Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Scarilian]

-snip-

In terms of the gold i think most people view it as empowering the sets, as such i understand the desire for less gold to represent the toa when they dont have their empowered state.

In terms of Kopaka i personally wanted the white shoulders and chest piece instead of gold because its too much gold in a single area.

As for Onua a similar situation occurs with the silver shoulder pads and hammer, compared to the gold dispersed everywhere else. Having the silver armour pieces would allow to disperse the silver colour throughout his set, even if the silver doesnt have as much as a eye-catching look to it.

Regardless, Its all personal prefrence

[Clone 01354 Productions]

In relation to colors--well, sort of--I just wanted to mention something: Does anyone else miss the days of elementally-colored villains? A lot of the villains now seem pretty boring: gunmetal, red, and black have become "evil" colors. The summer sets do have some variety with the trans-colors (like Basher's purple), and I'll give this wave a pass since they're rotting skeletons--but for the next wave of villains, I would really like to see some colorful ones.

Also, one thing has been bugging me lately: in the CGI commercial, LOSS grabs the MOCR and runs away with it. My question is this: If the MOCR wasn't released in set form for the winter, why would they show LOSS stealing it? Could it be that LOSS used the MOCR to create the Skull Spiders, and that is where they came from? And maybe LOSS has a larger role in the story.....?

Edited February 23, 2015 by LN-01354

[GK733]

In relation to colors--well, sort of--I just wanted to mention something: Does anyone else miss the days of elementally-colored villains? A lot of the villains now seem pretty boring: gunmetal, red, and black have become "evil" colors. The summer sets do have some variety with the trans-colors (like Basher's purple), and I'll give this wave a pass since they're rotting skeletons--but for the next wave of villains, I would really like to see some colorful ones.

Also, one thing has been bugging me lately: in the CGI commercial, LOSS grabs the MOCR and runs away with it. My question is this: If the MOCR wasn't released in set form for the winter, why would they show LOSS stealing it? Could it be that LOSS used the MOCR to create the Skull Spiders, and that is where they came from? And maybe LOSS has a larger role in the story.....?

The commercial is pretty much non canon. The mask is there because it is the new "face" of Bionicle. But maybe LOSS indeed got the mask and created the spiders with it. The fight on the volcano area with all the toa never happened though and quite honestly I don't see them putting it on the summer animations.

[Dorek]

In relation to colors--well, sort of--I just wanted to mention something: Does anyone else miss the days of elementally-colored villains? A lot of the villains now seem pretty boring: gunmetal, red, and black have become "evil" colors. The summer sets do have some variety with the trans-colors (like Basher's purple), and I'll give this wave a pass since they're rotting skeletons--but for the next wave of villains, I would really like to see some colorful ones.

The Skull villains all have bright colors, so... seems pretty elementally colored to me. Black and red have always been the stereotypical "evil" colors, but one could argue that the summer wave has nothing but bright primary colors, certainly moreso than some we've seen in Gen 1.

[Logan McOwen]

Sorry, I know I'm late to the discussion, but about a movie. I'd love something with the graphic style of TLR and the HF show, but with a similar animation style to the original trilogy. The set designs are great as they are, and wouldn't need gross modifications like those in the original trilogy.

EDIT: I'm a Knight now? Huh, neat,

Edited February 23, 2015 by LewiMOC

[DatNerdyKid]

So. Almost TWO MONTHS later than America, this year's BIONICLE sets have finally shown up in Target Ocean Keys, Perth, Western Australia (where I work). About time! Still, we only seem to have a limited amount and they have been quite literally jammed in amongst the rest of the Lego-I mean come on, give it its own display! The terrible Transformers: Age of Extinction (unfortunately not the extinction of the franchise) toys don't need their own display anymore!

Anyway.

Decided to buy Onua and Protector of Earth (you just hav to buy the set). Cost me $45. I realised soon after that it was going to cost me around $250 to get this entire wave. My body is ready for that.

Anywho, I like Protector and I like Onua-I just didn't realise how tiny his mask was! It's like...really tiny! Maybe that's just in comparison to the rest of him...

Now to find the rest of the sets!

[Scarilian]

Anywho, I like Protector and I like Onua-I just didn't realise how tiny his mask was! It's like...really tiny! Maybe that's just in comparison to the rest of him...

Now to find the rest of the sets!

Suprisingly his mask is the same height as Tahu's and the clips are at the same width, its just the width of the top and bottom pieces of the mask that make it seems a lot smaller than it really is. I guess the intention is to have a body builder sort of look to it by making the face look thinner and smaller.

