Senda

2 hours ago, Kilgrim said:

Cool! Hope you guys are ready for release so you get your place built up quick!

Progressing along at a steady pace - the important stuff will be done.. and actually getting everything up when 6.0 goes live is an adventure in of itself :)

Having said that - extra help is always welcome!

Let it be known that our build crew could always use another pair of hands - simply shoot me a message!

[Renatus 6.0 Dev Blog] Part 1: Getting Started!

Hello, and welcome to the second Development Blog on the Renatus 6.0 Capital! I’m Senda - the person in charge of the construction team, and in today’s edition we’re going to delve into Housing and Development

On behalf of everyone involved, I can tell you that we are all incredibly excited to finally start lifting a few of the curtains that will, for the most part, continue to block and obscure the full view of 6.0, till the eventual release.

Housing

Today we are taking a look at the planned housing in the Renatus capital. From the amount of houses (or plots) we are aiming to have, through the variations in size and shape, all the way to what the City Administration will allow inhabitants to change!

Let's hop right in with a bombshell:

We are going to allow inhabitants to change everything.

First up, let's review the town plan, which has changed slightly:

Housing is outlined in three sections:

• Light Blue - normal housing
• Red - Merchantile housing
• Yellow - Harbour housing

This demarkation of different types of housing is less of a fixed thing, and more of a rough template of what will likely be the distribution of the different kinds of players and their interests within the city. Those with an interest in running a shop will likely try to congregate around the main avenue - running from the entrance of the city, underneath the Palatial arches, to the far end of the city. Those that simply want a place to live will likely settle beyond this 'hotspot' area, either deeper within the city, or at the waterfront of the harbour.. or they may be a group of criminals that want to keep a low profile and want a plot that is a little out of the way ..either way, the main point is that housing is a flexible thing, which we will accommodate.

Here's a peak at the housing under construction:

Who wants to score some nostalgia points?

Development

Right then, with the basic plan in place and construction underway.. let's tackle the whole 'inhabitants can change ANYTHING'-bombshell!

• Plots can be torn down and rebuilt
• When rebuilding, players need to adhere to the foundations of a plot for house dimensions
• City officials (Stewards) will administer a 'does not look like total crap'-check 
• Foundations can be changed slightly - again, Stewards will administer this.

We are building a city that aims to cater to players and their development, instead of constraining them.

Won't this turn into a giant freebuilding ****-show?

Not if we administer this properly. As ever, communication is key - simply sitting down with someone is often all it takes to work things out / offer help / make changes.

There are a ton of reasons for the city administration to deny the initial request of a player to change something in the city.. and many more ways for us to communicate to explain the reasons behind our initial refusal. What follows is a discourse that will aim to accommodate the needs of the players, so we can move forward with their needs.

What this approach will allow is players taking true ownership of plots within the city. Not simply paying tax, pointing at a prebuilt house and going 'that one is mine' - but true ownership. The kind you normally only get from constructing your own small town, with your own house-design. In this city, you can do just that - rent a plot, build your own house if you want!

Entire districts could form in an organic manner - groups of players deciding they want a part of the city to look visually distinctive - imagine the possibilities.

In conclusion of today's Dev Blog, we leave you with something else that is visually distinctive:

See you all at the next one!

9 hours ago, Hiebe said:

Excited to see it.

Have a bit of gothic going on ??

Potentially yes - This project is a bit of a blend of different styles.. and subject to a crapton of change (stylewise) as we progress through it. The Palace for example, has gone through 4 different stages of design alone before we settled on the current shape - and that is simply the shape! 

As for the Gothic influence, you can blame my love for the Warhammer universe, from which I draw inspiration where I can. Currently, Onslaughted, Charlemagne and DPM are hard at work wrecking my lovely roofing further refining the style, removing and replacing elements as they see fit. Some of the Gothic might remain, some might not. 

Future updates shall reveal how much influence remains :)

9 hours ago, im_a_psychopath said:

Great way to keep people updated, as a future citizen of Renatus thanks a lot!

