I am taking a little artistic license here. The actual castle doesnt have a grotto... but mine does. You will notice if you go back to page 1 that I planned from the beginning to include this little feature. No reason in particular... just wanted it.
Right here is where I will cut a path to the sea.
The cut is in down to sea level (always need the cobble anyway :smile.gif: )
Ant the Grotto itself. I will dig it deeper into the foundations when I start the interior builds
So take the cut down one more level, and break away the earth dam.. let the water roll in.
And after 30 minutes of bucket work, the cut is full. I will deepen the canal later (maybe)
This is the part of teh structure that ties the Guard Tower to the Gatehouse. It is the smallest part of the white Castle itself, and went up in under two hours (not counting shearing lol)
The first section is up... I gotta stop taking pictures in the dark.
And the outer wall is done
On to the inner wall (facing the inner courtyard).
The staircase REALLY didnt want to fit aesthetically. It took almost two hours to build/rebuild re-rebuild etc.
And a roof, meaning I can tie into and finish the roof on the Gatehouse
I went ahead and took the time to finish the Gatehouse tower roofs as well.
The Gatehouse is officially done except glass and interiors.
And a shot from inside
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Knights Tower
So now its time layout the Knights Quarters footings so I can place the Knights Tower.
I am going to try to introduce a different building technique that I started using on the Gatehouse Hall walls, and have been using almost exclusively for tall parts of the structure. Im sure it has been used by legit builders since about day 2 of MC. But I just discovered it, and Im going to try to show it with pictures.
First empty your inventory completely, cause your gonna die in a second. Then, put the right number of blocks in one inventory space, stand on the right spot and hold your jump key and your 'action key' (whatever key you use to place a block) and build what I call a jump pillar that is exactly the right height.
Then... jump off and die.... when you respawn, come back and place a ladder all the way up your pillar.
Then just build a series of pillars right next to each other. But each time you finish a pillar to the right height, instead of jumping, just slide back down the ladder and run to the next spot, and back up you go. It takes a WHOLE lot less clicks and a lot fewer fall-off deaths.
Before you know it:
You'll notice in the top of the pic, just behind and to the left of the tower, I had to make a significant lowering of the ground by making a diagonal cut, just to make the Knights Quarters fit.... gonna be a WHALE of a lot of earth/stone moving here when final elevations go in.
So, the Knights Quarters Tower, footings and basement floors are done, time to build the foundations
I used a combo of jump pillar building and click click click building.
The process here was nothing new; excavate, mark out with torches, lay footings, build foundations, add first story floors (I did not flatten the earth below, or lay basement floors on this section yet)
The footings are in, and mostly underground by 3-12 blocks. If you look closely, you can see the cuts in the ground
HEAVY excavations are required in some places here to reveal the structure.... but guess what... need the cobble anyway lol.
Exterior Foundation wall going up
The basic outline is done, and a few interior foundations as well... I was in the zone for about 6 hours here... forgot to take pictures.
All the foundations finished and up to final grade.
And the floors start going in... going to use all my remaining wood here Im afraid
Notice that every room has a ladder opening at the top... while building the foundation walls I got REAL tired of falling off and living, cause I would be completely lost. so I built a ladder in EVERY room so I could climb up and see where I was.
And the Kings Quarters foundations are done
Notice there are no floors in the two towers, spiral stairs (yet to be designed) will fill this, not floors. Also in one square room where a 'grand staircase' will eventually be, (also yet to be designed).
and
and
DONE!
The entire structure is laid out, the foundations are done and the first story floors are done.
That's it for now.
I have averaged 20-30 hours per week playing/building this project and about a month has elapsed to this point... about on the pace I expected. I have encountered WAY fewer problems than I expected. A project of this scope always comes with surprises. It has been relatively easy sailing so far. No major setbacks (.jar file catastrophe not withstanding).
I expect it to take about another month to completely finish the exterior. I have given myself a deadline goal of feb 20th mostly because as the weather warms in late Feb, I will be really itching to do a lot of fishing. Cabin fever will hit me HARD when the white bass start running, and I wont be as interested in sitting in the dark at a computer desk. :wink.gif:
So in a sense, this update constitutes a halfway point of sorts.
From here; full speed ahead.
I can't believe I only just found this thread. I couldn't tear myself away from page to page to read the updates!
Firstly - nice castle (irl), I'm not really familiar with it myself but i can see by the Google images why you wanted to build it, it looks like a fantastic place. Secondly kudos for you for taking on this massive and I mean MASSIVE project. You sir, are an excellent builder! Especially doing it legit! I can't wait to see how it turns out. +1 and :Diamond:'s for you!
