Knights Of The North

[Casamir 42]

I like the look bob but that seems waaaay too tall, looks it anyways, Remember the Keep will be walled off, and inside a city which is also walled off. So the castle can have it's defences and the city will have it's as well, (( less of a city and more of a housing for our civilian laborers like miners and farmers )) the Farms will be outside the walls of the keep but inside the walls of the city, Picture it like a square within a square.

[Khnum 0]

I have a few blueprints that were made from real castles.I did not make the blueprints.

Keep 1:

http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/bigdogsebo/?action=view&current=keep3.jpg

Keep 2:

http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/bigdogsebo/?action=view&current=keep2.jpg

Keep 3:

http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/bigdogsebo/?action=view&current=Keep1.gif

[lastguyplaying 0]

((The windows would be made by having a wide opening in the inside of the wall, yet a small opening in the outside of the wall, like a V shape. They used to use this in medieval castles in that distinctive cross shaped window. The farm would have a palisade outside the main outer wall. Can you think of any castles with farms inside them? I realise it won't be the most effective, but it would otherwise look really strange (we can always have underground farms if we get sieged).))

I know what you mean about the cross shaped holes in castles. I just don't know how to make one in minecraft.

[lastguyplaying 0]

These all look really really good.. I especially like the keep 3 design.

Keep 3 was my favorite as well.

[Casamir 42]

3 is nice but the thing is, can we lay it out in minecraft?

[lastguyplaying 0]

3 is nice but the thing is, can we lay it out in minecraft?

I can try to do it in minecraft structure planner to see how it would look in minecraft. Yes i think we could do it no problem.

[lastguyplaying 0]

Also read this if you want info on how castles were built.

The medieval castle layout employed by medieval castles was essential to the castle's position of prominence within the community. Not only was the castle layout

designed to best fit the needs of its residents, but layout of the medieval castle was also engineered to offer optimal fortification.

No two layouts of medieval castles were exactly alike, and each was constructed to meet its future residents’ exacting specifications. Moreover, each medieval castle layout was developed to provide the strongest defense in light if its geographic vulnerability. Although no two layouts of medieval castles were alike, every castle was furnished with the same essential elements.

A medieval castle's layout was engineered for optimal fortification and defense and as such each medieval castle was constructed with a moat, an outer curtain, and a drum tower. For an effective layout of a medieval castle, these three points were integral; without them, the castle would lie vulnerable for siege and attack. The outer curtain extended around the entire perimeter of the structure, culminating at the large, and often imposing outer gate, the fourth essential point of the medieval castle's layout and design. And it was this outer gate that offered the greatest challenge to medieval castle builders. The outer gate was the first line of defense for castle inhabitants and the entire medieval castle layout was engineered around the strongest possible primary fortification. Inside this outer gate and curtain lay the uniqueness of the medieval castle layout.

Research of the existing remains of medieval castles throughout Western Europe indicates that medieval castle layout designers employed artistic and architectural creativity to secure the inner workings of the medieval castle. Crossing the drawbridge over the moat and through the outer curtain’s outer gate only got you so far. The medieval castle was still protected by a second and slightly larger wall, the inner curtain. Similar to the outer curtain, the inner wall came to a pinnacle at the inner gate, often times described as a long passageway marked by iron gates and barriers.

The inner curtain boasted a core necessity of the medieval castle's layout, the tower. These towers served multiple functions ranging from lookout points to the all important high ground in defensive posturing. The final defense engineered in the medieval castle layout was the inner ward, or large expanse of land, open and unobstructed, which led directly to the main entrance of the medieval castle. Aside from these core necessities, each medieval castle layout differed. The placement of various battlements varied from region to region and often took factors such as geographic positioning into account, that is to say the medieval castle was constructed atop a hill, on a coast, in a valley, etc.

The interior of the medieval castle also differed from structure to structure and often times depended on the wealth of the individual inhabitants. As a generality although no two medieval castle layouts were exactly alike, most were furnished in the highest style of the age. The walls and the ceilings were either carved or painted; the floor was covered with the finest straw and scented with herbs. Dishes were of the finest quality silver or pewter and adorned long wooden tables in the great hall. But the chapel was the finest room the medieval castle's layout boasted. It was decorated with the finest goods medieval money could procure.

[lastguyplaying 0]

All that info is from here.

http://www.medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com/medieval-castle-layout.html

[Casamir 42]

Number two now that I look at it is kinda what I had planned to do with the city and such

[corlark 6]

I think #1 would actually be the best.

[Eryc 4]

I like the look bob but that seems waaaay too tall, looks it anyways, Remember the Keep will be walled off, and inside a city which is also walled off. So the castle can have it's defences and the city will have it's as well, (( less of a city and more of a housing for our civilian laborers like miners and farmers )) the Farms will be outside the walls of the keep but inside the walls of the city, Picture it like a square within a square.

((If it's too tall, i can easily lower the gatehouse. This will, however, mean that we can't have the portcullis looking like an actual portcullis as when it retracts it will just disapper into thin air. The height shouldn't be a problem i would have thought, thouhg if thats decision then so be it. The gatehouse won't look as imposing, nor will we be able to get decorations onto the walls due to them being too small. Are the walls fine or will we go for the 5 year old ramparts like our surrounding forts at the moment. If we are going to have a castle we need to at least make it look imposing and detailed. Also, I would advise something along the lines of the second image else we will have a keep like we have at the moment, where the keep takes up the middle, leaving no space for anything else and removing the ability to have districts. How large is the plot that we will be allowed, because it's quite hard designing something without any specifications.

[Eryc 4]

Just a quick sketch i did. Opinions?

[lastguyplaying 0]

Here is what the basic gatehouse for keep 3 would look like minus towers or decorations.

http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/bigdogsebo/?action=view&current=2011-12-04_104308.png

http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/bigdogsebo/?action=view&current=2011-12-04_104302.png

[corlark 6]

Just a quick sketch i did. Opinions?

You sir... ARE AN ARTIST!

[Casamir 42]

That doesn't look bad, and the drawing bob did is kind of like I was planning, I want the outer walls to be 4 thick, 2 inside will be hollow for a walk way within the outer wall for guards to move from post to post on the ramparts and within, making the rampart walk ways also 4 wide, I might consider going 5 wide though, Also a more Arched design on the portcullis, not just the gate but the ramparts too, have them Move up (( kind of like the one in the verge keep ))