You are more than welcome! Looking forward to having you be part of the roleplay in the city :)

8 hours ago, TwilightWolf said:

This is really coming along nicely, the idea of 'the table' was a really clever resolution. I'll definitely be visiting once your group is done.

This has sort of inspired me to potentially write up something for the elven capital, too.

Again great work, looking forward to seeing it progress!

Likewise - your Dominion build has certainly sparked my interest and Ill be looking to plan a visit once the initial rush of 6.0-capital-construction dies down. I shall shamelessly link your post for some blatant cross-promotion:

6 hours ago, TwilightWolf said:

As a forenote, I would like to give another thanks to Senda for allowing me to totally not steal his dev format. 

 

 

Totally welcome.. hey wait a minute!

Looks intruiging - are the yellow and blue sections also housing?

Also - the black section (Barracks) seems quite large compare to the space reserved for housing. Is that intentional (or just a perspective thing that I am not seeing right) and if so, what is the story behind it - is it going to be a MEGA barracks or a building that combines other functions besides the barracks?

[Renatus 6.0 Dev Blog] Part 1: Getting Started!

Hello, and welcome to the first Development Blog on the Renatus 6.0 Capital! I’m Senda - the person in charge of the construction team, and in today’s edition we’re going to delve into the first stage of this (somewhat) massive undertaking.

On behalf of everyone involved, I can tell you that we are all incredibly excited to finally start lifting a few of the curtains that will, for the most part, continue to block and obscure the full view of 6.0, till the eventual release.

First things first - let me get a few questions right out of the way:

Who on earth are you?

Well hello there, internet stranger - I am Senda. Known by some on this server since the heady days of Asulon. My characters are exclusively human.. and mostly in the same line of work - construction or management of some form or another.

I have had the pleasure of running both very small townships and capital cities, and the insight that comes from that continues to serve me in the design and construction of new cities.

Once again, I have been called upon to construct a capital city for a new map - this time, by Mogroka, the ruler of Renatus.

Are you doing this alone?

Good grief, no! I have the luxury of a vast array of friends and contacts (both my own and Mogroka’s) that have culminated in the formation of a team of people - all bent towards to the development and construction of this new capital in some way or another.

The Team:

• Mogroka (Renatus nation leader and neverending source of requests for Phallus-shaped palaces - which we politely decline at every opportunity)

• Senda (Team Lead - Does a fair bit of building, but considers his chief role to be that of delegating tasks and keeping the work moving along)

• DPM (Builder - Kyle is a wizard with world edit - we rest safe in the knowledge that he causes far less suffocation and death with his commands than 501Warhead does)

• Onslaughted (Builder - Expertise in castles - instrumental in the design process behind the palace)

• Charlemagne (Builder - Messy Medieval ‘Liason’ - Trol insists he does nothing, but what he really does is actually help a ton, both by building and providing advice. His Messy Medieval background will pay dividends when we get to later stages of this project, where we are looking to add the ‘busy city’-feeling to the project)

• Tehlulu (Builder - Expertise in interiors - will be taking care of the palace interior. Keep an eye out for the palatial featurette Blog!)

• Vezzin (Library Liason - The city will play host to a number of guilds and organisations, of which the famous Library is one - Another featurette will go in-depth on this!)

• EtowTheSaltyCat (Credit to Etow - Builder of entire cities - currently not actively engaged but nonetheless instrumental to the current process, having done most of the groundwork we base the current design on)

With this team in place, we got to work!

As with previous projects, the first thing we settled down to do, was create our (informed) vision of what we wanted the 6.0 Capitol to feature. Not just in terms of architecture or interesting landmarks.. But in terms of playability - the facilitation of Roleplay and events.. And a concentrated effort to keep the footprint of the city small, to avoid an unnavigable mess.

To break it down:

• We need a city that is large enough to house a population of the same estimated size as Adelburg/Petrus/Johannesburg. That means quite a number of houses of varying sizes.

• We need the houses to be functional and enticing to live in, as shown by Steward feedback through various cities - not too small (3x3 dirt shacks will not do) but care must be taken not to make stuff too large either. Generally a variety of sizes works best, up to and including a few Manors that can house entire families.

