It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Christmas is Upon Us!
Christmas is Upon Us!
Editor's Note by mapthor
Ho, Ho, Ho. Merry Chrysler ladies and gentlemen. The chilly season is upon us and the winter events have officially begun. Truly a wonderful time to be on MCME. Now I won’t lie, there isn’t much to update you guys on this time, so I’ll keep it brief. I hope you all have an amazing holiday season and stay safe. Don’t do anything too stupid
Happy Sailing,
mapthor
~ Project Progress ~
Anduin - Lead: @Wyattrox03 | In Progress
Report by Wyattrox03
Who let the dogs out! ? ! ? And of course by dogs I mean w0rld and I being released upon the Anduin. That's right a new project, how crazy is that, 0wOw0. And like dogs being let out of my basement we have immediately taken off towards Osgiliath. In the short time we have been at it the river and the surrounding banks have now been smoothed from Harlond to Osgo, and after some rather hyped vegetation jobs from world we may have a finished stretch of river : D So keep an eye out for those and keep on trucking mcme
Anorien - Lead: @draonic slayer | In Progress
Report by draonic slayer
Time just keeps flying by, the final Village in the Pelennor is being built under the watch of Rudo with the final farm walls for the section being put up. Wyatt has also added the final trees to the southern part of terrain that was reworked. In OsgoFields, Badger is working on revamping Andrew’s fort, mixing in the newer styling and block selection.
Harlond - Lead: @Mershy | In Progress
Report by Mershy
The market blockmix has finally been put down as rwyland and co. have been racking their heads round the facade and the fort. Overall we are looking good over here, lots of plots have been given out including a cute fish market that was also recently finished. We need to continue planning as well, Orruss looking to plan the area round the bank and we have a few things to demolish also.
Lond Daer – Lead: mattlego | In Progress
Report by Mattlego
Lond Daer has seen a tremendous amount of progress recently. I believe only 3 houses remain to be built in the entire city. Ooits is working on completing the Hippodrome and Hypr is continuing work on the canals. An entirely new area has been planned out and construction has begun on it. Huge thanks to Orruss and Wyatt for starting work on this new area, it is looking great!
~ General Announcements ~
Become a Donor
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Viewing Donation Drive: Community Costs
Our Donors
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#NEWS
Winter Events:
They are in full swing with a couple having taken place, but not to worry if you've missed out you can catch the next few! Here you will be able to keep track of time and dates on events for this season!
~ Rank Updates ~
Report by Soarz9Rwyland: Don't ask we don't even know who this guy is, must be new here. But in reality congrats to him, he did an insane job as well as putting in the work needed for it! Hopefully he will put that superior green name to work and do something other then afk jump on builds.
Promotion
~ Winners of “The Week” ~
This week we have another round of amazing builds and Media posts. We only choose from the best every time, so hard work does pay off. Sometimes it can get competitive and that is what will win a place here. Please give a warm welcome to this Times, winners of this week.
MEDIA Winners:
I'll be honest, guys, I expected to see more snowy shots in the Media Winners this edition. Where are my snowy shots? That aside, hope you all are doing quite well as we approach Christmas day. It'll be a busy week for myself, but I'll pull through. Just remember when you're done slicing into the honey ham to get me a few screenshots to add to the Media Winners family. Hope you all stay warm in the coming weeks. Unless you live down south in the US, in which case, I hope you get some cold weather of some sort. Anything. Except that one blizzard we at the beginning of the year, though that was fairly cool. (edited)
Honorable Mention: The atmosphere here is very good, and it makes you wonder what the heck was going on when this shot was taken. Maybe disable rain splash particles in your settings, Firefly956. Got some good composition, though.
Honorable Mention: Gonna be honest, I don't like chromatic aberration. I've held a somewhat neutral opinion till I saw this shot from Emeryld, and now, seeing it here, I think I can safely say I flat out don't like it. It somehow manages to make blur draw attention to itself instead of directing the eye away from it by adding bright color where none is needed. But the lighting and composition of this shot were definitely good enough for it to make it to the Media Winners regardless.
Honorable Mention: Good composition and lighting, though the editing feels weird. The ground tone makes me feel like it should be near sunset, and yet the sky tone makes me think it should be the middle of the day. Shot by Givet10.
Honorable Mention: This is a very good looking bench, props to I think w0rld for making it. Liking the composition, though I think the lighting could've maybe used a bit more shadow on the bench. Leaves on the right are a hair distracting as well, but the rest comes together very well.
