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(Note: this is a re-post of something I posted to BZPower earlier, but which I consider quite relevant to RRU's focus on LEGO games.) Recently, while moving from one computer to another, I came across something I forgot I had on the deep recesses of my hard-drive; a copy of the LEGO Fusion Style Guide. I don't entirely recall where I got this originally, as it was intended for internal usage within TLG, but considering that the Fusion line has now seemingly ended, I assume it's okay to release this to the public. It's a short 16-page visually rich document, but it is still quite interesting, providing a neat look into the inner workings of LEGO's box art, graphics, and communication departments, and their policies when communicating products. As I cannot seem to find an easy way to add the .PDF document directly into this post, I have uploaded a preview below, which links to the .PDF. Enjoy!

[4:25:57 AM] jamesster: welp now it's almost 4:30 and I'm hungry [4:26:05 AM] jamesster: oops [4:30:14 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: that sounds like a you problem [4:30:19 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: except I have the same problem [4:30:23 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: so it's also a me problem [4:30:46 AM] jamesster: I'm shoving the granola bar towards the screen but nothing is happening [4:31:12 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: have you tried putting it in your disk drive? [4:33:36 AM] jamesster: http://prntscr.com/7ueqcq [4:33:37 AM] jamesster: yes [4:33:59 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: hmm, maybe it's a usb granola bar [4:37:06 AM] jamesster: http://prntscr.com/7uer3m [4:37:10 AM] jamesster: yes [4:37:35 AM] jamesster: (also, gluten free, non GMO, 5 super grains - you'd never know my mom went shopping) [4:38:03 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: well, I guess you could transfer the contents onto a dropbox account [4:38:53 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: Pirating a granola bar - aww yiss [4:39:43 AM] jamesster: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vif5ml50fxbizk9/GRANOLA.BAR?dl=0 [4:39:50 AM] jamesster: (open it in a text editor) [4:40:10 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: this seems like a bad idea [4:40:39 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: Great, now to hook it up to my 3D printer [4:40:44 AM] jamesster: illegal granola internet distribution [4:40:50 AM] jamesster: ... granola internet [4:40:59 AM] jamesster: granternet [4:41:52 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: "you wouldn't download a car, so why would you download a movie" [4:41:58 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: b**** please, I would download a car in a heartbeat [4:42:06 AM] jamesster: you wouldn't download a bar [4:42:32 AM] jamesster: I"M HILARIOUS>?? [4:43:09 AM] /)¢(\ Krysto: damn, out of toner

Did someone mention the Infomaniac? Note: You can still use texture mods in the game if you use TexMod. I replaced the explorer's face and the farmer's torso, but you are free to do as you please. I also included the textures I used for him, just plop them in your game and have at it! They're nice and high-res; face texture is 1024 sq (256 sq per face), torso is 256 sq. Face is by some wonderful guy on Flickr, Face has been redone from scratch in this new version; torso is still by me (because I'm an awful perfectionist). Will try getting his cap in there from one of the other TT games, but personally I think the pith helmet is rather fetching...would still rather have flowers on there, though. Update: Replaced the moustache, tweaked the a few other things, added a blinking expression (with LI1 yellow eyelids), updated preview picture and face texture accordingly. Now 110% more accurate! Update 2: Tweaked eyebrows, added four new expressions, calibrated colour. Here are the expressions: Just a note, the design is based on the high-resolution textures seen in the manual, since it's reasonable to assume that that is the way the textures were originally intended to be before they had to be downscaled to fit within the constrains of the DirectX 5 engine - the torso in particular suffers in-game, with the dot on the I becoming some strange ovoid shape and his bowtie doubling in width. Ultimate goal is to get this pretty much perfect so I can get some nice high-quality waterslide prints and have a more accurate Infoman than the official figure I currently have.

Why thank you, Fushi, that's really kind of you.

Thanks to my research in this thread I've uncovered the secret to possessing our minifigs, and looking through their eyes. It's not the smoothest experience (as one may expect), but it's a neat little proof of concept, I think. //stick_length 2.2 //stick_height 0.3 //stick_sphere_radius 0.06 //lookat_offsety 0.05 stick_length 0 //Def: 1.95 Good alt: 3.50 stick_height 0.15 //Def: 0.25 Good alt: 1.50 stick_sphere_radius 0.06 //Def: 0.06 lookat_offsety 0.035 //Def: 0.035 //stick_length 1.7 //stick_height 0.2 //stick_sphere_radius 0.06 //lookat_offsety 0.02 lookat_offsetz 0.0 pan_auto_stationary_time 0.0 pan_auto_rotate_speed 0.0 pan_auto_zoom_speed 1.0 pan_user_rotate_speed 1.75 //Def: 1.25 pan_user_zoom_speed 1.5 //Def: 1.5 smooth_position 0.65 //Def: 0.7 smooth_lookat 0.9 //Def: 0.9 sock_blend_in_time 2.0 //Def: 2.0 sock_blend_out_time 1.0 //Def: 1.0 los_look_ahead 1.0 //Def: 0.75 los_width 0.4 //Def: 0.4 los_height 0.75 //Def: 0.3 Affects camera position on-screen. screen_top 0.75 //Def: 0.3 screen_bottom 0.33 //Def: 0.33 focal_region 0.55 //Def: 0.55 focal_bias 0.0 //Def: 0.0 pos_seek_scale 1.0 //Def: 1.0 ang_seek_scale 1.0 //Def: 1.0 priority 0.0 //Def: 0.0 nearclip 0.40 //Def: 0.1 farclip 153.0 //Def: 153.0 upper_angle_limit 100 //Def: 90 lower_angle_limit -100 //Def: -85 elevation_correction_strength 0.0 //Def: 0.2? avoid_water_strength 0.0 // Don't avoid water avoidance_weight 0.0 // 0.0 == Do not avoid terrain (except pulling in for obstructions) The essential lines above are: stick_length stick_height smooth_position los_height screen_top nearclip avoidance_weight These must be changed to possess your minifig. Variation from these values may cause possession rejection as your minifig will toss you out to watch them run free without you in their head, albeit you might find yourself still faintly attached, and back in possession as they stop running. In action:

1000TH MAFIA POST. WOOOO! 812 more posts until this is the largest topic on RRU. Eherm, you may resume the game now.

Nice! The comic inspired the theme, confirmed confirmed. And apparently it all started with some random guy who wanted to show his cool creation to LEGO. Old LEGO company was just the best.

I posed some more specific queries to Annemette earlier which she responded to a bit ago: "Kim Hagen told me earlier that the TimeBuster concept was based on a huge TimeBuster car build which came either from LEGO or Courage. I'll ask you some follow-up questions now. 1) I've been wondering, was it LEGO or Courage the TimeBuster car build came from? 2) Would you be able to tell me how the TimeBuster concept originated and when/where it was first conceived? 3) Do you know if Max Timebuster of the 1994-1996 Klick TimeBuster series has any connection to the other Max Timebuster, the time-travelling criminal primarily featured within the Town theme who first appeared around 1993 and is featured within various catalogs and commercials? 3a) If not, do you know how the other Max Timebuster came about? 4) Was the later Time Cruisers LEGO theme directly inspired by the earlier TimeBuster series?"-Sadie Her response: "1&2. The Timebuster car was one LEGO had received from a keen buileder and big fan – Ole Primdahl showed it to me and we decided to use it for a cartoon in the magazine because it made it possible to travel from one LEGO universe to another in an exciting way. It also supported the idea of combining bricks from different universes. Together we described the opportunities of the concept, but the character and cartoon was creatively developed in cooperation with Kim Hagen whom I had hired for a free lance artist for the magazines. And over the years we published the cartoon, it developed a bit. 3&4. I believe it was our Max Timebuster that inspired the other one But I’m not sure – it’s a US matter I believe Time Cruisers as a theme was definitely inspired by the good response from the cartoon in the magazines. I’m not 100% sure of all this. I believe you should get ahold of Ole Primdahl. He was with LEGO for many, many years and in charge of everything with the international magazines until they were all united in the US setup in the late nineties.I believe he’s on holiday just now but he’s moved to the States, is retired but definitely not forgetful. I got contact with him thru Facebook."-Annemette

Saw this stop motion based on the PC version of Rock Raiders on YouTube tonight. It's pretty neat, thought it'd be worth sharing here.

Sort of a double post, so sorry if you already caught this, but realized this was the more appropriate thread for this. As before, put together a little Zotaxian dude, but the face is a little rough.