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Sand Sculpting confusion

ambassadormolariambassadormolari Member Posts: 709 Arc User
edited June 2014 in The Academy
I'm a little lost about the whole sand castle building thing on Risa. I know that you have to wander a little to find a spot, and that after a while a bucket will inexplicably explode out of the ground. Beyond that, though, I have NO idea how you interact with that spot once it becomes available. I've seen other toons run up to the bucket, after which flags pop up around them, but I've never seen any sort of interactive option. What am I missing here?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by ambassadormolari on
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  • pwecaptainsmirkpwecaptainsmirk Member Posts: 1,167 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Make sure to accept the mission Castles in the Sand in your mission hub first.

    The rest is easy peasy after that :)

    ~CaptainSmirk
  • admrenlarreckadmrenlarreck Member Posts: 2,041 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Yea the hard part is FINDING a bucket, so far I have only found 4 locations for building a castle.
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  • ussberlinussberlin Member Posts: 306 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    yea after you found out there comes no button

    simply wait till it explodes and then you can start ...
    18 Cpt on the way to 60: 14 of them are already 50 or over 50, one is 60 and 3 almost 43
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  • gerwalk0769gerwalk0769 Member Posts: 1,095 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    After you are done with your castle stick around to see if you can knock it down. That allows others to use the area I believe.
    Joined STO in September 2010.
  • jheinigjheinig Member Posts: 364 Cryptic Developer
    edited June 2014
    You can build sand castles at any time, but it's easiest -- and gives a few more favors -- if you do it during the special event time.

    To build a castle, first you have to have the mission "Castles in the Sand," as Smirk mentioned above. If the event is running, you can just click on the button to one side that lets you remotely accept the mission. If the event is not currently running but you want to make a castle anyway, you need to go to the arenologist, who's in the new promenade, on a deck overlooking the beach on the southwest side of the building.

    Once you have the mission, run along the beach to the south or southeast and look for a pail and shovel. If you find one that doesn't have flags planted around it, run up to it and claim the spot. Then you can build your own castle.

    If you find a spot where there's already a castle, if you wait for a few minutes it will eventually crumble back into sand, and you can claim the spot. Or, if you build enough castles, you will unlock the ability to kick over castles that have been in place for more than a minute.

    Blessed Lohlunat!
  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,249 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    jheinig wrote: »
    You can build sand castles at any time, but it's easiest -- and gives a few more favors -- if you do it during the special event time.

    To build a castle, first you have to have the mission "Castles in the Sand," as Smirk mentioned above. If the event is running, you can just click on the button to one side that lets you remotely accept the mission. If the event is not currently running but you want to make a castle anyway, you need to go to the arenologist, who's in the new promenade, on a deck overlooking the beach on the southwest side of the building.

    Once you have the mission, run along the beach to the south or southeast and look for a pail and shovel. If you find one that doesn't have flags planted around it, run up to it and claim the spot. Then you can build your own castle.

    If you find a spot where there's already a castle, if you wait for a few minutes it will eventually crumble back into sand, and you can claim the spot. Or, if you build enough castles, you will unlock the ability to kick over castles that have been in place for more than a minute.

    Blessed Lohlunat!
    Thanks for the info.

    Though might I say, this sort of info really should have been in a Blog and spelled-out clearly in-game.

    :cool:

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • toivatoiva Member Posts: 3,276 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Thanks for the info.

    Though might I say, this sort of info really should have been in a Blog and spelled-out clearly in-game.

    :cool:

    Indeed, along with the special event time. In this case, you get 5 instead of 2 Lohlunat Favors between :46 and :01.
    TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class.
    Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
    Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.

    Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 11,441 Community Moderator
    edited June 2014
    jheinig wrote: »
    You can build sand castles at any time, but it's easiest -- and gives a few more favors -- if you do it during the special event time.

    To build a castle, first you have to have the mission "Castles in the Sand," as Smirk mentioned above. If the event is running, you can just click on the button to one side that lets you remotely accept the mission. If the event is not currently running but you want to make a castle anyway, you need to go to the arenologist, who's in the new promenade, on a deck overlooking the beach on the southwest side of the building.

