Kor_Bro
Envoy
Hello there! This is the official redo and update appeal for the following Northern Stormlands projects. The projects I wish to redo are Bronzegate, Wensington and Swygert, while the project I wish to update is Haystack Hall. I intend to incorporate all of them into one Northern Stormlands Megabuild along with Felwood in order to create regional coherence, should the appeal be granted. Note: this is not the app for the above-mentioned megabuild. Only the appeal.
I’ll go through each, one by one.
[Edit] All canon maps are from the book “The lands of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin.
Bronzegate Server Map
Bronzegate Canon Map
On the topic of hills, there are three steep canon hills south of Bronzegate on which the battle of the Last Storm took place. These are currently not there. I would create these as part of the re-terraforming of Bronzegate.
Additionally, the current road leading from Storm’s End up through Bronzegate and towards the Wendwater takes a wrong path according to canon maps. As part of the re-terraforming of the hills, this would be accounted for, and the path re-routed. (Pictures of plans below)
Bronzegate Plan Map
Abandoned Bronzegate
Wensington Server Map
Wensington Canon Map
Additionally, Wensington is a minor and tiny house but takes up a large portion of the northern Stormlands lands that would otherwise belong to Storm’s End which currently has very little land. I would thus move the border and shrink the Wensington lands to allow for more land for Storm’s End. (Pictures of plans below)
Wensington Plan Map
Swygert Server Map
Swygert Canon Map
Swygert is also a minor house with almost no canon but takes up a portion of land in the northern Stormlands larger than that of Storm’s End. I would move the southern border north towards the river and give back some additional land to Storm’s End.
Furthermore, the current castle is huge, especially for a minor house, and has a deep sea dock on the eastern side. Canon states that Shipbreaker’s Bay offer no safe anchorage. However, Brienne does travel from Tarth by ship to Stormlands mainland and up through Bronzegate, indicating that if nothing else, a shipping route from Tarth could have a small port inside of the little nestled bay area at Swygert. I would thus suggest shrinking the castle, removing the eastern dock of the castle and creating a minor port on the northern shore of the bay at Swygert (see map below for details).
Swygert Plan Map
It is thus not the application for the abovementioned plans. That will come at another time.
Secondly, Felwood is not yet done. It’s been a while. It was started in 2016. It got to 85% completion in 2020 before I decided I could do better. I hope to finish that bad boy up as soon as possible. A lot of progress has been done lately. But in any case, Felwood will serve as an example for the core design and idea of the hills, cliffs and valleys, as well as establish a starting point for overall regional coherence.
Third, when the time comes for an app, I do not intend this as a single-person project. I would like as many people with interest in the Northern Stormlands to jump aboard. I know there are many, as evidenced by our Stormlands Discord Chat. Co-oping would be ideal, so if you (yes, you) want in, hit me up. Especially since I mostly specialize in terra and welcome any contributions to actual buildings. Yikes. Additionally, like other megabuilds, the different settlements, castles etc., would be open to applications as per our customs.
As for a suggested workflow, once the time is right for an app, I would focus my energy on Felwood first and foremost, moving on to creating the foothills and hills of Bronzegate, then Wensington, then Swygert and lastly, once the major terraforming is done, Haystack Hall with the update.
Finally, once the app comes out, I would like this to be a learning experience for probies, new builders, and experienced builders alike, as well as those new and experienced in terraforming. A lot of hills, slopes, valleys, fields, coast and cliffs needs to be done, so it is an ideal place to come and learn. Join in! We’re here for a good time!
Hope you enjoyed the long read.
Yours truly,
Kor
I’ll go through each, one by one.
[Edit] All canon maps are from the book “The lands of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin.
b) Inadequate Canon Clause
Bronzegate is currently positioned in the most northern parts of the Red Mountains. However, the Red Mountains currently stretch too far north. According to canon descriptions and maps, it stops just north of Griffin’s Roost and gives way to highlands and hills stretching towards Bronzegate. I would lower the mountains north of Griffin’s Roost and instead create coherent hills. Bronzegate would thus be placed in steep hills and not in the mountains.Bronzegate Server Map
Bronzegate Canon Map
On the topic of hills, there are three steep canon hills south of Bronzegate on which the battle of the Last Storm took place. These are currently not there. I would create these as part of the re-terraforming of Bronzegate.
