Contact with ATD

[KevinVG207]

(I've also sent an email to HVS, to hopefully get some info on LR )

[lol username]

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…

Soccer Mania was developed by Silicon Dreams, a sister studio to ATD. If they were working on a cancelled sequel to Soccer Mania it'd make sense for him to know of it. Now who from Silicon Dreams might we contact to learn more...?

[emily]

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.

 

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.

 

Now who from Silicon Dreams might we contact to learn more...?

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.

[lol username]

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.

[Fluffy Cupcake]

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.

---

And cut out network multiplayer!

Already known multiplayer was planned, only the scrapped ramins of strings can be found in .exe, and as well in the LEGO STRINGS files themselves too. I believe all the code for it was left out otherwise.

If you plan to reply back to him, you can let him know I said that. ;)

[dead_name]

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.

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

Awesome reply!

 

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).

 

This sounds familiar somehow... Oh yeah! Saffire and BIONICLE: The Legend of Mata Nui. I get the feeling LEGO Media didn't really know what they were doing. I see why the outsourced with TT.

[Shadowblaze]

Well that was interesting. seriously

 

Can't wait to hear if we can get the source code.

 

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.

 

I know, right? The fact that Baron Rosso and Frank Solido were originally intended to be bosses surprised me a little.