Etceter Revisited!

Hello my friends!

It's time for another update from yours truly! For the last few weeks I've been working to revamp the town of Etceter, one of the southern gateways to the tempestuous Bay of Storms, and the old stomping ground of the pirate lords in the centuries before the rise of the Obsidians, when the small seaside port generated enormous wealth from the now-abandoned Etceter Crag Mines. You will see from my following images how this old port-of-call has begun to change its face!

Though little has changed near the common entrance into the scene, passing through the town will eventually lead to the primary crossroads, where the port-side commerce and housing district (seen on the right) gives way to the richer estates that once belonged to the wealthiest privateers (seen up the rise of the hill to the left) who made their fortunes when the Etceter Crag Mines were at the height of production! From here we can get a better view of some of the newest points of interest I've added.


Turning left to look up the hill past the occupied estates, one can see the somewhat overgrown remnants of the main road leading straight from the docks below, to the abandoned ruins of the Baroness' Keep! Just downhill and across the road from the keep is the walled, crumbling remnants of the stockade building that once served the keep, and further up the hill you can glimpse the rotting and moss-covered remains of smaller houses, both inside and outside of the wooden barricades built soon after the occupation of the Obsidians nearly 200 years ago. Among those ramshackle hovels is the long-abandoned cottage of Amanda, sister of Syenna.


Now, a little history might be in order to help explain what you are about to see.

Etceter was a small coastal mining town first and foremost, but its wealth eventually drew in raiding pirates, first on the seas, and then overtaking the town itself as they decided to involve themselves directly in the mining operations. Over time, it slowly became a more respectable town as the wealthy pirate lords chose to settle down and involve themselves in the less-dangerous pastime of trade. It is here that the culture that eventually blossomed in Norgard was born, and it was here that the Council of Might convened to discuss the rising Obsidian threat more than two centuries ago. This offense to the Obsidians was not forgotten, and before their eventual collapse they descended on Etceter, slaughtered its nobility, shattered the Baroness' Keep, set up a garrison here with satyrs and fauns as a workforce, and continued to draw wealth from the mines until the fateful day the miners uncovered something terrible in the depths of those distant mountains. Eventually, after the Obsidian’s defeat, the town grew back again, with all the old structures still fairly intact, and an addition to the population in the form of the satyrs and fauns that escaped their dark masters toward the end…

The old stockade had housed some of the Obsidian garrison in those days, and though abandoned and decrepit now, it can still be visited by those who might not mind a broken ankle or twisted knee.


Just up the hill from that is an abandoned hovel or two, including the cottage of Amanda, the sister of Syenna, described in "The Sword of Midras" as having beautiful yet somewhat Elvin features, the product of the terrible Obsidian Reshaper experiments that left her somewhat crippled.


There is little left of her life there centuries ago, and its barren interior bespeaks of sadness and loss. Syenna had hoped for a cure for Amanda, but in the end realized that the only cure the Obsidians would offer her sister was a vial of poison, and the release of death. Though little is known of Syenna's fate, for it is said that she followed Aren Bennis to the northeast after the fall of Opalis 200 years ago, it is written that Amanda once loved to rest upon the stairs at her doorstep and chat over the stone fence with her neighbors, and to sit with great yearning inside her bay window, from which she could gaze down the earthen main road toward the center of town and the harbor beyond in the vain hope that one day she would see her beloved sister Syenna walking up that long path to finally come home for good.



Across the road and just down from Amanda's cottage still stands the shattered and crumbling remains of the Baroness' Keep. Here Aren Bennis was taken, Sword of Midras in hand, to speak before the Council of Might and be interrogated about the activities of the Obsidians before their fall. Within those somewhat treacherous ruins can still be seen the Great Hall where Aren stood before the seven chairs which contained the Baroness' guests from distant lands. In retaliation for this affront, the Obsidians came and dealt a terrible blow to Etceter, and left this great Keep broken but still impressive despite its ruined state. May it forever stand as a testament to the sacrifice of those that helped to bring an end to the Obsidian Empire!




Heading back down the long hill towards town, the main road offers a great vantage point for checking out the changes I'm now making to improve the look of the town itself, and specifically the various approaches to the numerous properties and estates. My hope, of course, is to add a bit of personal touch to insure they seem authentic and welcoming, while maintaining the look and feel of centuries of varied habitation and development. I'll be adding retaining walls, more obvious paths, stairs, more lanterns, and a broader degree of cultivation and flora.



Since this is such a small scene by comparison to places I've touched before (such as Xenos), there won't be near the amount of time and resources invested in it, but hopefully it will eventually feel much more developed and "lived in" by the time I'm done with it. There will be at least one more post to show you other improvements as I continue, but as a last stop this evening you can get a gander at what has now become a sort of "market square" near the center of town, where the main road now passes beside the crafting pavilion. I've opened this area up, improved the view of those living nearby a tad bit, and hopefully upgraded the look of the area in general!


Ah well, time to call it a night. Join me here later as I reveal some coastal/dock-side details and final polish! Take care, my friends!

Scottie ^_^

 

Hello Friend,

You continue to keep amazing us with your attention to details and keeping true to the story.

Even in these picture I notice the little things that makes it "real"... for example, let's look at this everyone:



Notice the Circle and remember from the book when Syenna instructed Aren... "The floor has an inlaid pattern. Stop on the circular shaped stone in the center of the hall and then wait in silence"

This is the stuff that makes what you do very much appreciated!!! These are the thing I take notice and hopefully others as well!!!

Awesome and keep up the great work!!!

-Mad Hatter

@Scottie

 

Thanks so much, my friend!!! I'm glad you're liking what you see so far!

Have a great night!!

Scottie ^_^

 

Wow, Scottie you transported me there... I can't wait to see what else you do; it's looking great!!

 

These images and your description brought Syenna's story strongly back into my mind. Thank you!

Although my anticipation of seeing the harbour area is large, there are also many small details you put into your scenes that delight me. I hope to find more visual hints as to the life of the Fauns and if the Satyrs keep them so close they have little contact with others. Will there be shacks where they sleep? graffiti?

Thanks for all the screenshot, Scottie !

 

When a location not only looks fantastic but also tells a story... priceless. I admire the effort put into this Scottie!

 

Now THIS is the Etceter I was envisioning so many releases ago, after reading the prequel novel.
Love seeing the window in the cottage looking out over the harbor, and the Baroness's Ruined Keep....

Thank You.

Huzzah Scottie, HUZZAH!!

 

Love the story you tell behind this!

 

Thanks so much everyone! I was very inspired by the novel, and have been having a great time bringing those words to life in the scenes I get to touch... In many cases I must interpret what I'm building based on vague histories in the cases where such scenes aren't actually visited in the book itself. But when a scene like this actually plays a major part in the storyline's action, it brings me great joy to strive building these scenes as I imagined them in my mind as I read the "Sword of Midras"...

I'm incredibly gratified to hear that my vision for such areas lives up, at least to some extent, to your own imaginations... It does my heart good to hear it!

Scottie ^_^

 

This is a town that I had most felt needed something a little extra. Great work taking another look at it and working to tie it to the lore. Thank you!

 

Scottie,

Always love your work and your passion! This displays once again how much time, effort and emotion you invest in your work! Looking at Amanda's cottage I can pretty much "Feel" like I am there, sitting right besides her, waiting for Syenna to return.

Brilliant work as always! Keep it up and hope to have another cameo of you during the next telethon!

 

Wow thats gorgeous, cant wait to come visit again.

 

My sentiments exactly. The window looking toward the approaching ships in the Bay of Storms is one of the main focal points I remember from the novel's description of Etceter. Fantastic work per usual.

 

Having finished my part of the polish pass for Etceter, I wanted to share some of the final results for the areas I haven't had the chance to showcase to you fine folks yet...

When commenting earlier in this post, I hadn't had the chance to make a beautifying pass on the outer areas of the scene, such as the main entrance and edge conditions. That has now changed, and as you can see by the images below, one of my primary focusses was making sure that where areas of nature met areas of old construction and civilized development, there was a very "intentional" feel to the placement of natural objects and built structures. In Etceter, for example, descriptions in the book (pertaining to Amanda's cottage) indicated that chest-high walls often lined the edges of the town's roads in various places. Since 200 years and an Obsidian occupation has taken its toll, these walls have fallen into disrepair and neglect, but are still a rustic reminder of Etceter in its heyday, when it had been a prosperous port flowing with the wealth of its mine, and rich trade from along the coasts of the Bay of Storms. In these initial images you can see the remnants of these walls, which I have used to demarcate the roads more distinctly than they were before, and to beckon travelers toward areas of both commerce as well as the general entrances of the various estates scattered throughout the scene.




I have repainted the roads, which before had a somewhat "spotty" look, moved the stones away from the center of the road towards the edges (where they would naturally migrate as they either got ground down into the dirt, or tossed aside by road-weary travelers), and did my best to make more natural paths that locals might have begun using as holes in the crumbling walls offered easier access. You'll notice in these images that you are merely seeing placeholder houses instead of the actual fully-decorated player lots that occupy the live scene now, but rest assured that much of what you see has been carefully placed after I diligently scrutinized the real scene in our GM Live build, to make sure I took into account the existing layouts and entry features that well-nestled players have already grown to love. I was urged by our Art Director Hutch to be incredibly cautious about placing anything that might ruin either the convenience or the view of existing properties, and I worked hard to be as respectful of both access as well as beauty when improving the edge conditions of these areas for your business and pleasure...