The commercial is pretty much non canon. The mask is there because it is the new "face" of Bionicle. But maybe LOSS indeed got the mask and created the spiders with it.

Apparently their might be a refrence to the Mask Of Creation in the episode 9 animation

as the Toa walk past a pedastal in the ancient city that i'm guessing was meant to have the Mask Of Creation on it

Though not sure how that fits into the Mask Of Creation being in the Jungle the last time we saw it in the animations

[DraikNova]

Along with all that, I don't get why people would prefer Onua to have his gold become silver. IMO, Onua would look better with gunmetal (goes with the black and the purple) or just gold (because of the purple and black) due the presence of purple. I feel that purple meshes with gold far better than silver does. Gold and purple is eye-catching, IMO, far more than purple and silver.

Personally, I like Onua having gold armor and a silver hammer. It's just that I wish they had made his shoulder pads gold as well. Maybe that would just be too bright, I don't know, but I like having different colors for weapons and for armor. Gunmetal and black would be too boring though.

[Alexander The Great]

I've built the Scull Slicer's mechanism. It's awesome!

[Logan McOwen]

Wow! That's fascinating!

[Lord-Vorahk]

My only beef with the gold is that only the larger sets have it, and it makes the golden masks look a little out of place. On Lewa and Pohatu it looks fine, but Gali's overabundance of gunmetal and silver makes her look pretty bad with the gold mask.

Question: Why did they put those unalterted BA chests in Gali and Kopaka, when everyone else got a recoloured torso plate?

[Kalhiki]

My only beef with the gold is that only the larger sets have it, and it makes the golden masks look a little out of place. On Lewa and Pohatu it looks fine, but Gali's overabundance of gunmetal and silver makes her look pretty bad with the gold mask.

Question: Why did they put those unalterted BA chests in Gali and Kopaka, when everyone else got a recoloured torso plate?

I feel the gold on the larger Toa kinda detracts from the gold masks. Looking back at '01, the Toa didn't have any gold, and when they had their gold masks, it was a stand-out feature, and you could easily see their upgrade. With the likes of 2015 Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua, gold is already part of the color scheme, and the gold mask just sort of blends in.

Plus, it makes them seem more special when in reality, they're just equal members of the team.

As for the torsos, Pohatu also has the BA torso plate. Only Lewa and Tahu use the old 2.0 design. If anything, it adds variety.

[jaller]

I've built the Scull Slicer's mechanism. It's awesome!

Can you tell me the music that you used for the video? It's from Bionicle Heroes?

[Shakar]

I feel the gold on the larger Toa kinda detracts from the gold masks. Looking back at '01, the Toa didn't have any gold, and when they had their gold masks, it was a stand-out feature, and you could easily see their upgrade. With the likes of 2015 Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua, gold is already part of the color scheme, and the gold mask just sort of blends in.

Plus, it makes them seem more special when in reality, they're just equal members of the team.

As for the torsos, Pohatu also has the BA torso plate. Only Lewa and Tahu use the old 2.0 design. If anything, it adds variety.

I guess I agree..to an extent. The gold used to bug me on Kopaka and Onua, but I've since managed to come up with a headcanon reason for it. Nowadays I just see as another metallic colour, like silver and gunmetal.

As for the Brain Attack torso, I agree completely. In fact, I wish they recoloured that one and stopped using the 2.0 shell on torsos, as it clashes horribly with G2's highly detailed style. Even better, I wish they used the BA torso and the Breakout torso (which already existed in Tahu's and Lewa's colours!) together for better variety. But since it seems they decided to not use that one anymore I guess that's not an option.

I'm looking forward to see how the Skulls' new torso shell looks in person, since it seemingly looks generic enough to be used on characters that aren't necessarily undead and/or evil.

I've built the Scull Slicer's mechanism. It's awesome!

Oh wow, works really well! Nice job!

[Bbrink1996]

Can you tell me the music that you used for the video? It's from Bionicle Heroes?

Pretty sure it's this one.

[TheDesuComplex]

I haven't checked this thread in a while.

The video shows how the function is pretty odd in that it uses gears and the connected axle to illustrate how the arms move in tandem. My hope for it was that the three blade arms would move in tandem while the chain arm moves the opposite direction. I will have to figure out some way to mod mine to do that.

In terms of a movie (with the more organic look of the Miramax films versus the set-faithful look of TLR), I have to say that I preferred TLR. I can understand whole artist interpretation thing, but the visual style of movies felt disjointed from the toyline they were trying to support.

