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Dawn of a New Era?


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I think we're all getting worked up over nothing, to be honest. We're all worrying about how potential new members might take to the storyline or the community here. What if Bionicle crashes and burns in its first year of return and we get no new members? Or what if they start their own website? The thing is, we really have no idea what's going to happen. All we can do is focus on making this site as welcoming, friendly and open as it can possibly be and celebrate the return of what gave it life to begin with. There's no use worrying about the future until it comes... 

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Embers - a new Bionicle Epic - Coming 2024 

Class Is Out - A Farewell To Corpus Rahkshi - Chapters/Review

BZPRPG Characters - Minnorak, Kain, T'harrak, Savis, Vazaria, Lash

BZPRPG Mercenary Group - The Outsiders - Description - History - Base

Ghosts Of Bara Magna - Ash Tribe - Precipere - Kehla, Somok, Skrall, Gayle, Avinus, Zha'ar

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We are all Bionicle fans.

 

We are one.

 

Cleanitallitmustbecleaned.

 

Cleanitallitmustbecleanedallobstacleswillberemovedyouareanobstacleremoveyourselfcleanitallcleanitallcleanitall....

            Sorry, just had to do that.  Always wanted to do that. 

            And Natogreavesy has a point (how does he always say what I'm thinking?) -- the new fans of new Bionicle could form their own BZP or whatever.  I, for one, think I'd be more active if new members came.  (I've been here two years and only have 46 posts.)  I'd comment on whatever new fans did or made.  Constructive criticism, of course.  And I'm sure there'd be topics only we old fans would be on and post on.  I view the idea of new members as... new students in a school. They can make friends and join the community, and they aren't often scared off by the old community.  Though having spent only two years in public school, what do I know -- someone else can expand this idea.

 

~W.12.~

On 9/29/2014, Greg Farshtey said:

 

"Just wanted to say a quick something --

 

A lot of you guys are BIONICLE fans, many from way back. It's no secret that you are some of the smartest, most loyal, and most dedicated fans out there. You, and you alone, have carried the torch for the line over the last four years. Hopefully, you will feel rewarded for your efforts by 2015 BIONICLE.

 

Regardless, I wanted to take this opportunity to say that I am really proud to be associated with you, and you should be really proud of yourselves"

 

Ordinarily, I don't do quotes, but this is special.

Fire Ice Water Stone Earth Air... I mean Jungle.
 
Bionicle: The Legacy Hero An attempt to put some magic back into Bionicle.

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The most important thing is to be welcoming and respectful.

 

Too much of the Internet is full of elitists and flamers.

 

We are, although imperfect, unique in our(relatively) peaceful community.

 

Whatever happens, we have to maintain that.

 

Agreed--many fans of anything seem to be strangely elitist because of how they discovered something ("Oh, you discovered this band because they had a song in a tv show? You're not a real fan!"). Fortunately, I never experienced much of that here--I was a member from the beginning (as in, I used to read KanohiPower) until early 2004 or so, and then I formed a new account in 2009 (because I had completely forgotten what my old handle was); I don't think many people knew how long I had been a fan--they only saw a new member talking about Bara Magna stuff--but I was never ridiculed or made to feel like less of a fan. I always felt welcome here, and I bet others will, too, as long as there's none of the "I was here first so I'm a better fan" nonsense.

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Cleanitalltmustbecleancleanitallitmustbecleancleanitallitmustbeclean...

 Here's the thing about Bionicle vs HeroFactory:

I try not to bash Hero Factory, but I just can't bring myself to love it. It comes down 3 simple reasons: 

 

1) Storyline. This is why hero factory could never live up to Bionicle. A major theme in Bionicle was what it took to be a hero. In Bionicle, heroism came in all forms. In Hero Factory, heroism is built, packaged, and marketed. Bionicle's storyline was imo it's major selling point. It was what kept fans hooked. HF just doesn't seem to bring upon the same awe. 

