Book III - Kaliphlin: Guild sign-up and Discussion

[Kai NRG]

Gotta congratulate Kaliphlin for coming out strong in the slow part of slow and steady wins the race!  Gold standings have been announced for the last freebuild period and for the first challenge, and...

Avalonia - 213 gold
Varlyrio - 132 gold
Mitgardia - 123 gold
Kaliphlin -  109 gold

...we're in last.  But three cheers for Gideon with the highest scoring challenge entry!  Now let's get out there and chop those tree huggers down to size!

[halixon]

Time for the trees to burn! Death to trees! 

[Muakhah]

Just posted this.

Writing for Peace

Mainly to see if I can get people talking in Character.  Its not like there aren't a ton of issues to be resolved in Kaliphlin!

I'm hoping that we will see what kind of Leader @SkaForHire intends the Desert King to be.  Then I'll probably find I've backed a monster...

I had one more question about the state of things now.

Some posts mentioned that the Desert King still rules from Sultan's Gate.  But this story build A King Reborn is set in Kaligem, and it mentions his throne room is the old burial chamber.  Sooooooo do we know where Kaligem is? Is this it? Is the Desert King keeping it a big secret?

So Many Questions!

 

Oh and I saw the freebuild and Challenge results.  I'll try and be more active...for the Guild!

[Kai NRG]

4 hours ago, Muakhah said:

Some posts mentioned that the Desert King still rules from Sultan's Gate.  But this story build A King Reborn is set in Kaligem, and it mentions his throne room is the old burial chamber.  Sooooooo do we know where Kaligem is? Is this it? Is the Desert King keeping it a big secret?

I feel like we do know where it is, kind of between Sultan's Gate and Petrea, but I can't remember why I have that idea.  From what I understand of the story, at some point during the Civil War the DK moved his HQ from Sultan's Gate back to Kaligem, but afterwards he ended up back at Sultan's Gate, possibly because it turned out that the manpower for the reconstruction of Kaligem is not forthcoming.

[Gideon]

I do not recall that I’ve seen exactly where the city of Kaligem is, but I definitely recall a build where it’s ruins was discovered in the desert by scholars from the University of Petraea.

Somewhere close to Sultan’s Gate is likely, probably by an oasis on the high plateau like Petraea. Maybe the oasis has dried up since those days and that’s why the city is abandoned now?

Most likely the local nomads know much more about it than the archaeologists, alternatively they are too afraid of it and don’t want to even get close to the ruins...?

In any case I think there must be a lot of ancient mysteries hiding there, waiting to be discovered by Kali builders

[Kai NRG]

Get ready, because a sandstorm's coming...

[halixon]

A sandstorm? Allow me to summon my desert death-gods. 

Also, I have a freebuild I'll be putting up soon! My first build for Book III excluding my challenge entry.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Windusky

[Rogue Angel]

22 hours ago, Kai NRG said:

Get ready, because a sandstorm's coming...

Where do you think you are? Mitgardia?

[Kai NRG]

22 hours ago, Rogue Angel said:

Where do you think you are? Mitgardia?

Oh yeah, I know we've done this so often y'all are hardly surprised any more... 

Here's my first contribution!

[LittleJohn]

My first contribution is up as well:

 

[Henjin_Quilones]

Greetings Kaliphlinians! As you continue to stir up some sand in the Guilds, don't forget to register the lovely builds you are doing to flesh out your settlements in the HSS! I have seen some lovely builds of different aspects of life, and some (like @adde51's Mophet) have been fleshed out pretty well. Perhaps a few more builds and then you are on the map! 

And everyone else who reads this, register your settlements, too!

[adde51]

21 minutes ago, Henjin_Quilones said:

Greetings Kaliphlinians! As you continue to stir up some sand in the Guilds, don't forget to register the lovely builds you are doing to flesh out your settlements in the HSS! I have seen some lovely builds of different aspects of life, and some (like @adde51's Mophet) have been fleshed out pretty well. Perhaps a few more builds and then you are on the map! 

