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Guys! I got an email back! I guess posting the whole email is the best idea! Hi Kevin, I’ve collected together answers (they are in answered order rather than asked order) – we struggled with some as it was a long time ago, and slightly humbled that people are still playing and modding! I am trying to get you source code to some of the tools to fill in any gaps in your knowledge; it’s proving tricky! Here are my own recollections / additions: Why did ATD go out of business? Partly due to the cancellation of LR4 - we never really reached agreement as to what the vision for LR4 should be with the Lego Digital team, impossible to achieve milestones when you can’t agree what it should be (we were aiming for something where you could design your own vehicle and then race it - Banjo & Kazooie did something similar with Nuts & Bolts). Were there any other Lego games that were cancelled; yes, several in various stages of production (more Lego Soccer, etc.) – I think the cancellations were a result of less-than-stellar sales of the games, leading to the closure of the digital group that handled them. The break-out title was TT’s Lego Star Wars in 2005… Cheers Fred Were there any other planned areas/worlds for the game? Not that I can remember, sorry - we were led pretty strongly by the toy ranges LEGO wanted to feature, so I think we settled on those pretty early. Why the change in weapon system from LR1? I realise it was a different company, but surely you would have analysed LR1 for inspiration. It was mostly due to wanting to build on lessons learned about power-ups on Rollcage and Rollcage Stage II. Who was Nod? Lyndon Sharp, nicknamed Nod - biggest petrol-head on the team! jamesster We've heard that ATD's first collaboration with LEGO was Rocket Racers, an attraction at LEGOLAND Windsor. Rocket Racers is obviously based directly on the original LEGO Racers, and going by video footage, it seems that it may even use some of LEGO Racers' textures. LEGO Racers 2 also recycles some minifigure face textures from the original LEGO Racers. So, what was the relationship between High Voltage Software and ATD? Was ATD given more than just textures? Honestly unknown. I doubt ATD got more than the textures - the game was built very much on the Rollcage engine, so it's unlikely that we took much in the way of code. But I could be wrong. In certain versions/languages of the game MPH is used, and others KPH. Was this simply just a text edit, or did the speedometer actually change between versions? If it is just a text edit, which speed measurement is most accurate to follow? (My note (Kevin): The MPH/KPH is probably a region/language specific thing) Almost certainly - the number had no world relevance, so we probably just changed the KPH/MPH tag. Not sure if this is a question to ask Kevin, but: What/when/why was Rocket Racer's design altered in LEGO Racers 2? An early trailer for the game has FMV clips featuring the original design, concept art for the game's box shows the original design, and the ice statue of him in the Arctic foyer in-game even uses his original design... It seems to suggest the redesign didn't come until later in the game's development. I seem to remember the new Rocket Racer look being connected to Xalax, so the old design being used to represent his previous incarnation in Lego Racers. (a looong time ago so memory's a bit fuzzy) What happened with the Xbox port for Drome Racers? Either it was never released, or it's incredibly rare. I'm fairly sure that Drome Racers was our first X-box Lego game. Why was Professor Voltage replaced by Sparky? Sparky was seen as being easy for children to associate with. Going by certain developer comments in the scripts, I take it you guys had a fun time making this game? Certainly did. It was the first game made with a new game-engine and proprietary tools. Loads of challenges but loads of those magic moments. I remember the first time Rob came out with his water effects. I had an absolute hoot scripting the conversations on Sandy Bay.. suffice to say that most had to be shelved. (Why did you use visible objects like curbs for ambient sounds and not an invisible one? ) We assigned different sounds, grip and drag to different textures on the worlds. We needed ways of defining tracks in certain areas, without those paths confusing the route in other races using the same world. Rather than change the whole world, it was much more efficient to mark them out with a few separate objects. Quisoves Pugnat 1. As indicated by an unused piece of dialogue, the character of Captain Geoff was originally intended to be a regular in Sandy Bay, as opposed to merely a passenger in a mini-game. Furthermore, he is named in the files as "Lighthouse Keeper." No lighthouse appears in the final game, however. Can you elucidate us concerning this scrapped building? I based all the characters in Sandy Bay on members of the dev team (Geoff was our AI guru, amongst other areas). Some of those minifigs didn't make it into the final game and others had to be relocated to fit the game's flow. I remember us having a lighthouse but it not being close to Captain Geoff's location; I thought it was near the caves but I guess I need to go and look at the game. 2. While most of the AI racers are extant minifigs with ties to one of the in-game worlds, a few are entirely original. They are, I believe, the wild-orange-haired, red-suited, Barron Rosso and the bald, tuxedo-wearing Franky-Solido. What was the reason for their existence? I seem to remember us being given those boss characters by Lego Digital. 3. How were parts chosen for the character creator? Good question. I think that was down to Captain Geoff (see above) I completed the Xbox port of Drome Racers after Rob had laid the groundwork, and we delivered it to EA unlocalized. It was my understanding that EA had decided to take on the cost of localization themselves. I don't know why EA didn't proceed to full production, my guess would be the untimely demise of ATD probably caused licensing and ownership issues with LEGO and the liquidators. Were there any substantial features cut from the games? Yes, network multiplayer. I believe there were issues with determinism and syncing everything up. Not sure if the code stayed in or was never committed. --- Wow! The fact that he wants to give us some source tools... And cut out network multiplayer! :o