 

2) The sets. I'm sorry, but I am not a fan of blasters and guns. I am a huge fan of awesome looking melee weapons (especially swords). Bionicle always produced wicked looking molds for the good guy's weapons. HF weapons I didn't even know what they did. The more innovative HF got, the less I liked the sets. Wave 1, when they still resembled bionicle, was the only time I was really interested in the sets. 

 

3) The characters. This is a biggie for me, because even if the sets are not cool, if the storyline and characters can often persuade me to buy a set just because he's my favorite character. Was Tahu Mistika the best set ever in terms of innovation and design? No. Did I still shelf 15$ to buy Tahu? Oh heck yes. When an epic character like Takanuva makes a return to the shelf, everyone is interested. For die-hard fans, it's a must-have. When Preston Stormer makes an appearance on the shelf, I think: Well there are some good pieces for a Kopaka moc. I buy it for little other reason to support lego, and to raise the chances of Bionicle's return. 

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I'd have to agree with some of the earlier posts. Back when I initially joined, things were a lot simpler and friendly people where at every corner. These days however I've met with a lot of scorn, rudeness, and other nonsense and things have gotten a lot different from the old days I remember fondly. And then there is the whole divide of the Hero Factory haters and fans. I'm somewhere in the middle, so I prefer to stay out of those conflicts.

 

I think a lot of you may be over-exaggerating just a bit when talking about all the hate on this forum. Personally, I really don't see it that much, and I still consider this website to be one of the friendliest forums I've been on. :notsure:  

Edited by Shadow Destroyer
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Thank you to the Dark Beings Banner and Avatar Shop for the banner! Brickshelf Gallery  BZPRPG Profiles 

 

 

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Seems there is some actual expectation of BIONICLE's return, which I certainly won't try to suppress. A particular line of code on S@H that led to a Coming Soon message may mean everything and it may mean someone was careless in creating a placeholder page for something else. Impossible to say, but hope is a great thing.

 

For me, I think I'm in a somewhat unique position as I've taken the last few years off, almost exactly timed with BIONICLE's end. I've only begun visiting the website more often due to the new story I'm writing (The Chrysalis Saga). In my eyes, I'm going to feel very much like one of the newcomers in that I have to relearn a lot of what I used to know, and I've had enough of a "BIONICLE drought" in my life that anything new with the name attached to it will probably earn my praise.

 

When I was a Staff member, too, I learned how to mediate between people on this site. I'm sure I could continue to reprise that role with or without a title. Newcomers will be awed by the amount of knowledge and lore that has come before their time, and we will have the privilege of living vicariously through them with their entirely original enthusiasm for something that truly is new to them.

 

I'll welcome this return, if it comes. :)

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Part One of the Chrysalis Saga

By Takuta-Nui

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I think we're all getting worked up over nothing, to be honest. We're all worrying about how potential new members might take to the storyline or the community here. What if Bionicle crashes and burns in its first year of return and we get no new members? Or what if they start their own website? The thing is, we really have no idea what's going to happen. All we can do is focus on making this site as welcoming, friendly and open as it can possibly be and celebrate the return of what gave it life to begin with. There's no use worrying about the future until it comes... 

I agree with this. I have no idea what will happen to BZP when/if Bionicle returns. We could get a ton of new members, or we might not. We will not know until we get to that point in time. And even if we do get a lot of new members, I'm sure we will all get along just fine. (At least, I hope we do.)

Everyone is one choice away from being the bad guy in another person's story.


 


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I think we're all getting worked up over nothing, to be honest. We're all worrying about how potential new members might take to the storyline or the community here. What if Bionicle crashes and burns in its first year of return and we get no new members? Or what if they start their own website? The thing is, we really have no idea what's going to happen. All we can do is focus on making this site as welcoming, friendly and open as it can possibly be and celebrate the return of what gave it life to begin with. There's no use worrying about the future until it comes... 

