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Uh I guess I should introduce myself after being a lurker here for some time. Finally thought I should create an account. This forum has helped me get a lot of old Lego games working and I can't thank everyone who has contributed patches and launchers enough. Anyway, thank you all and I hope I get to know you all a bit more!

wow so I've been here three years huh Exactly one year ago I told you all how I ended up here in the first place, but this year... I haven't really got much to say actually. We've had some good times and some bad times in the last year, but the one thing that definitely hasn't changed is my relationship with this forum and how much I love it so. Everyone here is nice and for once on the internet it feels like I belong somewhere, and that sense of belonging is hella neat. Even through the spambots and the forum downtimes and the jhucycle incidents, we've always managed to stay together and that's super-neato. Td;lr, you people are great and I like you. But for this particular post, I'm not exactly sure what to say that hasn't been said before. It's really difficult to say unique things innit? As for how my life's been going since the last time I did one of these yearly blogposts, I'm... doing pretty well, actually. The minifigure photography I've been posting on Flickr is getting a ton o' views, that worst of lego ideas blog is starting to get some traction (posted an undertale project, got over 20 notes overnight), I got a PS4 (look ma, I'm up-to-date with technology now!), I've finished with Sixth Form and I've been offered a conditional offer for a media course at a nearby college. Life's not too bad at the mo. Sure I'm not the richest bloke in the world, but I'm happy and that's what counts. I'm a teensy bit miffed at the death of Bonkles, but I'm not letting that bother me too much ( I did buy myself a Protector of Ice though, and I love 'im to bits awwwww he's so cute). And the future? Well, I'll get to that when I get to that. Here's to that future though, and to many more years on this highly-obscure vintage lego games forum which I love so much. Here's to it I guess. -Ayliffe

A while back I came across this: This is from somebody did art stuff for LEGO Battles and the sequel LEGO Battles: Ninjago. About 22 seconds in you can see a clip of two knights fighting that doesn't seem to belong to either game - it's not Ninjago, but the art's definitely ahead of that in the original LEGO Battles. So I emailed him a while back and asked him about it. Turns out it was actually an art test for a LEGO Battles 2 before it became mostly Ninjago themed. Also, the switch to the isometric perspective was part of the game even in those early LEGO Battles 2 days. Also, LEGO Battles: Ninjago was going to have its cutscenes rendered in a cel shaded style (3D made to look 2D), and while it was cool, it was made to look more like the TV show for consistency. He was also the resident LEGO expert in the dev team, and was glad we'd picked up on all the references to old LEGO stuff. I also showed him Aaronburner05's Gemma mod for LEGO Racers - he liked it, said he loved LEGO Racers. One more thing - we've found more info on that 2009 LEGO Racers game mentioned in the OP since that post was written, you can read about that here if you haven't already:

I seem to remember reading the "ex-army" bit (I'd thought that was a given way back when, as it seemed like the theme was post WWI, but I know we have an earlier date now). But I like that we finally have an explanation for the two different Insectoids backgrounds--I always suspected they weren't mutally exclusive! TC

Yo yo! Welcome to Piraka RRU!

