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Vahkiti Master of Time

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Everything posted by Vahkiti Master of Time

  1. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Given that we're not making a profit, I guess if push comes to shove we could just offer the artwork for download. It would be a pity though to be forced to do that since not everybody has something like a UPS Store nearby. (That's where I'm getting the current copies printed off) The models will likely not be distributed. After all, why buy our bundle when one can just upload the models to Shapeways themselves? Lego has not yet been contacted mainly because there is never a direct line of communication that can be easily established. Everything is just responded to by an automated system with no actual person behind it. The only people we've contacted regarding the project in the past or present is Templar.
  2. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I should also add that the artwork in the first post does not represent anything final, (though for the most part it is very close to it) and is open to any changes that may become necessary in the near or distant future should any legal issue arise for whatever reason. I agree that it is somewhat of a gray area, but not something that can't be sidestepped in a similar manner as the disk should it be necessary to do so.
  3. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Under most cases, the prints I've made do have something of a grain to them anyways just because of the way 3D printing works. However ordering it in polished plastic seems to get rid of this at the expense of dulling some of the sharper features. (eg: the mask code) That being said, I think injection moulding might still be a better option, if not cheaper. I also forgot to mention is that, at least with the home-grade 3D printer that I'm familiar with, I don't think you can do multiple colors. Nor can you do that with Shapeways. The backpack isn't being made in three pieces just because. They need to be dyed separately.
  4. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Under most cases, the prints I've made do have something of a grain to them anyways just because of the way 3D printing works. However ordering it in polished plastic seems to get rid of this at the expense of dulling some of the sharper features. (eg: the mask code) That being said, I think injection moulding might still be a better option, if not cheaper.
  5. Vahkiti Master of Time
    1. Preorder for the whole thing, I assume? 1a. Also, same vein, you guys said if the goal is met the Kanohi will be of higher quality than before. So will people who get the early masks be getting lower quality Kanohi? 1b. Will you guys be posting status updates are where you are donation-wise? 2. Are they aware you guys are selling it with their logos attached? 3. Selling something with a logo trademarked by a company is still getting money for using their logos, profit or no profit. 3a. If I bought this bundle, and sold it for the same price, would that be alright? Again, no sarcasm. Yes, the entire bundle would be preordered for that price and up. As for the masks, nothing will be sold until we have a better idea of whether or not we can reach the funding goal. Shapeways is of lower quality than injection moulded parts, but do not take that as meaning that it is by any means BAD quality. Think of it more as the best quality given our current resources followed by top quality second only to Lego themselves should we reach our goal. Status updates will be posted just as with updates to the project itself. We're working out a way to put together a status bar for the top post, but we've all been a bit swamped with other priorities as of late. Templar is aware of the method with which we're selling the game, they simply cannot speak for the reaction of Lego. However given that plenty of ACTUAL Lego products are sold and resold on places such as Ebay and the like, I doubt selling what basically amounts to a fan art piece would stir up any more controversy.
  6. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Aaand with that addressed for the most part, since the topic has been bumped a bit, I think I'll use this opportunity to deviate slightly off topic and post the latest update the the backpack model. Not much has changed, but the straps have been spaced to fit the Tohunga head, and the shape of the bag has been sharpened a little bit. There will be some minor cosmetic changes involving the strap connector pegs, but overall it's pretty much done now and ready for prototyping.
  7. Vahkiti Master of Time
    With the exception of the Kickstarter question which obviously wasn't applicable back then, I seem to recall XONAR answered all of your questions here in the previous unofficial topic. As such, I'm sure he'll be around shortly to reiterate. To answer your first question however, yes, the Kickstarter is something of a preorder providing they contribute the specified amount to receive a copy.
  8. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Do we have any actual source for that or is it just speculation? I believe the LEGO Group is still using the same supplier they have been using for years, and have never heard anything to the contrary. I don't recall where the info came from. It was told to me indirectly so take it with a grain of salt. It would make sense however since it was also around that time that colours began to change subtly for no reason. (eg: the grays became more pure with less green, some colours were retired entirely like Pohatu's shade of brown etc.) I'll have to look into it for the actual source.
  9. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Best I can recall, 2006 is when the oil crisis began. Set prices as a result skyrocketed that year because plastic is a petroleum product. To save costs around 2007, I believe LEGO switched to a cheaper plastic supplier. This on top of the slight changes in part design made for a disastrous combination.
  10. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Providing Templar is still as approving of BMP as they were last I talked to them, yes!
