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Blocks is a level editor for the Island Xtreme Stunts minigame level layouts. It features a full GUI, a complete character legend to let you know what every value means, and syntax checks to ensure everything is valid. You can see what file you are currently editing, and even makes a backup of the file before writing your new layout. Application icon created by rioforce. Details on the level format are available on GitHub, as well as the WIP tutorial Building With Blocks. Usage Ctrl + n: Create a new level Ctrl + o: Open a level Ctrl + s: Save a level Ctrl + q: Close application/dialog boxes Downloads GitHub Binaries Change log Media

Um... What?

I've been experimenting with ways of using textures derived from LDD2POV renders to make textures for bricks under tight polygon constraints. LEGO Brick Stud LEGO Plate Underside Part#55981 texture and model with 44 or 92 polygons Part#43857 texture

Post in this thread if yuo are a fan of MORBIUS, the greatest cinematic experience of all time!!!!!!!!!

LEGO Racers map revamping This topic actually turned into a whole map retexturing project. I'm going to retexture all track maps (which are shown in the lower right corner in-race). For now, some has been done already on this personal project, but most still has to be retextured. As soon as I have all tracks revamped, I will upload the small texture mod and make it PatchIt compatible (which makes it better than having to add each .bmp to its designated track map manually). Old releases: Current release: Fixing cut-off track (v1.0): It has annoyed me since I first noticed it, and never thought of fixing this, until now. The maps of three tracks appear cut-off at a certain spot. Now you might think: "Why are you making such a big deal out of this!?". I'm kind of a perfectionist. It may not contribute at all, but it is just something that I thought had to be fixed. Thanks to the ripped textures, that made me able to adjust the maps. The adjustments may not be very noticeable, but it looks better compared to the old map in my opinion. To spare you the editing of the maps, I've added the edited files in a .zip and can be downloaded here: Map revamp v1.0 When extracting the .zip, you'll find three maps, each containing one adjusted map. Copy (or cut) each IGD_MAP.bmp to the corresponding RACEC*R* file in the .JAM archive, then recompile and add the .JAM to wherever it has to go in order to play LEGO Racers with the adjusted maps. Images of the adjusted maps; left is old, right is new. New features on maps (v2.0): It's here, all new in colour! This map revamp mod includes retextured maps for all tracks. This mainly includes colouring the map to match with the track colour, but shortcuts are added as well. Don't forget the bonus feature, and I think that some already know what it is. It was fun to make, but it is more important to me that you enjoy the new maps. Feedback is appreciated, as it may help me improve the maps even more. Even I still doubt if some tracks look finished or good, but for the time being, enjoy this release. I've added an image to give you a preview of the map revamp mod, picturing Rocket Racer Run and Dark Forest Dash. This version is outdated, and is merged with v2.0.1, so download link to the map revamp mod can be found under that section. Issue fix (v2.0.1): Not much difference compared to v2.0. le717 informed me about an issue where the fast install with PatchIt! of the map revamp mod wasn't working correctly, and he had to install all separate .BMP files manually. I fixed that, and it should work now on the easy installing way. Also, I did minor pixel edits on a few tracks. Barely noticeable, but merely serving for the detail. In order to play with the map revamp mod, you have to download the file below and install it into your LEGO.JAM. It is PatchIt! v.1.0.3 compatible as well, but manually installing it or using PatchIt! is up to you. Link to the file for the map revamp mod: Map revamp v2.0.1 Extra map:

As some of you may know, I had made a comic called "The Rock Raider Chronicles" which is a series of stories that I come up with based on LRR. Well, due to my thoughts, I have decided to end The Rock Raider Chronicles as a comic, and restart it as written stories. I see myself as a better writer than drawer, and this way I can go for the Two fan fiction writer awards on the side. My first story will be what my comic started out with: "Ryley and Sam", a story about two best friends training to climb aboard the LMS Acension. I will have these stories posted here at least every three to five days, depending what I'm doing during that time. I will work on "Ryley and Sam" and hope to post it soon! THE ROCK RAIDER CHRONICLES These are the stories of the legendary Rock Raiders! Story #1: "Ryley and Sam" 1053 Word count Story #2: "The LMS Acension" 340 Word Count Story #3: "Two Friends Apart" 992 Word Count Story #4: Seyena3 Entry #1 302 Word Count Story #5: "Exiled" 713 Word Count Total Word Count: 3400

