Time to start again!
Last post I promised a total project refresh - that was four months ago, and in that time, this project has not been forgotten, it has simply lain dormant until the tools necessary for such a refresh arose. Those tools have now arisen, and it is finally time for this project to wake from slumber! With the new season of Game of Thrones premiering on April 1st, there's no better time than now to start the ball rolling again! Coinciding with the new season, we will be re-opening our doors to builders and spectators alike! The reopening will happen at the start of the first episode of season 2, which is at 9pm American East Coast Time (2am UTC)!
Minecraft 1.2 was released not long ago, and with it the ability to raise the height limit of the world, allowing for projects such as the wall and the eyrie to be bigger and better than before! On the topic of the map, we now have the proper software to render a map of Westeros to work on, and will be using it to generate a map which is 37,000 blocks tall, and approximately 17,000 blocks wide! The new software we have is proven and tested, and has the ability to smooth out issues with terrain before generating the entire map!
We had something good going, let's get it going again!
Having finally got the map, we are still in need of a few additional things. Namely, I am looking for two creative directors capable of overseeing the construction of the world, and cities and towns in the world. It is vital that the two should be able to collaborate with each other and with the community as a whole. With regards to the community, a new approach to collaboration is necessary, and as such I have created a form for the project integrated directly with the blog, so anyone who already signed up for an account on the blog will be able to use their existing account to log in and make posts (this does not include appman, as that utility is no longer applicable to the new server structure).
In temporary place of the application manager (while we search for a better solution), will be a forum in which applicants post an introduction to themselves (prior builds, asoiaf background knowledge, etc), and why they think they would make a good builder on our server.
As mentioned in the last post, all previous titles you held will be replaced with a single builders group, which will not have WorldEdit or VoxelSniper permissions (these will become too hard to manage, accidents and intentional damage will be untraceable and significantly harder to repair). The terraforming position will no longer be applicable, due to having terrain issues smoothed out pre-render, and any terraforming work required will need to be handled by a moderator. Some Moderators of the server have also made it known to me that they no longer wish to continue with us in their current role, and resultantly, we will be interviewing potential candidates to fill the vacated positions! If you are interested, make post on the forum under the applications thread! All former Project Managers are automatically eligible for the positions if they so wish.
The next steps:
To prepare for Sunday, I am calling an IRC meeting so we can sort out any problems which might arise this time around, before we begin! The meeting will be held at 11pm UTC (6pm East Coast Time) Wednesday the 28th March. Anyone who is still interested in this project can join the discussion by connecting to #gotminecraft on irc.freenode.net, or by clicking here, and picking a username!
Looking forward to seeing all of you again on Wednesday!
~ Sleelin
Guys, we need to talk…
It's clear that our current approach to this project has been quite unsuccessful, and in my opinion, in order to proceed, we are in need of a project-wide refresh. I'm not just talking about the map, but also our administrative structure, and even the roles assigned to people throughout the community.
Firstly, I'd like to explain what happened that caused us to fall into this prolonged period of inactivity. When I first signed on to manage the server and services provided to this community back in July, I did not expect to wind up managing the entire project as well! Granted I had some wonderful people assisting me in this endeavor, like Mvd366, Bvanman, BCPL, and the rest of the moderating and project management teams, most of the forward pushing of this project , as well as the community management aspects have fallen to me to to fulfill. Unfortunately, for the past month, I have been unable to reach these requirements, due to several factors, including but not limited to work, education (exams), home life, et al. It was my expectation that the community was strong enough to progress without my assistance, however it is clear now that this is incorrect.
