This didn't end up as an actual Compass Rose--it went through a lot of changes of concept, so it's done, but I don't know what the hell it is. :P Feel free to Download it for a tour. If you decide to use it on a server or think of things to add/change about it, please credit me and drop me a link so I can check it out!

This was a really long build I worked on a couple months ago, so a short description won't quite do it...

Build Development:

It started out from a screenshot Hex_xeh posted to the Orion server chat area for feedback on where to go with it. He went on to create an awesome tradepost with it.

I saw something a little more Roman-style, and decided to try it out on a Flatworld map back in 1.2.1 (Creative, no mods, no WE, no MCEdit, no nothin').

I started building out from the tree, first in a circle, but that didn't look right. I decided on an oval shape, but couldn't get it to look quite right trial-and-error, so I put the whole thing pixel-by-pixel into paint and planned out the inner and outer ovals. At this point, I was going for a Roman Courtyard feel, but after some bored sketching during class, I wanted to make it look like a compass rose from above, possibly as some sort of visual marker for a map.

I marked out places for the inner columns, built them, and began on the roofing. After experimenting with different looks, one corner of the inner roof was done, I started working on the doors. Those doors are probably my favorite part of the build. :)

I finished the inner roof and began working backwards for the outer roof. I played with the shape/dimensions/contours of the compass points at least 4 different times, each time having to re-do the roof. It took a long time of trial-and-error to get something I liked. I even played with the end of the points actually curling back towards the courtyard.

Figuring out what to do with all the insides was probably the most challenging thing (with the most frustrating being the roofs). I really like how the foyers ended up. The halls I didn't know much what to do with. In the World Save file download you can see some of my recent experiments, but none really stuck out enough to implement throughout.

After most of the insides were done, I looked at what I had built and thought it good--lol, no I thought I needed to do something with the center area, it was all open air and looked weird with the other areas roofed off, so I played with yet more roofing options and combinations. After that roof was done, I kept trying to think of what to do with the space in between entrances on the outside, but after experimenting with garden-ish things and fountains and statues, it still wasn't right, so I destroyed it all (including a nearby village I very nearly ran into with the build).

So there it is!

Started: Feb 29, 2012
Finished-ish: March 17, 2012