Like Minecraft forums or interested in my world? Try My message board, it's better moderated because I run it directly and have run Internet message boards for 21+ years! Better software and I have much more control to keep the content more up to date. Free to join, 13 years+.
I've been watching this thread since your first one, but I was too lazy to post anything, it does look amazing though.. Just felt like I should post something about this particular message because the sheer bluntness of it was very amusing, but at the same time you made it seem like you regret it..
I've been watching this thread since your first one, but I was too lazy to post anything, it does look amazing though.. Just felt like I should post something about this particular message because the sheer bluntness of it was very amusing, but at the same time you made it seem like you regret it..
Im definitely regretting that second bottle of wine this morning, yep.
What we are focused on here is the area of the castle between the Gard Tower (second tallest tower located in the left half of the structure) and the Royal Quarters (the big building on the right side)
A couple RL photos, and a good shot of the structure as it exists at Legoland.
Actual photos of this side of the castle are few and far between. I assume that is because of the lay of the land around the castle.
First I clad the foundations (first three stories) and then went straight up with the Knights quarters exterior wall. Then a few blocks up on the rest of the phase to feel it all out:
Next, lay in the connection to the Guard Tower:
And finishing up by laying in the other side of the exterior walls:
add the crenelations at the top (they ended up being completely redesigned and relayed... more on that later)
OK inside (cobble that will be removed when the interiors go in) and outside (white wool) of the Exterior wall are done. This was the easy part.
Next; the Interior wall of this phase (faces into the upper courtyard)
The challenge: 1)have to make the windows of three stories fit in a balanced way between the Guard Tower and the Royal Quarters, 2) have to make the windows at the same height as the windows on the exterior wall so the floors will fit in between correctly (later) and the biggie 3) the roof lines are very complicated on this structure, and matching them up was a monster puzzle. Tore out and rebuilt the roofs, the tops of walls, and the crenelations over, and over, and over, and over (at 30 blocks high w no fly & no net)... until I finally got to a compromise I can live with.
Hard to work from a template when this is the standard view :wink.gif:
Here we go:
I've spared you all the wrong permutations, the trail and error, and the takes downs, and just jumped ahead to the finished wall.
First story done (version #3)
Most of the first story to the left of the door will eventually be replaced with cobble because the stair to the Royal Quarters fifth story main entryway will go in right up against that wall there (and I will recycle the wool).
Right about this point in the build I got to experience a VERY close call... While I was on the wall laying in the windowsills for the second story ... LIGHTNING HIT THE COURTYARD about 10 blocks from the structure! Wish I could have caught a pic of it. After changing my drawers, I exited and saved lol.
Survival Interlude: getting ready to deal with this pair of nere-do-wells,
Mob fighting is pretty old hat at this point, and I comfortably can take the time to f1, pic, pic pic, f1, swing, if the mood strikes me.
Quick run up a tower to snap a look down shoot:
Notice the dirt scaffolding hiding in there, and see the bed?
The jump/die/spawn/collect-the-dropped-inventory has become a common building tactic at this point. (must plan where the bed is and not jump in the wrong spot.... and a mob death near the bed is a nightmare as you respawn nekid but still in the fight.
AHA I did snap a shot of a test wall going across in an attempt to run a roof-line out and across for a test fit.
Second story on the interior wall is done (version #3):
Fianlly, the third story, the attic peak and one layer of roof are done (version eleventy million), and I found a spot EXACTLY the right distance so that my distance setting would pick up teh close wall but not the far wall (12 block space between)
So satisfied to hit this point that I decided to wait there for a sunset photo:
Time for roofs; After all the re-building I did as the second wall came up, the roofs went on without issue;
And... DONE (please ignore the dirt/ladder photo pillar)
It doesn't seem as striking or impressive as the Gatehouse... but its actually a bigger build, and took a lot longer than I expected. I have a feeling that the Royal Quarters building (the big part of the castle) is going to be a HUGE endeavor. I predict that rather than build it one wall at a time as I have done everything so far, I will probably change styles and build it story by story.
BTW photo:
Damn Endermen, one of them chewed a hole in the Guard tower roof... I'm constantly following them around, cleaning up after them... I think they must be two year olds or something.
Keep up the good work bro, you're doing great. I'm checkin up on you at least once a week!
Firstly - nice castle (irl), I'm not really familiar with it myself but i can see by the Google images why you wanted to build it, it looks like a fantastic place. Secondly kudos for you for taking on this massive and I mean MASSIVE project. You sir, are an excellent builder! Especially doing it legit! I can't wait to see how it turns out. +1 and :Diamond:'s for you!
Closed old thread
Like Minecraft forums or interested in my world? Try My message board, it's better moderated because I run it directly and have run Internet message boards for 21+ years! Better software and I have much more control to keep the content more up to date. Free to join, 13 years+.
