Free Fantasy Architecture (New Stuff! 6/4/03)

[Kilmore]

Oooo! I wish I had that program. And I'm usually pretty ambivelant about art programs. Though I'll tell you now... it takes a lot more than a computer program to do what you're doing now. You have the architectural imagination to back it up, and I'd imagine it suits you well in your "RL" job.

But I gotta ask... does the Nexus Tower whistle when the wind blows?

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

But I gotta ask... does the Nexus Tower whistle when the wind blows?

Speaking as the guy who invented the concept of Nexus Towers, I'd say:

Depending on how the Tower is operated, it can not only whistle, but sing. In chorus. And you really don't want to hear what Nexus Towers that predominantly channel necromantic energies whisper to the wind...

 

[KnidVermicious]

Here is one of the things I've been working on. This ended up being very difficult to do in CAD and I'm not terribly happy with the results. I think my next project will be a lot more impressive.

This is the Garden of Delights from Jurgen's Urbis campaign setting. As he describes it:

Garden of Delights: Feeding the masses of a city-state is a logistical challenge in the most fertile of regions. In the Desert of Thunder, possibly the most parched wasteland in the known lands, this challenge would become overwhelming to anyone of lesser power. Even magically created water often evaporates before it hits the ground here.
Yet the desert's dragon overlords have met this challenge. With the aid of nexus towers from several city-states and lengthy rituals sustained over many years, they have created a magical protective dome more than 30 miles in diameter over a part of the desert. This dome keeps the moisture inside, and allows the ground to support crop yields that would be the pride of any Flannish city.

This is a concept sketch

 

[KnidVermicious]

Or maybe this is the concept sketch. Last one was way too big

 

[KnidVermicious]

Here is a plan view of the project in AutoCAD. Looking at in 3D doesn't look great because everything is relatively low. I actually created the drawing to scale so that circle is really 30 miles in diameter. Although it didn't turn out like I wanted, creating a drawing like this was an entertaining challenge.

 

[KnidVermicious]

And here is the final product.

I think it looks too space-age and not very magic/fantasy at all. I'll probably return to this project later. I'll have to think about it quite a bit first.

 

[Kilmore]

I hate to say it, Knid, but the biggest problem with the dome isn't with the space-age look. I think scale is a bit of an issue here, too. I unscientifically measured what you had there, and if the dome is 30 miles in diameter, the way it's rendered would make it about 4 miles tall, which is taller than the stratovolcanoes on the western coast (Whitney, Ranier, Hood, especially St. Helens since it went "foop!").

While I don't have a problem with the theory, I think it is probable that we could see the curvature of the world and thinning of the atmosphere on the horizon at the altitude this picture would be possible at. Satellite imagery would be useful.

And another little thing, if it was that lush inside, and barren outside, and the dome does prevent the passage of moisture, then I'd imagine there's be quite a fog trapped up top. But if it's annoying, they've probably magically dealt with that (magically shunting the moisture down to the crops or something).

I know... picky, picky, picky! Some of the others might smack me down for that. But hopefully, I'm judging your eye for detail correctly.

Also, does this dome have physical weight? Simply based on the picture, I'd imagine so since the look of it seems to shunt the "weight" to the outside. If it does, they might build heavy buttressing around the outsides that might go out for about a mile or so, AND provide you with something to add more fantastic design elements to, since you seem to want to make it more "fantasy".

Just my 2 cp.

 

[KnidVermicious]

Scale was a huge problem with this project. 30 miles in diameter doesn't really make for an interesting picture, except for an image from space or from so far off you can only see the dome.

I'd have to let Jurgen answer the technical questions about the Garden, 'cus he thought it up. I had assumed that the dome was some kind of magical force field that would not have any weight.

Anyway, I'm rethinking how to do this as an entirely different drawing to show the fantastic aspects and to give it a better sense of scale.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I'd have to let Jurgen answer the technical questions about the Garden, 'cus he thought it up. I had assumed that the dome was some kind of magical force field that would not have any weight.

True - it's essentially a magical force dome that doesn't need anything to hold it up.

But as for making it look more fantastic... How about adding a wider, glowing circle with magical runes around it?

 

[KnidVermicious]

Here is another try at capturing the Garden. I thought it would look better if I tried to show details rather than the entire dome. I fudged the actual scale to make it look good. Art over science.

Here we go: