Autarch Neglect Village: Obsidian Foundry, part one
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water I return to pollute the seas of Minecraftia.
As to my lengthy absence, I suddenly and unexpectedly lost whatever meager talent I had for erecting post-worthy structures. Try as I might I couldn't build my way out of a paper bag. I didn't totally stop playing, but confined myself almost exclusively to spelunking, branch mining and resource gathering, either in Decrepia or a newly created MC174 survival world.
This posting documents my undramatic return. Seen below is my third self-created structure within Autarch Neglect Village, and first halfway decent build since mid 2013.
Its primary function is to house an obsidian generator. It will serve as both obsidian and redstone storage. For purely decorative purposes it includes a first floor sales area, as well as upper floor bedroom, dining area, utility room, latrine, ladder closet and private outdoor balcony. The facility was deliberately created on a small scale, so that most of its rooms are rather cramped. So cramped I am unable to capture acceptable images of any second floor indoor room.
The Foundry is "of a piece" with the Inn and Brick / Clay Shoppe, having much in common with them. In fact a prime reason I built the Foundry to almost insufficiently small dimensions was to force myself to differentiate it from the Brick / Clay Shoppe. I might otherwise have been too tempted to merely create a mirror image of the Shoppe with only enough interior changes to house the generator.
The below images show the facility as a work-in-progress. Its overall shape is more or less set in stone, and unlikely to change. It will, however, undergo much fine-tuning before I am satisfied.
Foundry exterior at sunrise, a 2014-06-02 capture:
Here we see the buildings north and west walls, along with a portion of the Inn at screen right. The waterfall portion of the interior's obsidian generator rests against the north wall foundation.
Foundry east and south exterior walls:
The private balcony can be glimpsed above the south wall sales area entrance door. An "employee only" foundry door is seen along the east wall. A portion of the Brick / Clay Shoppe is seen screen left. The Inn is seen in the background.
Foundry west and south exterior walls:
Not much to add here. The middle of three first-floor torches seen along the building exterior should have been removed once glowstone lamppost was installed, as has since been done. Additionally, the balcony roof was modified later in the day.
The Foundry Room itself:
The Foundry pit (for redstone and lava) beneath the trap doors was added to keep villagers from falling into the generator. My admittedly too brief test found the doors, in their open position, not affected by lava underneath. We shall see. I hope to, at some point, replace jack-o-lantern overheads with glowstone.
I consider this build inferior to the Inn and Brick / Clay Shoppe. Despite that I'm rather fond of it. I'm certainly not embarrassed by it.
Obsidian Foundry, part two. Images captured 2014-06-10
The first floor sales area, with foundry to rear:
Not a lot of room here, not that it's needed. I doubt I'll ever mine enough obsidian to fill the two chests seen here. If I do, there are two more chests along the opposite wall. If I somehow manage to fill all four, there's always those double chests in the foundry. Overkill, though admittedly some of these chests will be used for redstone storage. (Seven redstone are consumed during each generation process. The lava, thankfully, is reclaimable.) I originally installed a more elaborate ceiling in the sales area, but small size and lighting glitch dictated a switch to simple wood plank blocks.
Closeup of the second floor private balcony at dawn:
The smokestack's upper tip can be seen peeking over the roof. A sliver of the Clay / Obsidian Shoppe can be glimpsed at screen right. A portion of the village protective boundary wall is visible in the background. The dedicatory plaque located near the balcony door bears the date 10 June 2014. I made just enough modifications today to justify that date rather than yesterday.
Whilst perusing my collection of Minecraft screen captures I stumbled upon two forgotten images of Autarch Neglect Village. Both were edited for posting nearly a year ago, for a planned update to my initial post (#1). Due to succumbing to dreaded "builder's block" soon afterward that update never occurred. The images, though dated, are still relevant in that their main subject matter has not changed. I take liberty to show them now.
I'm right fond of this one, though I admit a certain bias. The image was captured with my avatar standing on the shore of a vast waterlogged swamp, extreme hills to his immediate left. This is my old route to the Village, wading across the marsh, then hugging the shoreline. Nowadays I use a saner still-unfinished roadway to make the trip.
We stand atop the Village perimeter wall battlements, at their northwest corner. The original testificate village, almost wholly untouched, is seen in the foreground, along with the Inn. Neither Brick / Clay Shoppe nor Obsidian Foundry had been built. A modern view from this same location would look little different.
Wool Merchant market stall:
A new structure, assembled just last week. Wool is stored here, and carpets made to order. I watched a number of YouTube market stall videos before tackling this, and wasn't totally satisfied with any of 'em. I combined elements from several and ended up with the above. I'm not yet content. Expect at least minor modification ere all is said and done.
Obsidian Foundry:
Not much point to this one, it being nearly identical to an image seen several posts earlier. It does, however, sport the "improved" roof pattern above the balcony, and removal of one wall torch overlooked before.
Overview of self-built Village structures
Not much point to this one either. We stand atop the perimeter wall battlements at the South gate. All my few Village creations are visible: Inn, Shoppe, Foundry, stall. This little area is the only section of village close to being finalized. Ground surrounding the stall will most definitely be transformed into something fancier. That's likely far in the future.
And now for something completely different...
We are now far from Autarch Neglect, at a Skeleton Spawner off the South Road, near my Hill Fort. This XP farm existed in a primitive state for quite some time. I finally got off my duff and made it more efficient, with water elevator and long drop to soften mobs for one-hit kills. As can be seen, I also installed an enchanting / repair station. I then had second thoughts about the direction I was taking the facility. Nor could I decide how to disguise the two ugly cobblestone pillar that stick far above the surface. (The spawner is not far underground.) I have abandoned further work until something comes to me.
As to the village, work will continue at a relatively slow pace. (As mentioned elsewhere, building is not my primary focus.) I'd like to eventually fill the Village interior with structures of various sorts. But realistically I doubt I'll come anywhere near doing so. If I do, I do. If not, no regrets.
I really ought to get off my duff and finish the last stretch of roadway leading to the Village. I can't for the life of me drum up enthusiasm for the task. Odd that, considering how roads and bridges have, in the past, been something of a specialty of mine.
Here we see my road to Autarch Neglect Village as it appeared Nov 2013, very much a WIP. Construction ceased at this point due to uncertainty over how to span the body of water seen in the foreground. I would not resume work until the first week of Jul 2014.
Towers & Bridge 2014-07-08:
Here is my newly built bridge captured shortly after completion. We face southwest. In the foreground is an ascending tower, much like those situated along the West Road. Note the beginnings of another bridge jutting out from the rearmost tower. It is at present a stub only.
Bridge 2014-07-08 late afternoon:
We now face northeast, toward the camera position used in my preceding image. Much as I like these bridges, the design is flawed. They can not be rode across on horseback. Nor do they make good railway bridges. Neither limitation bothers me. But at some point I'll likely need to come up with a more versatile solution.
Bridge at dusk 2014-07-08:
That one of the bridges is but a stub is now obvious. Not sure when I'll get around to erecting the missing bridge. It's not really needed at the moment. In any case I need to replenish supplies of wood and stone before tackling another big project.
ADDENDUM 2014-07-10
Panoramic view of the Bridge, the roadway leading to the Bridge, and a bit of the Village perimeter wall, 9 Jul 2014:
This image, captured at Minecraftian sundown, serves two functions. First, it allowed me to figure out how to remove unwanted spacing between picture and accompanying text. Secondly, it better places the Bridge in perspective with its surroundings. The roadway leading to the Bridge, very much a WIP, is seen at left. A bit of Autarch Neglect perimeter wall is glimpsed screen right.
It must be admitted that a bridge of this complexity isn't really needed at this location. The river is quite narrow at this point, and wadeably shallow. Something less elaborate would have served. But I likes me bridges, I does, and consider Autarch Neglect Village and its immediate surrounds as something of a showcase for my woefully inadequate building skills.
I do think the Bridge looks a bit "busy". It's those vertical tree-trunk suppose beams mid span. Distance between towers isn't all that great. Those horizontal tree trunks likely provide all the support needed. I debated hot and heavy before committing myself, almost went with a single pair of vertical supports, but in the end settled on what you see as it allows better jack-o-lantern lighting placement atop the span.
Following several real-life days spent replenishing resources, work resumed on the Bridge and AN Bypass Roadway. The Roadway continues its way northward. The Bridge is fine-tuned.
We stand atop Autarch Neglect Bridge (not its final title) ascending tower, facing east northeast. The new elevated roadway is seen extending north from Incineration Tower. The roadway looks a bit "busy" due to numerous jack-o-laterns. A fix necessitates totally rebuilding much of what I've done. I'm unwilling to do so. In any case, while not perfect it ain't all that bad.
Incineration Tower acquired its name legitimately. As seen above, the tower boasts a fire pit on its lower level. When my avatar stands atop the upper level, mobs walk into the flame. They remain there until dead. This happened three times now. It wasn't planned, but I ain't complaining.
Bridge and Bypass at sundown. I grew dissatisfied with the "pumpkin cupolas" atop both bridge towers. They looked fine from bridge walkways, but not so much from ground level. I altered them to resemble cupolas atop Autarch Neglect's perimeter wall. That looked worse! It finally dawned on me that I had hit on a solution with several earlier ascending towers. Seen above are corrected cupolas. I can live with these.
Bridge and Bypass early evening, again with finalized cupolas in place. Note stone buttons attached to vertical support logs beneath wood spans. These represent heads of long spikes securing horizontal to vertical logs. The rather shabby structure seen at distance screen left is the entrance to a vast cavern, abandoned mine, underground ravine complex. Extensive branch mining occurs there. I've never bothered to beautify it. Maybe some day.
Next on the agenda, another stretch of wood bridge work. This expanse will be rather long. Gonna have to farm trees a good while before tackling it.
Thanks Farehaven. Not sure why I didn't acknowledge your post sooner. Then again, it appeared about the time I lost interest in building and didn't often visit this thread.
Thanks! I visited your thread, Wisekill. Lots of goodness there. Always nice to see another survival builder, and a liberal user of jack-o-lantern lighting. Some very nice bridge/road work too.
As for me, there's little to report. Autarch Neglect Bypass Roadway inches northward. I grew to dislike the stone superstructure atop the stone road section and removed it. Here is the renovated bridge, with added wood expansion at the north end.
I think it benefits from simplification.
I'm thinking to call a halt to highway building once another short expanse of wood roadway is laid. This northward stretch serves no practical function, and is likely to remain thus for the foreseeable future. Instead, I might construct a large windmill with surrounding wheat farm on a mound very near the roadway, best seen in the addendum to my 09 July posting. Problem is that with windmills I'm a fish out of water. I've absolutely no idea how to design them. Even with several very nice examples built by others it's gonna be a real challenge. Not sure I can pull it off to my satisfaction. Won't know until I try.
It is time for my yearly round of applause for your project. When looking at your build I cannot help but think of it in terms of magic wands. Because the epicness of your build comes from the dedication, love and will you have imbued it with. Qualities that creative mode or world edit fail to apply.
I also find the wand analogy apt given the fact that this is, by any definition, magical
And on leaving, take note that you have inspired me for a further few months on my own similar world.
It is time for my yearly round of applause for your project. When looking at your build I cannot help but think of it in terms of magic wands. Because the epicness of your build comes from the dedication, love and will you have imbued it with. Qualities that creative mode or world edit fail to apply.
I also find the wand analogy apt given the fact that this is, by any definition, magical
And on leaving, take note that you have inspired me for a further few months on my own similar world.
Thank you and good luck
Thanks for the kind words! Glad to know my humble works can serve as inspiration to others. I don't consider myself a true master builder by any stretch of imagination, but do think I'm a decent survival builder when inspired.