16yrs+ only
Update coming tonight or tomorrow.
I've been watching this thread since your first one, but I was too lazy to post anything, it does look amazing though.. Just felt like I should post something about this particular message because the sheer bluntness of it was very amusing, but at the same time you made it seem like you regret it..
Im definitely regretting that second bottle of wine this morning, yep.
And update today? YES! :biggrin.gif:
He has a massive sheep farm. :biggrin.gif:
Included in this update:
Knights Quarters
Upper Courtyard Concourse
New Tree farm
___________________________________________________________________________
Knights Quarters
What we are focused on here is the area of the castle between the Gard Tower (second tallest tower located in the left half of the structure) and the Royal Quarters (the big building on the right side)
A couple RL photos, and a good shot of the structure as it exists at Legoland.
Actual photos of this side of the castle are few and far between. I assume that is because of the lay of the land around the castle.
First I clad the foundations (first three stories) and then went straight up with the Knights quarters exterior wall. Then a few blocks up on the rest of the phase to feel it all out:
Next, lay in the connection to the Guard Tower:
And finishing up by laying in the other side of the exterior walls:
add the crenelations at the top (they ended up being completely redesigned and relayed... more on that later)
OK inside (cobble that will be removed when the interiors go in) and outside (white wool) of the Exterior wall are done. This was the easy part.
______________________________________________________________
Upper Courtyard Concourse
Next; the Interior wall of this phase (faces into the upper courtyard)
The challenge: 1)have to make the windows of three stories fit in a balanced way between the Guard Tower and the Royal Quarters, 2) have to make the windows at the same height as the windows on the exterior wall so the floors will fit in between correctly (later) and the biggie 3) the roof lines are very complicated on this structure, and matching them up was a monster puzzle. Tore out and rebuilt the roofs, the tops of walls, and the crenelations over, and over, and over, and over (at 30 blocks high w no fly & no net)... until I finally got to a compromise I can live with.
Hard to work from a template when this is the standard view :wink.gif:
Here we go:
I've spared you all the wrong permutations, the trail and error, and the takes downs, and just jumped ahead to the finished wall.
First story done (version #3)
Most of the first story to the left of the door will eventually be replaced with cobble because the stair to the Royal Quarters fifth story main entryway will go in right up against that wall there (and I will recycle the wool).
Right about this point in the build I got to experience a VERY close call... While I was on the wall laying in the windowsills for the second story ... LIGHTNING HIT THE COURTYARD about 10 blocks from the structure! Wish I could have caught a pic of it. After changing my drawers, I exited and saved lol.
Survival Interlude: getting ready to deal with this pair of nere-do-wells,
Mob fighting is pretty old hat at this point, and I comfortably can take the time to f1, pic, pic pic, f1, swing, if the mood strikes me.
Quick run up a tower to snap a look down shoot:
Notice the dirt scaffolding hiding in there, and see the bed?
The jump/die/spawn/collect-the-dropped-inventory has become a common building tactic at this point. (must plan where the bed is and not jump in the wrong spot.... and a mob death near the bed is a nightmare as you respawn nekid but still in the fight.
AHA I did snap a shot of a test wall going across in an attempt to run a roof-line out and across for a test fit.
Second story on the interior wall is done (version #3):
Fianlly, the third story, the attic peak and one layer of roof are done (version eleventy million), and I found a spot EXACTLY the right distance so that my distance setting would pick up teh close wall but not the far wall (12 block space between)
So satisfied to hit this point that I decided to wait there for a sunset photo:
Time for roofs; After all the re-building I did as the second wall came up, the roofs went on without issue;
And... DONE (please ignore the dirt/ladder photo pillar)
It doesn't seem as striking or impressive as the Gatehouse... but its actually a bigger build, and took a lot longer than I expected. I have a feeling that the Royal Quarters building (the big part of the castle) is going to be a HUGE endeavor. I predict that rather than build it one wall at a time as I have done everything so far, I will probably change styles and build it story by story.
_____________________________________________________________________
New Tree farm
Pretty self-explanatory. It is planted under the upper courtyard.
Planted:
Ready to harvest and replant:
Aspens
Pines
Maples
________________________________________________________
BTW photo:
Damn Endermen, one of them chewed a hole in the Guard tower roof... I'm constantly following them around, cleaning up after them... I think they must be two year olds or something.
I DO NOT have an access ladder to this roof lol.
________________________________________________________
Next up; The Ladies Quarters aka 'The Kemenate'
Your comments have been much appreciated, and as always, additional comments, both critical and suggestive, are most welcomed.
Peace.
http://imgur.com/wlG50
and I've been refreshing the page since then :tongue.gif:
Awesome job on the knights quarters its really taking shape now. And I can finally see why you need so much wool.