New shells for the reboot

[Oroki]

I'm a big fan of hipster pieces. Like toa metru shoulder pieces and inika masks. One can tell the designers are trying on this new new wave, though. I was afraid tht bionicle 2015 would just be another hero factory, but the actual design feel like a breather. Those shells are kinda bland though, and stickers won't help much.

 

Wouldn't making the shells rounder make them look cheesier? No corners means even less detail. If you'd add more organic-looking detail, you might end up with some kind of barakki 2.0.

 

Ultimately, I just want the set designer to be really creative and inspired, and I hope they dare to be different.

[bioniclepluslotr]

 

 

 

Okay but the lack of innovation on column 2 is (to me) intentionally offset by column 3 and 4. I think all the innovation to make that work in theory is there, it just requires a little more variation on their part in terms of colour and design.

 

And to me, while those last two shells look nice, ultimately they can only accomplish a limited number of things both in set design and in MOCing.

 

To me, Bionicle is taking a few really good steps by making those add-on pieces CLEARLY with Bionicle in mind (vent flaps, pistons, etc.), though it could stand to improve by [again] moving past metal colours.

I like the metal colors. They mostly serve as nice neutral colors to help balance the color scheme.

 

But I do agree that the standardized, simple aesthetic on "column 2" is an asset and not a flaw. Again, I wouldn't mind a few new shells that has more detail and different connection points like the two they listed, but those kinds of shells are and (in my opinion) should remain supplementary to the main, standardized system. The smooth aesthetic is just usable in more types of models (both constraction and System) than the older, busier Bionicle aesthetic ever was. The last thing I would want is for that to go away just because old Bionicle fans who were conditioned to expect an absurd number of specialized parts with an impractical level of detail are "bored" with the new system.

 

The problem is "column 2" is that they use it on every set since the mold first came out. It didn't matter what the character was, a robot, a beast, an insect, a mech, an land creature, a sea creature, a hero, a villain. They all used the same piece repeatedly, covering every limb with the same style piece. Yes, it has variation in use, but given that, it takes variation away from appearance. If you want to use it on a Moc, there are close to a hundred sets and dozens of colors already available to choose from.

 

And this part has been used indiscriminately in houses, cars, dinosaurs, spaceships, sea creatures, landscapes, etc., all while never bothering to change its texture. That's what a building system does: use basic, versatile building blocks to build something larger.

 

A brick in system is akin to a bone piece in constraction. System sets have ascetic pieces like printed pieces or shape pieces that go on top of bricks. But no one is going to build their Lego city models using the same prints or design parts on all their buildings, vehicles, landscapes.

[Iben]

Personally, I'd love to see more elemental influences in the shells. Some of the add-ons like the ones of Bruizer looked quite cool and create a nice connection to the element. I always felt that the first Toa were described as almost "being" their element, and although this did translate a into their design, I only really felt this connection once the Glatorian came to the scene ( Strak's ice armour, Metus' schield used as shoulder armour, Malums fire claws, Raanu's helmet ) which was ironic because they actually weren't as close to the elements as the Toa were. I'm not saying those pieces were perfect because for instance Strak's armour is nice try but felt a bit unusable to me, but it really sparked me more than before.

 

I'm only talking about armour here, I do feel there was a stronger tie to the elements weapon-wise through various lines (Hordika for instance ), just wish they'd make (even) more elemental styled armour. I know they're probably not as versatile as more "general" types of armour, but still they look really cool.

 

-Iben

[believe victims]

A brick in system is akin to a bone piece in constraction. 

 

 

Fair enough. What about this piece? Or this piece? Those pieces seem more applicable to what shells are like, as they're almost exclusively used on the exterior to add shape. And again, the piece is used in several different instances (ships, dinosaurs, sharks, etc.) with no special texture required. Because, again, the point of a building system is to have a standard setup that makes any two pieces usable with each other.

 

Shells aren't quite like the more detailed aesthetic pieces in System; those are far more analogous to the outer detail parts, like the new Bionicle add-on.

 

The impression I've gotten from you is that you want to replace all the smooth, visually-consistent shells with textured shells, and I think that's a terrible idea. I'm all for introducing textured shells to go alongside the shells we have now, but when they introduce textured bricks, they do not suddenly remove all non-textured bricks for looking "boring" because there is definitely a use for having a consistent smooth aesthetic.