I was messing around with the LEGO logo from the classic games and ended up with this: Personally I think having something like this at the start of LEGO games would have been much more exciting than the gentle falling bricks of old. Although I am a fan of the falling bricks, but that might just be nostalgia :P

LEGO has unveiled a massive model. Not just a massive model, but the largest LEGO model ever made. Say hello to this life size X-wing! It's 42 feet long, has a 44 foot wingspan, and contains 5.5 million bricks! 18 months in the planning, 4 months to build, with 32 builders! The model will on display at Times Square in New York, and will eventually be shipped to LEGOLAND Carlsbad for permanent display. Oh, and it has proper lighting and sound effects straight from the movies! The model was made to promote The Yoda Chronicles, a new mini animated LEGO Star Wars series airing on Cartoon Network. You can see more pictures at Gizmodo. Sources: Yoda's NewsGizmodo

And you can't create your own YouTube account because? Better question: And you can't upload images to your gallery because...? Even better question: And you can't be creative because...?

That's why he has to test it. :P

No more poetry, please. The last thing this game needs is poetry.

I hope there aren't any more of those comics. Sparks is freaky.

the hell. ARE THERE ANY GERMANS HERE WHAT DOES IT SAY?

OH IS THAT TIME CRUISERS

Creating a fan LEGO game? Okay. Good luck with that project. Very few projects actually get off the ground, but I might as well be polite, right? But while I'm here, I might as well point out that this seems to be in the wrong subforum. Seeing as this about a fan game in progress that is currently lacking any actual LEGO creations created in a digital program such as LEGO Digital Designer, LEGO CAD, LDraw, etc., I don't think this belongs in the "Digital LEGO Creations" subforum. Correct me if I'm wrong, though; I guess I'm just rather surprised that there's already 15 replies and nobody else has done anything about this.

This is just amazing. I am no Lego Star Wars fan but it is just... brilliant... I cannot think of other words to describe it...

Meanwhile... O.T. Oops, I didn't mean for this to be a post, I wanted an edit. Eh. I got ninja'd anyway.

You are literally about the 15th person to say they will be making their own LegoRR game. You have NOTHING except ideas. Do you have any experience in making games at all? How will you get around LEGO's licensing rules? Do you have a timeframe? How many people are working on the project aside from yourself? Please don't create an ideas thread without evidence that you've actually been working on the project. Eventually I, and everybody else, just get tired of it. He said YOU flipped OFF the entire forum. I'm not disagreeing with him at this point.

You're not reading again. Yes. In fact, this seems EXACTLY what like Bartemis is planning. When did he say it was going to be 2D? It's officially 2D. That has nothing to do with anything at all. You make me miss dellr. O.T. Oh look, you've flipped off the entire forum (maybe) again. Yay...

Uh, isn't Bartemis planning on this?

[9:16:38 PM] McJobless: So, EA is making games for the Wii U now. [9:16:48 PM] Lexi: RIGHT after saying they won't? [9:16:50 PM] Lexi: Like 3 days ago? [9:17:13 PM] McJobless: I guess they finally decided that they weren't going to get much of an audience on the Xbox None. [9:17:24 PM] Lexi: Xbox None [9:17:26 PM] Lexi: BAHAHAHAHA [9:17:32 PM] McJobless: Not that they'll get an audience on the Wii Why Would U Buy This either. [9:17:39 PM] McJobless: Or any platform for that matter. [9:17:47 PM] Lexi: ...Oh god Wii Why Would u Buy This Either [9:17:52 PM] Lexi: Ben, ily man [9:17:53 PM] McJobless: [9:18:00 PM] McJobless: <3 [9:18:11 PM] Lexi: Completely platonically of course [9:18:16 PM] McJobless: Brofist. [9:18:26 PM] Lexi brofists