I agree.  There's no knowing if they'll even bring Bionicle back successfully.  And if they do, I think the only problem would be that the newer people probably wouldn't know all the old lore.  (which isn't really a problem.  I think it's fun going back and reading through the old serials and books. :)  And the S&T or Biosector01 would come to their rescue.  I think that as long as everyone remembers to stay civil, there won't be any problems on the forum.

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Really, it depends on New!Bionicle itself, and how different it is from Old!Bionicle.

New Bionicle would have the Hero Factory building system, and Hero Factory already has a large place on BZP. Even if the new storyline were wildly different it would mean more activity here.

 

~B~

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But think about it, it will pretty much be the same as pokemon, you'll get genwuners(or in this case setwuners) who believe the originals were best and they should have stopped there. Then you will get folk who belive its all goood, and some who think the originals were flimsy in comparison to the shiny new remakes.

I'd love everyone to get along, but as long as theres a 'which side of the divide did you prefer' topic theres gonna be arguments.

Kind of agree except genwunners/setwunners would be like Toa Mata are better than Toa Inika. Bionicle returning with Hero Factory parts and completely retcon the story would be like if Gamefreak said ok the story of Pokemon (hah) is too complicated so lets start ALL OVER to square 1. Then you would have over 20 years of established fans arguing with new fans (and yes they would definitely argue). Same with Bionicle. There are 13 years of established fans of Bionicle and to reboot COMPLETELY would definitely in my opinion spark some controversy. The established fans can't forget what we already know and the new fans can't help not knowing. 

 

It looks grim but really if everyone just opens up and is polite then the community will thrive. Otherwise, the divide will be great (as in large not excellent).

Edited by specsowl
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I hope the hot-topic list comes back. But everyone brings up great points; the gap in knowledge between new and old members, grammar differences, etc. It is going to be interesting, and I'm looking towards a larger revival on the site. 

 

In the end we won't know until we get there.


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Bionicle: ANP aims to create narrated versions of all the Bionicle books, with voice actors for each character, and music taken from various media to enhance the story. Check here if you're interested in voicing a character, and here for the chapters that've already been released!

Formerly: Tahu Nuva 3.0

Looking for a Bionicle Beanie. Black one with the symbol on it. Contact me if you are willing to sell

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I don't really see what would change, aside from a surge in activity. As long as the old members of this site don't give off an elitist attitude or complain about "their" BIONICLE versus "new" BIONICLE (versus "Hero Factory") I think everything should be fine and dandy. I'm not worried about that, though, as most BZP members seem cool enough not to be rude about the whole thing. And this is assuming we do get a surge in activity.

 

As for the front page, I would hope that a surge in activity inspires a fix in the broken boxes. But I'm completely fine with the layout as it is, though obviously whether it gets redone or not isn't up to me.

BZPRPG
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I'm certainly hoping BZPower gets an influx of new members and interest. This forum played a large role in my first Internet interactions as a kid; I hope others will share my experiences here. And it's always nice to see some place that's slowing down start speeding up again.

 

edit: Well first I want the BZPower main page to get a touch-up. JPEG artifacts and nonfunctioning elements (hot topics, member spotlight) don't make for good impressions.

Edited by Observance
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I have been a member on Bzpower since 2002 and when LEGO first launched Bionicle in 2001. I have always been a big fan of Bionicle, even after their cancellation with the Bionicle Stars in 2010. I love all the sets they released (From the Toa Mata sets to the Bionicle Stars) and I enjoyed every storyline from Each Year. I'm very optimistic that Bzpower will have both generation of fans, (Kids, Teens and Adults), new and old members, will come together as a fan community. I, for one, don't mind the new system build from HF. I am very happy and very excited to see Bionicle back in 2015. I wonder what the next story will be? If it's a continuation, will it take place after Journey's end?  (Unity. Duty. Destiny.) :hau:

Edited by bohrokmaster
 

 

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I've been a Bionicle fan since the beginning, though I only joined this site in very early 2006. Even back then there were divides in this site, specifically between the people who only liked the story when it took place on Mata Nui and the people who liked all of it. Similar divides happened throughout my time here. But I stayed here because, unlike pretty much anywhere else on the internet where divides just lead to people acting mean and pointless flame wars, divides on BZP led to actual discussion and respectful conversations.

