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With finals and thesis, amongst many other things, this time has been unexpectedly stressful. I'll get a scene in today. "FOOLS, all of you! Do you not see? The killer is among you! He is your puppeteer; he leads you all to do as he wishes! But you will die, every last one of you. I too shall die. I am not such a fool to think myself immortal. But it will not be by your grubby hands! You will never take me! Never, DO YOU HEAR? NEVER!" The frenzied Xiron ran from the crowd, hoping in vain to escape. "Xiron, old chap, you hardly make a good case for yourself. I do not desire your death, but maddened threats will hardly acquit you!". The Sheepborg, Mr. Q.P tried to calm the doomed waffle. "Come back, we'll have a fair trial! And even if you are condemned, I smuggled some illegal foie-gras and an '78 bottle of radium wine past the blockage; you'll go out with a good last meal! That's the way to do it, old man." "NEVER! I'LL NEVER BE IN THE POWER OF YOUR GRUBBY LITTLE MOB! I'll escape! You'll see! I'll see the galaxy! I'll see things you'd never believe; I'll see ships burn, off the shoulder of Orion; watch C-beams gliTAAARGH!!!" A blast of plasma ended Xiron's rant. The hysterical yells of condemned man were replaced by silence and the smell of burning circuitry. The "corpse" of one, who was perhpas more machine than man, lay on the barren ground, killed by one of the colonists. The silence of space(for the colony's artificial atmosphere was too small to develop wind) lasted for two minutes. Finally Mael spoke up, "Well that's the last of him. I'm going to bed". "We'll examine the body in the morning." Jimbob added. And so, as the ice planet Vertumnus ᶲ rose in the sky, its silver rays falling on the dead Xiron, the colonists left the scene to sleep, hoping that they had chosen rightly. They hadn't.

Sadie, the Islander book is a program for the traveling exhibit, and it's been uploaded to miniland...I'll post a link when I get home. It's a loose story with pictures from the exhibit, so not a comic per se, but I can see why someone would group them together. EDIT: Here it is. Slightly different title, so I can't guarantee the book you found has the same contents, but it's a pretty safe bet. TC

Happened on some 1996 to early-1997 issues of Klick: http://www.priceminister.com/s/lego+klick#xtatc=INT-601 One of the listings seems to be for a collection of issues (1-10 with 7 missing plus a special edition, whatever that may be), but still awaiting on a response from the seller to confirm whether or not they're still available: http://prntscr.com/5hr1sz The site's FAQ states that both the buyer and seller must reside in Metropolitan France, meaning I'll need to either employ an intermediary service, or find someone residing in France willing to forward the magazines to me.

Here's another Donald Duck magazine of some sort containing some kind of LEGO content: http://www.ebay.it/itm/Topolino-n-1403-17-ott-82-Pubblicita-LEGO-Walt-Disney-Mondadori-/131284532514 Also, some more things among the plethora of stuff jamesster and I discovered last night: I think it's pretty clear now that the 'Legoland Series' described on this page refers to the LEGOLAND advertising comics we've found on Brickshelf and eBay, especially given this particular comic as it seems to fit the scenario described quite well. Moreover, also as described, these are unilateral advertisements, and short stories with continuity between them, some of which end in cliffhangers. However, they appear in at least three more languages than just Swedish. There's also this early 1984 LEGOLAND comic of the same kind, but with a different art style: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAzNFg4NTg=/z/5WoAAMXQ6BRRXx5T/$T2eC16Z,!)8E9s4l8!d(BR()5T)wTg~~60_57.JPG Additionally, there's this two-part Insectoids comic apparently advertising some annual fireworks show at LEGOLAND Windsor somehow involving Insectoids: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMTYz/z/nHUAAMXQRPRTJDmT/$_57.JPG http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMTYz/z/c9MAAOxykMpTJDl5/$_57.JPG

You get the drill. Players: Ben24x7, Someswedish Oh No! Its almost Christmas! Juts Then! I cannot leave you for 5 minutes can I!?! RRU Thunder Chase! Reverse Falling Draw something you haven't drawn in a long while

Pohatu is now the BIONICLE Johnny Thunder, except totally unironically radical as opposed to Johnny's sometimes unironic and sometimes extremely ironic radical-ness.

I thought I would share some good news on the remake of Lego Rock Raiders, we were going to call it Block Raiders (due to Lego trademark on the RR name, however the good news is that the trademark has expired and also the extra time they have to renew it, and we have just registered the 'Rock Raiders' trademark ourselves. The name will live on.

Hello! Have you ever wished you could read old LEGO magazines? Probably not. But I sure love to put old LEGO magazines on the internet anyway! I recently received a small collection of LEGO Adventures!, Bricks n' Pieces and LEGO World Club Magazin issues courtesy of Cyrem and jamesster. Only two of them have been made available in English in their entirety online prior to now, so I am pleased to present what I have for your viewing pleasure. As with my LEGO MANIA Magazine scans, I will be uploading these frequently, but probably not daily. LEGO Adventures! LEGO Bricks 'n' Pieces LEGO World Club Magazine Issue 16 LEGO Magazine LEGO Shop at Home

Remember when I said that there were certain members I was gonna draw regardless of whether they asked for it or not? Well here's one of them.

