ADDENDUM: 2013-01-02
Images and text related to the "Slimeball Pass" segment of my West Road, originally seen here, have been incorporated into post #1.
ADDENDUM: 2012-01-02
Images and text related to what would become Holiday Bridge on my West Road, originally seen here, have been incorporated into post #1.
this is awesome! you should cure some NPC zombies and put them in your hill fort. ther would be really cool.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sam- I left this here because I know you like MC and hope you are on this forum. this is alex, from gym and geography class. the kid with long hair and glasses. make an account and msg me if you see this.
ADDENDUM: 2013-01-02
Images and text related to constructed my Long Bridge and its two flanking towers, originally seen here, were either made obsolete or incorporated into post #1.
This is awesome! You should cure some NPC zombies and put them in your hill fort. ther would be really cool.
I for some time half seriously thought to created a village either on the Hill Fort lower plateau or just outside the fort. It was all but impossible in the past. The nearest village is far away with lots of harsh environments in between. But that was before curable zombie villagers. I might reconsider at some point. Still, my current idea is to expand existing NPC villages and connect them to my fortress via as yet unbuilt roadways. I more and more favor the idea of keeping the fortress as a self-contained central hub connected to other sites of interest by a series of roads and bridges. A far flung kingdom of sorts.
UPDATE: "Frustration Tower" and the beginnings of the Long Bridge
Yesterday afternoon and evening were devoted to constructing Long Bridge East Tower. What a fiasco! Whatever lessens I learned constructing three (or is it four?) similar towers abandoned me. Took four tries to get the spiral staircase right. Placed four canopy interior pumpkins incorrectly so that their faces were visible (which I meant to avoid). Creepers kept raining on my parade so that I was constantly needing to rebuild...or so it seemed in the heat of battle. Hence the tower's name.
I also began work on the bridge proper. I knew it would be resource intensive, but knowing ain't the same as experiencing it first hand. Boy does this thing burn wood and how! I officially call this my Long Bridge, but have already unofficially dubbed it "Deforestation Bridge". I'm gonna be thoroughly sick and tired of visiting my timber farm long before all is said and done.
At any rate, this image shows the tiny bit of bridge erected (but not detailed) thus far, with "Frustration Tower" at its end.
An image of the bridge under construction was removed to reduce PhotoBucket bandwidth consumption.
This is pretty much what the entire span will look like. I've yet to add spike heads (stone buttons) to under-bridge bracing, or more than token fencing along the walkway. Due to span length, I suspect I'll construct a small repair facility mid bridge. Noteworthy at screen left is an ancient "safe platform" from the play-through early days, back when I collected massive amounts of clay from this swampland, clay from which I made the red bricks that sheath my Hill Fort.
Are you going to put up another world download of your map? I would love to explore the world with all your more recent things in it. By the way I love your roads and bridges!
Are you going to put up another world download of your map? I would love to explore the world with all your more recent things in it. By the way I love your roads and bridges!
I do indeed plan to make an up to date download available in the not too terribly distance future. My guess is that it will appear soon after completing the Long Bridge and a few as yet unpaved short stretches of the West Road.
This being a legit survival play-through first and foremost, erecting the Long Bridge will take time, even assuming I keep it as the main focus of my gaming sessions. I construct one small section, run out of wood, spend Minecraftian days harvesting timber, return to the bridge, build, run out of wood, harvest, rinse and repeat. Those two road sections will take time too, though in both cases my current thought is to keep it simple. Certainly nothing so elaborate as my desert roadway.
Okay thanks for the reply, I understand that these builds take time, and feel free to take as long as possible because your builds do look very nice. Don't feel rushed in any way, take as long as you need.
I utterly amazed myself by completing the Long Bridge by day's end yesterday, 2012-12-27.
An Image of newly finished West Road Long Bridge seen here was transferred to my initial post and thus redundant. It was removed due to a need to reduce PhotoBucket bandwidth consumption.
Except for one stack of fencing, none of the wood came from my stockpile at the Hill Fort, but was instead harvested from trees planted between this tower and Holiday Tower. There's a dedicatory plaque mid bridge. I don't much like it, but it will do for now. Note that the two fence-enclosed oak trees seen in a previous view have been replaced by jungle trees. I don't much like those either, and suspect I'll go treeless in the end.
My current project is to construct the roadway between this tower and Holiday Tower. Then I cross the swamp and at last connect this portion of road to my original West Road.
ATTENTION: New download of my survival world available!