 

So yes, I do believe there will be divides, just like there always were. But I do not believe that will be a problem. Like pretty much everyone else said, we should still be welcoming and respectful.

Edited by J46 Nui

PSN ID: darthlego
Gamertag: SPARTAN J46
Steam name: jumpy46

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The new BIONICLE, and the fans who come with it, will test us as a community. I believe we will pass this test. I believe we will emerge a stronger community as a result.

 

There will be disagreements, for sure. Differences of opinion are a sign of a thriving community. It is up to us to respond to those in a mature and constructive manner, and recognize that what BIONICLE is or was is not all that it can or should be. The new BIONICLE will be different than before, but we shouldn't feel like only one or the other can truly deserve the BIONICLE name.

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I won't lie; new BIONICLE sets would bring me back to this site more frequently, and therefore, these forums would see a return of my begrudged participation (Mods, I apologize in advance for my irreverence). I imagine others like myself from "the good ol' days" would return, too. Naturally, I foresee some clashing, though not necessarily between those who favor "Old BIONICLE" and those who only know "New BIONICLE". Rather, I predict more conflict along classic, generational lines.

 

I am 25, going on 26. BIONICLE has been around long enough that people born when BIONICLE was new (2001) are now thirteen. That's not much older than I was when I discovered BIONICLE (I got my first three Toa after I turned 12), but obviously, the theme skewed heavily to those younger than me and as well as those much older. I imagine this new iteration will do the same, but considering Lego's past strategies with Ninjago, Chima, and Hero Factory, they may focus heavily on appealing to the younger age group; the target age group.

 

So, we'll likely see an influx of pre-tweens who have always been on the internet, always had access to at least one or two hand-held wireless devices, and may also be completely oblivious BIONICLE was something that existed before 2015. Meanwhile, the old BIONICLE fans from 2010 and earlier are all at least teenagers now, with a great many more now out of college or employed full-time (like yours truly). We like different cartoons, movies, books, and TV shows, and were molded by different cultural cornerstones (i.e. attitudes towards BIONICLE in the USA were in part molded by a post-9/11 atmosphere).

 

Needless to say, and without going into detail regarding all things someone like me will disapprove of that kids nowadays love, there will be personality and cultural clashes. We old guard members and moderators would be remiss to not acknowledge this. There is more than BIONICLE fandom at stake. We must understand our demographics better in order to build a new, cohesive community that will truly evoke BZPower's ancient splendor.

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RIP BORNICLE

2004 - 2011

"There are a thousand ways I could bore you...and only 942 of them will put you to sleep. Permanently"

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Does BZ have its own Facebook page? If it doesn't, I think we need one. EVERYONE seems to have Facebook these days, for better or worse.

Embers - a new Bionicle Epic - Coming 2024 

Class Is Out - A Farewell To Corpus Rahkshi - Chapters/Review

BZPRPG Characters - Minnorak, Kain, T'harrak, Savis, Vazaria, Lash

BZPRPG Mercenary Group - The Outsiders - Description - History - Base

Ghosts Of Bara Magna - Ash Tribe - Precipere - Kehla, Somok, Skrall, Gayle, Avinus, Zha'ar

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I have been in BZPower for a long time since 2009, and I hope that BZPower will continue as nice, comfortable, and awesome. I hope that Bionicle would come back in 2015 because there are some evidence about lately and I would lioe to see the return happen.:) But I don't have to get my hopes too high.

