I Built an EPIC Castle in Valheim's Ashlands

[@jjthebuilder]

The man is back.

[@smittysurvival]

You've inspired me to return JJ

[@jjthebuilder]

@@smittysurvival aaaahw flattery will get you everywhere.

[@Centinym]

I'd like to trade your castle for this gummy bear I found under the couch. It's vintage.

[@smittysurvival]

Deal - Where do I sign?

[@Centinym]

@@smittysurvival On the gummy bear - adds to the value.

[@trooper5987]

you really have a gift for designing stuff man.. take advantage of that in life

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Guess that's why I decided to start a KZbin Channel lol. Appreciate the support!

[@IvyMike.]

Nice one mate, I always trust you to break Valheim's optimisations, not a PC problem.

[@smittysurvival]

Haha maybe a bit of both! I do hope they continue to optimize it though. Ashlands do seem to struggle more than other Biomes.

[@circleofowls]

I love the Frostner detail in the flames, it really makes sense that you'd need something to keep you cool in the Ashlands, It'd be the perfect counter-point to the Mountain biome.

[@AllForTheBetter]

I watched your log cabin video two years ago and just rewatched it as I’m getting back into Valheim myself. Then, coming to your channel and watching your latest video, it’s awesome to see the progress and support you’ve gained. Keep up the good work!

[@sarah4and10]

As always so beautiful and very well presented! I love all your work and your videos.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you so much Sarah! So glad to hear you like the content! Really appreciate the support! :)

[@trathanstargazer6421]

Damn that looks good! Once again inspiring my builds and to think differently. Only thing I would add is that the shield gens next to the gate need a little more reinforcing sense these are weak points. Maybe a raised platform for ballistas with the one at the damaged gate looking like fast repairs were done to the generator building sense they are so important.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Glad you liked it! Totally valid on the shield generators. Probably need to beef up the defenses around those spots since they're so important.

[@goldenvalkyrie7142]

Wow, very cool build! Wish they had structures similar to this in the game!

[@ValheimEmpire]

Would be really great to stumble upon this in game. And other builds throughout the biomes. Whether its a village, island base or even a tree house. Gives me inspiration to build more on my base. Keep up the great content

[@Member3285]

It's tough to beat Valheim's building features. Enshrouded gave it a good college go, but it was more fad than function. Glad you're back in Valheim, SmittySurvival!

[@smittysurvival]

Yessssss. It's like coming home after a long time away and realizing how you missed it! Valheim just FEELS great to build in. Enshrouded can yield some great results, but it never necessarily felt great building in it, if that makes sense... Still has potential but I think some things need to be tweaked around.

[@xSTONYTARKx]

I have not had a snack and a drink in a while! Let's get into it! Love your build as always!

[@smittysurvival]

Ha! Well it's good we got you snacked up and hydrated again! Thank you though! Appreciate the support!

[@michaelbird9148]

Awesome build! I like the restraint in your build - really highlights those smaller, intricate features.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! You actually picked up on something that's I really try to keep in mind when building - It's a bit of a goldilock zone where you want it design it to look nice, but not overdesign it where it loses focus or is too busy. Great eye and understanding of building you have! 👌

[@michaelbird9148]

@@smittysurvival Yeah, I hear that. I think it's easy to be bombastic. The one fortunate thing about Valheim's poor optimization is that thinking about instances forces choices. What I like about your approach is you have a concept and story that guides the build to help ground it.

[@kosmos0123]

我喜歡你的每一個建築，非常漂亮。

[@smittysurvival]

謝謝。很開心你喜歡！

[@muhammadsaad5660]

Yet another impressive build. Keep it up smitty.

[@smittysurvival]

Thanks so much! Appreciate the support!

[@PankajKumar-yw5rv]

I have been waiting so long for your valheim video....A beautiful castle. Keep it up smitty.

[@smittysurvival]

Yes it's been too long but feels great being back! Glad to see you stuck around and glad you liked this one! More to come!

[@AstridSinjesdottir]

The inside areas are not super fancy? Are you kidding?? They are amazing! You let us waiting too long to see you building with the new pieces. But it was worth waiting for it! I built in meadows and swamp because of the FPS drops in Ashlands. Hope to see you building with the new pieces in other bioms soon!

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Oh I'm super excited to take these pieces to other biomes! I think they work in so many different ways and I'm only just scratching the surface!

[@austinattack]

you are so frickin creative!!!! this is amazing. welcome back!!

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Appreciate the support!

[@LilNom]

You and your builds are a blessing to the world of creative Valheim. 😭 Btw have you ever thought of making the cinematics part with many people? I see this fortress and I can't help but imagine how cool it would look like to utilize the new catapult and ram for a raid/war cinematics.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you so much! Yes, I have absolutely thought about this. Will definitely be something I try in the future. I think making a short film in Valheim would be a cool project

[@mortanos8938]

Hi Smitty, long time no speak. I only just started with Valheim again yesterday since a year. I'm current5ly working on a a Black Pyramid in the Ashlands. Another impressive build by you 🙂

[@smittysurvival]

Hi Friend! Great to hear from you again! Lots of new things to try so a great time to get back into Valheim. Hope you're well!

