InvertedWinger Builder Application

[InvertedWinger]

What is your Minecraft username?
InvertedWinger

What is your age?
17-20

In what country are you living?
Croatia

Where did you first hear about WesterosCraft?
Youtube

What do you like the most about GoT/ASoIaF?
There isn't really one thing that I like the most. I've always loved history and anything that's set in a different world from ours, so GoT/ASoIaF was just kinda a perfect mix.

What is your favorite build on our server?
I would have to go with Starfall because my favorite character from the books is Ashara Dayne, because she isn't really mentioned a lot and she's very mysterious. I also love how it is set on an island on a river.

Why do you want to join our server?
I've played Minecraft when I was a kid and always loved the creative side of the game, but I quit the game for a few years. Since I've come back I wanted to do a big project and since I love ASOIAF I thought this would be the perfect project. I think as a builder I am really good at landscaping and detailing, while interiors are not my strong suit.

Tell us about your build.
This house is home to a wandering trader from Essos who settled here on a small island off the coast of Widow's Watch. I decided to make a little river in between the two sides of the house to be a little more creative.



Did you follow the application rules?
You know nothing, Jon Snow

 

[thecoddfish]

Hi InvertedWinger,

Cheers for the application, I'm really glad you decided to come back to minecraft. What you've built has a lot of strong points, especially with regards to the structure and exterior design, but it wouldn't really fit into the server at present.

Some brief feedback:

• The timber and daub pattern is a bit simplistic (though I really appreciate that you have made it ordered)
• Thatch (and indeed all roofing material) would need to be supported by rafters
• Instead of using trapdoors as seat backing, we have other alternatives - these include the half door blocks, and the wattle blocks
• Books would be very hard to come by in the world of ASOIAF

Ultimately there is more feedback I could provide, but I think it would be more productive to instead direct you to some of our more recent builds on the server. I would like you to explore these builds and focus on what you see in common between them, along with their differences.

The North

• Beresford

The Riverlands

• Duskendale
• Maidenpool
• Fairmarket

The Vale

• Wickenden
• Old Anchor (town at /warp oldanchortown)

The Crownlands

• King's Landing update (open districts found at /warp KL1, KL8, KL21, KL31, KL32, KL35 and KL36)
• Gaunt
• Pyle

The Reach

• Highgarden
• Varner
• Whitegrove
• Holyhall

The Stormlands

• Felwood
• Mistwood

The Westerlands

• Sarsfield
• Stackspear
• Silverhill

Dorne

• The Tor
• Wyl

Your challenge is to build a carpenter's house in the style of Duskendale. In particular focus on creating realistic interiors for a medieval-era carpenter (google may help, along with asking builders to show you carpenter workshops in game) and putting the house into the context of its surroundings. You can achieve this by making a small section of street, along with making the outlines of neighbouring houses from wool and giving the house a yard out the back.

Good luck!

 

[InvertedWinger]

Thanks for the feedback. I will make sure to explore the suggested builds, and come back to you with an improved build.

 

[InvertedWinger]

Hi thecoddfish,

Here is my carpenter's house with the style of Duskendale. I can admit it was a challenge to make sure that it is recognised as a carpenter's house right away because I'm not used to building in tight spaces and making the most of every block.

 

[thecoddfish]

Hey InvertedWinger,

Big improvement with this house, well done! You've taken a big step towards the server's style with this one challenge build.

Some feedback:

• The house feels a bit too short. This is partly the lower floor being only 2.5 blocks tall (I personally like this in some situations) along with the roof style. If you spend some more time around Duskendale you will notice the roofs tend to follow a direct angle rather than curving, and we wouldn't use full blocks without a stair block on top typically.
• The indented area of timber and daub underneath the roof in the second image isn't something we would use on the server. Keep it simple either with just straight timber and daub, or an overhang.
• The halfslab roof thing to the left hand side is a good thought, but executed awkwardly currently.
• Use our new window blocks! They're a recent addition, but well worth using.
• Interior seem pretty good, but I would avoid using lever blocks to represent pens and not use the red stone that you've used for the fireplace (typically stick to the material of the foundations). However, I was struggling to review the interiors because they were too dark! When you next take screenshots, put your brightness settings up to max and even throw in a random torch/glowstone block to lighten the room up enough, I'll be happy to overlook them. I particularly want to see what you've done with regards to staircases and rafters.
• Other things you did really well were the daub and wattle pattern (though the even pattern on the back was a little awkward), putting the house in context and giving it an overall low medieval vibe (though I would scrap the pen and papers, not many people would be literate).