Finalized "Toa" pics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2OWNauFIF8

Looking at the better pictures of Gali, I can rest easy in knowing that her mask does indeed resemble her original Kaukau. Also, I'm glad that Skull Kr(a)ata was a placeholder name. Also: GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!!! I got my hands on some catalog images for he LEGO Store thanks to a guy on Reddit (Doing Mata Nui's Work, admiraltyphoon!). If you want, save the images, because who knows how long we'll have them up for. http://imgur.com/a/GYvH9#wYdgW0i http://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclelego/comments/2hsy4k/ha_told_you_guys_i_was_going_to_get_pics_save/ So some form of combiners are confirmed, Onua's mask is now a little more clear to see, and everything more or less still looks to be in preliminary form, complete with watermarks. I still don't like how the Toa/Masters will be different sizes/prices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4hXFl2ICVI&list=UUp_mZttcKNIcUBVdi0wTdIA Set 70818: The set that comes with waffle, alternate-construction Unikitty, Benny, happy-faced Lord Business, one of the film's most iconic props and GHOST VITRUVIUS. All for $20.00. And Emmet's car is there too because, hey, why not? Can you tell I'm excited? Because I'm excited.

Fascinating... In the Pohatu kit's background, I notice two planets, which are almost certainly Bara Magna and Bota Magna. Therefore, Spherus Magna has not yet been reformed, confirming our suspicions that Bionicle 2015 is a hard reboot!

