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    Minecraft Middle Earth is a Minecraft community that recreates the world described by JRR Tolkien and his writings. Everyone can participate in organized events in which we collaborate to create major landmarks, terrain, caves, castles, towns, farms and more.

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    IP: build.mcmiddleearth.com

Projects: Helpful tips and tricks

Will_em

One Of Us, One of Us
Hey peeps,

There aren't a lot of tutorials on doing bigger projects in minecraft and since I had to do a couple myself, I was thinking of doing a projectsschool thing. Well here are the basics.

1) Preparation
This consists of:
- What you gonna build?
- How you gonna build?
- Who is gonna build?

A) What?
Figure out what you're going to build by listing some core characteristics of the build. Here you're just going to scout for things, not actually make things. You do this so you don't lose the bigger picture.
Think about location on the Middle-earth map, size and lore.

B) How?
Are you going to solobuild? Or do you need a team? Is it with plugins like voxel or not? Again, think about this so you know what you're going to need later. (I always need coffee and droogs here)

C) Who?
If this is a solobuild, then the answer is easy. But in a team build this becomes tricky if you're not proactive enough. Think about the members of the team and how they can use their strengths. Here it's a big tip to make sure that you know the members and how they tick.

2) Execution

Constists of:
- How you gonna build that style?
- How you gonna build that size?
- How is that team going to be able to build that?

A) Style
Here you do concepts for the style in small spaces and test them out in bigger areas if needed. Don't be to harsh on the ideas, try to follow your gut in what works. Ask others for advice here, not before this step. Use the info of step 1 to generate ideas. Try to choose a feeling instead of a style.

B) Size
Here you'll see how much room you have and how the build will be placed in that room. Here comes the famous wool planning that so many staff do on big builds. This gives you a better idea if your ideas will work or not, and where you need more ideas to fill in empty spots. Ask for advice if you can't fill gaps or if you have not enough space.

C) Team
First ask who is good at doing what? Don't put inexperienced planners on planning. Don't put bored people on brainless execution. This isn't a perfect science and this works better if you know each teammember. Combine peoples strengths and weaknesses to make a cooperative team.

NOW YOU BUILD.

3) Aftermath
This consists of:
- Finishing your build and how to finish
- Feeling the feel of your build
- How to fix problems during your project

A) Finishing
Make sure you finish what is in your build and not what is around your build. A lot of staff members tend to start on terrain on the sides when they haven't even started layout. This is because they are held responsible for big regions and it's very difficult to keep a zoomed-out perspective on things. Don't fall in the same trap by helping on other stuff, doing something else entirely or just stop building and start just looking at what you got.
Another issues is the danger of burning yourself out before the build is finished. This is solved by making it more fun. Whatever your definition of fun, try to think of ways you can implement that in your building. For example: I like building in group and having weird conversations, so I make sure more can build and make jokes during building. Another solution to this is prevention, where you take on builds that are managable by people who can manage them. Knowing the people around you helps.
Don't be afraid to give up on builds. If you're sick of it, then let someone else get sick of it. Staff can be a big help here.

B) The feel of your build
Let others walk through your build and pay attention to their reactions. If you have the energy you can adjust your build but sometimes this isn't possible. Don't change anything but make sure that you adjust your method on the next project. There will always be revamps and there will always be people that can do it better. Instead focus on progress and enabling future builders learn from your experience from the project you did. This isn't a competition but a community.

C)Problems during your project
Everyone has problems during your project and the only bad thing to do here is to not be decisive about what you're going to do. If you don't know what to do, go to people that have experience or that have creative solutions. If you want to avoid problems then you just have to learn about problems.

PS: Don't follow this to the letter but be aware of it. Doing creative things isn't bound to anything. Otherwise it wouldn't be creative.
 
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