I like Lego, Bionicle, and Hero Factory!:)

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All we really need is an easy way for people to differentiate between the new stuff and the old stuff to make communication between generations of fans easier. It's gonna get tiresome to constantly type out "the stuff before 2015" or "post-2015" or say stuff like "old Bionicle" and "new Bionicle" 'cause that could get confusing when trying to talk about really old Bionicle and basically I'm thinking we should have a snappy nickname for fan term of some kind for convenience. There's bound to be fans that are just not interested in all the old stuff at all and want to make it clear they're exclusively fans of the new Bionicle and don't want to get into discussions they don't understand. It'll also be easy to talk about the different stories and building systems and mention both old and new Bionicle when comparing them without having to get wordy or redundant with the use of "old" and "new". If Bionicle goes on for more than just one extra year, "old" and "new" will start becoming really fuzzy definitions, too.

  • I'm thinking "Bionucle" because: It's only changing one letter, that's so simple. The "i" and "u" would be hard to confuse or misread 'cause they look very different.. Not wordy or silly. "Nu" of course meaning "new", but "Bionewcle" just looks ridiculous :P I think it's better than "Old/New Bionicle" 'cause that often has connotations of sounding like "Good/Bad Bionicle" or something (same problem with "Bionicle 2.0")and implies that the new stuff is separate from the old-- I think folks should embrace it as being the same old Bionicle, not something that needs to be segregated. I just think this term works really really well on a lot of levels and is sufficiently neutral, but then the only problem is that it doesn't offer a solution for more easily addressing the old Bionicle stuff. The obvious thing to complete the set would be "Bioldicle" but that sounds really dumb (unless it's just me?). OH OH OH, "Bioniclassic". It's like "Nu Who" and "Classic Who" for differentiating everything in Doctor Who before and after its 2005 restart. 

I think that's my favorite, "Bionucle" and "Bioniclassic". Alternatively, Nu Bionicle and Classic Bionicle work just as well without looking weird if people don't like the word fusions.

  • "Bionicle Olda" and "Bionicle Nuva" (or "Olda Bionicle" and "Nuva Bionicle") are also terms I like the sound of. Maybe mix things up, "Bioniolda" and "Bioninuva"? "Biolda" and "Bionuva" to cut down on redundant letters? Those are definitely a second favorite category of possible names.
  • Another option I really like is "Chapter One" and "Chapter Two", easily abbreviated to C1 and C2. I'm pretty sure the end of Bionicle was referred to as teh end of a chapter? I can't rememeber. However, I glanced at the last Bionoicle comic, and in the last words Mata Nui says before going dormant, he refers to a "New Beginning" and a "New Day", both of which sound really neat and have significance to Bionicle, as being the last words spoken by the Great Spirit. Unfortunately, they don't really sound like they work well, but again, could just be me.
  • Other terms I thought of, with varying degrees of seriousness (all on the low end of the spectrum), are "Rebooticle" (if it's a reboot obviously), "Bioniquel" (Sequel to the Biological Chronicle), possibly "Boneicle" if they do a full on reboot that validates comparison to Bone Heads of Voodoo Island :P Also "Constracticle" because constraction figures. "Chroniclers" for fans of the original cause we're old fuddy duddies that obsess over the past and keep it alive. 

I just want us all to come together and think of a great term that all or almost all people think is good and handy to use and be able to call new people that are uninterested in the old story or sets at all or just those that came in with the new stuff as "Bionucle fans" or whatever, because if we wait too long and someone thinks the best thing would be to label themselves a "bronicle" I'll cry bitter tears of pain and regret for not stopping it in its tracks.
----