Here we see the entirety of the Roadway between Incineration Tower and its current terminus, more or less finalized. This end piece was surprisingly troublesome. I conceived it as extending a smidgen further north, so that Autarch Neglect West Gate Road led straight into the structure. That didn't pan out. My solution, as seen above, is simpler, more visually appealing, and only slightly less secure than what I originally envisioned. I like it. Its prime drawback is that spiders can infiltrate the bridge at its northern end. But the the bridge/roadway never planned to be totally mob proof, only semi mob proof. Which it is.
Also seen is new work at Autarch Neglect West Gate. Two "totems of empire" have been installed, along with improved lighting. This image was captured before the Autarch's likeness was sewn into the cloth of the totems, as has since occurred.
The Roadway at Moonset
We are now atop Autarch Neglect Perimeter Wall, just north of the West Gate. By this time the Autarch's image had been sewn into the totems, but face away from the Village so remains unseen. Several minor modifications were made to the Gate area. Rudimentary lighting along West Gate Road should be considered temporary.
I should point out that all names, excepting Incineration Tower and Autarch Neglect, are working titles and subject to change.
At some point the Roadway is likely to extend further north. There might also be a path west that eventually connects with my already existent West Road. The land surrounding the Village will someday be turned in to fields, pastures and timber farms. The Village itself is far from complete.
As to the immediate future, I think I'm gonna backtrack and spruce up the section of roadway just south of Incineration Tower. It's unprotected at the moment, and is apt to remain so. We shall see.
I've nothing significant to report. The stretch of Roadway immediately south of Incineration Tower is more or less finalized. The Autarch's image now graces Totems of Empire at Autarch Neglect west gate. But first we backtrack. The Autarch returned to the beginnings of Autarch Neglected Roadway, adding a highway marker and sprucing up lighting (which remains simple, no fancy jack-o-lanterns here thank you).
The newly erected marker, at the junction of Autarch Neglect Roadway with my West Road, north of Transition Bridge.
Barely discernible in the distance at screen right is a tunnel into which the roadway disappears for a time.
The Roadway at sundown, meandering northward.
A simple affair indeed. No sense installing something elaborate along unprotected roadway subject to frequent Creeper explosions. At far left is Transition Bridge.
Transition Bridge:
Previously posted images lack its semi-protective northern superstructure. Ironically, whilst capturing this image it dawned on me that the superstructure would benefit aesthetically from a change to stone (rather than cobblestone) steps. I'll likely do so, rendering this capture moderately obsolete. Such is life.
AN Roadway south of Incineration Tower, more or less finalized:
I again kept things reasonably simple. As is obvious, much of this Roadway section is unprotected.
Northern Terminus of Autarch Neglect Roadway:
All but identical to my recently posting image save for the Autarch's likeness on Totems. Minor changes were made along the West Gate fencing.
Autarch Neglect Roadway is more of less complete, discounting possible fine tuning.
I've little to report. Prolonged illness has brought construction to a near standstill. I hoped to have a new structure ready for display by now. Instead, I'd done no more than plan out part of its foundation.
The structure was to have showcased an ongoing project to replace the game's paintings file. Since it's not going to happen any time soon, I take liberty to publish three altered paintings, all currently found in the second floor hallway of Autarch Neglect Inn:
As some will rightly guess, they are rooted in TES4:Oblivion. Not all will be. At least two harken back to my old Everquest 2 days. One is from Skyrim. One must remain under wraps for the foreseeable future. Eight are not yet converted.
The file is 2048x2048, hefty by Minecraft standards. I first attempted it at 1024x1024, but found individual paintings unsatisfactory at that resolution.
For safety's sake I suppose I should mention that all paintings derive from screen captures. No Bethesda resource files were used in their creation.
After a lengthy absence due to illness during which I played little Minecraft and did no building projects worth mentioning, my avatar returned to the Hill Fort and at long last committed himself to bringing order out of the chaos that were his lower plateau sheep pens. That section of the plateau, in its original mostly-natural dimensions, was too small to house sufficient numbers of sheep in ever color. The best we were able to manage was four pens just large enough to hold six sheep divided evenly between two colors, and two minuscule pens barely big enough to hold three sheep each. The remaining colors were housed in a pen on the upper plateau, a livable but not ideal solution. In addition to the space issue the pens were something of an eyesore.
Between 5 and 7 June 2015 the plateau was appreciably extended northward and just a smidgen to the west. Its surface beginning three blocks from the upper plateau defense wall was completely redone so that now there are eight uniform pens, each capable of comfortably holding eight or so sheep.
The new pens at sundown:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO POST #1>
Miracle of miracles, I forced myself to design the surface so that not a single torch is used, discounting the outer defense wall and two or so torches at the plateau's tiny wheat patch. The defense wall northern end is constructed from polished and natural andesite, my first use of that material. Trees are not original but instead oaks planted to keep to pens from looking to sterile.
New pens at sunrise, captured atop the upper plateau facing toward east north east:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE WAS MADE OBSOLETE AND REMOVED>
Also on display, minor changes just outside the 'north-side' entrance ramp, now with safety fence to keep me from getting blindsided by creepers when exiting via that doorway.
Detail facing toward the upper plateau keep:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO MY INITIAL POST (#1)>
With the textures I use, the combo of stone and iron fencing looks very convincing. I'd have ideally preferred glowstone lighting for at least the pillar tops, but my horrific fear of heights makes collecting it in sufficient quantity too stressful.
Detail looking toward the camera position used in my preceding image:
This small wheat patch is dedicated solely to the pens, to replace any sheep lost to glitch or accident. The small tree that forms the right-hand edge of this image is one of the few things to survive the transformation, along with the infinite water source to just behind camera position.
Central Walkway:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO MY INITIAL POST (#1)>
We again face the upper plateau keep. All pen gates are accessible via this central walkway. Each pen is clearly labeled as to which sheep it contains. Each pen entrance features two gates, which seems to stop sheep from frustratingly rushing making a mad rush to escape whenever the gate is opened, so long as one enters/exits with only one gate open at a time. For a time I thought these new pens proof against animal loss through glitching. Alas, on my most recent visit to the red/pink pen I was saddened to discover only one pink sheep instead of three.
The upper plateau's sheep pen will remain. It now becomes my mutton pen.