A new save of my survival world, made today 2012-12-28, is available via this MediaFire link. The link also appears at both the top and bottom of my initial post (post #1), the latter accompanied by detailed explanatory text.
This edition includes all work to date on the West Road, including the just completed "Long Bridge".
Possibly pointless West Road update, images of "Frustration" Tower and the "small bridge"
2013-04-28 addendum:
Screen captures and accompanying text related to Frustration Tower and the Small Bridge, now incorporated into my initial post (#1), have been removed here to avoid needless redundancy.
On 30 Dec 2012 I extended my West Road slightly further west, to a river near my current mining camp.
This short stretch of roadway is all but complete, some dirt blocks not yet having grown grass. Also complete is the east end of what will be another of my "fancy" bridges, its jack-o-lantern cupola seen at distance.
Constructing this road segment was more troublesome than expected due to my having misremembered the amount of building materials kept at the mine. I came up short on both wood and dirt. Lack of wood was solved by frequent visits to the small timber farm just outside the mine. Dirt had me stumped. I figured I'd need to head back to Slimeball Pass, where I know an adequate number of stacks are stored. Luckily I found just enough dirt to get me by in a chest down at the bottom of the mine.
My avatar now slaves away in the mine to amass enough cobble for the bridge west tower.
When creating MediaFire links to the new downloadable edition of my survival world in my initial post (post #1), I did indeed provide the correct link within the body of the text at post bottom. I did not, however, notice that the download heading was itself a clickable link...to the oldest edition of my world. Thus its wording was modified to reflect the new download but the old link remained in place. I caught this only a short while ago. It has been corrected. Sorry for any confusion this might have caused. If your download does not match what you see in my posted images, please try again! If it's any consolation, that old download was minuscule in file size (which can not be said for the new download).
If you downloaded via post #105 (or the one correct initial post link) all should be well.
Now on to more pleasant matters...
WEST ROAD westward expansion - Arachnids Revenge Bridge
Addendum: 2013-04-28
On this date screen captures and accompanying text related to the building of Arachnids Revenge Bridge, already incorporated into my initial post (#1), were removed here to avoid needless redundancy.
Substantial modification to my initial post (post #1)
I am revamping my initial post, due to it becoming increasingly image heavy. The idea is to place most images connected with one specific topic within a unified quote, leaving one representative image visible as a sort of advertorial banner. This will be a long drawn out process, implemented in stages. I have begun by adding many West Road images not previously included in post #1, along with several related captures taken specifically for the purpose. They now appear, with narrative text, in quotes under an image captioned...
Minecraftian
Autocracy of Decrepia
Road to the West
A single-player survival world
Note the use of "Autocracy of Decrepia" both here and in other narrative. This is an element I might elaborate on in the future to add a bit of role-play bling to my game world. The concept is very embryonic right now, and may never come to pass. (To do it properly calls for artistic skills I totally lack.)
In any case, if anyone has the leisure to do so, please visit the appropriate section of my initial post and check out today's modification. Let me know if (when) you spot any obvious mistakes or confusions. With so many images added over a short period of time, errors are bound to have crept in.
ADDENDUM: 2013-01-02
Initial post transformation continues. My Road to the East has been given the same treatment as its western sibling. My Road to the South was given a new "banner" image but not placed within spoilers, that section containing only two images (including Banner).
Additionally, I combed the entire thread, removing many images and text that were either obsolete or have have been incorporated into post #1. Only my most recent postings were left alone. They too will come under the knife before long.
ADDENDUM: 2013-01-02, part 2
I have replaced a number of Hill Fort images with more up to date equivalents. The old images all contained unsightly HUD elements. (I couldn't have care less that HUD elements were included in my posted images back in those early days.) Loss of HUD is the chief reason for these changes, though I think the new "gate" images are far better compositions than their ancestors.
UPDATES to my initial post (post #1)
Work continues on initial post modification. I have now replaced nearly all out-of-date or HUD-infected images. So far as I know only two remain. One is my thread Banner Image, too nice to scrap. The other is a view of the Wool Storage Facility obsidian ceiling being laid. Being documentation of work in progress it is irreplaceable. Many of the new images are, in my opinion, better composed and lit than their predecessors.
Some accompanying text was also modified.
East Road Naval Abomination, a 2013-01-02 image:
I make reference to this monstrosity in my initial post and several replies. In the past I had the sense to forgo visually documenting this horror. Against my better judgment I do so now. (Some say I have no better judgment.)
