WIP: Birdseye

[Wingshaw]

The map's still going. Should have more time to work on it in about a month, when my thesis is finished. For now I'll add images showing the progress I made on the 3d model when I should have been working on something else.

Unfortunately I'm getting the itch to redo parts of the town's layout, which is always dangerous.

[Lyandra]

Impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

[jljansen]

What program are you using for the housing development? That is pretty interesting...

[RedKettle]

Unfortunately the facade idea isn't working as well as I'd hoped...

...I experimented with sandboxing briefly, and my experience was that it slows the program down significantly.

Sorry to hear those approaches are not working, but I understand about not wanting a slow working drawing. Part of my envy is that if I tried anything even half as ambitious as your last update my computer would quickly give up. :p

The progress continues to impress!

[aquarits]

What program are you using for the housing development? That is pretty interesting...

Scketh-Up

I've included the finished hand-drawn part of the map, as well as a rough contour map for the rock. I still want to polish it up a bit, perhaps redo some areas, and I have ambitious plans to make a 3d model in SketchUp, but that'll probably never happen.
r

[darkseed2012]

This map is really becoming something out of this world. You should think about letting EA Games see this after you finish it. I bet they would make it a setting for an online game or something. The detail is astonishing.

[Wingshaw]

Well it's been a really long time since I posted any updates to this map, but I've been busily working on the SketchUp model these last few weeks, and have a few screenshots to share with you guys.

The images show the Garden District. At the top of the Rock, retaining walls have been created, and the terrain carved away to create a landscape of terraced gardens and fountains, where the wealthy residents of Birdseye like to relax. In the middle of this district is the castle, originally a fortified mansion but now used to host royal and state visitors, and serve as the barracks for the Prince Regent's personal guard, the Silkfaces. Rising above the castle is the oldest building on the Birdseye Rock, Seawatch Tower, which has stood for nearly five hundred years (the original wooden building was replaced with stone several centuries ago, and the top was destroyed about forty years ago by lightning, but the tower is still standing nonetheless). There is a lot more to this district than I've stated here, and unfortunately SketchUp is not great for including trees, statues, fountains and so forth, but trust me, they will be there eventually.

I also want to take this opportunity to announce that Katto has generously volunteered his time and expertise to help make this city real (one of the images below is by Katto -- try and guess which one). I am extremely grateful for his ongoing assistance.

As always, comments and critiques are not only welcome, they are keenly encouraged.

PS: I know it's kinda late, but thanks Darkseed for the good suggestion. I might try it out.

So without further ado, the images:

[Larb]

Love the garden designs - they look very traditional.

[Lyandra]

The Garden District looks amazing. The scope of this city is simply stunning. It's also nice to see the more detailed visualization by Katto. I'm so looking forward to the next update on your project.

[Wingshaw]

Thanks guys for those comments.

And you're right Lyandra; Katto's 3D visualisation is stunning, I must say.