  11. Vahkiti Master of Time
    In quite an ironic turn of events, I am actually one of those people now. I guess you could say I took some time off the forum for about 5 years. When I came back recently, I found that I never really have much of anything to say. I generally don't post on a topic unless I have something significant to contribute.
  12. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Thanks for bringing this up! For some reason not one of us even noticed this fundamental flaw with the design. I'll bring it to Vrahno's attention immediately. XD
  13. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I'm surprised XONAR is keeping all these screenshots from MY computer.. I would appreciate it if you would stop leaking those out. I will put them up myself in due time if they are necessary. Anyways, I haven't tested it yet, but it doesn't seem overly complicated. Put the mask in the dye, leave it for a few minutes, take it out. I've heard that's how it works anyways, but I won't be able to test until after I move at the end of the month and my finances sort themselves out. All prototyping and testing has so far come out of either my, or XONAR's pockets alone. Alternatively it could be painted like this. It was my first experiment with 3D printing. (The same mask I'm wearing in my avatar, but after being painted) However on a small scale, it might not look as nice and could be easily damaged. Can I buy that or a copy? Unfortunately not.
  14. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Thank you for finding that! We'll definitely try and get a hold of him there. I contacted Peter Mack a few days ago, so hopefully we'll get a response soon from him as well. Indeed. Also, on an unrelated note, thanks for indirectly leading me to this. That will make a nice addition to BioMediaProject's 2.1 Music archive! There is a way to smoothen the surface of rough 3D printed parts, you might want to have a look at this: Well Shapeways offers smoothed plastic as well, but in that process, it also dulls some of the sharper details. Either way the mask is going to be somewhat lower in quality than what normal Lego parts would be should we stick with them.
  15. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I haven't, no. I'm not sure how I would get a hold of him directly since I've never found his contact info. I haven't been in contact with any of them for a few months now honestly. They have a tendency to vanish of the face of the earth for extended periods of time.
  16. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I did indeed, though I had to take a massive hiatus from that (which I ended up leaving) and BZP because of school and later college coming first. Now that both are well and truly over, I'm enjoying being able to spend my free time more...freely. That said, university starts at the end of September. That Vahi is a beaut, by the way. I wish I had a 3D printer now. Thinking about it, if Kickstarter becomes a viable option, you could have a limited quantity reward tier of [a lot of money] where the reward is the bundle and stuff from the others, but also a Vahi. You'd then need to make three or four new Vahis (obviously you'd never send out your own!) but it might work as a reward - a life-size, wearable Vahi. Also, silly silly silly question, but will this work on Mac? I'll have access to a PC anyway by January (I think) but for now, my household is entirely Mac-based. Another silly question that may have already been answered, but will you be updating the music? Sorry if I seem over-eager but this is an awesome project! Well XONAR seems on board with the whole Kickstarter thing, so I think we will definitely give it a shot! Thanks for all the info. I'll look over the page you sent and try to get in contact with your friend for some tips. Were you on the 3D team or the 2D team? I never did anything in the way of animation, but I was set to be a voice actor at the time. The Vahi was actually modeled by somebody you might know, 00dude00. Back before I got in contact with Vrahno for this project, I originally shot him an email asking if he'd like to join us, but I never heard back. Doing so likely would have driven up the cost however since he charged me for the Vahi. Vrahno surprisingly is doing this for free. I'll definitely at LEAST send him a copy of the bundle anyways when it's all done. We would LIKE to update the music. We've been in contact with Templar about a soundtrack release, (through them and BioMediaProject, likely not us. ) and possibly acquiring the original samples for this as well. While they are interested in the soundtrack, and were actually planning a release of their own this summer, last I heard they ran into a snag. Namely the fact that over time, many of the original files were lost, and there's no way to get them back other than reproducing them from scratch, hence our need for sound people if we wanted to update the audio. It's an unfortunate bump in the road, but certainly not one that will ruin the project.
  17. Vahkiti Master of Time
    Each small bottle is approximately $4, but I'll need to buy at least two colours and mix them to get the one desired. In addition, if mass production begins with this technique, I'll need to upgrade to the 5lb jug which bumps up the price of each colour to $77. So I'm HOPING that when we get that far, demand will match the price needed for supplies.
  18. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I'm surprised XONAR is keeping all these screenshots from MY computer.. I would appreciate it if you would stop leaking those out. I will put them up myself in due time if they are necessary. Anyways, I haven't tested it yet, but it doesn't seem overly complicated. Put the mask in the dye, leave it for a few minutes, take it out. I've heard that's how it works anyways, but I won't be able to test until after I move at the end of the month and my finances sort themselves out. All prototyping and testing has so far come out of either my, or XONAR's pockets alone. Alternatively it could be painted like this. It was my first experiment with 3D printing. (The same mask I'm wearing in my avatar, but after being painted) However on a small scale, it might not look as nice and could be easily damaged.
