emily

Thanks. To be honest, it never occurred to me that it might be unreasonable for a single disk to fell the Nuhvok. I guess I was thinking along the lines of the battle at the Kini-Nui in MNOLG. The Bohrok are definitely at least a little tougher than the Rahi, though, and they cannot be beaten by simply knocking free an unprotected Kanohi. As you said, though, it may be difficult to go through a battle sequence without the disks being powerful enough to do damage. I am not really sure what the alternative would be, especially now that the entire swarm is reaching the village. Hand-to-hand combat is possible, what with the Ko-Koronan ice picks and the Guard's staffs, but since that was something LEGO generally frowned upon I don't know to what extent I could use it without forgoing the traits of Templar's animations. Thank you. I like to act out (internally or sometimes aloud) the roles of the characters myself, and it is possible that since I am doing so the time it takes me to read through a line is longer than you would take to read it. I also don't want to run the risk of having the text exist for too short a time, as I would not want anyone watching to miss some of what is being said. Out of all of the aspects of animating these so far, pacing the lines correctly has probably been the most frustrating and difficult. It is something that I will have to continue improving.

Shattered IceBohrok Assault on Ko-KoroBy Takua The fears of many Ko-Koronans were realized today when the Bohrok swarms made their first strike upon the secluded village of Ko-Koro. “The arrival of the swarms was inevitable,” said Matoro, aid to the village’s Turaga, “but this does not lessen in force what it brings upon our village.” Ko-Koro is found within a deep ravine, generally only accessible by a winding stairway down the icy, sheer rock face. The presence of the Bohrok here is a testament to the swarms' cleverness and persistence. If the Bohrok can reach Ko-Koro, then no place on the island is safe from their reach. The presence of the Ta-Koronan Guard in the village was a deciding factor in the outcome of this first encounter. The Guard’s captain, Jala, heroically brought down a beast and liberated its Krana. The Krana are vital to the Toa on their quest to defeat the Bohrok swarms, and even one, such as Jala recovered, could prove critical. “Should we meet Kopaka in our travels, we shall be certain to give him the parasite,” Jala said, “but the Bohrok threat is far from leaving this place. It will be some time before we can begin to consider a safe departure.”Although they may now be resting in a moment of peace, all of the Tohunga in the village are left to fear the time when next the swarm will choose to strike, and the dangers the attack will bring. Episode I: Ta-Koronan Guard Arrives in Ko-Koro

...FineIF YOU INSISTBut keep in mind that by distracting from the glory of Bionicle Brain you have singlehandedly ruined this entire topicThis is now a thing that will be weighing on your conscience forever He must pay for this outrageous atrocity... A thousand apologies to all of those who had hoped to enjoy BIONICLE Brain and this topic. No, rather, I shall offer no apologies, for no such thing could ever redeem myself from the atrocious deed I have commited. I guess I'm just INSANE IN THE BRAIN.

My father has pointed out to me that this is in fact a parody of "Insane in the Brain," a song by Cypress Hill. I was not familiar with either the song or the group, but having heard the song now I can say the two are identical in almost everything but lyrics. It makes more sense why the lyrics are somewhat disjointed and unfocused now; the authors were probably primarily focused on making the song sound like the one they were imitating.

Thanks for sharing this, I had doubted whether I would ever have the opportunity to hear it. It has certainly lived up to and exceeded my expectations. Is there any chance you may be able to upload the other song, even if it isn't quite so remarkable as BIONICLE Brain?

Looking more closely, I see that it definitely doesn't have everything, and the only way to access a topic is to go to a date near its original posting and hope it is on the first few pages of topics. Definitely not ideal, but at least it is something. EDIT: ...and suddenly I am running into several topics that haven't been archived among those linked to on the archived forums. I guess it is more randomized than I had thought.

It is something of a shame to see everything from those years go away, but I am sure it is for the best. Wayback Machine does seem to have many, if not all, of the pages archived on their site. It will be a little trickier navigating there, though, as you cannot run a search to find something specific.