I bought LR1 and LR2 together in a two-pack, and played through both at the same time. I can honestly say I like LR2 more, reasons being: Overall feel and style. It's hard to put my finger on what exactly it is, but LR2 just looks and feels better, from the more stylish UI to the cutscenes. Bosses in LR1 were pretty strange. You were always racing against a boss in LR1 (who was really just somebody in a car with likings for certain power-ups, and had no personality given to them outside of a short ten second intro cutscene), and as a result, all the races in the game were basically boss races without variation in gameplay, with a couple of insignificant AI characters always trailing so far behind they never impacted the race. LR2 actually had proper bosses, with one-on-one races and more unique designs (you race against a freaking mech, 'nuff said). They also had a bit more to them than just a brief intro cutscene - both winning and losing cutscenes, and a spotlight in the final cutscene at the end of the game. The bosses simply mattered more in LR2, in LR1 they weren't as distinguished. You may fault LR2 for having less themes included, but aside from perhaps Knights Kingdom, what else could you even possibly include? LR1 was made just at the end of LEGO's multi-faction theme era, LR2 was made just when the rebooted system was being introduced. Technically, LR2 had more themes than LR1 - but had less variety in environment design because there were no longer at least two or three factions per theme. The open worlds. LR1 just felt closed off and disconnected, with hardly any cohesive plot besides a little blurb in the manual, and no connection between the various tracks, even tracks within the same theme. LR2 actually felt like you were exploring the LEGO universe, talking to its inhabitants, and seeing how it all fit together. More game modes than just plain racing. Hello battle mode and capture the flag! Oh, and you could win car upgrades from completing the bonus games, which brings me to my next point - you actually improved your vehicles as you went along. In LR1, nothing ever really changed, some car chassis might be slightly faster or turn sharper, but there was really no indication of this, if there even IS any real difference between new car unlocks. The physics in the PC version of LR2 were far from perfect, but may I point out the absolutely terrible drifting and awkward rear wheel bouncing of LR1? Yeah, I'd call it even here. The music. This is mostly up to personal taste, but I can't stand most of the music in LR1 - it's obnoxious, always sounds the same, and the synthesizers are terrible. LR2 wasn't perfect in music either - they sure liked re-using that menu theme a lot - but it's an improvement. Power-ups: LR1 had some fun power-ups. Such a shame you never had to use them, as the warp was so over-powered it's all you even really need. And without any sort of rubber banding, things like this happen. LR2 was actually more balanced with its power-ups, and honestly, I found them pretty fun, especially with the secondary uses, like riding on top of the rocket drill or dropping the blast bubble as a land mine. Which leads into my next point... ... Car destruction. Holy crud, is that ever fun. Something the developers of LR1 wanted to do, but couldn't due to technical limitations... Instead, in LR1, random bricks falling off is nothing more than an underwhelming special effect, and most power-ups do nothing but pop you into the air and slow you down. In LR2, the power-ups actually pack a punch. Not to mention that they can still be played off of each other in interesting ways - for example, if you're fast enough, you can fire a slizer disk behind you to take out an incoming homing rocket. In the end, the only places where I actually prefer LR1 are: Character and car building. Sorry ATD, but you really could have done better here. LR1 had plenty of minifigure pieces, and you unlocked more as you progressed. In LR2, there's only a small handful, which can only be combined to make a couple of actually good looking characters, and you don't unlock more. I like the addition of plates to car building, but without the ability to freely mix and match car sets, the options are limited. Track variation. The open worlds are fun to explore, but while actually racing, you just end up re-tracing the same paths several times. Veronica Voltage would have been nice.