No idea what I'll tackle next. It dawns on me that the Hill Fort has no cactus farm. But I don't see that being significant enough to warrant a separate thread entry. What I ought to do is concoct some sort of shell to disguise the water lift attached to my skeleton spawner. That's nothing but a pillar of cobble, and sticks pretty far out of the ground within easy view of the Hill Fort. Problem there is that I can't for the life of me think how to disguise it in any way that makes sense.
On this date I began revising the Hill Fort section of the thread's primary post. It now contains up-to-date replacements of years-old views as well as a number of new captures documenting significant changes to the fortress that occurred during June 2015. The "Roads" section was not touched, it not being needed. Nor was Autarch Neglect Village, though it needs a total redo.
A fresh world download is also available via post #1 link.
Editing the Hill Fort section has been a lot of work! I'm bound to have made a number of errors. Comments, constructive criticism and error reports are much appreciated.
27 Jun 2015 ADDENDUM:
Over the past two days I erected a sixth floor to the fortress keep, dedicated to a map of the Hill Fort and its immediate surroundings. Several images documenting this construction have been added to my initial post. Also recently added is a capture of the Enchanters Tower following cosmetic modification.
Much has transpired since my 23 Jun 2015 update notice, all at the Hill Fort. At least two projects of significance were completed, a sixth floor was added to the Keep, the Annex surface was totally revised. The Enchantment Tower saw cosmetic change below its observation deck. Additionally, there have been a great many minor tweaks to the fortress. Post #1 contains new images and text documenting these alterations. Even images as recent as some of those created for the the 23 Jun update have been replaced!
I was too busy at the Hill Fort to carry through with my plan to completely revise the initial post's "Autarch Neglect Village" section. That might or might not happen this month. No promises.
I suspect my building spree to slow, at least temporarily. For one thing, I burned through I good bit of hoarded construction supplies this past month and desperately need to replenish them. For another, the only remaining major project on the Hill is to at long last cap the Keep with its proper roof, and I'm out to seas as far as that's concerned. It doesn't help that I'm morbidly afraid of heights and the Keep roof is way above ground level.
At any rate I hope folk find my work interesting. Comments are appreciated.
Little of significance has been done at the fortress since my last update. A third wheat field has been added at the Livestock Storage Shed, as has a tiny carrot patch. These two fields will be devoted to feed for my livestock pens. The space they occupy had been used as a Jungle Tree timber farm, which was no longer needed after establishment of a dedicated tree farm complex on the lower terrace. Much time was devoted to replacing spammed torches with more sophisticated forms of lighting along the Upper Plateau defense wall, a project not yet complete. I do 'not' plan to wholly eliminate torches. All forms of lighting have their place. My hope is that those torches that remain look as if they belong there.
Otherwise I've made a number of minor tweaks that will likely pass unnoticed to all save me. My experiment installing a second row of fencing inside and abutting the original fencing of sheep ranch pens seems to have stopped sheep disappearance at a loss of visual appeal and pen holding capacity. Sometimes ya gonna do what ya gotta do.
As to the initial post, there are indeed updated images there. Not many, and nothing drastic. So far as I recall all of them merely mimic the sometimes only slightly older images they replace. That sad thing is that, due to my ongoing lighting improvement project, some of these days-old new images are themselves slighting out of date.
As to other activities, my avatar has gone on numerous branch-mining and a few Nether expeditions to replenish construction supplies consumed during recent build projects. He went on an extended overworld surface expedition in search of Acacia saplings but somehow ended up back at the fortress when he though himself days and days away.
Hill Fort Lower Terrace Acacia Timber Farm WIP, a 13 Jul 2015 image:
The Autarch recently undertook a grand exploratory expedition, traveling great distance in a direction he has not explored in quite some time. At one point, some days from home, he came upon a vast ocean and nearly called it quits. In the end he decided to continue on, launched his boat and set sail. It was a good thing he did so. After almost an entire day at sea, during which he came upon his first ever mooshroom island and saw at least three underwater temples, a solid mass of land materialized out of the fog. Lo and behold, its shore was covered with Acacia growth! At long last the Autarch had found Acacia!
He spent several days gathering Acacia wood and more importantly collecting saplings. From there he went on to discover a village and, not far away, a desert temple. Inventory full he returned to the Hill Fort with his not-so-ill gotten gain.
His original plan was to plant Acacia saplings within the already existent Lower Terrace timber farm. But due to Acacia's sprawling nature he reluctantly resigned himself to devoting a separate plot to them. For this purpose he chose the strip of land along the southeast edge of the Lower Terrace, an area which had heretofore remained untouched since its initial early 2012 sculpting. Ample space was provided for four plantings so that little if any saplings fall outside the terrace protective wall. There will be no dedicated storage facility for Acacia. Harvested wood and saplings will be housed at the Timber Farm Complex storage facility located on the Terrace to the west. The Acacia Farm will likely remain a WIP until the Autarch makes use of the still uncivilized portion of the the Terrace to its immediate north.
Pigman Pilgrimage, a 10 Jul image:
On 10 Jul 2015 the Autarch paid a brief visit to hell to better gage the feasibility of a contemplated Nether-side portal room alteration. While there he noticed a Pigman walk through the portal and enter the overworld. He decided to follow.
You might recall that the goddess has an affinity for all things porcine. This particular pigman ascended the portal-room overworld ramp and made a beeline straight to the foot of goddess' shrine, where he gazed at her likeness for some time. Due to heavy rains I was reluctant to grab at image. But when the Pigman began to turn away from the goddess I overcame my hesitation and captured the above. The kicker is that immediately afterward he made a beeline to the ramp, descended, and returned to hell. This whole affair seemed rather magical to me, as if the Pigman had been on pilgrimage to worship the Lady and, having done so, returned from whence he came.
As to my initial post (#1), an image or two has been revised to bring it more up-to-date. I updated my world download so that it now includes all recent Hill Fort improvements save the newly install Acacia Timber Farm.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water I return to pollute the seas of Minecraftia.
