Here we can discuss ideas, styles, inspiration, proposals and dreams for the inevitable Sunspear and Dorne redo/completion.
Sunspear/Dorne Redo Discussion Megathread
- Thread starter CashBanks
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The Spring 2023 edition of The Rookery is now out! Take a look to see the latest builds, guides, progress and development updates on the upcoming 1.18.2 switch. You can read it here:
https://indd.adobe.com/view/f943da18-ed77-4d55-845d-fee9bfa14247
SeapunkPeaches
Cersei's Left Bob
Expect a collection of style and terra references in the near future 
#dorne=/=agrabah
#dorne=/=agrabah
Margaery_Tyrell
The Dark Lord Sauron
- Pronouns
- they/them
A mixture of the different cultural styles in Dorne. Predominantly salty dornish (moorish/more Eastern in style) with some sandy and stony dornish (Mozarab and catelan/pyreneean)?
Margaery_Tyrell
The Dark Lord Sauron
Sunspear would be Andal/Rhoynish style only since the Martells are an Andal-Rhoynar House without First Men blood that hasn't married in.
- Pronouns
- they/them
- Pronouns
- he/him
I'll leave this here in case it's useful
Vickon_Greyjoy
Bard
i really like these pictures and think some sort of overhang like the first picture would be cool.
this one i just found beautiful not actually a building idea.
mdmeaux
Envoy
Isn't that sort of ship shaped thing actually canon? If so, all the more reason to include it.
ContraBlonde
Prophet
It’s called the Sandship and it is canon
Once I get builder, I could help build this. The water gardens have always been a point of interest to me, and it doesn't seem like it'd be that difficult.I like this picture for the Water Gardens
Pixeld_
Poet
Here are some photos from the city of Essaioura.
The Astapor scenes were filmed here, but I think it could also provide some inspiration for smaller Dorne builds.
There's an image not showing so if you want to see all of them, click on it.
The Astapor scenes were filmed here, but I think it could also provide some inspiration for smaller Dorne builds.
There's an image not showing so if you want to see all of them, click on it.
I think Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Iberia are the best sources for inspiration for Dorne. They're muslim but not Persian/Mesopotamian/Indian influenced (not as much atleast). They feel "Essos adyacent" but not "full Essos". To me Westeros is more Western Mediterranean, while Essos is more Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
Keep in mind this fort is from the 18th century though
Keep in mind this fort is from the 18th century though
Chuck your gripes here if you have thoughts on how the current Dorne terra needs to be updated. E.g. fixing the Desert biome grass coloring/block mix along the Greenblood/less fewer sand dunes.
Endymion Margaery_Tyrell I bet you’ve got opinions.
Endymion Margaery_Tyrell I bet you’ve got opinions.
Margaery_Tyrell
The Dark Lord Sauron
I'm going off the cuff rn, and will bring up canon quotes later *but* I think that east of the source of the Green blood should be scrubbed clean of sand dunes of any kind and replaced with dry plains, scrubland and rocky desert thats more hospitable and traversable (but not ideal) than the dune deserts of Hellholt and Sandstone. Desert ecosystems are some of the most fascinating and dynamic ecosystems on the planet with no 2 deserts looking the same, and Dorne has the opportunity to depict the difference between the sand deserts in the West and the scrubby deserts and scrublands of the East.
The greenblood needs to be a much more significant river, but also shallower (its described as being a lesser river than the Mander by Arianne but considering the Mander thats not a hard thing to occur). It should be emblematic as the lifeblood of Dorne, the greatest source of life in what would otherwise be a tough to live area. I think we should avoid it looking too Egyptian and try for some different feelings that feel Dornish but not Essossi.
In terms of biome coloring for desert biomes, I think my main issue is that grass blocks are blue like almost Riverlands grass blue when I'd prefer a slightly (and I mean subtle af) yellower variant on mushroom_island grass. Grass that looks like its been exposed to sunlight a bit more harshly but isn't fucking dead. Because rn whenever I do terraforming for grass at The Tor, hidden spots of desert biome turn my leaves dark green and grass blue (with sandy grass remaining the correct color) instead of the lovely light greens that Mushroom_island provides.
In conclusion:
The greenblood needs to be a much more significant river, but also shallower (its described as being a lesser river than the Mander by Arianne but considering the Mander thats not a hard thing to occur). It should be emblematic as the lifeblood of Dorne, the greatest source of life in what would otherwise be a tough to live area. I think we should avoid it looking too Egyptian and try for some different feelings that feel Dornish but not Essossi.
In terms of biome coloring for desert biomes, I think my main issue is that grass blocks are blue like almost Riverlands grass blue when I'd prefer a slightly (and I mean subtle af) yellower variant on mushroom_island grass. Grass that looks like its been exposed to sunlight a bit more harshly but isn't fucking dead. Because rn whenever I do terraforming for grass at The Tor, hidden spots of desert biome turn my leaves dark green and grass blue (with sandy grass remaining the correct color) instead of the lovely light greens that Mushroom_island provides.
In conclusion:
Eastern Sand Dunes Delenda Est
As for Sunspear inspiration, the town of Mahdia, Tunisia provides good layout inspiration. It was designed as the first Fatimid capital and was a walled town on a small peninsula (with cool walls directly on the sea). It was the spot of a crusade which flopped but left us these cool paintings (made by someone who obviously never went to tunisia)
Attachments
When the Greenblood is implemented it've be nice to design a centralized water system. Areas where water is precious tend to manage it very carefully. In Murcia muslims developed a intricate spiderweb of canals and ditches that distributed it to thousands of orchards and plots.
At Cotrayarada an azud/weir was built. A small dam that allowed part of the waterflow of the river Segura to split into two branches, that feed both banks.
At Cotrayarada an azud/weir was built. A small dam that allowed part of the waterflow of the river Segura to split into two branches, that feed both banks.
Simplified squeme: the azud catches a part of the water and diverts it to an artificial canal, the acequia, parallel to the river. Smaller canals (hijuelas) and ditches (brazales) spread water along al the farming area. Once the fields where irrigated the aguas sucias ("dirty waters" as used, not muddy or anything) where collected again by the escorredores, that feed into the azarbe, a canal that goes back to the river. Also, very badly drawn and oversized version of this thing on the Greenblood.