~:~|~:~ Linhir Revamp ~:~|~:~
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Project Leader: @TheSweViking
Co-Leader: -------
Project Staff: @barteldvn, @e1miner
Terrain Staff: @Wyattrox03
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Project Leader: @TheSweViking
Co-Leader: -------
Project Staff: @barteldvn, @e1miner
Terrain Staff: @Wyattrox03
Introduction
Linhir; one of the last standing havens of a bygone era on MCME. A revamp long coming is finally coming to intuition. Being the main entrance point into Belfalas and one of a few named cities in Gondor we’d like to elevate it to the grand mercantile city it was bound to be. A living and bustling city filled with artisans and workshops, minters and bankers. We strive to make this Linhir and its surroundings into a logical, functioning and realistic city with of course a bit of bedazzle.
Overall Progress and State:
Approximate Overall Progress Percentage: 56.2%Current Progress State: Building Inner Linhir
Inner Linhir: 59.8%
- South Eastern Linhir: 99%
- Planning: 100%
- Exterior: 100%
- Interior: 95%
- Detailing: 90%
- South Western Linhir: 94%
- Planning: 100%
- Exterior: 97%
- Interior: 100%
- Detailing: 80%
- North Eastern Linhir: 36%
- Planning: 75%
- Exterior: 60%
- Interior: 10%
- Detailing: 0%
- Center Linhir: 64%
- Planning: 95%
- Exterior: 75%
- Interior: 10%
- Detailing: 75%
- North Western Linhir: 6%
- Planning: 5%
- Exterior: 5%
- Interior: 5%
- Detailing: 0%
- Outer City: 35%
- Terrain: 90%
- Planning: 10%
- Building: 5%
- Farmlands: 85%
- Terrain: 95%
- Planning: 80%
- Building: 80%
- Outer Farms (areas on the other side of the rivers): 33%
- North: 33%
- Terrain: 100%
- Planning: 0%
- Building: 0%
- East: 33%
- Terrain: 100%
- Planning: 0%
- Building: 0%
- South: 33%
- Terrain: 100%
- Planning: 0%
- Building: 0%
- North: 33%
- Linhir Castle: 100%
- Garrison: 100%
- Walls: 100%
Project plan
At this point, Linhir has been running as a project for quite a while. During this time, the style has kept evolving and changing (see /warp swecon for early concepting and project repository), new blocks added, and there was also a lot of experimenting with how to run a city project. Since August 2024, the newest rendition of the Linhir build and planning style has been implemented—made by @TheSweViking by mixing the old Linhir style with @Jonatanknalle’s and @DoctorDaom’s takes on it—starting in the southern part of the city, and this is now the style Linhir will be going with. During this development, @e1miner figured out how to approach the interiors and is now the project staff overseeing that part. The initial terrain for Linhir was done early on in the project, with the river layout by @Jonatanknalle, and was left unfinished for quite some time. But with @Wyattrox03’s 2025 remake of the Lebennin terrain, the area around Linhir was finished and made more lore-accurate with the addition of the Nimrodel lake and waterfall north of the city.
During this stage of the project some buig main builds were completed: mainly the walls (designed by @Andrewpioneer), the castle and garrison (both designed by @Orruss).
As mentioned in Stage 0, since the start of the project, many renditions have been tested for how to run a city project. Initially, the Linhir Project was structured so that people could claim their own district and build it themselves. That didn’t work out, so instead, the initial house layouts were made and then handed out for artists to build up. When that approach also didn’t work, full 3D house structures were made and given out. When that still didn’t really work, it ended up with me, @TheSweViking, making all the exteriors myself.
With the revamp of the Linhir style in August 2024, more builders got accustomed to the style, and now more exteriors are being given out again.
Currently, the inner city is being planned district by district, in descending order as shown in the Progress States under Inner Linhir. The planning is usually done in large sections at a time because the houses and streets are so closely connected.
Once the 3D planning is in place, the exteriors are built—mostly by me, @TheSweViking, but as mentioned earlier, some exteriors can be handed out depending on the builder’s skill and how finalized the planning is.
Once the exteriors are done, @e1miner takes over and gives out plots or assigns builders to work on interiors. Each house has an information pillar floating above it, showing the profession or type of interior that’s needed.
Once all the exteriors and interiors are done on a street (with the exception of the main streets and squares), street detailing (marked as “detailing” on the info pillar) is done. This part is handled by artists+ or very active artist applicants.
This is the general build structure in Linhir. The focus is to complete the inner city (inside the main walls) by the end of August 2025. Once that’s done, we’ll move on to outer Linhir, with the goal of finishing it before 2026.
Outer Linhir can be divided into three areas: the outer city (outside the main walls but inside the outer walls), which contains buildings not suited for the main city; the farmlands (the area north and south of the outer walls), which include a village, a vineyard, and fields styled similarly to the Belfalas region; and lastly, the outer farms (areas on the other sides of the rivers), which will feature two fishing villages and another vineyard—though this part is still unplanned.
A lot of the terrain for these areas was done quite early on. Thanks to @Wyattrox03’s terrain remake for the outer farms, that area won’t need any more terrain work. However, some parts of the outer city and the farmlands may still need terrain adjustments.
As of now, none of these areas are fully planned, and it’s still undecided whether we’ll stick with the current Linhir style or create a more rustic version for these regions. Most likely, these areas will be handed out to builders for more hands-on work, but that approach is still being figured out.
Layout and list of buildings
- Preliminary Planning
Inside the inner wall it is planed to have a very dense city center with a majority of commerce and people live (inner roads are just stand-ins).
