[Poll] Naturalesque builders - Tint choices

[NerArth]

I like to build natural-looking stuff in Boundless, i.e. so that it looks like it integrates with the surrounding environment and in the “naturally spawned” look of Boundless, with some of my own artistic deviation.

I’ve seen a fair bit of some stuff other people do in a similar manner and also other completely original “natural” styles. But I am always uncertain about one thing: Tints.

Sometimes I’m not sure if I should use bare soil of a certain tint, or if the gravel or sand tints I like for a path seem OK with what’s around them, to someone else. Maybe my tint choices don’t make any sense at all to others and it leaves me wondering… Heck, should I have used igneous stones here or metamorphic of the same tint?

Could there be a “right” choice? A “wrong” choice? In my head, I probably have an “ideal” of what each type of block or even each tint represents, to some extent, but sometimes I’m afraid that I’m trying to keep myself grounded to earth-like interpertations of what’s interesting and what’s not.

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Example screenshots of the type of build/style I'm talking about. (some mine, some not)

Feel free to post different examples or just stuff you have found/like/built.

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Are you a "purist"?

• I use tints local to the planet I’m building on.
• I use tints from other planets.
• I build “naturally spawned”-style stuff.
• I create my own version of “nature”.

Colour theory:

• I use tints that contrast the local tones.
• I use tints that complement the local tones.
• I use tints that I like, regardless of what the local tones are.
• Other: (explain in a reply)

Do you believe there's right and wrong?

• I think there are some potentially UGLY combinations.
• I think ALL combinations are valid and equally beautiful/interesting!
• I think anything can work, IF properly executed.
• Other: (explain in a reply)

[Ovis]

As far as the colour palette goes there are definitely combinations that just don’t work, the combinations that will work the best for nature themed builds, I believe, are scientifically accurate colours such as real work palettes (Greens, Yellows, Oranges etc).

Obviously people will say its subjective whether something looks good or not, but if 99% of people think something is ‘ugly’ but 1% of people like it, then I’d have to class it as ugly

[Goblinounours]

I personally do not mind the colors people use in their build.

What get me is how they are used.

1 block thick floating platforms, high in the sky, made almost entirely of refined stones, with only portals to access them, these are the worst type of build to my eyes, whatever colors are used.

The same design right above the water with no underwater fundations, or with leaves floating above because the owner couldn’t spare a few more plots to remove them, that’s a close second.
Sure, nothing forces builders to work with logic or gravity in mind, buuuut…

Finally, and I’m sure I’ll get some flack for that one, but I gotta say I’m not fond of cities where every beacon owner does something different, and there’s 0 coherence between them, that’s a total deal-breaker for me.
Sorry for those here who do that, but really, whenever I see these types of builds, I just groan and sigh all the time.

IRL, I’m helping my uncle with plans for a house he wants to restorate, and before he starts working, he gotta show pictures of what he plans to do to an architect appointed by the city to validate if the result will fit with the city’s overall style.
I’m with the city on that. I get why they do that. Otherwise, people would paint their house in pink, have a tree sticking out of the roof, y’know? If you build your house alone in the fields, they won’t bother you, you can go crazy.
I’m working with that mindset in Boundless, I think it can apply, and when it does, you get something very satisfying.
If someone wanna build with us, I wanna first see if they can handle the set of rules we apply to our build, so that we make something with a coherent style, something where each sub-zone feels both different and similar, and when you look at it from far above, it looks like one big build.

[anon52719744]

I am in love with your city

[Ovis]

I have to say, I don’t agree with everything you post of the forums , but this I do 100%.

Nothing wrong with people building how they do of course but if/when I build my city (way way in the future) I’m gonna be like a facist, a theme to stick to, if I think that person can build better I’ll tell them that and help if needed, but it 100% depends how people wanna play. And the game needs settlements that are fully individual where people can go and build what they want

Edit: I got drunker throughout writing that, so haven’t proof read it

[georgegroeg]

So is it okay for me to build one of these in your city…?

Lol just kidding. My Uncle actually did a lot of the work on these old cottages in Grimsby Ontario. All the houses are crazy like this.

[Goblinounours]

TBH, I don’t know how things work in US or Canadian cities.
In France, they try to enforce the aesthetic rule described above.
I live in Tours, and some parts of the city are quite old. I’d guess several centuries easily.

I personally now live in a building which was built in 2004, but I grew up North of Paris in a house built roughly 1.5 century ago for the sister of George Clemenceau.
What’s the point of me saying that?
I don’t knooooooow!

[georgegroeg]

All those houses/cottages are now heritage homes and can’t be changed or ripped down.

[Goblinounours]

< giggles >
Good thing there’s no beacon fuel in real-life, immaright?

[Kelmat]

I prefer to make my builds with a certain aesthetic in mind. Generally more natural colors in a loosely medieval/renaissance style. Our group tends to have similar architecture and colors but adds variety to the shades with a splash of color here and there but no really bright colors.

I do love the showcase cities with everything together, such as on Eresho but when not kept up this can turn into the Cephonex Mericka PS hub area which is a disaster, IMO.

I also totally agree with you on the platforms. I’ll give the functional ones used for hunts a pass but I wish the floating malls would’ve been built at ground level and the huge lake builds helped you get out of the water in more places.

[VerucaKatt]

My buildings tend to run very modern or something you’d find in a Marrakesh Suq, but I try to build them into the existing terrain, with minimal geoscaping. Same with roads, but I also try to place those so they will be level as possible for as long a distance as possible. I tend to fill the “yards” around the builds with plants, boulders and grass from other worlds. My current build has one of those “Night Gardens” with the luminous plants inside it (there are a couple of pics on the Discord).

[Sterbehilfe]

so far I’m the only one who chose “other”. Here’s why:

I see building in this game as a form of personal art. To me, art is a giant question mark. Art doesn’t have a set definition in its own form. Art is different through everyone’s eyes.

Say there’s a black and white painting of oddly shaped squares with shading and angles in the seemingly wrong spots. Some people will see that as a masterpiece. And some will see it as garbage.

How you look at your own building as art, may be different to someone else. Do whatever you feel is best through your eyes and feelings. There might be other opinions of course, but, if you feel it is to your liking through your hard work and your eyes, then who is to tell you it’s wrong?

[Kelmat]

Totally agree with you. I would never say that someone’s ideas on art are wrong just because I think those ideas are ugly.

[Ovis]

Check out Bath in England… They’ve stuck to a theme and its paid off. The hardcore players live there with all the money and the plot owners get plenty of footfall