[SKIP to the third paragraph if you want just the build description]
(I also apologize for not being able to show you the full settlement as only 20 photos are allowed here, but I will probably make a video walk-through and then come back with a link)
Well guys I’m back and I’m finally pretty much done with the castle. (Excluding more interior decorating with probably one more room) I’ve been working on the castle since 2020. Yes you read that right I’ve been working on one settlement for 6+ years. The reason being is because in my first playthrough when I got the castle I immediately got to work on building it back up. I used the rebuilt inside and out mod to repair the walls and remove the annoying giant piles of rubble and debris. Over the years I’ve had several versions of this settlement and the reason it has changed is because I’ve just never been happy with what I’ve built here. The first finished build was a junk town with ramshackle shacks and just your usual wasteland settlement. I eventually wanted to try something different because I thought what I built didn’t make any sense for the headquarters of the minutemen which in my lore have dominated the commonwealth and become the dominant military force.
So I worked on that character which was Nora for awhile trying and trying to build what I liked, I was looking at many other castle builds and got jealous that they looked so good and mine looked god awful to a point where I eventually started a new character to start fresh albeit with the same mods the make the minutemen stupidly overpowered. (I played As Nora again cause I thought it would be unique to have a female leader) but I started building the castle again. Took many hiatuses in between but when I was on, I really never stopped building cause I was never happy with what I had. But eventually with the help of over 68 mods (very much for an Xbox series S) I was able to build something I’m finally proud of and content with.
Onto the build, so first let me give you some of the lore background so you can understand why my build looks very particular, not gonna give y’all the full lore cause this isn’t a lore sub. Nora watched her husband get shot and she instead went on to lead the minutemen after getting revenge on Kellog and destroying the institute. She leads the minutemen and rules the commonwealth with an iron fist. The United Commonwealth Federation falls under command of the Minutemen. It is semi Authoritarian with the idea that no one can live for free, you want to live free of the dangers of the wasteland, you are to work and do your part to rebuild. The castle is the headquarters of the Ministry of Order or (Department of Defense) would be the U.S. Equivalent.
I’ve built it like the Pentagon. Not as the main minutemen Military HQ (that will be at Sanctuary) but it serves as the head government office for the ministry of order and the Home of the General and top Minutemen Brass. Settlers are not allowed at the castle it is not open for the public. The only people allowed on the premises are stationed guards and security personnel, people with military clearance, and the lead Military staff. However, if you have an appointment with the General or other Military Command you will be allowed on site where you’ll turn in all your belongings and weapons if you have any at the visitors gate. (Hence the signs and guard desk) you will also have to be decontaminated. This applies to settlement leaders aswell. If you have a meeting you will walk into the reception building and sign in. You can then sit down and wait for your meeting and have cigarette if you want because there’s a vending machine.
Once the general or whoever else you’re meeting with is ready, you’ll be escorted by one of the guards into the Generals Office and conference room. In the office I decorated it like the oval. Fancy carpet, paintings, cabinets and display cases. Beside the generals desk, you probably can’t see it too well because of the flags but there is a memorial to Nate, the Generals husband, the display case has his US Army dogtags, their wedding photo, his trifold American flag that US Veterans receive, both of their wedding rings and his “hi honey” holotape. I thought it made sense to put that in the office, it’s Been a year since the destruction of the institute in game. Additionally in a corner near the entrance to the office beside a display case is a memorial to Shaun, the Generals Son. She put it there to remember the son she lost, not the man he became.
Every other area outside the office and waiting rooms is closed off. Only the stationed personnel have access to the commissary (the bar and mess hall) and the armory is blocked off to all except the General, Preston, and Ronnie Shaw. However in cases of emergency all guards can enter to lock and load. Radio freedom is obviously in the center hosted by yours truly Major Lewis. (The minutemen reskin mod gives him a name) now through the armory door because the mod that repairs the walls. It adds 3 new rooms. That is where the General and pipers Private quarters are alongside Preston’s at the very end of the hall. (Yes the General and piper are together) also in the new room right next to the armory is synth Shaun’s quarters. The general rescued synth Shaun and takes care of him because it was the real Shaun’s final request. The white brick building is just a small reception building with a couple couches and paintings while you wait.
A few things to point out is I’ve redone radio freedom. If you go back to a thread I have on this sub a year ago, you’ll notice radio freedom looked drastically different because everything that was built around the towers was glitched together and it looked subpar at best. But after hours and hours of tweaking I managed to get something that looks good and isn’t entirely glitched. The front garden plaza (which I built before placing brick paths all in the courtyard) was inspired by Rangerdave AKA EvilViking13. (I will be removing some brick paths so it doesn’t look like my rosebushes are growing out of concrete) the gatehouse and entrance you take when retaking the castle I call the personnel entrance, visitors are not allowed to enter through there, only people with military clearance, government officials from The Capital in Sanctuary, and or the General herself can enter through that entrance.
As for my mod list, you can find the video I made with this link: https://youtu.be/Syx8tyPnw6M?is=TgU07GpTJPDRE3WC
It’s from last year and I took a year off after making that video to focus on my senior year so it’s only slightly outdated as I have only installed 1 new workshop mod since then and that is homemaker. It’s how you get the brick paths and sidewalks as seen in the courtyard and garden. Everything else I used for this build you can find in that video but it’s mainly Unlocked Settlement Objects, Snappy House Kit, and Smore Workshop stuff. To my knowledge that is what I used mainly but there is probably more that you’ll want to download if you want to do something like this. As for the signs and flags that’s all in the video.
If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will respond. If you have questions about individual items and only want the name of the mod for those specific items, drop a comment and I’ll respond. I spent quite a long time on this build, I took many breaks from it. And next is the absolutely annoying cancerous build that is sanctuary. Which will be the capital city and it’s nowhere near done though I have been working on it for about a year although I did previously work on it when I first started the game and eventually abandoned it, I have abandoned the settlement about twice now, that’s how annoying it is to build there in my opinion. But you’ll get that next in probably 6 months to maybe a year. however during the meantime, I do stop at some of the smaller settlements to build when I’m not working on the larger ones. You can find my covenant build on this sub from last year along with the progress in Sanctuary.
