The quest to find BIONICLE: Legends of Mata Nui

[Fry]

Hello all! This is going to be a thread about anything about Legends of Mata Nui. ANY POSTS RELATING TO THE GAME ARE WELCOME. If you know anything about the game, or if you have a beta CD PM me NOW. BTW What happened to DeepBrick and RedQuark?

[emily]

Last I heard, RedQuark had essentially given up on his plan to obtain the rights to the game so as to distribute it, and fell out of contact after that. DeepBrick only ever communicated through RedQuark, and so we haven't heard from him either.

 

At present, I fear that there really isn't much possibility that The Legend of Mata Nui will ever see the light of day. At least we were fortunate enough to get the cutscenes and a walkthrough of the first level from DeepBrick.

[LordofBionicles]

That's right, since it was never released nobody has a copy of any of the game's levels or even data.

[Mesonak]

I remember great progress being made on this endeavor for a while before the downtime of several years ago... then things kind of dropped off. I'd hope that there would have been some progress in these years since, but if RedQuark has given up, then that's not a really good sign. :/

 

-Mesonak

[Fry]

Cant someone "Trick" lego into saying yes? Like "oh I found a copy can I send it to a friend?"

Why cant DeepBrick just leak it? I know its illegal, but if you do it from another computer on mediafire or something, then who will know???

[BBBBalta]

Cant someone "Trick" lego into saying yes? Like "oh I found a copy can I send it to a friend?"

Why cant DeepBrick just leak it? I know its illegal, but if you do it from another computer on mediafire or something, then who will know???

 

As for the first question, I believe the reason that's impossible (at least in part) is because LEGO doesn't own the full rights to the game itself; the rights are partially owned by some guy who I think some way or another obtained the rights to a bunch of Saffire's intellectual property at once after they went bankrupt.

 

In regards to the second, there could be a number of reasons - maybe it's a matter of ethics, or perhaps DB wants to avoid any possibility whatsoever for legal problems, or something else entirely. I believe RQ may have given a specific reason in the original topic but that was unfortunately lost with the rest of the archives.

 

As far as I know, the most recent information about the game can be found in this thread on the BMP forums.

[Fry]

Hello all!!!!!!!!! Okay, so I have found a way to view the old fourms. The Wayback Machine!!!! With this site, you can see websites that have been archived over time. So, I decided to go on it to see the old posts relating to BIONICLE: Legends of Mata Nui. All of the information relating to the game was lost. No one knows what RedQuark had said, no one knows anything. So, I found this old fourm about the game, and it has posts from RedQuark ect. Apparently, only Deep Brick, and some "crazy game employee" are known to own a copy of the game. DeepBrick, would only communicate through RedQuark, and he sent him videos and gameplay footage. ALL the info about the game comes from Deep Brick. Now, back to the present, if any of us have any plans of ever seeing this game, someone, somehow, has to get in contact with Deep Brick. Trouble is, who the is he? I'm trying to search members in the WayBack Machine, but searously who is he???

[Portalfig]

DeepBrick wasn't a member, if I recall correctly. That is why he only communicated through RedQuark. Again, IIRC, he was an employee of the developmental studio that worked on the game.

 

That is about all I remember though. *shrug*

[Art Vandelay]

Deep Brick / RedQuark isn't our only outlet to the game.

 

I have a reasonably good lead on the game myself, as well, though I'm not going into detail about that until I'm able to get more concrete information to share with the community.

 

There's other ongoing leads in the game, but I won't divulge any information about them for the sake of preserving their possible success. (There can't be a bunch of people contacting them at all the same time.)

[Ldd2000]

I thought that game wasn't finished?

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

Cant someone "Trick" lego into saying yes? Like "oh I found a copy can I send it to a friend?"

 

Why cant DeepBrick just leak it? I know its illegal, but if you do it from another computer on mediafire or something, then who will know???

