A call for imagination!

[Aj_wood]

I'm in the design phase of creating a world. I'm viewing it as a world rather than a town, as much as that is possible, so the terms I use, such as village, ley, country, are for expediency. There will be a couple of different environments; desert, grassland, forested: a city and a few scatterings of buildings dubbed "villages".

The types of buildings are something of a miss-matched amalgam. A type of Tudor/ Renaissance, Revivalist, Classic Minimalist; all rolled together and mixed with a fictional fantasy pre-industrial society. The inspiration of which comes from a series of novels  I enjoy. The books are far from great literature, but the world is very enjoyable and I am trying to model on it as best I can. Anyone who has read some of my other posts or whom I have gotten to know me know how much of a rampant nerd I am.

I am planning on doing most of the balding myself as well as creating a number of the sims. A few friends have asked to be a part of it, to do the nitty gritty/ fill out work such as a number of smaller, cheaper Slum lots and some gardens or tombs etc.

I can picture many of the individual buildings in my mind and have many sketches ( I'm an architect, thus the over preparation ). What I am after is a new influx of ideas. I am well aware that one person can only come up with so many fun and interesting ideas, so I'm putting out an open call for people to fire out ideas. It can be anything from a bridge you once saw, a lot you designed, a piece of clothing that gives inspiration, absolutely anything!

While I like the idea of doing the vast majority of the work myself, I want this world to be something rather amazing so I want as many new ideas as possible! So, please fire those ideas in, don't be shy

I have done tones of searches for other lots in a similar theme and have gone wanting, so if you know of any please point them out.

I cant wait to see any new ideas,

A.

P.S. If anyone is interested I do have a full brief, of sorts, that I quickly scribbled down to give myself some sort of background and focus points to think about. If you like I can post it, I just thought it was a bit long to put up in one hit!

[lunaura]

I'd love to read the whole brief, as well as know what books the area is being based on. I'm a bit of a nerd myself.

[Aj_wood]

Sure, I'm just in the middle of adding the metal and gem lists to the typed form, but give me 10mins and it will be up.

The books are the Kyralian novels by Trudi Canavan. Very cliched and I don't want the Guild or anything just the way the world is described and ordered.

[Aj_wood]

History
At one point there were three races living on Kesh. The Illyrians, the Helions and the Mountain People. Each race was unique and lived in different areas of the island. Along the coasts and the plains, the Illyrians farmed. In the desert the Helions worshiped and preyed and in the mountains small tribes of nomads wandered.
Eventually the Illyrians became dominant and established control over the whole island from their capital in Imardyn. Many ruins exist from these three races and are scattered about the island.

