Cirdanoth

-

Howdy. I find it nonsensical to restrict building on roads... Much like I find it nonsensical roads are prebuild, rather than following the most logical courses between settlements, both existing and newly arising. From historical perspective, settlements predate roads. Roads are build to link settlements. Once they exist, other settlements arise aside these roads to cater to various needs of its travellers and serviced towns. Dealing with these settlements and roads arising irp should be the ideal LotC goes for. From a mechanical perspective, regarding speed bonuses... This may need more staff engagement with road-maintenance. Regarding warfare, it may require better ways of dealing with lone settlements, without engaging in full blown war with a tile and its associated nation... But, control of roads should also open up opportunities for proper smuggler rp and finding 'alternative' routes into places. If a road is closed, it needs to be obvious what the rp reasons for it are and what alternatives there are for travellers finding themselves stuck in front of a blockade.

Eh..? Bascinets looking bad? <-< What about these, 'flat visored' bascinets? Personally, I own a 'Pig-Nosed'/'Houndskull' visored bascinet. They're quite darn useful and do actually look fetching, if they're well-made. Arrows pretty much glance aside and spear-tips glide off. Need to remove the visor for melee, though, as vision does get quite limited. It's why you often see small hinges or locks, they make the removal of the visor easier.

There's no way to abuse 'mess' into making a building look good. Either you have eye for detail and use the right amount, in the right places (which takes a bunch more skill, experience and knowledge than a clean build) or you use too much mess and it either looks comical, fantastical or horrible. Clean builds are.. Simplified. You lack knowledge or practice and thus don't end up going all out on your build. Or you use a texturepack to pick up your slack. I find both practices to not be in line with a builder's code. Similarly, it's easy to add oversized detail onto an oversized structure. Practice scale, practice detail, practice building in general. Consider when a build requires ornate detailing, or when it needs a much more 'simple' finish. Regardless.. The medieval world was a messy place and Messy Medieval is aptly named, as it concentrates heavily on the mess of nature and artificial things that were present at the time. :P

This only explains unburnable wood in 'Elven' and 'Tree-grown' scenario's. Wooden beams in human structures have no claim on this, unless said beams are specifically shaped as trees, which are 'alive', with leaves etc.. It would also require an Elf with knowledge of said resins to shape those tree-beams, I believe.

