LEGO Ideas Discussion

[Artanis I]

Am I the only one to think that all those ideas made only in LDD is kind of cheating? I can understand it when it comes to the very large projects, but all those small sets shown only as drawing is laughable.

I mean you make this project and show it to the world in the hope of getting us all to vote for it - and then you are to lazy to actually build it? (Or possibly you can't build it, which is not much better.)

Personally I tend to only vote for ideas the creator has actually put together in Lego.

LDD based ideas can and sometimes are fine. But it all depends on the level of presentation. Ideas is not just about designing a great MOC or set. It is about SELLING that Idea. Just dumping a default LDD screen grab up there looks awful and does not attract attention. Even worse are the ones with those truly horrific LDD backdrops. If you want to do an Ideas proposal based on a digital design, STOP, Take an extra night, and run it through a rendering application like LDD2POV. Real or digital design do not matter. Quality of presentation does. And typical LDD presentation is on par with truly lousy photography.

I would prefer to see it built in real bricks, but I have 1 defence for using LDD: in the case where a part doesn't exist in the appropriate colour.

[Aanchir]

LDD based ideas can and sometimes are fine. But it all depends on the level of presentation. Ideas is not just about designing a great MOC or set. It is about SELLING that Idea. Just dumping a default LDD screen grab up there looks awful and does not attract attention. Even worse are the ones with those truly horrific LDD backdrops. If you want to do an Ideas proposal based on a digital design, STOP, Take an extra night, and run it through a rendering application like LDD2POV. Real or digital design do not matter. Quality of presentation does. And typical LDD presentation is on par with truly lousy photography.

Keep in mind that some people don't have the luxury of quality renders. I have never been able to use anything other than the default LDD screengrab, because I use a Mac and advanced rendering software for LDD doesn't exist for Mac.

I haven't submitted any LEGO Ideas projects either, of course, and my inability to make quality renders is a part of that. But that's less because I think that a regular LDD screenshot looks awful (with maximum graphics settings, it's more than sufficient if all you're doing is illustrating a concept) and more because I know that OTHER users tend to prefer real photos or high-quality renders, so a default screenshot would nerf my creations' already-small chances of reaching review.

I definitely can vouch for LDD builders not being lazy. I have done LOTS of LEGO design on LDD, especially when I was at college and didn't have access to most of my collection. Besides that, sometimes you aren't in a situation where you have suitable lighting conditions or camera equipment for taking quality photographs. I'll take a render with less-than-perfect shading over a dark, blurry photo with distorted colors any day.

All that said, any projects I support on LEGO Ideas are due to the quality of the concept and how much I like it — not the quality of the presentation. As long as I can tell what the concept is and can tell that I would like to buy such a set, I support it without hesitation.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Aanchir

[Faefrost]

Oh I do LDD design all the time. And yes it can be good enough to illustrate the idea to others. But it's not good enough to sell them on the idea. To make them drool over it and crave to buy it. The built in LDD tool at their best still feel cartoonish. And that does not sell the idea well enough.

Ideas isn't just about coming up with a good design. It's about getting other people to want your design. The better the presentation the more people will not only want it but will actively promote it and fight for it for you.

[Lind Whisperer]

One other option for people who can't use POVRay is the brilliant LDraw plugin for Blender. It does take a bit longer to get everything set up - you have to build the model in LDraw, then import, then light it, add a background, etc., but it makes up for it in that it doesn't take hours and hours for a single render - a few minutes at most, the model loads from the chosen camera angle, and you have your picture.

[m0dulo]

Keep in mind that some people don't have the luxury of quality renders. I have never been able to use anything other than the default LDD screengrab, because I use a Mac and advanced rendering software for LDD doesn't exist for Mac.

Yes it does. LDView and POV-Ray work great on a Mac.

[Faefrost]

I just noticed the agonies Pirate ship hit 10k. It could be a neat set. I'm a sucker for ships. I just wish a true cool pirate ship would make it.

[Meiko]

Yes it does. LDView and POV-Ray work great on a Mac.

And there are various professional rendering software you can use also. It's not perfect, but you can export from LDD as an LDR, open the LDR in an LDraw program, and then export it as something like 3ds, which you can then import into something like Mental Ray (what 3ds Max uses for rendering) and then get some really awesome renders, better than what you could get out of POV-Ray.

[Xyver]

Ok, so it's been over two months since the start of the new review period, at which point LEGO announced that an announcement on the previous review will be out in the coming weeks. Just how many weeks constitutes 'coming'. Just how long do they expect to hold out before making some form of announcement. It has already been show that they are willing to say that a product is still in review when the official announcement is made, so what's the hold up?

If the previous review is still ongoing, does that mean the new one hasn't even actually started yet? I seriously doubt that the Ideas team wait until the end of a period to start the review process on projects, some basic viability review is surely undertaken as soon a project hits 10,000k votes (if not before) I'm leaning towards the fact that none of the previous batch have passed, so they are holding out to make an announcement until they have some good news. I do believe the news that they will not be making a Dr Who set is going to cause a lot of commotion in the AFOL world, and possibly some bad vibes that they would rather reduce with other good news.

I like the idea of Ideas, but if they can't come up with, and stick to, an effective timetable, people are going to become more disillusioned then they already are with the process. Considering it's been a month since the last post on this topic I think that disillusionment is already setting in.

[legoman19892]

Looks like they decided on 2 sets.

Edited November 7, 2014 by legoman19892

[SMC]

Birds and Big Bang Theory

Birds not a surprise will be like Research Institute not a lot of effort needed and no new molds but they will only make like 10, Big Bang is a big surprise to me but will be cool need a friends set to go with it now.