One thing I forgot to cover in detail in my previous blog entry was regarding how my game fits into the 6m core values of the LEGO company. Once again, this is all just generalisation at this stage, but since it's part of the reason I'm making this game (to make a LEGO game which actually matches all the values), I need to address them in some capacity. The 6 Core Values: Imagination: It's important that kids can have enough freedom to express their ideas and develop their understanding of the world through the power of clever thinking and imagination. In my game, since there's no "action" mechanics that force kids into a fast-paced, deconstructive mindset, I can have the players invest a lot of the game time in their own minds, thinking about the way the world works and possible solutions to the problems they will encounter. The game very much is about asking the player to imagine what happened, and the simulation mode lets players play with their imagination based on what they find. Creativity: While Imagination focuses on the player bringing their unique view of the world to the game, Creativity is more about how the player can express their ideas and make impactful choices. In this game, every choice (such as collection items or playing a chain-of-events in simulator mode) has clear feedback on if it will help, hinder or distract towards your end goal. While there will always be one right/best solution, it's going to be key to still reward the player for any successful progress they did make and inspire them, rather than scold them, into trying out new ideas. The end ranking system will need to take this into account. Fun: LEGO nailed it when they stated that Fun comes through Mastery; that is, we enjoy when we learn and feel the rush of progression and succession. I feel as though the mechanics lend themselves to a very clear teaching experience about consequences and understanding the butterfly effect. With a strong feedback loop in place, players should always feel as though their actions inside the game are getting them somewhere, whether that be closer or further away from discovering what exactly happened at each scene. Learning: While this could practically be the same thing as Fun, I instead wish to treat this more towards the actual tutorial/skill-building process. Not everybody will understand how cars falls apart when hit at certain angles when they first start out, which is why my game will need to incorporate some native, subtle hints within the mechanics and design of each scene. As a simple example, the simple use of lighting and colour can make more important items stand-out, guiding newer players towards the key evidence they may not be aware they need. Caring: This value isn't going to be present so much inside the mechanics of the game itself as just the overall design goals of the game. By listening very carefully to Jon Blow's message about the human condition and the ethics of game design, I will be ensuring that players of this game aren't wasting their time on crap, but will actually have a deep and meaningful game experience with substance to enjoy. Quality: Ultimately, this will be the biggest challenge. By setting minimum technical and design standards and keeping myself hostage to this blog, I can overcome some of the typical problems in keeping consistent, high quality throughout a project, but it's going to take a lot of organisation and effort to really make it sink in, especially if others come on-board for this project. It's all very vague and mysterious at this point, but as I carve a clearer picture of this game in the coming weeks, these values will start to be nailed down to very specific elements of the game design.

So if you recall, Brickset started their own repository of LEGO catalogs a little while ago. I made the mistake of assuming there wouldn't be much new to see in the new ones they uploaded. Turns out I was wrong. All this stuff is from their uploads of the large UK catalogs. There may well be more stuff in there I haven't come across yet. 1992 Some interaction between Gov. Broadside and Admiral Woodhouse 1993 Another source referring to the Dragon Masters wizard/dragon duo as Merlin and Ogwen. I think the only other place these came up was the audio dramas. Max has 400,000,000 on his head. What the hell has he been doing?! Alludes to a "Blacktron Commander." The thing that happens to him is that he's supposed to be the Blacktron frozen in ice in the one Ice Planet diorama. 1994 Just look through pages 28 - 47. The whole Max Timebuster chase in English. Note that the first page of it has a diorama that actually included three Max Timebusters, so they photoshopped two of them to be different. 1997 The "Time Travellers Zone?" owned This seems to clarify the whole Techdroid business This fig is named Running Bear Early LEGO Island cover art. nice face texture 1998 Sam Grant's backstory. The website suggested is still up and looks like it hasn't changed much. The Insectoids descriptions go into surprising detail about how the different vehicles work together in the Voltstone harvesting operation. Also, two 'Insector' characters, like maybe it's a title or something. Does that resolve any naming issues elsewhere? 1999 Bizarre description that actually appears to tie the international and US versions of the Insectoids story together. Last but not least, a bunch of new Throwbots/Slizer info that is metal as f**** - including, finally, written descriptions of the stories suggested by the art on the discs. Like, sure yeah, the confirmation that the Judge is trying to take over the planet is a long time coming, but like, Ice uses the crystals he finds to "destroy the fur of the bloodthirsty animals that inhabit his continent so they cannot survive the cold." Absolutely savage. So yeah, lots of fun stuff. Edit: oh yeah, almost forgot these guys. Nothing completely new but slightly different from what we've seen before.

I'm still kinda hoping they do... TC

Yo, Welcome to RRU.

Why hello there, welcome to the members side of things! We hope you enjoy your stay and will stick around a while.

