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The last of my dioramas is pretty much finished! I have no intention on working on any more dioramas now, at least not for a long time... Anywho, as discussed in >this topic, for a while now I've wanted to make a nice display for my Rock Raiders sets. I haven't actually made much progress since then, but still a few things have been added and a lot has been rearranged. I don't want to make the paper-mache walls and all that I mentioned in the topic, but the zuzzy mats haven't left my mind yet. I just need the money, which after these last two dioramas I don't have any of. Enough talk, here's an overview: And many more pictures in the spoiler below. There you have it. So much turquoise, it's beautiful. Oh, and one last thing... Here's what I get to wake up to every morning now:

Two basic tools that allows the user to visualize opponent paths and ghost paths in-game via powerbricks. Works with all files using the .RRB and .GHB syntax and will work with pre-set .RRB, pre-set .GHB and custom .GHB files. You do have to place the exact contents of a .RRB or .GHB file (as seen through the Binary File Editor) in a .txt file, for I don't know how to program it to read from the .RRB .GHB format. The enclosed readme in the download will explain more about the usage of these applications. Both applications are written in C++. Source code is included. Download including both visualizer tools: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/dl-r39/

O.T. I hope this goes here with the new categories and all... I was bored Saturday, so I attempted to do a let's play of the beginning of the horrible LEGO Island 3 Unity game. It failed, so I took the best clips and compiled them into a LEGO Island Gone Insane-style video: LEGO Island 3 Gone Wild. In case you did not get this earlier, I shall repeat: I made this because I was bored. That's better.

Someone had to do it, right? behold the most original car design ever -- Download the Textures (Replaces that red shirt with stars and stuff and the green leg) Too bad it's not possible to make the legs as it is in the original minifig

For reference:

Okay, one last thing, even though the 7 days are up. One thing that has been bothering me is not being able to have a post link to a certain part of itself (>example topic this would be good for, another example are large multi-part tutorials), this type of BBCode is called "Anchor" I believe. Also, secondary thing, can we get those BBCode for tutorials, 'SomePagetitle' and working?

Warning: May contain mild spoilers for The LEGO Movie. 70803 Bad Cop's Pursuit Review by Fushigisaur For those who have not heard (the sad few) LEGO recently made a feature length motion picture based on it's beloved building toy. However, rather than prominently feature existing sets, the majority of the models used in the film were original creations made specifically for the movie. It is only logical then that these models are released as actual sets under the LEGO Movie label. Each set in this line depicts a scene from the movie, and this set is no exception. In this scene, Emmet, WyldStyle and Vitruvius have boarded a train to escape The Old West, followed closely by Bad Cop. They build a ramp in front of his patrol car, causing him to drive his car over the edge of the bridge. However, Bad Cop quickly rebuilds his car into a flying version, swoops around, and takes out the bridge with his lasers, causing the train to fall into the river below where police gators wait to consume or heroes. They are saved by Batman, but not before Bad Cop manages to attach a tracking device to Emmet's leg.... Bad Cop's Pursuit consists of two parts. The first part is a section of the destroyed bridge. This bridge is actually a little more detailed than I would expect, with damaged rail ties and a vine hanging over the edge. The end of the track is on a hinge, supported by a single pole. This pole can be pulled out to make the bridge drop. There is a handle on the very end that a minifigure can hold on to for dear life. Contrary to what is depicted on the box, if you drop the bridge while a minifigure is attached to this handle it will not fall but remain firmly in place. It is better to set the minifig on top of the tracks so it will actually fall, but you can play with it however you want. Also included is a tiny frog on a rock under the bridge. This adds nothing to the set functionally, but I thought it was a neat little detail nonetheless. While I was not very excited for this part at first, having put it together I must say I really like it. I almost want to buy a couple more of this set to assemble a longer bridge... One complaint is that the colors are a bit too dark. The second part of the set is Bad Cop's car. This is the reason I bought this set, and I would assume most people buy it for the car as well. It is a nice build, very sturdy. There were some nice techniques used in building it as well, though nothing mind blowing. It is a little bland, but this fits nicely with Lord Business's traditional practicality-over-aesthetics approach. It can fit one minifigure inside it, and is actually quite roomy, giving you room to get your fingers down in there to remove the driver. The top flips up and down for easy access to the figure inside. Unfortunately Bad Cop does not fit when he is holding his gun, but without it he fits fine. The car's main gimmick is the laser cannons on the side, which can be folded out when needed and folded back in, very neatly. There are some lights on the front-bottom, the purpose of which I cannot figure out. Overall, I am satisfied with it. Also of note is the fact that, while the car contains no wheels, it does have the wheel-cover pieces in it's design, making me think that it could maybe be rebuilt into it's landbound form with minimal extra pieces added... even if this is not the case, it's still a nice touch to remind you that this was, at one point, a car. Included characters are Emmet, Bad Cop, and two police gators. Emmet comes with the Piece of Resistance, and Bad Cop comes with a special gun which can fire the tracking device when squeezed. Both minifigs have double-sided heads; Emmet is smug on one side and screaming on the other, while Bad Cop has Good Cop on the back of his head, just like in the movie. Unfortunatly Wyldstyle and Vitruvius are not included. Vitruvius can be found in Lord Business's Evil Lair, and Wyldstyle can be found in the blind bags or a few other movie-series sets. So if you want to relive the scene in it's entirety, you need to buy more sets. Diabolical, but very smart. Rating Design: 9 / 10 I shy away from a perfect score, but it's still really good. Both parts are very detailed. The car manages to contain all of it's functionality while staying very compact. Quality: 8 / 10 The car is very sturdy, but the bridge is a bit flimsy. However this may be intentional. Fun: 9 / 10 While I will probably set this on a shelf on display rather than playing with it, I imagine it would be very fun to. it has enough gimmicks to keep a child entertained, and I'm sure any kid would want to reenact the scene from the movies once or twice or twenty times. Price: 9 / 10 $30.00 is about lower-midrange for these sets. It's affordable, but not super cheap either. But it's a good choice for those who want a good sized set but aren't willing to shell out 50-100USD for one. I am not good at putting numbers to things, sorry.

