NiceMarmot

Definitely +1. And you probably could have gotten another certification out of it. Perhaps round walls for the towers?

NiceMarmot Builds: RtD Tongue of a Bandit -- certifications: forced perspective South Sandstuck's New Walls -- certifications: walls (#1) Sceptre of Amon Jhar -- certifications: desert, sand-dunes, microscale Reminds Me of a Song -- certifications: walls (#2), tree (#1), foliage landscaping, flowing water Certifications: 8 Degrees:

Yes, you're right those are great. I favorited Rivendell when it came out; I'll have to go check it out again. That was a fantastic MOC. EDIT: Here's a link to Blake's Rivendell for anyone who hasn't seen it yet

+1

+1 BTW, I think you wrote the textbook on waterfalls with this one!

RtD Tongue of a Bandit | NiceMarmot | Kaliphlin Nocturnus Tribes: Blents | NiceMarmot | Kaliphlin Yes, I know the Nocturnus Tribes offer prizes, but since I'm not in Nocty, I'm not eligible for them, so thus it's a free-build.

And we're off! I'd like to get some advanced placement credit for my Tongue of a Bandit build, for Forced Perspective. Thought about History too, but it's probably not far enough in the past. Will have to dredge up some other advanced placement credits from other recent builds.

The Dean of the University of Petraea is pleased to announce the new Doctorate of Historica program! Check it out. I wanted to get final approval from Ska first, but I think he's probably too busy with his upcoming wedding this weekend. We can change it later if he has any feedback. Thanks to everyone who helped with the design of the program! That's because I hadn't posted the main thread yet! For recent builds (the "advanced placement" credits), list them in your tracking thread (like you did), plus post a reply to the MOC's own thread in which you state that you'd like to get DoH advanced placement for this build, and list what subjects you want to get for it. Also post a reply to the main DoH thread, with a link to your build, and state what subjects you'd like certification for.

