A couple months ago, Lilly contacted me, asking if I would build a castle for her Vortex Security group. At the time I was bogged down with schoolwork and other banalities, but since last week I’ve had more free time and so I was able to get started.
Lilly said that she wanted something that was more palatial than medieval, and I [strike]sure wish I had remembered that before I picked Blah Grey Bricks as the main material[/strike] decided to go for a renovated castle look, where an existing medieval castle is renovated, usually a few centuries after castles were useful as defensive structures, to make a suitable home for a nobleman and his retinue. This means you can have mundane things that everyone takes for granted (large windows on the lower levels) as well as cool castle elements (murder holes in the towers and ramparts).
Taking as inspiration the V shape that dominates the logos of Vortex Security, I’m incorporating many fifteen-degree angles into the design, from window frames to door hinges to the great hall. When it’s finished the castle will sit on a hill with gardens around and inside the courtyard, as well as a pond and possibly a decorative moat as well. There will also be hidden passages and rooms inside the castle…
Some pictures of my progress so far:
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The wonders of CSG means that this lower hall has far fewer parts than it looks like it does. The shape of the lights should be familiar to anyone who goes to church.[/spoiler]
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The beginning of the great hall. There will be windows and lights and a finished floor eventually, don’t worry.[/spoiler]
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A hall inside the castle. There will be paintings on the walls, and I may change the grey bricks on the interior to something else.[/spoiler]
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One of the four identical rose windows. Design shamelessly[strike] stolen from[/strike] inspired by Jardicel’s Lost Thoughts Fortress. The door on the right leads to a tower which has a staircase inside it.[/spoiler]
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One of the castle’s towers. Towers attached to the castle proper will be square, while I plan on making the wall towers round. That door will eventually open up onto the ramparts.[/spoiler]
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A turret, made possible by CSG. I really like how this turned out.[/spoiler]
You can visit the castle here. It will be updated semi-regularly, probably every day or two. If you find any doors that seem to open up the wrong way, please tell me.