Kevin, I took the liberty of cleaning up the email reply a bit Why did ATD go out of business? Partly due to the cancellation of LR4 - we never really reached agreement as to what the vision for LR4 should be with the Lego Digital team, impossible to achieve milestones when you can’t agree what it should be (we were aiming for something where you could design your own vehicle and then race it - Banjo & Kazooie did something similar with Nuts & Bolts). Were there any other Lego games that were cancelled? yes, several in various stages of production (more Lego Soccer, etc.) – I think the cancellations were a result of less-than-stellar sales of the games, leading to the closure of the digital group that handled them. The break-out title was TT’s Lego Star Wars in 2005… Were there any other planned areas/worlds for the game? Not that I can remember, sorry - we were led pretty strongly by the toy ranges LEGO wanted to feature, so I think we settled on those pretty early. Why the change in weapon system from LR1? I realise it was a different company, but surely you would have analysed LR1 for inspiration. It was mostly due to wanting to build on lessons learned about power-ups on Rollcage and Rollcage Stage II. Who was Nod? Lyndon Sharp, nicknamed Nod - biggest petrol-head on the team! We've heard that ATD's first collaboration with LEGO was Rocket Racers, an attraction at LEGOLAND Windsor. Rocket Racers is obviously based directly on the original LEGO Racers, and going by video footage, it seems that it may even use some of LEGO Racers' textures. LEGO Racers 2 also recycles some minifigure face textures from the original LEGO Racers. So, what was the relationship between High Voltage Software and ATD? Was ATD given more than just textures? Honestly unknown. I doubt ATD got more than the textures - the game was built very much on the Rollcage engine, so it's unlikely that we took much in the way of code. But I could be wrong. In certain versions/languages of the game MPH is used, and others KPH. Was this simply just a text edit, or did the speedometer actually change between versions? If it is just a text edit, which speed measurement is most accurate to follow? Almost certainly - the number had no world relevance, so we probably just changed the KPH/MPH tag. What/when/why was Rocket Racer's design altered in LEGO Racers 2? An early trailer for the game has FMV clips featuring the original design, concept art for the game's box shows the original design, and the ice statue of him in the Arctic foyer in-game even uses his original design... It seems to suggest the redesign didn't come until later in the game's development. I seem to remember the new Rocket Racer look being connected to Xalax, so the old design being used to represent his previous incarnation in Lego Racers. (a looong time ago so memory's a bit fuzzy) What happened with the Xbox port for Drome Racers? Either it was never released, or it's incredibly rare. I'm fairly sure that Drome Racers was our first X-box Lego game. I completed the Xbox port of Drome Racers after Rob had laid the groundwork, and we delivered it to EA unlocalized. It was my understanding that EA had decided to take on the cost of localization themselves. I don't know why EA didn't proceed to full production, my guess would be the untimely demise of ATD probably caused licensing and ownership issues with LEGO and the liquidators. Why was Professor Voltage replaced by Sparky? Sparky was seen as being easy for children to associate with. Going by certain developer comments in the scripts, I take it you guys had a fun time making this game? Certainly did. It was the first game made with a new game-engine and proprietary tools. Loads of challenges but loads of those magic moments. I remember the first time Rob came out with his water effects. I had an absolute hoot scripting the conversations on Sandy Bay.. suffice to say that most had to be shelved. Why did you use visible objects like curbs for ambient sounds and not an invisible one? We assigned different sounds, grip and drag to different textures on the worlds. We needed ways of defining tracks in certain areas, without those paths confusing the route in other races using the same world. Rather than change the whole world, it was much more efficient to mark them out with a few separate objects. As indicated by an unused piece of dialogue, the character of Captain Geoff was originally intended to be a regular in Sandy Bay, as opposed to merely a passenger in a mini-game. Furthermore, he is named in the files as "Lighthouse Keeper." No lighthouse appears in the final game, however. Can you elucidate us concerning this scrapped building? I based all the characters in Sandy Bay on members of the dev team (Geoff was our AI guru, amongst other areas). Some of those minifigs didn't make it into the final game and others had to be relocated to fit the game's flow. I remember us having a lighthouse but it not being close to Captain Geoff's location; I thought it was near the caves but I guess I need to go and look at the game. While most of the AI racers are extant minifigs with ties to one of the in-game worlds, a few are entirely original. They are, I believe, the wild-orange-haired, red-suited, Barron Rosso and the bald, tuxedo-wearing Franky-Solido. What was the reason for their existence? I seem to remember us being given those boss characters by Lego Digital. How were parts chosen for the character creator? Good question. I think that was down to Captain Geoff (see above) Were there any substantial features cut from the games? Yes, network multiplayer. I believe there were issues with determinism and syncing everything up. Not sure if the code stayed in or was never committed.

I just emailed a guy from Artworld UK a few days ago, asking about a couple things, including any unfinished projects. Maybe we'll get some answers if he replies.

(MORE MORE MORE POSTS) I've found a new trick to make the music in LR sound better! Here's a tutorial: http://youtu.be/W5eRUfRkn_Y In short, you want to compress based on peaks, keep doing it until it clips/is loud enough!

Hey folks! Putting your LEGO sets on shelves is totally fun, right? And I'm quite happy with how things turned out when I set up the sets I brought to my college dorm, so I wanted to share some pictures. Sorry for phone photos, but I can't really justify buying a proper camera when all I would ever use it for is pictures of small plastic people. TLM and miscellany Cloud Cuckoo Land Protagonists! Ogel attempts to preempt Where are My Pants with Dr. Cyber falling onto the set and probably shouting about time or something Max is watching Ogel approvingly. Does Johnny notice that Mr. Pollywana appears to be eating his map? Lord Business and the Super Secret Police (apparently caught in a nasty fog) Dropship Micromanager (thanks Lucina on BZP for reverse-engineering the film model and producing and LXF of it) MY PARENTS ARE FROZEEEEN A whole mess of Tohunga Kustom Kahu Cultural gap They're stealing the disc! Robot vs. Dragon smackdown quick shoot arrows at the robot that will probably stop it sneaky sneaky Enchanted Island Detail shot, I guess? Neptune Discovery Lab check out all of the dust on this dome If you're curious, here's my full collection on Brickset.