This was an early attempt to create a coastal stronghold from which I would cross the ocean and discover new lands, an idea taken from paulsoaresjr YouTube videos. As is painfully obvious I had absolutely no idea what I was doing back then. What's more, the idea of sea travel soon lost its appeal. I abandoned the project.
I return to the site from time to time, thinking to either rebuild the facility or gut it. Thing is, I still have little interest in extensive sea travel and don't need the resources. So here it stands, an eyesore and an embarrassment. The signpost, btw, was erected specifically for this screen capture. I left it in place, a fitting testimonial to my work.
Images and text related to the "Slimeball Pass" segment of my West Road, originally seen here, have been incorporated into post #1.
Images and text related to what would become Holiday Bridge on my West Road, originally seen here, have been incorporated into post #1.
Images and text related to constructed my Long Bridge and its two flanking towers, originally seen here, were either made obsolete or incorporated into post #1.
I for some time half seriously thought to created a village either on the Hill Fort lower plateau or just outside the fort. It was all but impossible in the past. The nearest village is far away with lots of harsh environments in between. But that was before curable zombie villagers. I might reconsider at some point. Still, my current idea is to expand existing NPC villages and connect them to my fortress via as yet unbuilt roadways. I more and more favor the idea of keeping the fortress as a self-contained central hub connected to other sites of interest by a series of roads and bridges. A far flung kingdom of sorts.
Thanks!
Yesterday afternoon and evening were devoted to constructing Long Bridge East Tower. What a fiasco! Whatever lessens I learned constructing three (or is it four?) similar towers abandoned me. Took four tries to get the spiral staircase right. Placed four canopy interior pumpkins incorrectly so that their faces were visible (which I meant to avoid). Creepers kept raining on my parade so that I was constantly needing to rebuild...or so it seemed in the heat of battle. Hence the tower's name.
I also began work on the bridge proper. I knew it would be resource intensive, but knowing ain't the same as experiencing it first hand. Boy does this thing burn wood and how! I officially call this my Long Bridge, but have already unofficially dubbed it "Deforestation Bridge". I'm gonna be thoroughly sick and tired of visiting my timber farm long before all is said and done.
At any rate, this image shows the tiny bit of bridge erected (but not detailed) thus far, with "Frustration Tower" at its end.
This is pretty much what the entire span will look like. I've yet to add spike heads (stone buttons) to under-bridge bracing, or more than token fencing along the walkway. Due to span length, I suspect I'll construct a small repair facility mid bridge. Noteworthy at screen left is an ancient "safe platform" from the play-through early days, back when I collected massive amounts of clay from this swampland, clay from which I made the red bricks that sheath my Hill Fort.
I do indeed plan to make an up to date download available in the not too terribly distance future. My guess is that it will appear soon after completing the Long Bridge and a few as yet unpaved short stretches of the West Road.
This being a legit survival play-through first and foremost, erecting the Long Bridge will take time, even assuming I keep it as the main focus of my gaming sessions. I construct one small section, run out of wood, spend Minecraftian days harvesting timber, return to the bridge, build, run out of wood, harvest, rinse and repeat. Those two road sections will take time too, though in both cases my current thought is to keep it simple. Certainly nothing so elaborate as my desert roadway.
I utterly amazed myself by completing the Long Bridge by day's end yesterday, 2012-12-27.
Except for one stack of fencing, none of the wood came from my stockpile at the Hill Fort, but was instead harvested from trees planted between this tower and Holiday Tower. There's a dedicatory plaque mid bridge. I don't much like it, but it will do for now. Note that the two fence-enclosed oak trees seen in a previous view have been replaced by jungle trees. I don't much like those either, and suspect I'll go treeless in the end.
My current project is to construct the roadway between this tower and Holiday Tower. Then I cross the swamp and at last connect this portion of road to my original West Road.
A new save of my survival world, made today 2012-12-28, is available via this MediaFire link. The link also appears at both the top and bottom of my initial post (post #1), the latter accompanied by detailed explanatory text.
This edition includes all work to date on the West Road, including the just completed "Long Bridge".
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
Possibly pointless West Road update, images of "Frustration" Tower and the "small bridge"2013-04-28 addendum:
Screen captures and accompanying text related to Frustration Tower and the Small Bridge, now incorporated into my initial post (#1), have been removed here to avoid needless redundancy.
