mostlytechnic

Looking forward to this set - I've never played overwatch, but I have 2 of these already ordered for parts and to add to my spacecraft lineup (you know, the Saturn V, the space shuttle, and this. Make sense together, right?) Thanks for the review!

Found your youtube channel a while back and love it. You've done a massively impressive job keeping the portable function of these rides intact. And a pretty darn good job making them run nicely, given how jerky movement of lightweight lego stuff wants to be.

I agree, I expect a PUP Technic flagship for the second half of the year. Unless the price is sky high though, I don't think it'll be ultra complex. That's one drawback of the PUP system - there's only 2 outputs on the battery box, and so having more motors would require a second battery box and remote, so you'd be looking at $75 worth of parts, as opposed to PF where adding motors requires just a $15 IR receiver and $15 remote. Where the PUP system could work really well would be a very mechanically complex machine, using 1 motor through a gearbox, and using a second motor to switch the gearbox functions. (it could excel at this since the PUP motors have the rotary encoders, so with a software upgrade I think even the M motor could act like a servomotor and do something like "rotate 45 degrees per tap of the button on the remote") A "simple" big bulldozer (think 8275, which had 2 drive motors and 2 motors to run the blade and tines, so 4 channels of control) would be very expensive to do in PUP. Basically, a driveable machine takes all the capability of the PUP system, whether it's a drive motor and a steering motor, or dual drive motors like a bulldozer (or the Batmobile)

1. Yep, played a few time. 2. Yep, nothing is more important than rooting out the moles (or taking down the ctu, depending on which side I end up on) 3. Mostly when talking to my children who like to ignore me, mostly cause they've always got earbuds in.

