Ricardus Builder Application

[Ric]

19

Brazil

I discovered Westeroscraft by accident on Youtube, don't remember exactly how. Probably Youtube just showed it to me as a suggestion and I clicked and watched some of the videos of WesterosCraft Walks. Having great interested in everything related to ASOIAF, it's no surprise Youtube suggested it to me.

Yes, I am a fan of Lord of The Rings for example (both the books and movies). In my childhood I was a great fan of Harry Potter too, having read the books and watched the movies many times.

Game of Thrones, Clash of Kings, Storm of Swords, Feast for Crows, Dance of Dragons

Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7

There are three characters that I really like: Littlefinger, Varys and Tyrion. What I like in these three is the outstanding intelegence and knowledge of how the "game of thrones" is played. Of them, I would choose Tyrion as my favorite, because of all the problems and difficulties he faces, his humour and sharp comments. His story develops following a interesting path, showing us the rotten parts of the said "game", together with the rotten parts of many characters. To see he dealing with the complications the game and the plot provide him is a great part of the ASOIAF.

I really like medieval style buildings and I think I would do a good job speacilly with interiors. I wouldn't say it is unique, but I have a great interested in medieval history and styles, and I want to use what I know to help the server.

I want to build in this server for some reasons: first, I am a great fan of ASOIAF and because of that it would be great to be a part of a community full of other fans, helping in a great project as the server is. Second, I want to help the server become as good as possible, being able to help building places that I recall from the books and that I'm aeger to see rather than just imagine. The third reason is that I like the medieval style of building and I want to both improve myself and participate in a project of a style I like.

https://imgur.com/a/3vsltC9

YOU KNOW NOTHING, JON SNOW

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Ricardus,

Thanks for being patient with the response! I'm glad to see your interest in our server.

Your house is a cute little peasant hut, it's definitely a good start and I could see it fitting in well enough in somewhere like the fingers region in the Vale with a few adjustments. I'll give some brief feedback on it before getting you started on some specific challenge styles:

- The gradient is a bit too noisy. The dark cobble & northern cobble contrast very heavily with the lighter river cobble block. For such a small house, it's probably not even necessary to have 3 unique blocks in the mix. I recommend checking out /warp gradient on the server for a tutorial on gradients/palettes.

- The thatch roof is a bit too flat and blobby. Keep in mind that in real life thatch rooves were almost always pitched at at least 45 degrees, and were kept pretty neat and tidy. Otherwise things like rain would collapse the roof pretty easily.

- I would probably switch out the fence window to either a stone arrow slit window block, or just an open hole with a shutter on the outside. Fence windows are still sometimes used on the server, but I'm not a big fan of them myself.

- The chimney is really big for such a small house. You really just need a chimney that's 1 or 2 blocks wide in this case.

- The interiors seem pretty good. I would avoid logs as rafters though (and generally avoid full log blocks in houses altogether), as they look rather bulky. Also, the wicker stool blocks seem just a bit too fancy for a poor peasant hut like this. Lastly, the hanging chile block seems a bit out of place here, that was meant more for southern regions like Dorne.

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions on the feedback here. When you're ready, for the first challenge, please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp woodwright, with a yard attached. Good luck!

 

[Ric]

Hey, thanks for the feedback!

I will take a look on the gradient tutorial and soon I will post the house too!

 

[Ric]

Hey, I hope I'm not doing this to quickily, as I already finished the house.

Here is the link to the images: https://imgur.com/gallery/ph3X5fi

In my defense for doing it quickily, it was more enjoyable doing the house than I thought.

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Ricardus,

This house is a big improvement, good job! You mostly seem to have things down, it's just a matter of polishing it off. Here's some of the feedback I have this time around, mostly pickier stuff this time:

- For a house with a wide base plot like this, the front and back feel a bit too "plain", like it's just a big monolithic wall of daub & wattle. A trick that can help with that is using the "plain white daub" block sparingly, bordering it with the daub & wattle blocks. Look around Woodwright and try to find examples of what I mean - if it's unclear let me know and I can find an example in a bit. Some light foliage/vines around the outside can also help a lot with this.

- You did a good job on the gradient this time around. My only criticism is that, similar to the previous house, you're trying to use too many block types in a small house, which makes the gradient look a bit jumbled. I'd probably cut out the reach large brick in this case, for instance.

