Withdrawn House Brune of Brownhollow

[Ready]

Hey everybody, here's my application for House Brune of Brownhollow:
-Clicky-Clicky-

Ready

 

[_Simbaa]

After reading through yours and Ikkes app here is my feedback:
1. Houses
- avoid using the log supports, these are very outdated feature, replace them with just the regular blocks ( for stone base use stone, for wood use regular plank and for daub just use daub, etc...)
- Personally I would avoid the roof overhangs on the houses in order to retain consistency in the region, House Cave house style has none aswell as boggs (based on steins plot)
- for the roof supports use either fences or nothing at all
- the overhang on the middle class house is unnecessary - the house is not tall enough and given the low density of the hamlets they could just expand the houses in whichever direction they want.
- for the low class house do not mix the daub and wooden planks

2. Castle
- I think the main tower is bit too big and dwarfs the rest of the castle, I would recommend taking a look at boggs and cave castles to make sure your layout fits into the region, right now it reminds me of the old stormlands castles
- The top of the tower is a mess, either have just the regular stone crenelations or go for something like this:

- why is the tower missing its corner blocks?
- given the fact that gates were one of the most fortified locations of a castle, why does your gate have a wattle fence while the rest of the walls are crenelated?
-for the castle builings please apply the same feedback I gave you on the houses - avoid the logs, pick either daub or wood not both, go over the proportions of the stone and the daub/wood part
- why is the great hall 1 block below the ground? rainwater could become a bit of an issue there
-why are some of the walls missing a walkway while others have it? shouldnt the castle be defended evenly over its entire perimeter?
-tbh I am not a huge fan of the castle

3. Lands
- I dont think the bogs make any sense at their current location, for a bogg to form the water would have to become trapped in a lowland area, which is definitely not the delta of a small stream in a hilly area (the water would flow too quickly) furthermore the peat would have a very hard time forming there due to the saline water and probably even the tide movements which would make it hard for plants to grow over the long period of time that it takes for a bog to form
- relocating the hamlet close to the 1st men ruins to the coast would probably make more sense as it would allow the people to fish and thus obtain some source of food, right now there are no fields or anything worth while in its current location
-Given the size of the fields please make sure there are no crops such as barley or wheat being grown their they require large amounts of land
- pastures could be decent food source and livelihood for the villagers.

Otherwise good luck.

 

[Ready]

Alright, after Simbaa's Feedback i did some changes on the houses, the keep and the plans:

1. Houses
- i removed the logs and the overhang from the middle class house
- I would like to keep the thatch-overhang, because i think it has a bit of a rougher look to me and fits more into the region of crackclaw point. Also i kept the mix with daub and the woodplanks because i think it fits quite nicely.

2. Keep
- I fixed the top and lowered the Tower some blocks.
- Removed the logs
- Worked on the gate
- The great hall is now on the same level as the normal ground
- Filled the missing cornerblocks with walls
- If the majority thinks, i should add a walkway to the small wallpart on the northern side, i can add one. But if it`s not really necessary, i would like to leave it as it is right know.

(The detailing of the keep is not done yet)

3. Lands
- the hamlet on the road will be relocated or even removed (not 100% sure about the new position yet)
- and a bog should have some good chance to form in the spot where the hamlet was
- the other bogs on the coast will be removed.
- some of the fields will work as pastures

 

[Ready]

 

[_Simbaa]

Houses:
I still think you should cut the overhang on the front of the houses in order for it to match the house style of Boggs and Cave
I would remove the wooden log/beam in the low class house along with the wooden corner blocks they are not only outdated features but unrealistc ones, you would not want a 1- meter thick log as your beam in such a small house as the daub isnt the sturdiest material and it could easily collapse on itself, why the corner blocks seem unnecessary and why would they reinforce corners by hammering planks around them?

Castle:
While I see you made some good improvements I still think you should have proper stone merlons on the "small" tower or if you want a wooden ones atleast try to make them out of halfdoors, Furthermore the turrets on main tower seem massive, especially the larger one I would recommend you to check out Wyl Castle at /warp wyltest as they have similar turrets on the main keep of their castle and you might use it as an inspiration to improve upon your own.
I think removing the wood layer inbetween the daub and stone would make the castle look less blocky, furthermore while this might not be an issue I would once again recommend you to go over the proportions of your castle and the style of the castle aswell, right now it looks very stormlandy and shares many features with Herston (/warp herston) and does not really fit into the style of Cracklaw (its very different from Boggs and Cave, lacking similar features )

Lastly please keep in mind that this is just my opinon that you do not have to follow as I am not a mod

 

[Ready]

So i removed the Log beam from the low class house and added some extra support for the bigger turret on the Main tower, because Simba had a point there. Again, i will leave the thatch overhang because it looks better to me. And it`s not like the style of the houses is THAT different from Cave and Bogs that people later on will walk from there to Brownhollow and then think: ,,Huh, is this still Crackclaw?"
Same for the Castle. Just because it has a big central tower and the others don't, doesn't mean it`s not fitting into Crackclaw/Crownland style. Plus to me lowering the tower make no sense at all, because you need a building from where you can overlook the treetops and have a good look over the lands in general if you build your castle on this spot. Wouldn`t describe the turrets as ,massive', because i think they're as small as a turret can get in Minecraft.

But as i mentioned before, Simba got a lot of good points, that i didn`t notice before, so thanks for the feedback I`m not so sure as well about the wood-crennelation on the left side of the gate... Any other opinions about that? Other opinions in general?