Lego 88006, 88007, 88008, 88009, 88010, 88011 Powered Up! components Thanks to Lego and EuroBricks for making this review possible! Since Lego is switching to a new system instead of Power Functions, they wanted people to check out the new parts. Name: Powered Up Set Number: 88006, 88007, 88008, 88009, 88010, 88011 Pieces: n/a Price: varies, see below Minifigs: 0 Theme: Technic, Train, Boost, and Creator Year of Release: 2019 These sets are technically new, but the parts aren't. They've been available in the Boost and Train sets for a while now, so lots of people have already looked at them. Sariel did x-rays of all the PF and PUP devices (and older too!) JopieK did a teardown of the PUP parts and posted it here on EB. treczoks is putting together documentation on the protocols and others are doing similar. This review will be different than my normal ones, since it's not a standard set. It's not really a "set" at all. I want to compare the new parts to the old PF system, both in function and design. So first, here's all the PF and PUP sets: A couple of them don't have any prices that I've seen online yet. The highlighted prices are ones that I saw listed on the Lego US site, but they're not online now (12/20/2018). Obviously, all the Lego electronics are pricey. But for comparison, to get a full train setup (speed remote, battery box, motor, IR receiver) you'd be at $55. The equivalent PUP setup (motor, remote, hub) would be around $90 (guessing at the train motor price). The bluetooth electronics are much more complicated and expensive than infrared is. A simple motorized set (something like the new Vestas windmill, or the Roller Coaster, or similar) would be very expensive in the PUP ecosystem, since there is no "dumb" battery box. It's possible that Lego will add one at some point for those set types, or they'd need to keep PF alive. There's also a few gaps in the lineup. The WeDo motor, which is PUP compatible since it's in the Batmobile set, is not available standalone. I'm actually really curious why they used that motor in that set instead of the "PUP Medium" motor. Also, there's only the one motor so far. There's no XL or other "big" motor, so we'll have to see if the PUP Medium motor is powerful enough to handle the XL's loads. The switch is not really needed anymore, since the hub has controls built in. I can see extension wires coming - I'm sure builders will want them, and it'd be simple enough. As for the much-desired adapter wires, that's a bit tougher. It'd be great to control PF motors from a PUP hub. However, the PUP system identifies the motors, so the adapter cable would have to identify to the hub that it's a PF motor. The hub would not know which motor it was. Enough of the talk, let's look at the parts. The Box Bags IMG_4289 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr These parts come in individual bags. Anyone who's ordered PF components individually will be familiar with them. These aren't sets that you'll find on a store shelf (except maybe a Lego store), so the outward appearance and extra space taken up isn't worth the cost to box them. The Contents IMG_4291 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr Here are the parts themselves. The Interesting Parts IMG_4291 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr I always have an "interesting part" section in my reviews to highlight new molds, colors, rare parts, etc. But here, they're all interesting so I just repeated the photo. If that annoys you, just keep scrolling and see new images below. The Manual IMG_4290 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr For a company that normally has zero text in their manuals, wow. Here's some of the paperwork that comes with these, because they have electronic parts. Each document is in THIRTY FIVE different languages, so each paper is only a couple sentences. Each of the battery-powered parts has a "how to put the batteries in" flyer. Every item had a paper saying "Protect the environment by not disposing of this product with your household waste. Check with your local authority for recycling advice and facilities." Yes, every single item had that included. Battery Boxes IMG_4307 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr Here are the current Lego battery boxes. From left to right is the 6 AA box, mostly used in Technic, then the Boost Hub, currently only used in the Boost robotic set which holds 6 AAA batteries, then the PUP Hub, also holding 6 AAA batteries, and finally the PF 6 AAA battery box, commonly used in trains. The new hub is the exact same size as the 6 AAA box, and it has the green power button in the same location. However, the new one has the connections on the end instead of on top. The Hub IMG_4302 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr First, we have the basic Powered Up hub. This is the 6 AAA box, which is 3 parts. The batteries go into a "cartridge" which snaps into the base. It might be possible for a rechargeable module to become available at some point, but there's no external charging port like the PF rechargeable box, so it'd require taking the box apart still. The Boost Hub IMG_4293 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr Likewise, the Boost Hub uses a battery "cartridge." However, it's part of the base so it would be possible to have a rechargeable battery module with a port in the bottom. The Motor Lineup IMG_4295 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr The new PUP motor (sometimes called the Boost motor since that's where it's currently available) is almost as large as the PF XL motor, but it's studded. The only pin connections are on the face of it. The PUP motors do have a big feature that the PF ones don't. They have built in rotary encoders, like the Mindstorm motors do, so programmable systems can see how much they've turned. The motor can actually be used as an input sensor too - put a tire on it and have a dial control! This only works with the Boost hub though since you need the programming capability to do anything with the information. The Train Motors IMG_4308 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr The new train motor is identical in shape and size to the PF one. The only outward difference is the cable- it's shorter and wider. The Plug IMG_4298 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr As you can see, the new plug is smaller, but the cable is wider. Overall it takes up less space, since once it's plugged in, the hard plastic sticks out one stud. The old connector was fully exposed all the time. It'll take a little different building design though, since the new plug sticks out from the battery box. The Sensor IMG_4300 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr This, to me, is the oddest part of the inclusion in this shipment. This sensor comes with the Boost robotics set. In that setting, it makes sense, and I understand why people would want to buy it alone (to add more sensors to their design). However, without the Boost set, it's usefulness is limited. It does nothing useful when connected to the regular Hub. When it's connected to the Boost Hub, it's a great color and distance sensor with lots of usage. I'm actually now trying to piece together a Boost set out of my parts collection to try all the Boost designs, since I have the Hub, Sensor, and Motor here. But to the majority of people using the new PUP system, they won't see any use for the sensor. Yet. What if, down the road, Lego sells a train set that includes the sensor and some software updates to the basic Hub? It'd be trivial then to have some colored tiles on the train tracks so that the train could be programmed. Make noises at certain locations, stop, etc. The current Duplo trains do that! So why not bring that functionality to the older kids and AFOLs? This DOES need a software update from Lego though, since like I said, the smaller Hub does not allow any programming or recognize the sensor, as far as I can tell. And the Boost Hub is too big for a standard 6 wide Lego train. The Remote IMG_4304 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr Speaking of trains and controlling them, here's the new remote. It is TINY! Granted, I'm a big guy (6 foot 3) with big hands, but this is small. It's certainly smaller than the PF speed remote. And personally, I'm torn on the functionality. If you're not aware, the Hub can detect what motor is connected and act differently based on that. If you connect the Medium motor, this remote acts like the old small PF remote - the buttons give you 100% power for as long as you hold them. Release the button, and the motor stops. If you connect the train motor, this remote acts like the PF speed remote. The + and - buttons step through speeds and it keeps running. The red button stops it. This makes sense for kids and keeps the line of parts simpler, but it removes advanced functionality. What if I want to run the medium motor at lower speed? I can't. The top center of the remote is an RGB LED. It lights up the same color as the hub to show what units are paired together. The PF system allowed 4 "frequencies" with 2 channels each. The PUP system has 5 "frequencies" with 2 channels each. This remote also removes the need for the PF switch. You can turn the button sections of this remote. So if you want one motor running reversed, just turn that set of buttons upside down. If you want to steer left and right, you can turn the buttons sideways. One thing you cannot do is modify the remote, the way the PF remotes would be modified, with addon parts. Lego themselves has done this - like the 9398 Crawler set: The new remote has some pin holes on the sides, but no way to attach to the buttons. The App IMG_4311 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr The big new function with the new system is the app. There's the Boost app, which allows programming the Boost Hub, and the PUP app, which controls the basic Hub. This app is very limited. You pick which set (currently the Batmobile, Freight Train, and Passenger Train), and then appropriate controls appear. It's all preconfigured and not modifiable. It doesn't allow you to design your own controls the way SBrick and others do, so if you want to make a new vehicle, you have to control it like it's a train or Batmobile (using those particular motors, since the hub knows what is connected!) I strongly suspect Lego will come out with another app (or a major update to this one) to control custom builds, and frankly, I don't know why they haven't yet. The Performance, Speed IMG_4573 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr I mounted a tire on each motor (both PUP and PF) and checked the RPM at full speed. Here's the results: As you can see, the PUP M motor is closer in speed to the XL than the other PF motors. The PUP train goes slightly faster at full speed than the PF train motor. I checked all the speeds, and it ranges from about 500 to 1800. The Performance, Power IMG_4574 by mostlytechnic, on Flickr I also checked the force each motor can generate. As I don't have a proper torque meter, I made my own rig. In the photo, it was trying to lift a heatsink from a computer. That was too easy, so I moved on to a heavier weight. The XL motor was still able to lift that, but none of the other motors could. The measurements on the train motors were at full speed. One thing I noticed - the PUP train motor would cut out after a few seconds at a stall. When I hit stop, it would be immediately ready to run again, so I don't think this was the internal thermistor cutting it out. I think the hub is monitoring the speed and shutting it off when it wasn't rotating. I should try having an actual train drag a load and see what happens... The Conclusion So, what's my conclusion? Overall, I see what Lego wanted to do with the new PUP system. It eliminates the IR weakness, removes the need for a separate receiver, and updates the system to be "app-enabled" like all the cool toys are now. I think that also brought some new limitations that Lego CAN remove, but hasn't yet. I'm looking forward to seeing the PUP system appear in Technic sets to see how Lego handles that. That will be a while though, since the only motorized Technic set in the first half of 2019 is the Stunt Racer, and it still uses the PF system. That COULD have been a great set to use PUP in, similar to the Batmobile, but for some reason they chose not to. I'm guessing the M motor doesn't have the speed for the stunt racer and they didn't want to put the WeDo motors in? That doesn't seem like great logic to me, and I really hope there's more motor options to come. The PUP M motor is too big and too slow for a lot of Technic applications. Right now we're in the transition phase and I hope Lego is listening to the various categories of users. AFOL train users want to connect multiple motors on the same channel to run big trains. Technic users need smaller motors. Creator needs a simpler, cheaper system. And almost everyone needs customizable app interfaces