As to my lengthy absence, I suddenly and unexpectedly lost whatever meager talent I had for erecting post-worthy structures. Try as I might I couldn't build my way out of a paper bag. I didn't totally stop playing, but confined myself almost exclusively to spelunking, branch mining and resource gathering, either in Decrepia or a newly created MC174 survival world.
This posting documents my undramatic return. Seen below is my third self-created structure within Autarch Neglect Village, and first halfway decent build since mid 2013.
Its primary function is to house an obsidian generator. It will serve as both obsidian and redstone storage. For purely decorative purposes it includes a first floor sales area, as well as upper floor bedroom, dining area, utility room, latrine, ladder closet and private outdoor balcony. The facility was deliberately created on a small scale, so that most of its rooms are rather cramped. So cramped I am unable to capture acceptable images of any second floor indoor room.
The Foundry is "of a piece" with the Inn and Brick / Clay Shoppe, having much in common with them. In fact a prime reason I built the Foundry to almost insufficiently small dimensions was to force myself to differentiate it from the Brick / Clay Shoppe. I might otherwise have been too tempted to merely create a mirror image of the Shoppe with only enough interior changes to house the generator.
The below images show the facility as a work-in-progress. Its overall shape is more or less set in stone, and unlikely to change. It will, however, undergo much fine-tuning before I am satisfied.
Foundry exterior at sunrise, a 2014-06-02 capture:
Here we see the buildings north and west walls, along with a portion of the Inn at screen right. The waterfall portion of the interior's obsidian generator rests against the north wall foundation.
Foundry east and south exterior walls:
The private balcony can be glimpsed above the south wall sales area entrance door. An "employee only" foundry door is seen along the east wall. A portion of the Brick / Clay Shoppe is seen screen left. The Inn is seen in the background.
Foundry west and south exterior walls:
Not much to add here. The middle of three first-floor torches seen along the building exterior should have been removed once glowstone lamppost was installed, as has since been done. Additionally, the balcony roof was modified later in the day.
The Foundry Room itself:
The Foundry pit (for redstone and lava) beneath the trap doors was added to keep villagers from falling into the generator. My admittedly too brief test found the doors, in their open position, not affected by lava underneath. We shall see. I hope to, at some point, replace jack-o-lantern overheads with glowstone.
I consider this build inferior to the Inn and Brick / Clay Shoppe. Despite that I'm rather fond of it. I'm certainly not embarrassed by it.
The first floor sales area, with foundry to rear:
Not a lot of room here, not that it's needed. I doubt I'll ever mine enough obsidian to fill the two chests seen here. If I do, there are two more chests along the opposite wall. If I somehow manage to fill all four, there's always those double chests in the foundry. Overkill, though admittedly some of these chests will be used for redstone storage. (Seven redstone are consumed during each generation process. The lava, thankfully, is reclaimable.) I originally installed a more elaborate ceiling in the sales area, but small size and lighting glitch dictated a switch to simple wood plank blocks.
Closeup of the second floor private balcony at dawn:
The smokestack's upper tip can be seen peeking over the roof. A sliver of the Clay / Obsidian Shoppe can be glimpsed at screen right. A portion of the village protective boundary wall is visible in the background. The dedicatory plaque located near the balcony door bears the date 10 June 2014. I made just enough modifications today to justify that date rather than yesterday.
Whilst perusing my collection of Minecraft screen captures I stumbled upon two forgotten images of Autarch Neglect Village. Both were edited for posting nearly a year ago, for a planned update to my initial post (#1). Due to succumbing to dreaded "builder's block" soon afterward that update never occurred. The images, though dated, are still relevant in that their main subject matter has not changed. I take liberty to show them now.
I'm right fond of this one, though I admit a certain bias. The image was captured with my avatar standing on the shore of a vast waterlogged swamp, extreme hills to his immediate left. This is my old route to the Village, wading across the marsh, then hugging the shoreline. Nowadays I use a saner still-unfinished roadway to make the trip.
We stand atop the Village perimeter wall battlements, at their northwest corner. The original testificate village, almost wholly untouched, is seen in the foreground, along with the Inn. Neither Brick / Clay Shoppe nor Obsidian Foundry had been built. A modern view from this same location would look little different.
Wool Merchant market stall:
A new structure, assembled just last week. Wool is stored here, and carpets made to order. I watched a number of YouTube market stall videos before tackling this, and wasn't totally satisfied with any of 'em. I combined elements from several and ended up with the above. I'm not yet content. Expect at least minor modification ere all is said and done.
Obsidian Foundry:
Not much point to this one, it being nearly identical to an image seen several posts earlier. It does, however, sport the "improved" roof pattern above the balcony, and removal of one wall torch overlooked before.
Overview of self-built Village structures
Not much point to this one either. We stand atop the perimeter wall battlements at the South gate. All my few Village creations are visible: Inn, Shoppe, Foundry, stall. This little area is the only section of village close to being finalized. Ground surrounding the stall will most definitely be transformed into something fancier. That's likely far in the future.
And now for something completely different...
We are now far from Autarch Neglect, at a Skeleton Spawner off the South Road, near my Hill Fort. This XP farm existed in a primitive state for quite some time. I finally got off my duff and made it more efficient, with water elevator and long drop to soften mobs for one-hit kills. As can be seen, I also installed an enchanting / repair station. I then had second thoughts about the direction I was taking the facility. Nor could I decide how to disguise the two ugly cobblestone pillar that stick far above the surface. (The spawner is not far underground.) I have abandoned further work until something comes to me.
As to the village, work will continue at a relatively slow pace. (As mentioned elsewhere, building is not my primary focus.) I'd like to eventually fill the Village interior with structures of various sorts. But realistically I doubt I'll come anywhere near doing so. If I do, I do. If not, no regrets.
I really ought to get off my duff and finish the last stretch of roadway leading to the Village. I can't for the life of me drum up enthusiasm for the task. Odd that, considering how roads and bridges have, in the past, been something of a specialty of mine.
Here we see my road to Autarch Neglect Village as it appeared Nov 2013, very much a WIP. Construction ceased at this point due to uncertainty over how to span the body of water seen in the foreground. I would not resume work until the first week of Jul 2014.