We're only three episodes in, but I'm sure everybody is already clambering over each other to slit my throat. Nonetheless, opinions must be shared. There's plenty on my mind, and I want to share it all. That said, looking over this argument, my brain is a little too scattered to note if I've forgotten anything, which I probably have. There will probably be a follow up article some other time. I'm quite annoying by casual gamers . That is probably the biggest understatement ever heard by anyone. But, I don't think people quite understand why. A couple people would know of my usage of the words "Filthy Casuals". My anger towards casual gamers is probably a misappropriation of the term. I don't want to speak about casual gamers or the main reasons why they infuriate me today. No sir (although, I'll link to casual gamers and money when I get a chance to talk about them in another Wot I Fink segment). Today, I want to talk about something which I feel we need to establish in the industry. Something which, unfortunately, won't happen, but nonetheless would improve the quality of the industry and the standards of all developers, publishers and players. It's something I've thought about for a long time, and it's something I will continue to push for so long as I'm a player (pun not intended) in this industry. The very first video game was somewhere between the 1940's and the 1960's (I'm not here to dispute which. You can all argue that in the comments as far as I'm concerned). Right now, it's 2013. In the space of around 70 years, we as an industry have excelled in everything. Every single technology, every technique, every asset, and even every audience has changed. People will argue if it's for the better or not, and this is where my argument lies. Every day, viewing the review scores for games, there's this kind of disgust I get, as I see games I like become rated lower to games which seem to be of much lesser value. Why did that one game get a 7 when a casual game got a 9? You see, the problem with the way the industry is organised is that developers like Popcap Games and Irrational Games are thrown together in the same pit. They are two separate types of entertainment, even though they are both technically classed as video games. It's a problem which I think (beyond individual user preference) is solved by my idea. I've scoured dictionaries, and the definitions change from dictionary to dictionary, but the general gist of most is that a game is a form of amusement and distraction. You play games because you're bored and because you want something that will keep you distracted from the boredom momentarily. It doesn't matter the form, the media or the content. A game is just a way to keep you distracted. When you play Bioshock or Grand Theft Auto or even Call of Duty, you're not playing a game anymore. A developer who makes a deep game with a storyline, breathtaking graphics, a sweeping soundscape and so much more complexities isn't thinking that they want to just distract a player for a brief time. Those games are experiences. A developer who creates an experience wants you to sit down and be a part of the world that they created, in whatever form it takes, and make the most of it. Of course, the classification of all games into these two categories is difficult. The problem is when you come to games with multiplayer, and even games like Portal and Minecraft. Something to consider is that if I say the word "repetitive" to a group of 20 people and showed them some random games, there wouldn't be a single game which isn't labeled repetitive. The point is, any specific criteria we use to judge games into two different groups will be interpreted and used differently by individual people. I think the best way that I could potentially classify games into the two categories is in the idea of complexity and control. Basically, an experience is shaped. It's controlled and finely crafted by the developer. It's made to hit us with emotional impact. It doesn't work if you play the same scene 4 times in a row, because each we go through the same experience, it loses the emotional impact it was supposed to land on use. This is why when I, for example, see the ending of Mass Effect for the 5th time, I don't feel the same amazing shock that I did the first time I finished the game. It certainly still makes me feel really good, but it's not the same feeling I had that first time I fought my way through that level, experiencing everything anew. And no, I'm not talking about player choice or random weapon placement or levels rearragning themselves. Those are techniques which either form of entertainment can use. Meanwhile, a simple game is completely the opposite. We're given some rules, an arena and from there the game and the player do the work. If you play Call of Duty or even Peggle, you know what I'm talking about. In Call of Duty's multplayer mode, do you see planes crashing around you as the pre-scripted dialogue of a Russian soldier betraying his entire country plays, while you remain frozen watching the hands of your character play do some really cool animation? No, because you build your own experience in multiplayer. In Peggle, does the ball go the same way everytime you fire it? No, because Peggle is nothing more than a toolkit to keep you distracted from your boredom. I'm sure a few of you noticed my interesting use of the word "experience" in that last paragraph. That's because multiplayer in Call of Duty, or in any MMO, or generally most multiplayer games built upon a single-player experience are not mere games. We just discussed control. I could go on about how these games still have some form of control to shape them into an experience, but you're probably getting bored yourselves. Instead, we need to talk about complexity. If Mario was a brand new game today, I would call it a "Casual Filth". Yes, it has a story. Yes, the levels are carefully controlled to make sure the player gets the best experience out of the game. But can you figure out what it lacks? Depth. I'm not talking about meaning. The thing is, a game feels kind of...hollow. It's great as a distraction for a while, but eventually it's going to feel empty, and you're going to catch on that you're just wasting time. Unfortunately, that's the nature of experiences as well. However, do you know the difference in this scenario? A good experience is designed so that you don't catch on that it's a game with fancy clothes until you complete the experience, and sometimes not even until you complete it a couple times over (in case they hide content from you on the first go). It's all about impact, usually being emotional, and making sure that the player is constantly mesmerised by what is going on in the world of their character. Meanwhile, in a game, there's nothing stopping you from catching on from the very get-go. A game doesn't try to hide it. It tries to embrace it. This is why, generally speaking, games have better gameplay, whereas experiences shine in the other categories. They don't need glamorous character back stories or beautiful locales to enthrall you. In face, most games don't need characters or locations at all. By no means do experiences have lesser gameplay, but rather, it's not the focus of the experience. The experience is about showing you something more than you could ever experience in real life. It's about taking you to a place that you could never truly be a part of, and turning you into something or someone that you could never be, and showing you a possible example of what could happen if that world was real. A game, on the other hand, is about letting you take a break from your daily life, and just letting loose. Sometimes there's challenge, sometimes there's not. The important bit is that it distracts you. Everything I've presented here shows that we, as an industry, were not prepared for what people strived to do with the technology. We've grown up past the phase of little pixel space ships destroying entire fleets of other pixel space ships with no greater incentive than because it's a "cool" waste of time. We've grown up, and now that the games are too, we need to finally properly rank them as they are; not as video games as a whole, but rather games made to distract, and games meant to give us an experience. And that is Wot I Fink. P.S.: I'm sure people will call me out on Mario being a classic because of the time era it was built in, and casual games and indie games and so on and so forth; the point of this article is that I'm judging all games, regardless of being published by a professional AAA publisher or not as equal, before being split into the categories I noted above and then being split into genres. We all know that as we go on, new technology will cause our old games to become outdated, and as such, games should be judged within their appropriate time context, but any clever readers will note that I didn't say Mario was a bad game for its time. I merely talked about if it was a game of this age.