• The city needs to dominate the landscape without being a massive fortified eyesore. That means no gigantic walls that block all vision of what’s behind them - rather normal sized walls with the taller buildings naturally sticking out over the top - giving the impression of a vibrant city.

With the land picked for 6.0, we sat down to ponder the options and placement of various structures.. And found an intriguing.. Potentially elegant solution to the conundrum ‘Where do we put the Palace.. And how high do we build it.. If it is to dominate the skyline without being excessively tall.. Or increasing the footprint of the city to an unjust degree?

The answer was to put it on top of the city.

Like a table.

Housing runs underneath the Palace, doubling up on the space used, without interfering with Roleplay, as the emote distance in blocks for normal conversation will not cover the distance from the Palace above.. To the street below. The merchant haggling about the price of a loaf of bread will not interfere with the tense diplomatic discussion the Emperor is having in his Throneroom.

The only challenge is turning a simple box on 4 legs.. Into something that looks like a visually interesting construction. The solution was to break it up into multiple smaller boxes and towers and arranging them in an interesting pattern (Onslaughted’s expertise at work).

There is a TON more to come, as with future Dev Blogs, we will take a closer look at the thought process behind the specific architecture, the layout of various Districts, the plethora of interesting landmarks (other than the Palace).. And the Palace itself!

For now - we leave you all with this screenshot of our work in progress:

I have nothing planned.

Update:

Well, it didn't last. 

I have withdrawn myself from the Oren 6.0 efforts - I will not work for Seannie or his team (and I'll leave it at that.)

I wish you all the best of luck.

Disregard this entire post - no longer involved with the 6.0 efforts

John Lane is pleased, taking note of all the work being done

46 minutes ago, ✔ Suxals said:

what can you tell me about yourself? (dunno who you are)

0

Upvote

 

32, Dutch, Retail Store Manager and an avid fan of both RP and Minecraft 

Found this server in 2012, been active on it through a variety of characters (mainly son of son of son of etc) on and off.

Somehow always end up organizing and building something.

Terrible at PvP - happy to leave the fighting to those better suited to it.

33 minutes ago, Raomir said:

you're a boss, when did you get into city planning?

0

Upvote

 

Kind words :)

I first got into city planning back in the heady days of 2.0 (Asulon I believe the world was called? - someone correct me if I am wrong), when running a building company in RP. The Orcs knocked on our proverbial door and wanted to know if we were interested in constructing an entire new Capital for them. 'Giddy with a newfound challenge' might best describe my mood at the time.

And so it began..

Been back for a couple of weeks now - might as well do one of these!

Ask me anything - especially if you have never met me before

Adelburg Chronicle - 1631

Your source for news on housing, taxation and events

In this issue:

• Housing update (what is free to move into)

• Taxation overview (what the city is spending its revenue on)

• Events (upcoming/how to get involved)

• Local news and gossip

Housing update

The following houses and manors are currently available:

• Owyn’s Lane 2 (50),
• Philip Frederick 4 (75),
• Manston Road 2 (75),
• Emperor’s End 1, 2 and 3 (25 each),

A warm welcome to those that made Adelburg their home this year:

• Mathilde Eline
• Tyus Crackson
• Constance Laurent
• Lutz Mar
• Charles Staunton - as well as his extended family

Interested in obtaining a residence? Talk to the following City Officials:

• Seneschal - John Lane (Senda_Yohst) (Skype: j.h.j.laanen) (Discord: Senda#4621)
• Deputy Seneschal - Renna Talraen (LithiumSedai) (Skype: live:lithiumsedai_1) (Discord: LithiumSedai#2394)
• Steward - Lionel Amador (EndAllCaesar)
• Steward - Vivian Sforza (ElevenJellyBeans)
• Steward - Aislin Maar (SugarBlind)
• Steward - Joren Hanethor (AmKrules)

Taxation overview

Tax revenue 1630, total amount: 2325 minas

Of this, 1000 minas shall be allocated as prize money for upcoming events, the remaining 1325 minas to go towards the support of the 6th Imperial Brigade - defenders of the Crownlands (and Adelburg guardforce by extention)

A growth of tax revenue compared to last year - largely to be attributed to the efforts of the Stewarding team in securing housing for newer and more active residents. We are happy to report that none of the people taking up residence in 1630 have been put up for eviction! Continued growth along these lines will ensure a stable footprint of activity moving forward.