In light of these past two months, I believe it is now time for us to again re-emerge and reignite this project, and start afresh with a new approach, so we can try our hand again at making this a success! In order to proceed however, a few things will need to happen:
- Administrative purge:
Our current administrative structure, with Admins, Mods, Project Managers, Architects, Terraformers and Builders has clearly not been a success - it has suffered from such issues as a lack of communication between team members, lack of organisation, planning, and overall management. Additionally, region-based teams has proven to be counter-intuitive, and subsequently will be abolished. In it's place will be a rotation system, where everyone works on one section of Westeros at one time, similar in fashion to the LOTR server. Furthermore, Project Managers and Architects will be rolled into one position, and a new team of them will be employed to design aspects of the world (buildings, places, etc). I envisage this team meeting weekly to discuss issues with design, create plans, and other tasks required to keep this project moving. Potential applicants beware, as this position will come with several obligations, and is not one you can skimp out on without consequence! - Position reset:
Further to the previous, all current positions you may hold will be reset, and you will inevitably be required to reapply! Additionally, new questions will be required to be answered upon signup, and the management team will have far more discretion over who is able to join the team, enabling a tighter-nit community, subsequently promoting an encouraging atmosphere where all ideas are welcome! Adding to this, a certain level of maturity will be mandated for potential applicants wishing to assist us - with our current open door policy, we have seen several immature (for want of a better word) users join the team, contributing nothing but trouble for those in positions of authority wishing to progress the project. - Map Re-Render:
It has long been said that the current map is not to the scale we wish it to be - as of now it is a massive 15,000 x 25,000 blocks in dimension from top to bottom, but as has been pointed out, even this is too small to adequately represent the world we wish to create! As such, a re-render is in order, to ensure that we are able to start from the best possible base. Existing structures are able to be copied over into any new map we have (ex. The Inn at the Crossroads, Castle Black, etc), however it will be preferable to restart from scratch, as importing will be somewhat of a pain. In terms of the re-render, we will need an appropriately sized image to base the world off of. The current map is based off an image which is the same dimensions as the world itself (15,000px x 25,000px), which is actually extremely large, and makes for a somewhat difficult time finding software and hardware capable of manipulating the image, or creating a matching heightmap, so if anyone is interested in working with this at 30,000 x 50,000, or possibly 60,000 x 100,000, send me an email at mail@gotminecraft.com letting me know you are interested and capable, so that we can get this re-render underway! - Subdivision of administrative tasks:
As it is, most of the planning and administrative management has been done by yours truly (with occasional assistance from other members of the management team). This would work, if I were to devote my full attention to the project. Unfortunately however, I don't have the time for that, as just like you, I too need to earn a living. As such, and as has happened, when I am unable to meet the demands of this position, things fall to a stop. To remedy this, I will be creating new positions to which I can allocate tasks to relieve some duty from my position. Such new positions will include Community Manager, HR, and PR managers. The intended purpose of these positions is to keep the community moving forward even in my absence, and I personally will be searching for people who meet these requirements.
Again I apologise for having you all wait so long for more news, but the reason has been more than adequately explained in the above post. TL;DR: Sorry, read the post, I can't really adequately TL;DR it.
Keep your eye out, all this will be happening soon, I promise you!
~ Sleelin
Official Plans for the Stormlands Region (Help Needed)
As of right now I'm in need of some terraformers in order to get the Stormlands going. Work has already started and it would be much appreciated if we were to get some more help. If you aren't interested in being a terraformer than architects are definitely needed as well (but won't be able to do much until the terrain is ready). I will give updates on other positions in the future. Apply and send me a PM whenever if your ready to work.
First thing is first, as I mentioned terrain is a big issue right now. The first focus should be to remove the "shallow water" on the coast that generated as terrain, it can easily be seen from the dynamic map but you can tell difference in game (It's generated as much taller mountains than the actual terrain). There is also white wool to mark out the actual coast line that terrarformers can use as a guide. Once that is taken care of we can focus on the actual shoreline. The Stormlands shoreline is known for it's steep, rocky cliffs, this shouldn't be too hard to pull off and should be quite fun to mess around with. The Stormlands consists of many forests that include Rainwood to the South and Kingswood to the North near King's Landing. It also has it's fair share of large mountains in between. In the future I will give examples of how I want people to go about terraforming this terrain, but if you think you can do it then by all means go for it, anything can be undone or fixed. The link below will take you to a map of Westeros which should act as a guide that gives a great look of the terrain we will be dealing with. I will also add other references regarding geography below.
Terrain Map:
http://gameofthrones.net/resources/50-maps-of-westeros/537-map-of-westeros.html
Coastal cliff references (What the coast should end up looking like):
http://www.ecosystema.ru/08nature/world/52ten/012e.htm
http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/art/48794-kalbarri-coastal-cliffs-western-australia
Stormlands geography references:
http://bloodandfire.wikispaces.com/the+Stormlands+Geography
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Stormlands
This is where the architects and builders come in. No doubt you all are aware of the biggest build we will be tackling, The mighty castle of Storms End. It rests upon giant white rock cliffs separating itself from the rest of the shoreline. It's wall is 100 feet (30.5 meters) tall, and varies in thickness of 40 feet (12 meters) to 80 feet (24 meters). The stone used to build it is described as being so well placed that the mighty winds of the Stormlands cannot get through to the inner part of the castle. So the majority of the castle will consist of the new block, smooth stone brick. The castle itself is a gigantic drum tower reaching towards the sky (I will provide links to pictures below). This tower is so large it easily fits the stables, barracks, armory and lord's chambers all in the same structure. This thing will be massive and no doubt fun to build. I plan on building this thing to the height limit and I need all the help I can get. Updates to come.