Vector Raiders Vector Raiders is an overhaul mod I am working on for LEGO Rock Raiders. It's primary aims are to re-texture the entire game in a simple vector style, and to replace all the levels in the game with new ones. I may also look into other areas of modification, such as monsters, and plan on creating new music too. So far I have nearly finished texturing the Rock biome, and created a draft for the first level, with some voice acting. There are some things that need looking over, for instance the Power Paths are too simple and I have used square Power Paths in place of round ones for the time being. Additionally I'd like to re-record my voice for Chief, and go over the first level's design again (I somehow muddled up the voices and objective). You can watch a preview of the first level below. http://youtu.be/RhHHA2UYdr0 [Dead] My apologies that the GUI flickers, I'll try and fix that for the next recording. Also, that voice sounds nothing like me, I don't know what type of voice I was putting on... Also, here's a little voice test I did for Chief. Chief Voice Test [Dead] Stay tuned for updates! Downloads Vector Raiders - Rock Biome

Well, I should have posted this months ago, but here it finally is: The texture pack you've all been waiting for! I did this simply in the name of fun and merriment. The textures were derived from Lego Island 2. I should note that while one of the astronauts in Lego Racers 2 has a face based off the same head, it has only two expressions, and lacks the right character. Cheers! Quisoves Pugnat.

Try the fix listed under the Game Videos not playing header >here and let us know it that fixes it for you. Finally, welcome to RRU! I hope you'll stay awhile and join our little community here.

For my gameplay homework, I had to "improve chess". Boom. DOWNLOAD (hosted offsite until attachments unload on the entire forum): ChessX LDD File: https://www.mediafire.com/?pwbdjbu942xg43v ChessX Presentation Handout: https://www.mediafire.com/?y8plz6aw4d9ecwq

