Minecraft Forums

This, if anything like my last thread, will end up being more of a blog. However, I'll share what I have so far anyway.

Now, a bit of background information:

The plan is to build a castle-like stronghold,with the circular chamber seen in the last photo as the main part of the build. It will be used to show off how many levels the build has, once completed, and possibly be a way for natural like to enter the entire compound, should I design it to do so. I plan on making it seem to get more advanced the farther down it goes, as if the people were studying something (in this case, I'd construct something to resembled a giant floating crystal in the middle of the circular hole), or just have a giant chamber at the bottom (possibly for treasure, or just anything I (or people who might download the map) want.

Just now got the idea of having a "bottom floor" of roughly 15-20 blocks high (minimum), which will just be a cavern with many natural aspects. It'll probably have a house or an ore storage area in it, and I'll probably have platforms to make it appear as though that is how the resources are collected.

After all, there's only so much that can be put in several floors without making it seem like I'm only grasping for straws (the build's entrance is around the center of a mountain that reaches to the max build height).

Thought some people might want to know what my last thread was, so I'm putting the link here.

http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-pocket-edition/mcpe-maps/2674729-erebor-like-castle-compound

Looks interesting. I'll follow your thread, see if I can pick up any ideas or inspirations.

Nice to have my the first person to comment on one of my threads! I haven't had that much time to do a lot of updates, mostly because I had to do a camp. Another issue is the fact that all of my friends want to talk or play multiplayer Xbox games, but my Live is about to expire anyway. I've mostly been working on the central chamber, and am trying to find a nice and interesting way to light up the rooms. Not sure if I want to keep the whole roof design I have, which was inspired by the mausoleum in . I also implemented four redstone lamps that'll activate when it's night-time. My current plans for the circular area are to either: make it larger in general, making it necessary for the hole in the middle to be larger, or have it gradually become a larger space, giving it more usability the further down it goes. I think I may be doing the latter, and have the top floor be similar to an observatory. My main problem is that I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to leave the stone for the natural feel, or make walls replicating how the stone would look because it may look unfinished without it.

My main problem is that I haven't yet made the jump out of a survival mindset - if I don't need it to survive, then it's not worth the effort. I hope watching other people build stuff will give me some inspiration to do it myself.

That is something that's hard to leave behind, in my opinion. IF it doesn't need to be that spacious, why bother? If the walls are dirt, who cares? Who cares if there aren't that many rooms? What do I accomplish if it's all done in creative mode, anyway?

However, you can't leave the survival mindset behind. THAT is how you keep the creative mindset of aesthetics and grandeur, while retaining usability. Most people won't want a giant castle if you can't use/don't put anything in it. What's the point of an apartment full of amazing computers if it's cramped? But, most of all, what is the point of the cramped apartment if none of the computers work?

That my friend, is why it can be so difficult to iterate both mindsets: one is for an observer, while the other is for a user.

The chamber has been receiving a lot of attention, and it's being shaped into a dome-like ceiling. I'm paying a lot of attention to how the ceiling will look from the outside, to make sure it doesn't take away from the natural look of the mountain. NOTHING is worse than a mountain that looks man-made.

Still working on the levels themselves, but the design I'm going with is the chamber space expanding the further down I go. Thinking of adding a waterfall in on one side, or possibly putting lava at the bottom for a light source.

WOW! Man this is amazing! I love the hobbit

likes for you

Thanks for your support! I've been making more time for the creation, though my SD card keeps disconnecting for no reason, and that slows me down (I have Minecraft PE saved to my SD card so I can transfer data). What I've been doing right now is leaving a minimum of three blocks between the top of the mountain and the space for the creation. I'm still not sure if the central chamber has been designed like I want it to be, but I'm going to continue excavating first. I think I'm going to have to scrap everything except the main entrance, and start from scratch with what is practically a cave/mine.

I'm considering a chamber at the very bottom, and might start from the bottom, then work my way up.

Another idea I have is making the center a hanging multi-platform-like thing, designed to look like it's suspended. The creation would have multiple levels, the center-most one being the largest, and smaller platforms leading to the smallest (yet equal) ones at the top and bottom.

In all honesty, I think starting from the bottom would be my best bet, so it's time to get to work! TNT, levers, and stone, here I come!

I'll be uploading some screenshots soon!

It may not seem like much work has gotten done, but I'd been carving out the moutain. The process is long and slow, since I'm starting around 4-5 blocks below the max build height. After I (most likely) drag my feet for another week or two, it should be completely carved out. After that, the real fun can begin! I'm also thinking about having the bottom floor (I go down by 3 at a time, and usually combine at least 6 blocks to form a single floor) be an open area, with some water, and use it as an attempt to show some nature. It'll either try and represent a resovoir, and may have trees, or be a meadow-like area.

I've found what I plan to have be the deepest point of the conpound, and am currently bringing the sorrounding area down as well. I chose the center of the compound, and began using TNT for the 3x3x3 explosions. While the chamber is large, and will probably be difficult, it shouldn't take too long. I doubt I'll be doing too much in the "compound" area until two or more days. I'm also going to try to use redstone, probably for a hidden paths to add interesting features to the build. I'd like to put in a spiral stair case that uses, but I think that would be a little too complicated, same with a regular staircase using redstone. I'm thinking that, at the lest, I can have secret doors.