Honorable Mention: Hey, if I had to choose a way to go, I'd go with a book in my hands too. Composition feels a bit off, think the tomb should've been moved higher in the shot (perhaps to the center), but the lighting and tone both work pretty well here. Shot by _deniz.
Honorable Mention: Fairly cool Edhellond shot from Firefly956. Pretty basic tone, perhaps not enough shadowing on the focus. Composition's good, of course, and the whole thing looks pretty smooth.
Honorable Mention: Shadows seem a bit strangely blue and bright, which I don't like, but it does manage to fit in surprisingly well with the style of the rest of the shot. I know another Edhellond shot already made it to the Media Winners, and it has almost the exact same angle (and more chunks loaded), but they were both for different reasons and I couldn't pick just one. This shot's tone seems more interesting. Shot by Bohemian_Beetle.
Honorable Mention: Gotta quickly say, that Bag End Update FreeBuild project is looking snazzy. If it weren't for the fact that we would pretty much have to update the whole of Eriador to get it added, I'd advocate looking into getting it on the main server. That fact aside, I really like the lighting and composition of this shot by Firefly956.
Media Winner: Shadow quality needs some work, but aside from that, I do quite like the lighting in play here. The composition and tone are good as well. Congrats, Givet!
Honorable Mention: Gonna be honest, I don't like chromatic aberration. I've held a somewhat neutral opinion till I saw this shot from Emeryld, and now, seeing it here, I think I can safely say I flat out don't like it. It somehow manages to make blur draw attention to itself instead of directing the eye away from it by adding bright color where none is needed. But the lighting and composition of this shot were definitely good enough for it to make it to the Media Winners regardless.
Honorable Mention: Good composition and lighting, though the editing feels weird. The ground tone makes me feel like it should be near sunset, and yet the sky tone makes me think it should be the middle of the day. Shot by Givet10.
Honorable Mention: This is a very good looking bench, props to I think w0rld for making it. Liking the composition, though I think the lighting could've maybe used a bit more shadow on the bench. Leaves on the right are a hair distracting as well, but the rest comes together very well.
Honorable Mention: Hey, if I had to choose a way to go, I'd go with a book in my hands too. Composition feels a bit off, think the tomb should've been moved higher in the shot (perhaps to the center), but the lighting and tone both work pretty well here. Shot by _deniz.
Honorable Mention: Fairly cool Edhellond shot from Firefly956. Pretty basic tone, perhaps not enough shadowing on the focus. Composition's good, of course, and the whole thing looks pretty smooth.
Honorable Mention: Shadows seem a bit strangely blue and bright, which I don't like, but it does manage to fit in surprisingly well with the style of the rest of the shot. I know another Edhellond shot already made it to the Media Winners, and it has almost the exact same angle (and more chunks loaded), but they were both for different reasons and I couldn't pick just one. This shot's tone seems more interesting. Shot by Bohemian_Beetle.
Honorable Mention: Gotta quickly say, that Bag End Update FreeBuild project is looking snazzy. If it weren't for the fact that we would pretty much have to update the whole of Eriador to get it added, I'd advocate looking into getting it on the main server. That fact aside, I really like the lighting and composition of this shot by Firefly956.
Media Winner: Shadow quality needs some work, but aside from that, I do quite like the lighting in play here. The composition and tone are good as well. Congrats, Givet!
THEME-BUILD Winners
We had two insane theme these past few weeks, with that we had some that stand out. Take a look and if you wanna be on this list next edition participate in the theme-builds for a change to be on it!
Paths of the Dead
Mysterious Tower on Hill Top
~ Lore of the Week ~
Strange Beginnings: Part II
When J.R.R. Tolkien began writing a 'sequel to The Hobbit' at the behest of his publisher, he never dreamed that it would become the sprawling romantic fantasy epic that it did. It was intended simply to be another light-hearted hobbit adventure; but of course it grew into something much, much more. However, like The Hobbit, this sequel went through many changes before becoming what we now recognise as The Lord of the Rings. The progression of drafts and changes are documented in Volumes VI - IX of The History of Middle-earth. Here we'll discuss some of the early concepts, characters, names, and events that were later changed, and may seem quite foreign to us now.