    Once you have the mission, run along the beach to the south or southeast and look for a pail and shovel. If you find one that doesn't have flags planted around it, run up to it and claim the spot. Then you can build your own castle.

    If you find a spot where there's already a castle, if you wait for a few minutes it will eventually crumble back into sand, and you can claim the spot. Or, if you build enough castles, you will unlock the ability to kick over castles that have been in place for more than a minute.

    Blessed Lohlunat!

    Thanks for the info. Where would one find this info in game, though, because I missed it.

    The castles take quite awhile to crumble, also. That coupled with the, what? 5-6, limited spots to build castles makes this event rather frustrating.

    So, we can build castles anytime, not just during the event? Are Lohlunat favors still awarded? Can accolades still be earned?
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  • toivatoiva Member Posts: 3,276 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Thanks for the info. Where would one find this info in game, though, because I missed it.

    The castles take quite awhile to crumble, also. That coupled with the, what? 5-6, limited spots to build castles makes this event rather frustrating.

    So, we can build castles anytime, not just during the event? YES. Are Lohlunat favors still awarded? YES, 2 outside of event. 5 while event is active. Can accolades still be earned? Most likely yes.

    See green.
    TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class.
    Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
    Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.

    Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 11,441 Community Moderator
    edited June 2014
    toiva wrote: »
    See green.

    Thank you :D
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  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,249 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    ...So, we can build castles anytime, not just during the event? ...Can accolades still be earned?
    Yes, I can confirm that all six sandcastle-related accolades can be awarded when not during the event.

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 11,441 Community Moderator
    edited June 2014
    Yes, I can confirm that all six sandcastle-related accolades can be awarded when not during the event.

    And thank you. :D
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  • coolheadalcoolheadal Member Posts: 1,253 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Yes, I have to agree this info should be posted or pop-up to explain what you need to do for the Sand Sculpting and Castles making I guess all-in-one task. I was trying to figure out what I had to do with the flying loops but got one completed. One goes into a cave well to me it looked like it did. LOL
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    Time will only tell!
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 11,441 Community Moderator
    edited June 2014
    OK, so I hit the sand castle building during the off time, so as not to have to deal with competing for a spot. My objective was two-fold: 1) achieve accolades and 2) farm favors.

    While I was happy to get all 6 of the accolades (eventually), I was disappointed to discover that sand castle building has a 15 minute cooldown. Which means sand castle building can only get you 11 favors an hour if you actually do it every 15 minutes.

    What the heck? I was kinda hoping it would be like digging in the snowpiles during the Winter Event when the baubles could be obtained there: that you could just build sand castle after sand castle ad nauseum earning 2 favors a pop.

    Earning Lohlunat Favors is a pain. LOL

    It seemed like I was always busy with the Winter Event. Summer seems like I'm mostly standing around waiting for something to happen.

    I wish we had a queable event like the Gingerbread Village to earn some Favors. Perhaps next year we can get water guns and water balloon cannons to use for something like that. :)
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  • toivatoiva Member Posts: 3,276 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    OK, so I hit the sand castle building during the off time, so as not to have to deal with competing for a spot. My objective was two-fold: 1) achieve accolades and 2) farm favors.

    While I was happy to get all 6 of the accolades (eventually), I was disappointed to discover that sand castle building has a 15 minute cooldown. Which means sand castle building can only get you 11 favors an hour if you actually do it every 15 minutes.

    What the heck? I was kinda hoping it would be like digging in the snowpiles during the Winter Event when the baubles could be obtained there: that you could just build sand castle after sand castle ad nauseum earning 2 favors a pop.

    Earning Lohlunat Favors is a pain. LOL

    It seemed like I was always busy with the Winter Event. Summer seems like I'm mostly standing around waiting for something to happen.

    I wish we had a queable event like the Gingerbread Village to earn some Favors. Perhaps next year we can get water guns and water balloon cannons to use for something like that. :)

    Thematic Doff assignements on Risa would help too.
    TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class.
    Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
    Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.

    Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 11,441 Community Moderator
    edited June 2014
    toiva wrote: »
    Thematic Doff assignements on Risa would help too.