[@mortanos8938]

@@smittysurvival I broke 4 bones in my left foot, so I am very well because I have lots and lots of time for Valheim 😆

[@devrossik]

Gorgeous build, Smitty! You never disappoint, and I've frequently used some of your ideas to enhance my own builds. Say, I noticed that you didn't use any of the *exceptional* grausten roof pieces. Why not? They're *so* easy to work with. :-D

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! I'm glad I can give some inspiration! Lol is that hint of sarcasm I sense? Yeah no new roofing this time around but will definitely experiment with them more in the future.

[@marie9814]

zje video I didn'z know I was waiting for. Yay, you are my favorite Valheim builder.

[@smittysurvival]

Haha! So glad I could slip into your algorithm! You're too kind :) so many great builders out there.

[@chrishaugh1655]

Alright Mr. Smitty. I want more Ashlands builds please!

[@Opferlamm113]

welcome back, Smitty!

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Good to see you still around :)

[@robincalhoun8711]

Amazing build 🎉 the details are beautiful. Thank you for the hatd work.

[@TheTangyapple]

above and beyond every time

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Feels good being back in Valheim! Appreciate the support!

[@sharanlikesushi]

I was hoping you'd make a dome over the top of your staircase. Would have looked nice :)

[@kongvealsurvives]

Glad to have you back in Valheim. I've missed your builds. And this one didn't disappoint! Amazing as always. I always love how you come up with a story for your builds. I need to do that more to help my builds. How many instances did this build end up with (if you don't mind me asking)?

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Great to see you back in the comments again! Yes, story is so important for any project - it informs so many of the decisions you make! This project I think ended up around 15-16K. Ashlands seem to be pretty tough on the PC though. Hopefully it'll improve in the future!

[@kongvealsurvives]

@@smittysurvival I certainly hope so. I'm sure they will do some optimization before too long.

[@hdhorus1138]

Amazing as always

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it

[@had_fun_once]

This is a beautiful castle. I always enjoy building fortresses in games, but the level of detail you put into yours far outstrips anything I could offer. It's hard for me to visualize intricate details in my designs so they look quite cardboard in comparison.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! I totally understand how large castles and fortresses can be tricky. Don't let the video fool you, even I struggle with these builds at different portions. You basically just see the final decisions that I like, there's a lot time in between where I'm questioning what to do next haha.

[@t7j]

Oh man that is beautiful and som great ideas.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! If you’re brave enough the Ashlands can yield some good results!

[@NinaOilily]

wow just wow !

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you!

[@frostrichgaming]

Absolutely incredible!! Out of curiosity what was your instance count on this build? My pc really seems to struggle with anything over 13k. I noticed that certain biomes have a much higher instance count than others. So the f2 menu is always open before I start building. 😅 Keep up the amazing work, can't wait for the next video!

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! I think my instance count was maybe around 16K on this one. I do have a decently strong PC -Normally I can go a bit higher in other biomes (I've been upwards of 20K+ in other biomes with less going on and been okay), but Ashlands does seem to struggle a little more than other areas. Hopefully more optimization in the future! Appreciate the support though! More on the way!

[@devrossik]

Instance count matters, but it's a lesser part of the equation. It mostly affects the time to load an area of the world when you first arrive. Once the area is rendered, the instance count matters much less. Smitty identified the real issue in the Ashlands --- lighting and particle effects. There are constant fires, mists, smokes, and embers in every direction. Plus, the Ashlands has a high instance of moving mobs, many of which are on fire, have glowing embers, or other particle effects. The shields don't help, either. That's the real impact on frame rates. If your computer is struggling, you might try turning the settings down a bit.

[@andredemenech]

Man... This is crazy

[@RafaelChaves-ly2ol]

Ese men esta solo en construccion que crack !!

[@christinenicole3491]

Red hot! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Except the papyrus!

[@smittysurvival]

Bahaha! I was wondering if someone would call that out 🤣

[@marcoslourenco8496]

Love this, the castle is amazing, but it’s unplayable because of the FPS issues. I always focus on improving FPS during builds.

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Yeah it does seem like FPS takes some pretty significant hits in Ashlands. Hopefully more optimization in the future!

[@yasaitheshobji]

Probably gonna melt my computer but I'll still try something like this

[@Calcadaportuguesa]

How does the third floor stands? Eventho you put pillars, it seems like too heavy. How did you make it work?

[@bidet1515]

woaw ! how long it take you to build all this ?

[@chanl3004]

I downloaded this map, but i can't remove the wooden planks inside the houses on the ground if i want to decorate the houses. I tried using axe and hammer and nothing will take them away, how do i remove them

[@michalug919]

Has your framerate increased after latest game update?

[@sokolev1]

Is this the ashlands ambience?

[@antoninleopold2910]

Wow

[@JohnSmith-kz7rd]

epic

[@smittysurvival]

Thank you! Appreciate the support!

[@chanl3004]

helo, can help me, i download map and i cant use it

[@tamaskiszi7487]

Blud says the walls can be instance heavy - *proceeds to build CUSTOM spiral staircase with heckin lot of instances*. Absolutely silly guy

[@emirhan9572]

Bu oyunda senden iyi inşaatcı yok

[@jackstod]

If you did this without mods id understand all the people being impressed but... 🤷‍♂️ more like ruin than castle.

[@g3toutth3way]

Hey, are you on Discord??

[@HandyHanderson]

It'd be a lot more impressive without the help of mods. That way you'd know anyone can make it.