Additionally, the current road leading from Storm’s End up through Bronzegate and towards the Wendwater takes a wrong path according to canon maps. As part of the re-terraforming of the hills, this would be accounted for, and the path re-routed. (Pictures of plans below)
Bronzegate Plan Map
c) Abandoned Build Clause
Bronzegate was started on July 2014 by KanylKay but later abandoned and never finished. Picture below.Abandoned Bronzegate
b) Inadequate Canon Clause
While Wensington has little-to-no canon at all, Wensignton on our map is situated right up against the Red mountains. While the location in the Red Mountains is not an issue, the fact that the Red Mountains stretch so far north is. The Red Mountains, according to canon descriptions and maps, stop just north of Griffin’s Roost and give way to highlands and hills stretching towards Bronzegate. I would suggest lowering the mountains and making coherent hills throughout the region of the northern Stormlands. See suggestions on the map below.Wensington Server Map
Wensington Canon Map
Additionally, Wensington is a minor and tiny house but takes up a large portion of the northern Stormlands lands that would otherwise belong to Storm’s End which currently has very little land. I would thus move the border and shrink the Wensington lands to allow for more land for Storm’s End. (Pictures of plans below)
Wensington Plan Map
b) Inadequate Canon Clause
Similarly to Bronzegate and Wensington, the Red Mountains currently has their final end in the north of Swygert. I would once again re-terraform the entire mountain range north of Griffin’s Roost and make it into hills instead.Swygert Server Map
Swygert Canon Map
Swygert is also a minor house with almost no canon but takes up a portion of land in the northern Stormlands larger than that of Storm’s End. I would move the southern border north towards the river and give back some additional land to Storm’s End.
Furthermore, the current castle is huge, especially for a minor house, and has a deep sea dock on the eastern side. Canon states that Shipbreaker’s Bay offer no safe anchorage. However, Brienne does travel from Tarth by ship to Stormlands mainland and up through Bronzegate, indicating that if nothing else, a shipping route from Tarth could have a small port inside of the little nestled bay area at Swygert. I would thus suggest shrinking the castle, removing the eastern dock of the castle and creating a minor port on the northern shore of the bay at Swygert (see map below for details).
Swygert Plan Map
This is strictly an update, as I see no issues with the castle and villages themselves. However, as part of a broader Megabuild, there are a few important changes that would be made to the lands.
Haystack Hall Server Map
Haystack Hall Canon Map
Additionally, on canon maps, a river stretches from haystack hall to a bay at sea. However, on our map, it ends at the wrong bay near Parchments. This would be corrected in an update where the new river makes up a natural border between Haystackhall and Swygert and Bronzegate. (See suggestion map below).
Similarly to the 3 other areas, the current Red Mountains borders Haystack Hall but should have ended further South. As part of re-terraforming the mountains into hills, the southern parts of Haystack Hall would be affected and re-terraformed. Any settlements and buildings would stay.
Haystack Hall Plan Map
b) Inadequate Canon Clause
While inadequate canon is not necessary for an update, in this case, it is important to mention. The location of the castle itself is wrong according to canon description and maps. In fact, it is off by some 600 blocks. To correct this, I would simply copy the entire castle and surrounding areas (village and fields), paste it at the correct location, and then adjust and add to the surrounding lands. This is possible, as the area is quite flat and would require minimal changes despite the size of the copy/paste. (see plan map below)Haystack Hall Server Map
Haystack Hall Canon Map
Additionally, on canon maps, a river stretches from haystack hall to a bay at sea. However, on our map, it ends at the wrong bay near Parchments. This would be corrected in an update where the new river makes up a natural border between Haystackhall and Swygert and Bronzegate. (See suggestion map below).
Similarly to the 3 other areas, the current Red Mountains borders Haystack Hall but should have ended further South. As part of re-terraforming the mountains into hills, the southern parts of Haystack Hall would be affected and re-terraformed. Any settlements and buildings would stay.