The City Hall interior has seen some modifications this year - being converted into a proper Tax Office - all taxes are henceforth paid inside, rather than in the chests scattered throughout the city.

Upcoming Events

• Halloween Event! (Details and time TBD - this to be updated as news comes in - watch this space!)

Who to contact and how:

• Event Planner - Hanya Lancefeld - DrPhilOfLOTC

Local news and gossip

The 6th Imperial Brigade is forming up properly - with the old Flay Tavern soon to be converted into a new Bastion within the city from where all things military will be coordinated. 

The 6th is always on the lookout for fresh recruits to add to their ranks - be sure to sign up and do your part to secure a brighter Oren for all!

Talk abound within the city - rumors go that this coming year will see the conversion of the old Bastille building into a Theater.. while the Ironsword Circle of apartments is rumored to have been rented out to a single individual, who is planning to turn it into a Library .. and School!

Adelburg Chronicle - 1630

Your source for news on housing, taxation and events

In this issue:

• Housing update (what is free to move into)

• Taxation overview (what the city is spending its revenue on - plus an impending change to taxation!)

• Events (upcoming/how to get involved)

• Local news and gossip

Housing update

The following houses and manors are currently available:

• Owyn’s Lane 2 (75) and 3 (100),
• Philip Frederick 2 (100) and 4 (75),
• Manston Road 2 (75),
• Ironsword Circle 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 (50 each),
• Adelheid Hall 2, 5, and 6 (50 each),
• Emperor’s End 1 and 2 (25 each),
• Caius’ Alley 1 (100), 2 (25), 3 (25),
• Peter’s Court 2 (100)  

A warm welcome to those that made Adelburg their home this year:

• Darrion Hanethor
• Joren Hanethor
• Ludwig Hanethor
• Brandon Hanethor
• Reynold Hanethor

Interested in obtaining a residence? Talk to the following City Officials:

• Seneschal - John Lane (Senda_Yohst) (Skype: j.h.j.laanen) (Discord: Senda#4621)
• Deputy Seneschal - Renna Talraen (LithiumSedai) (Skype: live:lithiumsedai_1) (Discord: LithiumSedai#2394)
• Steward - Lionel Amador (EndAllCaesar)
• Steward - Vivian Sforza (ElevenJellyBeans)
• Steward - Aislin Maar (SugarBlind)
• Steward - Arnorian Elendil (Radahan)
• Steward - Joren Hanethor (AmKrules)

Taxation overview

Tax revenue 1630, total amount - 2000 minas

Of this, 1000 minas shall be allocated as prize money for upcoming events, the remaining 1000 minas to go towards the support of the currently forming 6th Imperial Brigade - defenders of the Crownlands (and Adelburg guardforce by extention)

Announcement of change: Come 1631, the Taxation system will receive an overhaul:

Entry-fees to take up residence are removed, to be replaced by a flat service fee paid to the Steward that assist you in obtaining a place to live. This fee shall be 100 minas.

Furthermore, all taxation chests next to the residences shall be removed, to be replaced by a central Taxation Office - located at the current City Hall. Payment of taxes shall continue to consist of residents buying the correct amount of taxation papers and depositing them in the relevant chest - all of which will be found in the Office by the end of the year.

Upcoming Events

• Fashion Show

  • Saturday 5-7pm EST 30-09-2017

• Pub Quiz in the Hanging Keg Tavern

  • Tuesday 9pm GMT 03-10-2017

Who to contact and how:

• Event Planner - Hanya Lancefeld - DrPhilOfLOTC

Local news and gossip

Tavern under new management! The Hanethor family has taken over the Hanging Keg Tavern!

Pop down for a variety of drinks - relax on the newly refurbished benches - regale the barkeep with your stories.. or ask them for one!

Check out their menu!

Jaya Jayamen’s Bookstore relocated

Now facing the square! Come for the books - Stay for the upstairs reading lounge!