Also, I'd really love to make a "what you need to know" or "what you missed" video/text entry to help new folks easily catch up. Very simple stuff, not even requiring any name dropping or mentioning specifics and background stuff. Just the important stuff summarizing each story year in order to lead them from story arc to story arc, not dwelling on any characters or concepts or anything. Just, "Bionicle takes place in a world inhabited by biomechanical beings who sometimes have superpowers and stuff. The story starts here, then this happens, these are the heros, they collect all this stuff, they defeat this this and this enemy and finally Makuta, learning this and that along the way and an underground city is revealed... That's 2001-03 in like under a minute and is easy to follow. I think a video would work best because visuals really help connect characters and ideas and such and when you're listening to something its more interesting and forces the narrator to really make sure nothing sounds confusing or unnecessary. It would also introduce folks to the look and feel and sound of the classic Bionicle, utilizing official art and clips and music from the games and movies and such. SPIRIT's "Bionicle in under 2 Minutes" would actually work really well :P If you focused more on making the story flow and not mentioning every little thing. 

Oh! And BZP has to make it clear that no shaming of new folks will be tolerated because oh my god there's nothing worse than an obnoxious GenWunner. Welcome the new folks and make them comfortable, help 'em out and be patient with the younger kids who will ask a ton of dumb questions and act kinda spastic like a lot of us did when we were young and new to BZP :P

Edited by Pomegranate
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I'd like to draw off of my experiences at the TFW2005 boards (Transformers).

 

There are many times more TFW-goers than BZPers, but 99.99% of the people and conversations are largely polite and respectful. There are collectors who are in their thirties and older who are willing to reply and acknowledge a person half their age. I've only known Transformers since the 2007 movie - they've loved it since the '80s. I don't see any reason for this to be different on BZPower between the old guard and future newcomers. Us nerds just tend to be nice chaps.

 

I think that the leaks and recent events, which have catalyzed a flurry of unprecedented activity and interest on the site, are only the merest hints of the revival we will see if Bionicle returns and still continue to hold the good natured discussions that we so prize. I've already seen a bunch of new BZPpers who have undoubtedly come looking for such a place thanks to the current hype.

 

I think we're just getting started.

Edited by Wazdakka
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Steam Name: Toa Hahli Mahri. Xbox Live Gamertag: Makuta. Minecraft Username: ThePoohster.

Wants: 2003 Jaller (from Jaller and Gukko), Exo-Toa, Turaga Nuju, Turaga Vakama, Shadow Kraata, Axonn, Brutaka, Vezon & Fenrakk, Nocturn, ORANGE FIKOU.

I got rid of my picture, are you happy?

 

 

 

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I haven't been nearly as active as I wanted to be. I've found that most stuff has 'already been done.' Although I began buying Bionicle back in 2004, I suppose I'm on the more recent end of BZP members. I fancy myself an expert in the story-side of things, and really quite enjoy telling other people about the lore. If the new fans are willing, I'd be totally into helping them understand what Bionicle once was before the new stuff. I've already been pretty involved on the TTV Forums, and have been introducing the story to several people who are just now getting into the story, which is really cool for me.

 

I think I'm in the party that we shouldn't try to differentiate between the old and the new sets. Unless the new stuff is drastically awful, I see no reason why we can't just refer to the whole thing as being Bionicle, because chances are, the new stuff will be good enough to wear the title.

 

I definitely think the mainpage needs a makeover, it's starting to look quite strange in comparison with the rest of the site.

 

I have this strange feeling that this next year, I will have conversations along these lines with new fans...

 

New Fan: "So, why was there a gap for four years in Bionicle?"

Me: "Oh, there was this weird goofy little series called 'Hero Factory'."

New Fan: "That sounds lame. What, did they build heroes or something?"

Me: "Something like that. Now, I wanted to show you this really cool game called MNOG, it was so cool!"

etc.

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Honestly, I think a return of Bionicle will bring back a lot of activity to this site. I mean, look at what happened when just a rumor popped up. The activity in the last couple of weeks has been crazy. Topics, comments, etc. are continually getting posted, all in much greater numbers then, say, a month ago. Not saying we're going to see numbers like we did before the downtime, but I think the return of Bionicle will definitely boost activity on BZP.

 

-Rez

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