Bionicle-2010?

[Phantoka Kopaka Nuva]

Cool, 3 new Toa. Guess TYQ will be the new Toa team serial. And a new villain!

[VBBN]

Well, Looks like Iron is finally going to be a decent element. I used it in an epic a while ago.

Better than the "vehicle" element that Throwbots had.

[Aanchir]

Well, Looks like Iron is finally going to be a decent element. I used it in an epic a while ago.

Better than the "vehicle" element that Throwbots had.

Technically, Throwbots didn't have elements at all, but rather environments. The environments were usually elementally themed (to an extent) but Turbo got the "city" environment, which really wasn't tied to any element-like concept.

Iron's a cool element. I like it especially because it has the same natural, basic feel as the six main elements. Lightning also fits the bill (and I much prefer the natural-sounding name "lightning" than the overly-scientific-sounding "electricity" that was among the other overly-scientific-sounding Bohrok-Kal powers).

[The Crazy One]

Yes, I like the idea of and Iron toa. Shame we would never see it in a set, but still, we can imagine it's awesomeness.

[Malum_King_Vorox]

The first chapter of "The Yesterday Quest" was up few minutes ago!!!

http://bioniclestory.com/LatestStory/StorySerial/YesterdayQuest_1.aspx

[Refia]

I read it, and I must say it was better than I had expected. The new names are cool, except for Orde, because Orde is a word in my motherlanguage Dutch that means order, so whenever I see it I think of it as the dutch word rather than a name. <_< Why were all names in capitals, anyway? The new villain is interesting, and I suppose he won't have much work to do with only 53 Toa alive. =)

[Brickthing]

I've got mixed feelings over this new serial. The new villain seems like a rehash of Baterra, probably with Elemental energy draining/negating powers, which isn't the best storyline solution to balancing the power of Toa on SM in my opinion. The new team sounds exciting though, but it isn't the six Toa team we've been told about yet. I can't tell, but I suspect this serial is missing information since the end of the final comic such as evacuating the MU that people wouldn't know if they didn't follow Greg's PMs on BZP.

Also, wasn't Psionics confirmed to be a female element when it was created? Greg has either forgotten that or changed it so that there is only one female Toa in this new team.

[Trionx]

The new serial has potential, but I'm going to wait to see how it turns out before passing judgment...

Something interesting about the male Psionics:

2: In the chapter' date=' there's a Toa of Psionics, Iron, and Lightning. Orde is a Toa of Psionics, which are female, but he is decribed as male. Is this an error, or are Matoran/Toa/Turaga of Psionics female and male?

2) Ah, the answer to that one is going to get interesting.[/quote']

Sounds like that was intentional...

~T

[Phantoka Kopaka Nuva]

Yesterday Quest is starting good so far. I was wondering about the genders too, but seems like Greg has something up his sleeves. Really glad he put Gelu in the story. I was hoping to see him again.

Not too sure if Marendar will be good. Let's hope at least he's not just a "Baterra-for-Toa", and actually has character.

[Refia]

I'm actually a bit annoyed by that male psionics thing. Even if it was intentional. It's the first time the element shows up and already Greg bends the rules with it for some reason. What's wrong with a team of more female Toa than male ones?

[Brickthing]

Greg has said that the male Psionics Toa is a mystery to be dealt with in the future, and that Psionics Matoran/Toa are meant to be female.

Considering that BIONICLE probably isn't allowed to suggest the idea of sex-changes, Orde must have been a male of a different element, and some event caused him to change Psionics powers. It was confirmed a few years ago (regarding using Matoro's mask of Astral Projection) that a Toa's element/powers is bound to their spirit, so spirit shifting to change Orde's element wouldn't work. I'm guessing he found some kind of elemental stone, or a Psionics Toa or the Dark Hunters he was captured by switched his element through mental manipulation/experiments.

Greg also said that the reason the names are in caps was because MS Find & Replace did that when he put the names in.

[Aanchir]

Greg has said that the male Psionics Toa is a mystery to be dealt with in the future, and that Psionics Matoran/Toa are meant to be female.