The other city is surrounded by a short rustic wall, in-between this wall and the main wall we have the city proper spilling out over the main walls and transitioning into farmlands. This region will also transition the hilly Belfalas terrain into more flatland terrain to make it work with the river being quite low.
Outside Linhir we will mainly have farmlands, but also a few small villages and different kinds of mills coupled with other (more space depended) workshops and profession buildings.
- River Layout
(Credit to @Jonatanknalle )
The river will be a mix between quite muddy (coming from the Gilrain) and very stony (coming from the Serni). Additionally it will be quite shallowing and filled with islets and rocks (thinking of semi braiding the Serni).
Builds for inner Linhir
- Points of interesst:
Messenger house
Bakeries
Tavern
Inn
Bath
Public oven
Public rest room
Barber
Appotacary
Architects office
Library
School
Study
Bank
Brothel
Granery
- Shops:
Fruits
Carpet
Wine
Spices
Cheese
Glassware
Herbs
Paper
Book seller
Flower
Dye seller
Cloth seller
Jewler
Oil seller
Restaurantes
- Shop/workshop:
Carpet maker
Carpenter
-Furnatures
-Bowl
-Cutlery
-House
-Barrel maker
-Toy maker
Cobbler
Potter
Glass
Mosaics
Painters
Basket maker
Book binder
Bucher
Fletcher
Leather worker
Dye maker
Dyer
Cloth maker
Candle maker
Tailor
Rope maker
- Workshop:
Carmaker
Smithies
Glass foundery
Glass working
Construction office/yard?
Mint
Brewery
Burlap maker
Canvas maker
- Workshops:
Plasterer
Roof tiler
Tanner
Brick maker
Quarry
Foundery
Toll takers
Workyard
Fishmongler
Mills- Wood
- Paper
- Fluor
Background lore
“...and on the third day we came to Linhir above the mouth of Gilrain. And there men of Lamedon contested the fords with fell folk of Umbar and Harad who had sailed up the river. [...] Only Angbor, Lord of Lamedon, had the heart to abide us; and Aragorn bade him gather his folk and come behind, if they dared, when the Grey Host had passed” [Return of the King - The Last Debate]
“Linhir is defined in Tolkien’s unfinished index as ‘a haven with ferry bridge over Gilrain near its mouth, prop[erly] a river name = fair stream, name of the joint course of Gilrain and Ringlo [i.e. Serni] between their junction and the sea.” [LotR Reader's Companion]
“I was never in that land before, and I could not tell you much of our road, even if you wished to hear. But it is, I reckoned, some 60 leagues as birds fly from Erech, over Tarlang’s Neck into Lamedon, and so, crossing Kiril and Ringlo, to Linhir beside the waters of Gilrain, where there are fords that lead into Lebennin. And from Linhir it is a hundred miles, if it is a step, to Pelargir on Anduin.” [HoMe VII]
“Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui
In the green fields of Lebennin!
Tall grows the grass there. In the wind from the Sea
The white lilies sway,
And the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin
In the green fields of Lebennin,
In the wind from the Sea!” [Return of the King - The Last Debate]
“[Listing of captains of Gondor who have come to defend Minas Tirith] Fisher-folk of the Ethir, some hundred or more spared from the ships.” [The Lord of the Rings - Minas Tirith]
“The Gilrain came swiftly down from the mountains as did the other rivers of that region; but as it reached the end of the outlier of Ered Nimrais that separated it from the Celos... it ran into a wide shallow depression. In this it wandered for a while, and formed a small mere at the southern end before it cut through a ridge and went on swiftly again to join the Serni. When Nimrodel fled from Lórien it is said that seeking for the sea she became lost in the White Mountains, until at last (by what road or pass is not told) she came to a river that reminded her of her own stream in Lórien. Her heart was lightened, and she sat by a mere, seeing the stars reflected in its dim waters, and listening to the waterfalls by which the river went again on its journey down to the sea.” [Unfinished Tales - The History of Galadriel and Celeborn: Amroth and Nimrodel]
“The Lord of Dol Amroth had this title ["Prince"]. It was given to his ancestors by Elendil [...] They were a family of the Faithful who [...] had settled in the land of Belfalas, between the mouths of Ringló and Gilrain, with a stronghold upon the high promontory of Dol Amroth (named after the last King of Lórien).” [Unfinished Tales - The History of Galadriel and Celeborn: Author's note.]
“Though Serni was the shorter river, its name was continued to the sea after its confluence with Gilrain. Its mouth was blocked with shingles, and at any rate in later times ships approaching Anduin and making for Pelargir went by the eastern side of Tol Falas and took the sea-way passage made by the Númenóreans in the midst of the Delta of Anduin.” [Unfinished Tales - Index]
“[The shores of Middle-earth] were much changed in the tumult of the winds and seas that followed the Downfall; for in some places the sea rode in upon the land, and in others it piled up new coasts. [The] Bay of Belfalas was much filled at the east and south, so that Pelargir which had been only a few miles from the sea was left far inland, and Anduin carved a new path by many mouths to the Bay.” [HoME XII - The Tale of Years of the Second Age]
For extra tidbits of lore you find, real life historical examples or interesting takes on Linhir or it's surroundings (that may be of use in making the build interesting); head to our Discussion thread.
Inspiration
- Dubrovnik (Croatia) (Larger builds)
- San Gimignano (Italy) (Feel and vibe)
- Florence (Italy) (Layout, trade city without harbor)
- Roman street (Main inspo for new style)
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