Tutorials - Hogwarts Castle, Learn how to construct Hogwarts in RCT2! Options

[Professor Dumble... Professor Dumbledore View Member Profile]

Oh my goodness gracious... I knew I'd forgotten something, only I couldn't remember what it was I'd forgotten. I'm sincerely grateful that one of the newer students sent me an owl reminding me that I had promised to post a few tutorials on how to use the RCT2 custom Harry Potter scenery.

While some of these may be simple lessons, I wanted to cover the basics of how to assemble the Hogwarts Castle as it was originally constructed/intended. By following these lessons you'll be able to discover how the pieces were designed to be used. Of course, many ingenious students have already discovered many alternate uses to these pieces, but this is how they all began.

Lesson #1: The Boathouse
Rather simple, really, the Hogwarts Boathouse consists of 2 large scenery pieces that should be stacked on on top of the other. The roof may be rotated 180 degrees and works in both directions (for the tower to be in front or toward the back). Using the proper footpaths around the building, along with barrel and crate scenery pieces, you can recreate the docks and boathouse:

 Tutorial1_detail.jpg ( 75.2K ) Number of downloads: 211
 Tutorial1_complete.jpg ( 98.39K ) Number of downloads: 212

Lesson #2: The Great Hall
The great hall is made up of 4 pieces total (3 for the hall itself and 1 for the antechamber). The three hall pieces stack one on top of the other and should be raised slightly off the ground (clearance of 2) to properly offset to the antechamber, which is placed in front:

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 Tutorial2_detail2.jpg ( 53.61K ) Number of downloads: 105
 Tutorial2_complete.jpg ( 88.07K ) Number of downloads: 171

Up next... The Great Tower...

[Professor Dumble... Professor Dumbledore View Member Profile]

Lesson #3: The Great Tower
The Great Tower is immediately adjacent to the Great Hall. There is are a few custom pieces (that need to be placed on the bottom and top) though several others are interchangeable and may be swapped out in the center. The arch (to the side) connects the Great Tower to the Classrooms (Lesson #4) and there are two versions of the arch - one with the railing built on it and one without a railing, which allows you to put a path directly onto the arch. There are 4 pieces to assemble the tower roof:

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 Tutorial3_complete.jpg ( 89.34K ) Number of downloads: 96

Lesson #4: The Classrooms
This is where it starts to get a little tricky. There are several different base pieces (#1-#4 in the screenshot) and one roof that goes on all of them (#9) There are also two end/edge pieces (#5 for a corner that has a longer/extending wall & #6 for a corner that does not extend at all) and two different end/edge roofs (#7 & #8). There is a custom end piece to allow the arch (from the Great Tower) to attach to this section of buildings (#12) and matching roof (#13). The two rooftop towers are completed using small scenery objects from the Towers tab (Note: there is some overlay from where the tower caps stack on the classroom walls; stack as low as you can - do not raise it up)

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 Tutorial4_complete1.jpg ( 96.2K ) Number of downloads: 100
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Up next... Main Building/Keep...

[Professor Dumble... Professor Dumbledore View Member Profile]

Note: Starting with Lesson #5, many of the pieces do not appear to have "flat" tops to them; instead the pattern continues upward. While the clearance is set properly on the pieces, due to some overlapping issues, it worked better to not put a flat color top on these. The bonus: you can use the extending pattern to help you identify which pieces can properly stack one on top of the other.

Lesson #5: The Main Building/Keep Entrance:
Three pieces (#1-3) combine to create the front entrance. (A zig-zag path across the chasm connects this entrance to the entrance of the Great Hall.) This part is pretty straightforward. Once the entrance is built extend the two side wings (#4 & 5) by at least 3 tiles wide on each side. There are two end towers for on either end of the wings; pieces #6 and #7 on the right and #8 and #9 on the left. The columns go to the inside (so the round edge of the tower faces outward).

