Darnok

Given the small size of the build and the limited brick selection, this is an excellent MOC. Rigt on point for the one scene it wants to show. I agree with Bodi, that blue dress is excellent for Oleon, lovin' it. Well done!

I assume this one could use an update?

A question best asked directly to the Oleanders: what is up with @Kolonialbeamter? He was last online on EB on January the 8th, but has participated in all TRMCAs since then. So he is a) either kind of active or b) in contact with somebody who handles his ships. In both cases there should be some sign of life of him somewhere. If not, he has been off for almost four months now. I am kind of worried...

Well, you could state if there was such a case, without going into detail as to who it was. As it is you neither confirm nor deny it. I see no reason for such secrecy, other than being intransparent "just because" - which would be a sign of bad leadership. You do realise that building more makes you better, not building less? You do not miraculously get better by having more time, but by practice. "More effort" is a nice buzzword to throw around, but it does not mean anything unless you practice a lot. With this change one form of motivation to build more is taken away, without any benefit gained. First: it does not have to address every potential issue, and nobody claimed that. But it should address the issue it wants to solve - and as I have discussed above it does not do that. Second: it is in no way an "improvement". It takes away something that was not a problem before, without making anything better. Please do not take this personal, you are merely the messenger. But this rules change is stupid, and I have yet to see a transparent and (even more important) logical and reasonable explanation for it. As it is now this decision is based on factually wrong assumptions, resulting in a flawed conclusion, explained badly. All for no benefit in the game at all. Well done! Edit: Another reason why this rule change can not be explained by "we want better builds" is this: a rule to reject poor quality MOCs already exists. See this post: Why does it need a rule change related to something else if this particular rule exists and could easily be enforced? As far as I know this has not happened once in the time I am around, so seemingly has not been an issue for at least the last six months. It obviously was also not an issue before (otherwise I would not have been given the answers in terms of licensing that I got - see another post of mine above). In short: this was not an issue. So it can not be used to "explain" this rule change.

Again: why was this not brought up first? You know, talk to any player who does "mass low-quality builds", and talk about this issue, encourage "quality over quantity". Instead, this rule punishes everybody. It does not even address the "problem" it wants to solve: how will any of this make somebody a better builder?

Again, I wonder why this rule change is needed, and why it was implemented now. The game worked perfectly fine so far, and many builders took advantage of having three licenses per game entity. So for example individual licenses, those for trade companies, those for settlements. I really do not get why this new restriction is needed. This: ... is nonsense. The EGS is favouring the TMRCA over anything land-based. If you doubt that, you never checked the profits gained from trading versus those from land properties. The difference is massive! And I did not even start to talk about return-of-investment: no land property (other than a small residence) recoups its cost in less than four months. Ships can do it in a single TRMCA, assuming the player puts minimal effort into it, In short: you can not "game the EGS" by land properties. If anybody wants to "gain the upper hand in the EGS" he does so by ships and the TMRCA, not by land properties. When and how did you identify a "loophole"? The process being shut down now was common practice for years, and was explicitly allowed. I mself asked multiple times about whether players, TCs and settlements can each license properties, and always got the answer that it was possible to do just that. So this whole thing was openly communicated, thus everybody was perfectly aware. It definitely not some unknown "possible loophole". And how can it not be directed at somebody, unless there where some complaints about an abuse? There must have been such a complaint about somebody first, because as explained this is not some obscure "rule issue" nobody was aware of until just recently. A reasonable way to handle any potential abuse would be to bring up the issue directly with that player, instead of out of the blue overthrowing a part of the game that was openly handled that way for years without problems.

I have two questions: Why does this change come now? Does this affect the previous limits of "three property per month per entity", where players, settlements and trade companies could each license three properties per month?

I am definitely interested. I do not know if I have the time and/or funds though yet. But I would love to attend, and give the WTC some international attention.

Aye, that sucks for sure. Still, you have made a ton of doubloons at the same time. How about licensing those warships and capturing some pirate ships? I do not know if that is even possible in the rules though. You could also use the warships as a "service" to sell to others - either by providing genuine help for trade convoys or by "it would be a shame if something happened to your ships... if you know what I mean". Just saying...

Dude, you have made about 3K in profits. How is that "bad luck"?

And we love you for it.

Great writing! I want to thank @Capt Wolf for compiling yet another fantastic KPA, it is much appreciated! The WTCM is taking notes, even though some of the topics brought up here were already set for the next issue. Great minds think alike or something like that...

