City Hub

[Robert The Rebuilder]

Ok - how about this: When the player has finished dialing up the shell number, they press the fourth button. They hear the whirring of massive machinery all around them; when the sound stops, a door slides open, and inside a hidden alcove is a pedestal containing the linking book to the shell. Sort of like the Nexus, except on a larger scale: imagine a ring of pedestals circling the map room just beyond its wall. Only one pedestal/book is visible at a time.

[Art/Programming spoiler: actually, there will just be one pedestal/book. You'll just be led to believe there are 440 pedestals out there...]

[Starfyre]

I like it. Kinda like an early version of the Uru Nexus.

[The Enlightened]

Once again I am sorry I have been gone. Mostly been spending time with my neigbors, as well as recovery. But I was able to get out a crude idea for the inside could be like. I was thought an almost cathedrale like aura could have a stunning effect. But I must admit, this in not up to par. I am hoping to have a better sketch soon, but here is it anyway...

[J'anim Paedet]

I'm afraid I can't see your image. Am I the only one?

Edit: I can see it now. Thanks!

[Besharen]

I can see it fine.

[J'anim Paedet]

Looks nice. If you want, I can whip up a rough version on 3DS MAx and see how it works with the rest of the Hub.

[The Enlightened]

I though it would go we with the style of architecture we seem to be creating. Any more suggestions would be nice.

[Aloys]

Not bring back an old issue, but do we know exactly what is inside all those buildings? (beside the concept art TE just brought)
Ideas were: a large map of the city, a book or two to the nexus, space for art exhibits (paitings, books, sculptures etc), registry(ies) of all the city 'citizens', rest areas.. And I am probably forgetting some more.

Once we have determined what we want in those buildings, it'll be easier to finish them and to place those missing stairs.

[J'anim Paedet]

I've been thinking about this problem, and even drew a few quick design layouts that might work. I'm no artist, so I'm not going to upload any of that work, but I'll try to describe my idea. Understand that as of right now the Hub you've all seen is slightly different than the current version. If I can, I'll upload a couple images demonstrating what I'm talking about, but I'm working off a dialup modem, so bear with me...

I was thinking that the top floor (the one with the artistic centerpiece, tree-thing, etc.) would be the "art gallary" of the city, with pictures, images, etc. framed on the walls, somewhat similar in concept to Myst Library. The top floor is the smaller of the two, and I'm not sure what else would fit there.

The lower level now has four water canals covered over with glass (making them walkable), which meet in the center of the room in a hexagon. I was thinking each of the four sections could be devoted to different things; for example, one of the sections would have benches for sitting on and listening to announcments, events, etc., another section could contain a large, wall-mounted map of Rehkh with labels and zoning directions, and, since there are docks outside the walls of the hub, perhaps one section could be devoted to boat repair and docking? Assuming, of course, that boats are even part of the city any more.

Any of this sounding about right? The main problem remaining is that it still doesn't allow room for stairs!

[Besharen]

Wow, that sounds really interesting, and I think it would work well.