[The 1st Shadow]

No one ever said to replace them. The best example here is the Toa in Mask of Light. Look at Onua here:

 

Look at his thighs--they're very smooth and untextured, like the current crop of shells. Now look at his upper arms--big difference, right? But the figure looks great with bit of both smooth and textured. Heck, if anything, I'd love to see at least one new shell that looks like Onua's upper arms in this picture. Not replace anything, just add some new ones that add much more diversity than having a bunch of recolored shells that look completely identical. No one complained when the 2.0 HF torsos got more textured for Breakout and Brain Attack, right? And we still use the original one because having three different styles of torso armor makes for some wonderful aesthetic diversity among the sets.

 

See? Just like this, only for the other shells in my "column 2" up there. All three are still used, but it works perfectly.

[Zidonaro]

How can we compare actual LEGO bricks versatility with CCBS shells ? Lego bricks are versatile because the conjunction of them and the way they are arranged makes new forms and things, while CCBS shells are literally on their own. It's not fair and makes no sense.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Zidonaro

[UnderscoreChronix]

I'm getting bored of the same ovals covering every single constraction set. More different and interesting shapes would be great. With CCBS, every character has the same armour etc, making it look like they are all made by the same person, while in the old Bionicle the good guys and bad guys usually had differences, like the Toa Nuva and Rahkshi who shared barely any pieces which set them apart from eachother, while in HF for example, Furno and Black Phantom both wear the same armour and the same pieces are reused over and over again. 

At NYCC the designers talked about bringing back the Bionicle look, yet all they did was make one new armour addon and spammed it all over every set. They also chose an animation style which is basically the opposite of Bionicle - extremely simplistic with no texture at all, and in 2D Mixels-style. 

[Lyichir]

I'm getting bored of the same ovals covering every single constraction set. More different and interesting shapes would be great. With CCBS, every character has the same armour etc, making it look like they are all made by the same person, while in the old Bionicle the good guys and bad guys usually had differences, like the Toa Nuva and Rahkshi who shared barely any pieces which set them apart from eachother, while in HF for example, Furno and Black Phantom both wear the same armour and the same pieces are reused over and over again. 

At NYCC the designers talked about bringing back the Bionicle look, yet all they did was make one new armour addon and spammed it all over every set. They also chose an animation style which is basically the opposite of Bionicle - extremely simplistic with no texture at all, and in 2D Mixels-style.

There's a word for how the Toa Nuva and Rahkshi didn't share many parts. It's called "waste". The Toa Nuva leg pieces were never used by any many (forgot Pridak used those) sets after that year because they were terrible parts, less functional than even the Toa Mata legs which had preceded them and quickly rendered obsolete by the introduction of knees in the Rahkshi. The Rahkshi backs (and chests, and necks) were not much more useful due to their bulk and limited attachment points, and the spines were even worse ("Hey, I have an idea! Let's introduce six new >$20,000 molds which will each only ever be used on a single set and can only attach to a single other part!"). The Rahkshi at least introduced a useful leg mold... and then the Toa Inika and Piraka later introduced new leg molds that had the same proportions and only marginally different connection points, rendering them functionally identical (but why limit yourself to one eight-module lower limb when three will do?).

 

The CCBS was introduced specifically to combat that sort of rampant waste, allowing for a system of visually-compatible parts which could come in a wide range of sizes, allowing the proportions, colors, and builds of sets to differentiate characters instead of relying so much on repeatedly introducing parts with lots of clashing details that are functionally identical to older parts. The new Toa are a triumphant example of that principle, with fantastically diverse builds, proportions, and armor configurations while retaining a sense of visual unity thanks to the shared CCBS parts.

 

The animation style, as they discussed, was based in part on the simple, iconic visuals of the Mata Nui Online Game, which eschewed absolute one-to-one representation of the high-detailed Bionicle parts in favor of a more expressive and dynamic style. Your mileage may vary on whether or not it suits the theme, but I personally much prefer what I've seen of the new style to drab, generic-looking CGI like most past Bionicle or Hero Factory animations.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Lyichir

[Ballom Nom Nom]

The Rahkshi backs (and chests, and necks) were not much more useful due to their bulk and limited attachment points, and the spines were even worse ("Hey, I have an idea! Let's introduce six new >$20,000 molds which will each only ever be used on a single set and can only attach to a single other part!").

Counterpoint: Guurakh's spine reuse on the Viking serpent.