By the grace of GOD and His Imperial Majesty, the infamous Geldmeister-Wyne gang’s reign of terror in Ironsword Circle came to an end, following the execution of the brigands’ leader, Falk Geldmeister, and a stunning maneuver by the Imperial levies led by His Imperial Majesty himself. Ironsword Circle was retaken with few casualties, the cutthroats forced to disperse, organized crime in Adelburg once more defeated by the forces of Law and Justice.

In other Law-related news - Reynout van Ruyter and the Ministry of Culture are filing a suit against the Adunian subrace to ascertain their purity.

Alleyways - How big (or small) do you prefer them?

Clear cuts - Do you mean in the sense that parts of the city are walled off, restricting access to that specific section through a few smaller gates, or something else? 

Excellent feedback, thank you.

I will add all of this to the OP.

Interesting suggestion (and in line with something I was talking to someone else about a while back).

How do you feel about the following:

- Allow renters/houseowners the right to tear down and redesign the house(s) on plots they own. Provided the building is of a decent standard (no 3*3 mud shacks), people can do what they like, up to and including giving an entire district of houses their own distinct style and flavor.

Do you think that alone is enough? 

People feeling powerful and important is always a fun thing to cater for (I firmly believe is providing a framework for semi-competitive, yet non-violent roleplay to further city activity). What other things would you like to see to further this even more?

Would city council roleplay, with power equal to % of the city you represent, be something you would find interesting?

Good day everyone!

For those of you who remember playing/building alongside me, greetings!

For those that do not - Greetings as well. I am Senda, former Steward in Oren, specializing in the management and planning/construction of the human capitol during 3.0 (New Abresi) and early 4.0 (Petrus).. and currently a completely inactive member of the LotC community.

Lately, I have once again taken up the quest to design 'the finest city in minecraft', based on improving off of the lessons learned during my time in 3.0/4.0, as well as other places. Today, I come to these forums to put the following question to my old friends, as well as any interested party out there that shares my desire to collect feedback to further a design process.

So, my question: "What did you like/dislike about previous/current cities?"

In terms of answers to that question, I am looking for feedback that helps me paint a clear picture of what a roleplayer would like to see in a capitol city, from a specific buildstyle (or lack thereof).. to suggestions for handling imaginary ranks for citizens. Anything and everything really - if you think it would be fun to have, I would like to hear about it!

This thread will be used by myself to collect the information and help me design a comprehensive framework to build a city around. Will you see this in-game? Well.. not any time soon, if at all. Those that know me can recollect me spending months and months on a process like this. I do this for one reason only - I enjoy the process of designing and building an entire city. This is purely my own project and is in no way affiliated with Oren, or any other faction.

Obligatory Petrus screenshot:

Collected feedback:

- Petrus was too flat. Needs more height variation to make it more interesting visually

- Petrus housing was too tall. Combined with the flatness this made for little to no interest in the top floors of buildings.

- Petrus main square felt too big and empty. The lack of landmarks or interactive objects in the square was the problem.

- Canals are fun. Do something with canals. (Senda note: Working on this already, sinking the canals below the main road levels would add the needed height difference in the city.)

- Lots of alleyways

- Clear cuts (needs clarification from ShameJax)

- Display windows or the likes in shops along roads could be neat to try

- A district-ed city is the way to go

- NO active redstone systems no matter how cool they were 

- Multiple public use areas i.e pavilions gardens etc. throughout the city

 

Interesting, why blood angels then?

 

I am a big fan of the background for this specific army.

The hidden flaw in the geneseed they have to battle on a daily basis.. the honest nobility they hold as their key virtue. It is beautifully at odds.

And I am a big fan of how following the defeat of Horus and the creation of the Codex Astartes, the Blood Angels were among the few to quickly see the wisdom of Guilleman and follow his instructions to break down the Legions into much smaller Chapters.

Blood Angels, even though they are known for their bloodthirst in battle.. actually follow the Codex to the letter.. and are among the few Chapters known to do so diligently.

I choose to reflect this by building a Space Marine Company. The first part (or rather, first half) of this will be 1000 points: 3 out of the 6 Tactical Squads.. and one each of the 2 Devestator and Assault Squad a full Company consists of. Led of course.. by the Captain.