FlicTool Latest version: 1.1 (Updated 2014-09-27) FlicTool is an application used to compile and decompile Rock Raiders Flic Animation files (commonly known as FLH files), allowing you to edit existing animations or create new ones. This can be used to create your own animated menus, edit animated cursors, etc. Usage FlicTool is a command line program, which means you have to open a command prompt and run it from there. The application accepts two arguments, input and output. Example: FlicTool input_file.flh output_directory This would decompile the FLH file input_file.flh and place the individual frames in output_directory. The application will automatically detect that input_file.flh is a Flic Animation file, and will then try to decompile it. Inversely, it is also possible to write FlicTool input_directory output_file.flh which would take all the frames found in input_directory and combine them to create output_file.flh. (Frames are recognized by looking for BMP files with names matching frame####.bmp where #### is the zero-padded frame number, starting with 0001) If you leave out the output file/directory name, it will be assumed to be output.flh when compiling, and output when decompiling. Notes It should be noted that FlicTool is still in a very early stage of development. There may be lots of bugs yet to be discovered, and many features are still missing. This also means that I have yet to test FlicTool extensively. Remember to make backups of your FLH files before you start tinkering with it. Plans The current compression algorithm creates slightly smaller or slightly larger files when recompiling existing Rock Raiders FLH files, depending on the color data. This doesn't affect the loading of the files in Rock Raiders, but it is still something I wish to address properly when I find the time. Download Windows: Github - https://github.com/Merigrim/FlicTool/release RRU - https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/dl-r11/ Linux, OS X: I might provide binaries later, but for now it's easier to build the tool directly from source. Source: GitHub - https://github.com/Merigrim/FlicTool (current source) RRU - https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/dl-r13/ (v1.1 source) FLH format notes: Still need to write this, but I recon it could be of interest as well so I'll start working on it once the source is uploaded. Changelog -------------------- Hey everyone, first time posting here! I joined a while back, but was never an active member of the forum. Hopefully some of you will find this tool useful. Also, this post was written very late (almost 2am here) so I apologize if any parts are hard to understand. I will be back to edit this when I get home tomorrow.

I can't help but find this amusing, in an ironic sense. Some poor guy at LEGO Interactive/Media/Digital/whatever the heck they called themselves at the time probably poured hours into developing new characters to engage kids in the digital realm or whatever. Then they get sent over to ATD and they're like "what the heck is this" and throw them into the background of the game unceremoniously. Or rather, that's the image his response conjures up for me. Who knows where the characters really came from. Also consider Artworld UK. The story in Soccer Mania has the residue of their Adventures! comic making team all over it, with Builder Pete making a cameo, the Brickster going to absurd lengths to steal relatively unimportant objects, and CGI stills telling the narrative.

I really should've put this up, but this is my opinion, so as you say it isn't everyones.

Different strokes for different folks. I've got a bunch of LEGO Movie stuff sitting in front of my face nearly all day and I haven't gotten bored of the franchise at all. The story really spoke to me and everything about the movie has been extremely endearing. I'm super excited for the new wave of sets and happy to wait out the years to go until the sequel comes along. That's not at all to say that everyone should feel the same way as I do, but I've gotten the impression that a fair number of people are still interested in the movie, ergo there is a market for the new sets and film and what have you. Think in terms of Toy Story 3 (I keep using it as an analogy for this movie, I should probably think of something else). It came out years after the first two films, but still drew in an audience and was by virtually any count a success. The trick isn't to keep people's interest over time, but to renew it when the proper time comes. It's a little early to say whether The LEGO Movie will have the cultural permanence that Toy Story has, but I think it is safe to say it has made a large enough impact to ensure there will be people to renew the interest of in 2017 (it was 2017, right? I don't remember).

Next time, Shadow, let the Mods handle giving the IP out to existing members of the old server. Actually I was not on RRU at the time, so Shadowblaze asked me via Skype for it to give to vita, so I did so from there. So technically, it was indirrectly from me.

There are scratches, definitely, I got the set well-used. But there's a fair amount of dust on it too, I haven't cleaned that set off in a while. I'm very happy with my Kahu, even if its scale is completely wrong for a Tohunga to look anything but incredibly goofy mounted on it.

I've made a voiced countdown! I've changed GAMEDATA/COMMON/321.PCM to silence, START.PCM to my countdown and GO.PCM to GO! Here's a video: http://youtu.be/jPsZwdXRvbw In case you want to download it, the link is http://www.mediafire.com/download/d468sk7u6q3uppk/LRCountdown.ZIP Enjoy

I just listen to the beeps

I've put like 10 minutes into making a little intro for LRO, It's very crappy and lacking sound, but it's a start! http://youtu.be/yNnW5d6MvC8

Bailout You need to hold off a horde of M for x amount of time before rescue comes.