 

~B~

[bioniclepluslotr]

 

A brick in system is akin to a bone piece in constraction. 

 

 

Fair enough. What about this piece? Or this piece? Those pieces seem more applicable to what shells are like, as they're almost exclusively used on the exterior to add shape. And again, the piece is used in several different instances (ships, dinosaurs, sharks, etc.) with no special texture required. Because, again, the point of a building system is to have a standard setup that makes any two pieces usable with each other.

 

Shells aren't quite like the more detailed aesthetic pieces in System; those are far more analogous to the outer detail parts, like the new Bionicle add-on.

 

The impression I've gotten from you is that you want to replace all the smooth, visually-consistent shells with textured shells, and I think that's a terrible idea. I'm all for introducing textured shells to go alongside the shells we have now, but when they introduce textured bricks, they do not suddenly remove all non-textured bricks for looking "boring" because there is definitely a use for having a consistent smooth aesthetic.

 

You don't need to replace all, but at least some variety. Because right now there's hardly any variety in the CCBS sets that I have. And those pieces you showed are a variety. There's a massive variety of system pieces. I can't see why they don't apply that to constraction. They have pieces that can cover the smooth shells but they're often overlooked and absent.

[Lyichir]

 

 

A brick in system is akin to a bone piece in constraction.

 

Fair enough. What about this piece? Or this piece? Those pieces seem more applicable to what shells are like, as they're almost exclusively used on the exterior to add shape. And again, the piece is used in several different instances (ships, dinosaurs, sharks, etc.) with no special texture required. Because, again, the point of a building system is to have a standard setup that makes any two pieces usable with each other.

 

Shells aren't quite like the more detailed aesthetic pieces in System; those are far more analogous to the outer detail parts, like the new Bionicle add-on.

 

The impression I've gotten from you is that you want to replace all the smooth, visually-consistent shells with textured shells, and I think that's a terrible idea. I'm all for introducing textured shells to go alongside the shells we have now, but when they introduce textured bricks, they do not suddenly remove all non-textured bricks for looking "boring" because there is definitely a use for having a consistent smooth aesthetic.

 

You don't need to replace all, but at least some variety. Because right now there's hardly any variety in the CCBS sets that I have. And those pieces you showed are a variety. There's a massive variety of system pieces. I can't see why they don't apply that to constraction. They have pieces that can cover the smooth shells but they're often overlooked and absent.

 

There's a reason shell covers are often absent—a set just doesn't need to be covered from head to toe in high detail. The new Toa, for example, use the new shell detail pieces sparingly, and it works like a charm, drawing the eye to specific parts of the model. Bionicle parts, on the other hand, were almost always covered in details and greebles, meaning that there were practically no options for if you wanted to have a smooth, clean shape, and almost every part of a model would be left competing for visual attention.

[bioniclepluslotr]

 

 

 

A brick in system is akin to a bone piece in constraction.

 

Fair enough. What about this piece? Or this piece? Those pieces seem more applicable to what shells are like, as they're almost exclusively used on the exterior to add shape. And again, the piece is used in several different instances (ships, dinosaurs, sharks, etc.) with no special texture required. Because, again, the point of a building system is to have a standard setup that makes any two pieces usable with each other.

 

Shells aren't quite like the more detailed aesthetic pieces in System; those are far more analogous to the outer detail parts, like the new Bionicle add-on.

 

The impression I've gotten from you is that you want to replace all the smooth, visually-consistent shells with textured shells, and I think that's a terrible idea. I'm all for introducing textured shells to go alongside the shells we have now, but when they introduce textured bricks, they do not suddenly remove all non-textured bricks for looking "boring" because there is definitely a use for having a consistent smooth aesthetic.

 

You don't need to replace all, but at least some variety. Because right now there's hardly any variety in the CCBS sets that I have. And those pieces you showed are a variety. There's a massive variety of system pieces. I can't see why they don't apply that to constraction. They have pieces that can cover the smooth shells but they're often overlooked and absent.

 

There's a reason shell covers are often absent—a set just doesn't need to be covered from head to toe in high detail. The new Toa, for example, use the new shell detail pieces sparingly, and it works like a charm, drawing the eye to specific parts of the model. Bionicle parts, on the other hand, were almost always covered in details and greebles, meaning that there were practically no options for if you wanted to have a smooth, clean shape, and almost every part of a model would be left competing for visual attention.

