Completed Project App: Uffering, by Elduwin

SeapunkPeaches

Cersei's Left Bob
Hey!
I went through the whole project and here are some notes that I've written down.
Of course, I don't expect you to follow all of this feedback, especially since the project is really big, but I do think that it's all useful advice for this or any future project.

1) Bridge on the Westbrook border
Due to the big pillar being in the middle of the river, it is too narrow for any boats to pass. I'd rearrange the arches so they are on the opposite edges of the river.

2) Brickworks near Uffhf2
The sand color here is different from the sand nearby (darker). The clay also is a different color when compared to the brickworks at Westbrook, which is on the same river.

3) Border hamlet
The style of the Uffering hamlet on the Westbrook border is significantly different from the Westbrook hamlet just across the small river from it.
Just like the other 2 points so far, these structures were finished after the ones at Westbrook, so I think the style transition could've been done better.

4) Uffdunes
There's some glass and wool placeholders around the lighthouse (which is very cute, btw).

5) Uffhf2
The holdfast itself is nice, but it looks a bit like a big stone box. Some buttresses would look nice here, to make the structure look more grounded and integrated with the terrain.

6) Uffhf1
The layout of the holdfast gives me the impression of it being a defensive gatehouse. What exactly is it defending? I think it'd make a lot more sense if there were some natural or purposefully made obstacles around it that would ensure for the gates to be the only way of continuing down the road, something like a causeway.

7) Uffkeep
The interiors are somewhat of a visual overload. There's a lot of different designs and decorations. Also, almost every room has a different design (floor, ceiling, walls...). All of this results in quite a chaotic look. What I'd do is simplify the structural designs and narrow the room color schemes and patterns down to max. 2 or 3 different looks, depending on the use of the room. Also look out for fireplaces with wooden sides, parquet floor ceilings and minor details like that.

8) Overall stylistic feedback for the project
- single stair blocks that represent damage on stone walls are a bit outdated, there's a lot of newer examples for more refined options.
- a lot of the houses have overhangs, some even having chunky wooden supports. I think these are definitely a thing of the past (especially on small houses) and should be changed to reflect our newer styles. This requires just cutting off the overhang, so it shouldn't be a whole lot of work.
- stair or hopper blocks under ornate window blocks - these also don't make a lot of sense to me.
- another thing on a lot of the houses and structures are the random gradients, which sometimes look even world edited. For example, on the septry, uffhf1... Just a bit more work on this would drastically change the look for the better.
- finally, something that I don't expect you to fully change, because it's a big project, are the small stone square yards. They generate a lot of clutter and don't use the surrounding land to its full extent. Bigger, less constrained yards with more diversity to their wall material (think wattle, leaves, a mix of both, fences...) would really do wonders. Also, think of connecting the yards to their surroundings. Right now, you can see a lot of small yards behind or on the side of a house, with just an empty gap between them and for example a forest or something similar. Filling this empty space with veggie patches, small orchards or anything else the house owner would have, results in a more picturesque, natural and cohesive look to the lands.

I hope this isn't too overwhelming. I'd be eager to lend a hand in helping you with some of this, if you'll need it.
 

Elduwin

Skinchanger
Hi @WhereRmyDragons
Thanks for all this feedback, and this detailed review.

1) The bridge pier is still being worked on, once you remove the wooden reinforcement and scaffoldings, there are 5 blocks on each side, and looking at the depth of the river, there wouldn't be any larger boat navigating here.

2) & 3) Well, I'd rather point out to our rebel @_Simbaa who didn't exactly followed the style developed at Uffering, contrary to Stackhouse, Redlake, Holyhall... I'll make some changes to the hamlet close to the quarries. For the sand, I don't mind to change, even though I preferred to use a red-ish tone of clay to be consistent with the color of our lannisport tiles. I'll talk with Simbaa to see how we can improve this border.

4) Indeed, was just waiting for the Mander delta terra, haven't forgotten them and will make some minor changes to the rocks there to adapt to the newly wonderfully made delta (thanks to Cash).

5) Will add those.

6) The holdfast was made as a gate before entering in Highgarden, some sort of border post on the Ocean Road. I'll try to make some changes to narrow the passage. However, there's the forest on one side, and trees and fields on the other. I'm also not very inclined to re-terra the whole area, to be honest.

