LU mode activation info posted on lego.com forum

[Superkalle]

I just noticed that the info on how to activate LU mode has reached TLG official forum (the one targeted at kids). Since the posts havent't been deleted by moderators, it could mean that TLG is now letting LU mode fully into open air

[Shroud]

Well if they were considering using LDD LU mode to import models into the universe game that would make sense...fingers crossed

[Aanchir]

Well if they were considering using LDD LU mode to import models into the universe game that would make sense...fingers crossed

That's certainly what it sounded like LU would do during the presentations at E3. Furthermore, the LXFML guide that I downloaded from here (forget which topic, but I think Superkalle gave the link) said that parts do have programming so that they might have special actions in LU mode, so it's almost certain that the LDD interface in LU mode is for that purpose.

[prateek]

Well if they were considering using LDD LU mode to import models into the universe game that would make sense...fingers crossed

That's what I thought too.

Hopefully, this will bring more criticisms to the table, which means Lego will hopefully have more pressure to make it better.

[Brickdoctor]

I, for one, was hoping that this would be an EB exclusive.

It isn't like TLG to allow modding of official software. AFOLs, yes, that's understandable, but I foresee a debate when some kid decides to try this out and inevitably deletes a critical file in his hard drive.

[Aanchir]

I, for one, was hoping that this would be an EB exclusive.

It isn't like TLG to allow modding of official software. AFOLs, yes, that's understandable, but I foresee a debate when some kid decides to try this out and inevitably deletes a critical file in his hard drive.

Relax. For users of the real LEGO Universe, they're probably not going to have to go into the source code and change it manually-- chances are it'll be done automatically somehow. All that this revelation shows is that LEGO's not going to censor this news anymore now that the intended way of getting access to LU mode is right around the corner.

If it were a Eurobricks exclusive, why would they have called it LEGO Universe mode, or for that matter, not just called it AFOL mode?

[Brickdoctor]

Relax. For users of the real LEGO Universe, they're probably not going to have to go into the source code and change it manually-- chances are it'll be done automatically somehow. All that this revelation shows is that LEGO's not going to censor this news anymore now that the intended way of getting access to LU mode is right around the corner.

If it were a Eurobricks exclusive, why would they have called it LEGO Universe mode, or for that matter, not just called it AFOL mode?

Yeah, I know. It's just that if I were LEGO, I would have released this in a patch or in LDD 4.0. Besides, now they have to deal with the problem of why you can't buy all those bricks in LU mode. I really doubt many kids are going to use it to design models that they can't buy. I think the reason LDD was so strict in the first place was because it was designed for kids to order their own model from TLG. LU mode won't allow that. Of course, if all those bricks do become available for purchase, it would be a (very unlikely) dream come true!

[Aanchir]

Yeah, I know. It's just that if I were LEGO, I would have released this in a patch or in LDD 4.0. Besides, now they have to deal with the problem of why you can't buy all those bricks in LU mode. I really doubt many kids are going to use it to design models that they can't buy. I think the reason LDD was so strict in the first place was because it was designed for kids to order their own model from TLG. LU mode won't allow that. Of course, if all those bricks do become available for purchase, it would be a (very unlikely) dream come true!

Who's to say they won't just release it in a patch or in 4.0? That's always an option. The inclusion of it in 3.0 could have been for the benefit of LEGO Universe beta testers or some other group involved in the game's development.

Meanwhile, even versions of LDD as far back as version 1.3 had palettes from which you couldn't purchase. And there are two default palettes you can't purchase from even today-- the Mindstorms and Creator palettes. Those are available even if you don't unlock LU mode, just for downloading LDD in the first place! So I doubt there's going to be any confusion in that respect.

And not being able to buy the models is the last thing on kids' minds, methinks. I think what kids would be far more concerned about than that is the inability to share their models on the DesignByMe Gallery, and I'm sure when the news goes mainstream that you can upload these models to LEGO Universe I'm sure fans are going to be very pleased-- in fact, the extra excitement it would generate for LEGO Universe will probably work to LEGO's advantage in the long run.

[Brickdoctor]

Who's to say they won't just release it in a patch or in 4.0? That's always an option. The inclusion of it in 3.0 could have been for the benefit of LEGO Universe beta testers or some other group involved in the game's development.

Meanwhile, even versions of LDD as far back as version 1.3 had palettes from which you couldn't purchase. And there are two default palettes you can't purchase from even today-- the Mindstorms and Creator palettes. Those are available even if you don't unlock LU mode, just for downloading LDD in the first place! So I doubt there's going to be any confusion in that respect.

And not being able to buy the models is the last thing on kids' minds, methinks. I think what kids would be far more concerned about than that is the inability to share their models on the DesignByMe Gallery, and I'm sure when the news goes mainstream that you can upload these models to LEGO Universe I'm sure fans are going to be very pleased-- in fact, the extra excitement it would generate for LEGO Universe will probably work to LEGO's advantage in the long run.

Oh, yes, I forgot about the DesignByMe Gallery. What I was saying was that TLG is usually picky about when the public learns about future releases. If this was supposed to be included in the September release, I'd have expected TLG to cover any evidence of it's existence on official LEGO sites. The Mindstorms palette is understandable, since few kids are really going to se that, but, frankly, I've never understood the Creator mode, especially since all the Creator bricks can be accessed in Free Build with filters turned off.