The University of Petraea is pleased to announce the opening of its new Doctorate of Historica program! (The University would like to thank Erudhalion Sansael / Gabe for capturing this announcement in a picture) What is the University of Petraea's Doctorate of Historica program? The Doctorate of Historica program is a peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary degree program designed to encourage you to advance your building skills across a number of different areas. By the time you have finished the program, you will be certified in most major historical building techniques and subject areas. The program consists of multiple Disciplines, each of which has several Subjects. Over the course of the program, you will build MOCs that cover these techniques and subjects. Disciplines: Technique-Related Disciplines Architecture Landscape Design Hydrology Other Techniques [*]Content-Related Disciplines History Military Science Trade and Law Agriculture and Zoology Anthropology Geography Subjects for each Discipline: Architecture roofing -- Demonstrate mastery of three roofing techniques, not including using standard LEGO slope bricks. Each technique is a separate certification. See examples here and here. wall techniques -- Demonstrate mastery of three advanced wall techniques. Standard, studs-up walls of bricks are not included. Each technique is a separate certification. Examples include (but are not limited to): 1x1 round plate walls (a la Derfel Cadarn) SNOTted tile stonework half-timbered Tudor style wooden walls [*]round walls and towers [*]roof rakes (the inclined end of the roof between the eaves and the ridge; see explanation and a great example from Derfel Cadarn) [*]advanced windows and window frames [*]advanced SNOT -- See question below for an explanation [*]Landscape Design trees (demonstrate mastery of at least three different tree building techniques; examples here and here) flowers and dense foliage landscaping studs up rocks and cliffs two of: sand dunes snow and ice extreme environments (lava, caves, acidic pools, etc) sideways rocks (studs horizontal) [*]Hydrology four of: still water (lakes, ponds, ocean without waves, etc) waves flowing water waterfalls underwater [*]General Building (Other Techniques) minifig posing interior design forced perspective microscale one of: lighted builds (e.g., light bricks, LEDs) movement-enabled (Power Functions, or manually operated via gears or other mechanisms) mosaics, stained glass, or complex SNOTted floor designs brick films [*]History A special discipline, wherein you must build three MOCs depicting significant events in Kaliphlin's history (you make up the events, or use whatever existing history there is). You must also supply a story of suitable length and quality describing the historical event pictured. At least two of the history builds must consist of at least three different pictures, either different scenes altogether, or the same scene at different moments in time, with changes to the scene such as figure movement. [*]Military Science battle scene siege fortifications military camp [*]Trade and Law marketplace manufacturing one of: caravan / shipping by land shipping by sea / water [*]two of: arresting criminals and/or jail courtroom governing body (king, council, etc) [*]Agriculture and Zoology three of: crop farming raising livestock fishing harvest time logging [*]brick-built animals -- Brick-built animals, birds, or fish, realistically rendered using advanced or innovative techniques. Number of animals should be commensurate with their scale -- three or more if they're approximately minifig sized. [*]Anthropology two of: city scene village life countryside scene tribal scene [*]life in Kaliphlin [*]two of: life in Avalonia life in Mitgardia life in Nocturnus life in Valyrio [*]Geography four of: mountains or cliffs oceanside or river scene forests swamp desert grasslands [*]Culture pick 2 of the following: Theater Music Art Current minimum subject count to graduate: 51 total, 24 technique-related, 27 content-related Cool. How do I get started? If you're a member of a Guild of Historica, just start building! If you're not, you'll need to join a guild first. See instructions in the first post of any of the guild threads. How do I post my MOCs? Post each MOC in its own thread. It would help if you prefixed the topic title with "UoP DoH"; also tag it with "Petraea University" and "Doctorate of Historica". In your post, be sure to indicate which subjects you would like this MOC to qualify for (up to a maximum of four). Then post a comment in this thread, with a link to your new topic. How does the Peer Review work? After you post an MOC, if four currently active Kaliphlin guildmembers approve of it, by posting comments stating "+1" or "I approve", then you're certified in that MOC's subjects. However, if three Kaliphlin guildmembers vote against certification, they can veto the approvals, even if four or more guildmembers approve. If someone posts a veto, they must also post a comment indicating why, and what you can do to improve the build so that it passes. I just built a great MOC (before DoH started) that covers some of the subjects; can I get credit for it? On joining the program, you may get four "advanced placement" credits for recently built MOCs. The MOCs must have been posted to Eurobricks on or after June 15th 2013. Just post a comment in this thread stating that you're joining the program, and you'd like credit for a previous build. Put in a link to the build (which must have been posted in GoH), and state which subjects you'd like credit for. It must go through the same peer review. Peer reviewers should post their comments in the MOC's topic, not this one. Can I use MOCs that I'm also building for another challenge or contest? Yes, you can. This program is all about improving your building skills, and if you do some great work for a challenge or contest or whatever, and want to get credit for it, that's fine. But make sure that it's really a good example of the subjects and techniques. Do I have to post the MOCs in the Guilds of Historica forum? Your MOCs must be posted in the Guilds of Historica forum or LEGO Historic Themes forum. It is OK if they have been posted somewhere else first. To ensure that most reviewers see your MOC, we recommend you post it in the Guilds of Historica forum. Can I just quickly build a bunch of mediocre MOCs and get my titles? You could, if you could convince the peer-reviewers to certify your builds. But you'd only be fooling yourself. And your mediocre builds would be up here for everyone to see. Is that worth a lousy title? This program is not about the titles, it's all about improving your techniques and styles, and getting you experience in building across a wide range of subjects. So I'm reviewing someone's build, and it's pretty good, but not stellar. Do I approve it? Tough call, right? Well, the goal of the program is that everyone who completes it will have demonstrated basic mastery of the techniques and subjects. That doesn't mean they have to be world-class in those techniques, but the quality should be high enough that you can say, "Yes, they know what they're doing when it comes to that technique." The key phrase is "basic mastery" -- you have to demonstrate mastery, not just crank out a small, mediocre MOC that checks the boxes, but on the other hand, that mastery is "basic", not amazing, or world-class, or even innovative. OK, basic mastery works for technique-related subjects, but how should I judge content-related subjects? When building for the content-related subjects, students should ensure that the build fully explores the subject. Since these subjects are not testing mastery of a building technique, students need to demonstrate instead that they can create a build that represents a well-thought-out and fully realized scene concerning the subject. Reviewers should expect that the build does not just present a small, standard representation of the subject. Let's take the example of the crop-farming subject. Is it enough to show a farmer tending to a single plant? Perhaps, if the plant and scene were really exceptional, but most likely not. How about a row of crops, with a farmer and a scarecrow? That's getting better, and if very well done, it could be approved. How about several rows of different types of crops, with several farmers doing different tasks (one weeding, one harvesting, one planting), a scarecrow, a farm cart and horse, a barn, and some good landscaping. Assuming the build quality is good, that is definitely a well-thought out build that well represents the subject, and would be easily approved. How long is the program? The program is currently open-ended. Work at your own pace. This is not a race, and you're not competing against anyone. It's about you advancing your building techniques and styles. I'm in a different guild; can I participate? Definitely! University of Petraea has a very diverse student body, from all over Historica. As long as you can pay tuition, you're welcome here. Speaking of tuition, what if I can't pay? No problem! See our financial aid office. You might want to bring a wagon to carry back all to forms you'll have to fill out. You may also pay in chickens, fresh salmon, and dark chocolate. How do we track who has been certified for which subjects and disciplines? You are responsible for tracking your own progress through the program. You should do this in the DoH Registrar's thread. Make one and only one post in this thread where you'll track your own progress. When you complete an MOC, edit your post and add the MOC. Once the MOC has been certified for its subjects, edit the post again, and update that MOC's entry to reflect the certifications. So your one post in that thread will have a list of your MOCs, and for each MOC, a list of the certifications achieved. You might want to keep a count of total certifications at the top or bottom of your post, along with any interim degrees you've achieved so far. What happens when I complete the entire program? You get the praise and admiration of your fellows! Plus, you receive the title of Professor of Historica, are qualified to lecture at the university, and can use the faculty lounge and golf course. Do I receive any titles after completing some of the program but not all of it? Various titles are granted or in common use for students in the program, although students generally don't use the lower-ranking titles (Apprentice, Novice) except in a derogatory fashion. Once you are certified in a subject, you're considered an Apprentice in that subject's discipline. If you meet all the requirements for a discipline, you are a Tradesman or Bachelor in that discipline. Once you acquire three Tradesman or Bachelor degrees, you attain the title of Master. Once you acquire two Masters (or six Tradesmans or Bachelors), you attain the title of Doctor. After three builds you're considered a Novice, regardless of whether you've completed any disciplines. After seven builds, you're considered an Adept, regardless of whether you've completed any disciplines. I have a great idea for a build; can I substitute this idea for a subject? Yes it is possible, although not common. You may apply for a substitution by sending a PM to the Assistant Dean for the DoH Program (NiceMarmot) or the University President (SkaForHire). Note that allowed substitutions are rare, and are mostly granted only for extreme shortage of bricks. What qualifies for the "Advanced SNOT" building subject? SNOT is Studs Not On Top, but you probably knew that. Advanced SNOT is a bit of a "I'll know it when I see it" subject. The reviewers should be flexible about techniques, but still hold students to a high standard. Recommended techniques and styles include having studs pointing in at least three different directions, using multiple types of SNOT bricks, and having studs at angles other than 90 and 180 degrees to horizontal. Using a few headlight bricks, Travis/Dalek bricks, or 1x1 bricks with stud on the side to put a few tiles or slopes at 90 degrees is not going to cut it. There are many good discussions of SNOT available on the InterScrolls; the University can recommend Didier Enjary's classic Advanced Building Techniques Guide. How do the roofing, wall, and tree subjects work exactly? Regarding the roofing and wall subjects: The text "Each technique is a separate certification" means that each technique can be separately judged -- a judge could approve one technique and deny another, even in the same build. They are each different subjects as it were, and count towards the maximum of four subjects per build. However, the trees subject is just one subject, as is the brick-built animals subject, and they only count as one subject each towards the maximum, even though you (may) have to build multiple trees / animals. In fact, it is acceptable to spread these subjects over multiple builds, acquiring partial credit with each build -- there is no need to have all the different types of trees in one build. Just make sure you ask in your final build for final certification, and reference the previous builds. If you do spread them over multiple builds, they only count towards the maximum per build in the final build. How big do my builds have to be? For most subjects, there is no minimum or maximum size. See subject definitions above, as some do specify a size. However, your builds should be large enough to clearly demonstrate your mastery of the technique or subject. In some cases this could be done with a very small build, but in most cases a larger build will be required. The University finds that most students have success with builds of 16x16 or larger. Remember the goal of the program is not to crank through the subjects with the minimum effort possible, but instead to push yourself and advance your own building styles and techniques. You should be pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. I built a huge MOC; can I get more certification in more than four subjects for it? Very large and diverse builds may request more than the standard maximum of four subjects. Each request will be reviewed individually by the Assistant Dean for the DoH Program (NiceMarmot) and/or the University President (SkaForHire), with input from the peer reviewers. Even if the build itself is huge, the area representing each subject must still be a decent size. In general, don't bother asking for an exception for builds that are smaller than two 32x32 baseplates. I spilled shadows all over my term paper, blurred it quite a bit, and wrote it on top of a picture of my bedroom; is that OK? The University is known throughout the world for its very high standards, both for its professors and its students. We expect the highest quality work from our students, and therefore will not accept work that is out-of-focus, dark, has distracting backgrounds, or is otherwise of low quality and care. Lousy photography is not subject at this university! Students are advised to take their time, get some good lighting, and at a minimum, put a sheet, towel, or posterboard/foamcore behind their builds. There is plenty of good advice on taking photos of builds on Eurobricks. Can I use an LDD build? The university prides itself on being on the leading edge of education technology! So LDD builds are acceptable for DoH credit. However, judging of LDD builds will be at a higher level, as you are not constrained by your brick collection. So the judges should have higher expectations and criteria for LDD builds. I don't like some decision made by the reviewers / the University / etc; can I appeal? We are working on developing a Board of Appeals for the program. More information to follow. Contact NiceMarmot or SkaForHire directly in the meantime. Or just revise your MOC and suck it up ;-) I posted a build, and requested certification in four subjects, but have been denied one of the subjects; can I ask for a certification in a new subject for the same build? You may retract a requested subject, even after it has been denied, and request certification in a different subject in the same build. For instance, if you requested certification in advanced SNOT for a build, along with three other subjects, but get feedback that your SNOT is not so advanced after all, you can retract it and request a different subject for the same build, e.g. roofing. You may do this twice per build. Can I build anything I want? Yes, but builds which bring the good name of Petraea University and its inestimable staff into disrepute are not permitted. Is hazing allowed? Absolutely. However, make sure you leave no permanent marks or damage. Will I be taught by Prof Frankenstein or Prof Leibniz? You should be so lucky! Faculty assignments are posted outside the Registrar's office. I'm a werewolf from Nocturnus; can I eat my fellow students during the full moon? Absolutely no consumption of fellow students, staff, or faculty allowed. Punishable by banishment to the Null Void. And believe us, we have professors who can definitely send you there! Is University of Petraea going to win the big game against Qarkyr Tech this year? Definitely! The Sand-Worms are going to stomp all over those lousy Miners! Go Worms!

This thread is to be used for tracking your builds for the University of Petraea's Doctorate of Historica program. You are responsible for tracking your own progress through the program in this thread. How? Make one and only one post in this thread where you'll track your own progress. When you complete an MOC, edit your post and add the MOC, including a link to its post. Once the MOC has been certified for its subjects, edit the post again, and update that MOC's entry to reflect the certifications. So your one post in that thread will have a list of your MOCs, and for each MOC, a list of the certifications achieved. There's no need to list the certifications that you're going for in the MOC, until it's actually certified (you put those in the MOC's actual post). You might want to keep a count of total certifications at the top or bottom of your post, along with any interim degrees you've achieved so far. What format should I use for my post? It doesn't matter too much, but here's an example: NiceMarmot RTD Tongue of a Bandit - certifications: Minifig Posing, History etc... # Certifications: 8 Degrees: Bachelors in History Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Post them in the main Doctorate of Historica thread, so we don't clutter this thread up. Thanks!

Gabe, it's perfect!

The wiki now (hopefully) makes it clear that the list is just examples, and non-exhaustive at that. There is an underwater subject under Hydrology. I think we can skip Astronomy for now. Thanks for the offer, but let's go with Gabe's offer of his lecture hall. Saves you the trouble. Yes, each discipline gets you a Bachelors or Tradesmans degree. Good points. I'm leaning towards Gabe's "Doctorate of Historica" suggestion. Ah, but the beauty of the program is that you can rack up certifications as you continue your normal building schedule, as the program is non-exclusive -- builds that are submitted to the program can be used in other challenges and so on. The goal of the program is really to get you to build in a wide variety of styles, techniques, and subjects, perhaps out of your comfort zone. Good suggestions, and thanks Gabe for letting us use it! We probably really only need one good pic. I like your idea of the uni dean welcoming guildmembers. I like it. Will maybe wordsmith a bit and update the wiki. That's good; I'll combine with what's already there. Yes! And yes. Good idea. I like it. My favorite name so far. Yes, I'll have to figure out how to add it. It should probably be an optional subject, as not everyone has those bricks. Maybe under General ,as a "one of: lighted builds, movement, brick films..." subject. Probably need to throw something else in that's not brick-constrained; except then everyone will choose that subject. I don't have time to update the wiki right now, but will do that later tonight, and will post back here to let you all know when that's done. Thanks for the feedback you all! I think we're getting a lot closer.

@Ska -- when's your wedding? And are you all registered anywhere?

