Hi Highrisers, DrDropKicks here 
Over the past month, we ran a survey on Design Mode to better understand how building feels across the community. 529 players shared detailed feedback, giving us a clear sense of where Design Mode shines and where it holds us back. In this Dev Diary, we’ll walk through what we learned together, the improvements already underway, and the direction we’re aiming for next.
Survey Insights & Initiatives
The survey confirmed what many builders have been saying for a while: Design Mode is powerful, but it needs more flexibility and variety to reach its full potential. Here are the main challenges that rose to the top as well as our initiatives resolving them:
Space and Room Size Limitations
Insight: Current room layouts often feel too small and inflexible. This limits creativity, especially for bigger projects. Many of us want larger or adjustable rooms and more variety in layouts to bring ambitious ideas to life.
Initiative: We’re currently building a feature to have Taller Build Height, giving more room for vertical creativity. Additionally, we aim to keep expanding on adjustable room sizes as well as new layouts.
Furniture and Item Variety
Insight: The catalog doesn’t yet offer enough diversity. Without new colors, textures, and furniture pieces, builds can start to feel repetitive, which drains motivation. A steady flow of new content is one of the most requested changes.
Initiative: We have already been working on improving this! We’ve introduced 10 new colors and 400 additional blocks to expand creative options. Additionally, we’re currently looking into ways of adding new lighting options. We believe that adding improved lighting and shadows is highly desirable by players and helps add that extra polish to builds.
Placement and Control Issues
Insight: The existing placement grid can be restrictive. Aligning items or fitting blocks together often feels clunky, and basic rotation or drag-and-drop controls don’t offer the precision builders are asking for. We want more freedom, smoother stacking, and better control tools.
Initiative: We’re currently building a feature to save drafts of rooms in progress. That way players don’t run the risk of losing work if needing to pause mid-build. Additionally, we’re looking into additional ways of giving players more control, such as multi-select and multiplayer building.
Looking Forward
This survey is only the beginning. Together, we’re shaping Design Mode into something more powerful, flexible, and fun — a toolkit that supports both casual decorators and advanced creators alike.
We’re grateful to everyone who shared feedback, frustrations, and ideas. Your input is already guiding what’s being built next, and we’ll continue to check in as we evolve Design Mode together.
Thank you for building with us 