  19. Vahkiti Master of Time

    So uh.. I noticed you're on my friends list, and posted on my profile about 5 years ago a few times, seemingly worried about my banning. However since then, I don't quite remember who you actually are. Uh.. perhaps your memory would serve you better? Mine is not the best, but I would like to get reacquainted with those I forcibly left behind for half a decade. xD

  20. Vahkiti Master of Time
    For the moment, Shapeways. It's rather expensive at close to $17 a mask not including the cost of dyes, but we're exploring other options. XONAR has a store near his location that will do it, possibly for cheaper. We still need to look into that. Actually, since you have the physical prototype (or is it the final product), is casting copies via a mold a possible alternative you're exploring? It is still in the prototype phase. The mask itself is a bit thin, and I'm still debating whether or not it should still be a bit bigger, (the first prototype didn't even match up with the eyes. XD) Anyways, considering that Shapeways prints in a very porous, rough plastic that is really nothing like the clean, smooth masks we're all used to, injection moulding is an option we might consider if we had the means of doing so. Given that we'd have a choice of colours, (I think) it would probably save us some money even if it was slightly more expensive. The bundle we imagine will be somewhere between $30 and $40. We won't know for sure until the backpack is done and I can get the printing price off Shapeways. It is a bit pricey, I know, but the Pakari alone minus the cost of dyes is a whopping $17. In any case, as long as the cost of shipping is covered by the buyer as well, I see no reason not to ship worldwide. We hadn't really thought of Kickstarter, but come to think of it, I'm not sure we'd really have anything to lose by giving it a shot. I'll talk to XONAR about it next time he's online. On a side note, didn't you work on BionicleNextGen at one point? I haven't seen you around in ages.
  21. Vahkiti Master of Time
    If I recall, the whole reason for the transformation into Tohunga form was because the pods damaged them and sapped their energy. The energy level of a Matoran could be determined by the saturation of their colours, but then some regions had lighter colours than others so.. it's hard to say I guess.
  22. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I never finished it honestly. I liked the game that I played, but I found the controls incredibly unintuitive and actually quite painful to use given enough time. It was like playing Burnout on the original Xbox with the super fat original controller, except somehow worse. You know you're doing something wrong when your game is so difficult to play that you require a custom base stand to do it without getting carpal tunnel syndrome. And this is on a PORTABLE console. We're getting into VirtualBoy territory now. It felt like I was playing a third person Metroid Prime Hunters or Bionicle Heroes DS. Don't get me wrong, I WANTED to like it, but the game itself was fighting against the structure of the human hand and just wouldn't let me, so I ultimately ended up taking it back after like.. the third world. Maybe when there's a 3DS emulator, or Virtual Console service in the far off future where it doesn't take a contortionist to play it, I'll give it another shot, but not today.
  23. Vahkiti Master of Time
    For the moment, Shapeways. It's rather expensive at close to $17 a mask not including the cost of dyes, but we're exploring other options. XONAR has a store near his location that will do it, possibly for cheaper. We still need to look into that.
  24. Vahkiti Master of Time
    I actually have a slightly clearer photo I took today. I was going to post it right away, but I figured the 3D renders would suffice until the backpack prototype was completed. Oh well. Here it is anyways: As you can see, I still need to buy the proper dyes to colourize the mask. This will likely take place either whenever I move and then can afford to order them, or if anybody can provide the necessary funding before then. Either way, it'll likely be sometime in August before this is 100% completed. The progress on the backpack is not as far along, but it's getting there. This screenshot was taken before the straps were added, but little has changed to the pack itself since then. Right now, it's more or less just a mockup. It will be hollowed out and streamlined a bit before printing a prototype. It will also come in three pieces: The pack itself and the two straps attaching like the Battle Droid minifigure arms.
  25. Vahkiti Master of Time
    You know, it's funny. I just took a look at the post in question, and noticed XONAR pretty well copied and pasted that post as the description of the project here. Oh well. Copied or not, it's still descriptive enough I guess. Haha! Are you referring to your first post in this topic? Yeah, with the exception of the legal bit at the end, it's basically the same as his post in PrismWind's thread. As I said, we collaborated on this topic, I just figured he wrote all that from scratch.
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