The Blockland Builder's Guide

Author Topic: The Blockland Builder's Guide  (Read 1925 times)

I'm working on this guide for building in Blockland.
It's not quite done (mostly because it's a big commitment, and I'm not going to finish it if the community doesn't like the idea.)

Anyway, here's what I have so far. Tell me if I should keep going.


BLOCKLAND BUILDING GUIDE

SECTION 1: OPENING NOTES
Section 1.1 Introduction.
The blockland building guide was written by the Committee of Better Builders as a way of benchmarking building standards in official buildings. This is in no way a strictly enforced code, but is more of a guideline. Some clans or building groups may choose to accept this as a rigorous code, but it's intent is to simply lay out an outline to the best possible form of construction in blockland.

Section 1.2 Opening notes.
The blockland building guide is broken up into 10 chapters. Chapter 1 is cordoned off for introductory notes and general guidelines, just as chapter 10 is sectioned for closing remarks. The remaining 8 chapters are broken up into several common sets and subsets of buildings and their respective guides.

Section 1.3 Subsection notes.
Sections are the starting point for subsections. In sections 2-9, subsections will signify subsets of the building type presented in the section. For example, section 2 (houses) subsection 2.3 is “Medium sized houses” and ever 2.3.whatever is the specific guides, with four digit sections denominating notes on specific guides.

SECTION 2: Houses.

Section 2.1 Introduction to houses.
Houses are probably the most basic form of blockland building. They are the go-to project for anyone looking to build something. They range from the nubbiest of builds (32x32 with 1x1x5 walls) too the most elaborate and challenging building projects. This section will give you a good outline of what you have to do to make a good one.


Section 2.2 Large sized houses.
Large houses are meant to definitely meant to be bigger undertakings. A Large house does not mean a bigger baseplate, and thought should be put into whatever you build.

Section 2.2.1 Detailing.
Large houses should contain moderate amounts of detailing. Detailing magnitude should be kept consistent throughout the entire build, and detailing should be kept contingent with detailing in other parts of the building.

Section 2.2.2 Shape.
When building a large house, unless used wisely, keep away from picking a large baseplate and staying within that. Take a 16x32 and build a cool shaped house with that. Use more than one floor, build each floor different. Experiment and find something that works for you.

Section 2.2.3 Surrounding objects.
Build everything around the house. This includes the yard, paths, fences, flowers, etc. This adds a touch of thought and class to your builds. Exteriors are just as important as interiors, for example, taking an extra 20 minutes to build Ivy on the side of an empty wall adds a sense of realism to your builds that clan leaders or Gallery lurkers will enjoy.

Section 2.2.4 Structure.
In large builds, it is VERY important to have an idea of what you're going to do. It's a tough spot to get stuck in the middle of a build and have to tear down a large section of what you build to continue. Make a mental plan of the house and how you're going to build each section.

2.2.5 Interiors.
In large builds, interiors are very difficult. Mostly because the larger the house, the general consensus is there's more interior space. Most gallery-goers call a build unfinished without interior objects. And with so much floorspace to fill, it's pretty difficult to fill that with the efficiency of smaller houses (because spread out objects look bad, use rooms and larger objects to make your objects closer together- this is really important!)

Section 2.3 Medium sized houses.
Section 2.3.1 Notes on medium houses.
Medium houses are interesting, because they need to have the attention to detail of small maps, but the decent interior size of larger houses. Making a good medium house can be just as hard as making a good large house.

2.3.2 Shape.
At this size, you could probably get away confined to a single, square baseplate. 48X48 would probably be defined as a medium to large house as long as you use two floors. Again, as tempting as it may be, if you're going to use all of one baseplate, as unappealing as this may seem, make sure to use a setback on the second floor to avoid making a completely square house (even if you make a roof, it's a very basic shape)

2.2.3 Layout.
Layout is crucial in small houses. With large houses you can have a huge house with lots of interior space, however, as you creep down to smaller houses, you need to be able to maximize the space in terms of interior objects. Use as much space as possible. If the house sits on a terrain build, build a basement. Don't waste any space and use the space allotted efficiently.

2.2.4 Structure.
Much the same as large houses, make sure you have an idea of what you want to build. Pay special attention to whether or not you need to build exterior elements that are attached to the building (such as a box window) while you're building the basic shape of the house, or whether or not you can build the basic structural element of most buildings (2x4x3s staggered) and then come in and delete some and add it in later.

2.2.5 Surrounding objects.
Medium houses work on a ratio with the actual house and surrounding objects. The more extravagant the house, the more you can slack on things in the vicinity of the house (however, the more you work on the exterior, the better the overall build will be!) But, if you use less detailing on the actual house, you should probably work very hard on the exterior to make a good build.

Pictures and examples would make this topic a whole lot better.

Pictures and examples would make this topic a whole lot better.

Pictures and examples would make this topic a whole lot butter.

I'm too lazy to read all of that, but
Pictures and examples would make this topic a whole lot butter.
would be nice.

Pictures and examples would make this topic a whole lot better.
True. I might come in and do that later, but do you think I should keep doing the entire thing?

True. I might come in and do that later, but do you think I should keep doing the entire thing?
Yes.

Did anybody notice I put "butter"? >:D

Also use formating.

Particularly bold on section starts

Also use formating.

Particularly bold on section starts
In the word document I have it formatted, but for this I just copied the actual text.