No special treatment, no special vehicles.. but simply half a company of marines.

For those of you not in the know, a brief introduction:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_wargaming

I play a variety of Tabletop Strategy games, which involve the assembly, painting and gaming with model soldiers (typically plastic or metal, like model airplane kits you no doubt put together at some point in your own life.. but now.. imagine collecting and building an entire army of the stuff, putting it on a table and rolling some dice to determine who kills the other's army.)

Most of my ventures are confined to the realm of Games Workshop ltd, whom I had the pleasure of working for over the course of 2,5 years.

This thread will feature a new 1000 point Blood Angels army I am currently working on.

Why? Because I made a thread about a LotR Dwarf army and the first reply was this:

Well then, I asked myself. "Why not both?"

This Blog will catalogue my efforts and progress.

=====================================================

Teaser-start: Army Shot

Assembly complete, I opted for a Black undercoat and basecoat of Mephiston Red (one of the new spraycans, which work very well.)

For those of you not in the know, a brief introduction:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_wargaming

I play a variety of Tabletop Strategy games, which involve the assembly, painting and gaming with model soldiers (typically plastic or metal, like model airplane kits you no doubt put together at some point in your own life.. but now.. imagine collecting and building an entire army of the stuff, putting it on a table and rolling some dice to determine who kills the other's army.)

Most of my ventures are confined to the realm of Games Workshop ltd, whom I had the pleasure of working for over the course of 2,5 years.

My current project is a Dwarven Holds army from the Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit francise.

This Blog will catalogue my efforts and progress.

=====================================================

Teaser-start: Shieldbearer

Shieldbearers come with a flat shield, where the iconography (two birds) are moulded.. but the rest of the shield is flat. Not liking the idea of this, I decided to paint a woodgrain on mine.

(IF anyone has a clever way of rescaling pictures via the codelines, Id love to hear it, as this may be a tad oversized..)

Welcome back Senda, I am sure things will turn out well.

EDIT:

Oh, that being said, what character do you aim for? Any plans, ideas or of the sort?

Well, the next Lane in the line will be one that I play right off the bat.

It is likely that I will be starting a new character within a few weeks. Details on that (and fun forumposts) in due time.

Why are you joining again? I know you stated you were drawn back, but is there any further reasoning?

The same reason we all joined this server to begin with - roleplaying in a fantasy-minecraft setting can be highly enjoyable.

Taking a break is sometimes needed, but in the end, most of us keep coming back for that simple reason.

If you redid Petrus what sort of ambience would you try to make the new city exude? Do you think its possible to make the city feel more high end, more like a capital, and in turn, more culturally significant and higher class.....or will we just be in another peasanty-feely capital?

Depending on feedback, I would try to aim for something that feels more "city" and less "town".

Having said that, It is likely I will try for a bland of high and low-class within the walls. After all, it being a hub means many people, with many varying interests that all need to be able to find their niche.

Would you be willing to plan out Oren in the next map?

 

 

If not, why?

If and when 5.0 appears on the horizon, I will of course be interested in doing what I can to help out.

What happened to your buddies

Most went on to other games. Courtesy of them being in the same gaming community, we still talk on a near-daily basis and have fun together in said other games (WoW, Modded version of minecraft such as FtB, Warthunder, etc etc..).

One or two have shown interest in returning though, so we shall see.

Do you hope to return to governing Petrus?

I hope to finish the initial plan I had for Petrus. At which point, anyone with a penchant for managing interlocked subcommunities could do the job just as well as I could.

Of course, the throne is in Petrus. If I sit on it..

am i still invited to the red wedding?

I will buy your planeticket.

been waiting for the day you'd come back and take a go at actually running the nation - having someone at the helm of the nation who is concerned with roleplay instead of expansion is something i think we really need

 

 

what do you need me to do? 

Thanks a ton, it means a lot to hear you say that.

I need you to tell me exactly what you want, at all points in time. Be it from Oren, or from plugins, or from server events. Anything and everything is information I can use to get an even better picture of what the playerbase is looking for.

Then, go make your friends do the same.