Concept C - Variable Mechanics & Keystone Variable This lesson will be tiny, since the next one is going to be an absolutely head-buster when you get to it. As I stated in the previous Concept, we had two more types of categories for elements of a video game. These two are more subjective, and are there to add spice to your gameplay. A Variable Mechanic is any mechanic which is not part of the core, but instead builds of it. Imagine, if you will, a tree, with "Movement" at the base. Movement, in this example, is our core mechanic. Sprouting up from it are various branches, which are the variable mechanics that introduce slightly new gameplay aspects. We might have combat, or tower placement (in a Tower Defense game) or anything else which is not central to the game, but still is a mechanic players may use to help win. A Keystone Variable is not a core mechanic. The distinction is very important. A Keystone Variable is like a variable mechanic in that it branches off the core mechanic, but unlike a variable mechanic, this one changes gameplay in a MAJOR way. For example, something such as a timer, or the gel in Portal 2, which changed the entire way the player had to think about the gameplay. The most important thing to remember is that you must always perfect the gameplay mechanics first, before working on your concept. The gameplay is what will hold the player, even if the game's concept is a bit lacking (for example, look at Minecraft's popularity in an age dominated by legions of "HD-ONLY NUBZ"). Concept D - Skill/Experience Loops I'm probably about to explode some heads with this one. What actually makes a player continue playing the game? What makes a mechanic good? There needs to be some kind of measurable quality. This is where a Skill/Experience Loop comes into play. A game is a form of entertainment. Good entertainment needs to do just that; entertain. When it fails to entertain, it enters a state we call "BORING". This is when our mind believes that we are wasting our time. The mind is always attempting to seek out patterns, optimise and create efficiency in our everyday tasks. If this becomes too easy for the mind, or if it cannot grasp any kind of meaning or point behind a task you are attempting to perform, it will enter boredom and try to find another task to complete. The question then is, "How do I keep my player entertained and not bored to tears?" The answer to that question is a very big, key word that you should remember for the rest of your life. ENGAGEMENT How do you believe sport players, musicians, artists, directors and so forth get good at what they do? Engagement. The idea is that, the more engaged you are in something, the more you strive to work on it, and with practice, the more successful you will become. Now, while games aren't exactly all designed to teach, we should nonetheless strive to make this the point of games; to keep people engaged with the material long enough so they keep on playing. For those of you who know anything about psychology and game flow, this is where it comes into play; you're striving for complete engagement to the point where the player doesn't just suspend disbelief, but also loses track of time and reality. Now, that's all fine and dandy giving our games a point, but how exactly do we, well, do that? The simplest (sort of) way to do that is with a diagram. Please note that the terms in this diagram have a variety of different names. I'm going to use the ones I feel are best suited to the content. The red arrow denotes the starting point. You're probably super confused right now. Allow me to explain. This little diagram is called a Skill/Experience Loop. You can also call it a "Beat". These beats are essentially how every single player choice in the game, from moving left to shooting a gun to turning a key, should be all broken up. Let's go indepth: Personal Objective - You may refer to this as a Schema or Model or even Confidence. Basically, "Do I know my reason for being here?"/"What's the point?" Options & Inventory - You may refer to this as Actions. Basically, "Do I know what I can do?"/"What can I do next?" Rules, Limitations (and Implications) - You may refer to this as Resources. Basically, "Do I know what I can't do?" Immediate Results - You may refer to this as Feedback or Evocative Stigma. Basically, "Did it work?"/"How do I know it worked?" Each of these different points break down what exactly the player is consciously/subconsciously thinking everytime they perform an action in the game. Think of it this way. When I shoot a gun in Halo, my thought process is broken down like this: Why am I here? Why should I continue to progress? There's enemies. How can I deal with them? I know how to use the gun, but what ways can I not use it? Okay, how will I know the enemies is taking damage/dead? This happens for EVERY single player action. It's quite a lot of work on the brain, and it's even more work for the game designer, since we need to make that entire beat interesting. The challenge to making a successful Skill/Experience Loop is that you can't keep pulling them through the same loop over and over again. This becomes quite repetitive, and as the brain begins to establish the pattern, optimise and decide it's pointless to repeat the action, the game will become boring. We need to keep on changing the beat with variable mechanics and different kinds of beats so that our player is always tackling the same beat over and over again. For example, in Halo, the game introduces new weapons, enemies and locations to constantly vary up what the player is doing. The Assault Rifle and Pistol act very differently, and the player is going to see a different set of Options and Limitations for both. In Chess, it's similar. Every different move becomes a new beat, because the board is constantly changing. Since nobody can forfeit a move, everyone has to move a piece, and with every piece moved, the game changes slightly. By successful allowing players to keep running this loop, and varying the beat in different ways, players continue to become more and more engaged, as they try to master the gameplay. Because you keep changing the beat, gameplay never stagnates, players are always offered more and more chances to become better at the game. Players won't play a game if it makes them feel stupid. If you're smart about how you introduce mechanics and how you use the beat, your game will encourage learning, and will allow the player to get better and feel smarter. Furthermore, remember the first part of the loop? It's the "Personal Objective". Therefore, we need to find a reason that's important to the player to make them enter the beat in the first place. This is where our Core Concept comes into play, as story, graphics, audio and other elements can all give the player the motivation they need to push forward through the game. For example, a very "primitive" objective in video games is "Capture the Princess". That's how a lot of players got into Mario and Zelda, but for some, it was less about what was in the game, but more what was outside it. Your Personal Objective, or in fact the entire beat itself, can occur outside the game. Remember when somebody you know told you about that high score they achieved which made you jealous? In a lot of instances, that's enough to make a player go through the game and enter the beats, simply because they want to become good enough to show off. You should never underestimate mind games or the power of communication. Keep in mind, however, players can and will get bored if your Skill/Experience Loop is not enough to engage the player. If the beat is easy to master, then players will become bored quicker. In a simple game experience, such as Fruit Ninja or Flappy Birds, you need to constantly update one of the elements of the beat. You can't get away with tiny changes either, such as making a weapon slightly slower or faster. In these kinds of games, you need to introduce big new elements constantly to keep the game fresh and fun. Many of you are probably thinking of the beat as a simple circle. Instead, consider it as more of a spiral shape. If the beat begins to get smaller and closes off (as player investment is getting lower and lower), it's possibly because you are coming to the conclusion of your story for the game or the end level. Meanwhile, games like Minecraft that offer infinite experiences maybe have giant spirals that never close off. Misc - Some General Wisdom A good game designer is one who is able to finish a project and plan out everything first. Planning is protection against the unknown, such as budget problems, real life problems, technology failures and so on.

The LEGO Movie Experience just opened at LEGOLAND California. Someone took pictures. It looks like it's everything that was used for the Man Upstairs' LEGO basement. Pretty neat!

Jamesster, I officially hate you. That thing has invaded every aspect of everything, it's almost inescapable. I can't go anywhere without hearing DING DING DING coming from every phone around me, which is a lot since everyone absolutely needs to be on their phone 24/7 and no one know how TO PUT THE THING ON MUTE AND/OR USE HEADPHONES. Or better yet to NOT BE PLAYING THIS STUPID GAME TO START WITH. I thought here was safe. I thought, surely this is y safe haven, my one place of refuge in a horrible world, andyoudefiledit. GG Jamie. jkIdon'thateyouthisisactuallyprettycoolbutIdohateflappybirdwitheveryfiberofmybeing