- Avoid making what are known as "bubble yards": where the border of the yard doesn't follow any particular pattern, and just looks like a bubble. The yard borders should roughly follow linear shapes (these lines can be diagonal, though) with corners, just like the house. Often, when put together in villages or towns, the yard spaces follow the roads or fill space between rows of houses. Make sure to have the yard being used for useful purposes as well, mainly growing vegetables and herbs (and also things like washing clothes), rather than just flowers.

- The top of the roof here flattens out too suddenly. You probably want to move the middle slate blocks on the roof, and the slate wall blocks above it, up one block, if you understand what I mean.

- Usually you want to avoid windows that are 1x2 wide horizontally. In general standard houses will almost always use 1x1 windows or 2x1 vertical windows.

- Get rid of the topmost halfdoors on the side of the shed here, so you don't have the corners sticking out.

- The interiors again look very good! I don't have as much feedback there. I'd probably try to use upside-down stairs for the rafters on the 1st floor, rather than full wood blocks. It looks a bit more elegant, although there's a few tricks you have to work out to get the intersections to look good.

- You can use half door blocks to form a rail around the stairs here.

- The bedroom here could use a little work, like it simultaneously feels a bit empty but also too fancy, with the glass cabinets and flowers. I recommend going for something a little more practical and "lived in". Also, in that picture, the way the ceiling is indented slightly above the daub & wattle is odd from a structural perspective.

- If you have a really tall ceiling, like you do in this house, and don't have the space for a full attic, I would recommend making some lower horizontal rafters. These add structural support, and they can also be used to portray makeshift storage, where you might have a few baskets and a dusty cobweb on top of a rafter.

Overall you're coming along nicely though. Let me know if you need me to elaborate on anything, I wanted to include some pictures but didn't have time to get in-game today. For the next challenge build, please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp whiteharbor. The middle-class houses can generally be found in the southwest area of the city. Good luck!

 

[Ric]

Hey, thanks for the feedback!

I'll try to improve in the points you said, soon I shall post the WH house.

 

[Ric]

Hey, I've finished the White Harbor house!

Here's the link: https://imgur.com/gallery/P2TdPeZ

Thank you!

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Ricardus,

My apologies again about the delay. I'll try to be quicker with the future ones, as work allows. Overall this house is very solid! You got the gradient and everything down very well. Compared to the last house, I like your exterior skills have improved a lot, but the interiors now need a bit more work.

It's a bit harder to pinpoint specific issues at this stage, but the main issue with the interiors in general is the emptiness - the first floor especially just feels a little bland. While you want to avoid making the layout too strange, I recommend trying to experiment a bit with different interior structure - things like interior walls, support beams (when they make sense, don't overdo them), stairways, etc. before furnishing. In general, for ordinary houses I try to err towards rooms that are more small/cramped than ones that are too large/empty. Only for houses that already have a pretty small layout should you use single open rooms.

One other minor thing, with the hanging sill on the exterior here, get rid of the "dip" in the middle. Just make it a horizontal row of slabs.

Anyways, for the next challenge, let's try a style that's a bit trickier. Please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp duskendale. It's a WIP town, so it'd be a good opportunity to see how some of the plotting/building process works, and to get a look at the specific example houses. Make sure to take your time with it though. Good luck!

 

[Ric]

Hey!

About the delay, no problems!

I'm happy to know the exteriors is better, I really tried to improve it. About the interiors, I will use your tips, thanks for them! I will start building the Duskendale house and as soon as it's finished I'll post it here.

 

[Ric]

Hey! I finished the house.

Before I share, just some things: I made a little street in front of the house, but just for "ambientalization", so I did not put details in it. And both sides of the house are empty, because I imagine the house would be between other two houses; that's why the yard on the back opens to nothing beyond the fence I made, because I imagine that would be the yards of other houses beside it. I hope everything is alright about this, if not I'll try not doing like this again.

That being said, here's the link: https://imgur.com/gallery/UbmAmvA

Thanks!