 

So... why was Bionicle so popular for like 9-10 years?

[Aanchir]

A brick in system is akin to a bone piece in constraction. System sets have ascetic pieces like printed pieces or shape pieces that go on top of bricks. But no one is going to build their Lego city models using the same prints or design parts on all their buildings, vehicles, landscapes.

The basic shells and beams you see in just about every set are merely the foundation of the building system, and "aesthetic parts that go on top" do in fact vary between sets. The shoulder armor on the Protector of Earth is a good example: he's one of three sets that have used that design to date. Likewise, the talon pieces used on Lewa's shoulders have been in only eight previous constraction sets (as well as three System sets). The masks and weapons obviously vary between sets.

 

Besides that, was classic BIONICLE really that much different? Even though MOST of its parts had specialized details, including certain shells and beams, they weren't exactly being used sparingly — all 14 canister sets from 2005 used them, and always on the upper leg. Toa Mata arms were even more ubiquitous. Part of the reason LEGO uses parts like this repetitively, other than just to get their money's worth out of the mold, is because they help establish a consistent design language.

 

How can we compare actual LEGO bricks versatility with CCBS shells ? Lego bricks are versatile because the conjunction of them and the way they are arranged makes new forms and things, while CCBS shells are literally on their own. It's not fair and makes no sense.

I don't entirely understand what you mean by "literally on their own". They don't exist in a vacuum. But perhaps a better comparison to CCBS shells and beams would be Technic beams and pins. You can't make a creation with just beams, or just pins — but it's the way the different sizes of beams and pins and axles can be used together interchangeably that gives them their versatility. With Hero Factory, you COULD technically create a creation with just beams, since they're designed to snap directly to each other, but most sets use beams and shells in tandem, and by doing so you can create models with lots of different shapes and proportions.

 

I'm getting bored of the same ovals covering every single constraction set. More different and interesting shapes would be great. With CCBS, every character has the same armour etc, making it look like they are all made by the same person, while in the old Bionicle the good guys and bad guys usually had differences, like the Toa Nuva and Rahkshi who shared barely any pieces which set them apart from eachother, while in HF for example, Furno and Black Phantom both wear the same armour and the same pieces are reused over and over again. 

At NYCC the designers talked about bringing back the Bionicle look, yet all they did was make one new armour addon and spammed it all over every set. They also chose an animation style which is basically the opposite of Bionicle - extremely simplistic with no texture at all, and in 2D Mixels-style.

I don't see why sets having a consistent visual language is a bad thing. Nor do I think sets having the same parts makes them all look the same, any more than creations built from basic LEGO bricks all look the same. It CAN help them feel like they all belong to the same model or the same universe, though, something that I feel like BIONICLE sometimes struggled with.

 

Whenever I would draw BIONICLE characters back in the day, I'd try to go out of my way to make characters' armor stylistically consistent. It shouldn't have needed to be as much of a challenge as it was. Let's just take one set for example: the 2008 version of Lewa had an entirely different design language for his forearms than for his shins, when the parts performed the exact same function, had the exact same length, and were originally released less than four years apart! Likewise, even with parts designed for the same characters like the Piraka, parts could feel inconsistent. Piraka lower legs were smooth, mostly solid curves, while their torsos were an angular, gappy, and covered in pistons! Why? Who knows?

 

Contrast that with, say, the new Gali. The texture of the leg and arm shells (introduced in 2011) fits just fine with the texture of the chest plate (introduced in 2012), the torso shell (introduced in 2013), and the mask (introduced in 2015), even though they were all designed for different sets! There's not nearly as much need to worry about parts not fitting together aesthetically because they aren't from the same year or from the same group of characters.

 

Or even from the same THEME! I could put the head from the Batman constraction set from 2012 on my recent Wairuha MOC that I built from the 2015 Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka sets (read: I am doing this right now and nobody can stop me! ), and the only thing that would entirely fail to match would be the color. Even though the character is entirely non-mechanical — human, in fact — his head's design language is made up of the same types of angles, curves, and smooth, clean surfaces as any shell piece on the model.

 

What the consistency of CCBS parts, even the more specialized ones, tells me is not that the designers are lazy, but that the designers really, truly do put a lot of thought into ensuring that the parts look like they belong together with the existing parts palette, and aren't just worried about the parts of the new sets looking and feeling different than the parts of the previous sets.