I also might put in a "hidden" feature, which would be a lever being a trap that would ignite a block of TNT, and it's explosion would set off other blocks of TNT hidden around the map, destroying the compound. Pretty much a "failsafe" anyone can activate if they know where it is, or what they have to do (three lever door kind of thing). I might possibly allow the bottom floor to be a bunker, which would allow you to cut people off from the build. It could just be place in order to destroy bridges to keep people from getting in. I definitely want to have a trap in the build, even though I'd hate to see it get destroyed.

For anyone who frequents this thread, I haven't posted any "update" screenshots because they're pretty much the same thing. I'm trying to get as much use out of the mountain, but that involves a lot of TNT to carve out the mountain, and takes a while since I'm doing everything solo. A definite bright side to this method is that, once I build everything I need, I'll probably have a lot of extra room between rooms and walls. That means that there will be secret pasages! Of course, they aren't as interesting when you can see player tags, but if you were to be in adventure mode like on PC, it would be so much better. This just means that anyone who ends up downloading the map will have to hope nobody destroys it while they're playing, or that PE gets adventure mode.

Anyway, I'm working on the bottom floor (making the space I want for a nature-filled space), and am still trying to think of the best place for the throne room. I'm also considering adding a throne room.

Any tips on a specific creation I could use as a design reference or a "floor-plan" idea for the build would be great!

I said that there wasn't really anything that could really be seen in the terms of "progress", but I'll be posting pictures of said progress. If I'm lucky, caves won't be too big of an issue (though, I'm quite positive I hit 1-3 while doing the middle hole for ranging). The mountain itself is a blessing (no caves in it at all), but the area around it's base is pure Hell. There are about 1-2 caves minimum that can be entered from above ground, though I'm pretty sure I carved it out using random TNT at some point. AKA, the huge cavern I made will be integrated into the design, possibly as a treasure room, or a path to the throne room. Or, it could serve as that "nature area" I mentioned in 1 or more of my other posts. I've mostly been using the safe, yet long process of placing TNT in the middle of a 3x3x3 cluster of stone, and using a lever to blow it up perfectly, only taking away the 3x3x3 cluster of stone blocks. I don't want to blow up any more than I need, because, then, there'll be too much space to use, and it'll probably end up being a cave hidden behind a wall, becoming a place for mobs to spawn. Of course, I will blow walls up when I need more space.

How do you get a steady supply of gunpowder to use that many TNT charges? I've always just used pickaxes and sweat labor as a more reliable method of deep mining. Cobble and sticks are both infinitely renewable resources, so I never have to worry about running out of pickaxes.

*convincing laughter here*...I could always pretend I'm not, but I'm in Creative Mode. The biggest issue I'm having right now is gravel. If you blow up a 3x3x3 cluster, and it has gravel in it, it'll blow up part of the blocks behind it.

However, once everything is ready, I'll either make wooden paths to be able to travel from different points of the carved out mountain the other, or just put myself in Survival Mode and get trees for wooden planks. To be completely honest, I can barely spend the time I need to carve out a mjaority of the mountain when I'm in Creative Mode, so Survival Mode would take even longer. However, I really want to do the majority of the build in survival, so I can make sure everything is practical. Once everything basic is covered, I'll put in detail by switching to creative. Basically, Creative Mode is being used so I can eventually have the perfect canvas, Survival Mode will be used to make sure everything makes sense, and Creative Mode will be used to add little bits of detail. Of course, I will switch to survival again to make sure it all works in the end.

This update isn't too relevant to the main build, but I designed an underwater base-like structure to serve as a way into mines, since I though just mining in the mountain would be too boring.

This was my main inspiration:

The main issue is, of course, the location of the "mine entrance", because it's easily twenty blocks (at the bare minimum) lower than the most developed parts of the build. I also face the issue of how to incorporate the huge cavern I created, since the lowest level is far lower than it. I think that, once everything is cleared away and I have my space to work, it should run smoothly. Having all the open space will allow me to place floors where I want (high ceilings), and possibly let me have giant drops that will kill anyone who isn't careful.

The "mine entrance" may need to be larger, since it's sort of small for a spiral staircase to be in it's exact center (yaaay, time to get rid of more water). It's tough working solo, but at least I'm the only one to blame if something goes wrong.

The biggest update I can give is that I've been bringing the "walls" (aka, the sides that I can remove without breaching the surface) down to the "first level" (aka, the level the entance was built at. It gets tedious, and I still have to see how the deeper levels will be affected by the giant cavern.

Just another "update". The plan is to finish bringing the walls down to the entrance level, and possibly six blocks lower than that. I'm still trying to work around gravel and dirt, but am also trying to make sure everything follows my whole "three plan". I've also (both to my disdain and good fortune) found another area where I can expand further into the side of the mountain.

Remember:

Those who have viewed this thread, and especially those who have been kind enough to comment, should feel free to leave suggestions for the build. My asking for suggestions does not mean I have no ideas, but it means that I would like to have the community which has invested at least some amount of time in my build to be able to say, "I gave him the idea for the design of that wall," or, "I gave him the idea for that light fixture."

Keep in mind:

Those who give suggestions will receive credit in a "special" room in the build - possibly near the entrance, or hidden deep below

Suggestions are currently needed for:

The entrance - needs a redesign for the way the build is now

Main hall - the first thing you see when you enter the build - currently only plan on a basic entrance with waterfalls and plants

A possible trading area/"village" for the inhabitants - add a realistic feel to the build

A way to get from one floor to another - current idea is just basic stairs

Ceiling designs? - I think it may add a nice amount of detail, but will either overdo it, or do too little

Pillars? - cliche, but are usually still pretty nice