Haystack Hall Plan Map
a) Sufficient Additional Value Clause
While Haystack Hall was one of the first Westeroscraft projects to focus on the lands in addition to the castle and village, there are a few underdeveloped areas that could use an update in terms of additional fields and pastures, forest detailing and coastal updates. In addition, should the castle and village be moved, the empty area in its wake would be filled in. Some newly updated rocky shores and cliffs of Haystackhall and Swygert would also serve as examples of updated coastline in the northern Stormlands in general, where other projects like Sweet too are underway and would seek to bring coherence to the current mosaic of different coast types that currently characterise the coast of Shipbreakers Bay. (See map above)The motivation for these appeals lies in my wish to apply for a megabuild including the above-mentioned projects + Felwood. There are several issues with the region in general that spans multiple projects, which, in my opinion, calls for a Megabuild, I will list my arguments here:
(1) The Red Mountain / Northern Stormlands Hills
As mentioned in above mentioned appeals, the Red Mountains canonically stop just north of Griffin’s Roost and from there highlands and hills stretch north towards the Bronzegate area. Felwood has been my stepping stone into this project, as the mountains in that project have been completely re-shaped into hills and highlands. The inspiration has been a mix of England’s Lake District with its rounded hills, highlands and valley, as well as the rolling hills of Bulgaria and Romania. However, to ensure consistency and regional coherence in regard to the terraforming of the hills, I wish to extend the re-terra to the before mentioned projects.
(2) Regional Coherence
Additionally, the Northern Stormlands have lacked established regional coherence both in terms of natural inspiration and architectural inspiration. My aim is, to once and for all, establish a coherent style throughout the Northern Stormlands. Felwood, Haystack Hall and Parchments all work as inspiration in this regard with their grey stone palettes and black slate rooves. This should also be reflected in the use of terrain sets as a mix between Easter Island, Iron Islands, Grey Sandstone and Stormlands Alt. A further in-depth explanation is beyond the scope of the appeal, it should be enough to know that it is regional coherence is currently lacking and should be established.
(3) Outdated styles and structures.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the inclusion of Swygert into the Megabuild, given its completed state is also due to the outdated terra and structures when compared to neighbouring terraforming of Haystack Hall and Bronzegate, once redone. A picture of the current standard of Felwood is shown below to indicate the contrasting difference between the two:
Swygert Pictures
Felwood Pictures
(Rough idea for the look and feel of the hills in the area, more at /warp Felwood)
(4) Borders
The current borders also deserve to be revised, as also mentioned earlier. Of primary concern here is the size of the Storm’s End lands which are currently tiny. Any future update to Storm’s End would also entail an update to the outdated lands. To address those two points, I suggest expanding the borders of the Storm´s End lands. To that end, minor areas will be taken from Wensington and Bronzegate and a larger area from Swygert. For future reference, I also suggest giving parts of Griffin’s Roost lands to Storm’s End, as those are canonically small due to being taken away and parcelled out.
North of Felwood, Bronzegate and Haystack Hall the Kingswood (Historical Kingswood, not the Crownlands part in which the king has direct Royal lordship, see below link for an in-depth discussion between Nikas Kunitz and DutchGuard) stretches along the southern banks of the Wendwater. However, the current Kingswood appear larger on our map than on canon maps, where the road from the Wendwater crossing (Kingswood Bridge) to Bronzegate is mostly cleared of forest. I would thus extend the Bronzegate border to the north to incorporate some of that cleared area but leave a portion for a future Kingswood update. The borders of Felwood and Haystack Hall would likewise receive slight adjustments. Additionally the border between Bronzegate, Swygert and Haystack Hall would become extend along the new river that stretches from Haystack Hall to the ocean. (See revised border map below)
https://forum.westeroscraft.com/threads/a-stormlands-overhaul.2843/page-3 (discussion on Northern Stormlands/ Kingswood transition).
Current Borders on Canon Map
Proposed Borders Map
Overall plans
(1) The Red Mountain / Northern Stormlands Hills
As mentioned in above mentioned appeals, the Red Mountains canonically stop just north of Griffin’s Roost and from there highlands and hills stretch north towards the Bronzegate area. Felwood has been my stepping stone into this project, as the mountains in that project have been completely re-shaped into hills and highlands. The inspiration has been a mix of England’s Lake District with its rounded hills, highlands and valley, as well as the rolling hills of Bulgaria and Romania. However, to ensure consistency and regional coherence in regard to the terraforming of the hills, I wish to extend the re-terra to the before mentioned projects.