Storm's End links:
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Storm%27s_End
http://www.franzmiklis.com/Paintings/Covers/StormsEnd.html
http://drkronner.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ted-nasmith_a-song-of-ice-and-fire_storms-end_med.jpg
So take a look, decide what you want to do. Like I said, we need terraformers to start this process and will be a major part of developing the Stormlands. Storms end obviously can't be built until we have a good foundation set for it created by terraformers. And don't forget, you can easily switch to being an architect or a builder after you have contributed to shaping the terrain. We need all the help we can get so if your interested then apply and send a PM my way and we will get you sorted out and starting work in no time. This region will be loads of fun to create and I look forward to working with all of you.
Also, the warp to get to the Stormlands is "/warp stormsend". There will be some info there to get you started.
-BantyRooster
Beginning of Kings Landing and the Future
UPDATE: 10/12/11: I have copy pasted walls pretty much around the perimeter of the entire city except the Red Keep. The only gates that are even started are Mud and Kings Gate, so where the other ones would be is just plain wall right now.
I have oldhamtinker on terraforming for the three kills, which are all pretty clearly outlined. Anyone who wants to help with this part would really be appreciated, theres a lot of terraforming that needs to be done and it is a prerequisite for pretty much every really cool building in King's Landing. As is all three hills need work, just in terms of height or structure or size.
Lastly, several people have been making small houses and places in the streets of steel and flea bottom. Any builder feel free do do this, just remember that Kings Landing is a poor city so nothing too extravagant.
TL;DR: Need people to work on Gates, Terraforming the Hills, and smaller buildings throughout the city
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Terraformers: we need all three major hills, some work on the western edge of the city, widening of the Blackwater in two areas, and the creation of a bit more water in the northern edge of the Red Keep's peninsula.
the following is crossposted on reddit.com/r/gotminecraft:
I would like for people (builders) to reply IN A PM with thier email and minecraft username and what aspect of the city listed below they would like to work on. Our primary references for this project will be these two links:
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Kings_landing
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b158/GKreindler/MapSmall.jpg
Here are the different aspects of the city that we need to work on (somewhat grouped in terms of geography or similarity):
Red Keep *– obviously a huge focus of time (http://i.imgur.com/YNaSL.jpg) Winch Towers
Great Sept of Baelor *
The Dragonpit *
Guildhall of the Alchemists
Flea Bottom
Chataya's
Fishmonger's Square/ Blackwater Rush/ Fishmarket*
Cobbler's Square
Various streets (river row, the hook, the street of sisters, street of steel, street of flour, street of silk, eel alley, Pigrun alley, Shadowblack lane, reeking lane, Muddy way, Sowbelly row, pisswater bend )
Gates* (Mudgate/rivergate, The Dragon gate, The Lion Gate, The Old Gate, The King's Gate, The iron gate, The Gate of the Gods)
*needs an architect for basic foundational plans before the project can begin
Please feel free to direct any questions to me and I look forward to working with you guys!
P.s. - I prefer reddit or email for communication. Reach me at brandon.garrett@gmail.com
Our first In-Game Meeting!
Hi Folks,
I have had the pleasure of working with you for a few days now and man has Westeros really started to transform. As you might have noticed if you have logged on already, there is a LOT of work to be done and many people willing to do it.
I am trying to put together an in-game organizational meeting for this Thursday Night at 10pm E.S.T. I am asking that all the current PM's either be there or have an architect there to represent them. There are many things to discuss so your input is especially appreciated. That is not to say that everyone else is going to be forgotten. This meeting will most likely lay out our immediate plans for the future and if you are interested in being a part of the planning, I highly recommend you be there.
With that being said, the server can only handle so much at once so I would ask that all terraformers and the like to please refrain from doing any building during the meeting as it might interfere.
If you have done any work on the server so far, I applaud you. It is looking fantastic and will only get better. I hope to see you all at the Inn tomorrow night and can't wait to move forward with this project as a team.
-Khal mvd366
TLDR for us lazy Americans- Meeting at the Inn on Thursday, September 29th at 10pm E.S.T.
TLDR for you crazy foreigners- Meeting at the Inn on Friday the 30th of September at 2:00 AM GMT.
EDIT: THE MEETING WILL NOW TAKE PLACE ON THE IRC CHANNEL HERE
http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=gotminecraft
If you have any trouble getting to it, contact someone on the in-game chat and we will try to help you.
Usualnamenotworking’s Minefesto
Before significant construction begins on all the myriad projects, here's a few variables to consider in your structures.
