she selects the Drywall box.
3. Once your material is selected, you are returned to the Customize page you first saw.
I Want to Create Old Material (Grimy)
1. Select the Grimy tab at the top of the Customize box. It has a tiny bit of red brick on the left, and the majority is a black, gray, and white mess.
In this tab, you will see material that is old, mossy, damaged, rusty, etc. This is the tab to use if you want something to look run-down.
2. Choose your material type from this Grimy tab by left-clicking on the box of material that you want.
Example: Miguel wants his house visitors to feel the need to repair the outer walls of his house. Instead of leaving the red building bricks exposed, he chooses to go for an old and worn-down look on the house.. He clicks the Grimy tab at the top of the Customize box to receive his options. After some consideration, he chooses the Damaged Wood option.
3. Once your material is selected, you are returned to the Customize page you first saw.
Customizing Your Selection
Once you have your Material selected, it is time to Customize!
After making your material selection, you are automatically brought back to the Customize page.
Previewing Your Choices
You may notice a large box at the bottom left corner of your screen. At its bottom there is an image of a paint roller. This is your Preview Selection Box. It allows you to see what you have chosen thus far and how it may look on a smaller scale.
Lets Talk Options!
The additional options that you are given depend upon your specific Material selection. Sometimes, such as when you select a certain type of stone, you may receive only two additional options, whereas selecting a different stone type offers you six options.
If you receive no options at all, such as with particle board, it is because there are no options available for this material type with your current selections.
Unless you select a Pattern option for your material, you may not receive additional options such as Rotation or Cut Pattern Size.
How to Select Options
Just like when you left-clicked the Materials box to choose your type of Material, most of the options you gain work in the same manner. Click the box on the right side of the screen next to the name of the option you want and make your selection.
Some options have sliders instead of boxes to click. One example of a slider is Rotation. Unlike with the other options, you are not transported to another page to change the slider. For slider options, simply move the slider with your mouse to change your option. As with selecting a color or other option, each time you change the slider you can preview your chosen Rotation in the Preview Selection Box.
Once you have
Option: Color
This is the color of your selected Material. In some cases, you may receive multiple color options, such as with Wallpaper.
When you left-click the Color option you will receive a single page with all of your color choices on it. This is unlike in Story Mode, where you have different tabs of colors to choose from. Though some of these colors may appear to be identical, each one is different, even if that variation is only slight.
Option: Cut Pattern
This is where you can shape your material into patterns. Here you can find patterns such as herringbone, house siding cuts, bathroom octagons, chevron, decking board pattern, and parquet.
The default pattern is set to a solid square, meaning that there is no pattern selected for your material.
Once you have completed all of your selections, right-clicking on your screen will save your choices and exit the Customize page.
Option: Cut Pattern Size
This option shows up if you have selected a Pattern. Just as with the Size option, this is a slider that changes the size of each element of the pattern each time you change the slider. As the number on the slider grows higher, the pattern becomes larger.
With the Cut Pattern Size option, it may be a little difficult for you to determine by the preview window if you like the size you selected. When using this with wood, for example, you may want to experiment with the sizes by going ahead and placing a surface down in your house to see what size you like best.
Option: Cut Pattern Rotation
This option shows up if you have selected a Pattern. Just as with the regular Rotation option, changing this slider will rotate your Pattern each time you change the number on the slider.
Available settings for Rotation are Horizontal (left to right) Vertical (up and down), and two Diagonal settings (upper left corner to bottom right corner; or upper right corner to bottom left corner).
With some patterns, you may not see a rotation despite receiving this option, as the pieces are identical (such as with octagons or squares).
Option: Rotation
The Rotation option is a slider that rotates the chosen material each time you change the number on the slider.
Available settings for Rotation are Horizontal (left to right) Vertical (up and down), and two Diagonal settings (upper left corner to bottom right corner; or upper right corner to bottom left corner).
Option: Size
Size is a slider option that makes each component on the selected Material larger. The higher the number on the slider, the larger the material appears.
With the Size option, it may be a little difficult for you to determine by the preview window if you like the size you selected. When using this with wood, for example, you may want to experiment with the sizes by going ahead and placing a surface down in your house to see what size you like best.
Since we selected Gray Granite, we now also have an option in this window for Cut Pattern and Color. The Rotation option was removed because it is now located elsewhere. Worry not, you can still select a rotation in just a moment.
Example
I want to make a log cabin in the Sandbox, so I build all of my walls for the cabin, and now I am ready to surface them. I do not want to use paint on my log cabin, as I would like it to appear authentic.
I right-click on my screen and left-click on the Surface Finishes selection (paintbrush icon). With this tool now selected, I press Q to open its Customize page and to make my selections.
The first thing that I do is to select my basic material type — wood. For this project, I select Yellowwood, which is a neutral wood.
Since I chose a wood, I will not have a color option. The color of wood I chose is going to be my color.
With my material now selected, and by default the color selected also, if I do not set a pattern to it, my cabin is going to look like one large sheet of wood. That is not what I want, and so I left-click the Pattern box.
Since this is a log cabin, my best option here is to choose something that would look like wooden logs. I left-click on the image that looks like white diagonal strips going from the top left to the bottom right, with no other lines to break up the strips into sections.
Now I need to look at my rotation. Remember, this determines the direction in which your pattern goes. For this particular pattern, the choice I want to make is to go left to right. I check the Preview Image Box to see how the rotation changes as I move the slider and set it so that the wood is going from left to right.