    I definitely second this.
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  • misterperseusmisterperseus Member Posts: 71 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    You want Q to let his weapons be used as Super Soakers and squirtguns on Risa? Sounds good to me.
  • mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    jheinig wrote: »
    You can build sand castles at any time, but it's easiest -- and gives a few more favors -- if you do it during the special event time.

    To build a castle, first you have to have the mission "Castles in the Sand," as Smirk mentioned above. If the event is running, you can just click on the button to one side that lets you remotely accept the mission. If the event is not currently running but you want to make a castle anyway, you need to go to the arenologist, who's in the new promenade, on a deck overlooking the beach on the southwest side of the building.

    Once you have the mission, run along the beach to the south or southeast and look for a pail and shovel. If you find one that doesn't have flags planted around it, run up to it and claim the spot. Then you can build your own castle.

    If you find a spot where there's already a castle, if you wait for a few minutes it will eventually crumble back into sand, and you can claim the spot. Or, if you build enough castles, you will unlock the ability to kick over castles that have been in place for more than a minute.

    Blessed Lohlunat!

    Are the rewards really supposed to be as low as they are? It doesn't seem to fit the other activities.


    I still like doing sandcastles, because I want to know what can be build. But the rewards are a bit meh.
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
  • toivatoiva Member Posts: 3,276 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Are the rewards really supposed to be as low as they are? It doesn't seem to fit the other activities.


    I still like doing sandcastles, because I want to know what can be build. But the rewards are a bit meh.

    It's true it would at least make sense to reward more favors the bigger your sand sculpture. The first and smallest one takes a minute to complete, the larger ones require repeated running around for sand, protecting it, ...
    TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class.
    Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
    Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.

    Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
  • edited June 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,249 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    toiva wrote: »
    It's true it would at least make sense to reward more favors the bigger your sand sculpture. The first and smallest one takes a minute to complete, the larger ones require repeated running around for sand, protecting it, ...
    Agreed. I can understand only getting 2 (or Event 5) Favors for "basic" level 1-2 sandcastles because those are done in seconds, but after that you should get more.

    Suggestion - 1 Favor per Accolade level:

    First sandcastle, "Starter" Accolade = 1 Favor
    Second, "Sequence" Accolade = 2 Favors
    Third, "Set" Accolade = 3 Favors
    Fourth, "Stalwart" Accolade = 4 Favors
    Fifth, "Savant" Accolade = 5 Favors.
    Double at "Stylist" Accolade (for completing the different types of castles) = 10 Favors


    During the Hourly Event, just double the above. So the first time a toon completes a castle during the event they get 2 Favors. A person who completed three (a Set) would get 6, a Savant would get 10, and a Stylist: 20 Favors.

    This would be acceptable, but still low, when you consider that with a Superior Floater I routinely complete a Horga'hn Hunt in under 3 minutes (about the minimum time it takes to find a bucket and complete a sandcastle) and earn ~50 Favors. Granted, that Hunt requires more investment (1000+ Favors for the Floater) and effort (I'd argue there's more skill/attention involved during flying/hunting, than running around for sand, sticks, and waving off glow bugs), so maybe it's ok it should pay more than the sandcastle mission, but castles still need to give out more love than they currently do. 20 Favors at "max rank" seems appropriate to me.

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Maybe I would try building a sandcastle just to do something different, but it seems to be a waste of time in the long run for the few favors you receive.
  • gerwalk0769gerwalk0769 Member Posts: 1,095 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    The number of meanies that trash my creations, you'd think there was a accolade for making a Gorn cry.

    Mind you they DO wait for me wander off. Starflleet dogs! * pops a Subspace mine in castle and....................wanders off to HIT THE DECK! * >=3

    It does seem mean but at second look abandoned castles take up a valuable build plot for some who might want to use that plot but cannot clear it. Or they might need to use it themselves.