Changes made to the wiki to reflect the above discussion. I provided examples of roof rakes and also links to lists of roofing techniques. I wanted to keep the roof rake a separate subject so that everyone has to do one. I think it's a very valuable skill, and adds a lot to MOCs when people do a good one. I don't really know. It's one of those things where you know it when you see it. I added the three-directions-studs comment to the wiki, but we could really use a good description of this. Anyone have any ideas? Good idea. Separated. Changed them to shipping by land and shipping by sea/water Not sure I nailed this yet, but I changed it to "three or more different brick-built animals, birds, or fish, using advanced or innovative techniques". Happy to change the wording some more to make it clearer. I agree with Kai. If you're taking courses in Petraea, you've got to build at least one Kaliphlin build! I agree. Hopefully that's clearer now in the discussion of titles. Let me know if I can make that clearer, or if I should change it at all. Ska -- how does it look to you? Agreed. Perhaps we need a bit more explanation of this. There's a question farther down on the page about this; I'm happy to expand or modify the answer to it. Tudor walls aren't really standard, so they're ok. The wiki doesn't actually specify what the possible wall techniques are; it just lists a few possibilities. If anyone has a few more examples, I'm happy to add them to the list. Got any ideas? What do you all think of 52 subjects, with four subjects max per build, and four possible advanced placement credits. That means someone would have a minimum of 12 builds to complete the entire program. Does that sound about right? At this point, we're really close. Here's what's left (besides the stuff discussed above): Add two more subjects if we want to have 52 of them Finalize the rules Name the program. Should we stick with "Master of Historica"? Or "Kaliphlin Building Academy"? "Historica Building Curriculum"? "Building Mastery Program"? "Building Proficiency Program"? Other ideas? Get Ska to verify that we can award a badge (to be designed later) to anyone who completes the full course of study I want to produce an image of the university seal to go with the post Produce a small build to go with the announcement? Perhaps a professor lecturing? Would be cool, but unfortunately this would slow down the launch, especially if I had to do it, as work is really busy now. Get Ska's approval Create program thread and tracking thread!

I've updated the MoH wiki with a lot of the suggestions over the past week (subjects and other stuff). Currently at 49 subjects, four per MOC, with three possible advanced placement credits. Targeting 12 builds plus advanced placement credits to finish the entire program. With a few more subjects, I'd raise the number of AP credits available. Tell me what you all think.

Sorry I was out of pocket for a week there... My younger one has the week off from school, so we went to Disneyland for a few days. The six year old is now 48+ inches tall, so he can ride all the rides. Completely exhausting. Thought I would be able to check EB in the evenings, but basically came back from dinner every night and collapsed in bed. Did stop by the LEGO store in Downtown Disney, but no sales, and nothing good on the PAB wall. Anyway, I'll look through all the MoH-related comments over the past few days and get back to you all later today. I think we're really close. By the way, what should we call the program? I just pulled Master of Historica out of thin air, but perhaps that's not the best name, especially if the highest degree is not "Master" but "Doctor" (or something else). Did we settle on the various degree names?

Wow! That is seriously cool! And huge! Really looking forward to some more pictures. The scenery is rather green... it must be over west by the Wither Woods somewhere.

Thanks! I completely forgot about that one. And thanks for the extension too. Wow, time just flies by. Way too much to do.

I'm in. I'll definitely do category A (the small battle). After that, I'll probably try to do category C (the story build), and then B if I have time. Gex may or may not participate, but if he doesn't, hopefully another already-defined character (or a few) will.

Wow. Just amazingly epic, and also wonderfully detailed too. So many great little touches. Great job all around. And thanks for putting in Gex; I especially like that you've given him a map and quill! Although he really should put down his work and concentrate on Dextrus' ceremony. How sturdy is the build? It looks solid and there's some serious engineering going on, but I'm wondering if a LEGO half dome of that size is stable?

In.

Really looking forward to seeing a great Lost Vega build. Maybe we should eventually do a Lost Vega community build... Kaliphlin is the place for you! I think Nocty wouldn't appreciate the twisted humor of your storylines. They'd get the twisted part, but maybe not the humor. Stay here, and you can still build beautiful strange stuff. And the story will involve Nocty anyway.

Items of note from visits on Monday: San Mateo / Hillsdale 2x2 dark bley crates 1x2 plate in lavender (I think, maybe medium-violet) 1x4x1 white arch 1x2 tan slope 45 deg 1x2 reddish brown plate olive cheese slope Santa Clara: 1x2 orange slope 45 deg 1x4 orange brick 1x1 light bley round tile! palm leaves bright green large plant/tree leaves 1x2 black brick 2x2 light bley tile! 1x1 dark green brick 1x2 dark bley log brick 1x2 trans-clear brick 1x4 light purple (?) brick and finally at Santa Clara, something I've never seen before: 2x2 round plate with pin hole and 4 arms up, reddish brown

I think you can be pretty darn inventive. Hard to say without knowing what you're thinking about, but this is a fantasy realm, and magic is definitely part of it.

Schmidt - welcome back, and congratulations on your son's birth!