Lego Universe Sets

[Captainmorgan]

Hi fellow brick'ers. I just recently played LEGO Universe, and think that there should be some sets and minifigs to go along with the factions. I am just putting it out there.

What do you think?

Edited October 16, 2011 by Captainmorgan

[Blondie-Wan]

I'm sure many concur. I also think it might be neat if real-world LEGO sets were occasionally awarded for in-game accomplishments.

As it happens, there were promotional sets of the basic LEGO Universe astronaut and his/her rocket. The astronaut was originally offered as a bonus for preordering the game (and after it came out, some LEGO stores continued to offer the astronaut with the game), and the rocket was offered shortly after it was released, again free with the game or sold on its own in stores for $10.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Indeed, I would love to see many of the LU minifigs on the real world!

[Jebediahs]

TLG should definately be taking advantage of this idea. There would be fabulous new bricks and minifig accessories for ALL themes. Everyone would benefit from LU sets and figs. :)

JU!

[Stash2Sixx]

Yes, they should have, and I suggested it to LEGO a year ago when the game actually came out. And so far........

They should have also made a set of Clutch Powers minifigures.

Oh well.

[CorneliusMurdock]

They should have also made a set of Clutch Powers minifigures.

Those would be sweet. You'd think it's only common sense to tie in the games and movies with actual Lego. And if LU is really struggling, even a small new set based on something really cool from it may cause some new interest in the game.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Does Lego actually listen to fan suggestions? You'd think that if they did, they would have already released a bunch of stuff from this game.

[Aanchir]

Does Lego actually listen to fan suggestions? You'd think that if they did, they would have already released a bunch of stuff from this game.

They care what the fans are interested in, but they don't outright listen to fan suggestions unless they solicit them. Otherwise, someone could claim, "hey, that was my idea!" and demand some type of compensation. Their own market research probably overrules any individual fan suggestions anyway, though mass suggestions obtained through AFOL surveys and similar research methods are probably fair game.

LEGO Universe sets would indeed be cool, but I'm sure for some of the things that people would want, LEGO would have to be pretty dang confident in the theme's success rate to allot the requisite design budget. I'm sure minifigure parts and accessories are some of the things people would most want to see in LEGO Universe sets, and those would usually necessitate new molds.

Also, unless LEGO Universe sets were designed as sets and then put in the game, the sets of in-game vehicles and minifigures would probably be watered down or otherwise changed. Some of the vehicles in LEGO Universe use incredibly complex building techniques that builders within the target age range might find daunting in real life. Other vehicles might not be sturdy enough for playability, or might fail tests like the heat test, as shown here.

Minifigure parts might also fail to meet design requirements for actual plastic parts. For instance...

• ...Is there a material resilient enough for particularly thin sections of a piece?
  
• ...Does the piece look as appealing in real life as it does when animated? I'm thinking of Hael Storm's hair's odd surface finish here-- it has a "gritty" texture that works in animation but might not look so good in plastic
  
• ...Will a printed part use too many colors of ink to be affordable, or will a mold require too many "sliders" to create the correct shapes at a reasonable price? Needless to say, certain parts like the zombified torsos or robot arms of Stromlings might have a lot of complexity that would be impossible to reflect accurately in a real piece-- at least, a piece that meets all of TLG's quality standards.

Significant changes from the source material might be required-- and fewer people might be willing to buy a product that didn't match the actual game content it was modeled after. It's much easier for the designers to create brand new products than to have to adapt potentially-unworkable product designs into something that can be produced at a cost that people are willing to pay.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Aanchir

[Delta 38]

Lego Universe seems like a missed opportunity here.

I imagine something along the lines of Ninjago, with collectible minifigures and accessories sold in packs, as well as small sets.

From memory, the Beta had some things which were only partially comprised of pieces. That may be a problem in sets.

[Fallenangel]

They care what the fans are interested in, but they don't outright listen to fan suggestions unless they solicit them. Otherwise, someone could claim, "hey, that was my idea!" and demand some type of compensation. Their own market research probably overrules any individual fan suggestions anyway, though mass suggestions obtained through AFOL surveys and similar research methods are probably fair game.

So how do dmac and cavegod fit into that policy?

[Fred Daniel Yam]

Lego Universe seems like a missed opportunity here.

I imagine something along the lines of Ninjago, with collectible minifigures and accessories sold in packs, as well as small sets.

That would be the most logical way of selling them, say for example, a Duke Exeter fig with his weapons and instead of a Ninjago spinner, two Maelstrom grunts or something along those lines. Another good way of getting Lego Universe sets/figs would be a wave of Lego Universe CMFs, we're already getting new parts from them so why not a Lego Universe wave?

[legoguy475]

I'd like to see a series of sets that contained the minifigures for Rank One, Two, and Three Faction Gear, Like a set that has all Assembly Inventor in Rank One, Two and Three Gear. Also would be cool would be a set of Maelstrom Enemies, like one of each type. Also, I would think about some other important sets such as Nimbus Plaza and the Avant Gardens Launch Area.

[Aanchir]

So how do dmac and cavegod fit into that policy?

Not sure. If anything, they seem to be "exceptions" to the rule-- particularly dmac, whom the designer of the set actually approached before deciding firmly on using his techniques. In the case of cavegod's model, I'm not sure if there's any story behind it, so it could just be a complete coincidence, with two builders (one an official designer, one a MOCist) recognizing certain part uses that would be ideal for building a ship with an original design that neither builder had a hand in.

Anyway, neither case is the same as a fan directly suggesting that TLG should make a set of a certain thing and TLG then making the set based on that suggestion, which is more of what I was talking about in my post.

[dyntar]

I dont want Lego to actually release sets from this theme. Lego is about creating characters and combining parts from different themes.

But I would really like them to create the pieces that actually appear on the screen. Theres many pieces I've seen in the promos and videos that aren't actual Lego pieces. It would be awesome if you could actually build the characters on screen exactly as you see them. If they could spread these onscreen pieces throughout different themes this would possibly make more money for Lego and make it possible to create the onscreen Lego characters.

[Blondie-Wan]

Well, with today's sad announcement, it seems this is no longer an issue. I agree with Delta38; they seem to have missed an opportunity. If nothing else, I really think the game might have done better if there were some means of getting real physical bricks by playing.

But I would really like them to create the pieces that actually appear on the screen. Theres many pieces I've seen in the promos and videos that aren't actual Lego pieces.

What parts do you mean? I think possibly a couple minifigure accessory items seen in the videos may be, but that's minor dressing; I think all the constructions and such are possible using real bricks (though I believe some of them use certain elements in colors that they've never been in, or with prints that have never appeared on actual bricks). As I understand it, unlike the other LEGO games, the developers tested all the model designs in the game by building them with real bricks first.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Oh crap. It is such a bummer to even read this topic's title after today's news.