mccoyed

Wow. I was hoping this would be coming soon! I am strongly considering a change of Guild to challenge myself to build in new styles (I won't abandon AoM and the Yureishima Saga though). I am thinking Kaliphlin and a non-human sigfig. Does anyone remember what the racial makeup of Historica is? I know that almost all the major Lego possibilities are represented everywhere, but IIRC Kali has specific tribes of cat-people and so on?

I really like the thought you put into the backstory of this build. Enriches what would otherwise be a low-key vignette. I really dig the Conan the Barbarian reference with the grindstone, too, though that may not be intentional. :P

Great build. Love how busy and full of life it is. I also appreciate seeing your crediting as a model for how to do that. I see the Snyderis and Mark of Falworth in this build for sure, just like all of those guys (and you) are in the DNA of everything I make. Favorite parts are the fountain and the dudes in the sewer.

Thanks DG. Pleasure to see you around, my man! Thanks LJ. I actually built a much smoother and more "new" looking version of those walls without the worn stone transition. I rebuilt the whole thing because I wanted more detail. Yeah, I'll have to try a flex tube next time. I think gray and black looks weird (it's all I have) but I've seen other builds that use those colors of flex-tubing well. That said, some trees do have a lower wood to leaf proportion. However, rowans aren't really one of them and the tree definitely needed more leafy greens. I didn't want to upset the proportion of berry pods to leaves. I think I need more cherries! Oof. Good point about the chimney. Higher up would mean a lot less snow.

The rockwork is interesting. It looks like rounded boulders, like this, which isn't the usual Lego rockwork. I think the technique could be perfected (gaps and such) but it's a great base.

Previously... Mars - 3187 A busy street in Brazos Valles... Koro and Blue have traveled back to Sol System after the events in Andromeda. The trail of Raven's bomber has long gone cold, leaving them to stew in a holding pattern while the suits figure out the next step for the company. Brazos Valles is a busy mercantile city. The foot traffic is such that Koro can pass unnoticed. On a whim, he checks a public media terminal that used to be a KG dead-drop back when he had skin. Blue isn't far away. She's been watching Koro's back for months now and likes to be on hand even if he doesn't necessarily know it. Confirming something on her scanner, she makes a call. "Yes, I understand that I'm not due to check in for another three days. This is urgent. For some reason, he's checking an old drop. No, I don't know if there's anything actually there. Of course I will. Yes. Haven't I been doing that all this time? Yes, I did. I thought you might know and want me to intervene. All right, I'll check in as soon as I know." Koro, meanwhile, can't believe his eyes. Not only is there a message waiting in the dead drop, it's about Raven's bombing! He reads the message slowly. Then again. The dots start forming patterns in his head. Motherbricker! The trail's not cold anymore. Bonuses and Builder's Notes:

Thanks for the clarifications on modular vs. non-modular. Makes a lot of sense! So my process for The Long Way Home was something like this: 1. Age of Mitgardia challenge on Guilds of Historica. I had left off with the "House Phase 1" and hadn't yet completed the three phases and so decided this was a good way to get back into GoH. So, this is an extension of sorts of a previous build. That one had a small hut and limited landscaping as well as no interior. It featured the same fig, Reifnir Wave-Breaker, who was leaving on a journey. 2. I looked for concept art and reference material for a more elaborate house. Nothing too big or mansion-like, but a clear step up from a basic hut with no interior. The concept art I used is in the build post. I started with the base, which was originally your basic square shape, but wanted to do something different and so tried a rounded base, which wound up looking nice with the build. 3. I experimented with different elements from the art: the 2nd floor jutting window, etc. I worked on how to angle the roof for a long time and that was the first element I locked down. Then I built the walls, scrapped the version I had done (which was a lot less textured and interesting) and redid it. I realized that if I didn't "complete" the roof, I could do a modest interior. I like Soccerkid and Jsnyderi's approach of always including an interior if possible. I included some things in the interior that aren't easily visible (a bed under the attic, a fireplace connected to the chimney, etc) but were satisfying for me to include anyway. 4. The story for the build became slightly bigger just because I had done an interior. I next worked on the landscaping and interior. I started with the rowan tree, because I had researched what trees commonly grow in Scandinavia and believed I could get "close" to a rowan, which is a beautiful tree, but I think the version in the build could be improved on a lot. I had looked at a lot of landscaping and foliage techniques from other builders at varying points and used some of the influence for the flowers and other plants, though I've seen foliage ideas using Lego elements that are much more dramatic and interesting and varied, and I simply didn't have the room for it. 5. So in a way, the process is about having some intentions or ideas and then triaging them as you realize an element isn't working, you don't have room, etc. The most fun part is after all this, when you can tinker with a build and fine room to add interesting small elements, such as an axe in a stump, or what-have-you. I've also found myself more willing to scrap a "first draft" of a build and redo it, which I did a little here and completely for this one: Large elements of that build, such as the walls and arches, weren't part of the first version. After I had the scene I wanted, which is basic, I was able to enhance the build and the subsequent story by adding elements like the robot butler, wall displays, etc. This is a playful part of MOCing for me and often winds up paying off when I sit down to write a little build story.