(2) Regional Coherence
Additionally, the Northern Stormlands have lacked established regional coherence both in terms of natural inspiration and architectural inspiration. My aim is, to once and for all, establish a coherent style throughout the Northern Stormlands. Felwood, Haystack Hall and Parchments all work as inspiration in this regard with their grey stone palettes and black slate rooves. This should also be reflected in the use of terrain sets as a mix between Easter Island, Iron Islands, Grey Sandstone and Stormlands Alt. A further in-depth explanation is beyond the scope of the appeal, it should be enough to know that it is regional coherence is currently lacking and should be established.
(3) Outdated styles and structures.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the inclusion of Swygert into the Megabuild, given its completed state is also due to the outdated terra and structures when compared to neighbouring terraforming of Haystack Hall and Bronzegate, once redone. A picture of the current standard of Felwood is shown below to indicate the contrasting difference between the two:
Swygert Pictures
Felwood Pictures
(Rough idea for the look and feel of the hills in the area, more at /warp Felwood)
(4) Borders
The current borders also deserve to be revised, as also mentioned earlier. Of primary concern here is the size of the Storm’s End lands which are currently tiny. Any future update to Storm’s End would also entail an update to the outdated lands. To address those two points, I suggest expanding the borders of the Storm´s End lands. To that end, minor areas will be taken from Wensington and Bronzegate and a larger area from Swygert. For future reference, I also suggest giving parts of Griffin’s Roost lands to Storm’s End, as those are canonically small due to being taken away and parcelled out.
North of Felwood, Bronzegate and Haystack Hall the Kingswood (Historical Kingswood, not the Crownlands part in which the king has direct Royal lordship, see below link for an in-depth discussion between Nikas Kunitz and DutchGuard) stretches along the southern banks of the Wendwater. However, the current Kingswood appear larger on our map than on canon maps, where the road from the Wendwater crossing (Kingswood Bridge) to Bronzegate is mostly cleared of forest. I would thus extend the Bronzegate border to the north to incorporate some of that cleared area but leave a portion for a future Kingswood update. The borders of Felwood and Haystack Hall would likewise receive slight adjustments. Additionally the border between Bronzegate, Swygert and Haystack Hall would become extend along the new river that stretches from Haystack Hall to the ocean. (See revised border map below)
https://forum.westeroscraft.com/threads/a-stormlands-overhaul.2843/page-3 (discussion on Northern Stormlands/ Kingswood transition).
Current Borders on Canon Map
Proposed Borders Map
Overall plans
Final words:
First off, it should be noted that this is just an appeal for redo and update for the mentioned projects as well as an appeal for a megaproject with the combination of projects as follows: (Felwood), Bronzegate, Wensington, Swygert & Haystack Hall.It is thus not the application for the abovementioned plans. That will come at another time.
Secondly, Felwood is not yet done. It’s been a while. It was started in 2016. It got to 85% completion in 2020 before I decided I could do better. I hope to finish that bad boy up as soon as possible. A lot of progress has been done lately. But in any case, Felwood will serve as an example for the core design and idea of the hills, cliffs and valleys, as well as establish a starting point for overall regional coherence.
Third, when the time comes for an app, I do not intend this as a single-person project. I would like as many people with interest in the Northern Stormlands to jump aboard. I know there are many, as evidenced by our Stormlands Discord Chat. Co-oping would be ideal, so if you (yes, you) want in, hit me up. Especially since I mostly specialize in terra and welcome any contributions to actual buildings. Yikes. Additionally, like other megabuilds, the different settlements, castles etc., would be open to applications as per our customs.
As for a suggested workflow, once the time is right for an app, I would focus my energy on Felwood first and foremost, moving on to creating the foothills and hills of Bronzegate, then Wensington, then Swygert and lastly, once the major terraforming is done, Haystack Hall with the update.
Finally, once the app comes out, I would like this to be a learning experience for probies, new builders, and experienced builders alike, as well as those new and experienced in terraforming. A lot of hills, slopes, valleys, fields, coast and cliffs needs to be done, so it is an ideal place to come and learn. Join in! We’re here for a good time!
Hope you enjoyed the long read.
Yours truly,
Kor
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