A Viking has built his own village in Valheim and impressed thousands of players. MeinMMO asked him how he did it all and how long it took him for this project.
What kind of village is this? Recently, we introduced you to the project by Nevaloud, who built a small village all by himself. His idea has inspired thousands of other players because it stands out from the norm.
In Valheim, many players showcase their builds, and they often consist of huge longhouses, castles, or monuments, such as the recreated harbor of Stormwind from World of Warcraft.
With the village, Nevaloud took a different approach and built many small buildings instead of one large one. His project fits well into the idyllic atmosphere of Valheim and looks like something that could actually exist in the world, quite planned.
Some MeinMMO readers spoke up and mentioned building similar villages. We have now spoken with the creator and asked him how one actually approaches such a project.
You can find his village in his post on reddit, which has now garnered over 8,200 upvotes:
Married, 2 cats, and 250 hours in Valheim
MeinMMO: Hello and thank you for your time! First of all, a brief introduction: Who are you and how long have you been playing Valheim?
Nevaloud: My name is Nevaloud, I live in America, have been married for four years, and have two cats, Rico and Augie. I’m not quite sure when I started playing Valheim, but according to Steam, I have already played 250 hours.
MeinMMO: What have you enjoyed most during your time in the game? Can you name three things that you liked more than anything else?
Nevaloud: The ability to build in such a creative way and create your own immersion would be the first reason. Secondly, the vastness of the maps and the villages and structures that are automatically generated add a bit of mystique to the game. Thirdly: the challenge of fights as a solo player pushed me to improve my equipment and preparation. I admit, however, I had help with the bosses.
MeinMMO: Your village has been celebrated by thousands of players on reddit. How long did it take to build the small town? Did you do it alone or work with friends?
Nevaloud: This is an ongoing project. I started without a specific design in mind. The houses outside the main building store wood for the protective wall, and there are workbenches and a masonry for the road. These houses started with just a floor and a partial roof so I could use the workbenches. But I liked how it looked, so I kept it, improved it, and now they are a part of the landscape.
The main house started quite small, but I eventually needed more space for my chests and all the crafting stations. So I tore down the old one and built a similar but larger one. I did all of this myself.
“Feels a bit like an ESO outpost”
MeinMMO: Where did you find the inspiration to build an entire village?
Nevaloud: I am an avid ESO player and have been playing it for a long time. Once the small houses were set, it started to feel a bit like an ESO outpost. I think that’s where the inspiration came from.
MeinMMO: What was the biggest challenge in building your village, and how did you solve it?
Nevaloud: Definitely the main house. I didn’t use a debug mode to create anything, so I had to build a scaffold to reach the roof and construct the walls. The whole build was a challenge. I’m not sure I would do it all over again without the ability to fly in debug mode.
MeinMMO: Did you use cheats or admin commands, or did you farm all the materials yourself?
Nevaloud: Now that I’ve completed the game for the time being (I hope for updates), I use spawn commands and some mods. But as tempting as they have been, I have played so far as it was intended.
“It doesn’t have to be finished in one day”
MeinMMO: If someone else wanted to build their own village, could you give three tips before they start?
Nevaloud: You don’t have to plan everything. It doesn’t have to be finished in one day; just let it come. Don’t think that you have to build something that others like. Build something that you like yourself. If it feels good, then it’s good, and if you think it needs improvements, then improve it.
MeinMMO: Framerate is a heavily discussed topic in the community. Do you experience frame drops in your village? How do you prevent the situation where you drop to 2 FPS while building?
Nevaloud: Honestly, I don’t really notice those drops. The game stutters occasionally during an autosave, but otherwise, it runs smoothly.
MeinMMO: What features do you wish to see from the developers in the future, especially regarding building options?
Nevaloud: More details for building and immersion would be nice, such as decorations, textures, building materials, more options for the garden, interactive NPCs … here’s where the ESO part of me speaks. I know that berries are a coveted point. Take the foundation we’ve already been given and crank it up!
MeinMMO: Thank you for the answers and your time.
Building is a pastime that brings many players in Valheim much joy over time and keeps them entertained for many hundreds of hours. We asked one such frequent player and he revealed to us, how Valheim is still fun after 267 hours.
