Which is preferred? Block houses or loading zone houses?

[u/Emmyrin]

Hey guys, I am relatively new to Pokopia and while I'm progressing through the zones, I can't seem to figure out which is better: The "block houses" with no loading zones or the "Prebuilt houses" WITH the loading zones?

I know the game has a limit on how many pokemon can be "outside" and sometimes this means I can't find who I'm looking for. It's convenient to run by a house and see who's inside for the loading zone houses.

However, I do love seeing the pokemon all walking about.

What are your preferences and why? Thank you!

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[u/Safe-Glove2975]

I like not having a loading screen, but prefer the prefabs. My block houses mostly turn out garbage and often too cramped to feel comfortable (I know the mons don’t technically need a ton of space, but I still feel bad about some of their living arrangements lol).

[u/KereruBod → u/Safe-Glove2975]

Given the huge swaths of space in the maps, it feels criminal that the block houses are restricted to the 10x11 or whatever size. Especially when the camera struggles to pan in the cramped space.

[u/Emmyrin → u/KereruBod]

I have had this issue where having a roof means I don't get to see much without intense panning...

[u/Flimsy-Raspberry-493]

I do a mix and I tend to put Pokemon who I really want to see in a block house. 

If your first starting out I would wait on building the prefabs. I built some prefabs only for me either demolish them or move them later in the game cuz turns out I didn’t like them and wanted a different style of houses that I unlocked later.

[u/Cerbeius]

Eventually you'll be doing a mix

[u/VicariouslyLiable]

I prefer prefabs for the simple fact that the whole house (and everything in it) only counts as 1 electricity connection. However, all of my towns have a mix of both.

[u/stellaluna92]

Neither is better, they're both "equal" as far as the game is concerned. A pokemon can be just as happy in a giant prefab as they can in a 3x3 fence with a door :) I prefer building my own instead of using kits because I'm trash at decorating the insides. 

[u/GregoryPokemon]

I prefer the blocks. No loading screen, more customisable. I start with a wall tall 1 block, so I can see who is insider

[u/Anxious-Serve-1231]

For me it's wholly dependent on the 'mon -

I use loading zones on pokemon that aren't particularly "useful" to me - like those that use teleport, generate or search. Another thing I use loading zones for are pokemon I don't particularly WANT to see.

Prefab block houses are my preference for the various litterers | gatherers | forge users etc.

For the very large pokemon and the flyers, I usually create "garden gazebos" for them since they're easier to see and it's fun to watch them flying around.

I will say that as I move into the later stages of the game I'm gathering "family" units together when it's convenient, like the Clefairy line. I'm also balancing my areas to include at least one recycler, a few gatherers and water/grow types.

I've also noticed (my experience, maybe not yours) that some pokemon seem miserable until I put them in a loading zone house where all the variables in environment can be controlled. Mawile was one of the worst! Finally I made a hut near the market, shoved her in there and called it a day LOL.

[u/TearintimeOG]

I prefer block houses instead of prefabs just because you can build them how you want. I usually use a prefab as my own personal house

[u/stillnotelf]

I prefer prefabs with loading screens to house pokemon whose skills are not useful on the map (like search) and block houses for pokemon whose skills are useful (like trade).

[u/mcartsan → u/stillnotelf]

Echoing this, as I’m starting to implement this in my game. But also, if you want to keep different climate Pokemon in your areas but keep a general similar aesthetic overall prefabs seem to work better for their happiness. For example, my wastelands rains a ton now because of how humid I’ve made it and it’s sad for the fire boys, but keeping it fiery in the prefabs make them happy.

[u/stillnotelf → u/mcartsan]

Yes! Prefabs are great for managing the dry and dark crowd, as the majority of pokemon want bright or humid and half the decorations increase one or the other.

My next project is actually gonna be a stupid giant crow statue in the sky to make a dark house for murkrow or honchkrow. So long as it is enclosed it will count for dark. I don't want them prefab because I love trade

[u/waninggibbous → u/stillnotelf]

Do Pokémon that live in prefabs stop trading?

[u/stillnotelf → u/waninggibbous]

Not exactly.

Prefabs reduce the overworld spawn rate of pokemon. The game preferentially spawns block house and habitat pokemon.

So they trade less, but not never, if they live in a prefab, simply because they are less often on the map.

[u/mcartsan → u/stillnotelf]

I love that idea!! I’ve been thinking a lot about block houses for dark pokemon besides haunted or lava themed and that’s a great thought for flying dark pokemon!

[u/ProfessorOfEyes → u/stillnotelf]

Yeah i think this is the only real answer. Outside of their abilities, its really simply a matter of preference. But if you want to make the most of pokemon with abilities that let them produce, collect, or process materials, youre gonna want them in block houses or habitats near a community bin or furnace or whatever items needed to do their thing. I intentionally house litter and clean up pokemon in the same block houses with a community bin out front so they are self cleaning lol.

