I think the major reason why so many builds are grid like is to do with the plan. when houses and buildings have been planned pillars are marked out and many people ( myself included sometimes) create the while building to this initial floor plan. and by that i mean the second story normally has the exact same floor layout as the first, the pillars run from floor to roof with no breakup. I think one way to deviate the grid slightly is to have the second story pillars arranged differently or maybe have the second story overhang the first so that there are no pillars. this i think would look good in Pelagir. The reason why the grid has come about is it's speed when it comes to building and the simplicity in the building yet detailed outcome. In all honesty I have never really noticed the grid, but now that it's been pointed out it's quite obvious.

The easiest way to minimize this is to tell builders to mix up the the different story pillar arrangement, and add balconies overhangs, shallow roofs, domes flat walls where appropriate and if it looks good as the detail on a flat wall could be in the window frame/shape, missing bricks using steps.

another reason why i think the grid has become so apparent in most of the builds is also down to the example builds being grid like, when showing a tutorial on a specific design,( many have fallen prey and no one in particular is at fault) the tutorial build usually has the pillars going straight up from floor to roof on the multi-storey houses and so many people copy that when building there house.

I think a way to combat this is to make longer tutorials with multiple houses specifically showing the different details that could be built, different pillar layouts for multi-storey builds overhangs, flat walls, balconies that break up the grid like pattern. and to let people know if their build is too gridlike, i myself would not take offence if told, as i always want to improve and make the best builds I can so that the server is the best it can be. (albeit i haven't been on the actual server in some time due to lots of work, so apologies for that)

well that;s my two cents.

sorry for the long read (and if i have offended anyone it was not intended)

DSESGH said:

Cre prefers simple designs, and the left one is a bit overly-complex. It doesn't really add anything to the build. In any case, that is not totally shutting down creativity. It is simply saying that it would be better if it didn't have those indents. That is feedback, not stifling creativity.

Click to expand...

Stating that it adds nothing to the build is really a matter of opinion, I would think.

Portalrules333 said:

Stating that it adds nothing to the build is really a matter of opinion, I would think.

Click to expand...

True, but then again any building is a matter of opinion.

Glovr said:

Hate to continue arguing this point, but i found an example that could help me clarify a few things i mentioned.

Found a nice house in Linhir which sort of exemplifies what i was talking about. If you compare this to the pictures in the original post, you can see an obvious quality difference. Basically what i was trying to say is that all houses should have this level of complexity/quality/interest. It takes more time, and involves more of an investment on the part of the builder (and teacher, if a builder is very inexperienced) but results in something far better than the alternative. It's not like there's a deadline for everything, so why not invest the time to improve it?

Click to expand...

She's a beut, for sure!

I agree with you glovenator, but as a teacher (sounds so weird) I have a problem making a tutorial for the inexperienced to make those style things on those houses. I want to diverge from 3 block patterns, but I have to few artistic capabilities to come up with a good alternative (or a good alternative way of working around the problem and teaching that to others).

I will keep those styles in mind for future projects (annuminas is one) but maybe I'd like to have more examples to show the guys on the job what I mean with the different styles. If you come across good examples that aren't 3 grid, could you screenshot it and give it to me? I can make a compilation and then quickly link it to anyone on the job or on tutorials.
Anyway, great find glov!