As for the first question, I believe the reason that's impossible (at least in part) is because LEGO doesn't own the full rights to the game itself; the rights are partially owned by some guy who I think some way or another obtained the rights to a bunch of Saffire's intellectual property at once after they went bankrupt.

I also strongly doubt that LEGO has kept any real records of their dealing with Saffire all these years, plus fear of copyright and pattent trolls means that their legal team will doubtlessly say "no" to everyone about anything, unless you are also a large company with similar concerns.

In regards to the second, there could be a number of reasons - maybe it's a matter of ethics, or perhaps DB wants to avoid any possibility whatsoever for legal problems, or something else entirely. I believe RQ may have given a specific reason in the original topic but that was unfortunately lost with the rest of the archives.

 

As far as I know, the most recent information about the game can be found in this thread on the BMP forums.

Yeah, if we get any real updates I'll post an update there. Myself and a few others are continuing to contact individuals who may have the game or information on it. Of course, if anyone has any leads, I would love to hear them.

Hello all!!!!!!!!! Okay, so I have found a way to view the old fourms. The Wayback Machine!!!! With this site, you can see websites that have been archived over time. So, I decided to go on it to see the old posts relating to BIONICLE: Legends of Mata Nui. All of the information relating to the game was lost. No one knows what RedQuark had said, no one knows anything. So, I found this old fourm about the game, and it has posts from RedQuark ect. Apparently, only Deep Brick, and some "crazy game employee" are known to own a copy of the game. DeepBrick, would only communicate through RedQuark, and he sent him videos and gameplay footage. ALL the info about the game comes from Deep Brick. Now, back to the present, if any of us have any plans of ever seeing this game, someone, somehow, has to get in contact with Deep Brick. Trouble is, who the ###### is he? I'm trying to search members in the WayBack Machine, but searously who is he???

Something tells me our chances of getting the game from Deep Brick are extreamly low, I think we have a better chance of getting it from someone else. We do know that he is not the only one to have owned a copy.

DeepBrick wasn't a member, if I recall correctly. That is why he only communicated through RedQuark. Again, IIRC, he was an employee of the developmental studio that worked on the game.

 

That is about all I remember though. *shrug*

He was not a member of any fansite, at least not by this name. While it's likely he worked on the game, we do not know for certain what his relation to the game was.

 

I thought that game wasn't finished?

That's correct.

 

There's other ongoing leads in the game, but I won't divulge any information about them for the sake of preserving their possible success. (There can't be a bunch of people contacting them at all the same time.)

Yeah, experience has shown that this is necessary.

 

Edited March 10, 2014 by Hahli Husky

[Fry]

This is my Bionicle website dedicated to finding LOMN but any other posts are alright! I need some posts and members so visit please!

http://bioniclelomnhunt.weebly.com/

[believe victims]

GregF actually made a blog entry on the subject four years ago. idk if it still holds true today, but it seems that at least at the time, the position was that anyone with a copy of the game wasn't allowed to distribute it because LEGO owns the copyright or something.

[Kopekemaster]

At present, I fear that there really isn't much possibility that The Legend of Mata Nui will ever see the light of day. At least we were fortunate enough to get the cutscenes and a walkthrough of the first level from DeepBrick.

 

Could you put up a link to those? I haven't seen them.

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

GregF actually made a blog entry on the subject four years ago. idk if it still holds true today, but it seems that at least at the time, the position was that anyone with a copy of the game wasn't allowed to distribute it because LEGO owns the copyright or something.

Keep in mind that LEGO will say something similar to literally anything you ask them for. They have to because of copyright and patent trolls.

 

 

At present, I fear that there really isn't much possibility that The Legend of Mata Nui will ever see the light of day. At least we were fortunate enough to get the cutscenes and a walkthrough of the first level from DeepBrick.

 

Could you put up a link to those? I haven't seen them.

 

This YouTube channel has them all: https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkOfMoD

[Kopekemaster]

 

GregF actually made a blog entry on the subject four years ago. idk if it still holds true today, but it seems that at least at the time, the position was that anyone with a copy of the game wasn't allowed to distribute it because LEGO owns the copyright or something.