The Three Races:
The People of the Villages
Along the coasts and the rolling green lowlands, the People of the Villages, known as Illyrians, thrived. They had few centres and lived mostly in farming communities or small villages. The only exception was the Island City of Imardyn. As the only sheltered sea port Imardyn grew to a great size and became the unofficial center of the Illyrians nation.
The Illyrians built mostly in wood though their underground store houses where mostly made from stone. These store houses existed beneath a family home or the city square. They where farmers and traders.
The tombs of the villages are small and large storage vaults. When they where in use they would have been wine cellars, grain storage etc. They are made to be under ground and as such are well preserved though very hard to find. The larger vaults should be locked with keystones of multiple shapes which in turn are hidden in other tombs.
The largest vaults are in Imardyn. There is a huge vault hidden under the city and a second, much more valuable yet highly defended and difficult vault hidden under the Royal Quarter.
The Metals of the Illyrians:
   Iron
   Titanium
The Gems of the Illyrians:
   Blue Topaz
   Smoky Quartz
   Tanzanite
   Pink Diamond
   Fluorite
   Quartz
   Lapis Lazuli
   Amethyst
   Alabaster
The Sand People
In the desert above Imardyn the Sand people dwelt. Unlike the Illyrians the Helions dwelt in only two vast Temple-Cities. One dedicated to the Day, the other to the Night. They also build family as well as singular burial crypts to honour their dead with gifts and means of protecting them.
There are two major tombs in the desert. The Temple-Cities of the Day and Night. They are huge, full of great wealth but also exceptionally well defended and full off locked doors and blocked hallways. However should someone manage to explore the whole of a tomb they will be rewarded with vast wealth.
In addition to the two Temple-Cities there are a number of smaller family tombs or shrines hidden away that contain all sorts of treasure and items to claim. All Helion tombs are in a state of great decay as well as mostly being totaly hidden beneath existing buildings or ruins
The Metals of the Helions:
   Gold
   Plutonium
   Copper
   Mummitonium
The Gems of the Helions:
   Ruby
   Yellow Saphire
   Luminous Gem
   Rainbow Gem
   Septarian Nodule
   Citrine
The Mountain People
In the mountains in the centre of Kesh, the Men of the  Mountains lived a strange nomadic life. They did not build towns or cities, yet had great knowledge of construction, art, metallurgy and gemcraft. They traveled from grotto to shrine in small groups. The few buildings of the Mountain People that survive are highly beautiful hidden grottos or shrines that are peaceful and relaxing to travelers as befits a nomadic people. Here they kept stores of food or treasure. They rarely build large structures.
The tombs in the mountains are mostly very small, containing one major room with a few off set as well as an entrance chamber. These tombs are not particularly hidden, For the most part they are marked by small gardens and shrines on the surface. They are placed all along the mountains running down the centre of Kesh.
The Metals of the Mountain People:
   Silver
   Palladium
   Mercury
   Platinum
   Iridium
The Gems of the Mountain People:
   Emerald
   Diamond
   Soulpeace Gem
   Jade
   Opal
   Tiberium Gem

(Note: Metal and Gem spawnpoints dictated by the location of the old countries. eg, Emerald is very rare out of the mountains.)

[Aj_wood]

Kesh
Imardyn:
Imardyn in build on two islands in the meeting point of two rivers flowing from the mountains. A small Island closest to the mountains is the Palace Grounds. Connected to the Palace rounds is a larger Island that contains the rest of the city. It is structured in a hierarchy that moves down from the Palace to the Mansions, the Houses and the Slums, which aren't even on the islands, but on the opposite river banks.
The Palace Grounds
The smaller of the two was taken by Erik and turned into a vast palace compound. Within are the City Hall, Military Base, Police Station, Fire Department and Hospital. An outer wall incloses the Palace and the buildings are all arranged around beautiful walking gardens.
The Lords Quarter
The Lords Quarter is made up of the mansions of the powerful families granted the title of Lord by the first king. Each are large houses that are made up of smaller building connected around a central courtyard. See; examples in Building Templates. Among the large mansions are a selection of high end restaurants and bars.
The mansions are made up of three "wings. A Living Wing, which is two stories with an entertainment space on the ground floor and a cooking dining space above. A Day Wing, wich is used for work and study; and final a Night wing, which contains the bedrooms and bathrooms. These three wings are separate from each other, all facing a central courtyard with a wide entrance way leading to the street. All doors lead into the courtyard, which has perhaps a small garden or scultures. The only link between the buildings is a large wall that circles the property running from building to building.
These fine buildings where constructed using very plae sandstone coloured stone and pale woods. They are square and flat rooved. There are few green gardens, instead sand gardens with only a few well chosen plants used.
The Houses:
This district of Imardyn is centred around the market square. The houses are much smaller than the Lords Quarter and are much closer together. See; examples in Building Templates A larger market is made up of the Super Market, Consignment Store, Tattoo Parlor, the Business Centre and the School. There are few trees and very little grass. Just as with the Royal Quarter a wall surrounds the city, holding back the river. Here are wehere the majority of clubs, bars and restaurants are located.