    So please clean up your campsite (sand castle area) after using it so that others can enjoy it.
    Joined STO in September 2010.
  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,249 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    jaguarskx wrote: »
    Maybe I would try building a sandcastle just to do something different, but it seems to be a waste of time in the long run for the few favors you receive.
    At the current rates, even during Event time, I agree, not enough Favors to make that the only reason. However I still do the sand castles for others:
    • I find it relaxing and mildly fun.
    • I'm still enjoying making the different castle combinations just to see the variety.
    • I like to get Event Accolades on my alts.
    • Sometimes, I've nothing better to do, and 5 Favors is better than nothing.
    ...So please clean up your campsite (sand castle area) after using it so that others can enjoy it.
    For those having trouble finding sand castle sites may I offer the following work-a-rounds:

    • Build your sand castles during non-Event time, save them, and turn them in only during the Event for your 5 Favors. I find starting your building even a couple minutes early ensures an open bucket.
    • Try another instance: There are dozens of Risa maps, switch to one with the (near-)fewest number of people, and you're more likely to find an unused bucket.
    • Level-up your Accolades: It's a bit of a Catch-22 (If you can't build castles, build castles to build castles :P), I know, but if you can manage to complete five castles and complete your Sand Castle Savant Accolade, you'll be able to tear down used castles after they've been complete for one minute. And, as Gerwalk0769 mentions, it's polite policy to make room for others, and tear your own down after you're done enjoying it (a practice I've recently started doing, myself).


    That being said, I agree with the consensus that there are too few bucket locations on the island. Devs have said they're looking into this, and I do hope they increase the count (and spread them around... I mean really, there is so much beach-front around the island, it shouldn't be restricted to the one corner).

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    At the current rates, even during Event time, I agree, not enough Favors to make that the only reason. However I still do the sand castles for others:
    • I find it relaxing and mildly fun.
    • I'm still enjoying making the different castle combinations just to see the variety.
    • I like to get Event Accolades on my alts.
    • Sometimes, I've nothing better to do, and 5 Favors is better than nothing.

    The only time when I have nothing to do is from xx:12 to xx:22 (xx = any hour) which is after getting the 50 favors for the dance and the start of the Risa Idol Hunt. I am usually just browsing the exchange at that time.

    After the Risa Idol Hunt event at xx:37 I simply queue up a STF. A quickie like Crystalline Catastrophe Elite and Infected: The Conduit can be completed before the next dance begins.
  • sle1989sle1989 Member Posts: 552 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    So what's the sequence to get the monuments? I'm trying to help a friend unlock the option and there's nothing in game to say what to do, not even in the accolades list (I have all of the sand castle related accolades).
    y1arXbh.png

  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,249 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    sle1989 wrote: »
    So what's the sequence to get the monuments? I'm trying to help a friend unlock the option and there's nothing in game to say what to do, not even in the accolades list (I have all of the sand castle related accolades).
    I'm not entirely sure, but my Main has all six accolades and can make monuments. I think it might unlock after completing the "Stylist" Accolade, which is seen in the "In Progress" portion of your accolades, so you can check-off each type until it completes. Give that a try.

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • toivatoiva Member Posts: 3,276 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    I'm not entirely sure, but my Main has all six accolades and can make monuments. I think it might unlock after completing the "Stylist" Accolade, which is seen in the "In Progress" portion of your accolades, so you can check-off each type until it completes. Give that a try.

    I'm pretty sure that's the case. I can now build monuments after I completed the Stylist accolade. Couldn't before (not even after 5 castles built - yes, I didn't pay attention and had to build more for the Stylist accolade).
    TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class.
    Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
    Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.

    Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,249 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    toiva wrote: »
    ...yes, I didn't pay attention and had to build more for the Stylist accolade).
    No worries. Neither did I. :D

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • streakfury#2432 streakfury Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Thanks for the info.

    Though might I say, this sort of info really should have been in a Blog and spelled-out clearly in-game.

    :cool:

    Agreed. I've found that a lot of these events have no explanation at all about how to actually accept the mission, or how and when to play it. I love these events, but we really need more info about how they work! The majority of people have to look it up in the forums.
    Intel i5 2500k @ 4.4GHz / 16Gb DDR3 RAM @ 1600MHz / GeForce GTX1060 6Gb / Corsair Glaive / Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire
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