How did you find out about us?: initially through the WesterosCraft Instagram, and then in the server list of the Conquest mod.
How old are you?: 21
Where are you from?: South Africa
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, and I understand.
Why do you want to help with this project?: I love the fantasy genre and fell in love with LOTR when I was 14 years old, and it’s been a source of joy and escapism ever since, so being able to help build something that’s had such an impact on my life and being able to actively participate in the creation of this world would be such a surreal experience.
Which Tolkien-related works have you read, seen or listened to?:
Are there any styles that you excel at? Any styles which you have difficulty with?: I definitely had the most fun with the Hobbit smial and the natural aspects of its surroundings.
I struggled the most with the Tharbad Ruin build, and it’s definitely the area I would need to improve on the most.
Other relevant skills: I am a lifelong artist and have some experience with creating digital art, and am extremely proficient in Adobe Photoshop., so that may be helpful in creating mock-ups.
Hey dadbodnac, thanks for applying! Had a look through your stuff ingame and everything seemed quite good. Some things I think you could improve upon:
Your Rohan/eastfold build is imo your best work. You especially did a great job with the interior, with the exception of using some jarringly bright smoke blocks (the lightest ones are the best). You did a good job with all the terrain work you did alongside it, the effort you put in definitely shows. Things you could have done differently is supporting your garden beds a bit better, I would look at examples in the folde with how garden beds are made. Also for your sheds I would try to make sure that the ceiling matches the side of the wall, yours atm protrude out and then inwards again. Your gradients are looking good, not sure if you’ve read /warp gradientguide, but it seems you have the general idea down pretty well. Paths are great.
The hobbit build is also really nicely done. Things I would watch out for are not overdoing the overgrown details outside, but trying to keep things as simple and tidy as possible. The vines and stuff has been overdone a little bit too much, and scattered too randomly. Your paths you’ve done could have looked a lot better if you had done the same as your folde plot, but good job on the layering nonetheless. You’ve done a really nice job on your interior, which is great because new builders usually struggle quite a lot with them. One thing I’d watch out for though is trying to keep your interior neat and tidy with respect to your detailing and block usage. The tidier and simpler to read that the interior is, the better.
Can’t say all that much on your ruins as I’m not overly familiar with the style, but it seems to be quite good overall!
My best advice to everyone is always be super thorough in how you follow guides, and always check the main map for ideas on how to build things, don’t be too hesistant to just copy some things directly since that’s a lot of what we do anyway.
I appreciate the work you’ve put in, it definitely shows. I think you have quite a good idea of aesthetics already, and just require a bit more practice building things to really execute things. So with that in mind, I think just one request will be sufficient, which is a hobbit house. You can find the guide to build it at /warp hobbitguide. And of course don’t feel hesitant to reach out to others if you need help with something. After you’ve done this, you’ll probably be ready for Apprentice.
Sidenote, would definitely be interested to see some of your art!
So concerning your Tharbad ruins, I can tell that you understood some principles but there is still room for improvement.
Shape-wise:
It looks like you decided to put water only in the middle of the houses. While it is perfectly fine to do so, I want to remind you that the swamps can also appear anywhere in Tharbad as long as the terrain is low enough so I would have liked to see some wet area outside the houses for more detail and randomness, but don’t worry, what you did is absolutely correct.
Because you decided to put water only in the middle of the houses, all your walls look too tall by at least one block. In this type of terrain, ruins that are at least two thousand years old and in such a wet area are typically barely visible. In Tharbad, there are two ways to approach ruins:
on dry land, the walls should go as high as one and a half block maximum.
Near water (more so in the mud), the walls slowly go down into the ground until being completely washed off by the water.
Texture-wise:
There shouldn’t probably be any stone bricks in this type of ruins and I would have preferred to see more cobblestone but for an application, it’s fine.
Vegetation-wise:
You understood that only summer reeds and rushes go on the mud but you did not put enough of them. The mud should be covered almost entirely by them and you should at least make each plant two blocks high or even three here and there. Try not to make it look too random, start by putting the reeds and replace some small patches with rushes for a better rendition.
Pro tip: with better foliage on, you can get some reeds in the water by replacing some mud blocks underwater with vanilla dirt. You can also put rushes and reeds by hand one or two blocks above water.
You seem to have put some grass on top of your bushes… That is not something that we do in Tharbad.
My critics could sound like there are a lot of errors but those mistakes are fairly widespread when it is the first time that a builder works on those ruins so no worries. You should be able to fix them quickly.
Hey dadbod, thanks for your update it looks fantastic! You’ve clearly had a good look at the guide and main map, and implemented the previous feedback. Your house is virtually main-map quality, my only suggestion might be to simplify and tidy up your ceiling a little bit. Very good work though! So with that in mind, you’re ready for Apprentice. Have a read through the text for an idea on what to do next.
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 post a comment on this application thread with the closest warp and coordinates of your house. Then Builders or Overseers will comment on this thread and give you fair feedback. When you have achieved a standard of building that matches the basic standard of the server, you will be promoted to Builder. This could be on your first build or one further down the line. 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.
First Build:
Westfarthing style Hobbit house, barn, and landscaping (aside from the hedge-fences). Approved by Sunwing34. /warp shire37. coordinates are xzy: -1835/-484/63.
Mini build:
Ranger camp. Approved by olaf16. coordinates are xzy: -474/22/74.