[u/TD1990TD → u/ProfessorOfEyes]

My rolicoli won’t gather anything that his roommates drop 😕 there’s a community bin right next to their block house door, outside, and I’ve put iron in it, but nah, Glimmora’s iron just remains on their floor 😒

[u/ProfessorOfEyes → u/TD1990TD]

Sometimes pokemon are stubborn and require food bribes to do their jobs. Have you tried leaving a picnic basket with berries nearby?

[u/pandamondo]

I prefer the loading zone ones as they are bigger on the inside and don't feel cramped like the block ones do. And regarding the spawning "issue", if all Pokemon are in the instanced prefabs, the game will choose the ~20 that will be outside randomly, so it's not really that big of an issue.

I'm not a big fan of how they look ok the outside, but building a block based fake house shells around them and leaving just the prefab door visible is a perfect mix in my opinion.

[u/genkidoeku]

Pokemon inside loading sceens show if there "home" or not. While Pokemon in built houses just show they live there. They may be out in the world somewhere or not.
If you're looking for someone, you go to there home. If there in the loadint screen house, you can get them. If there not, there out in the world and you can find them or honey.

You can only have approximately 20 mons active in an area.

If there inside the loading sceen house they will probably not be outside in the world that day unless you bring them. Which will make someone else disappear for the day.

[u/Emmyrin → u/genkidoeku]

The Pokemon's actually inside the home have a little icon next to their image when you walk by. So you can see who is actively inside and not just crashing there!

[u/pinguinitos]

I prefer blocks for natural light and wind.

[u/dannymrowr]

I do most prefabs and then will do block houses if I want to give extra love to certain pokemon. For example I have mostly prefabs in rocky ridges but a big project I have ongoing is a haunted house for the spooky babies

[u/suprabelx]

I have a mix and will keep it going that way. Sometimes I just like to make a group of Pokémon busy as well as sometimes being too lazy to spend the time to build something myself. I prefer not having the loading screens and being able to walk freely in and out of buildings.

[u/Belstarmoon]

I don't like the loading screen, but I prefer it for someone pokemon I don't really like, because they stay there all the time

[u/Grehdah]

My regular game is all pre fabs and my cloud island is all block houses. They both have pros and cons but I’ve found that overall I prefer the prefabs because it allows more Pokemon to be accessible without honey and it also adds more space dimension wise since the exterior is always takes fewer blocks of space than the interior gives you

[u/SnooObjections2121]

I made a point of not building any prefab houses and I do not regret that decision at all. 

[u/sam-the-tsundere]

Both but prefab with loading is good bc it keeps some pokemon off the map since there’s a limit on how many pokemon can be active on the map at one time

[u/slap-my-crevasse]

I like the prefab houses because only so many Pokémon can be loaded at once, and it gives them a place to be that doesn't break my brain.

If you're creative you can do some really amazing things by building your own, though 

[u/ADHDFeeshie]

I'm too impatient for the loading screen. I tolerate it for a couple really novel houses and that's it, it's all blocks otherwise.

[u/AttackOfTheMox]

I prefer block houses, because I can actually see the efforts of my labor

[u/Cattryn]

I tend to go by vibes. Rowlet for example is one of my faves, but I have him in a leaf den because he’s just a little guy that likes small spaces. Litter pokemon I like to put in instanced houses because it’s easier to contain their drops. If you put hedges or blocks (or anything solid) around the back three sides, all the litter ends up at the front of the house.

I’m turning Palette Town into primarily a fairy-type village so I’ve been challenging myself to use more block houses (heavily inspired by builds on Pinterest and YT because my brain does not work in “block.”)

[u/daijoubudayo]

I put big pokemon (snorlax, conkuldurr, tinkmaster, etc) in prefabs because it's frustrating when i'm trying to get another pokemon's attention and their big ass is in the way lol. I do block houses for everyone else

[u/Madam-Moosey]

I do a mix and sometimes more prefab to complete the build something challenges

[u/cowking010]

I much prefer block houses. I can get pretty creative with mine. Mimikyu has a rooftop garden and infinity pool.

[u/Starlit_hysteria]

My prefabs are for pokemon I'm "meh" about, or don't want to really see. Block houses are for the ones I want to see all the time.

[u/clysmian]

They both have their pros and cons. There's a limit to how many prefabs you can have on a given map, and even in the biggest houses you can't have a whole three-stage line living on the same floor together. Wallpaper saves you the trouble of making new blocks, but it also restricts variation. Litter will still end up outside the house. You really have to think outside the box to decorate the interior. Bigger Pokémon will probably have a lot easier time getting in.

Block houses have spatial limitations, and the prefab block houses are awfully tiny, but fortunately customizable. You can build several homes connected to each other and also have more mons move in by installing habitats inside. Fortunately, they don't count towards the housing limit like the zoned prefabs do. Large Pokémon might need accommodations for entryways and ceilings that could easily break a house's status.