Considering that BIONICLE probably isn't allowed to suggest the idea of sex-changes, Orde must have been a male of a different element, and some event caused him to change Psionics powers. It was confirmed a few years ago (regarding using Matoro's mask of Astral Projection) that a Toa's element/powers is bound to their spirit, so spirit shifting to change Orde's element wouldn't work. I'm guessing he found some kind of elemental stone, or a Psionics Toa or the Dark Hunters he was captured by switched his element through mental manipulation/experiments.

Greg also said that the reason the names are in caps was because MS Find & Replace did that when he put the names in.

Find-and-replace, huh? In that case, the names being in caps is probably the most benign thing that could have gone wrong. I've seen some sloppy find-and-replace in my day.

I actually liked the names being in all caps, as it helped get a better handle on which Toa is which. I expect the problem to be a thing of the past when the next chapter comes out, though.

[Zaktan of the Shadows]

New serial is great. I liked the conclusion to Reign of Shadows, so I hope Greg doesn't neglect telling the story about the Toa Nuva and the Toa Mahri. The three new Toa are pretty interesting...

-ZotS

[Nightmare]

New serial is great. I liked the conclusion to Reign of Shadows, so I hope Greg doesn't neglect telling the story about the Toa Nuva and the Toa Mahri. The three new Toa are pretty interesting...

-ZotS

Since has a limited character list name, and has left oipen ends as to what happens to Kopaka or the Mahri, I guess we'll be seeing them quite frequently, just not together.

EDIT: Also, I guess the idea of a Toa having Rahskshi powers will be a nice challange for Greg :)

Edited July 16, 2010 by Nightmare

[Refia]

A new serial called "The Powers That Be" is up.

http://www.bioniclestory.com/LatestStory/Blog/PowersThatBe1.aspx

It's very strange. It's nice to see the Toa nuva (especially Kopaka) again and that the new society is not going very smoothly, but still, all of this kind of feels forced to me. I don't know why, it just does. Then there's the fact that

Greg killed off another character out of the blue. Granted, it's Karzahni who wasn't much of a character anymore, but still. My guess is he was killed by Baterra. And they framed Lesovikk for it. Or it's Marendar already, I dunno.

All in all I'm frustrated mostly by the pace of it all. It's past halfway july and so far we've had 2 chapters only of "post-set" Bionicle. If this is how it's going to be, irregular, sporadical updates written with no clear goal in mind (if Greg likes to just make things up as he goes, fine, but to me that seems really stupid and aimless), then I would honestly prefer no more Bionicle at all.

[Aanchir]

A new serial called "The Powers That Be" is up.

http://www.bioniclestory.com/LatestStory/Blog/PowersThatBe1.aspx

It's very strange. It's nice to see the Toa nuva (especially Kopaka) again and that the new society is not going very smoothly, but still, all of this kind of feels forced to me. I don't know why, it just does. Then there's the fact that

Greg killed off another character out of the blue. Granted, it's Karzahni who wasn't much of a character anymore, but still. My guess is he was killed by Baterra. And they framed Lesovikk for it. Or it's Marendar already, I dunno.

All in all I'm frustrated mostly by the pace of it all. It's past halfway july and so far we've had 2 chapters only of "post-set" Bionicle. If this is how it's going to be, irregular, sporadical updates written with no clear goal in mind (if Greg likes to just make things up as he goes, fine, but to me that seems really stupid and aimless), then I would honestly prefer no more Bionicle at all.

I kind of liked that chapter, actually. But I've been beginning to think that I just don't have much taste in stories, so I don't know.

In the very least, it's always nice when a serial chapter falls perfectly into place with a character shipping I support.

[ultra hamster]

A new serial called "The Powers That Be" is up.

http://www.bioniclestory.com/LatestStory/Blog/PowersThatBe1.aspx

It's very strange. It's nice to see the Toa nuva (especially Kopaka) again and that the new society is not going very smoothly, but still, all of this kind of feels forced to me. I don't know why, it just does. Then there's the fact that

Greg killed off another character out of the blue. Granted, it's Karzahni who wasn't much of a character anymore, but still. My guess is he was killed by Baterra. And they framed Lesovikk for it. Or it's Marendar already, I dunno.

