On Hold Moria East Gate

[aVeryAngryBadger]

\( ꒪Д꒪)ノ - + - Moria East Gate - + - (　ﾟДﾟ)＜!!


Project Lead: @aVeryAngryBadger
Project Co-Lead: @rwyland
Project Staff: @DoctorDaom


Ok, it's a revamp. Are you not entertained?! ​

OVERALL PROGRESS AND STATE
Approximate Overall Progress Percentage: 0%
Current Progress State: Planning and concept development


This project is a rebuild + development of Moria's East Gate, from the end of the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm, up to the East Gate and including the outside of the gate in front of the Mirrormere. This project will therefore take place in /moria and /world - two projects for the price of one! Bargain!

Why revamp this area?
- It's very old and needs a bit of TLC, especially the outside of the Gate.
- It has a lot of potential for development! Good bones, as they say.
- It is an iconic location in both the book and film, and an explorer's last impression of Moria.
- It's not a mining project.
- It's as far away from West Gate as we can get (jk, we love you Daom).


What should East Gate look like?
This is the point at which the dwarves discovered the cave system under the mountain, the entry point and the beginning of their excavations and building of Moria. It is therefore the oldest part of Moria, including the First Hall. Despite the age of East Gate, it was in use for longer than West Gate, after that trade hub fell out of use due to the fall of Eregion.

We want to build upon the idea that the dwarves were exploring a system of caves by introducing natural cave elements and passages, which they would then expand to suit their needs.

Despite Tolkien writing relatively little about Moria, we do have some descriptive elements to help us shape the area of East Gate. Parts of the fellowship's path to Gate and the First Hall are described in the chapter 'The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm' in The Fellowship of the Ring:

"They stumbled wildly up the great stairs beyond the door... At the top was a wide echoing passage. Along this they fled."
"The light grew before them; great shafts pierced the roof.... They passed into a hall, bright with daylight from its high windows in the east. They fled across it. Through it its huge broken doors they passed, and suddenly before them the Great Gates opened, an arch of blazing light."
"There was a guard of orcs crouching in the shadows behind the great door-posts towering on either side, but the gates were shattered and cast down."
"Out of the Gates they ran and sprang down the huge and age-worn steps, the threshold of Moria."

And from the Appendices:
"..the Dwarves saw the gate of their ancient mansions upon the hillside..."

We know that orcs were in this area, so we will include a orc nests and structures, developing the style established in Movie Cave.


Areas
The development of East Gate will include two districts, currently named Embassy District and Trade District. Each will have functions and their names imply and small residential districts.

This allows us to break the project into 3 stages after the initial planning: First Hall and Passage, Embassy District, Trade District.

Here is a rough concept of what the area could look like (please note this is not to scale and is subject to change, there is no money back guarantee):

Building - Things we need to consider:

RP Regions! - The outside of East Gate currently suffers from a limited block palette, being built in rp L as this road approached Lothlorien. A solution would be the build the external elements of the gate in either rp H or D, and move the region change to nearer to the forest itself.

Ruining! - Keen to avoid the heartbreak often associated with ruining beautifully built halls, this project will be 'envisaged ruined'. A key part of the design and building process will be to determine how elements will be ruined.

Biscuits for Builders! - Needs no elaboration.


Work/Jobs/Plots available
This project will have a range of work available, from simple tasks to complicated builds, so there should be an opportunity for everyone to get involved regardless of building skill.
There will be structures both large and small, interiors, terrain, and detailing available, so hopefully something for every interest or specialty as well.

In the last year alone building in rp d has become considerably easier, thanks to the hard work of our developers and texturers, so we look forward to introducing new builders to the style.

We currently have a warp in freebuild called /warp MoriaEastGate where we will be doing a large portion of the building and invite all team and non-team members to contribute concepts to this area.



Some Inspiration: