Housing Rally 3-2-14 – Stranger Houses of Norrath!

Welcome to the Homes and Tomes House Rally #13 – Stranger Houses of Norrath!

We’ll start off in guild chat to let late-comers join up, and then switch to raid channel once everyone is on board!

With this Rally, we’re looking at homes, temples and gardens that are, well – just a little strange! By strange, I don’t mean BAD, just they aren’t same-old same-old! For those who are still hung-over from the Highland Games, just chalk up any strangeness to drinking too much new green ale!

Here again you’ll see some really astonishing creativity. There are so many possibilities out there – so be sure you don’t discount that great idea because it’s just a bit weird!

I’m your host Huell Kuerden, and tonight we’ll be looking at some strange places throughout Norrath, in all corners of the world both Good and Evil.

And now on to this week of Norrath’s Gold! As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait until everyone zones in to Like a house though – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!

Don’t forget though!!! It means more people will visit and enjoy someone’s hard work!

For anyone new, we’ll be visiting houses via the Housing & Leaderboards selection of the main EQ2 menu. Sometimes the numbers have shifted a little, just ask if you can’t find it!

THIS WEEK WE’LL BE LOOKING AT MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF HOUSES, SO SELECT THE LEADERBOARD SETTINGS GIVEN FOR EACH HOUSE, OR YOU MAY HAVE TROUBLE LOCATIING THEM!

Each house will have a Category and an Attribute, just enter them in the Leaderboards screen and you’ll be fine! Yell if you can’t find it!!! We’ll now switch to Group (#) Chat and dig into this week of Norrath’s Gold! Our first stop is…

A Crannog in the Woods (#10 Hall of Fame/Creativity-Recent) by Degahr: A Tenebrous Island Refuge.

For all of you that think EQ2 isn’t an educational game – well you’re WRONG! I’m going to teach you a new (actually very old) word: CRANNOG! Gee, would work well as a character name!!!

A Crannog is a small, circular artificial island that was created by folks in the ancient British Isles (and other places) to make a small defensible location. Helped to keep from getting eaten by the local wildlife and unfriendly neighbors! There will be a test at the end of the tour .

As we zone in, you are placed on a very nice wooded path made of inverted Oggok Chairs. Freeform paths like this are beautiful but quite a bit of work to do well! Continue down the path to the CRANNOG!

Here you see a circular hut placed on piling in the terminal pond! Lovely, and well-framed by trees! Before you go in, check out the roof! What is it made of? Maple Railings! No go inside and look at the beaming of the roof! Fantastic!

Take a few minutes to wander a bit. Lots of little touches – fish traps, fish drying poles, a fire pit! Oh – and note nothing shimmers! Fine, fine craftsmanship! Really feels late bronze age!

OUR NEXT STOP IS:

Uthanuk’s Ship (#4 Hall of Fame/Creativity-Recent) by Uthanuk: A Thurgadin Grand Hall

Here we have Something from the other end of the Universe! We visited this amazing effort back at House Rally #1 way back in September of 2013 – and it’s time to look at it again!

At Zone-in, take a few seconds to check out the entrance area. Note there is a narrator who tells you what is happening! Note the use of Freeport Counters for an iris effect. Proceed down the gangway tube!

Now look back before you enter the main ship! You can see your shuttle’s engines running outside the tube – the perspective work with misty tiles is terrific. Check out the use of white marble with embedded port plates. Gives a very different look.

As you continue down the corridor, you’ll see occasional remnants of the crew – skeletons in chairs, and arm caught in a hatch. The hatches use embedding to get some very interesting effects, and the walls are none other than Coldain Merchant tables!

At the first intersection, you can see a damaged area walled off via a forced field – nicely done using red misty tiles! Further down, bottles of preserved sathirian skulls look great as failed cryotubes! Go ahead and take the turbolift to the Navigation Center.

Here we have some very nice control panels, complete with shorting components. I particularly like the deliberate use of shimmer on the console screens. The wreckage hanging in space again gives a neat effect.

Next visit the Cryo Chamber to see the Preserved Sathirian Skulls up close!

Finally, spend a few minutes and look at some of the crafting used here. Don’t be shy – examine things to see what they are made of – some will surprise you!

Next, we’ll head to:

Crazy Crystal Cavern City (#19 Hall of Fame/Creativity-Recent) by Gindotto: A Hua Mein Retreat

Here we have a subterranean city built around a mine! Does anyone see the Mua Mein Retreat? It’s completely disguised!

On zone in you start in a small antechamber with some portals. Take the teleport pad to the Main Reactor, and give the area a few seconds to load! Now wander a bit up the street, stopping at the various shops and taverns along the way.

There is a mess-hall, a machine shop, Tavern, Crystal Mining area, and a Great Hall! This place you just have to wander through, so take a look.

Next, we’ll head to:

Teapot Town (#1 Hall of Fame/Creativity-Recent) by Cheribomb: A Tenebrous Island Refuge

Here we have a monumental work around a teapot theme! It always reminds me of the castle in Shrek! Each of the teapot houses has a different theme and materials.

Head to the orange house on the left. This little place is built of ash and redwood, and has a small hidden patio as well. This is a whole house with kitchen and bathroom despite the size! I likes the patio firepit!

Now head across the street to the blue house. See the teapot? This house has a darker feel, and comes complete with an elevator to the 2nd floor. Again, you’ll find a kitchen and a washroom! A small stone patio completes the house.

Exit and head down the street to the white house. The foyer is a very nice multi-sided room, with a vaulted ceiling. The rest of the house uses Briarwood to give a completely different look from the outside. Don’t miss the bedroom and bath!

Take a look around for a few minutes and feel free to ask questions! Lots of people on our tours have extensive decorating/design experience and are happy to help!

All the houses tonight are great examples of taking truly fanciful concepts and turning them into game-reality. Remember you really can do pretty much ANYTHING!!!

Well, that’s about it for tonight! In two weeks we’ll meet again on Sunday to view some truly screwy structures for BB day!!! Be there or be square and have a great evening!

K-