On the gold clashing, I am okay with it on Tahu (because red and gold go well together) and Kopaka (because it looks reminiscent of a golden fur coat, such as fox). On Onua I switched it out for silver BIONICLE shells because there seemed to be so little of it, and on Ekimu it absolutely shines when covering a trans-light-blue skeleton.

[The Outsider]

I hate it when I have to study while the best subjects are being discussed . Oh well, I can participate now.

Regarding the movie, I actually liked both styles, but I think they should have been switched: the more mechanical, set-accurate design for the Matoran Universe trilogy and its mechanical characters, and the more stylized, organic design for TLR and its organic characters. However, I wouldn't want a repeat from either for a new, Gen2 movie: I'd prefer a new style, more detailed and set-accurate than the animations but taking some cues from their design choices (like the shape of the forearms, and placing Gali and Tahu's pauldrons on their shoulders). And I would prefer if the film was launched in 2017, as a closing for the current 3-year saga (and maybe with a "The Adventure Continues" end, even if the line doesn't extend beyond that).

Alexander, the video and the function seem great; it's only a shame the arms can't seem to stay up. Hopefully the official design will have something to fix that (more friction, perhaps? Or a lock on the gears, like the Nuva?).

Speculation: what do you think is the story about the Skull Army? Who were they before turning undead, and why are they like that? My theory (at least until something official comes along) is:

they were the guardians of the city, but were corrupted by the MoUP during the Mask Makers' battle into undead minions of either Makuta or the mask itself (if it is indeed sentient); in their fight with the Toa and Ekimu, they will eventually be restored to their former glory and join the Toa (and we'll get sets of their normal selves )

Also, do you think they might reuse some things from Gen1 that were scrapped, like the cyborg dinosaurs and Three-Finger Island?

P.S.: for those talking about anatomical issues regarding the new bone pieces and their placement in the sets, I agree with you mostly. However, since these guys are merely humanoids and not actual humans, and their ranks include a skeletal invertrebate (with human-like bones no less!), that really doesn't bother me so much.

[MakutaOfWar]

Anybody notice on Ekimu's(Mask Maker) gearbox the swinging arm has 3 eight-tooth gears for friction? I find it odd since the weapon doesn't look heavy.

[DraikNova]

I kind of wonder how difficult it is to pose Skull Slicer's arms in such a manner that their weights cancel each other out.

@MakutaOfWar, I think you're underestimating the weight of the hammer. It's pretty bulky, and combined with the weight of the Chima shoulder armor it needs some serious friction to stop it from moving back to normal. Probably not three gears, but maybe it's just slightly too much for two, especially if the figure is moved about quickly.

[MakutaOfWar]

^Yeah I suppose, almost forgot that those stud shooters are pretty heavy. :P

All of this talk and speculation about a movie, how come nobody has speculated about a game? Like an actual console/pc game not a phone or web game.

[TheDesuComplex]

I hate it when I have to study while the best subjects are being discussed . Oh well, I can participate now.

Regarding the movie, I actually liked both styles, but I think they should have been switched: the more mechanical, set-accurate design for the Matoran Universe trilogy and its mechanical characters, and the more stylized, organic design for TLR and its organic characters. However, I wouldn't want a repeat from either for a new, Gen2 movie: I'd prefer a new style, more detailed and set-accurate than the animations but taking some cues from their design choices (like the shape of the forearms, and placing Gali and Tahu's pauldrons on their shoulders). And I would prefer if the film was launched in 2017, as a closing for the current 3-year saga (and maybe with a "The Adventure Continues" end, even if the line doesn't extend beyond that).

Alexander, the video and the function seem great; it's only a shame the arms can't seem to stay up. Hopefully the official design will have something to fix that (more friction, perhaps? Or a lock on the gears, like the Nuva?).

Speculation: what do you think is the story about the Skull Army? Who were they before turning undead, and why are they like that? My theory (at least until something official comes along) is:

they were the guardians of the city, but were corrupted by the MoUP during the Mask Makers' battle into undead minions of either Makuta or the mask itself (if it is indeed sentient); in their fight with the Toa and Ekimu, they will eventually be restored to their former glory and join the Toa (and we'll get sets of their normal selves )

Also, do you think they might reuse some things from Gen1 that were scrapped, like the cyborg dinosaurs and Three-Finger Island?

P.S.: for those talking about anatomical issues regarding the new bone pieces and their placement in the sets, I agree with you mostly. However, since these guys are merely humanoids and not actual humans, and their ranks include a skeletal invertrebate (with human-like bones no less!), that really doesn't bother me so much.