Keep in mind that LEGO will say something similar to literally anything you ask them for. They have to because of copyright and patent trolls.

 

 

At present, I fear that there really isn't much possibility that The Legend of Mata Nui will ever see the light of day. At least we were fortunate enough to get the cutscenes and a walkthrough of the first level from DeepBrick.

 

Could you put up a link to those? I haven't seen them.

 

This YouTube channel has them all: https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkOfMoD

 

Oh thanks.

 

EDIT: Wow, this looks pretty awesome. And a lot better quality than I had imagined.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Master of all Kopekes

[Klanadack]

Too bad "the glitch" keeps us from seeing more of the game...

 

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway? My guess is that the surface type was set to something like lava or spikes. I doubt it's fall damage, as the platform is not a larger distance down that the rest.

 

(Watch the walkthrough if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

Edited February 11, 2014 by PyroLizard Prime

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway?

My best guess is the kill-z (the point at which the character goes down too far and dies regardless of any falls, which may technicaly be a kill-y) is set too high, possibly to accomodate other areas of the level. Impossible to say for sure without the actual game, but whatever it is I could probably beat it in a days work.

Edited February 11, 2014 by JrMasterModelBuilder

[Fry]

 

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway?

My best guess is the kill-z (the point at which the character goes down too far and dies regardless of any falls, which may technicaly be a kill-y) is set too high, possibly to accomodate other areas of the level. Impossible to say for sure without the actual game, but whatever it is I could probably beat it in a days work.

 

 

 

Too bad "the glitch" keeps us from seeing more of the game...

 

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway? My guess is that the surface type was set to something like lava or spikes. I doubt it's fall damage, as the platform is not a larger distance down that the rest.

 

(Watch the walkthrough if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

The wiki page says that some beta players got past it. My guess is that they held on to the ledge and then dropped onto the platform

[Klanadack]

 

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway?

My best guess is the kill-z (the point at which the character goes down too far and dies regardless of any falls, which may technicaly be a kill-y) is set too high, possibly to accomodate other areas of the level. Impossible to say for sure without the actual game, but whatever it is I could probably beat it in a days work.

 

I know, but the thing is, when Onua misses a platform, he falls below the insta-kill one before dying.

 

 

 

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway?

My best guess is the kill-z (the point at which the character goes down too far and dies regardless of any falls, which may technicaly be a kill-y) is set too high, possibly to accomodate other areas of the level. Impossible to say for sure without the actual game, but whatever it is I could probably beat it in a days work.

 

 

 

Too bad "the glitch" keeps us from seeing more of the game...

 

What do you guys think "the glitch" is, anyway? My guess is that the surface type was set to something like lava or spikes. I doubt it's fall damage, as the platform is not a larger distance down that the rest.

 

(Watch the walkthrough if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

The wiki page says that some beta players got past it. My guess is that they held on to the ledge and then dropped onto the platform

 

I thought that would work, too, until a certain part in the video shows Onua making a really long jump, from which he lands on the final platform,(not the insta-kill one) and still dies instantly. That death may be because of fall damage, though.

 

 

I wonder what language the game is programed in?

Edited February 11, 2014 by PyroLizard Prime

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

I wonder what language the game is programed in?

C++ targeting the WinAPI and Direct X, I guarantee it.

[Klanadack]

How do you know? Is there a way to tell? I'm just starting to learn programming, so all this is mostly new to me.

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

How do you know? Is there a way to tell? I'm just starting to learn programming, so all this is mostly new to me.

There's really nothing else it could have been written in, especially at that time. All other Windows LEGO games at the time were made this way and it's still what most professional Windows games are made with today. We also know that they were using Direct X's binary X model format.

[Pupwa21]

What's stopping us from recreating the game or at least the first part anyways?

[Sir Kohran]

I was thinking of making a topic asking about the game; I'm glad to see interest in finding it hasn't died.

 

What's stopping us from recreating the game or at least the first part anyways?

 

Nothing, technically. But it would be fan-made content, not something official as this game was (or would've been).

[Fry]

Doesanybody have any leads?

[Art Vandelay]

What's stopping us from recreating the game or at least the first part anyways?

 

There's a guy on the BioMedia Project forums doing just that, actually. http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/board/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=136

 

 

Doesanybody have any leads?

 

You just posted this topic, and there's been a million topics like it before. Don't expect people to come forth with new leads on the game all of the sudden. It's not like there's a ton of leads out there just waiting to be picked up. Honestly, there's only a few leads left that haven't dried up, and all of them are currently in progress. If anyone has any new information about their lead, they'll make a big deal out of it. There's nothing new with my lead, at the moment.

Edited February 13, 2014 by XONAR

[Sir Kohran]

It's frustrating how few 'leads' there are and how many obstacles there seem to be in the way of the game becoming playable. You wouldn't think one unreleased piece of programming based on a toyline from the start of the previous decade would be so problematic.

 

I wonder how much of the game Deep Brick's CD contains. AFAIK the lethal platforms have never been passed, so we have no idea how much further it goes on from there.

[emily]

I wonder how much of the game Deep Brick's CD contains. AFAIK the lethal platforms have never been passed, so we have no idea how much further it goes on from there.

Assuming the disc contains all of Saffire's work on the game up to the point of cancellation, there should at least be something playable for Gali and Tahu, if not finished levels for them. I don't think we've seen any images from Lewa or Pohatu's levels, but there was this, so they were at least working on the mechanics of the Pakari's Kane-Ra riding function with Pohatu. It's a safe bet there was some Kopaka stuff, too, with this picture of him from an early console version. I'm not sure how much can be inferred from this image presumably from the game. It could be some form of concept art or maybe a screenshot from a WIP cutscene, but it doesn't look to be an actual in-game screenshot.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Tazakk

[Sir Kohran]

 

 

It's a safe bet there was some Kopaka stuff, too, with this picture of him from an early console version.

 

That image was displayed on the beta test advertisement page.

 

 

 

I'm not sure how much can be inferred from this image presumably from the game. It could be some form of concept art or maybe a screenshot from a WIP cutscene, but it doesn't look to be an actual in-game screenshot.

 

At some point in bionicle.com's history, some short clips were made that summarised the events of previous years. Some images were created for them and this was one of them. It belongs to the 2001 clip and obviously portrays the battle with Makuta as seen in the MNOLG. I haven't seen or heard anything to suggest it was from or related to Saffire's game.

 

However, given that the game's last cutscene covers the island's celebrations and a glimpse of the Bohrok, it's certainly possible that the climax featured Makuta. How closely that would've matched up with the MNOLG sequence we can only guess.

[emily]

I didn't mean to imply that the images were directly from a disk - just that, presumably, if the disks contain all of the content that Saffire produced, the images serve to show some of what would be there.

 

I do know that the Makuta image is from the 2001 story summary clip from 2004. Even so, I feel reasonably confident in assuming that it came from The Legend of Mata Nui because the animation it appeared in bears the marks of having been created by Templar. We know they had access to at least some aspects of TLOMN and so it seemed likely to me that they took the Makuta image and the others from what they had. The Nui Jaga here reminds me strongly of the one

at least as far as its coloring (it is difficult to see much else of it in the video). The translucent eyepieces for the 'heads' holding the Pakari claws seem to be light blue in the video, which would match the picture and is also unique, as the official set and other media featured trans-yellow as the color.

 

I could be wrong, definitely. But I think it's possible the images are from the game.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Tazakk

[Sir Kohran]

 

 

I didn't mean to imply that the images were directly from a disk - just that, presumably, if the disks contain all of the content that Saffire produced, they serve to show some of what would be there.

 

In the case of the Kopaka image, I was just pointing out that it was once used on the website to promote the game with. It was almost certainly taken from the game itself or a prototype/test level.

