SquizzesMC Builder Application

SquizzesMC

Mummer
What is your Minecraft username?
SquizzesMC

What is your age?
17-20

In what country are you living?
USA

Where did you first hear about WesterosCraft?
Planet Minecraft

What do you like the most about GoT/ASoIaF?
I've been really interested in the late medieval time period for a long time, and when I discovered the ASoIaf series I immedietly fell in love with it. The characters and intricately crafted story George R.R. Martin created is amazing and the HBO show is really great aswell.

What is your favorite build on our server?
Kings Landing/Red Keep. The castle is one of the coolest builds on the server so far and is one of my favorites. After reading the books so many times I was able to pick out lots of locations in the castle, which was really cool! Another really cool build is Castle black and the wall.

Why do you want to join our server?
I recently got a pc, and was finaly able to play java edition, so was looking for a cool server to build on and found this one. After exploring the world I was really blown away by how detailed and awsome the world was and I would love to help bring Westeros to life.

Tell us about your build.
This is a small Reach-style hamlet, and is home to a carpenter and his family. It is built on the Rose road, and near the ruins of a old watchtower, destroyed during the Dance of Dragons. I spent a lot of time in the Reach, and tried my best to have my build fit in that area.

Imgur Album: https://imgur.com/a/oYAHv1B

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

thecoddfish

Emissary
Staff member
Hi Squizzes,

Thanks for the application. I'm impressed by the backstory you have provided for your build, because it demonstrates that you have clearly thought about the regional and societal context of the house, which I think is admirable.

Some brief feedback:
  • Thatch should be less messy and more ordered - this is more in keeping with current building standards.
  • The timber and daub patterning could be less random and more ordered. What you've done is not a bad attempt, but isn't in line with some of our more recent builds. In particular I would avoid using wood button blocks at all.
  • Cabinet type blocks (like the kitchen utensil blocks and drawer blocks) would have redundant sides covered (so as not to give the impression of multiple doors opening on multiple sides). This can be achieved either by placing them between other blocks, or with the use of a half door block or a wattle block.
  • The garden is a nice detail and something I am not used to seeing from applicants, but it feels a bit chaotic currently. Think about how a medieval family may have ordered their garden, and what they would include within it. For example, they may grow some small scale veggies in their yard (examples at /warp crops) or keep pigs/chickens.
  • The diagonal workshop is a cool detail, but I would have liked to have seen further images of that.
There are more things to critique, but in my opinion it would be more productive to direct you to some more modern examples of building that you can learn from. I would advise exploring these builds and focusing on what common qualities they share 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 then make a house in the style of /warp Duskendale. Focus particularly on creating a logical and good-looking daub and wattle pattern, along with realistic interiors and putting the house into context with a slice of the street. You can demonstrate how the house fits between neighbouring houses using wool layouts.

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: DutchGuard

thecoddfish

Emissary
Staff member
Hi Squizzes,

You've done a great job on this build, well done! I can't fault anything with regards to the exteriors.

Some feedback:
  • The floor mix of planks, dirt and brown cobble is a bit unusual looking - I would stick to either plain dirt/gravel, plain planks or a brown cobble mix alone. The open fireplace right next to the planks is also a cause for concern, as this would be a big fire risk.
  • Books would be very rare in Westeros, especially outside of the nobility. The literacy rate would be low, and books would be far too expensive for most to afford.
  • The fireplace itself is perhaps a bit awkward looking. There are plenty of examples around the server to check out.
  • I can't really see much of the interiors from the 5 screenshots. I want to see more of how you tackled the living/sleeping areas, how you integrated staircases in the house, and what the rafters look like beneath the roof.
For your next challenge build, I would like you to make a house in the style of Old Anchor (/warp oldanchortown). Please focus particularly on the interiors - make it a 2 storey house with an attic, you can choose to display a profession or just keep it residential. My advice with house building is that the first 2 things you plan after you plot the house are where the fireplace will go, and then where the staircase will be.

Good luck!
 

thecoddfish

Emissary
Staff member
Hey Squizzes,

Great work on the challenge house! Really impressed with your effort.

Feedback:
  • The exteriors are great, but do be aware that with vines you can also use the mossy cobblestone (within reason) and that you can place shutters over the window blocks too. This is a good way to break up what can otherwise be a very boring and monotonous pattern of window - shutter - window - shutter.
  • I know that stone arrowslits are found a lot through the roofs of Old Anchor, but I would advise sticking to window blocks - otherwise you look like you have stone supported by wood.
  • Bookcases/parchment/scrolls are probably a little too fancy for an armourer, even in a town. Maybe the scrolls would be acceptable in a large town, but the literacy rate would be very low in Westeros so for the most part I would avoid these.
  • Daub and wattle patterning needs to be completed on all faces of the house, not just the exterior.
  • The armourer doesn't have an anvil or a bellows for his furnace. There are lots of good examples in game - please check out the Street of Steel (this can be found directly north of /warp KL35 - ask around in game if you get confused).
I am very happy with your progress, but for your tentative final challenge I would like to see you make a peasant's house in the style of /warp hagsmire1. Your focus is particularly on keeping the interiors humble and medieval, along with exterior detailing. To aid this, once you make your house, I want you to make a wool block border around the house, with about 5 blocks free between the walls and the borders - everything within should be detailed in a way that it would fit into the project. Think about things like yards, hedges, roads, bushes, trees, shrubbery etc, because these details transform a good build into a great one.

Good luck!
 

thecoddfish

Emissary
Staff member
Hey Squizzes,

You've done an exceptional job with the Hag's Mire house. The angled house was a bold choice but you have executed it superbly, and you nailed the brief for the interiors. The only thing I can see you have forgotten is a ladder for the occupants to access the sleeping area. On this basis I am happy to approve your builder application.

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 on board, I look forward to building with you!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DutchGuard