Builder application: CoolSwedish: ACCEPTED

Player name : CoolSwedish

How did you find out about us? : The Nerd of the Rings youtube video

How old are you? : 24

Where are you from? : Sweden

Are you in our Discord? Do you understand that you must have Discord running at all times when at your computer, and that you must check the forums every few days?: Yes

Why do you want to help with this project? : Middle earth and the stories that surrounds it has played a major part of my life for the last 18 years or so. Being part of a project like this has always been a dream of mine.

Which Tolkien-related works have you read, seen or listened to? : Read every single book, poetry line and letter thats available. Have read main books (Silmarillion, LOTR, Hobbit) atleast once a year since 7-8 years back

Portfolio : Ardacraft - Google Drive

Plot ID : 12:-36

Are there any styles that you excel at? Any styles which you have difficulty with? : Big projects and ive found that im good at blending my work into the surrounding nature, and combining several projects into the same area. (like figuring out the layout of a housing block).
I believe i would find elven style difficult, havent tried it but i feel it.

Other relevant skills : I used to run a server on Ark survival Evolved, we had a community of around 120 active players.

5 Likes

Hello, and thanks for applying!

Your Hobbit build looks great, you’ve got the architecture of the smial spot on. There’s a bit of an overreliance on a couple of blocks, but given that guests don’t have access to paintings, we can overlook that.

Your Rohan build could use a little work, but you’ve got the basics down. Beds should be against the wall, and the interior beamwork is a bit much. And the smoke outlet is a bit big. Other than that, I’m happy to accept it, and I’ll lead you through some Rohan builds later.

Finally, I’d like you to try a Tharbad ruin. A 30x30 area will do. A step-by-step guide can be found at /warp Tharbad.

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Thank you for the nice comment!
Here’s my Tharbad ruin

1 Like

Helloo Swedish,

I just looked at your ruin and it is pretty good for an application but I have some feedback to give you.

There is not enough rushes and reeds. Your mud blocks should all be covered by rushes and summer reeds and they should always be between 2 and 3 blocks tall. You can place some above the water that is only 1 tall. Also, try to assemble the rushes by small patches rather than spreading them equally. If you look around Tharbad, you will see that they grow in groups like most of the plants on our server.

Don’t place plants on top of bushes, please.
I like that you thought about adding wildlife but there is too many critters in such a small area.
Good use of overgrown podzol in the mud. This is not something that I see many builders doing but it is very good nonetheless. It should just not be used systematically in Tharbad when you get to apprentice and above so that your plots don’t stand out too much.

Layers: The layering is not smooth enough in many places. You have made some depressions in your slopes that are not justified mainly, if I understand correctly, to place vegetation on full blocks.
Be aware that I encourage the placement of floating plants (except leaves and trees of course) on layers because of the upcoming 1.15 update that will snap those plants to the layers.
Your rubble placement (grass layers next and on top of your ruins) will need more work in the future.

You have applied the principle of “less is more” quite well for your vegetation on grass.
You should have used level 3 of the vegetation guide for the top of your ruin.

To me, your ruins are satisfying enough to become an apprentice but you will have to work a bit more on the ruins you will certainly do as an apprentice. Don’t worry, I will be there to help you and I will finally be able to leave notes on your plots!

2 Likes

Since Yannig’s happy with your ruin, I’m happy to promote you to Apprentice. Congrats!

Being an Apprentice means you are a part of the project, but not a full Builder yet. You have this rank so you can learn and understand how we build. We have high standards and a focus on realism which means that there are things for you to learn. Your duties as an Apprentice should give you good grounding to become a Builder, and, as such, you will begin your first lot of on-server building work assisting current Builders on their builds. This will hopefully allow you to obtain the experience needed to build on your own when you feel you can start on building something on your own.

When building as an Apprentice, you are only permitted to build on one building at a time. This not only provides you with good practice for your time as a Builder, but also allows project leaders and Overseers to get a good and clear idea of what your building abilities are. This will allow us to give you better and more bespoke feedback, and prevent any unnecessary problems. Keep in mind that you are only allowed to work on something if you have permission from a project leader via an open plot or confirmation if it’s something else. Finally, as an Apprentice you must always listen to project leaders when they give you feedback, criticisms, and tasks. Ask them if you are unsure of what to build, or how to build it. You have this rank to learn.

In order to eventually obtain Builder, please read the guidelines below:
When you build a house in a project and think it is finished, you should add an ‘Awaiting Approval’ block above your build. The project leader will assess your build and give you fair feedback, asking you to update your build, or approving it. When your building is approved, you may add it to this thread, stating what your build was, which project it is a part of, and its coordinates (X,Z). For example:

Upper class hobbit home, Longbottom.
Coords: -1328, 408

When you have achieved a standard of building that matches the basic standard of the server, you will be promoted to Builder. This requires you to build at least 5 buildings in differing styles, for example two hobbit houses, two Tharbad ruins and a Rohan home.

ArdaCraft is a friendly community that explores the freedom to create and build together. However, when we are dealing with an enormous project like this there are some guidelines we need to follow to make it work. Firstly, always name and date the stuff you build. We have a set of project blocks that we use - you can read about those in the new player guide at ‘/warp spawn’. Secondly, if you are looking for something to help out with, you can type ‘/warp jobs’. This is where you can find all open jobs like building houses or something similar. You will be provided with instructions on how to get to these projects, and what to build once you get there. Thirdly, do not be afraid to ask members for help and get to know us. This is a community project and it’s important to be part of the community! Stay active on Discord and the forums. Make sure to let an Overseer know who you are on Discord so that he can give you the appropriate rank on there. On a final note, please remember that Apprentice is not a permanent rank, so we require a certain level of activity during your progression. Being active fewer than once a month will result in your application being rejected.

3 Likes

Sheep barn, Breredon
Cords: 84, -89

3 Likes

General upper class hobbit home, Sugondese /Argent
20, -90

3 Likes

Tharbad ruins, middle class house, Epoch II-III
4048, 4428

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Moria Dining Hall Epoch 2
633, 58

Would be nice if we could see it

Here you go

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Not on here, but also completed a Cheesemaker in EFTown. And with that, I can promote!

Congrats.

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