My final option for this wood is a Cut Pattern Size. Since this will determine how large or how small my “logs” are, I want to set this as high as I can, so that I have nice big logs. After all, it is not practical for someone to build a log cabin out of tiny trees.
All of my options have now been selected. I right-click on my screen and the Customize box goes away….setting the last choices I made.
It is time to Build!
Applying Your Selection
You have made your selection of surfacing material, but there are a couple of minor things that you need to be made aware of first.
The Clean Stains Toggle
On the left side of your screen, above your tile preview image, you will have the words “Clean Stains” in a white box. On the right side of that box is a toggle followed by the letter V.
This is important to pay attention to if you are building a house and have already placed stains prior to changing that surface. Having the Clean option on will remove those placed stains. Having it off will keep those stains in place. If you have not placed stains, do not worry about this option.
By default, it should be set to On. You can use your mouse button or a keyboard button to change this to off. The keybinding to turn it on or off is actually the same keybinding for “Change Item Orientation” in your settings. By default this is a “V”, but if you have changed it, you may need to go to Settings > Keybindings > Change Item Orientation to check the assigned letter.
Laying Your Surface
1. Place the white dot that is your mouse pointer in this game over the ugly brick or other surface that you want to cover.
Just like in Story Mode, you cannot place surfacing on grass and furniture. You need to lay brick first.
2. Your white dot mouse pointer will turn into a white square on your screen when you are hovering over a place where you can change the surface.
3. At the bottom center of your screen you have three blue bubbles:
- Copy Surface Finish:
This is good for when you lay down new bricks or an item that can be tiled and need it to match another surface you have already placed elsewhere. Just place the square box on the surface you wish to copy and press the R key (or whichever key you have assigned to it)
- “Hold <left mouse button image> Find surface finish in store”:
Use this to find a pattern you have already laid down. If you are placing wood on a platform, for example, and need the same wood but for it to face another direction, this is a good option to use. Just place your white square over the surface and hold down the left mouse button.
- “<left mouse button image> Select first point”:
This is what you are going to use to tile the surface you are trying to change.
We want to use the third option listed above, “<left mouse button image> Select first point”, to turn those ugly red bricks into something beautiful.
4. Place the white dot that is your mouse on the corner of the surface you want to alter and single-left click. So, if you are surfacing a wall, place it in the corner where the wall meets either the floor or the ceiling.
You have now set your first point.
5. The options on the bottom of your screen now change because you have “selected the first point”. You should now have a light blue square on the surface where you left clicked.
You now have a prompt to select your last point on your screen instead of one telling you to select your first point.
You will notice that, as you move your mouse around, that square becomes larger, changing its shape to further cover the surface and ending wherever your mouse pointer rests.
6. If you mess up and select the wrong starting point, that is alright! Just right-click and that light blue square highlight goes away. You can then choose a new starting point and left-click once more to start your selection.
A message on the bottom of your screen will remind you that you can right-click to cancel your last point (read: selection).
6. Since you have already selected your first point at the corner of the surface, drag your mouse across the entire surface that you want to alter with your current material choice and left-click on the very last square you want covered. If you are doing a wall, for example, you will want to drag the mouse so that the entire wall is highlighted in that light blue square. I can now see the entire area that is going to be altered.
7. Once you click that final time, the entire surface that you highlighted will change, applying the material you selected.
Example of Surfacing From Start to Finish
I want to make a log cabin in the Sandbox, so I build all of my walls for the cabin, and now I am ready to surface them. I do not want to use paint on my log cabin, as I would like it to appear authentic.
I right-click on my screen and left-click on the Surface Finishes selection (paintbrush icon). With this tool now selected, I press Q to open its Customize page and to make my selections.
The first thing that I do is to select my basic material type — wood. For this project, I select Yellowwood, which is a neutral wood.
Since I chose a wood, I will not have a color option. The color of wood I chose is going to be my color.
With my material now selected, and by default the color selected also, if I do not set a pattern to it, my cabin is going to look like one large sheet of wood. That is not what I want, and so I left-click the Pattern box.
Since this is a log cabin, my best option here is to choose something that would look like wooden logs. I left-click on the image that looks like white diagonal strips going from the top left to the bottom right, with no other lines to break up the strips into sections.
Now I need to look at my rotation. Remember, this determines the direction in which your pattern goes. For this particular pattern, the choice I want to make is to go left to right. I check the Preview Image Box to see how the rotation changes as I move the slider and set it so that the wood is going from left to right.
My final option for this wood is a Cut Pattern Size. Since this will determine how large or how small my “logs” are, I want to set this as high as I can, so that I have nice big logs. After all, it is not practical for someone to build a log cabin out of tiny trees.
All of my options have now been selected. I right-click on my screen and the Customize box goes away….setting the last choices I made.
Now I apply my surface. I place my mouse pointer at the top left corner of the wall that I want to change and left click one time. Seeing the light blue square appear, I drag my pointer to the bottom right corner of the wall I am changing and left-click again, highlighting the entirety of what I want to change. Immediately, my wall changes to the pattern I selected.
Advanced Options
Changing the surface of one side of a wall is good for when a wall has multiple surfaces. Sometimes, though, the wall needs to be the exact same on all sides.
Instead of building your surfaces and then using the Surfacing tool to change them, consider instead the following option:
When you build with the Build Walls tool, You Can Change Its Surface Before You Start Building.
After selecting the Build Walls tool, press the key assigned to your Tool Settings (Default: Q), which should be displayed under the image in the bottom left corner of your screen. Pressing that key will bring up a box showing your current material setting and its options. Just like with with Surfacing tool, you can change these options for your current session.