The sweetest quest continues, licensed as a small plantation:

Months ago the WTC had sent some samples of their agave and stevia to the Academy for the Science of Sugar in Jameston. The goal was to find out if one of them was the "sweetest fruit" rumoured to grow so well on Argentia. The response had been typical for scientists as the answer was precise, but did not solve the problem: Jameston, the third day of the second month Dear Joe of the WTC, we have received the samples you have sent us three weeks ago, and have studied them with great interest. First we want to thank you for this opportunity, as the results were most interesting. We found that both plants - stevia as well as agave - provide substances of strong sweetness. As for your questions I have to say though: none of the both qualify as a "sweetest fruit". I am afraid you have to do some more research on Argentia. In that regard we will send you some Jubaea plants we aquired from a Mokolei trader. He claimed its sap was among the sweetest things he had ever tasted. We would highly appreciate if the WTC would plant and grow them on Argentia, and send us samples of the plants sap back to study here in the Academy. Those palmtrees need an arid climate that we lack on Celestia; Argentia should provide an ideal environment. At this point this is nothing but an unproven assumption, but the Jubaea could turn out to be the very plant you are looking for. We remain curious and send the best wishes, the Academy for the Science of Sugar So after Mordo had returned from his visit to King's Harbour, Joe invited him to a small plantation that had been set up for the Jubaea: "Sheesh Joe, do we not have enough plantations already?" ... "Nope, and ya know it. Just tellin' you Mordo, this is one of them Corry experiments. Some sweetstuff palmtrees. Before you explode: it could be mighty profitable!" And so the entered the plantation and were greeted by one of the workers: . Mordo asked: "Is it me, or do we look out of focus?" ... The worker replied: "No sir, that is the heat making the air blurred. Anyway, the first barrel of the palmtrees sap has been filled already, and the second one is almost full too. We decided to sort of "milk" the trees instead of cutting them down. Takes a bit longer, but they survive the process. Lower costs and stuffs, you know." . Mordo still had his usual grumpy mood, but Joe was happy about these news: "Now all we have to do is send those barrels to the Academy in Jameston, and wait again. Hopefully we will get better news this time!" ============================================================================================================== Licensed as a small plantation for the settlement of Mesabi Landing. Some more wide shots: This build continues my search for the rumoured "sweetest fruit" on Argentia. The Jubaea plant is named "honey palmtree" in its German translation, so maybe... just maybe. I hope @SkaForHire, @Phred or @Capt Wolf can give me a definite answer quickly. If this is again not the plant I am looking for: is there another way to determine what this rumour is about? Trial and error is fine, but I am almost out of ideas... As always C&C are appreciated.

It is already Wednesday!

Question regarding licenses: does a free license won as a price count against my "monthly three licenses"?

Wow, seriously impressive! Well done to all the people who have made this happen. Well done!

Just a reminder: there are still rewards to be claimed for April! Apart from that, and as usual: get your voice heard! Be it an article of yours, a readers letter or even a recipe you would like to share - everything is appreciated!

Eh, the two example I gave were finished by 1840 - even by conservative count that is only ten years after the "deadline" of 1830. Which is not even a hard deadline in the first place. In a game that is not really historical anyway. There is lots of wiggle rooms, exactly for things like this. There is no steamengine powering the aircondition in the buildings or anything. But nobody is really complaining, and pointing out the "restrictions" of the timeframe the game is loosley based on is not a horrible thing to do. I too do not want to see steampunk and whatnot in BotBS...

"The Green Dragon", medium artisan.

Museum Of Natural Sciences, large education.

Really nice build, the wooden framing makes for a nice structure. Those flowerpots under the windows are a neat detail and clever build - consider it copied! But the scene is about the minifigs, and their posing and faces are just perfect. Well done! I hope we get some coverage of the layout this appears in once Brickworld Chicago is done!

Thanks everybody! Maybe, but things I had in mind were the Mexican Hothouse in in the Jardin de Plantes in Paris (built 1834-36) or the Palm House in Belfast Botanic Garden (completed 1840): . The idea was to have the edges of the transclear bricks mimic the metal structures, but it is obviously not detailed enough for the microbuild scale. But those types of greenhouses are definitely appropriate for the period BotBS is based on.

Celestia has been of interest to all kinds of explorers and scientists since the moment it had first been claimed for Corrington. The latest expeditions into the jungles brought many findings and discoveries, but they were but the tip of an iceberg. To make all these wonders available to the citizens of Corrington and scholars from all over the Brick Seas alike, the Museum of Natural Sciences had been set up. In huge halls, flooded with light, the flora and fauna of Celestia are presented to the interested viewer. ========================================================================================================== With this I claim my price for the "Orchid Challenge", as described here. To be licensed as a large education property.

The "Green Dragon" is one of Quinnsvilles best known taverns: Customers come from all levels of society, be they wealtch or not, from the military or civilians: . . . Above the front door: The owner of the "Green Dragon" is Jill, the sister of Joe from the "Blue Dragon" in Mesabi Landing. She has set up a cooperation with a local bakery, so she can offer her guests a variety of drinks as well as pastries, cookies and other bakery products. It is a huge success! . ======================================================================================= Licensed as a medium artisan for Quinnsville. I had fun building this, especially with the different shades of green (not that much green in Mesabi Landing) and the other colours due to the flowers (not many flowers in Mesabi Landing either ). Views from the rear and from above: As always, C&C are appreciated.