All in all I'm frustrated mostly by the pace of it all. It's past halfway july and so far we've had 2 chapters only of "post-set" Bionicle. If this is how it's going to be, irregular, sporadical updates written with no clear goal in mind (if Greg likes to just make things up as he goes, fine, but to me that seems really stupid and aimless), then I would honestly prefer no more Bionicle at all.

I thought It was all right.

I'm liking this more than Yesterday Quest.

Although...

I hate how Karzahni is dead!

I really hope Greg isn't making things up as he goes and actually delivers a great story like I believe he capable of.

I kind of liked that chapter, actually. But I've been beginning to think that I just don't have much taste in stories, so I don't know.

In the very least, it's always nice when a serial chapter falls perfectly into place with a character shipping I support.

You can't dispute taste Aanchir, if you like it, you like it. I found it good myself and I look forward to see where it goes.

Sahmad's tale is still my favorite and I'm focusing all my hopes on that.

[Brickthing]

I thought It was all right.

I'm liking this more than Yesterday Quest.

Although...

I hate how Karzahni is dead!

I don't really mind -

He's been insane since 2007 anyway, with little chance of being brought back as a proper character. It's a slight shame because he must have been cured from his mutations, so there was a chance of seeing him act in his previous form.

I didn't really like the serial that much. The title sounds interesting, but the story was unessential (although nice) interactions between a few characters, followed by a unessential death, followed by a trademark cliffhanger. Greg has said that post-set story won't be building up to yearly climaxes like set story did, so I'd like to see more events per chapter, rather than them setting themselves up for something big that will never happen.

I also miss the days when one serial focused on one storyline, although there is still the chance that both The Yesterday Quest and The Powers That Be could turn out like this.

Was it ever confirmed that Lesovikk and Hydraxon were in the MU robot after it's rising or if they were left behind on AM?

[Refia]

I didn't really like the serial that much. The title sounds interesting, but the story was unessential (although nice) interactions between a few characters, followed by a unessential death, followed by a trademark cliffhanger. Greg has said that post-set story won't be building up to yearly climaxes like set story did, so I'd like to see more events per chapter, rather than them setting themselves up for something big that will never happen.

I also miss the days when one serial focused on one storyline, although there is still the chance that both The Yesterday Quest and The Powers That Be could turn out like this.

That's pretty much the whole problem. Before, Greg had to work under a story team with a given story towards a given goal and end of the story. His writing is best when he has to work like that. But now that he's practically been given free hand, it'll go absolutely nowhere. Greg has repeatedly stated that he doesn't plan things ahead, and IMHO, that's nothing to be stated to proudly, as it basically means he has no idea what he's writing, and thus, has no real plot or conclusion in mind. That's poor storytelling right there. Even Marendar and this Gold Skinned fusion are hardly plots, they're more like convenient things that conveniently popped up to give some "justification" to Greg's desire to kill of characters in an unnecesary attempt to make the story "darker" or "more mature".

You're also right about the serials' storyline. For me, Federation of Fear, Dark Mirror and The Mutran Chronicles are the best serials Greg wrote. After that, they became a plotless heap that went all over the place, crossed over with other serials and tried to cram in as much fan-pleasing as possible, the end result being average at best and poor at worst. Reign of Shadow was the biggest offender here. Riddle of the Great Beings and Empire of the Skrall were better, but they both dragged on too long, by which I mean there was too much time between updates. EOTS was a 9 short-chapter story dragged out over an entire year. It should have been double so many chapters if it was going to take a year. Greg said he wanted to flesh out the Skrall with it, but by the time it finished, TLR was already out and nobody really cared about the Skrall anymore.

Now I'm aware that this sounds like Greg-bashing, and if it does, so be it, but I really don't have much hope for Bionicle 2010 and 2011. I bet you by the time 2011 is done we'll be at "The Yesterday Quest" chapter 8 or 9, and "The Powers That Be" chapter 8 or 9. Maybe even still with Sahmad's Tale, if we're unlucky.