Brickset got those Shop at Home catalogs added. Unfortunately it isn't everything, and there isn't much new. This is the first time I've seen Robin Hood mentioned in US materials, though. also this

If you haven't yet had a chance to look through Brick by Brick, the recent book by David C. Robertson, I highly recommend it. Amongst other things it deals with LEGO's first forays in the digital world, through internal project they titled Darwin. According to the book (to the best of my memory, I don't currently have access to it to check), Darwin began when a Swedish man paid a visit to LEGO HQ. He insisted that he meet with Kjeld, and eventually got his wish. What he had to share was a highly impressive 3D animation featuring LEGO spaceships. The goal of project Darwin was to create a complete library of digital LEGO bricks, perfect in every detail. Then, to use these bricks to create a system for developing videos, games, and any number of computer-based paraphernalia LEGO could wish for. After many years of testing and playing with numerous concepts, and huge investments on LEGO's part, the company realized that technology was too limited to get them where they wanted fast enough. In addition, the employees on the Darwin team were being perceived by others to be receiving special treatment from the company, creating an ugly divide that made cooperation difficult. In 1998, LEGO Media was established, and quickly replaced Darwin and all of LEGO's ambitions related to it with a new aim of outsourcing to other companies to produce games. But that isn't why I'm here, posting this topic. I'm here because someone on the Bricklink forum just linked to The LEGO Movie - not the upcoming feature film, but what appears to be the original animation that inspired LEGO to launch Darwin. This animation, then, is the basis of everything LEGO has since done digitally. But that isn't all. Here is a window into some of the work that went on during the days of the Darwin project.

All aboard the feels train.

Another year, weeee! Love you too.

Nonsense. We use only the freshest malarkey in our memes, and our purveyors are never less than impeccable; s̞̣̝͖̰ụ̘̼̜̟ͅc̶̘̜͚̝̦ͅḩ̺̗̪ ì͇͉̩̮̜̱͚s ̢̣ṱ͙̲̪ẖ̗̲͈e̩͇͉̺̮̣ͅi̬̳̜̦̣̘͡r̘͙̙ ҉̗̜̮d͖̯̘ȩv̯͖̜̥͙̲o̳̳̳͙ti̯̣̯̝͚͕̥͠o̯̙̦͈͕̳ͅṋ̷̞ .̞͍͈̹̳̖ And we have PUPPIES!

guys come on don't scare the new guy off with all your dank memery

Aha! Another morsel member! It seems like ages since the last one... Thanks for stepping into our parlor!

I'm sorry, but, I couldn't resist. (Also, welcome to RRU!)

