Probation: deadbody12

Hey dead, I will be your probation leader for the next month. Here are some standard informations and guidelines you will need to follow to be promoted to a full builder. You must build at least 5 houses in 5 unique styles over the month, posting the nearest warp and coordinates here for review. Ideally we would go over them in game, but if that can't happen for a few days, i will post my feedback here. I look forward to working with you!

House #1, /warp manderside (-5250,39,18731):
-Remember to do the gradient carefully! We went over a couple spots where parts of the gradient were touching that shouldn't have. Also, a blank wall is rather boring. We added some more weathering to the gradient and some vines growing up it.

-Thatch carpets should always be in one uniform shape, spotty carpets are a big no-no.

-Be careful to make sure the fireplace is not too big for the house.

-Simpler is better! For storage areas, don't have too much variety. Also remember to keep produce covered up, or else it will spoil/be eaten.

-Make sure to use space wisely in sleeping areas. Everything should be easy to walk through and organized practically.


All in all, nice job! I will review the shared yard when i review house #2 (the neighbor it shares the yard with).
 
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deadbody12

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House #1, /warp manderside (-5250 / 39 / 18731) – farmers

House #2, /warp manderside (-5249 / 39 / 18721) – farmers

House #3, /warp manderside (-5256/ 39 / 18696) – farmers

Here are the cords from the other manderside houses, thx for the feedback duck. I split up the yard off the first 2 houses because it looked so bigg, I can change it if you want.
 
House #2 + yard for house #1 (-5250,39,18720) /warp manderside
-We went over some small points with regards to interiors, like always having firewood supported so it wouldn't roll apart, and not having too many drawers in your kitchen. Also went over some possible ways to support floors and roofs. No issues with the exterior really, nice job!

-In the first yard, we went over some ways to make crops (cabbages + strawberries) look better and more realistic. Nice job on the layout and usage of space for this yard! Don't forget to add grass around the corners of the yard as well!

-In the second yard, we fixed a part of the yard with too many different things in it. Great job again on using the space well though, nice job on both houses!

House #3 (-5257, 39, 18697) /warp manderside
-Went over some small changes to the gradient, and how they created a more balanced and clean look.

-Touched on how to use vines properly, such as making sure they connect to the ground and using bushes as a transition.

-Remember to not use glass in low class houses! For a chamber pot, use a pot block or a mug.

-Went over some ways to make crops better in the yard.

-Don't leave produce open if it's being stored! Animals and the elements would spoil it. If you want to store produce, add a net block on top of it or keep it indoors.

-Add grass around the edges of the yard where people wouldnt walk.

Great job on this house again! Nice job laying out the yard and interiors.

Side note on the fishers stall... don't overuse fish. This seller is not a huge fishing operation. You can do closed barrels, empty baskets, or pewter flagons to add some depth to the stand.

House #4 (-1482, 38, 11180) /warp ss
-Make sure that wood types are consistent throughout the house, especially for supporting structures and the door. Shutters are fine different i would say, as they add aesthetical value.

-Always keep slate covered. I know there were some issues with the roof on this house but keep that in mind in the future. We went over some options on how to cover it up/use alternate materials to keep it realistic.

-We went over some ways you could improve the movability of the interiors, like removing some odd closets and changing the beds around a bit.

-Remember to use some closed baskets/crates/pots so that there isn't too much merchandise available all at once.

-Nice job on the yard, no issues there.

Overall really nice job on this house! Just keep in mind the best ways to plan stuff out and keep everything smooth and realistic.

Nice job on these houses! I will look at the rest over the weekend or next week as soon as I can! Keep in mind the feedback for any future houses you build!
-duck
 
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Hey, only had time to check out one house tonight, so here is the review for the Ambrose house. Please make changes according to the feedback I have noted here. I also skipped the review of the mances camp tents, I would prefer to go over those ingame with you because they are not considered a full house to me, though it is good you built them none the less.

House #9 (-2990, 49, 16616) /warp ambrosetown
-On the gradient, there are many areas where reach pink bricks are touching light stone. The reach pink brick should only really be used in the base of the house, and should be covered by the small reach brick block at all times. It contrasts too heavily with the light stone otherwise.

-Please add some distortion to the thatch on the roof. Not a ton; just a little is needed to add that extra realism. You can do this by adding slabs or turned stairs to the roof.

Otherwise, really nice job on the exteriors! I love the little projection (though you did stray from the original plotting a little), and all the flowers look great.

-Nice job on the interiors also, here are a few quick points though. 1) Try to keep thatch carpets in a uniform shape. You can have them be large if you want, just make sure they are symmetrical. The current one is rather large and spread out. 2) I would add another bed, perhaps where the firewood stores are right now. Reason being, medieval families were usually quite large, so it would make sense to have alot of space dedicated to beds. A bed would also fit perfectly in that little nook where the firewood is now. You could just move the firewood outside, under the roof overhang.

-You seem to like doing your clotheslines 2 blocks tall, however I think you should raise it up a block because it is better to be able to walk under it. Also this would prevent any longer garments from dropping into the mud.

-The mud in the backyard is quite spotty. You should keep it only to places where water would collect (such as near a wash basin), or where people would walk frequently. A couple blocks of mud in the center of the yard, and a couple around the gate would be sufficient.

-I would perhaps move the outhouse up against a garden wall, or in a corner somewhere. It is rather strange to have it sitting away from anything, in the middle of the yard like that. Keeping stuff towards the edges makes the yard easier to walk around in, and thus it feels nicer.

-The garden wall is very choppy, particularly on the east and south sides. I think you should make it smoother and cleaner, without so much difference in height. I know some other yards in Ambrose do that, but I still need to fix those.