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Ricardus,

Leaving the sides of the house blank is fine, I understand what it's meant to be. Although don't be afraid to add some details to the street, it's encouraged that builders do that in-game since it helps add to the immersion. Anyways, this house is looking good for the most part, you did well for a complex town style. I do have some more feedback to give though:

- It seems like you're still having the most trouble with the rooves of the houses. Your roof on this one is very uneven, it starts out 45 degrees, then gets really steep, and then is almost flat on the top (but with the row of wall blocks on top). Instead, you want to make the rooves approximately linear in slope. Here's the pattern you want to aim for (and here is how it might look with an overhang). For a 45 degree roof, you would do the same thing but just using stair blocks instead.

- These horizontal rows of "daub & wattle frame" should pretty much always be avoided except in specific cases, they just make the facade look kind of bad. Ideally you want to go for patterns like this - simple yet eye catching. Notice also how it uses enclosed areas of "plain brown daub" to simplify the pattern a bit.

- In the yard, you should have some sort of alternate soil type under the crops (sourleaf in this case) rather than just dirt/gravel. I usually just use mud blocks for that, sometimes bog blocks as well.

- This one isn't really feedback per se, more of a tip, but you don't always have to put the shutters to the side of the window. You can also place the shutters in the space in front of the window, and either have them closed over the window or partway open. Sometimes it looks a bit better to do it like that.

- You're starting to get the hang of planning interiors better, I like all of the interiors for the most part. I'm still not entirely sure about the kitchen though, it still feels a bit "sterile". Also the fireplace is huge, I'd recommend looking for a design that's a little smaller and more subtle.

Now let's venture to the other major town build being built right now - for the next challenge build please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp fairmarket. Again, this is a more complex style - some things you'll note are similar to duskendale, but others are rather different. So make sure to take your time learning the style. Feel free to ask if you have any questions on the feedback I gave or the fairmarket style. Good luck!

 

[Ric]

Hey!

Thanks for the tips and feedback, I mislooked that problem with the roof, my bad. I'll be more attentive to it (and to the other things you pointed as well) in the next builds.

I'll soon build and post here the Fairmarket house.

 

[Ric]

Hey!

I've finished the house, here's the link: https://imgur.com/gallery/Msrwaku

I hope to not have commited too many mistakes this time!

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Ricardus,

Thanks for your continued patience on this app! It's taken me a bit longer than usual to get back to each part due to being busy irl, but I think we're pretty much at the end here. I do have a little more feedback to give:

- The vines are the main thing: you always want to avoid patchy vines, i.e. having spots with just one or two vine blocks. Your vines should always be connected, with each vine block having at least one adjacent block (counting only the four sides, not diagonals). Think about how vines actually grow on houses - they just form continuous stretches. Secondly, make sure the vines always connect to ground somehow, since they need to absorb nutrients from somewhere to grow.

- The thatch carpets inside feel much too messy. I recommend not using them so much, i.e. you don't need thatch in every single room, and when you do use them, you again just want to have continuous rectangles or "blobs" in areas where it makes to have thatch/rushes on the ground.

- The bottom floor here feels very long and rectangular, and it might look nice to have one or two supports (using wood plank fence or wall blocks) to add a little more structural details.

Overall though, you've done a great job on this house, and made all the improvements I was looking for! I'm confident that, at this point, you'll learn more by being an actual builder on the server, so consider yourself approved!

The next step is to contact a mod in-game to promote you to New Builder. The New Builder guide can be found here: http://westeroscraft.wikia.com/wiki/Newbie_guide
And also make a probation thread in the probation forum.

You can start building at any open locations on the server - you can find these at /warp build, although it's sometimes outdated, so I would also recommend just asking people in-game and checking the forums for recent project happenings. Duskendale, as I’m sure you saw, is pretty hot right now. You can also build at /warp playground in the Test world if you just wanna experiment with stuff.

A probie leader should post on your thread within a week or so, and help give constructive feedback on your houses for the next month, and help be your entrypoint into the server community in general (although as sometimes the probie leaders are busy IRL, I would also encourage you to seek feedback from project leaders and other builders/mods). At the end, you'll be made full builder, and then can start applying for projects.

Welcome to the team, I look forward to building with you!

 

[Ric]

Hey Emote,

Thanks for all the feedback! I hope I can work with you in the server now. I'll do as you said and keep trying to improve.

Thanks for the welcoming and for the support through the application