7) Yes definitely, happy to see with you in game what we could do to improve the decorations.

8)
- stairs as damages: I'll reduce the use of it, though I disagree to say it's outdated, it's still use in many places.
- overhangs: will remove them. Old remnants of an old project.
- windows: will remove/change them, can you point in game where specifically you've seen them? Outside of the keep.
- gradients: well, feels a bit overexagerated, especially saying it looks world edited. For the septry and the HF1, @Margaery_Tyrell made them, so I'll let her respond. I fine with both. I think the difference with some other builds is that it's not using light stone in the mix, but doesn't look bad either to me.
- yards: while I can get where you coming from when saying they may look a bit too clustered, as some where made quite some time ago, I can't see many places where there is empty space, with houses/yards most of the time surrounded by fields or forests.


____________
On a more personal note:
Just wanted to point out that I was kind of surprised to see that long post, knowing it's been quite some time this project has been happening. I would really have appreciated to have received these feedbacks earlier or throughout the whole project, here or in game. While I know you've replaced Waz as approving mod only in August 2019, I think it still left some time to express all of this.
I just feel like on probation, being explained how to build, which is rather unpleasant. I know I am certainly not the best builder or the most experiencing or the most creative, this is also why I'm always looking for feedbacks and opinions. And I appreciate these feedbacks and do take them into account. But it was a bit frustrating to receive them this way.

I'm also fully aware that the project might not look the most up-to-date project now, after 4 years of work. It also started during that transition period to newer styles, that haven't changed much for the past few years, so there are indeed remnants of older styles. Though, I'm personally feeling tired of redoing everything for an eternity.
That's a personal thought, probably not shared by many people, but seeing that feedback, I felt like sharing it.
 

Emoticone11

The Dark Lord Sauron
Staff member
Okay, finally got some time to go through it! I said this to you in-game plenty of times, so I won't belabour it, but amazing work on this whole project. Here's some of the post-approval feedback I have:

- Some white glass near the lighthouse - I assume just a placeholder for water that was forgotten, but I didn't want to mess with it.

- Some of the facades in /warp uffvillage could use a little bit of a touchup. I've noticed a few with strange or jumbled daub & wattle patterns, e.g. one, two, three, and a couple others. Also, I like the central market structure but I think you should try to simplify the tents a little bit, all the vertical fences/logs make it seem very busy and a bit hard to navigate.

- Is this intentional? At /warp uffmanor.

- I'm not sure about the wood stair blocks above doors at /warp uffsouthvillage (and perhaps elsewhere), why not change those to a stone brick stair block matching the color of the facade?

- I agree with Dragons about the small yards with stone borders. It's not a big deal for me overall but there's a couple areas where it really stands out to me, like this part in /warp uffsouthvillage. It would look much nicer (and also more realistic I think) if you instead just had one big communal yard shared by the peasants there.

- I agree that you should try to work out a transitory style with westbrook. Regardless of who built first, the two styles right next to each other clash a lot right now.

Apologies again for the late feedback! Once you fix these things you'll have my post-approval.
 
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Emoticone11

The Dark Lord Sauron
Staff member
Hey Eld, just wanted to check where you're at with the post-approval feedback? Have you had a chance to look over the items yet?
 
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Elduwin

Skinchanger
Hey Eld, just wanted to check where you're at with the post-approval feedback? Have you had a chance to look over the items yet?
Hey! Just wanted to say that I've been busy the past couple months, and wasn't able to make the launcher/game work, but now everything seems fine, and I should have more regular time to join.
Meaning I'll have time in the close future to finish Uffering!


Quickly just wanted to ask for some wiki content, I'm sure you're already on the case!
Same with the Wiki, I've started to write it, will send when done with the project.
 

Emoticone11

The Dark Lord Sauron
Staff member
Looks good Eld! One thing I noticed is that if you do /gm 3 under the beaches, there's some layers of underground sand layers that were placed by mistake. Should be a simple fix with some careful WE commands. Other than that, you have my post-approval.

Also, I'd tone down the muddy sand in /warp uffvillage, it looks a bit weird in such large quantities with no sand around.