 

Also, the reason there's such a massive variety in System pieces has a bit to do with the fact that System has always made up the majority of LEGO sets and themes. Even so, LEGO System and Technic may have lots of variety, but it's variety with a purpose, not just variety for variety's sake. They don't just create a new windscreen in System or a new panel in Technic because they think the old windscreens and panels are "boring". And every new piece, even the most specialized, is carefully tailored to ensure it fits visually with the established system and can continue to be used alongside the existing parts palette. CCBS is no different in that respect.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Aanchir

[Zidonaro]

 

I'm getting bored of the same ovals covering every single constraction set. More different and interesting shapes would be great. With CCBS, every character has the same armour etc, making it look like they are all made by the same person, while in the old Bionicle the good guys and bad guys usually had differences, like the Toa Nuva and Rahkshi who shared barely any pieces which set them apart from eachother, while in HF for example, Furno and Black Phantom both wear the same armour and the same pieces are reused over and over again. 

At NYCC the designers talked about bringing back the Bionicle look, yet all they did was make one new armour addon and spammed it all over every set. They also chose an animation style which is basically the opposite of Bionicle - extremely simplistic with no texture at all, and in 2D Mixels-style.

There's a word for how the Toa Nuva and Rahkshi didn't share many parts. It's called "waste". The Toa Nuva leg pieces were never used by any many (forgot Pridak used those) sets after that year because they were terrible parts, less functional than even the Toa Mata legs which had preceded them and quickly rendered obsolete by the introduction of knees in the Rahkshi. The Rahkshi backs (and chests, and necks) were not much more useful due to their bulk and limited attachment points, and the spines were even worse ("Hey, I have an idea! Let's introduce six new >$20,000 molds which will each only ever be used on a single set and can only attach to a single other part!").

 

Yet 2002-2003 was one of the best years for BIONICLE sales   You know, when a company make toys that don't look like their predecessors, the buyer have another reason to buy them. You said how bad it is for lego to introduce new molds that will only be used on a single set, but I really doubt that caused them prejudice back in the day. 

 

 

Counterpoint: Guurakh's spine reuse on the Viking serpent.

~B~

 

 

Another one: The Toa Nuva legs were also used in 2 viking sets.

 

 

How can we compare actual LEGO bricks versatility with CCBS shells ? Lego bricks are versatile because the conjunction of them and the way they are arranged makes new forms and things, while CCBS shells are literally on their own. It's not fair and makes no sense.

I don't entirely understand what you mean by "literally on their own". They don't exist in a vacuum. But perhaps a better comparison to CCBS shells and beams would be Technic beams and pins. You can't make a creation with just beams, or just pins — but it's the way the different sizes of beams and pins and axles can be used together interchangeably that gives them their versatility. With Hero Factory, you COULD technically create a creation with just beams, since they're designed to snap directly to each other, but most sets use beams and shells in tandem, and by doing so you can create models with lots of different shapes and proportions.

 

 

What I meant is that they are what they are - You can't build another type of shell using more shells together. There were people here comparing the versatility of LEGO bricks with CCBS shells.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Zidonaro

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

ehhh, the comparison between shells and bricks doesn't sit right with me.

 

not to say the shells don't get their job done, but at the end of the day, they do have a minimum bulk and only one main connection point (the socket)

 

And i'm kinda shocked at what aanchir's saying because i've never before seen someone talk about limb pattern inconsistency as a factor of building before,

 

i'm pretty sure most people didn't care. *shrugs*

[Click]

I'd be up for some extra detailing, but it would have to be done very, very carefully. Just something small like the Nuva Legs, or vents, or some indented areas can go a long way, but if you put too much in, it can get messy. Just picture 2015 Lewa (who I think is most in need of this, just because of those large shells sticking out from below the add-ons) with some little notches on the shells. Just something basic like on the Nuva legs. With Bionicle getting back into a more complicated design, those little things could fill in the smooth areas. Don't go overboard though, because one thing about CCBS is it is very versatile and smooth. Most of the armor pieces are also very smooth, and if you put too much detail into the shells, it may render most of the other armor parts (Kopaka's shoulders, Lewa's shoulders) aesthetically useless.

 

EDIT: You could imagine, or I could show you using the magic of Photoshop!

 

Edited November 21, 2014 by Click

[fishers64]

All of this is why I want a generic sort of Bionicle textured limb shell. That way everything is textured (or not textured) the same way, in a way that doesn't break the design language. 

