Hello there, ladies and gents!  As we wind down the year and approach 2016, it's time I announced two things.  In 2016, as some of you know, Week in Review will be reinvented and expanded to include more categories.  In addition, there will be a special episode titled 'Year in Review', where I will award the best structures, terraforming, and organic work of the year.

Because of these two things, in conjunction with The Binding of Isaac, I haven't found any time to write a blog for the guidebook contest here on PMC.  My idea was far too ambitious to complete in 3 weeks with my current workload.  I know some of you must be disappointed, but on the other hand I'm leaving the door open for somebody else to win this one.  I'm not that greedy.  :P

But, nevertheless, let's talk about the best projects of the week.

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When it comes to submarine, Rapture-esque, ocean trench utopias, I’m always on board.  And it just so happens that the best structure of the week is Koris - An Underwater Utopia, created by Everbloom Studios.



There’s something strangely captivating about builds like this.  Maybe it’s just the break from the norm of the all too common atmospheric metropolis.  But I like to think that underwater cities are an eerily cyclical play on life’s evolutionary journey.  We started in the ocean, migrated to land, and then returned once more.  Only in this case, instead of dolphins, it’s a massive colony of architectural wonder.



The structural diversity of Koris is quite impressive in and of itself.  The buildings and skyscrapers come in a variety of shapes and forms, with a highly fluid building style.  There’s a lot of asymmetry here, which indicates to me that this was created with hard work, rather than just MCedit.  Or maybe just a massive team of builders.  That usually helps.



But there’s also a dark ambience present here.  The copper tones of the architecture, combined with the flocks of ocean animals, culminating with the massive, cybernetic, mutant fish monstrosity give this map a lot of character.

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We’ve seen a lot of mega terrains this year on PMC.  However, the one thing I have yet to see is something that truly transcends the idea of a giant-scale terraforming project.  I ask you, is there anything more incredible, in the world of terraforming, than the sheer idea of Mt. Everest?  Indeed, because the best terraforming of the week is Mt Everest, created by Europua.



In the world of structures, it’s quite common to see recreations of real-world architecture.  However, when it comes to terraforming, it’s not that common to see recreations of real-world mountain ranges.  Perhaps it’s just the difficulty of recreating something globular and non-uniform.



But Europua, with the assistance of Imbilio, apparently doesn’t agree with that.  These two undertook the greatest terrain reconstruction I’ve ever seen on PMC.  Not just a superimposed map of Europe; I’m talking about the highest-reaching mountain range in existence.  Truth be told, I don’t know how one would go about doing this.  I suppose WorldPainter might have helped, but still.



The peaks and ridges are all spot-on, and the rough, snow-covered inclines are beautifully realistic.  There’s nothing quite that complex about this map.  It’s the pure simplicity and precision that elevates Mt Everest above the competition (no pun intended).  Speaking of which, I’m amazed that someone was able to create the tallest mountain ever within the bounds of Minecraft’s 256 block height limit.



This is about as majestic a terrain you’ll find here on PMC.  It’s a truly remarkable feat, and one that I hope to see further built upon in the future.

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The best organic work of the week happens to come in the form of a city.  I know, that’s not something you’d expect.  Typically cities fall into the structure category, but to be fair this is not a typical city.  And that city would be Silvadera - The Organic Citadel, created by MrBatou.



Silvadera is not composed of rigid scaffolding and the like.  This city is composed of swirling, bulbous shapes of all forms and sizes.  At first glance, it almost blends into the soft jungle terrain around it.  That’s because Silvadera is, more or less, a city covered in a thick canopy of trees.



It’s pretty hard to classify a project like this.  Really, it’s kind of an amalgamation of structures, terraforming and organic work.  But, in the end, the structures are merely an illusion.  It’s more a piece of organic work, disguised as a structure.



The array of earthy colors, combined with a prevalence of arches, spiral roofing, and natural curves creates one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen.  It’s got a style and theme all it’s own, and it sports some spectacular organic figures as well.



Silvadera isn’t just a city, nor is it just a piece of organic work.  It’s an environment, expertly crafted and impeccably decorated.  It’s a city and an ecosystem, blended together so well that it’s hard to determine which one it’s trying to be more.  But the truth is that it’s neither.

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Thanks for stopping by!  If you enjoyed your time here, please don't forget to toss me a diamond.  And don't forget to check out the map creators as well.  See you guys next week!