And everyone else who reads this, register your settlements, too!

Thought I would wait and post everything I have made for this collab and then I’ll be sure to get it all in the HSS for sure! Thanks for the heads up  . Actually already started a wiki-page for Mophet, haha! HSS was, by the way, a great place to get inspiration for things to build as I expand Mophet 

[Kai NRG]

Another build from me!

[LittleJohn]

So I've been working on this on and off since the beginning of October, as I kept having to set it aside to finish other builds (cough, Kaliphlin at Work, cough). I'm back at it now though, and would like to know if you guys have any thoughts/critiques on it so far. It's loosely based off this image, but obviously I'm not trying to copy it exactly. 

A look at the other side. I'm planning on adding more of the trans-pink crystal formations in a few spots, and of course continuing the rockwork up to the proper height. I might add a small cave, or some marine life too. I'm a little unsure about the olive green vine though, any thoughts on that?

Comments or critiques are very welcome! 

[TheLordOfBricks]

Looks nice! Not sure about the water, it looks really good, but when you zoom in it just doesn't quite work for me. Rock work is looking really good, along with the buildings!

[Kai NRG]

I love that water!  @TheLordOfBricks is right that it's a little confusing close-up when the final MOC is done I can tell it's going to look fantastic.  I'm not big on the olive though.  Doesn't look like the right sort of stuff to be growing on wet rock.

[Basiliscus]

Nice work @LittleJohn! Great start to what will be a fantastic MOC I'm sure of it.

Agree that the olive green vine looks a bit odd, and in regards to the water I don't see a better solution (maybe trans light blue tile?).

I would say that the dark bley Nexo knight shield doesn't look like a rock, it's too regular and looks man made. Maybe that's what you want, but just a thought.

A cave would certainly break up the rockwork and add another dimension to the model, if you can be bothered reworking it.

[W Navarre]

I love the bright color of the water, could you give this some other sort of border though?  A round one would be sweet! Maybe change the vine to normal green?  And I love the concept art!  

[pombe]

Your WIP is incredible, but that's normal for you.

I don't know if vines grow on rocks, but I do know they grow on houses and other plants, so I guess if they can find a foothold, they will just climb.  However, given that it is immersed in water, some sort of plant/fungus/algae makes sense to have colonizing whatever surface it can find.

I also agree with @Basiliscus in that the Nexo Knight shield looks out of place.

[Gabe]

Looks interesting LittleJohn! I'm curious about whats going on with the white part of the building - windows (or gates? grilles?) on the waterline aren't too common! The rockwork is nice and i have no issue with the olive leaves. I've never been much of a fan of water formed with 1x1 round plates, but i do like the way the lighter elements underneath appear to shimmer, and the slight variation in height helps to break up the regularity. Looking forward to seeing how it develops! 

I finally got my 'Kaliphlin at work' contribution done... sorry its a bit late! 

 

[adde51]

Looks really good so far @LittleJohn, actually really like the water the way it is, great shimmering action. I’m not loving the vine as it is right now, looks a little too ”lumped together” so maybe thin it out a bit? Also a little curious about the window like @Gabe, maybe raise it by 2-3 plates, or maybe the idea is to make it look like it’s about to be submerged? Anyways, great look overall and I’m sure it’s gonna look awesome when done! 

[LittleJohn]

On 11/14/2018 at 3:02 PM, TheLordOfBricks said:

Looks nice! Not sure about the water, it looks really good, but when you zoom in it just doesn't quite work for me. Rock work is looking really good, along with the buildings!

Thanks! I should have clarified before, but that isn't actually water, per se; it's meant to be the the ocean floor, under the actual water (which is shown in the update picture below). I'm going for very much of a fantasy feel for the whole build, and I thought the trans-light blue worked well for that. Glad you like how the rest is looking!

On 11/14/2018 at 3:34 PM, Kai NRG said:

I love that water!  @TheLordOfBricks is right that it's a little confusing close-up when the final MOC is done I can tell it's going to look fantastic.  I'm not big on the olive though.  Doesn't look like the right sort of stuff to be growing on wet rock.