 

Bionicle is known for having textured parts. They need to standardize that in CCBS and produce that for the next ten years IMO. That way the design language is consistent, and no parts are going to be wasted. 

 

People will complain about whatever texture they choose, mind, but still. 

[Aanchir]

I'd be up for some extra detailing, but it would have to be done very, very carefully. Just something small like the Nuva Legs, or vents, or some indented areas can go a long way, but if you put too much in, it can get messy. Just picture 2015 Lewa (who I think is most in need of this, just because of those large shells sticking out from below the add-ons) with some little notches on the shells. Just something basic like on the Nuva legs. With Bionicle getting back into a more complicated design, those little things could fill in the smooth areas. Don't go overboard though, because one thing about CCBS is it is very versatile and smooth. Most of the armor pieces are also very smooth, and if you put too much detail into the shells, it may render most of the other armor parts (Kopaka's shoulders, Lewa's shoulders) aesthetically useless.

 

EDIT: You could imagine, or I could show you using the magic of Photoshop!

lewamod.png

Cool! You gave his legs sunglasses!

 

Just kidding. Yeah, I wouldn't have a problem with something like that, though I don't see any pressing need for it. And to be honest, that kind of detail could possibly be done with printing more efficiently with a new mold. The LEGO Group DOES have machines for printing patterns on 4M, 5M, and 6M shells (the basic kind, not the type of 6M shell Kopaka uses on his legs). I wonder if we might see more printed shells as the theme goes on.

 

If there WERE a new mold like that, I probably wouldn't complain, unless there were an obvious place in that particular wave of sets where the budget for new molds could have been better used. And nowadays, there are fewer and fewer places where an obvious "better use" for new molds exists, since LEGO is getting better and better about designing figures and weapons to vary based on their BUILD rather than just based on what parts they use. The six new Toa only have four new weapon molds between them, and the six Legends of Chima constraction sets had fewer still, but they still both managed some creative weapon designs by using the same new parts in different ways.

 

All of this is why I want a generic sort of Bionicle textured limb shell. That way everything is textured (or not textured) the same way, in a way that doesn't break the design language.

 

Bionicle is known for having textured parts. They need to standardize that in CCBS and produce that for the next ten years IMO. That way the design language is consistent, and no parts are going to be wasted.

 

People will complain about whatever texture they choose, mind, but still.

And what if they need to do another non-BIONICLE theme like the Super Heroes or Legends of Chima constraction sets? Do they have to keep two versions of each shell design in production, one with texture and one without? Seems a little inefficient.

 

I can see having a few textured shells to be used sparingly in BIONICLE sets, kind of like there already are with torso shells. I like some people's idea of an alternate three-module shell with a slightly different shape, texture, form factor, and maybe even some different connection points. But I CAN'T see having a whole system of textured shells used consistently across the entire theme, because that would be a rather redundant use of resources.

 

Lucina has wisely pointed out how there exist textured versions of basic LEGO bricks, like the 1x2 and 1x4 masonry bricks, and textured CCBS shells could be a lot like that: an alternate part to choose from when you would like to add emphasis without adding additional build complexity. But releasing an entirely new system of shells with textures would be like releasing a masonry brick in EVERY size that basic bricks currently exist in, which would be a silly use of resources, since sets have already proven that they can get a lot of mileage out of just the two sizes that currently exist. The lack of 1x6, 1x8, and 2x4 masonry bricks doesn't appear to have held the designers back one bit.

 

BIONICLE has been known for having textured parts. But that's not what its newest fans will know it for, and there's no reason to think they won't like the parts as they are when they're not conditioned to hate them for being "untrue to BIONICLE". Also, it might not be too long before the new fans outnumber the old, at least when it comes to the buying audience for the sets.

[bioniclepluslotr]

All of this is why I want a generic sort of Bionicle textured limb shell. That way everything is textured (or not textured) the same way, in a way that doesn't break the design language.

 

Bionicle is known for having textured parts. They need to standardize that in CCBS and produce that for the next ten years IMO. That way the design language is consistent, and no parts are going to be wasted.

 

People will complain about whatever texture they choose, mind, but still.

And what if they need to do another non-BIONICLE theme like the Super Heroes or Legends of Chima constraction sets? Do they have to keep two versions of each shell design in production, one with texture and one without? Seems a little inefficient.