Your theory on the Skull Army sound plausible. Not sure about the 'MoUP corrupted them', but everything else sounds like both their likely backstory and what will become of them (but I doubt we will get actual sets because that would be the same characters immediately after themselves.

Anybody notice on Ekimu's(Mask Maker) gearbox the swinging arm has 3 eight-tooth gears for friction? I find it odd since the weapon doesn't look heavy.

I kind of wonder how difficult it is to pose Skull Slicer's arms in such a manner that their weights cancel each other out.

@MakutaOfWar, I think you're underestimating the weight of the hammer. It's pretty bulky, and combined with the weight of the Chima shoulder armor it needs some serious friction to stop it from moving back to normal. Probably not three gears, but maybe it's just slightly too much for two, especially if the figure is moved about quickly.

Yeah, the hammer is quite heavy. He certainly needs two pins worth of friction, and the solution provided is simple and elegant to provide said friction. Tahu and Gali would have benefited from more friction themselves like this.

[ToaDraco]

^Yeah I suppose, almost forgot that those stud shooters are pretty heavy. :P

All of this talk and speculation about a movie, how come nobody has speculated about a game? Like an actual console/pc game not a phone or web game.

I would freakin' love a new console Bionicle game, preferably one similar to the more recent LEGO games, I don't get why we never got one like that and I see no reason why it can't work at constraction scale. Imagine having a free-roam Okoto with random villagers needing help for side quests and all kinds of secrets and puzzles in each region. Honestly, I would love it to have combat and puzzles similar to Darksiders or God of War, my favorite games of all time but that would be unlikely given the game would have to have simple combos for the kiddies. It would need to be an action adventure game with some platforming and puzzle-solving with fun combat.

Edited February 23, 2015 by ToaDraco

[MakutaOfWar]

^I haven't been affiliated with any recent TLG games for upwards of nine years but open world would like be a must for a game, I would also like a level of seriousness without any childish humor, that would just ruin the tone for me.

[Clone 01354 Productions]

All of this talk and speculation about a movie, how come nobody has speculated about a game? Like an actual console/pc game not a phone or web game.

That would be wonderful! I would just hope that it's better than BIONICLE Heroes.....As much as I love the game (for nostalgic reasons), it really is just awful. Unless, of course, you like 25 levels of mindless shooting.

I just really hope that they don't release any games on the website, since my computer is unable to download Unity Web Player. I also don't have a phone, or any device with Google Play or the App Store. (I haven't even played the game yet! )

Even better, I wish they used the BA torso and the Breakout torso (which already existed in Tahu's and Lewa's colours!) together for better variety.

The Breakout torso is a terrible, terrible piece. Something about it just looks cheap....

[The Outsider]

Your theory on the Skull Army sound plausible. Not sure about the 'MoUP corrupted them', but everything else sounds like both their likely backstory and what will become of them (but I doubt we will get actual sets because that would be the same characters immediately after themselves.

I'm not exactly sure on that either, but I assumed since the city turned to ruins after the shockwave it could probably have affected the people living there as well.

As for getting the same characters consecutively: that happens all the time in constraction lines. Remember the Toa Mata/Nuva, the Toa Metru/Hordika, the Toa Inika/Mahri and most of Alpha Team? Hell, Furno and Stormer showed up in every year; I've checked!

^Yeah I suppose, almost forgot that those stud shooters are pretty heavy. :P

All of this talk and speculation about a movie, how come nobody has speculated about a game? Like an actual console/pc game not a phone or web game.

^I haven't been affiliated with any recent TLG games for upwards of nine years but open world would like be a must for a game, I would also like a level of seriousness without any childish humor, that would just ruin the tone for me.

Not only shooters, but shooters turned into hammers held by tiny arms. It needs that friction.

I don't own a console, but I would like if they released a game, especially if it combines MNOG and the cancelled first game; unlikely, though, since the reboot is on a low budget.

EDIT: As for the humor, that happens in most Lego Adaptations games anyway; as long as they don't repeat Piraka Beach, fine by me.

That would be wonderful! I would just hope that it's better than BIONICLE Heroes.....As much as I love the game (for nostalgic reasons), it really is just awful. Unless, of course, you like 25 levels of mindless shooting.

I just really hope that they don't release any games on the website, since my computer is unable to download Unity Web Player. I also don't have a phone, or any device with Google Play or the App Store. (I haven't even played the game yet! )

The Breakout torso is a terrible, terrible piece. Something about it just looks cheap....

I know your pain!

Frankly, I prefer the Breakout torso to the "original" 2.0 torso; it's more detailed. But I think it would look too sci-fi for Gen2.

Edited February 23, 2015 by The Outsider