I'm sold on the concept, especially in survival mode. They make very secure bases, aren't terrible hard to construct, and don't look half bad either.
Thanks to all for the nice comments!
On 30 Dec 2012 I extended my West Road slightly further west, to a river near my current mining camp.
This short stretch of roadway is all but complete, some dirt blocks not yet having grown grass. Also complete is the east end of what will be another of my "fancy" bridges, its jack-o-lantern cupola seen at distance.
Constructing this road segment was more troublesome than expected due to my having misremembered the amount of building materials kept at the mine. I came up short on both wood and dirt. Lack of wood was solved by frequent visits to the small timber farm just outside the mine. Dirt had me stumped. I figured I'd need to head back to Slimeball Pass, where I know an adequate number of stacks are stored. Luckily I found just enough dirt to get me by in a chest down at the bottom of the mine.
My avatar now slaves away in the mine to amass enough cobble for the bridge west tower.
When creating MediaFire links to the new downloadable edition of my survival world in my initial post (post #1), I did indeed provide the correct link within the body of the text at post bottom. I did not, however, notice that the download heading was itself a clickable link...to the oldest edition of my world. Thus its wording was modified to reflect the new download but the old link remained in place. I caught this only a short while ago. It has been corrected. Sorry for any confusion this might have caused. If your download does not match what you see in my posted images, please try again! If it's any consolation, that old download was minuscule in file size (which can not be said for the new download).
If you downloaded via post #105 (or the one correct initial post link) all should be well.
Now on to more pleasant matters...
WEST ROAD westward expansion - Arachnids Revenge BridgeAddendum: 2013-04-28
On this date screen captures and accompanying text related to the building of Arachnids Revenge Bridge, already incorporated into my initial post (#1), were removed here to avoid needless redundancy.
I am revamping my initial post, due to it becoming increasingly image heavy. The idea is to place most images connected with one specific topic within a unified quote, leaving one representative image visible as a sort of advertorial banner. This will be a long drawn out process, implemented in stages. I have begun by adding many West Road images not previously included in post #1, along with several related captures taken specifically for the purpose. They now appear, with narrative text, in quotes under an image captioned...
Note the use of "Autocracy of Decrepia" both here and in other narrative. This is an element I might elaborate on in the future to add a bit of role-play bling to my game world. The concept is very embryonic right now, and may never come to pass. (To do it properly calls for artistic skills I totally lack.)
In any case, if anyone has the leisure to do so, please visit the appropriate section of my initial post and check out today's modification. Let me know if (when) you spot any obvious mistakes or confusions. With so many images added over a short period of time, errors are bound to have crept in.
ADDENDUM: 2013-01-02
Initial post transformation continues. My Road to the East has been given the same treatment as its western sibling. My Road to the South was given a new "banner" image but not placed within spoilers, that section containing only two images (including Banner).
Additionally, I combed the entire thread, removing many images and text that were either obsolete or have have been incorporated into post #1. Only my most recent postings were left alone. They too will come under the knife before long.
ADDENDUM: 2013-01-02, part 2
I have replaced a number of Hill Fort images with more up to date equivalents. The old images all contained unsightly HUD elements. (I couldn't have care less that HUD elements were included in my posted images back in those early days.) Loss of HUD is the chief reason for these changes, though I think the new "gate" images are far better compositions than their ancestors.
Work continues on initial post modification. I have now replaced nearly all out-of-date or HUD-infected images. So far as I know only two remain. One is my thread Banner Image, too nice to scrap. The other is a view of the Wool Storage Facility obsidian ceiling being laid. Being documentation of work in progress it is irreplaceable. Many of the new images are, in my opinion, better composed and lit than their predecessors.
Some accompanying text was also modified.
East Road Naval Abomination, a 2013-01-02 image:
I make reference to this monstrosity in my initial post and several replies. In the past I had the sense to forgo visually documenting this horror. Against my better judgment I do so now. (Some say I have no better judgment.)
This was an early attempt to create a coastal stronghold from which I would cross the ocean and discover new lands, an idea taken from paulsoaresjr YouTube videos. As is painfully obvious I had absolutely no idea what I was doing back then. What's more, the idea of sea travel soon lost its appeal. I abandoned the project.
I return to the site from time to time, thinking to either rebuild the facility or gut it. Thing is, I still have little interest in extensive sea travel and don't need the resources. So here it stands, an eyesore and an embarrassment. The signpost, btw, was erected specifically for this screen capture. I left it in place, a fitting testimonial to my work.