How do you expect knowing and being up to date with the recent struggles of Oren if you haven't been there since the beginning of this map? Let alone vouch for being a good king. Do you think it's all about Ooc or do you choose against actually roleplaying to get there?

OOC certainly plays a large part for any nation leader, be it Oren or otherwise.

A fair chunck of time is spent outside the actual game, sorting matters with people in the nation that need <insert thing>. Largely, this has to do with the fact that we all inhabit different parts of the earth, with their respective timezones meaning you will never be online all the time.. to answer questions / make policy on the spot.

Thankfully, I have a large number of people on this server, whom I count among my friends.

Said friends are currently bringing me up to speed on the events of the past period. (Just got another tour, for instance)

As for Roleplaying.. that will certainly be needed to get to to sit in the throne. 

No matter my OOC 'merits' or 'qualifications' - Roleplaying is the reason I am on this server. 

Keeping in mind that attaining nation leadership is anything but an easy, quick process.. you can expect to meet me in-game at some point and find out for yourself.

Finishing Petrus and refurbishing Oren in such a way that it attracts most of the Roleplay is a good thing. However, how do you plan to hold other settlements and communities in account? Will you involve them in your refurbishing or let them 'bleed' out with this attraction?

Yes and No.

I will most certainly take the opinions and insights of other communities into account when planning the refurbishment of Petrus.

Given that Petrus is currently far from my control, this will be a process that takes a while.. leaving me plenty of time to talk to the various factions that might be interested in said refurbishment.

Petrus needs to be a hub of activity. If entire towns choose to pack up and move to the city, leaving a deserted town behind.. well. That would be a point where I would engage in serious talks with whomever runs/ran that town, to ensure the transition leaves no hard feelings.

Moving on from old things to new things is a natural flow on this server (and in many ways.. in life itself). It can create resentment, but it can also be turned into a much more positive thing. I firmly believe that being honest and open about this keeps me approachable and limits whatever bad turns there may come.

Have your building improved yet?

Likely not one bit. Opinions differ though.

Love ya senda, shout out for all your hard work and best of luck with the elections!

 

Hit me up if ya need any help with building.

 

Since this is an AMA; Do you like nexus regions? Did they live up to your expectations or fall greatly short?

Thankoo!

I will always be a fan of the functionality of the Nexus regions, in how it puts the management of a region into an understandable, easy-to-navigate GUI. It is without a doubt infinitely better for new players to come to grips with.

Having said that, no system is perfect. I will no doubt be spending a fair amount of time researching some parts of the Nexus plots that currently enable a plethora of cobblestone forts to be built within eyesight of each other.

What we must never forget is that ultimately, Minecraft has a very big building element to it. Many people want their own thing, be it a castle or town.. or a small hut somewhere. - And they should have the option of getting it somehow.

In that sense, Nexus is definate step forwards.

With constructive feedback and ample patience, we can work with the admins/techs to ensure it evolves even further.

Allot of the roofing on the buildings in petrus got messed up, like upsidedown stairs for half to roof or pretty well just holes. I patched it up randomly when I was bored but yea onto the question..

Why all the solid stone roads in petrus?

I wanted to try something distinctively different from the dirt roads normally seen in towns. Using more stone in the roadworks was a visual key that when in Petrus.. you are in a capital city. A bit more advanced then your average town.

 

(Lot's of questions I just realized, just pick and choose!)

 

As someone helping lead the military of Oren, more specifically the Akovian regiment, how do you reckon you'll be scoring the support of these men that you notice are largely loyal to their count, Duke, baron or whomever? Also, a quick speculation and semi rhetorical questioning:

 

It will be very hard to play politics until your into power, especially if you're starting from a lower rung if any rung on the ladder. How do you intend on climbing above the competition, and how to do you reckon you won't get stamped on by those higher than you? Is it your priority to get into power, or is there something else you're hoping to do as well? One will most likely have to wait for the other, but is risking one worth pursuing the other? If so, which one?

 

The answer to all of your questions would have to be: "By merit."

I have a tendency to put a lot of myself into the characters that I play. Generally, that means a combination of (sometimes) brutal honesty.. a tendency to plan ahead.. and the unwavering belief that we are all have to have fun together.