 

I can see having a few textured shells to be used sparingly in BIONICLE sets, kind of like there already are with torso shells. I like some people's idea of an alternate three-module shell with a slightly different shape, texture, form factor, and maybe even some different connection points. But I CAN'T see having a whole system of textured shells used consistently across the entire theme, because that would be a rather redundant use of resources.

 

Lucina has wisely pointed out how there exist textured versions of basic LEGO bricks, like the 1x2 and 1x4 masonry bricks, and textured CCBS shells could be a lot like that: an alternate part to choose from when you would like to add emphasis without adding additional build complexity. But releasing an entirely new system of shells with textures would be like releasing a masonry brick in EVERY size that basic bricks currently exist in, which would be a silly use of resources, since sets have already proven that they can get a lot of mileage out of just the two sizes that currently exist. The lack of 1x6, 1x8, and 2x4 masonry bricks doesn't appear to have held the designers back one bit.

 

BIONICLE has been known for having textured parts. But that's not what its newest fans will know it for, and there's no reason to think they won't like the parts as they are when they're not conditioned to hate them for being "untrue to BIONICLE". Also, it might not be too long before the new fans outnumber the old, at least when it comes to the buying audience for the sets.

 

Apparently CCBS wasn't good enough to save the Chima figures in North America, which is a shame cause the Fire and Ice figures actually have marginally alternate armor Like Panthar, his thigh shell isn't as common and has more texture, but I don't have any sets with that piece right now.

Edited November 21, 2014 by bioniclepluslotr

[believe victims]

Apparently CCBS wasn't good enough to save the Chima figures in North America, which is a shame cause the Fire and Ice figures actually have marginally alternate armor Like Panthar, his thigh shell isn't as common and has more texture, but I don't have any sets with that piece right now.

 

Are you sure that's CCBS's fault and not Chima's for being terrible?

 

seriously, though, that shell is pretty much as textureless as any other shell, and as for use in sets, it's used in Kopaka, Gali, and Onua, so I'm not sure what you mean.

[Aanchir]

 

Apparently CCBS wasn't good enough to save the Chima figures in North America, which is a shame cause the Fire and Ice figures actually have marginally alternate armor Like Panthar, his thigh shell isn't as common and has more texture, but I don't have any sets with that piece right now.

Are you sure that's CCBS's fault and not Chima's for being terrible?

 

seriously, though, that shell is pretty much as textureless as any other shell, and as for use in sets, it's used in Kopaka, Gali, and Onua, so I'm not sure what you mean.

 

And Kopaka and Onua both use it in brand-new colors for that piece! Granted, they're both still neutral colors, but both are colors that I've found myself wanting in the past, so I definitely appreciate those two recolors!

 

I wouldn't call Chima terrible. I've heard it's been wildly successful in Europe (they even have a Legends of Chima magazine over there!), so the poorer sales in North America might be partly a cultural thing.

[bioniclepluslotr]

 

Apparently CCBS wasn't good enough to save the Chima figures in North America, which is a shame cause the Fire and Ice figures actually have marginally alternate armor Like Panthar, his thigh shell isn't as common and has more texture, but I don't have any sets with that piece right now.

 

Are you sure that's CCBS's fault and not Chima's for being terrible?

 

seriously, though, that shell is pretty much as textureless as any other shell, and as for use in sets, it's used in Kopaka, Gali, and Onua, so I'm not sure what you mean.

 

No, I went to Asia to get my Fire and Ice sets and there were a lot. Also, Kopaka, Gali, and Onua are not out yet so I don't have them, so I'm not sure what you mean.

[believe victims]

 

 

Apparently CCBS wasn't good enough to save the Chima figures in North America, which is a shame cause the Fire and Ice figures actually have marginally alternate armor Like Panthar, his thigh shell isn't as common and has more texture, but I don't have any sets with that piece right now.

 

Are you sure that's CCBS's fault and not Chima's for being terrible?

 

seriously, though, that shell is pretty much as textureless as any other shell, and as for use in sets, it's used in Kopaka, Gali, and Onua, so I'm not sure what you mean.

 

No, I went to Asia to get my Fire and Ice sets and there were a lot. Also, Kopaka, Gali, and Onua are not out yet so I don't have them, so I'm not sure what you mean.

 

Oh, d'oh. I misread your post. I thought you said you didn't know of any other sets with that part. XP