the mod schematica might be useful for big builds. you can make your build in creative first, and then transfer the building patterns to your current world with schematica
How do you design your big builds
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Depends on the build.
Complex machine mechanisms I usually proof of concept in creative mode, taking what i've learned and optimizing.
Purely aesthetic builds however are heavily winged, I still use creative mode sometimes but that's more to toy around then to plan.
Complex machine mechanisms I usually proof of concept in creative mode, taking what i've learned and optimizing.
Purely aesthetic builds however are heavily winged, I still use creative mode sometimes but that's more to toy around then to plan.
I sadly do not theoretically do "big" builds (lost my creative inspiration long time ago). I usually make buildings and make everything modular, with this pink slime farm being here, and my MFR treefarm being there. Otherwise, I usually have the necessary resources to make mistakes, and if I do, I can probably use those extra parts for something else, so I usually wing it and have a short mental picture 
That cathedral is pretty darn awesome.
I usually just steal something i like from one of DW20's fellow players (thanks Soaryn for the basic shape taken from the FC2 workshop!).
Aside from the initial hole in the ground, I try to build everything to be "infinitely expandable" meaning they will stack up / down / left /right as far as I. both large and small. Large being the various rooms for my base. Last build was a series of 17x17 square pyramids. Small is pretty much everything else that I need more than 1 of. ex: coke oven layout and AE attachments is designed so i can stack as many as I need and have everything consistent. that way if I need 1, or 12.. its all the same. same goes for processing and power generation. (power plant design has a theoretical limit of 900mj/t before I run out of room). But im still working on farms.
Other than that, I browse these forums looking for inspirations
Other than that, I browse these forums looking for inspirations
So, inspired by this topic, I tried planning some builds out on paper. And found everything came up boxes. Of course it tends to come up boxes anyway, but they're much cooler looking.
You have to show me more of that it's amazing I love the design!!Sorry guys- spoiler tags aren't working today
It depends on the build itself- what's it function?
Something like my old base- there's not really a predetermined shape, apart from tower here- hole there ect... it kinda builds and expands as I progressThough its a load of cubes, this building grew very organically- shaping into the natural terrain instead of bulldozing it.
more here-> http://www.flickr.com/photos/99242504@N02/If it's an exact shape/design- its well worth roughing/sketching it out just to know where everything goes before you put the finer details in.
I did not pick anything on the poll because honestly its all depends and its usually mix of them all.
My whole design process from start to finish.
1) Dork around for a few hours doing jack all while trying to come up with an idea.
2) Get inspired by something. Depending on what it is I might spend the next hour or so googling info on it.
3) Make a rough plan. This can be a few things form reference shots, doodles on paper, or even just some simple notes.
4) Optionally (and often I do) I will go into creative to figure out some basics like block choice and scale. I will not I rarely if ever build large scale projects in creative then copy them block to block in survival. That just to much time and something I really don't see the point in. I'll figure out structure parts and layouts or build redstone functions in creative but I would not build a whole project there only to copy it.
5) Start building in world.
6) Change my mind about something are go back to step three. Most of my builds the layout and plan are all vague with a lot of room to change on the fly. Repeat until complete.
My whole design process from start to finish.
1) Dork around for a few hours doing jack all while trying to come up with an idea.
2) Get inspired by something. Depending on what it is I might spend the next hour or so googling info on it.
3) Make a rough plan. This can be a few things form reference shots, doodles on paper, or even just some simple notes.
4) Optionally (and often I do) I will go into creative to figure out some basics like block choice and scale. I will not I rarely if ever build large scale projects in creative then copy them block to block in survival. That just to much time and something I really don't see the point in. I'll figure out structure parts and layouts or build redstone functions in creative but I would not build a whole project there only to copy it.
5) Start building in world.
6) Change my mind about something are go back to step three. Most of my builds the layout and plan are all vague with a lot of room to change on the fly. Repeat until complete.
Celestialphoenix
Too Much Free Time
As this is a design thread I guess I could show off a little. (This will also be at least a doublepost.)
Everfree City and the Cathedral
Creative Build- Vanilla server.
The main infrastructure, and shape was my design- but the houses were build by the somewhat eccentric residents.
It never was intended to build a city as such- the whole thing started as building a 'proper' mob grinder instead of the spawners everyone else used. Plus space for myself. Things kinda snowballed after someone else wanted to move in, ended up with about 10 players (living here in survival mode) + myself pratting around in creative.