Earth - 3187 A Kawashita Conference Room... Two executives meet after hours for a little clandestine chat: "Beep-Beep!" "No thanks, unit. I have my coffee." "Ivanovna, you were saying..." "Yes, Shin. Sorry. I was saying that the delays have made it very difficult to correspond with Operations for the info you asked for." "As you've said before. But we both know that all these operators in the wind will almost certainly come back to bite us when we finally do return to Andromeda." "But we also both know that it's one operator in particular who keeps you up at night." "It's been months since there have been any updates. Rumor is that he and his partner are in deep cover, looking everywhere for anyone who knows anything about what happened to Raven. "You're worried he will find out we knew." "As you should be also! He's relentless. If he discovers our involvement, Raven will put us on the Kill List if he doesn't just decide to kill us himself. He's been known to do things like that, Ivanovna. I've seen the reports." "But we weren't really involved, Shin. There's no remaining tether connecting us to the bombing and you have to admit that it went exactly as we were told it would." "How sure are you about that? I have come too far to bet the whole farm on the competence of people I don't control." "That's why we have the failsafe. Don't worry, we will be able to move against Koro long before he can move against us." "In the meantime, there's only really one cure for the itch between my shoulderblades. I honestly don't know how you manage, Ivanovna. Unit!" "Beeeeeep!" "Sake. The good stuff." "You worry too much, Shinzanami." "And you don't worry enough." Bonuses and Builder's Notes:

Thanks! Thanks! I don't know if I agree about the tree but even if I did, I don't have any brown flex tubing. Would you have tried gray or black, as some do? Maybe that would have worked! I haven't used flex tubing for trees yet actually. Thanks!

Great build and storytelling. Lots of atmosphere and cool action shots.

I actually don't do modular building. I did get one of the Theater (city) modular sets, but all my stuff are MOCs based on the work of GoH, LoR and other RBG (role-building game) moccers out there. Soccerkid and JSnyder are constant inspirations, but there are a ton of great builders whose techniques are worth emulating in the RBG scene. I also draw inspiration from concept art more than real buildings. My process is usually to start with the purpose of the build (so my most recent was a Norse-inspired house) and try to find some inspiration via google-images, flickr albums, and whatever else is out there. I like to work fast so often I cut corners trying to get a look without having to prebuild (with LDD) or meticulously plan elements. This is one of the reasons my landscaping is basic and my rockwork is terrible: lack of patience! I can offer more specific commentary on any specific builds you personally like @LegoModularFan

This is gorgeous. Vibrant and colorful and well-balanced between nature and buildings. Really love that windmill too.

I myself stole the flower technique probably. I have a very, very expansive list of "favorites" on Flickr and pore through it every now and then. I'm sure I picked that idea up somewhere else, but in general I want to work on foliage and landscaping more. You're right about the path but my thinking at the time was about how roads, whether constructed of dirt or stone, tend to rise up above the ground a bit. A "trail" or human-made path wouldn't, though, and I think this kind of looks more like that. Thanks. I definitely agree about the roof window but am VERY bad about that kind of stuff. There seems to be some uniform techniques for that kind of Lego architecture that just escape me and my attempts usually look terrible with big gaps and then nothing holds together well. Something to work on! I'm a big fan of incorporating non-Lego elements with a light touch. Thanks SK! As always, your praise makes me blush!

I think you should, dude. The activity is low and it seems like a good time for people on hiatus to make a comeback. I'm slowly getting there myself.

House Phase 2: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/161819-aom-house-phase-2-the-long-way-home/

Years ago, Reifnir Wave-Breaker left a humble hut and a pregnant wife to answer the calls of the Jarls and fight the Algus in the frozen north. Even after they were vanquished, there was always another fight keeping him away. At last he has returned and much has changed. He is greeted by the happy bark of a hunting dog that was once a pup, for it has never forgotten its first master. Inside, a boy hears the bark and it is different than usual. Could it mean... Inside, a wife dares not look up from her chores because she has long since given up all hope of seeing her husband again.