Is there a way to make a table on EB? I've tried entering both HTML and BBCode tables, and neither appears to work (both show in the post as the code still, rather than a table)

Care to share with the rest of us? Always like learning what other people see...

Tariq's role as jailer both protects the target and keeps the target from doing anything. So fhomess was prevented from going out AND protected from the scum kill. Worked out good for us since two townies ended up dying at the vig's hand ;) Fun game, and thanks Kintober! I too never had Asphalt high on my radar. Well played, using the "new guy" vibe to your benefit! And poor khscary, getting double killed... That's some impressive investigating too, well picked there Asphalt! You had ALL the PRs together by the end plus caught me.

Wow, that's terrible how they buried it in another email. I only knew about it from seeing it on various lego fan sites, didn't get a code (that I'd seen) and came here and searched and found this post. Would totally have missed the VIP Black freebie if I wasn't active in Lego stuff online.

Got my popcorn; ready to see how this plays out.

Of course I did! Thanks for hosting and I look forward to next time.

Wow, so much drama stirred up. Just remember when I flip town tomorrow, trust no one. There's obviously a bunch of lying going on since there is conflicting claims and multiple blocks. Good luck in the hunt. I'm off to eat turkey instead of pizza and fanta. Oh, and for proper form so I don't get penalty votes, vote: oruku (kotz) I'm voting for oruku since I blocked her last night and there weren't deaths.

You forget, there's almost always a serial killer in these games too. With only 1 kill, it was either SK or scum. Meaning the vig stayed home (normal), and Superman was possibly either scum or SK (and Legolas was killed by the other) Since there were no super-scummy people to block night 2, I figured Superman would have been worth testing, but I couldn't.

My being a blocker would have no effect on an investigation. I should show as town to any honest investigator.

I'm not claiming neutral because I'm not neutral. And if I claim neutral, you'd still lynch me. MAYBE the town would let a neutral serial killer or something live, but probably not. I'm town. Since this lynch is looking more certain, and no one is listening to my innocence, I'm being forced to reveal who I am to prove that WW is either lying or being lied to. I AM THE TOWN'S ROLEBLOCKER. Night 1, I blocked Superman because he'd been so quiet, it made me suspicious. Night 2, I wanted to block Superman again to test if he was a killer (since there was only 1 death night 1), but since I couldn't, blocked Oruku because I was getting a scummy vibe, but not enough to be worth voting for. She'd be on the quiet side day 1, and then got on the WW vote train right behind me. Just felt like someone trying to not draw too much attention. Both blocks were successful. Given the lack of night kills, I suggest to the town that Oruku could easily be the scum killer. Why else was there no scum kill last night? It's either that or our doctor got lucky and protected the right person. No, you have someone CLAIMING to have heard from someone else that there's a result. So many ways that information could be wrong. Maybe the scum investigated me last night, found I was a PR, and so decided to take me out this way to kill 2 townies (myself and WW?) and leave their night kills available to take out more of us.