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 Tutorial5_complete.jpg ( 119.73K ) Number of downloads: 105

Lesson #6: The Main Building Classrooms & Tower:
If you successfully assembled the previous classrooms, these should be as simple as any basic jinx or charm spell. There are three basic base pieces (#1-3): windowed, archeway, and stairs, and one basic roof (#4). There are two end pieces; one without a stained glass window (#5) and one with a window (#7). Each end has a corresponding roof piece to finish it off (#6 and #8 respectively). Use these pieces to build adjacent and parallel wings next to the Entrance wings created in Lesson #5. Leave a 3x3 space in the center (behidn the Entrance 2x3 block):

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 Tutorial6_detail2.jpg ( 119.73K ) Number of downloads: 57

Next, in the 3x3 space you left between the two new wings, stack objects #9-#14 to create the central tower. There is significant overlap on these pieces so make sure there is no additional space (or gaps) between them. They must stack tightly on top of one another. Once the tower is completed, use Pieces 1-4 to build another wing off the tower, making a "T" shape. Finish the wing with pieces #15 and #16 (to connect yet another wing on the end) and add the back entrance using #17-#19 to make the taller square towers. Use the main entrance piece (#1) to put the door and steps on.

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 Tutorial6_complete.jpg ( 152.65K ) Number of downloads: 86

Up next... Classrooms and Teacher's offices...

[Professor Dumble... Professor Dumbledore View Member Profile]

Lesson #7: Even more Classrooms:
As with previous classrooms, there are several base blocks and matching roof pieces for this next section, which branches off of the end corner/intersection from Lesson #6. This time, there's a little more variety, though: One base block has no windows (#1) while the others do (#2-5). Two roofs have no windows (#6 and #7) while two other roofs do have windows (#8 and #9). Do not combine window bases with no-window roofs or it'll look odd. There is also a set of pieces to allow you to make an arch for a path to pass under. Use piece #10 to form the sides of the arch. It can be rotated and used on each side. Use roof pice #11 to finish the sides off; NOTE: you must rotate #11 so that the windows properly align. Then stack (using the SHIFT key) the center arch piece (#12) so that the roof aligns with the two sides of the archway.

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 Tutorial7_complete.jpg ( 130.92K ) Number of downloads: 66

Lesson #8: Staff Offices Tower:
Use the square 2x2 blocks (at the end of the Lesson #7 Classroom block) to make a tower of windows. Use the "B" shaped tower pieces on 2 sides and stack to the desired height. Top the square tower with piece #1. Finish off the square tower using blocks from the small object Towers Tab. Top the "B" shaped towers with piece #2. Notice that one of these towers is round and the other octoganal. Use the small tower pieces from the small object Towers Tab to complete these separately. Use the pieces from Lesson #7 to build another wing off the base.

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 Tutorial8_complete.jpg ( 65.08K ) Number of downloads: 65

Up next... the Observatory and Greenhouses...

[Professor Dumble... Professor Dumbledore View Member Profile]

Lesson #9: The Observatory:
At the end of the wing created in Lesson #8 (off the offices tower), use the observatory base and window sections (#2 and #3) to stack the tower as tall as you want it. Top it off with the platform (#4) and roof (#5).

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Lesson #10: Spruce it up with Greenhouses:
In the courtyard around the back entrance use the 5 greenhouse styles to give the students something to do in their Herbology classes:

 Greenhouses.jpg ( 123.52K ) Number of downloads: 161

Following these lessons you can build your own Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... or even your own magical academy for your RCT peeps!

I hope they're helpful! Have fun!

[Littleun View Member Profile]

I LOVE YOU FOR DOING THESE!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you sooooooo much.

Love

Littleun

[Scryptic View Member Profile]

Nice. I always wanted to learn how to use this scenery. I might make a park one day

[irukandjii View Member Profile]

thanks!!

[Darth ADLO View Member Profile]

This is awesome! i really needed a tutorial for Hogwarts


Sweet!