It's important to remember, when seeing these images, that though this was once a place in its prime, with a great degree of prosperous development and commerce, it has since fallen on hard times after the Obsidians invaded, its royalty was butchered, many of its houses destroyed, and with only a small population to keep it going even after the end of the wars (now including the dubious presence of satyrs and fauns). Etceter mostly survives today due to what little trade and travel occurs between it and Xenos. All the details I've added needed to indicate its past glory while still emphasizing its current state of "developed" decay. Hopefully you'll all find my changes have provided some new excitement, interest, and immersion to the areas you now call home here!



Speaking of its current trade, I had mentioned earlier in the post that I wanted to share some of the changes I'd made to its harbor and dock-side areas. In the image above you can see the treatment I've applied to the sea-facing properties along the Western Road, which essentially adds a more "intentional-looking" quality to the path along this part of the coast, and the retaining wall that protects the nearby properties from the high tides that surely arise during storm-swells. It only makes sense that any architecture constructed along such a coast would need to be built either on stilts like some of the shanties in the poorer eastern quarter of the town, upon slightly higher ground as seen above, or upon firmer foundations of stone such as those seen supporting the pier-side shops of the commerce area. At this point, however, I would be remiss not to start the series of coastal images by showing a new feature than can be seen from many areas of town now, but especially along the docks. Seen below is the harbor itself, with its horizon changed to match both the world map, as well as the "Sword of Midras" a bit better. As described in the book, Amanda enjoys wistfully gazing out across the town and the distant bay, where she can sometimes see the outline of Siren Island to the north when the view is not obscured by the squalls that commonly assail the storm-tossed sea...



Of the many new qualities I wanted to capture with my additions to the harbor-side area was a stronger sense of commerce and connection between Etceter and Xenos. In these next few images I wanted to give a hint of the goods often traded here, especially since this is one of the few ports of call where passage to Elysium is easily acquired. Elysian amphorae, exotic rugs and fabrics, pottery, architectural elements, and decorative sculptures can be seen here and there along the docks, either waiting to be bought and sold, or already adorning some of the shops to be found here. Alleys and side-streets are no longer bereft of details, since some of these wares gladly spill over into them. The stone foundations of these portside buildings offer welcoming walkways where tourists stamp sand from their sandals (much of which gathers where the walls meet the granite pavers) before entering to sample the wares within!



And lastly, venturing toward the central marketplace, we can see the crumbling stones of the older walls and foundations hugging the newer shops and domiciles built within the last five decades or so. Again, with an eye to both "developing" and "unifying" the look of the town, I added these details more heavily in areas where permanent NPC buildings and non-decorated areas of homes presented themselves, while carefully indicating remnants of this same style-choice in and around player properties in ways that would accent the chosen "look and feel", while not directly interfering with already-placed decorative elements, building choices, and points of convenient access...




And with that, my little loving pass over Etceter is complete. Like I said, not nearly as extensive or dramatic as the changes I made to Xenos, but hopefully these simple touches will really tie the various elements of this scene together to help tell the story of its tumultuous history, as well as its present-day predicaments and concerns. I'll now be passing this scene on to Dan to insure any changes I've made to the town and its environs are now reflected in the behaviors of the NPCs that inhabit it!

Have a great week everyone!

Scottie ^_^

 

Really nice. Also, I really like the treatment of this POT entrance.

 

Thanks so much for noticing that little detail! I debated various ways of drawing attention to that POT entrance with my co-workers, and while I always tend to want to "celebrate" things like that, I also had to build with the understanding that, if ever that POT's location changed or went away, that area needed to look good without that feature as well... This felt like a good compromise, and I'm glad you like it!

Scottie ^_^

 

It most certainly is a loving pass. Love your work as always Scottie!

 

Looks very nice @Scottie !!!
I truly think you gave the citizens of Etceter something to be very proud of.
Thanks for bringing the story to virtual reality for us all to enjoy and remember!!!

Awesome and love it!!! Even more to Role Play!!!
I wholeheartedly embrace this and even welcome those of citizens of Etceter to further these connections to continue this storyline... feel free to Message me Etceter

Again my friend... Top Notch and thanks for your time and efforts.
Your attention to details are fully noticed and thanks for the background story about the passionate work that was put into it!!!

-Mad Hatter

 

You're very welcome, my friend!

Scottie ^_^

 

Love the light over Bladewyke entrance, its not moving btw. As always you do good work, very skilled and talented.