All my yes, and chin-hair. :3

Mud (and bushes) (A collection of all the different blocks which can be applicable for 'mud') In today’s World, mud is likely not as common as it was in the middle ages, back when roads were simply flatter trails of soil, with the uncommon rock or patches of gravel sticking out. Yet, if we were to look around closely, even now, mud is quite plentiful. On the bottom of ponds, shallow moats, the common puddle after some rainfall, around wells, streams, rivers, marshes and oceans, and many more places… Mud is extremely common. Wet soil. There are several blocks which can be used together or alone to resemble this material, and a few ways of making it work. I will detail my preferred one in this first ‘build’. A list of materials which are like mud, personal preference, top to bottom: -Soulsand (Prime material. It's pretty hard to do mud without soulsand.) -Tilled dirt (Will not look like mud without soulsand) -Dirt -Hardened clay (dry mud) -Clay -Brown wool (/carpets: Add a layer of height to the mud.) The other blocks visible, like Mycelium, sand, gravel, cobble, grass... Are just here to showcase that mud can go well with them. (Mycelium looks rotten, sand appears by beaches and lakes or in deserts quite commonly alongside mud, gravel and cobble just tend to be everywhere, so does grass.) For a simple and small mudpool, all you need to do is dig yourself a one block deep hole to start with. You make it as wide and irregular-shaped as you'd like your 'mudpool' to be, and line most of the edge and bottom with soulsand. Dependant on the size of your mudpool, you'll want either a broad rim of soulsand, or a thin one. Fill the current 'pool' up with water, nice and evenly. If you were short on soulsand, till dirt directly around the soulsand. Important to note, is that tilled dirt, appears 'shorter' than other blocks. It creates depth, and that's why it's useful to put between other 'mud'. To get an 'uneven' surface. After this step, some 'nature' can be brought in. Planting lil' amounts of wheat between the tilled dirt, will give it the appearance of small reeds. Bonemealing the surroundings to get grass and flowers generally helps. The last step, is some finishing touches. Gravel, cobble slabs as rocks, and 'bushes' (just small collections of leaves, honestly). The pictures: http://imgur.com/a/PgLfS#0 Bushes These exist in a very great amount of forms, shapes, colours, and one can put few 'rules' on the construction of them... They are oddly shaped masses of leaves, flowers and/or berries. But, to give you all some inspiration for your own and just some ideas as to what you can do with them.. (Yes, you can build a bush in the shape of a unicorn, if you so desire and feel inclined.) We have four types of leaves.. And so, it'd be easy to think we could only build four types of bushes. But, messy medieval, wouldn't be messy medieval, if it didn't experiment about. Bushes with different colours of wool become berry or flower bushes.. Pine leaves with roses everywhere? That's a rose-bush, best you watch out for them thorns. Leaves set on fences, or in cauldrons? Best take care, those are someone's fancy chamberplants. I personally don't enjoy putting leaves on fences, all that much.. I prefer hanging and leaning leaves, from my builds, from cliffs or mountains. But, you got to figure out your own way of doing bushes. They can be big, small, filled with red polka dots for 'berries'.. Hell, why not a bush that grows gold, or knowledge/books? The possibilities are endless and only limited by your own imagination. Humidity A small showcase with Fyodor This is pretty wet... This is much dry... This is too dry! Plants make die! Roads To include misty trails, abandonned paths, common roads, townstreets and 'Highways' In general I am not a fan of ‘straight roads’. It makes the world seem too orderly. After all, it doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to see that the natural state of the world is ‘chaotic’. Human kind, however, attempts to tame this ‘wildness’. Roads were an important step towards achieving such. The first known ‘straight roads’, were build by the Romans. But, they had plenty of resources and men to perform what was thought impossible, at the time. In the middle ages, these resources weren’t available, and roads which had been there, deteriorated. Travel became a tad more adventurous again… Many roads had bumps, either from natural circumstances, or because of use. Potholes were common. In the mountains, rocks fell on roads plenty, in forests, trees. And they didn’t have jeeps to come and move those bastards. Anyhow, onto the actual roads… Trails The smallest form of road. A trail is generally just a piece of wilderness, which has been travelled a couple of times, and thus, is bare of plants. Because leaving empty spots in grass won’t do, and deserts are known for being devoid of plantlife, it is best to leave something else to be followed. Dots of gravel work well, anywhere there is grass, and dirt works well, where there is sand. Both will show up on MC maps, which is a ‘plus’. Of course, you can put gravel in the desert, but it won’t be visible on such maps. If a trail happens to be often walked, or belongs to someone, sits in their garden, or the like, it might be nice to use logs to dot it, rather than gravel. Paths Excellent example of a path by ShiftNative. These are easier to follow, rather than dots of the material, larger lines tend to be visible, and every now’n then you might actually meet someone. They are however not broad enough to allow carts to roll over, and tend to be a bit overgrown, in certain places. Paths are often ‘main roads’ around deserted areas of wilderness. They might also be present between a cluster of farmlands, for farmers to get to their individual plots. Think a maximum of 3 blocks wide. A small path up to a desert castle. Roads The most common form. These are wide enough to allow travel with cart, and tend to have more rock in between the gravel. You’ll commonly find taverns and wayshrines, as well as farms and small villages along roads. The occasional broken down cart can also be present. They tend to connect paths and trails to Highways. It is this form I’ll also explain how to build, as the others are either ‘weaker’ or ‘stronger’ versions of this. Guide with pics: http://imgur.com/a/YoPfS#0 Start off with digging the general ‘line’ you want your road to follow. A good width is 3-5 blocks. The length, is as long as you want your road to be. Don’t forget that a road will evade large landmarks, like rocks, hills, mountains, lakes, marshes or homes. No, you will not build a road through someone’s living room… Actually, that might be fun. Once the main gravel line is laid-out, you can dig out areas in the gravel where there is enough width to allow for dirt. Specifically, where it will stay dirt. A few dots of gravel can be tossed around to create the illusion that people sometimes walk along the side of the road. Then, you can add bits of cobble into the road’s surface, where you want to break up the gravel some more. Once that is done, it’s time for general detailing. Cobble slabs for rocks, leaves as bushes, and bonemeal plenty! Add details like road-signs, wayshrines and other such usefulness. Highways Nation's Crossing, the heart of the Anthos Highway. The biggest, widest, grandest form of road. A Highway generally allows two carts to ride side by side, and sometimes, there's even enough space for a third in between. Think a minimum of 6 to 7 blocks wide, a maximum of double that and you got a decent Highway. These can have a lot of rock and even brick in the middle, but should still have gravel along the sides. While I know many enjoy building their roads with slabs, I advice against this, as any gravel surface needs to be either 'sunk in', or will 'stick out'. Though, the Anthos Highway is unmistakably worthy of its name. Even though I'd like it to use a few more different blocks in its texture, at times. My own lil' stretch of Highway. Townstreets A map, showing off part of the streets of Kralta, visible in yellow. These are the roads you find, crawling through towns and cities. Rather than being a single line in a specific direction.. They're a web, to reach everywhere within the town. They're build a tad differently... It's not so that you build the roads first, and then the buildings follow. The homes are build, and as people walk more and more between them, 'streets' are formed. So, it's generally a matter of filling up the blank bits of town, where people often walk by. Considering its a town, some 'waste' tends to get lost on the street. Along the edges, plants crawl up to the walls of craggy townhouses and the atmosphere might be a tad grim, and busy. The humble market-square. (I'll continue on about special roads and the cohesive build in the next post, as this one has gotten full.)