It's hard to drum up the enthusiasm when the activity is so low. I do plan to contribute but I'm a little demoralized. Definitely been around for dry spells (CCC has that effect :P, as did the launches of AG and BBoS) but never one like this. Been a member since 2014 and the last year or so has been glacial. I haven't been posting til recently but I've been watching. I check in on EB every couple of days. Anyways, BBoS seems pretty active still. Maybe I should finally get in on that but it seems overwhelming to me. Other RBGs not on EB have slowed down a lot too. The main one was Lands of Roawia which seems to be at GoH activity levels. I think a lot of the major peeps here and there have either slowed down or moved on.

Who said GoH was dead? When I say "dead" or "ghost town", these are euphemisms for slow/low activity. It's great to hear that things are in the works, but I really hope steps are taken in the future so that there isn't more than a year between official events. I get that a lot of us are adults with careers, children, etc but then there are probably people here willing to take on some of the responsibilities so that the top organizers of GoH who are more busy (like Ecc or Zcerb or RogueAngel) don't have to shoulder everything?

The little bit of dirt between the vegetation and the wall is a nice touch. As a buffer, it makes a lot of sense for a wooden wall.

In my opinion, we just need Book 3 to start. I was gone for a long time because of school and I've come back to, basically, a ghost town. It's disappointing and while I understand the admins are busy, perhaps with other RBGs, GoH and AG should not have been allowed to languish for even near this long. Something's gotta be done.

Not 100% sure if they all were, so I included the links to make it easy. Got House Phase 2 in the works. :P

Speaking of title updates, latest post here is a few months old and I'm checking back on old builds and credits so I can figure out how to get back on track with old AoM projects... noticed that I'm uncredited for Farm and Tower (for several years now?) so here are the links to those for whenever this gets updated:

Looks good. Great lighting and photography here too! The simplicity and uniformity of the wooden palisades and battlements contrast nicely with the more detailed and greebled walls!

That makes sense. I thought the Queen was an official thing and the "admins" (not sure about what title is used for this) of GoH were just too busy to launch Book 3. I guess they have to decide if the Queen is gonna be a thing or not (I would vote yes) but I don't believe that it's taken so long to decide that. It's been what, almost a year? More? If the folks in charge don't have time to be in charge, why haven't there been some changes made so that GoH can keep going? It's very confusing. The way things get decided is usually based on challenges. So a scenario will usually be the background of a given challenge, and the "best" entries are usually the ones that wind up deciding stuff like canonical events, new lands, etc. I think there's also been an invitation-based method of getting certain prolific, skilled builders to do narrative builds which are usually decided as a group. Kabel and I started a challenge called the Algus Saga where we had a big group of Mitgardian builders collectively decide on the direction of a collaborative story, so there was a rough plan in place. Eventually, I got too busy to keep up with GoH and the Saga concluded without me, but that's another way things can get done. A way that's arguably more efficient than what you're describing, which would fit the scenario you've outlined, is for builders who want to collaborate to privately message each other and make plans for collab stories/builds. We did that all the time in Andromeda's Gates and it's been done a lot in GoH as well. That said, GoH has always had many "Guild Challenges" to keep people busy between contests and larger, narrative challenges for the whole RBG. Stuff like Age of Mitgardia or the University of Petraea builds. That stuff has really died off, though. I think what Titus means has more to do with "theme". So when Book 1 ended, people were invited to change guilds and the "board" was sort of wiped clean for a new era. That will probably happen again with Book 3, if it ever arrives. People are waiting to find out what the new "Status Quo" will be. But the people running GoH and AG used to be super active and present, and so we're all waiting on them. AG has been in a limbo for a really long time too. As the delays stretch out, interest wanes. Which is probably why there's more activity in the Pirate and War themed RBGs. Personally, I'm not interested in those so I'm a little bummed that I have time now but things are so dead in the RBGs I like best.

Well, the cage is temporary and there's the oni with the club standing right there... But yeah, it's not high enough! Hang in there re: landscaping. It just takes practice to get a handle on it and I wouldn't even say I'm all that good. Don't be afraid to imitate stuff you like as it helps you learn and then eventually start trying your own methods and techniques out. I think the build is a bit too crowded for me to have done more and more varied vegetation. It's never been my strong suit anyway and when I initially built this, I planned for two or three times as many tight "narrative" shots and needed space to be not crowded out by elements of the build. I think changing up the greens or trying to a more evocative style for land/veg would be worth trying out if I do one this big again. Thanks SK! I'm all finished moving and have a new Lego space so expect more. That said, why is EB/GoH so... dead? What happened to everyone?