Towers & Bridge 2014-07-08:
Here is my newly built bridge captured shortly after completion. We face southwest. In the foreground is an ascending tower, much like those situated along the West Road. Note the beginnings of another bridge jutting out from the rearmost tower. It is at present a stub only.
Bridge 2014-07-08 late afternoon:
We now face northeast, toward the camera position used in my preceding image. Much as I like these bridges, the design is flawed. They can not be rode across on horseback. Nor do they make good railway bridges. Neither limitation bothers me. But at some point I'll likely need to come up with a more versatile solution.
Bridge at dusk 2014-07-08:
That one of the bridges is but a stub is now obvious. Not sure when I'll get around to erecting the missing bridge. It's not really needed at the moment. In any case I need to replenish supplies of wood and stone before tackling another big project.
ADDENDUM 2014-07-10
Panoramic view of the Bridge, the roadway leading to the Bridge, and a bit of the Village perimeter wall, 9 Jul 2014:
This image, captured at Minecraftian sundown, serves two functions. First, it allowed me to figure out how to remove unwanted spacing between picture and accompanying text. Secondly, it better places the Bridge in perspective with its surroundings. The roadway leading to the Bridge, very much a WIP, is seen at left. A bit of Autarch Neglect perimeter wall is glimpsed screen right.
It must be admitted that a bridge of this complexity isn't really needed at this location. The river is quite narrow at this point, and wadeably shallow. Something less elaborate would have served. But I likes me bridges, I does, and consider Autarch Neglect Village and its immediate surrounds as something of a showcase for my woefully inadequate building skills.
I do think the Bridge looks a bit "busy". It's those vertical tree-trunk suppose beams mid span. Distance between towers isn't all that great. Those horizontal tree trunks likely provide all the support needed. I debated hot and heavy before committing myself, almost went with a single pair of vertical supports, but in the end settled on what you see as it allows better jack-o-lantern lighting placement atop the span.
Following several real-life days spent replenishing resources, work resumed on the Bridge and AN Bypass Roadway. The Roadway continues its way northward. The Bridge is fine-tuned.
We stand atop Autarch Neglect Bridge (not its final title) ascending tower, facing east northeast. The new elevated roadway is seen extending north from Incineration Tower. The roadway looks a bit "busy" due to numerous jack-o-laterns. A fix necessitates totally rebuilding much of what I've done. I'm unwilling to do so. In any case, while not perfect it ain't all that bad.
Incineration Tower acquired its name legitimately. As seen above, the tower boasts a fire pit on its lower level. When my avatar stands atop the upper level, mobs walk into the flame. They remain there until dead. This happened three times now. It wasn't planned, but I ain't complaining.
Bridge and Bypass at sundown. I grew dissatisfied with the "pumpkin cupolas" atop both bridge towers. They looked fine from bridge walkways, but not so much from ground level. I altered them to resemble cupolas atop Autarch Neglect's perimeter wall. That looked worse! It finally dawned on me that I had hit on a solution with several earlier ascending towers. Seen above are corrected cupolas. I can live with these.
Bridge and Bypass early evening, again with finalized cupolas in place. Note stone buttons attached to vertical support logs beneath wood spans. These represent heads of long spikes securing horizontal to vertical logs. The rather shabby structure seen at distance screen left is the entrance to a vast cavern, abandoned mine, underground ravine complex. Extensive branch mining occurs there. I've never bothered to beautify it. Maybe some day.
Next on the agenda, another stretch of wood bridge work. This expanse will be rather long. Gonna have to farm trees a good while before tackling it.
Thanks Farehaven. Not sure why I didn't acknowledge your post sooner. Then again, it appeared about the time I lost interest in building and didn't often visit this thread.
Thanks! I visited your thread, Wisekill. Lots of goodness there. Always nice to see another survival builder, and a liberal user of jack-o-lantern lighting. Some very nice bridge/road work too.
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As for me, there's little to report. Autarch Neglect Bypass Roadway inches northward. I grew to dislike the stone superstructure atop the stone road section and removed it. Here is the renovated bridge, with added wood expansion at the north end.
I think it benefits from simplification.
I'm thinking to call a halt to highway building once another short expanse of wood roadway is laid. This northward stretch serves no practical function, and is likely to remain thus for the foreseeable future. Instead, I might construct a large windmill with surrounding wheat farm on a mound very near the roadway, best seen in the addendum to my 09 July posting. Problem is that with windmills I'm a fish out of water. I've absolutely no idea how to design them. Even with several very nice examples built by others it's gonna be a real challenge. Not sure I can pull it off to my satisfaction. Won't know until I try.
I also find the wand analogy apt given the fact that this is, by any definition, magical
And on leaving, take note that you have inspired me for a further few months on my own similar world.
Thank you and good luck
Thanks for the kind words! Glad to know my humble works can serve as inspiration to others. I don't consider myself a true master builder by any stretch of imagination, but do think I'm a decent survival builder when inspired.
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Northern Terminus of Autarch Neglect Bypass
The Roadway at Moonrise
Here we see the entirety of the Roadway between Incineration Tower and its current terminus, more or less finalized. This end piece was surprisingly troublesome. I conceived it as extending a smidgen further north, so that Autarch Neglect West Gate Road led straight into the structure. That didn't pan out. My solution, as seen above, is simpler, more visually appealing, and only slightly less secure than what I originally envisioned. I like it. Its prime drawback is that spiders can infiltrate the bridge at its northern end. But the the bridge/roadway never planned to be totally mob proof, only semi mob proof. Which it is.
Also seen is new work at Autarch Neglect West Gate. Two "totems of empire" have been installed, along with improved lighting. This image was captured before the Autarch's likeness was sewn into the cloth of the totems, as has since occurred.
The Roadway at Moonset
We are now atop Autarch Neglect Perimeter Wall, just north of the West Gate. By this time the Autarch's image had been sewn into the totems, but face away from the Village so remains unseen. Several minor modifications were made to the Gate area. Rudimentary lighting along West Gate Road should be considered temporary.