[legoman19892]

Big Bang is a big surprise to me but will be cool need a friends set to go with it now.

Imagine the confusion between LEGO Friends and LEGO Friends

[SMC]

Imagine the confusion between LEGO Friends and LEGO Friends

I didn't think of that. In the video they talk about Lego being on the show (Big Bang) so that does make it a good fit I guess no doubt we will see the ideas set on the real (TV) set.

[JGW3000]

So much for LEGO being only for children, having the BBT set clearly moves LEGO into the realm of more adult and mature themes. This is not a "play" set for children, wonder what the recommended age range will be? I'm drooling over the prospect of using a Wolowitz minifig for my space toilet moc! And there is still hope for Dr. Who, maybe licensing issues are delaying the decision, hopefully we will find out by end of January when the next review results are supposed to be announced.

Edited November 7, 2014 by JGW3000

[CM4Sci]

Honestly didn't thing TBBT would make it, but it did! Woo!

-Sci

[Brandon Miller]

Woo hoo! Big Band Theory!

[just2good]

As long as it's like the project, it can be great. But, I despise the show.

[Sven F]

I was just reading this board yesterday and was wondering why everyone thinks the TBBT is such an unlikely set to be approved. To me it looked like potentially the most popular set of all. The birds however do come as a surprise to me, I was thinking one of the Dr. Who would get priority.

I am happy with the results so far.

[Dorayaki]

Based on the fact that team Ideas now proves they're able to allow multiple products per season, I think it's pretty imploite to say the other project sucks. At least we should know that the designs aren't final model so perhaps we'll like the products more than the designs.

As for the rejection part, first of all the train proves that the available license doesn't guarantee that all projects would pass. But it is still a shame, I think the train works as long as it's both attractive in license and design.

The Apple Store is same as the previous mini shop series---- I don't hate the licenses but the individual store building isn't good enough.

Personally I wasn't too into Birds because after all we've seen buildable birds in Creator line, though the project provide different thoughts.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Dorayaki

[KristofBD]

A big cheer for the Big Bang Theory set - as a scientist I'm very much looking forward to that one. And that will also mean more female scientists (I hope!), which is also a good thing.

[Roger_Smith]

TBBT made it? That's just great :D

[Meiko]

Glad Birds passed seeing as it was the first LEGO CUUSOO project I ever supported. Big Bang Theory should be nice too.

[lightningtiger]

The choices made.....well, one was cop out.....Birds, oh, creator is already doing various animal build sets currently. Though I wonder how many birds you can make out of whatever pieces you get ?

Next the original Beauty & The Geeks.......I'm not a fan of the show, but it does have a huge fan base world wide (not sure if it's bigger than Doctor Who's though ?)......but just picture all the MOC's of comic-con's people will be able to make eh ?

My gut feeling is not so good for Lego Ideas any more, the only way you'll make it there is with something geeks will love and that's it........my guess for the next review.......lightsabers, why ?

Price point......note the size of most of the projects released as sets minus the female minifig set are roughly the same size or below a price point. I very much doubt a UCS or modular building would ever make it.

Worse, none of my projects are geeky enough......so they will disappear in less than 180 days forever, with a whimper not a bang.

[legoman19892]

I saw a Gee Bee and Dehaviland Comet on the ideas page. We neeb more airplane nerds to get votes up.

[SandMirror38]

Quite upset with the choice of Big Bang theory, Birds, love it will pick one up. But TBBT? Lego is really contradicting themselves in their own rules. I hate the show I've never sat down to watch it but once or twice I flicked past it whilst seeing what was on TV and I can't understand how someone could call it entertainment, the humor was disgusting IMO

[Lind Whisperer]

My personal feelings on this...are not positive, shall we say.

There are three different ways or types of comedy, that non-"nerds" can make about "nerdy" or "geeky" topics. The number of types becomes extremely broader for anyone inside a group, of course, but we are not talking about them.

I'll talk about the positive way first. With the positive way, there is one simple world view - everyone is different, but that is perfectly all right. You like one thing, I like another, and we respect that. We may even examine each other's favorites, and make new ones! But even if I don't personally like what you like, it's okay for you to like it.

The second way, although not as vicious as the third, is simply inappropriate and vulgar, no matter what the topic. You take any topic, no matter how beloved, and spew as many crude jokes, references, and twists as possible about it as quickly as possible. Will a few people laugh? Yes, a very few, but even if it is moderately successful, why resort to the absolute lowest standard? Why not give it the effort it deserves, and come up with jokes that actually are based around humor, and not shock value?

The third is one of the worst things about modern comedy. It's what could be called the "hipster" stance. It is when characters are looked down upon for liking something, simply for liking something. It can be occasionally be gentle humor, and not entirely insulting - such as a strong man still sleeping with a teddy bear - but it almost never is. The viewpoint of this stance, is to look down on everything that is against the suggested normal. It allows you to choose what you like - but you understand that by choosing anything that is not "approved," everyone else has the right to make fun of you for it. This is basic bully psychology, and it is a problem that permeates society as a whole, but that does not make it any less wrong. It's not at all necessary for a successful comedy show, even one based heavily on "non-normal" topics - Look at Community, a show that(aside from some extremely irrelevant jabs at religion), managed to go its entire run without resorting to this. Was it cancelled? Yes. But the fan reaction was so strong for it that it was finally resurrected as an online show.

If you still like the show, that's all right - but please, next time you're laughing at a joke, just think a moment, and ask yourself how very different the subject in question is from anything you do, and if so - would you really be laughing along with the people making fun of you?