Hey Jeff! We've talked before about the house style as you know, and overall I think you are on the right path. Some things might need to be polished, but those are minor details and proportion "issues" that can be solved in-game. There is no doubt Harvest Hall presents a challenge regarding its style, as it sits on the crossing of 3 regions with distinct characteristics. With this in mind, as well as the size of the project,
have you thought of the possibility of having some sub-styles within yor lands?
Similarly to Darkdell, where the stone palette and some minor details change the more south (and up) you go, I can see Harvest Hall having a
"lowland" style more influenced by the Reach and a
"mountain/valley" style more influenced by the general Red Mountains style. These shouldn't be complete opposites, ofc, rather complement each other in the task of creating a "style gradient" going up the hills. I think the easiest approach is using palette changes. I'd say down at the lowlands and farmlands, closer to the Reach, plasters and whitewash as well as some timber framing, are more present, while going up in the mountain stone becomes the main material, and plasters and timber framing stop being as common.
These are a series of pics of several towns in the interior of Spain that feature an intersting mix of styles. They were populated by Frankish settlers, which bringed with them a more French style of builidng houses. This little mix seems like a nice fit for an area between Dorne, the Reach and the Stormlands. I can see something on these lines being closer to the Reach.
These house feature a stone based palette, which makes them a better fit for the upper reaches of the project. They also lack the French (Reach) influence of the ones above. I'm mostly using Spanish inspiration to ilustrate my points, but don't feel limited to using just it. There should also be some French references due to bordering the Reach, as well as style choices that call back to the Stormlands, despite the relative isolation that HH from the rest of the region.
You mention a
town in your plans,
how would it look? What will be its style? Would it sit on a hill, on flat land, near a river...? Are you following any inspiration? I think you can develop that idea more.
Perhaps try doing a map for it (or develop more the main map, as Emot said) or a small street test, so we can see the vibes for it. Planning of towns is really important, a bad plan/layout can't be saved with good individual buildings. If you feel like it you could even start doing it at test world, as some have done before.
I could say the same about
the castle, as Emot has pointed out.
At least a mini and a full sized test of a part of it (a tower, a gate...) is needed, right now you have shown inspiration for it, which I think is a nice fit over all, but I can't grasp what your take for it is going to be.
It would be interesting too to see
fortified farmsteads on HH, it fits both the militaristic aspect of the Dornish Marches and the agricultural focus of this area. Also, although we agree on HH main economic focus being agriculture,
don't leave livestock behind! In areas where war and tensions are commonplace, relying on livestock as a economic sustain is very common, and logical. One can move their cows, sheep or goats with them, something impossible with land to grow crops at. I can see sheep being prominent at the Dornish Marches, given their landscape and history. Darkdell is already going to represent one of the main canon aspects of the Dornish Marches (bow making) so perhaps HH can represent this other one. It could have a small wool industry. I definetly see
transhumance being very prominent in the Dornish Marches too, perhaps consider adding summer camps for ranchers and their sheep up in the mountain pastures, as well as transhumance tracks.
Example of a (partially abandoned) summer camp for transhumance pastors in Asturias. Notice the existance of pens for livestock as well as a small refuge for the ranchers. These summer hamlets can be very developed, as sometimes all the family moves with the cattle. In other cases, like in this picture, summer camps are very basic and only the pastor went up to them, while his family stayed at the lowland winter hamlet, which was the main one and their main residence. Transhumance is very prominent in most regions that the Stormlands draws inspiration from, so I think it is a very good fit. Given the time we are set at and how far south we are I'd say most summer camps would be at use, other than the highest of all.
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