In the first drafts of 'A Long-expected Party', it was Bilbo himself who was to go off and have more adventures. Tolkien made notes that he was to go with three of his Took nephews: Odo, Frodo, and Drogo. They were to walk all night toward the East to Rivendell, with 'only a small bag of money', and have adventures which were 'troll-like'. Instead of Tom Bombadil, Bilbo would encounter a 'witch-house on the way to Rivendell'.
Tolkien then began to wonder about possible motives for Bilbo's adventures. Initially, he ascribed this to Bilbo's 'dragon-longing', a desire to seek out more dragon gold and once again see a live dragon. At one point, Tolkien mused about having a dragon actually come to Hobbiton! But then a curious thought occurred: what if Bilbo's goal was to return the ring he had acquired? It was this thought, of course, that would eventually change the nature of the story altogether, but not before other changes were made.
In the next drafts, it was not Bilbo who would set off to Rivendell, but another hobbit named Bingo (who would later become Frodo). Bingo was initially Bilbo's son, for Bilbo had married! But this was then changed to Bilbo's nephew, Bingo Bolger-Baggins. Bingo left for Rivendell with his cousins Odo and Drogo Took, and Frodo Brandybuck (later changed to Marmaduke - a name Tolkien thankfully discarded).
When they arrived at Bree, they stayed at the inn of Barnabus Butterbur (later changed to Barliman). But perhaps the most striking character in these early drafts is the Ranger that Bingo meets in Bree. He was not the man called Strider that we know, but was instead a hobbit; and he was called Trotter, because of the clopping sound that he made when walking across Middle-earth wearing loud, wooden shoes!
There are many other notable differences in Tolkien's first drafts: the Rohirrim were called the Rohiroth, the White Mountains were instead the Black Mountains, and Gondor was named Ondor. But more striking than these unfamiliar names was the fact that Gandalf was not imprisoned by Saruman at Orthanc; instead, he was held captive in Fangorn forest by the evil Giant Treebeard, who was in league with the Enemy!
As can be seen, the development of Tolkien's stories can often hold many surprises. Tolkien's early drafts at times bear only a passing resemblance to the final versions with which we’re familiar. I encourage any reader of his works to further explore the curious and fascinating stages of development found in the volumes of The History of Middle-earth and The History of The Hobbit, and see for yourself what other surprises await!
Presented by: ExeterKered
~ Question of the Week ~
This Week's Question:
In early drafts of The Lord of the Rings, why did the Ranger Trotter wear wooden shoes?
Question:
In what publication can we find the early drafts (and the later beginnings of a rewrite) of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit?
Correct Answer:
The History of The Hobbit, edited by John D. Rateliff
Winner:
No one! That’s right. No one answered the question. Not even @HoverKing.
In what publication can we find the early drafts (and the later beginnings of a rewrite) of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit?
Correct Answer:
The History of The Hobbit, edited by John D. Rateliff
Winner:
No one! That’s right. No one answered the question. Not even @HoverKing.
Presented by: ExeterKered
~ More Media ~
You know us, we love sharing our progress and Twitter is the perfect place. Give us a good follow and always have something to look forward to on your daily scroll. Just to spice it up, comment your favorite parts of our builds at MinecraftMiddleEarth (@MCMiddleEarth) | Twitter. You won't be disappointed!
Sometimes you just want to enjoy some quality pictures, we got you covered. Head on over to our Facebook account, try following us there too Minecraft Middle-Earth
It doesn't matter if you just woke up or after a busy day at work; scrolling through Instagram and seeing a cool project you have worked on, or just amazing graphics from your favorite server on your favorite game- MCME's Instagram is the right place to be. Check it out at mcmiddleearth on Instagram, or this perfectly good link to take you straight there.
But of course, the most important and obviously most used social network is of course Planet Minecraft! Be sure to give us a diamond there. It costs nothing! Minecraft Middle Earth Minecraft Server
~ Closing Statement ~
Make sure to gift your online friends some Steam games, they make for wonderful presents
Great job for the Times Team, who did what they had to do, great job!
Quote from Regis Lucis Caelum CXI
“A king cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back. That said, a king can accept nothing without first accepting himself.”
The Official MCME Times
mcmiddleearth.com
Make sure to gift your online friends some Steam games, they make for wonderful presents
Great job for the Times Team, who did what they had to do, great job!
Quote from Regis Lucis Caelum CXI
“A king cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back. That said, a king can accept nothing without first accepting himself.”
The Official MCME Times
mcmiddleearth.com
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