These houses are made up of three sections. The entrance is reached by a Courtyard, which acts as garden and exterior space. This leads to the entrance of the Hall. Here is an all purpose study, social, entertanment area. Attached to the side of the Hall is a large two story wing. The ground floor floor is made up of the kitchen and formal dinning room. On the second story are the bedrooms and bathrooms.
These houses are made from stone and fine, pale woods. The ground floor and courtyard are stone with the second floor made from wood with arched rooves.
The Slums
The slums run along the length of the river bank aound the large island. These are made up of cheap, run down appartment style townhouses. Here the lands are marshy and trees incroach. There are no roads, only tracks to get to and from a house. Among the slums is the Criminal Headquarters and a junkyard.
The buildings of the Slums are very small, cheap appartment style buildings. They are built hphazardly on the smallest of plots and are placed as close together as possible. Each apartment is only made up of two or three rooms. They have been ripped appart or rebuilt and added onto so a cohesive design is not evident.
They are made out of random sheets of wood and are not placed on any roads, anyone living in them must walk.

[Aj_wood]

The Outer Leys:
Elyne
Elyne Is the southern most of the Leys. The land is very green and mostly flat, though there is little open ground as forests cover almost the whole ley. On the ridge overlooking the ocean is the village and the Lord's Residence.
The People of Elyne live in simple log buildings built on stone footings. Only the Residence is over two stories. The village is built around large gardens and orchids. As well as these gardens the forests contain huge numbers of plants.
A small way away from the houses is a temple. (Day Spa) It is built on the cliffs facing out to see and is a centre for meditation and relaxation. People travel here from all over Kesh in order to learn to unburden themselves and to study meditation.
Lonmar
Lonmar is located in the North West of Kesh, beyond the desert. Here there are few trees and the ground is dry. As such the people of Lonmar are focused on the few water spots and the ocean. Almost every kind of fish in Kesh can be found in Lonmar.
The Village and Residence is located between the Northern river, which marks the edge of the desert and the ocean. The people live in single story, square roofed stone building to avoid as much of the heat as possible. Their washrooms and cooking areas are kept separate from the living and sleeping space and are all connected by a shaded pergola that runs around the outside of all three buildings. In the center are tall thin trees to provide what shade they can.
In the center or the village, directly opposite the Lords Residence is the Great Arena. (Sports Stadium). Here athletes from all over Kesh meet and compete every year to claim rewards for being the fastest and strongest.
Vin
Located in the centre of the desert north of Imardyn is the Ley of Vin. Vin is very small, few people wish to face the bare desert. The Lords Residence is located near a vast cemetery. It is the resting place of the people of Kesh. Beneath are a huge set of catacombs.
The buildings of Vin are square, two story structures with a forward court yard. No grass or trees can survive in Vin and as such the people of Vin have formed a style of stone and sand gardens.
Vin was built on the former site of the Hellion Temple-City of the Day. 
To the East, at he base of the mountains is a huge mine that has exacted since before the war. Three entrances lead to tunnels that reach deep under ground and hold a vast wealth of metals and ores.
Aylen
Aylen Ley is the farthest north and is a vast Farming and livestock area. Unlike other leys the Residence in Aylen is alone. The people live in farms scattered throughout the lay on large ranches and farms.
The Residence is made up of the Lords House as well as a large Ranch and Livestock markets. (The Equestrian Centre and Pet Shop respectively, all three on separate lots though made to look as though part of a whole.)

[Aj_wood]

I am King of the Nerds!

[lunaura]

This is really neat! I can't wait to see a map of the area.

Also, you keep saying "See; examples in Building Templates" in your posts...Where is that? I'm a bit confused.

[Aj_wood]

Oh sorry about that. This brief was just meant for my reference originally, hence it is all over the place and not well written. The templates are sketches and images I have.

[kiko94]

Wow, that looks huge from what I've read. If you need help building, let me know. I don't see what more we can add to this list of ideas.  

[Aj_wood]

Yes, as I said it is something of an obsurdity, but I figure if I have all the content, I have a computer that can run it once its finished, I enjoy the game and I have a couple of friends who are as stupid as I am and want to help out doing small bits here and there, why not do it properly?

Have you done many worlds?

[kiko94]

No, I didn't have time to play around with CAW, however I build a lot, especially community lots, currrently I'm redoing my sunset valley save file and have managed to fit every type of lot (except for nectary) and been trying to fill those for some time, you can check my work to get yourself and opinion