I should point out that all names, excepting Incineration Tower and Autarch Neglect, are working titles and subject to change.
At some point the Roadway is likely to extend further north. There might also be a path west that eventually connects with my already existent West Road. The land surrounding the Village will someday be turned in to fields, pastures and timber farms. The Village itself is far from complete.
As to the immediate future, I think I'm gonna backtrack and spruce up the section of roadway just south of Incineration Tower. It's unprotected at the moment, and is apt to remain so. We shall see.
I've nothing significant to report. The stretch of Roadway immediately south of Incineration Tower is more or less finalized. The Autarch's image now graces Totems of Empire at Autarch Neglect west gate. But first we backtrack. The Autarch returned to the beginnings of Autarch Neglected Roadway, adding a highway marker and sprucing up lighting (which remains simple, no fancy jack-o-lanterns here thank you).
The newly erected marker, at the junction of Autarch Neglect Roadway with my West Road, north of Transition Bridge.
Barely discernible in the distance at screen right is a tunnel into which the roadway disappears for a time.
The Roadway at sundown, meandering northward.
A simple affair indeed. No sense installing something elaborate along unprotected roadway subject to frequent Creeper explosions. At far left is Transition Bridge.
Transition Bridge:
Previously posted images lack its semi-protective northern superstructure. Ironically, whilst capturing this image it dawned on me that the superstructure would benefit aesthetically from a change to stone (rather than cobblestone) steps. I'll likely do so, rendering this capture moderately obsolete. Such is life.
AN Roadway south of Incineration Tower, more or less finalized:
I again kept things reasonably simple. As is obvious, much of this Roadway section is unprotected.
Northern Terminus of Autarch Neglect Roadway:
All but identical to my recently posting image save for the Autarch's likeness on Totems. Minor changes were made along the West Gate fencing.
Autarch Neglect Roadway is more of less complete, discounting possible fine tuning.
Geographicraft (formerly Climate Control) - Control climate, ocean, and land sizes; stop chunk walls; put modded biomes into Default worlds, and more!
RTG plus - All the beautiful terrain of RTG, plus varied and beautiful trees and forests.
I've little to report. Prolonged illness has brought construction to a near standstill. I hoped to have a new structure ready for display by now. Instead, I'd done no more than plan out part of its foundation.
The structure was to have showcased an ongoing project to replace the game's paintings file. Since it's not going to happen any time soon, I take liberty to publish three altered paintings, all currently found in the second floor hallway of Autarch Neglect Inn:
As some will rightly guess, they are rooted in TES4:Oblivion. Not all will be. At least two harken back to my old Everquest 2 days. One is from Skyrim. One must remain under wraps for the foreseeable future. Eight are not yet converted.
The file is 2048x2048, hefty by Minecraft standards. I first attempted it at 1024x1024, but found individual paintings unsatisfactory at that resolution.
For safety's sake I suppose I should mention that all paintings derive from screen captures. No Bethesda resource files were used in their creation.
Hill Fort Lower Plateau Sheep Pens - renovation
After a lengthy absence due to illness during which I played little Minecraft and did no building projects worth mentioning, my avatar returned to the Hill Fort and at long last committed himself to bringing order out of the chaos that were his lower plateau sheep pens. That section of the plateau, in its original mostly-natural dimensions, was too small to house sufficient numbers of sheep in ever color. The best we were able to manage was four pens just large enough to hold six sheep divided evenly between two colors, and two minuscule pens barely big enough to hold three sheep each. The remaining colors were housed in a pen on the upper plateau, a livable but not ideal solution. In addition to the space issue the pens were something of an eyesore.
Between 5 and 7 June 2015 the plateau was appreciably extended northward and just a smidgen to the west. Its surface beginning three blocks from the upper plateau defense wall was completely redone so that now there are eight uniform pens, each capable of comfortably holding eight or so sheep.
The new pens at sundown:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO POST #1>
Miracle of miracles, I forced myself to design the surface so that not a single torch is used, discounting the outer defense wall and two or so torches at the plateau's tiny wheat patch. The defense wall northern end is constructed from polished and natural andesite, my first use of that material. Trees are not original but instead oaks planted to keep to pens from looking to sterile.
New pens at sunrise, captured atop the upper plateau facing toward east north east:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE WAS MADE OBSOLETE AND REMOVED>
Also on display, minor changes just outside the 'north-side' entrance ramp, now with safety fence to keep me from getting blindsided by creepers when exiting via that doorway.
Detail facing toward the upper plateau keep:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO MY INITIAL POST (#1)>
With the textures I use, the combo of stone and iron fencing looks very convincing. I'd have ideally preferred glowstone lighting for at least the pillar tops, but my horrific fear of heights makes collecting it in sufficient quantity too stressful.
Detail looking toward the camera position used in my preceding image:
This small wheat patch is dedicated solely to the pens, to replace any sheep lost to glitch or accident. The small tree that forms the right-hand edge of this image is one of the few things to survive the transformation, along with the infinite water source to just behind camera position.
Central Walkway:
<THE IMAGE ORIGINALLY LINKED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO MY INITIAL POST (#1)>
We again face the upper plateau keep. All pen gates are accessible via this central walkway. Each pen is clearly labeled as to which sheep it contains. Each pen entrance features two gates, which seems to stop sheep from frustratingly rushing making a mad rush to escape whenever the gate is opened, so long as one enters/exits with only one gate open at a time. For a time I thought these new pens proof against animal loss through glitching. Alas, on my most recent visit to the red/pink pen I was saddened to discover only one pink sheep instead of three.
The upper plateau's sheep pen will remain. It now becomes my mutton pen.
No idea what I'll tackle next. It dawns on me that the Hill Fort has no cactus farm. But I don't see that being significant enough to warrant a separate thread entry. What I ought to do is concoct some sort of shell to disguise the water lift attached to my skeleton spawner. That's nothing but a pillar of cobble, and sticks pretty far out of the ground within easy view of the Hill Fort. Problem there is that I can't for the life of me think how to disguise it in any way that makes sense.