hiya

High Level Overview Welcome! Over the coming months in my spare time, I will be developing a new LEGO fan-game called LEGO Investigations. Before I can build the full title, I need to make a vertical slice that demonstrates the full thing is feasible and will be worth the effort it will take. In this High Level Overview, I will be going over some generalities. In my next blog, I will upload a golden path chart, beat sheet, level design plan as well as an asset list and potentially a script sample, which should give more specific detail into how the Vertical Slice will work. Section 1: The Jist What is this game? LEGO Investigations is a first-person adventure game where players are a detective and must investigate accidents and emergencies to determine what has occurred. Made in Unity for the PC, this game focuses on the player narrative rather than the story, and makes use of interesting mechanics such as simulation and seeking. Why is anybody going to care? The big goal for this project is to be a successful LEGO fan-game, and to do this there will be intense focus on meeting the core LEGO brand values, including imagination, creativity, fun, learning, caring and quality. The game will use LEGO in a way that makes it core to the mechanics, and will give the players a chance to try new and rewarding gameplay that tests a player on their logical reasoning. Who is the game for? LEGO Investigations is primarily for boys and girls between the ages of 12 - 24. This game is very specifically aiming towards fans of the LEGO brand, especially its video gaming merchandise. This game will favour more inquisitive, logical and careful players rather than fast-paced action-orientated players. There is no client for this game, and the game will not be sold for profit (per licensing reasons). Section 2a: The Vertical Slice - Summary Title LEGO Investigations: The First Case Genre First-Person, Adventure Platforms Windows PC via Unity3D 5.1.4 The Big Idea It's your first day on the job, and you've been called to the scene of a major accident; a double-decker bus has come off the road and crashed into a local shop, leaving dozens hurt or disassembled. While the ambulance crews scurry to help the injured, you'll need to figure out who the correct culprit was; mechanical failure, driver error, weather or foul play? Don't mess this up; the Government is already under suspicion of muddling the truth of its investigations, and another wrong case could put us in the pits! Play Mechanic As a highly trained detective, you have the uncanny ability to sniff out relevant parts and people to the investigation. Combine that with a brilliant mind which can simulate all kinds of possible scenarios that involve the evidence you locate and a knack for conversing and getting the truth out of potential suspect, and then it only becomes a matter of correctly piecing together the chain of events in the right order. License The First Case is a standalone level which will not be a part of the final product, should plans go ahead to turn this vertical slice into a full game. It will represent the majority of the mechanics of the full game and give a fairly accurate view of the game experience. The average playtime should be in the ball-park of 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how many events and how many pieces are in the final build and how good the player is. Since the LEGO Brick/Brand is owned by The LEGO Group, the results of this project cannot be sold for profit. Target Audience The First Case is intended to generate some kind of reaction that can be used to gauge if pursuing the full product is a good idea; it must, therefore, be enticing to journalists and YouTube Let's Players, as well as figureheads in the AFOL community, as opposed to the final product which would be directed more towards the children. The development of this project should be public, and therefore needs to be fairly flexible to allow for constructive criticism to guide how the product turns out. Section 2b: The Vertical Slice - Mechanics Seeking One of the most core aspects of the game is the ability to find relevant evidence to the case. The evidence the player needs can be scattered all over the level, and so it will take an inquisitive eye to find whichever pieces are most important to solving the mystery. Not even piece will help, and some may even be red herrings... Movement Mechanics: The first-person player can move forward, backward, left and right (strafing). The levels are not designed to require jumping or crouching, but may require the player to look up or down. LEGO/Item Collection: Items that can be interacted with are made of LEGO. Items that shine can be collected as "potential evidence" and are what the player needs to focus on. Collected items go into the player's backpack and will determine what events they can use during Simulation/Piecing. All evidence will leave notes and clues inside the player's notebook. Detail Investigation: In some instances, the player can "zoom-in" on certain parts of the world; for example, the player can get a view up-close of a desk and everything on the desk to see if there might be something useful there. Red Herrings: Many items in the world will outright be used to confuse or distract the player. Some items are from the investigation but did not play an active role in what happened, while other items may have been left-overs from the past before the accident. The player must simulate or collect additional evidence to determine if items had any relevance to the scene. Item Cancelling: Collecting some items may ultimately cancel out the existence of others (collecting a photo of a character without a moustache may mean they never had need for a moustache brush). This will help eliminate possible events for Simulation/Piecing, and cross off irrelevant/confusing notes inside the notebook. Dialogue It's important to listen to key witnesses and suspects when trying to evaluate what happened. While not everything they say will be true (by accident or intentionally), some evidence can be very helpful or even crucial to figuring out what happened. The key to the dialogue system is to try and get information, and that sometimes means challenging the character on what they've said. Conversation Options: When you initiate a dialogue with a character, you will have a Mass-Effect-style wheel of conversation topics to choose from. The main character's dialogue is never explicitly read out; you only witness the other character's side of the conversation. The conversation options on the left side are used to challenge