Climbing up, I use those character traits to benefit everyone.

Much can be gained by all factions, if they put someone in power that wants to work to improve matters for everyone.. and not just their own faction. As for the political game.. I expect it to take a while. This will not happen overnight.

When I read your 4.0 dev diary about districts and how they would play into Petrus a while back it really interested me, and I had/have a few questions on it:

 

How would said districts come about? You spoke of plots combining but it seems unlikely that the government would allow people to monopolise housing in an area? What types of benefits would the districts become entitled to, you hinted at there being some but obviously we never saw it put into play in game and I am still interested in what you planned for that.

Actually, by doing what you feel a government would be unlikely to do. Putting the power in the hands of the players. Allowing them to monopolize parts of the housing. Giving them free reign to redecorate and distribute livingspace.

Then.. taking the ringleaders of those groups and putting them into a council that effectively tells me what they want/need done in the city. Transparent and effective, it would ensure continued activity and more importantly.. ownership of the various problems an RP has to deal with.

In the end, the players in the city are what brings the life to it. 

This needs to be both recognized, as well as utilized.

Are you here to slay messy medieval, or do you support it?

MM took a while to grow on me. I was rather opposed to it years ago, but that has most certainly changed.

Like many other things on this server.. one has to realize that there is no "best way to build something".

Many.. many different building styles exist.. and MM is a very interesting one, with great variation within the style itself.

Can you please fix Petrus??

On the list. 

It is a fact that Petrus needs a good amount of work. It is also a fact that this needs to be planned effectively.. which takes time.

Are you going to finish Petrus?

'Finish' is a very tricky word here. No town or castle is ever truly done. Much like the community that lives there, builds grow and evolve over time, with people adding and subtracting to it.

Will I aim to assemble a team to refurbish Petrus to a state where I can say, with confidence, that it is ready for a large influx of enthusiastic players so it can grow into the RP hub it was meant to be - Most definitely.

why did you rage quit?

Ragequit might be a bit too strong, though there definately was a fair amount of frustration.

Back when I decided to take a break (early 4.0), I had just spent 3 months pre-building Petrus, as well as planning out the entirety of the Oren mainland.

To do the above, I was in continuous talks with a large amount of people, all of whom wanted their own thing, be it a town, a fort.. or just a place to put down a little fishing hut.

I greatly enjoyed doing this, mind you. Nothing really gives me more pleasure on this server but to plan towards providing people with the space/resources they need to truly enjoy this game of pretend-fantasy-awesomeness.

However, a single thing stood in my way: The near-constant powershifting in the upper echelons of Oren.

Over the course of those three months, I saw four different rulers take office. All of whom had to be convinced (succesfully) that what I was planning was in everyone's best interest.

The fact that most rulers have (historically) taken the stance of "Everything for my own sub-faction and damned be to all the others" certainly did not help.. but with time and proper sit-down sessions.. everyone got on the same page.

Behind the scenes.. things were sadly not as pleasant as between myself and whomever got to call himself the nationleader.

Factionalization took it's toll, with much OOC grievances resulting in a number of groups of roleplayers effectively being denied access to settle in the capital from day 1.

For those of you who took the time to read my Dev Blogs on the matter.. you will know this rather effectively killed any chance of Petrus reaching a 'critical mass' of players needed to make it 'boom'.

When yet another new person took up the throne and started (once again) to shovel people out of Petrus because "He did not trust them on his doorstep".. I decided that I had to take a break.

When are you going to join the Messy Medieval team?

Did you solely come back to run for king of Oren?

I am unlikely to truly 'join' the MM team. My talent lies more with the planning of things, then using that insight to instruct a team of builders to craft something greater then the sum of their abilities combined.

As for running as King: Yes. That is most certainly at the top of my list.. and I do not mind people knowing that.

Aside from my replies to the previous post, where I outline why I would have to go 'one step higher on the ladder' to truly make things happen in an effective way.. I feel there are a number of reasons why I would find the task of nation leader both fun and exciting.

Obviously.. this is not the sole reason for my return.