Stone slabs are fairly neat as mobs don't spawn on them, generally its more dangerous in your house than outside it.
Also I did experiment with safety railings- but decided against it as they didn't look right (as the server owner found out).
The overall shape was based off my love for Better Than Wolves and Better Then Buildcraft- the lighting/paths follow the mechanical linkages between buildings (3 axels and a gearbox), connecting individual factory/building to form a sprawling, modular base.
The server owner also made quite a neat tour video around the city.
Started over the christmas break, and destroyed next easter when the server host had a little meltdown- scrambling the world. Last usable backup was from before the video tour- so no arena or cathedral.
(Cathedral and Air Docks being the last things still to build)
Related Images
Everfree City Beginnings
City Centre
Town Map
Future plan
I'm still cant find the screenies of the arena, mansion and city life.
H.M.S. Maelstrom
Cathedral Floor
Roof Arches
Internal Wall
The main infrastructure, and shape was my design- but the houses were build by the somewhat eccentric residents.
It never was intended to build a city as such- the whole thing started as building a 'proper' mob grinder instead of the spawners everyone else used. Plus space for myself. Things kinda snowballed after someone else wanted to move in, ended up with about 10 players (living here in survival mode) + myself pratting around in creative.
Stone slabs are fairly neat as mobs don't spawn on them, generally its more dangerous in your house than outside it.
Also I did experiment with safety railings- but decided against it as they didn't look right (as the server owner found out).
The overall shape was based off my love for Better Than Wolves and Better Then Buildcraft- the lighting/paths follow the mechanical linkages between buildings (3 axels and a gearbox), connecting individual factory/building to form a sprawling, modular base.
The server owner also made quite a neat tour video around the city.
Started over the christmas break, and destroyed next easter when the server host had a little meltdown- scrambling the world. Last usable backup was from before the video tour- so no arena or cathedral.
(Cathedral and Air Docks being the last things still to build)
Related Images
Everfree City Beginnings
City Centre
Town Map
Future plan
I'm still cant find the screenies of the arena, mansion and city life.
H.M.S. Maelstrom
Cathedral Floor
Roof Arches
Internal Wall
Celestialphoenix
Too Much Free Time
Part 2
FTBeaten (FTB ultimate for 1.4.7, SMP survival with Gregtech on full hardmode- a base built by two.)
Server ran out of money and closed
Again the overall pattern follows the 3-1 design I use, with the added involvement of chunk mechanics tetris. No longer can I have paths between building placed any which way- each section must tessalate into its neighbours. Luckily 3-1 takes 4 blocks, and theres 16 to a chunk boundary. Dropping the middle column left 8x8x8 cubes, and by always starting in the NE corner the pattern would mesh perfectly even as individual buildings started in different locations- perfect!
Added challenge: I chose this area for it outstanding natural beauty
Yeah- that last point proved quite the kicker, design around and work with the terrain. Nearly drove my friend insane too.
Glass- glass is awesome; monsters don't spawn on it,and you can see anything that tries to sneak in. You also get to watch everything run through the pipes/tubes. The problem lies in running stuff between floors- holes in glass look very messy.
A tesseract or thermal genny fits quite well under a machines- as long as theres a full block it looks ok.
Obsidian and Obsidian tile (thaumcraft) mix will with XyGlass, and Redpower basalt/marble make a good contrasting wall.
Soul Tower
Soulshard housing confined into a single chunk- 6 floor (42 block) drop trap, quicksand layer, blaze shard+ water, then ghast shard in the top box. It just skimmed that natural spire in front of it.
Engine room.
Opening the valley floor and dropping this by 3 levels- it made the sides steeper and that spire in the middle feel taller. Fits the 3-1 pattern, with some excessive use of conduits under the brickwork. The engines mounted upwards to hide the hole. Conduits are limited to 500MJ/t, this design makes controlling the power through each line very easy.
Bee Lab + Shop (left) and Control Tower (Right)
AE+TickThreading+Chunk boundaries= bad times. Bug was fixed later on. So AE item control and storage- confined to a single chunk. Building up is the solution, and tesseracts allow AE to control item flow over the whole base.
Bee Lab (Inside)
Serum Factory
XyTanks in the floor, and we somehow built a needlessly complex contraption that turned bees into perfect quality 16-shot serums. (to sell in the shop above). There's also an alveary factory next to it- sold over 250 alveary (27 blocks each) before the server closed.