what the character just said or their appearance/way of talking (when appropriate), while the right side allows you to ask more questions. The bottom allows you to leave the conversation at any point (you will resume from the same place when you return). Intelligence: If you have learned evidence from the items you've collected/investigated or from other characters which conflicts with what the person you're talking to has said, appropriate dialogue options to call out/challenge the character with your evidence will be highlighted, and will allow you to get more accurate information. This can be disabled in the menu to increase game difficulty. Notes: Any information you discover will be added to the notepad, and if that information is contradicted by correct information it will be crossed off. Simulation A fast player may wish to simply rush through; collect the minimum-necessary evidence and submit their findings. In order to get an accurate sequence of events and rank high, a smart player will want to make use of the simulation system which allows them to mix-and-match possible events in a chosen order to see if everything leads to how the crime scene looks when you arrive. Event Collection: An "event" is a thumbnail that sits in your backpack and represents a small snippet of time, usually a couple seconds, where a key part of the story happened (such as a part coming off a vehicle or a person getting out of a car). In order to use events in the simulation, you must have either collected enough evidence and/or notes for the simulation to appear in the browser. When you collect a piece of evidence, any events that require that evidence to be shown will be unhidden but locked; collecting all the required evidence items/notes will unlock the event for use. If you've unlocked evidence that makes an event contradictory, it will be locked and crossed-off. Notepad: The notepad can be accessed inside the simulator, and allows you to go over information you've collected. Not all note-evidence can be used to unlock events; some of the notes you collect will be general knowledge for your benefit (such as the speed of bullet in the air or how glass shatters when it breaks in different ways). These notes are in a separate section of the notepad, and should be used to compare similar events to see which one is more plausible. Event Chains: In order to use the Simulation aspect, the player must drag and drop events into a timeline. The start and end events are already given to the player, and the exact amount of "slots" will always be given, so the player knows exactly how many events took place. Each event has "handles" (different coloured/shaped edges on the left and right sides of the thumbnail); you can only put the correct-shapes and colours together in the chain. This prevents the player creating an order of events that is completely incompatible. Event Simulation: The real meat of the Simulator is to put events in a chain and see how they work together. Once the player has dragged and dropped events into the chain they can then begin "Simulator Mode". In Simulator Mode, the player becomes a flying camera which can watch, pause, play, fast-forward or reverse the events. Simulator Mode takes place inside the same scene as where the detective is, but anything that is changed from the scene will be a transparent "ghost", which allows the player to determine if elements ended up in the correct positions in their sequence of events. Piecing The ultimate goal of each scenario is to correctly identify what has happened. When you choose to finish your investigation, you must present your findings, and then you will be ranked on how close your were. Level End: You can choose to finish the level at any point by talking to the Boss. Doing so will bring you to a screen where you can input your findings, or back-out if you don't feel you have enough correct information. Notes: You can bring up your notebook or your bag of evidence at any point in this screen if you need to double-check what you have. Event Ordering: The first piece of info you will need to add is the correct order of events. This is exactly the same as the Simulator Mode, except you cannot simulate the events from this part of the game; this is to prevent players trying to rush through and dump evidence in that "looks" correct. Questions: After that, you will then need to provide answers to ~5 questions about the scene, including who/what was most guilty and some of the things that happened. For each "question", there will be a blank spot with a drop-down selection that will allow you to pick out an applicable item/note that correctly fills out the sentence. Submission: When you are confident you got everything right, you will be asked one final time if you're ready to submit; you will then be shown the sequence of events you chose in a cinematic order, and brought to a ranking page. The chain-of-events counts for 50% of the mark, and the 5 questions are each worth 10%. If the player does not get 100%, they will be shown some hints to consider for the next time if they want to replay the level. 50% is the minimum requirement for completion. Considerations These are miscellaneous mechanics that may not be applicable to the vertical slice, but could improve the experience. Randomisation: The correct chain-of-events and the position of elements in the world could be randomised on each play-through. Episodes: As well as having individual, "one-off" cases, it might also be good to have linked-sets of cases called "Episodes" where the player is trying to solve a big mystery by visiting different crime scenes. Timed/Speed-Run Mode: A mode that tests how fast you can collect the evidence and solve the case. Collectibles/100%: Getting the perfect ranking in each level (as well as the timed run) should give the player some unique items/abilities/additional cases. It might also be good to let players collect special items in the game world. Rewards could also include things like story/audio logs. Hub World: To launch different cases, rather than use a menu, the player should be inside a hub world (like the Tt Games) where they can launch each case. If the player completes all the cases, they can then complete a special case in the hub world itself. Hint System: It might be handy for less-experience players to have some kind of light hint system that guides them in the right direction, but does not solve the puzzles for them.

bionicle creator reveals the 8th element

Sorry for the two-year bump, but... we have proof this actually existed! (highlighted the important-looking bits)