Total transformation…

The last two weeks I’ve been very productive, securing the keep and castle.

Before / After

The best way to show you just how much I’ve gotten done is to do a side by side comparison of my progress Labor Day to today 9/21/2020.

My focus the last few weeks has been properly securing the keep and ensuring that should the castle need to be defended it would be well prepared and secured for such and event.

Before

These were the problems I saw with the version from Labor Day

The walls and towers along the side of the castle seemed vulnerable.
No security against an army rushing the 4 gates that lead to the courtyards where the horses pasture. And from there it would easy to get into the keep.
Although the backside where the Academy sites there is a cliff wall that would be hard to climb the defenses back there didn’t seem sufficient.
There were many ways into the Keep (what I was calling the Castle Proper) but little protection beyond a door to keep invaders out.
No security against an army marching up the stairs and bursting into the throne room.

After

These issues are what I focused on the past two weeks

1. To secure the side walls, a two tower, wall, building structure was built that provides plenty of security for keeping anyone from getting past.

Secure two tower, wall, building structure on side walls

2. To better protect the upper and lower courtyards, I added a secure inner wall that spans the entire front of the castle and then an outer wall in front of that. These screenshots give you a better idea of the changes I made.

Secure inner / outer wall protecting entry to the upper and lower courtyards

Oh and surprise! I added a moat and two drawbridges on the outer wall that lead into the courtyards in front of the new inner wall 3. Cause why not? And that makes it even harder to get into the castle!

3. Securing the Academy courtyard also resulted in making those walls look more interesting. They were very boring looking to me prior to this.

Security wall around the Academy courtyard

4. Securing the Keep was done by adding a secure wall that goes around the entire keep and includes the Academy. Entry into the Keep is now barred by three sturdy secure doors added at the top of the stairs where archway’s were previously.

Screenshots below show the wall that now surrounds the keep.

Secure wall around the keep

5. Securing the front entrance to the Throne room was solved by adding a secure building in front of the throne stairs that has two gates: one for entry by a wagon with passengers, the other for the wagon to exit. There is also a front gate that allows those on foot to enter. A number of security check points are set up here to control access. See the screenshots for visualization.