Schematics
Schematics are essential for getting a rough roundhouse shape on the ground. Although they come in many different sizes, they only support 45° Roofs for now. More options will come in the future. To paste them wherever you want them, use the following command: //schembrush dun1 (up to dun6)
Roof Layering
Once you have pasted in the schematic you want to work with, you need to layer the roof on the inside. We do this by adding quarter slabs and replacing whole blocks with stairs. The easiest way to go about this is this:
- Middle click a roof block on the inside.
- If you get a full thatch block, replace the block you just middle-clicked with stairs.
- If you get a thatch stair block, add a thatch quarter slab on top.
If you do it this way, you will end up with a roof that is exactly 1 block thick everywhere, as seen here:
Here is a before and after for an example roof:
Note that there are some non-layered bits left in the corners. You could add corner slabs there for a fully layered roof but those spots will be needed for the rafters later on so we will just leave these spots empty for now.
Wall Layering
The next step is to layer the walls inside so that the corners are less choppy. However, it is important not to go overboard with this. Layering all blocks will limit what you can do with the interior later on (you won’t be able to place stuff on walls and there will be weird gaps between the walls and stuff you put on the ground). To go back to our previous example, here is how the walls would be layered:
Rafters
There are a lot of different rafter designs you can go with depending on the size of your roundhouse. Different designs offer unique looks and allow you to do certain things with your interior later on.
In general, you can have up to 8 individual rafters. 4 for each corner and 4 for the middle of each wall. Always have rafters in the corners of the roundhouse. The rafters in the corner are built where we previously left the gaps in the roof layering.
At certain roundhouse sizes, some designs leave out the 4 others. You should take a look at approved roundhouses and reference their rafter designs. Rafters are built using 45 and 67-degree diagonal branches.
After adding the rafters (with all house sizes but the smallest ones), you will need to add additional support beams to further increase the roof’s stability. As with the rafters, there are a variety of different designs for this. Here is an example:
This design allows us to hang things onto the lintels later on.
Stone Foundations
In case the edges of a roundhouse’s walls directly align with the border of the grass layer (see image) or if the roundhouse faces a slope, a stone foundation is needed.
As seen in this image, the foundation creates a better and less goofy-looking edge between the roundhouse and the terrain surrounding it. Use a mixture of regular stone blocks, block stairs, and small arches to give the foundation a more interesting shape as well! You can use a variety of stone gradients for these. The mossy one shown here blends into the terrain more than others and thus the one that works very well in most situations.
Gradients
A general gradient guide can be found here. It covers most of the important stuff (and should be read first) so the following sections will mainly give you WM-specific details and examples. Use your paintbrush for this.
Roofs
This is an example of a roundhouse roof using a slightly more aged gradient. The top is the lightest part (brown thatch) after which the gradient gets continuously darker (here just dark brown thatch) with mossy parts on the roof’s edge. Note that the north side is always the mossiest. Make sure to avoid straight lines in your gradient. This is especially important for roundhouses larger than the one shown above.
After you have completed gradienting your roof from the outside, check the inside. The quarter slabs will not be gradiented as they are “cut off” from the outside. Gradient them so that they match the blocks surrounding them.
Walls
Some roundhouses simply have a single gradient for the entirety of their walls while others feature a first row made of stone. This can occur pretty much anywhere but is required for roundhouses on a slope where the first row of walls is also retaining dirt in places. This stone row can also protrude a bit towards the outside (i.e. you can add another layer to them so they stick out just a tiny bit more).
Floor (Should Be Done After Interior)
The floor gradient is already explained in the WM palette guide. Generally speaking, the more people move through certain spaces, the lighter the gradient is. For a roundhouse, this generally means that the center is the lightest and the corners (especially bits underneath beds and stuff like barrels) are the darkest. Here is an example:
If your roundhouse has a stone foundation, certain parts of that foundation will likely show on the inside of the floor. If that is the case, you need to blend that bit of stone into the regular floor gradient. To successfully blend the two you first need to use Muddy Limestone Cobbles for the parts of the stone foundations that show on the inside. Then you use Brown Gravel, Chalky Brown Gravel, and Coarse Sandy Soil to create a transition to the regular floor gradient. Here is an example:
Interiors
The different points here are ordered specifically in the order you should tackle them. Most parts of this section are rather vague since interiors make each build unique. There are so many options and designs you can use that we could not possibly cover everything here. Thus, these should be understood as rough guidelines to follow, mixed with some smaller pointers that should help you hit the ground running.
Also, make sure to check out /warp itemframeguide. Item frames can help ad additional detailing. However, use them sparingly. Having lots of item frames will not necessarily improve your interiors. Many of the cleanest roundhouse interiors in the WM don’t use them at all.
Fireplace
Generally, you will find the fireplace in the exact center of the roundhouse. However, you can move it around a bit if you can make it look good. There are different fireplace sizes with 1x1 ones being the most common.
Beds
The amount of beds heavily depends on the size of your roundhouses. If you claim a plot, its description will already provide a rough bed count. Generally, large houses will have around 9 beds, larger ones around 7, middle-sized ones around 5, and the smallest ones around 3. Don’t take these numbers as gospel though, these are only rough estimates and the number you will end up with will heavily depend on how the rest of your interior turns out.
It is easiest to first plan where you want your beds to be. Use a random bed block to mark their location. This will also give you a first indication of how many beds you will realistically end up having. After you are happy with the position of the beds, you can give them their final designs. Again, reference approved builds and the kinds of designs they used for this.
Looms
Pretty much every family would have a loom. If space allows it, add one. The palette guide features a selection of loom designs.
Tools and Storage
After you have added your beds and loom, it’s time to fill the in-between. You can use stools, tool racks, barrels, baskets, small amphoras, boots, food blocks, firewood, etc. Remember that most people in the WM are poor farmers, so make sure not to add too much stuff. Less is more.
Additional Details
Once you have all the previous points covered, it’s time for the finishing touches. Perhaps add some paintings to give the walls a bit more life. A rope, maybe a sickle. Depending on the plot description, one of the inhabitants may have a military background or past. In that case, you could add a shield, an axe, or even a sword.
When all is said and done your interior could potentially look like this:
Conclusion
This concludes Seminar I. If you have any questions or want to get feedback on your roundhouses, you can let me or Wurst know in-game or via DM on Discord.
