Mike S Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) The log of Captain Aiden Coyle. 28th March 616: Once again, it has been some time since I have written in my log. Having been offered and thereafter humbly accepting the position of representative of Tiberia in the House of Representations with the duties of trade organizer, my life seemed to be finally regaining the stability that our family had lost with the tragic events that we had been forced to endure in Oleon. That is until my brother Simon showed up at my door in Arlinsport. It had been nearly a decade since I had last seen him before he departed on an archeological expedition to one of the southern nations. Evidently the dishonor of our family name in Oleon had given cause for his sponsors to distance themselves from him so his funding was cut off forcing him to return to find another source of funding. While I was happy to see him, I was annoyed that the only reason he had returned was to gain another source of funding for his expedition. He told me of his findings and assured me that he was just about to make a discovery of a lifetime. I was not convinced however. Having been recently penniless, I still did not feel financially secure enough to throw doubloons toward an endeavor that was so far from home. I instead offered Simon a counteroffer. The Queen wanted to establish Corrington sovereignty on a new island that had been discovered. If my brother wanted me to help fund his expedition, he first needed to help me map this new island. He tried persuading me to change my mind saying that he needed to return immediately on his expedition, else someone would steal his discovery. I remained unmovable. Having agreed to help me, we made preparations for founding a settlement in Serentia to supply our expeditions to map the island. Upon arriving at the island of Serentia, we found evidence that other had been there before us. There was an abandoned Mardier fort on one of the small islands on Serentia's northern coast. We also found a flag left by an Oleon expedition. I didn't like the layout of the northern coast as there were no rivers into the interior so I had our ships sail around to the southern coast where we found a sheltered cove we named Stormhaven. There was a river leading into the interior so I chose a spot near its mouth and began construction on the first building of our new settlement: a fort. The coasts of Serentia are heavily bordered by mangroves and it was no different here. Because of the lack of suitable high land, I decided to build the fort on top of posts connected to a dock and the inland by a series of raised walkways. I instructed our engineers to build the dock wide and sturdy enough for a battery of rotating cannons. Tutut who had asked to come along with us when we had stopped in at Port Raleigh to resupply seemed quite impressed. His Nayamon companion whom he had brought with him to be our guide inland on the other hand did not seem to be impressed. However he did gather some local herbs for us to burn in our lanterns to help repel the insects that never ceased to swarm around us. We plan to travel a bit further inland tomorrow, so I had best get some rest now. END OF ENTRY Edited March 31, 2016 by Mike S Quote
Ayrlego Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Brilliant! I love the thick mangroves and water here... and the walkway, the fort. Well everything really! I think the judges are going to have a really difficult time with all the great builds for this challenge, but this should definitely be a contender IMHO! Quote
Garmadon Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Excellent build Mike, the fort, battery, and crane are all very nice, but what really makes this build are those mangroves growing around the walkway! I do think the build overall would be quite improved by a nice border, but then that third picture almost makes me say it couldn't get any better! It could use a border though... Quote
blackdeathgr Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Great story, a really nice building and pier and an awesome foliage! Quote
Puvel Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Lovely! Good story, beautiful canons, awesome mangroves and pier looks sturdy as well, great job! Quote
Kai NRG Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Very nice fort - the thick foliage looks really good and the bridge and dock structure add a lot. Really like the crane and the cannon mountings too! Quote
Mpyromaxos Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Great creation! Beautiful placement of cannons and the building of the fort! Very nice vegetation too! Well done! Quote
TitusV Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 great vegetation, that roof worked out pretty well! Quote
Elostirion Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Such a lovely connection of crafted wood and vegetation - wonderful job! Quote
BrickOn Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 A truly great scene, you've captured building in the mangroves perfectly. I'm really liking that vegetation, can't wait to see how your building on the island continues. Quote
Gideon Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 This is a very nice continuation of the unsuccessful Oleander exploration on the island I love how you've blended the wooden construction with the mangrove vegetation! A technique-related question, is it a "banana effect" in the build or a lens distortion I'm seeing at the edge of the build? I've started using long technic beams in my bases to remedy the "banana effect", especially lots of small plates or tiles is creating a lot of contraction and causing the build to bend... Quote
Captain Dee Posted April 13, 2016 Posted April 13, 2016 Beautiful build Mike! The fort looks great by itself built up above the marshes, but adding all the mangroves growing through and around it really makes it look incredible. The cannon arrangement looks fearsome, although slightly vulnerable without any forward defenses - which would of course be difficult in that environment. Overall this is an excellent composition. Good work. Quote
Tezclatipoca Posted April 13, 2016 Posted April 13, 2016 Excellent work ! I could I missed it ! Your fort building is perfectly integrated to the mangrove ! Good job ! and an excellent entry ! Quote
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