Messy Medieval: A long-winded, sporadic guide Otherwise known as ‘The Book of Rob’ (Skip the following few paragraphs if you wanna get to the actual building.) Introduction and Gratitude: MessyMedieval is… Both simple and complex. It attempts to use every block/item, and each to its best ability, in a sensible environment, themed around ‘medieval fantasy’. It was developed centered around roleplay and meant to create the most immersive experience, which would not rely on texturepacks but the right mix of materials, depth and function. While it would be easy to claim all the glory as the one whom ‘discovered’ MessyMedieval, many techniques were discovered well before ‘Messy Medieval’ became a term, by many different people. Some served as inspiration, while others aided in the further development of the style. Some were teached by myself, and teached me in turn. Experimenting and daring to do something different from the rest has brought MessyMedieval to what it is today. A unique experience. My thanks to: TheCrackerJack: For his undying support, even when I was lazy or didn’t feel like building, and all the opportunities he’s given me to advance my building skills. I can’t thank him enough. Korthos: For being a critical and great student of the style, and master of his own. Many times, his builds have amazed me, and made me see new ways of making my structures better. He is both rival and friend, and surely my equal in many ways. Beggin_Bill: For being a great student, and all the townhouses he’s build. If not for him, MessyMedieval wouldn’t be as rich a style, of many faces and possibilities. Mr_S4Mz/TheNorthernBrit: For having patience with a fool, in the early days of MessyMedieval. Laserbeam3: For being a great student, and all the good times. Cjmate8: For all the minas and great rp. Without him, I’d be a pauper and not have all the blocks I’d like. Stykernag: For being a respectable leader, whom led me to the discovery of ‘MessyMedieval’. Cakeski: For being a good ‘bad example’. Project Targa: For being a grand, entertaining challenge. Civrp: For being the craddle of MessyMedieval. Cast Carrion: For living with MessyMedieval. The World: My sincerest gratitude. ... Before we begin... This guide will not make you a great builder. It simply cannot. It can only show off a number of tools for you to practice and come to terms with. There are a lot of ways to use the things provided in Minecraft, and get similar effects, for better or for worse. My personal advice, is to go with what feels right to you, and not settle for less. Be picky. You're the one holding the brush. Enjoy the challenge... Figure out new ways, maybe 'better' ways... At the end of the day, it needs to be fun to build, and it's allowed to be a fun build. Got a crazy quirky chimney design..? Toss it on there! Figured out how to make your Wizard's tower loop on itself? Heck yes! Had an odd dream about an ocean of books? Be my guest. I have just a few 'requests'... They are as follows: 1. Build in default. 2. Don't expect to finish something quickly, unless it's very small. 3. Make up a story as you build. 4. Don't give up early. 5. Try and enjoy. 6. Seriously, build in default. 7. Practice makes (near) perfect. (These requests are liable to change... I can't come up with the perfect list right from the start. I mean... I don't know if I might prefer a manatee, over you enjoying yourself in another month.) The Real Deal So, we're gonna get started. In principle.. All builds start simple and small. The more we spend time on them, the more layers we can bring into the build. One could compare it to polishing a fine blade... We use smaller'n smaller whetstones, finer and finer technique, to "awaken" something out of the 'metal'. Some builds have a rougher finish than others, but sometimes, this fits the atmosphere of the build. Similarly a medieval longsword should never be sharpened like a Japanese 'shinken', for the blade'd dull and possibly break after seeing a fraction of use in European combat. Different builds ask for different techniques, different ways of using the knowledge we already have. An important piece of knowledge, and something many tend to forget... Is that there's 'two sides', and a number of 'forces' which work on 'em. The sides are the 'artificial'/'man-made' and the 'natural'. While the 'natural' can often exist without the man-made... The man-made cannot exist without the 'natural'. The main forces, are time, temperature, humidity.. But 'nature' or 'man' can also be a force which changes the landscape drastically... We are going to keep it simple, for now, and not look at those forces just yet. We'll start with 'bushes' and 'mud'. Two things which I've found horribly lacking in Anthos, and 'Minecraft'. Then we'll talk about 'roads' and combine the three together into something cohesive. (See the next post.)