Thank you for the welcome message, Tahmira and McJobless! Any genres of novel, can be fiction, adventure, philosophical... (The latest book I finished was Legend by Marie Lu.) However, I also enjoy reading non-fiction books, which I consider a lot more instructive. Currently, I'm reading The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (by Nicholas Carr). Too lazy to summarize... (I should really take this book seriously! ) But, as he points out, there are also many benefits from technology such as Internet. This should more or less answer your question. And if you have any books suggestions, I would be glad to heard them!

le717, Addictgamer, jamesster, Alcom1, BobaFett2 and Rob Explorien - thank you all for the welcoming! Also, Addictgamer, good to see a fellow Linux user! On an other note, I'll be around sometimes, but don't expect too much activity from me. I prefer reading.

Please, don't get angry and use oversized text. It really isn't the way to go about things on this forum and will only bring you disrespect from other members. Nothing in Cirevam's post was insulting, he was trying to help you achieve a model to be proud of. Additionally, you ask that no one comments on your models, and yet it seems the idea of this topic was for people to post models to receive feedback on? When people produce models that others consider to have room for improvement, they will suggest how that person can improve it. This is not to put them above you, to mock you, or just for the sake of abuse, but rather because these people genuinely want to help you get better at what you enjoy doing - and you should learn from them, as they more often than not will only give such advice if they have good experience themselves. Agreed, it does appear that the topics you have posted have received general feedback that isn't all 'Wahey! Brilliant! Nothing to improve on!', but don't take this negatively. Some people may disagree with me, but I think there is a standard at which work is expected to be on this forum - but this is primarily in terms of effort, not quality (although quality is a major help). If you produce something that has room for improvement, and people make it clear that this is the case - take it on board, and put in the effort to produce something better based on the feedback you have received. Continuing to produce work that could now have extra effort put in to make it better, well it just won't receive the same level of constructive criticism.

You'd all go on the offensive with torches and forks if I started to speak my mind out about what I think of all the LEGO video game music... Still, nice grabs.

Steampunk Drilling mech, reposted from blog per Lair.

Holy moly, I want that for my granite grinder. The only criticism I can offer is actually a request for a broader (that is, farther off) view of the entire thing from various angles so that I can see it better.

This is getting way out of hand. You cannot just keep posting topics asking people to do stuff. Why not try it yourself for once, and not patiently wait for it to happen. There is a wide range of tutorials teaching you how to work with a lot of aspects of the .JAM archive. And also (assuming that you've seen the Dark Forest Dash speed mod), speed editing of AI's is in early/experimenting stages. It currently is not a five minute job to mod all opponents on a single track, and I think it'd be better to modify more on the track Creator had already done, to look at those results and try to improve more until we get a good insight in how to speed edit opponents even better. Then, we could expand the speed editing to other tracks (though this is my opinion on this subject). And lastly, please specify more in your topic post next time. It may improve your reputation here on RRU, and helps others know what you're up to, how you want something to be done or what you are trying to say (I know it's clear now, you want the speed mod, but it's about the principle).

Uh, Ann Droid is female - well, as female as a robot can be, anyway. :P

Yes. I absolutely loved Drome Racers... Wow, it's been over ten years. I really wish LEGO would revive it, or do something similar (World Racers didn't quite do it for me, as there were only two teams and one wave of sets). And of course, LEGO Racers 4D was awesome too. And the video game... Not perfect, but I love it. (Speaking of which, I'd really like to mod it once the archive format is cracked, right now all we can really do is swap out music...) And then there was that online multiplayer Drome Racers game which I sadly never played. But from what I've heard, the strategy was in the car part selection, and the actual racing was a series of dynamic animations, so I'm not to bummed about that. You know what would be amazing? An online multiplayer Drome Racers game. Combine the high speed and action of the original game with more open environments and incorporate the Drome's terraforming into the gameplay (instead of going back to the garage between each race in an MCR, just morph the track right then and there as you're still driving), and... Yeah. Thanks for the nostalgia wave. :D