Sure, obviously one explanation is what WW said. I'm scum, she's in contact with the block, blah blah blah. But again I ask, WHY WOULD SHE BE TRUSTED INTO THE BLOCK? Before you say it, she could have been investigated night 1. Or like I said, maybe the scum have a fake block and lured her in by saying they investigated and cleared her.

Woah, what the what? 1. I know who I am, and I'm not against the town. I'm part of the town. 2. Why on EARTH would a town block trust you? Someone who's racked up more votes than anyone else alive? Someone who multiple people keep saying is the scummiest in the game? 3. I have no idea what WW is trying to do here, but it's a lie. I truly understand how this looks - everyone is going to jump on my bandwagon now because "there's information!!!%%!!%!" but consider the source. I don't know why this is coming out of WW - yeah, obviously, when I flip town she's dead. So I'd be accusing her of having some weird role like "to win, WW has to get MadEye lynched" or something like that. But this is supposed to be a pretty normal game, so that doesn't make sense either. 4. Why does WW trust this supposed town block? She says she has no ability, so how does she know they're trustworthy? Heck, what better plan for the scum than to lure in a townie, get that townie to get another one lynched, and then the first townie gets lynched TOO? Dang, I gotta remember that for next time I'm scum, cause that's brilliant. Good job scum, cause I'm assuming that's what is happening here. Well played. Obviously WW isn't going to reveal who she's in contact with, since she thinks they're the block. But WW - if you succeed in my lynch today, when I flip town tomorrow, you'd dang well better out all the people you're talking to, because at least one of them is scummy scum scum.

See my earlier posts above - she said she was glad to not be lynching Wonderwoman when the crazyness with Finn fired up. Sure, I was glad to be lynching him too when he's openly claiming to be scum and so forth, but it seemed off to be happy to not lynch WW when there's no good reason to be trusting anyone yet.

I wasn't trying to attack you; I was questioning why Ellie was so excited to not be lynching you. I don't find anyone here worthy of trust so it seemed off to me. Really? No eating in the ball pit. That's how we get bugs and sticky balls. Ugh.

So, obviously night kills (or lack thereof) is a popular topic for debate. Personally, I assume Legolas on night 1 was scum. I can't see the vig taking someone out night 1 and the scum NOT, and them getting blocked is unlikely just by the odds. For night 2, I'm assuming the vig stayed home again (sorta surprised, but I guess no one maybe stood out enough). Surely the scum tried to take someone out, so either the scum killer was blocked or the target was protected (yes, I know that's Mafia 101, but we do have some new people around...)

Jester is usually a 3rd party, so he'd have been revealed as neutral instead of town. This is from yesterday, but I didn't have a chance to bring it up before the day ended. Ellie, care to explain why you're defending WW here? I mean, I was glad to vote Finn, but I have no reason to believe WW is loyal either. I did vote for her earlier after all. And you were too obviously - so why "glad we're not lynching" her?

I was joking at the time, but now yes, it makes me wonder.

Um wow. So by my count, we're still sitting at no lynch today, but Doc Brown and the other Doctor both haven't voted. They would be enough to lynch Finn, or we need a couple more to join us.

No, I cited the timing and position of your vote. It wasn't just a "she's bandwagoning" vote that I placed. It was the way the bandwagon died off and then you voted. That could be an honest vote. It could be scum trying to kickstart the bandwagon again. Either way, it was the most suspicious thing I had. With no day 1 lynch, we've got limited info. Nope. Nope. Not at all. Sometimes a lynchee will claim to try and not get lynched. But then they're crippled the rest of the game, since the scum know their ability. And worse, if they do get lynched still, the scum know what ability is gone. For example, if the scum know a watcher got lynched, then they can use their abilities with less concern about getting spotted. Outing a PR is more beneficial to the scum than it is to the town. Yep. I agree. As I was catching up, I was planning to stay with my vote, so that we could get a lynch. 2 days without would make tomorrow basically a third day 1. Even though I now think Finn is a better lynch than you, a lynch is even more important. But since others are flipping, I will too. Unvote: Wonder Woman (forresto) Vote: Finn (foreman)

Well, yes, there's definitely some people just jumping on to get a lynch today. Some of us though did exactly what you suggest. I voted for WW based on the voting pattern yesterday. I gave my reason and so I feel comfortable with my vote. Well as comfortable as one can be while locked in a hotel with a group of people in costume, all trying to kill each other off....