I WILL FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT WORK

Yes. And it is beautiful. EDIT: From the first video: "United, the elements hold the power to defeat evil. United, but not one." Calling this as an important plot point.

http://www.lego.com/en-us/bionicle/story/the-legend First three episodes are now live, and you can view animated character videos for the six Toa in the characters section. Everything is awesome. Narrator is still the best.

Missed this before. I've seen "Commander Bear" and "Major Kartofski" in various places, and directly tied to the minifigures, but I've only seen "Captain Magenta" here. Is the name ever used anywhere else, particularly along with a specific minifigure? There's really only one choice of a minifigure that would fit him (the higher ranking SP2 officer with the epaulettes) but it'd be good to see another source. Old subject, but here's a solid source for Captain Magenta: '> Just noticed it tonight while looking at other stuff. Also, does this guy have a name? http://www.lego7205.com/minifig-imperial/4 IIRC he's just called something generic (if anything), but he's in this Japanese catalog segment with other named characters: http://www.lego7205.com/pirates-cat/4 And automatic translation of his page there isn't really helping very much, I'm not sure how much it may or may not be screwing things up ("GAIL ADJUTANT"...?)

http://www.giocattolivecchi.com/Forum_detail.aspx?t=0&id_d=1128273&p=1 http://www.giocattolivecchi.com/xtra_forum_slide.aspx?id_d=1128273 There's a lot of LEGO advertising stuff in this topic, but one on the second page especially caught my eye... http://www.giocattolivecchi.com/public/_forum_pic/1139686/b5.JPG What have we here, hmmmm...? Also, it seems Max Timebuster appears throughout the ads in different outfits. Aaaand here's a more readable version of a space ad in the topic which looks interesting (Commander Black Star?): '> (From here: http://docmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/04/le-pubblicita-fuorvianti-di-topolino_15.html ) Some rough Google Translate stuff says it opens with "Follow the commander Black Star in new exciting adventures" and then lists what you can do with various Blacktron sets. Mostly unrelated, but this is a neat site with Japanese LEGO catalogs and such: http://www.lego7205.com/catalog

Seeing "Chamon" and "Zotax" in the same sentence is interesting. I'd get it, but I'm a bit hesitant to do so, as I'll be on a road trip over the holidays, and whoever delivers the mail tends to mix stuff up sometimes, so I prefer to be home and monitoring the all the mail when I'm expecting something. It'd probably turn out ok, but still... Maybe it'd arrive before I leave. Maybe it'd arrive after I return home. I could ask family at home to watch for it too. I'll try to get it if nobody else immediately can/wants to, but if somebody else wants to get it and scan it, that'd be good. Edit: Oh heck with it, buying it. Edit: Bought. "Estimated Delivery within 6-18 business days".

Yeah them Rock Raiders are evil creatures. When I command my legion of mining slugs the Rock Raiders are always invading my base, but not only that they're destroying my home putting pointless holes everywhere. Scumbag thieves they are.

Meanwhile, at LEGO HQ...

It must be my week.

I still often misread Pohatu as Potato. *Ducks in cover*

I'm pretty much sold by now. BIONICLE 2015 is pretty much confirmed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a train to catch...

Aww screw it, i'm jumping on the hype train I still like 2001-2006 better, but it'll be fun to see where this goes, and what the new sets look like. (if the Hype train doesn't crash and burn of corse)

I'm just going to throw down ideas here. All will not be great, some I came up with on the fly with little in-depth thought. Walls Like Lair said, mining walls should be similar to LRR's current method, but not have the giant grid method that is currently employed. Instead, have a smaller grid system (but not too small - I'd say each LRR grid should be 4 or 6 squares instead. Raiders can fit into a 1-square grid, hover scouts/small trucks can fit into a 2-square grid, granite grinder into a 3 or 4, large wheeled vehicles needing like 6. Also, that way each cube can be an individual ore so 'seams' aren't just random walls that have extra ore or crystals - there'll be clusters of cubes that have special ores mixed among the generic rock. I'd say make each 'wall' 2 or three cubes high, and then procedurally draw the roof connecting above those depending on how many cubes are surrounding it. Vehicles Keep vehicle functions close to what they are in LRR, but make them have a special niche - like Granite Grinder much cheaper than Chrome Crusher, hover scout faster, give a use to the Small Mobile Laser Cutter (and the large one for that matter...) Some sort of water-based drilling vehicle that won't drop the resources in the water. Some sort of aerial transportation of materials for construction purposes (like how the Small Transport Truck will help construction) AI Hunger - instead of sandwiches, raiders should have a deteriorating hunger/stamina bar that they have to replenish or they'll lose efficiency. If it goes all the way down, they faint and need to be taken to a med bay/support station by a transport truck or something. Priorities - keep the FIFO method for manually directed tasks, but make unspecified tasks actually have a priority over one another with a time limit so that a task that hasn't been completed for a long time doesn't stay that way. Make Raiders be smart about dynamite (don't lose task at hand - just wait) (training?) Construction - smart resource distribution. Ensure Small Transport Trucks don't drop off too much. Also, if an area is inaccessible by land, try to make the game smart and use a chain system of raiders and Rapid Riders, for instance (not as much of a priority, but very useful - training as well?) Raiders A few training options - tool and resource efficiency, weapons training (for accuracy) Buildings Building niches in current game are nice - maybe add a couple things such as the aforementioned comm tower, make the mining laser more useful Placement on level ground can be annoying. Add some functionality to use materials to level out the ground (to an extent)? Materials Maybe add one or two more materials for certain special uses (upgrades?), but no more than that Make resources (such as ore) more rare - not in every wall (or make construction require vastly more of it)