Revision to my initial post (post #1)
On this date I began revising the Hill Fort section of the thread's primary post. It now contains up-to-date replacements of years-old views as well as a number of new captures documenting significant changes to the fortress that occurred during June 2015. The "Roads" section was not touched, it not being needed. Nor was Autarch Neglect Village, though it needs a total redo.
A fresh world download is also available via post #1 link.
Editing the Hill Fort section has been a lot of work! I'm bound to have made a number of errors. Comments, constructive criticism and error reports are much appreciated.
27 Jun 2015 ADDENDUM:
Over the past two days I erected a sixth floor to the fortress keep, dedicated to a map of the Hill Fort and its immediate surroundings. Several images documenting this construction have been added to my initial post. Also recently added is a capture of the Enchanters Tower following cosmetic modification.
Revision(s) to my initial post (post #1)
Much has transpired since my 23 Jun 2015 update notice, all at the Hill Fort. At least two projects of significance were completed, a sixth floor was added to the Keep, the Annex surface was totally revised. The Enchantment Tower saw cosmetic change below its observation deck. Additionally, there have been a great many minor tweaks to the fortress. Post #1 contains new images and text documenting these alterations. Even images as recent as some of those created for the the 23 Jun update have been replaced!
I was too busy at the Hill Fort to carry through with my plan to completely revise the initial post's "Autarch Neglect Village" section. That might or might not happen this month. No promises.
I suspect my building spree to slow, at least temporarily. For one thing, I burned through I good bit of hoarded construction supplies this past month and desperately need to replenish them. For another, the only remaining major project on the Hill is to at long last cap the Keep with its proper roof, and I'm out to seas as far as that's concerned. It doesn't help that I'm morbidly afraid of heights and the Keep roof is way above ground level.
At any rate I hope folk find my work interesting. Comments are appreciated.
Always looking forward to your great builds!
Geographicraft (formerly Climate Control) - Control climate, ocean, and land sizes; stop chunk walls; put modded biomes into Default worlds, and more!
RTG plus - All the beautiful terrain of RTG, plus varied and beautiful trees and forests.
Minor Revisions to my initial post (#1):
Little of significance has been done at the fortress since my last update. A third wheat field has been added at the Livestock Storage Shed, as has a tiny carrot patch. These two fields will be devoted to feed for my livestock pens. The space they occupy had been used as a Jungle Tree timber farm, which was no longer needed after establishment of a dedicated tree farm complex on the lower terrace. Much time was devoted to replacing spammed torches with more sophisticated forms of lighting along the Upper Plateau defense wall, a project not yet complete. I do 'not' plan to wholly eliminate torches. All forms of lighting have their place. My hope is that those torches that remain look as if they belong there.
Otherwise I've made a number of minor tweaks that will likely pass unnoticed to all save me. My experiment installing a second row of fencing inside and abutting the original fencing of sheep ranch pens seems to have stopped sheep disappearance at a loss of visual appeal and pen holding capacity. Sometimes ya gonna do what ya gotta do.
As to the initial post, there are indeed updated images there. Not many, and nothing drastic. So far as I recall all of them merely mimic the sometimes only slightly older images they replace. That sad thing is that, due to my ongoing lighting improvement project, some of these days-old new images are themselves slighting out of date.
As to other activities, my avatar has gone on numerous branch-mining and a few Nether expeditions to replenish construction supplies consumed during recent build projects. He went on an extended overworld surface expedition in search of Acacia saplings but somehow ended up back at the fortress when he though himself days and days away.
Thanks for the kind comments. I keep forgetting to acknowledge them during my periodic updates, but do read and appreciate them.
Hill Fort Lower Terrace Acacia Timber Farm WIP, a 13 Jul 2015 image:
The Autarch recently undertook a grand exploratory expedition, traveling great distance in a direction he has not explored in quite some time. At one point, some days from home, he came upon a vast ocean and nearly called it quits. In the end he decided to continue on, launched his boat and set sail. It was a good thing he did so. After almost an entire day at sea, during which he came upon his first ever mooshroom island and saw at least three underwater temples, a solid mass of land materialized out of the fog. Lo and behold, its shore was covered with Acacia growth! At long last the Autarch had found Acacia!
He spent several days gathering Acacia wood and more importantly collecting saplings. From there he went on to discover a village and, not far away, a desert temple. Inventory full he returned to the Hill Fort with his not-so-ill gotten gain.
His original plan was to plant Acacia saplings within the already existent Lower Terrace timber farm. But due to Acacia's sprawling nature he reluctantly resigned himself to devoting a separate plot to them. For this purpose he chose the strip of land along the southeast edge of the Lower Terrace, an area which had heretofore remained untouched since its initial early 2012 sculpting. Ample space was provided for four plantings so that little if any saplings fall outside the terrace protective wall. There will be no dedicated storage facility for Acacia. Harvested wood and saplings will be housed at the Timber Farm Complex storage facility located on the Terrace to the west. The Acacia Farm will likely remain a WIP until the Autarch makes use of the still uncivilized portion of the the Terrace to its immediate north.
Pigman Pilgrimage, a 10 Jul image:
On 10 Jul 2015 the Autarch paid a brief visit to hell to better gage the feasibility of a contemplated Nether-side portal room alteration. While there he noticed a Pigman walk through the portal and enter the overworld. He decided to follow.
You might recall that the goddess has an affinity for all things porcine. This particular pigman ascended the portal-room overworld ramp and made a beeline straight to the foot of goddess' shrine, where he gazed at her likeness for some time. Due to heavy rains I was reluctant to grab at image. But when the Pigman began to turn away from the goddess I overcame my hesitation and captured the above. The kicker is that immediately afterward he made a beeline to the ramp, descended, and returned to hell. This whole affair seemed rather magical to me, as if the Pigman had been on pilgrimage to worship the Lady and, having done so, returned from whence he came.
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As to my initial post (#1), an image or two has been revised to bring it more up-to-date. I updated my world download so that it now includes all recent Hill Fort improvements save the newly install Acacia Timber Farm.