Deco Fireplaces and Chimneys!

Hello good folks!

Following the suggestions by those who, like me, take their nesting instincts very seriously when it comes to home decoration, I present the work-in progress for my task of place-able fireplaces and chimneys! The goal here was for me to create a system by which our homeowners could hope to assemble a decent fireplace, from ground-floor hearth to roof, with a limited set of pieces using our deco system. Here you can see the almost-complete initial variation sets built in Max prior to export into Unity!



To make this work, it was important that I take into account the fact that deco-system items can only collide with other items in very specific circumstances, while I also wanted to be able to let the final chimney piece intersect the roof so it could be seen from the outside. To add to this (in cases where the player has access to the roof), while the roof chimney extension can intersect with the roof and interior floors fairly freely, I also wanted to make sure that a player couldn't simple "walk through" it as if it were a hologram... Since all our player homes have been built with a variety of floor to ceiling sizes and configurations, this was no easy task!



Once imported, I was able to add all the effects and lay them out for review. Above you'll notice the sets being filled out as I expand each variation type. For this first group there will be two variations you can craft yourself (a rustic-looking stone hearth, as well as a stone and wood version) as well as their attendant chimney set pieces...



These simpler ones were then followed by three "ornate" variations you'll be able to buy in our add-on store (two of which you can see toward the back), which will be "Ornate Stone" (small and large, in a somewhat baroque visual style that will match many of Bob's up-scale manor houses he's made), "Ornate Stone and Wood" (small and large, made to match the Norgard visual style of some of the Lord Marshall items I've made), and finally an "Ornate Metal" version (small and large, mimicking the style of the cast-iron radiator decoration I've made), which I haven't finished creating yet... Below you can see the initial two "Ornate" ones a bit more closely, which include their basic "flat" primary chimney pieces on top...



Each set will, in most average cases, allow the owner to create one fireplace type from the first floor of any home and extend it up on each floor and finally through the ceiling! To make sure this idea worked, I took my initial group (the rustic craft-able all-stone hearth) and got Rick to help me set them up to function in our deco system. I then went through each and every player home type, testing all the pieces to make sure that I could build at least two full fireplaces in each home in key locations where most folks would consider placing them. In the image below you can see the two different placement versions; the one on the left tests the look of the base hearth with its angular chimney topper meant to indicate that it passes through the wall to the outside, where the chimney pieces can stack past the roof,...and the one on the right tests the look of a the same set rising up toward the ceiling to indicate an interior chimney arrangement. You'll notice that the use of these limited pieces, due to small variances in each building's design, can't always be perfect (such as the chimney addition on the right, in this particular home, not completely reaching the ceiling in this particular house design), but I did measure each of our limited number of pieces to fit fairly well together in most circumstance, with just a little "mix and match" effort. ^_^



Another thing you'll notice is that, like our bookshelves and tables and such, there are flat areas, mantels, and shelves on most of these pieces that will allow you to place favorite small decorations on your fireplaces. I particularly enjoyed loading mine up with all kinds of fun stuff! In the image below you can see a floor extension I placed on the second floor of this house to make it look like a fireplace is extending through the interior, and it too is equipped with a small shelf upon which I've placed a ceramic jar.



On the exterior of the house you can see further building I've done placing chimney pieces from the ground to the roof! By simply stacking them one upon the other, it was fairly easy to get just the look I wanted. On top you can see my second interior chimney set poking up above the other, and a quick run up the stairs to the roof will let you see the intersecting roof extension as well as the taller floor extension placed on the roof to simulate the second chimney piercing through...




With other less "conventional" house configurations, the set seemed to work well too! Here you can see merely two pieces of the set (the main hearth and the roof extension) used in our Elven Village Hill Home, seen from the inside as well as seen from the outside, so you can appreciate the way it nicely intersects with the roof!




The fun part, honestly, is playing with all the pieces in several different house and room configurations to find the assembly that works best in any given circumstance... Trial and error is the name of the game with these sets, since (as with all deco items) they won't always work in every single situation, but I'm betting you'll be surprised by their versatility! Once all of these are finished and ready for you to have, I'm really hoping you'll all have a great time playing with these props.

Take care!

Scottie ^_^

 

That's pretty cool, Scottie.

thanks for sharing.

 

Great quality once again!

Thank you for your amazing work.

 

Love it, Scottie!! Not surprised at all that you completely understand the 'nesting' instincts that many of us have. I know this request from us was a challenging one, but big hugs to you and Portalarium for allowing the time to be spent on it!

 

Agreed. Will these be craftable I hope? BTW LOVE that they range from rustic to fancy. Well done.

 

Fantastic!

Really looking forward to seeing these in the game.

@DarkStarr Perhaps sitting by one of these during poor weather has some kind of benefit?

 

Wow! This is super cool.

 

Oh, be still my heart!! This is so exciting. Finally, some love for us decorators. Now all my homes will be warm and comforting in any and all rooms. Great Job!

 

You did not only the creation, but the testing, too? That's dedication!

These cannot get ingame fast enough for me. Thanks for the preview, Scottie <3

 

This is completely epic! Fireplaces was one of my wishes for our housing system!

 

You're a true wizard! Thank you for these! They will add warmth and character to our in game homes.

 

Just amazing! Good job, @Scottie !

 

I love this! Thank you Scottie!

 

This is amazing work, as usual! I know what I'm buying for the next telethon!

Any chance of getting an Oven and Kiln (Cooking and Smelting Stations) with the same modular shape? We really shouldn't be getting those fumes in our workshops! Also, an Obsidian set, with blazing bones in an iron hearth?

Awesome!

 

They look really good and cant wait to fiddle with them when released. Must have been quite a hard job getting these to fit in all the housing styles we have, much appreciated.

Just one thing though........Do they blow smoke?

If you design them that they can be a container with limited functionality then we could put differing wood or other resources in and the resulting smoke could be of a number of differing colours/patterns.

 

Excellent work @Scottie! What about for people who don't use a "house"? Can they be used outside as well, as lot deco?

 

Thanks! And yes,...the first two I mentioned (the simple rustic small one and the simple wood and stone small one) are both able to be crafted in-game... The remaining large and small "ornate" versions are the ones that can be bought through our add-on store...

 

They certainly can! These are made so that they can be "freestanding" so that they can either be used inside or outside, in the middle of the floor or even in the middle of an empty yard... Imagine setting one of these up as a centerpiece to an outside sitting area (like a large chiminea),...maybe something fun at the center of a hedge-maze or in a comfortable corner of your garden... The small rustic one might be good for that, or even the wrought iron one I'm working on, which I'll show you folks a bit later... ^_^

 

It looks like the top part is the same as the one used inside on the second floor, so I wouldn't think they all do. However, that is a good idea! Some sort of chimney cap that can be placed on top of a chimney, or even a smoking brick that can be placed on top of a chimney (or in a campfire, etc) that simply emits smoke (and affected by breeze, etc).

 

yeah chimneys near the bed, good for nice hours in bed