Really nice job on this house! Thanks for doing a build for me! I would advise you to stay out of the reach for a little though, as many of your houses have been there so far. You still need two houses in a style different from Wull, Stoneysept, and HG/Ambrose (counting them together because they are so similar.)

Keep up the good work!
-Duck
 

deadbody12

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Hey duck, thx again for the feedback.
I adjusted everything you mentioned.
- i got my inspiration for the gradient from nearby builds, i wanted to do the large brick for the base and then cover it up with the smaller one but it isnt done like this in some nearby builds tho. But it seems more logical now. I changed it.
- the south wall from the yard was already done but i changed it a little bit and added the outhouse against that wall.

I know ill still need to do 2 other styles. That isn't a problem. I'll be looking for another house to build in a different style soon. You can check out my wull build in the meantime :)
 

deadbody12

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House #13, /warp ambrosetown (-3019/ 48 / 16678), farmers
House #14, /warp ambroseham2 (-3168/ 67 / 16781), poor farmer couple
 
House #10, /warp wullvillage1 (-2101/ 39 / 12812), Cooper:
-Exteriors look fine, no issues there really. A minor point: Try to concentrate the icy stone near the bottom of the house, where it touches the snow. When the snow melts and refreezes it would form the ice on the stone. I noticed this particularly on the north side. Another thing, I think the snow on the roof could be a little smoother, especially on the west side. The snow wouldn't pile up in such drastic cliffs. Also maybe remove the huge icicle above the door, seems like a death trap :D

-The ceiling is rather messy, though i suppose it's hard to avoid. I think you could improve it a little by using less slabs and more stairs, so the ceiling is not so flat.

-Cooper area is fine, one way I have seen barrels done is a cage block with some half doors around part of it, like a barrel in the process of being made. Maybe you could add that in place of something for an extra dynamic environment.

-Don't use the table drawer block, they are too fancy for a poor family in the far north.

-Medieval families were very large. Perhaps you could add another bed, either under the clothesline or under the shelf (where the drawers are)

-The wattle fences look a little weird on the right side of the bed, they would look best at the foot of the bed. You can also use halfdoors accordingly.

Keath houses: /warp keathhamlet3
House next to the barn:
-The jungle/oak mix is very spotty. You should try and make sure the wood is in clumps of a certain type, rather than in a bunch of tiny patches. Check out /warp harteham5 for some examples.

-Nice job remembering to add distortion to the thatch on the roof. However, you only did 1 type (a turned stair). Mix in some thatch slabs as well, it will look alot nicer. Just a little is all that is needed, you can also remove some of the turned stair examples.

-The door also looks strange. You should use an upside down stair above it, to make it look less blocky.

-You've got no ventilation in the upper floor. This would make it extremely hot and dank when it's rainy out. I would definitely add a dormer window or two to the upper story. You also have a couple examples of white cloth. While one is fine for the baby cradle, I think two is a bit much for a cooper family.

-The yard looks pretty nice, I have a couple issues though... 1) The pigsty shouldn't have a wooden fence gate on a wattle fence. It's not a huge mistake, it just looks very heavy and out of balance for a large gate to be supported by sticks. Just have a wattle fence at a 90 degree angle if you want to show an opened gate. 2) the pigsty shelter is not supported on the bottom. You should switch it to wood slabs for this reason. 3) The pigsty could use a little less grass I think. you can add in plowed soil for extra realism, it compliments the mud nicely. 4) I don't see why a grain basket is necessary. The area the house is in does not have grain fields nearby, and that grain would spoil quickly when left out in the rain of the riverlands. If you still want to keep it, move it under one of the overhangs on the side of the house. 5) The firewood is not supported on one side. I know it's a very minor thing but it just adds to the realism, which is important. Perhaps you can relocate it, or put a crate next to it or something.


Keath house #2 (across from the barn)
-There are a few issues with this house that were the same as the other keath house, mainly the wood gradient, roof, and door. Please fix them.

-There are a few issues I have with the furnishings in this house... 1) you shouldn't use a grain sack as a chair. It would defeat the purpose of preserving the grain for food if everybody sat on it and made it all gross :D 2) You've got quite a few baskets on the bottom floor. Maybe replace a 1-2 of them with crates, firewood, or other furnishings. 3) You have 3 tool blocks in the house (pots/pans, knives, tools). You really need 2 at the very most (for a large peasant family). Please remove 1-2 of these.

-In the back yard, there are some of the same issues with the pigsty and fence gates. Please fix those.

-The carrot patch has been cut into two pieces. Please remove the gap on the east side, it's not really needed and takes away from space for the crops.

-The sausages outside are fine, but I would remove the ones inside (also the blood). This is because they would probably eat them as fresh as possible, and pack the rest of the pig in salt. They wouldn't be able to preserve meat for long, living in a damp little hovel. The ones outside are good though, it makes it seem like they were just made and are being hung up to dry now.

That's it for these three, nice job overall! Most of the things I mentioned are very small details that don't seem important, but when added together, make the build much more realistic and cohesive. Please make the changes above, I will review the ambrose houses this weekend hopefully!

Nice work,
-duck
 
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deadbody12

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Thx for the FB! ill make the changes.

Couple of things on the keath one.
I didn't build the pigsy shelter, I just added the mud/thatch on the ground. I first wanted to change the thatch to wood but as the project leader built it i thought it would be better to leave it like this. Can still change it if you want.
and the grain basket in the yard is meant to be food for the pigs.
+ the spruce doors look alot nicer imo :D but ill change it for the realism.
 
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