Thanks Kai! Yeah, that was my thought too. Definitely will be switching that out for something else.

On 11/15/2018 at 1:24 AM, Basiliscus said:

Nice work @LittleJohn! Great start to what will be a fantastic MOC I'm sure of it.

Agree that the olive green vine looks a bit odd, and in regards to the water I don't see a better solution (maybe trans light blue tile?).

I would say that the dark bley Nexo knight shield doesn't look like a rock, it's too regular and looks man made. Maybe that's what you want, but just a thought.

A cave would certainly break up the rockwork and add another dimension to the model, if you can be bothered reworking it.

Thanks Bas! I swapped out the Nexo knight shield, and I like the look better. Good suggestion And I have added a cave now, on the backside (picture below).

On 11/15/2018 at 10:30 AM, W Navarre said:

I love the bright color of the water, could you give this some other sort of border though?  A round one would be sweet! Maybe change the vine to normal green?  And I love the concept art!  

Thanks Navarre, though I'm not sure I'll really be able to do any sort of border at this point. I'll definitely be messing around with options for the vine. And yeah, I do too!

On 11/15/2018 at 11:04 AM, pombe said:

Your WIP is incredible, but that's normal for you.

I don't know if vines grow on rocks, but I do know they grow on houses and other plants, so I guess if they can find a foothold, they will just climb.  However, given that it is immersed in water, some sort of plant/fungus/algae makes sense to have colonizing whatever surface it can find.

I also agree with @Basiliscus in that the Nexo Knight shield looks out of place.

Thank you very much, pombe! Good suggestion about the vine, I will definitely be playing around with different options for it. And the Nexo knight shield has been replaced now, thanks to both of yours suggestion

17 hours ago, Gabe said:

Looks interesting LittleJohn! I'm curious about whats going on with the white part of the building - windows (or gates? grilles?) on the waterline aren't too common! The rockwork is nice and i have no issue with the olive leaves. I've never been much of a fan of water formed with 1x1 round plates, but i do like the way the lighter elements underneath appear to shimmer, and the slight variation in height helps to break up the regularity. Looking forward to seeing how it develops!

 

Thanks Gabe! I know, right? Who in their right mind would put a building with open windows under water?! Normally I wouldn't even consider it, but because this is purely a fantasy build, (and because I like how it looks in the concept art) I'm not worried about it making any sense . Glad you like the rockwork, it got rather tedious to build towards the end. 

9 hours ago, adde51 said:

Looks really good so far @LittleJohn, actually really like the water the way it is, great shimmering action. I’m not loving the vine as it is right now, looks a little too ”lumped together” so maybe thin it out a bit? Also a little curious about the window like @Gabe, maybe raise it by 2-3 plates, or maybe the idea is to make it look like it’s about to be submerged? Anyways, great look overall and I’m sure it’s gonna look awesome when done! 

Thanks adde! Glad to hear you like the shimmering seabed. For the explanation on the window, see my above reply to Gabe. And yep, definitely going to change the vine

Here's some updated WIPs, with the actual waterline set in place, so you guys can get a better idea of what exactly is going on:

The blue technic half pin you see in the above picture is where the olive green vine was attached. I just haven't gotten to trying any other options there yet.

The back portion. I added a cave with an octopus, several fantasy plants, and lots more crystals. It's a bit plain right now, so I'll probably be playing around with things to spice it up a bit, and some more interesting detail. Ideas are welcome! I'm thinking maybe some exotic sea-plants, possibly a few more animals, etc.

Comments and suggestions welcome!

[adde51]

Had another look at your reference-pic and it’s looking very good (the window makes more sense now, haha!). Having some darker plants at the bottom, especially around the dark tan section, might be an idea to give it even more of an underwater-feel. Love the plants and crystals! Great progress. 

[Kai NRG]

I think we need some fishies but the octopus peeping out is great!

[Basiliscus]

Seriously guys, how many more days of Kaliphlin at work are there, you're showing the rest of us up!