Topic: Barbarian Helmsmithy Remodel

The helmsmithy wasn't on the list of buildings to be modeled as it already has a blender file. But before I start the civilian buildings, I want to get an opinion of the overall look, that is the colors and textures.

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And here is one in the same wood as the log buildings of the trainingscamp and battlearena:
5)

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Astuur wrote: I think I like the one with the bark best. But I find it hard to say, whether I will still like it, if every civilan building is made of this material. That really was your question, right?
Or are you not going for an uniform look?

I would like to avoid too much diversification in the building materials, so in that respect I am going for a somewhat uniform look. The "look" we settle on will be used on as many buildings as appropriate. The assumption is that each building is made of the same material as the others but will have its own distinct architecture and/or details. The use of "hardwood" is principally found in the military buildings, so the rest of the tribe is presumed to use the standard "trunk" which conceivably could be displayed as stripped of its bark or with the bark intact. The barbarians are limited to using the five basic building materials, namely trunks, hardwood, thatch, stone and mortar. I am still searching for the best look for each of those. Of the five, the one with the best potential for diversity in my opinion is the stone because it can have so many natural appearances. Finished wood, i.e. with paint, stain or whitewash (another use for the lime) is within reason I think. I must confess to having seen a real log house stained a color not too remote from our current "orange", but it's logs didn't look like dowels.

My general citicism about the barbarian building would be (among other things) that the logs used are too regular, too uniform and too slender, but that doesn't mean you should re-work this material.

I think you have stated the real challenge here, i.e. getting the shape of the trunks to look more natural. Technically they don't have saws. All shaping and fitting is presumed to be done with axes and hammers or mallets. That is the main reason I chose to use a split rail fence in the trainingscamp and battlearena. As good as the barbarians may be with their axes, the machine-precise finish of our current trunks makes it difficult to get that impression of hand-hewn building material. And that will be even more of a challenge at the scale of the game engine.

I'll experiment with creating a set of more natural looking building blocks (or logs as the case may be), and we'll revisit the facing material with my results.

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I think something along this line might serve:

6)

approximate scale in game:

@Astuur: I'm knot going to worry about knots at the scale at which this will be viewed.

So, what do you think of #6?

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Astuur wrote: The combing at the corners (where the notches are) looks very good. Definitely cut with axes.
Personally I'd prefer more changes in diameter in those trunks, but as you like. Are you going to leave the trunks on the roof and around the furnace as they are?

No, #6 is just a "proof of concept". There will be many more tweaks to the helmsmithy before I am happy with it.

If you're sure you knot want any knots in there, then I guess that's it.

There is one more thing Chuck. that I want to point your attention to. Look at the roof and compare it with the other thatched roofs. This one is not so good. Thatched roofs need a certain thickness to work; this one lacks it. They should also be visibly trimmed at the end.
All in all they form a more rounded shape.
This one is just like a tin roof with a straw pattern. Also the reed would have to overlap the extra roof above the furnace. Maybe you can use something from the other buildings?

Thanks for mentioning that. I'll talk to the ferner.

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