I would say that the one feeling I want to capture most is the feeling that everyone is truly in the world of the books in all it's grit and majesty.
As a result, I feel that we shouldn't limit ourselves to just 'creating the castles' but to actually go a little deeper with the construction, considering these variables:
Building Techniques
1: Firstly, a careful reading of the text should be considered, making sure to include every textual variable and extrapolating what we can from the novels and short stories.
2: Recognition of culture: First men vs. Andals vs. Dornish. Different cultures would create different architectural styles, which we should build off of.
A: For instance, the earliest Watch castles should resemble Winterfell; as they had the same architect.
4: There should be varied, regional practices for each of the Seven Kingdoms. Areas like Dorne, that would rarely see rain, would have different ideas of weather covering than the folks of the Riverlands.
5: Recognition of available resources to the builders. The Vale has nothing but stone, so their stone resources are high, however the abundant wooded regions of the Reach might have the people there building more wooden structures, just as the Westerlands, with their numerous mines, may incorporate mineral and jeweled decoration in to their structures
6: Scale. Concerning structures, one block should be about three meters. Don't go overboard.
To summarize, when you're building, consider the text, culture, regions, resources, and scale.
This is just to get you thinking. The server could potentially be undergoing changes in the coming week, so don't get married to anything right now, and if you have any huge plans I would recommend holding off on much and more of your projects.
Wall in progress
Wall in progress
Huge thanks to user Teleavenger, Project Manager of The Wall and Beyond, for getting us off to a rolling start with the Wall. Look forward to watching its progress as we continue 
Launch party this Saturday! :D
That's right ladies and gentlemen, we're finally ready to go live, and this Saturday we'll be doing just that!
First off, from 6:00am GMT Saturday 24th September, you will be able to log in to the server . The Launch party will run for 24 hours, and will involve exploring and scouting out the map, because while we've seen it in aerial view, we don't really know much about the landscape laterally. During the launch party, anyone who logs in will automatically receive a pretty blue "Launch!" prefix to their chat, which will stick with them for two weeks (after that it'll be removed from chat, but we may do something fun with it at a later date).
To log onto the server, all you will need to do is connect to gotminecraft.com from within Minecraft. If you previously applied for a position, we will be working through the applications and approving people in a region which already has a Project Manager and Architect.
On the subject of regions, it occurred to me how silly it was having an entire region for north of the wall, as there's virtually nothing there. As such, we have rolled North of the Wall and The Wall into one region, currently named "The Wall and Beyond". Anyone who was in either of the old regions is automatically in the new region (North of the Wall was still short a Project Manager, so this didn't cause any clashes). This leaves room for us to create a new region, the Stormlands region! If you wish to be a part of the Stormlands team, simply log in to the Application Manager and change your desired region to Stormlands, or, if you haven't already, sign up for an AppMan account to select your region.
See you all this Saturday after 6:00am GMT!
~ Sleelin
Edit: thanks Ayapo for the awesome new header
We still need these positions filled
As you may have noticed, the generation of the map completed last thursday, which brings us to our final stage before our public opening: final setup. What this involves is making sure the server is completely stable, and enables you to do what you need to do in-game hassle free. Since 1.8 is due on monday, instead of suffering the annoyance of having to take down the server to update so soon after coming up, we have decided to wait for it's release before pushing the big green go button to public access (n.b. If 1.8 doesn't come out then, we will be pushing the go button anyway).
While we wait, I'd like to draw your attention to a list of positions we still need to be filled so that our organisational structure is at it's best. We still need the following filled:
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North: Project Manager, Architect, and six Terraformers.
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The Wall: Project Manager, and six Terraformers.
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Winterfell: Architect, and six Terraformers.
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The Neck: Project Manager, Architect, and six Terraformers.
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The Vale: Six Terraformers.
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King's Landing: Project Manager, Architect and six Terraformers.
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South: Architect and six Terraformers.
If you apply for either the Project Manager or Architect positions, please note that you also need to submit some rough plans for review from either the moderators, or the region's project manager. To do this, you should upload your plans to some form of image hosting site, preferably imgur, and submit a link to these plans, as well as a short blurb about why you would be good for the position to either the moderators if you are applying to be a Project Manager, or to the region's Project Manager if you are applying to be an Architect. If you are unsure of who the region's Project Manager is, send the message straight to the mods, and they will pass it on for you.
Terraformers needn't do anything special in their application.
As always, you can apply by visiting the Application Manager (AppMan) via the "Apply to Build" link in the menu at the top of this site! If you have already applied for one position, but you now wish to change the position you are applying for, simply log in to the AppMan and update your application details!
~ Sleelin