 

 

 

I feel reasonably confident in assuming that it came from The Legend of Mata Nui because the animation it appeared in bears the marks of having been created by Templar.

 

The clips did feature MNOLG sound effects and music, but no actual animation/images in the smooth, bright, colourful style, instead using a murky, grainy look. So it's a bit unclear who made the clips.

 

 

 

We know they had access to at least some aspects of TLOMN and so it seemed likely to me that they took the Makuta image and the Tahu vs. Nui Jaga image from what they had.

 

But given that these clips were made whole years after 2001, would Templar or whoever else made them really have to rely on a cancelled game for artwork, especially when they already had plenty of their own?

[emily]

 

We know they had access to at least some aspects of TLOMN and so it seemed likely to me that they took the Makuta image and the Tahu vs. Nui Jaga image from what they had.

 

But given that these clips were made whole years after 2001, would Templar or whoever else made them really have to rely on a cancelled game for artwork, especially when they already had plenty of their own?

 

I don't know. The Advance artwork that makes up the majority of the clips doesn't cover the ground that two of the clips of dubious origin do, seeing as one of them shows the confrontation with the Makuta and another shows villagers being attacked by Rahi. The first is an event critical to the story (and so important to include), but aside from the Mata Nui online game there weren't any released depictions of it. Since the art style of MNOG stands in such contrast to the Advance art, maybe they just went through the game files they had access to to find some scenes that would do reasonably well fitting in with the rest of the clips.

 

Just to throw something else in, the villagers (in the image of them being chased by the Nui Rama) are completely grey, like the ones in DeepBrick's walkthrough. To be fair though, they do seem to be different models - based on the prototype design that the villagers in MNOLG were also based on as opposed to the finalized design implemented in DeepBrick's copy of TLOMN.

[Sir Kohran]

Are the clips still available anywhere? I haven't seen them in years.

[Underscore]

Yeah, you can watch them on youtube on [the username] MarkOfMoD's channel.

[Fry]

Didn't the credits from the videos that deepbrick gave us have a list of the beta testers? Why doesn't someone try to find them?

[Sir Kohran]

Yeah, you can watch them on youtube on [the username] MarkOfMoD's channel.

 

Sorry, I'm referring to the year clips Tazakk and me have been discussing, not the game videos (which I've watched closely in the years since they were uploaded).

[BBBBalta]

The clips you're referring to were on bioniclestory.com, right? I know Zeene backed up the entire site, but he hasn't been around for a while and the site where he uploaded the backup doesn't appear to be active anymore. Dunno if anyone else saved them.

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

The clips you're referring to were on bioniclestory.com, right? I know Zeene backed up the entire site, but he hasn't been around for a while and the site where he uploaded the backup doesn't appear to be active anymore. Dunno if anyone else saved them.

These clips?

2001

2002

2003

 

If so, I don't think they were on bioniclestory.com, at least not when I backed it all up here.

 

 

Didn't the credits from the videos that deepbrick gave us have a list of the beta testers? Why doesn't someone try to find them?

It's touch to say what a "beta tester" was in this case. Most likely I think they were internal testers, who may or may not have a copy. Edited February 14, 2014 by JrMasterModelBuilder

[Sir Kohran]

 

The clips you're referring to were on bioniclestory.com, right? I know Zeene backed up the entire site, but he hasn't been around for a while and the site where he uploaded the backup doesn't appear to be active anymore. Dunno if anyone else saved them.

These clips?

2001

2002

2003

 

If so, I don't think they were on bioniclestory.com, at least not when I backed it all up here.

 

Yes, they're what I was referring to, thank you. They were on bionicle.com about ten years ago.

 

Looking at the relevant images, they do look quite similar to the visual style of the game, and I'm slightly open to the possibility of them being from there. However, the dramatic angles and muted colours of the Nui-Rama and Makuta battle look far more like cutscenes than actual gameplay. And the three cutscenes in the game that we know of don't feature any (non-Manas) Rahi or Makuta.