Wolves Fall Castle

[Jacktannery]

This is looking much better jt. I think you should darken all the roofs of the rectangular buildings so they are the same shade as the slate roofs on the towers (or the other way around - lighten the tower roofs to match the light building roofs).

[jtougas]

I really liked the first one you had...but this is shaping up to be so much better. The additions you've already made are an improvement and with your scale adjustment, you'll have a lot more room make it a really interesting fort. I also think this new ground texture is infinitely better...gives it a much drearier look.

Thanks. The first version was decent in a "here is a story and a a prop to go with it" sense but it just didn't work as a map. This (hopefully) will tell a story AND be useable.. Thanks so much for all your feedback.

More interesting design. In the first version, the forest bothered me. The trees look nice on the map, but having a forest that close would make the castle vulnerable. Try just a few scattered small trees on this version.

Thanks. Yeah the forest was implausible. I think I was just looking to fill in some of that green. There isn't any forest there on my regional map so there won't be any there on this. Thanks for all the feedback

The wall is awesome Looks like real and ancient.

Thanks. The real credit goes to Jacktannery he created the original wall segments that I modified and recolored into what you see here.

This is looking better and better...

Thanks. I think so too. Thank you for all your feedback

This is looking much better jt. I think you should darken all the roofs of the rectangular buildings so they are the same shade as the slate roofs on the towers (or the other way around - lighten the tower roofs to match the light building roofs).

Thanks for that. I hadn't even realized that they should all be the same color. I spent all that time explaining about Shendenflar's abundance of dark rock and then made the slate on the roofs too light. I fixed it but I'm not 100% on it yet. I may have to use an overlay or some other technique to get it just right....

Todays update: (Just a note the power is flickering and the wind and rain is howling as Sandy bears down on us) I started with the "detailing" today. I also added a thatched roof building that I am calling "outdoor storage" I think I will have some hay bales sticking out from under it. As you can see I completely re-worked the lower courtyard. I decided that there was just too much dirt and not enough interest. I added some of my outside ground cover and some trees and a medium sized pond. (The Lord General likes to fish) The Lord General and his family will be here for at least 10 years and I thought it would be "realistic" to give them a bit of comfort. I added posts to all of the timber roofed buildings as well the posts are 6 feet around and 10 feet tall made from logs. Chimneys and wells and trees have also been added. If things don't go too far downhill weather wise today I'll start adding the rest of the details. As always feedback is requested and appreciated.

[jtougas]

A small update as the power has just now come back on after being off for the last 7 hours (I think we were very lucky in regards to Sandy...) I added a "guest house" and a few more trees to the lower courtyard. It was a large empty space that just needed to be filled with something and it's plausible that the Lord General and his family would have visitors from time to time. I also finalized my slate roof coloring (I think) this color seems to match the tower roofs pretty closely. As always feedback is requested and appreciated

[Lyandra]

I like the idea of a small garden within the castle walls, makes it more interesting. Some of your trees end in a straight line however. It also bothers me that all of them are copies of each other. Maybe you could make it less obvious by rotating some of them or changing their colour or dimensions slightly? I am not certain I like their current layout either. Sorry for over criticizing your trees... They just do not work for me in their current state.

[jtougas]

I like the idea of a small garden within the castle walls, makes it more interesting. Some of your trees end in a straight line however. It also bothers me that all of them are copies of each other. Maybe you could make it less obvious by rotating some of them or changing their colour or dimensions slightly? I am not certain I like their current layout either. Sorry for over criticizing your trees... They just do not work for me in their current state.

You are absolutely right about those trees. I created them and then I "copy/pasted" them onto the layer but during the re-sizing pass I didn't grab the whole tree thus leaving that awful straight edge. Thanks for pointing that out because I may have ended up missing it. Following your suggestion I altered the coloring and the size of the trees and changed their layout. I also added a few fruit trees for the Lord General and his family. Thanks so much for your continuing feedback

A small update: I worked some more on the "detailing" of this today and I think for the most part it is nearly done. I added horses to the stable. Wagons hauling supplies, blacksmith objects and a LOT of very tiny hay bales under that thatched roofed building. I also added a few "market stalls" along the bailey wall. I see these as food vendors that would sell their wares to the wagon drivers that are bringing supplies into the castle. I may add more of those. As always feedback is requested and appreciated.

[jtougas]

I think this is: "Completed to the best of my current skill and knowledge" to borrow a line from the Riverhewn Cartographers Guild rulebook.... Again I want to thank everyone who gave me feedback and suggestions and tips on how to make this better. I especially want to thank Jacktannery (who will go down in Shendenflar lore as Tajack the Dwarven engineer) for all his time and feedback and help and of course his awesome wall segments and reworked tower roofs. Without them this would never have gotten this far. I am very glad I went and re-did this. I am very happy with this version. Next up internal views of the major structures. As always feedback is requested and appreciated

Object Credits:
Horses Alynnalizza Dundjinni
Anvils Alynnalizza Greytales Nook
Quenching Tubs Greytale Greytales Nook
Original Wall Segments Jacktannery
Original Tower Roofs Kergon Dundjinni
Reworked Tower Roofs Jacktannery
Wells Aegean Greytales Nook
Wagons Heruca Dundjinni
Crates Greytale Greytales Nook
Slate Roof Textures Aegean Greytales Nook

[Jacktannery]

That looks really good jt; you should be very proud of yourself and going back and doing it over, but its really paid off. I look forward to see your interiors (since I'm doing the same).

[jtougas]

That looks really good jt; you should be very proud of yourself and going back and doing it over, but its really paid off. I look forward to see your interiors (since I'm doing the same).

Thanks !!

[arsheesh]

A fine map JT! I agree with Jack, your work on the second map really paid off.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[jtougas]

A fine map JT! I agree with Jack, your work on the second map really paid off.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

Thanks I am very glad I made the decision to go back and redo this.