Base Overview
The workshop generally needed more space for more machines and more automation- eventually expanding into the mountain. At the last count there was about 5 industrial blast furnaces, as well as every GT multiblock except the sawmill along the far wall. The near side (overlooking the engines) was dedicated to single blocks and chemical process/extraction.
Tank room- fits around the spire
Biofuel line
Fusion reactor fuel factory (setup on top the mountain)
Automated Alveary
Workshop- Cave/Arch. (sadly very few shots of the workshop/automation)
Workshop-outside. Spent way too long carving that arch out.
Added challenge: I chose this area for it outstanding natural beauty
Yeah- that last point proved quite the kicker, design around and work with the terrain. Nearly drove my friend insane too.
Glass- glass is awesome; monsters don't spawn on it,and you can see anything that tries to sneak in. You also get to watch everything run through the pipes/tubes. The problem lies in running stuff between floors- holes in glass look very messy.
A tesseract or thermal genny fits quite well under a machines- as long as theres a full block it looks ok.
Obsidian and Obsidian tile (thaumcraft) mix will with XyGlass, and Redpower basalt/marble make a good contrasting wall.
Soul Tower
Soulshard housing confined into a single chunk- 6 floor (42 block) drop trap, quicksand layer, blaze shard+ water, then ghast shard in the top box. It just skimmed that natural spire in front of it.
Engine room.
Opening the valley floor and dropping this by 3 levels- it made the sides steeper and that spire in the middle feel taller. Fits the 3-1 pattern, with some excessive use of conduits under the brickwork. The engines mounted upwards to hide the hole. Conduits are limited to 500MJ/t, this design makes controlling the power through each line very easy.
Bee Lab + Shop (left) and Control Tower (Right)
AE+TickThreading+Chunk boundaries= bad times. Bug was fixed later on. So AE item control and storage- confined to a single chunk. Building up is the solution, and tesseracts allow AE to control item flow over the whole base.
Bee Lab (Inside)
Serum Factory
XyTanks in the floor, and we somehow built a needlessly complex contraption that turned bees into perfect quality 16-shot serums. (to sell in the shop above). There's also an alveary factory next to it- sold over 250 alveary (27 blocks each) before the server closed.
Base Overview
The workshop generally needed more space for more machines and more automation- eventually expanding into the mountain. At the last count there was about 5 industrial blast furnaces, as well as every GT multiblock except the sawmill along the far wall. The near side (overlooking the engines) was dedicated to single blocks and chemical process/extraction.
Tank room- fits around the spire
Biofuel line
Fusion reactor fuel factory (setup on top the mountain)
Automated Alveary
Workshop- Cave/Arch. (sadly very few shots of the workshop/automation)
Workshop-outside. Spent way too long carving that arch out.
If I get time tomorrow- I'll put up more detailed shots of Everfree Cathedral, and a few other bits and pieces kicking I have around. I wont talk as much though- starting to hate the sound of my own voice here.
...and Yes- this mean I'm rebuilding that cathedral in SSP. Here- have a spoiler
Not quite a necro, promise!
I am as close to the mythical 'end game' as I have ever been in my current 1.5.2 world, so thought I'd start setting out for my 1.6.* base. This will be a total loss on this map, I know, but I will have screenshots and will know if it 'works' (after having already planned it on paper first, it should do). First big build since the skybase, this one is going to need a few world anchors!
Provisional foundation shape laid out in pink wool for visibility, using landmarks/redstone torches for working lines on the ground.
I am as close to the mythical 'end game' as I have ever been in my current 1.5.2 world, so thought I'd start setting out for my 1.6.* base. This will be a total loss on this map, I know, but I will have screenshots and will know if it 'works' (after having already planned it on paper first, it should do). First big build since the skybase, this one is going to need a few world anchors!
Provisional foundation shape laid out in pink wool for visibility, using landmarks/redstone torches for working lines on the ground.
Celestialphoenix
Too Much Free Time
Its needs a long section heading towards the back of the image- sticking out between the two circles (same diam as circle- 3x the length). This long section needs a 3rd, larger circle on the end.
ok ok- I'm kidding.
ok ok- I'm kidding.
Not quite a necro, promise!
I am as close to the mythical 'end game' as I have ever been in my current 1.5.2 world, so thought I'd start setting out for my 1.6.* base. This will be a total loss on this map, I know, but I will have screenshots and will know if it 'works' (after having already planned it on paper first, it should do). First big build since the skybase, this one is going to need a few world anchors!
Provisional foundation shape laid out in pink wool for visibility, using landmarks/redstone torches for working lines on the ground.
sweet looks great