 

[SeapunkPeaches]

I agree with Simbaa that the castle looks a bit out of place, when compared to Boggs and Cave - I'd incorporate the tower style of those projects more. As for the wooden crennelations, I don't see the point of having them instead of just stone, especially if the gate is as low as it is rn.
Hope this isn't a discouragement

 

[otty]

I also think the parapets and the turrets you have at the top are extremely top heavy. This is enhancing the "dwarfing effect" it has on the rest of the castle. Tower keeps are very common but they tend to stand on their own with minimal structures at their surrounding. This is due and part that they were intended more for fortification.

As well you only changed the top of the keep and decidedly kept the wood around the tower by the gate. I would make it stone.

I would either drop the overhang and keep the turrets or I would drop the overhanging turrets and keep the overhanging parapet.

The size of the yard could be much more thoughtful. I've been guilty of the "cramped" yard myself and often time it feels very forced and tight especially when done so unnecessarily.

The wood under slate is for most considered dated and is rarely suggested now. Rather, overhang anywhere is being used less and less.

Two tall windows using fences is frowned upon by many builders in the community. The preferred now is slab ontop wood on the bottom.

I agree with Simbaa there is improvements to be made of the castle. I think the right idea is there but it's in need of some revisions. I'm excited to see Crakeclaw point get some love too.

 

[Ready]

Yeah, i think during the next days i'll make an entirely new castle test, that should fit more into the current crackclaw style from bogs

 

[Ready]

Here are some pictures of the new Keep. - I kept the rough layout from the previous castle but converted it into Crackclaw Style. Maybe one thing about the story behind the sept: For some time past Bennard Brune is an adherent to the faith of the seven and built this Sept recently and replaced the older, smaller one. Thats why it is sticking out a bit.

I would like to hear some Mod opinions as well

 

[Knights_of_Ikke]

Hello Ready,

Sadly I'm not the mod opinion you wanted but I wanted to comment on the castle. It looks good but it looks nearly identical to boggs, just a little smaller. I would suggest having a different castle plan, even as simple as moving the location of the towers to each other. Also, the yard is realllllly small.

Good luck,

KnightsOfIkke

 

[EStoop]

Hey Ready,

I know I'm not a mod but maybe I can provide the feedback you're looking for.

I have constructed most of the feedback around the app in your first post (not sure if it has been updated) and the plans you posted in reaction to other feedback. Since you changed the castle, I will only provide feedback on the new version.

The land

• Bogs generally are a lot larger than what has been portrayed in your plans for the land. Make them bigger and have some professions dedicated to them, such as peat farmers.
• Fields should be more expansive, even if the terrain is ill suited for crops. Various crops would grow there regardless, as well as enough animals that like good old grass.
• Hamlets seem to be well represented. What will the size of them be, their economical drive and why would anyone settle at the locations they are at? I'd place a hamlet near the castle and another one near a bog, since Crackclaw Point doesn't seem to be that well developed based on canon.
• Streams are added, which is fine, but I'd refrain from having them start anywhere near structures. Sources of water often seem a little artificial in minecraft and a good way to hide it is to place them in the middle of nature.

The castle

• What will the setting of the castle be? Will it be on a hill, flatlands or on cliffs? What is the strategical advantage of it's location? You mentioned the importancy of being able to see the top of the trees. Why is this important? There could be an entire army marching underneath them and you wouldn't be able to tell.
• The castle layout seems very cramped. Take a bit more space for the courtyard. I think the keep could be a bit bigger too.
• Does the layout follow terrain? Why is it shaped the way it is?
• The layout of the keep feels very cramped as well. Since it seems to be a towerhouse, a single open room on each floor would be enough. Giving it 2 or even 3 block thick walls would give it enough space to hide the stairs in the walls.
• As a rule, I would keep exterior walls of a castle/keep always at least 2 blocks thick, unless it's a tiny holdfast.
• I see you gave the keep large openings on the top floor. Not only would the inhabitants not be able to live in the tower during the winter (wooden shutters arent that great in keeping the cold out), it doesn't do the sturdiness of the tower any favours either.
• Have a little bit of space between the walls and the keep, and jam it full with chickens or whatever else you can think of.
• The rooms seem to be all over the place. There are noble chambers in daub and wattle outbuildings, while the maester seems to reside in the keep.
• I doubt a knight needs an audience chamber. He would probably settle matters in his demesne from his solar (which is the medieval variant of a living/dining room). Regardless, it would be somewhere with more light and would show off the wealth of the residents.
• Even though the castle has a chapel, which is fine, I doubt there would be a septon living there.
• Do knights have maesters?

The style

• Where will the middle class houses be used? I doubt the hamlets would provide for a large middle class. I would focus on 100% low class, or a distinction between low class and lowly low class. In any case, my advice is to not use the two storey house.
• Why are the corners of the testhouse a different material (wood) than the rest of the building (wattle)?
• I'd get rid of the overhangs on the side of the houses, since they make the houses a bit top heavy.

All in all, I'm excited that you have chosen to pick a project at Crackclaw Point.

Regards,

EStoop

EDIT: Also how has no mod found the time to reply to this within 11 days?

 

[Enah]

I've been busy and the threads keep getting buried. I agree with everything stoop and simbaa have pointed out. I hope you had some new tests or plans done in the time since stoop posted. Hopefully you havent been discouraged by our modly lack of well everything regarding project apps of late

 

[Ready]

Thanks for your answers! I've been busy the last couple weeks so i didn't build new tests yet. And it looks like that won't change for the next weeks, but i'm sure i can spend some more time on this server in March/April