For your challenge, I would like you to create a 2 storey house in the style of /warp Norridge. Focus particularly on the roof shape, proportions and keeping the interiors humble, but clean (and well lit).

Good luck!

 

[InvertedWinger]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll get back to you with my next challenge in the next few days.

 

[InvertedWinger]

Here's my challenge.

 

[thecoddfish]

I caught up with Winger in game and we went over the challenge build in detail.

To summarise:

• Avoid bubble yards.
• Chimney is too prominent, should be brought 1 block into the house and tapered with wall blocks.
• Think about what things could be transported up a ladder (chests in particular would be difficult).

Your challenge is to make a 2 storey house in the style of The Tor, focusing particularly on the road, interiors and the yard. Good luck!

 

[InvertedWinger]

Here you go.

 

[InvertedWinger]

One more

 

[InvertedWinger]

Also, I redesigned the staircase.

 

[thecoddfish]

Hi Winger,

You're doing a great job so far. The Tor town style was an unconventional challenge, but I think you've done very well for what is a difficult to adjust to style.

Feedback:

• The gradient isn't correct. The palette you chose would have gone from monochrome sandstone -> arbor cobblestone -> lannisport light brick -> arbor small brick -> arbor light stone, while the gradient on your building goes through only 2 blocks, which feels repetitive. Have a good read of /warp gradients in game - this might help you out, along with the helpful building guide found at the warp platform for the Tor.
• The second staircase is better than the original, but still feels a little awkward with the stacked birch planks on the right hand side.
• The roof needs rafters - especially if it is stone. In other stone-roofed houses in the town this was achieved using plank slabs/stairs.
• Glass cabinets (and indeed any glass) is too fancy for most houses, outside of rich merchants or the nobility. Stick to the wooden variants.
• The set of shelves in the fourth picture look half broken where the pewter flagon has replaced half an entire shelf. If you want to have a full block type item on a shelf, move the next halfslab up one block higher to compensate for it rather than deleting it and making it defy logic.
• The cabinets made of halfdoors and locked doors aren't something we do on the server.
• The bedroom layout doesn't make much sense, and neither does the carpet arrangement on the floor. Think of how a bedroom might normally be structured, and look at some of the examples you might find in other houses. For a start, the most common type of beds you will see used are the straw beds - anything fancier than that should be middle/high class or above. Another tip is that in medieval times (and up until the 19th Century) it was commonplace for entire families to sleep in one bed together - not everybody needs to have their own bed.
• I doubt they would be able to transport snow into the Tor for food storage without it melting.

I get a sense that things are starting to come together, but that your interiors are lagging behind the exteriors at the moment. For your next challenge I would like you to make a 2 storey townhouse in the style of Tumbleton. The occupants are a large farming family, and in their yard they have a pig pen, a shed and a small garden. Focus particularly on making the interiors realistically medieval - google images may be of use there, as will asking around the server and exploring more recent builds. I would also like to see a really nice daub and wattle pattern too - you don't need to reinvent the wheel, there are plenty of good patterns on the server already.

Good luck!

PS: Can you put your images together in an imgur album for the next challenge? It's much easier to browse than scrolling up and down constantly.

 

[InvertedWinger]

Thank you for the feedback, I can definetly agree with you that my interiors are lacking behind the exteriors, as that comes much more naturally to me, while I'm quite new to this style of interior design.

 

[InvertedWinger]

Here is my Tumbleton task.

https://imgur.com/a/GGxPuVC

 

[thecoddfish]

Hey Winger,

You've done a really good job with the Tumbleton house. The exteriors are great, and your interiors have improved significantly (especially the top floor). I have also been impressed by how quickly you were able to get back to me with these challenges. On this basis, I am happy to approve your builder application.

The feedback that I have for this house is that the lower floor interiors feel somewhat bare (I think mainly because of the long stretch of stair block ceiling), the mud in the yard should be more clumped together rather than randomly mixed, and the yard could have done with some fern/vegetation blocks to make it feel more realistic. These are all comparatively minor issues, and I am sure you will be able to iron out your building technique through your probation period.

Congratulations! Feel free to ask a moderator in game to promote you to builder. Make sure you also read the new builder guide found here: http://westeroscraft.wikia.com/wiki/Newbie_guide

The next step is to complete your probation period, as detailed in the newbie guide. A probation leader should ideally get in contact with you within a week to provide feedback. You are welcome to start building at any open location on the server. You can find these through /warp build, toggling the "Open Plot" feature on the dynmap, or simply asking around in game.

Welcome to the team! I am looking forward to seeing you around.

 

[InvertedWinger]

I'm glad to be on the team.