[Phantoka Kopaka Nuva]

That's pretty much the whole problem. Before, Greg had to work under a story team with a given story towards a given goal and end of the story. His writing is best when he has to work like that. But now that he's practically been given free hand, it'll go absolutely nowhere. Greg has repeatedly stated that he doesn't plan things ahead, and IMHO, that's nothing to be stated to proudly, as it basically means he has no idea what he's writing, and thus, has no real plot or conclusion in mind. That's poor storytelling right there. Even Marendar and this Gold Skinned fusion are hardly plots, they're more like convenient things that conveniently popped up to give some "justification" to Greg's desire to kill of characters in an unnecesary attempt to make the story "darker" or "more mature".

You're also right about the serials' storyline. For me, Federation of Fear, Dark Mirror and The Mutran Chronicles are the best serials Greg wrote. After that, they became a plotless heap that went all over the place, crossed over with other serials and tried to cram in as much fan-pleasing as possible, the end result being average at best and poor at worst. Reign of Shadow was the biggest offender here. Riddle of the Great Beings and Empire of the Skrall were better, but they both dragged on too long, by which I mean there was too much time between updates. EOTS was a 9 short-chapter story dragged out over an entire year. It should have been double so many chapters if it was going to take a year. Greg said he wanted to flesh out the Skrall with it, but by the time it finished, TLR was already out and nobody really cared about the Skrall anymore.

Now I'm aware that this sounds like Greg-bashing, and if it does, so be it, but I really don't have much hope for Bionicle 2010 and 2011. I bet you by the time 2011 is done we'll be at "The Yesterday Quest" chapter 8 or 9, and "The Powers That Be" chapter 8 or 9. Maybe even still with Sahmad's Tale, if we're unlucky.

It's not Greg's fault that he's busy. BIONICLE is, after all, only his side-job. Being the Chief Editor of LEGO Magazine is still his main job. But this year, hopefully, he'll be able to spend more time with BIONICLE. At least we got an improvement now. Last year, it was 1 serial chapter every 2 weeks, now the gap is just 1 week. Greg is working as hard as he can to please us.

[Refia]

I wouldn't mind having to wait long for the serial updates if it meant that the content would be better. But that is not the case. I get that he's a busy man. Then maybe he should just take a break from Bionicle to come back with fresh ideas. Or do it slowly instead of throwing a chapter together and letting Bink put it online. Right now the pacing annoys me because of the content in the serial chapters. You can only keep using cliffhangers as a way to make people come back for so long. Right now whenever I start reading a new chapter I'm thinking "Gee, what sort of life-threatening danger will this chapter end with that our heroes escape from at the beginning of the next?".

Less but lengthier chapters with well-thought out content and a coherent plot would work just as fine for me, and I wouldn't mind having to wait longer for those. A clear schedule for updates wouldn't hurt, either, it keeps things neat and orderly. If all we'd get would be another piece of quality like Journey's End was, I'd welcome it, and would vastly prefer it to the current serials.

Edited July 21, 2010 by Refia

[Makuta Plasmix]

Edit : Im really late...

Edited July 22, 2010 by Makuta Plasmix

[Aethersprite]

Awesome new series! Just wondering, is Kopaka (or any of the Nuva, and aside from Tahu) still in their Adaptive Armour form in Karda Nui (a la 2008 sets) or have they reverted back to their usual 2002 set forms?

[Nike2032]

Awesome new series! Just wondering, is Kopaka (or any of the Nuva, and aside from Tahu) still in their Adaptive Armour form in Karda Nui (a la 2008 sets) or have they reverted back to their usual 2002 set forms?

They are not in 2008 forms cause their not karda Nui's environment anymore, but I'm not too sure if they reverted back to their 2002 forms.

Biosector stated, "When in its default configuration, the armor reverts to a state similar to the ordinary armor of its respective Toa. "

and

"It is designed to shapeshift to fit the environment and situation that the wearer enters."

My guess is they are in their 2002 forms, seeing as the new Spherus Magna has no extreme weather, the toa nuva will revert back to their 2002 forms because they do not need to adapt to the environment. Although, they still have the powers of the adaptive armor.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Nike2032

[80 Dollar]

The mask looks awesome. Does anyone know if you can order one?