My references to simple casual games was only in reply to our popcorn arcade titles, which were designed to be simple and for a young age, we do all sorts of titles, we have done 18+ rated titles, (which RR2 will also not be). RR2 will be a more involved and complex game, multiplayer, more depth aimed teenagers to adults. The only format that will probably require a lot of change in design is for facebook. I don't like the simple 2D block games on facebook, you can do a real 3D game, and thats what I want to do. What i do really find exciting is the massive multiplayer possabilities and the long term realtime daily progress, people play facebook games very differently to 'PC' games, something they do every single day, but only for a short update time, but reguarly for days, for months, and years, this dedication can lead to a really big support and amazing worlds that can be created. Fans will be able to construct whole worlds of specifically constructed buiildings, bases, that keep going on, constantly improved and expanded, I love the concept of limitless design a universe of limitless worlds. Imagine building your craft capable of space travel and discovering these worlds that are truely unique. that have been crafted by hand, block by block by real people. exciting, intreaguing, a real discovery.

The problem is that this is exactly what the Rock Raiders United community doesn't want, or at the very least that is the general attitude that many people have around here. Rock Raiders is a very casual game already up until a few levels near the end and many of the mods that RRU has made try to make the game more challenging. The core demographic for the original game was children, so that is understandable. Now, we have grown up and the majority of us are 15 to 25 years old. We can take a challenge. This makes me feel a little bit better about the situation. In my eyes, Rock Raiders was one of your best games and I have hope that you are willing to show us a game that's even better than the original Rock Raiders. Of course, when I say "you" I'm addressing all of DDI -- the programmers, the artists, the musicians, the engineers, and the leaders. I was talking to a few people about this and we're actually concerned about you developing this game on multiple formats at once. Having multiple formats means that you need multiple teams to work on each version, which splits your time and energy. If you're planning on PC, Wii, WiiU, Android, iOS, and Facebook... you're spreading your effort way too thin and the main product (PC) will suffer. And honestly, the game will end up being completely different for each format. The PC has mouse and keyboard controls which are superior to a controller (WiiU) or pointer (Wii), and far superior to a touchscreen (Android, iOS). The general attitude towards Facebook games for many people around here is negative, and I feel that you will receive either backlash or apathy towards a Facebook version of the game. We do not want Farmville Raiders. We do not want to waggle a Wiimote at a screen in order to drill a wall. Please understand this. Your trending analysts may say that Facebook games are hot right now and the casual market is something you need to capture, but RRU in general is not in that market. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I think we are looking for a game that makes us think and plan ahead.

Hi Peabody, I don't mind addressing this. We sold over 5 million Popcorn Arcade titles, It was a huge worldwide success, and the truth is that the public loved the titles and we are still selling them now. Our only problem was that the press (actually 2 companies) hated our titles. to be fair they didnt understand them, they saw the huge success we were having and didn't get it. At the time the press was talking about 100 man teams taking 5 years to develop hardcore games, and we came along with family friendly casual games at the lowest price on Wii, the opposite of what they thought gamers wanted. At the time, the Press didn't think family friendly, simple to pick up and use games would be popular, and they slated our games for being too easy, and simple. The whole games market has since learnt that simple online games and phone games have captured the majority of the market, this type of game is exactly what the public wanted! To be a commercial writer you quickly learn that extremes sell, writing a review of an average game, at at affordable price appealing to young kids isn't 'interesting copy' you get a better story saying, this is the best game, or worst game in the world. Anyone who has been in the business will also stell you the correlation between advertising budgets and review scores! and we didn't advertise. It was sort of amusing as despite their hate campaign, they still kept printing 'why are people buying these games' and thats who we make games for the 5 million players, who bought and kept buying our games, not the 3 magazine writers. Our titles helped the Wii market, at the time NO-ONE was writing games for Wii, and a console flops without enough software, we captured 40% of the market, nothing was a shoddy product, they all fully used the Wii remote, they were all multiplayer games, we were innovators, first to launch titles with Wii motion Plus support, first titles with 3D glasses, our Golf Trainer title won many awards, Budget games can't compare with full price titles, but our games were excellent for the money, and at less than $20 when games were $40-$60 we were games that kids could afford, I am proud of what we did. After saying all that, the New Rock Raiders is not a budget game, it is a BIG project, we can do many styles, and this is a Major quality title for us.

I hereby dub this bug as: The RR's Lose thier Com units. Without them, they can no longer receive orders.