A little while ago I was considering which of the Tohunga comprising the Chronicler’s Company were most comparable to the main ponies. While it quickly became clear to me that there was little overlap in the traits of the characters, I was rather startled to uncover a great number of parallels between Hafu and Rarity. Even superficially, the two share many common traits. They both have a strong interest in their work, which is not only what they offer as their contribution to their respective societies, but is a form of art. Hafu is a master carver, his work second to none on Mata-Nui, and Rarity is a clothing designer who is talented enough to have had her work garner considerable attention from Canterlot elite, despite her comparatively humble background. Psychologically, the two are incredibly similar as well. Neither is particularly humble about their art. Rather, they are both well aware of their skills and tend towards egotism in regards to them. Despite this, neither character fails to put their full effort into their work (a sometimes tempting thing to do when ones believes in their own superiority). Hafu spends nearly the entire duration of the Mata-Nui Online Game (a period of roughly seven months by my estimation) tending to a directional sign he carved in the middle of the Motara. Rarity pours all of her time and effort for several days into creating dresses for her friends in Suited for Success, despite the almost unbearable workload. But then there is Rarity’s subtle yet defining trait: her generosity. Initially I assumed that we simply had not seen enough of Hafu for anything like this to have been developed by Templar, but to my pleasure I was able to prove myself wrong. When Hafu joins the Chronicler’s Company, he sacrifices precious time that could have gone towards finishing his sign before the Rahi attacked. Granted, at least part of his motivation was the glory of a grand quest to the most important site on the island, but he had been working on that sign for a long time. By leaving it, he accepted the possibility that he may never have the opportunity to finish it. He says “Who am I to deny fame and glory, even if I do not last to see it?” which can come off as a rather vain comment at first glance. However, Hafu is admitting, quite willingly, the possibility that the quest may bring his time on Mata-Nui to an end. At least at some level, he is going for the benefit of the other islanders. Like Rarity, Hafu seems to sometimes have generous intentions hidden under an exterior of self-importance. I think Hafu’s generosity is perhaps better expressed in the 2002 news updates. Of course, while he is initially horrified at the prospect of toppling the Path of Prophesies, he does see that it is necessary for the safety of the village, just as any Tohunga would have. But Hafu makes a surprising decision in sneaking out before a party can be organized to accompany him, putting Huki and the others’ safety before his own. He not only sacrifices his masterpiece, but potentially himself as well, which is certainly a testament to his generous spirit. I had never analyzed Hafu this deeply up to now. It is interesting that looking at one character can help you to understand another one a bit more.

Very well then. I would be willing to trade you my Kanohi Nuva collection, which consists of a full set (including the Protodermic ones), minus the ones that came packaged with the Toa Nuva sets (e.g. Lewa's green Miru Nuva). I had actually forgotten I had these to trade when I made my first post, but to my understanding the Protodermic Kanohi Nuva are quite valuable (about $30 apiece?). With the rest of the Kanohi Nuva in addition to those, would it be possible to trade the set for three Tohunga?

This is exciting! I was hoping prototype Tohunga might show up for sale someday. I have a WMKK that I would like to trade in exchange for a some prototype Tohunga. Unfortunately, my family is in the process of moving and as such I would not be able to pull the WMKK out and ship it for some days, so the trade would have to be postponed a little while. Of course, there is also the issue of Brickshelf's downtime, so perhaps by the time that is resolved I will have already been able to get out the WMKK anyway. How many Tohunga would you be willing to trade for a WMKK? The WMKK is worth ~$250, so maybe three? Assuming we are able to trade, I can ship the WMKK first.

Thanks for sharing! It is great to be able to see some prototype parts in closer detail.

Offhand I don't remember this one; any chance we could get the quote? If he literally said both methods (English using Matoran alphabet, and Matoran using Matoran alphabet), that's easily understood as meaning the one is still somewhat accurate and the other would be fully accurate (assuming the alphabet is fully accurate to begin with). It's unlikely he meant it how you seem to have taken it. But if he said something more like "they actually speak English", I can see why that would be disappointing, but that would also contradict answers I have seen, confirming that it's only "translated" into English. They do not speak English. I didn't save the PM, but I recall posting the question in the Official Greg Discussion, so it'd be in there somewhere. I remember distinctly enough that I can say with a fair amount of certainty that his full answer was "They are both right," so it's rather dependent on the way I phrased the question, which unfortunately I do not remember quite so well.

Would you mind linking to the Ebay listing/sharing the item description? I would love to know where the prototypes you got came from (given that information was in the description).

I actually asked Greg, back when he still visited here, whether the way we have seen Matoran written (using English words in Matoran characters) is canon, or whether it would technically be written using Matoran language (i.e. "kanoka" over "disk"). He responded saying that both methods are accurate, which I didn't find to be very helpful, because it doesn't really appeal to logical sense. Matoran have two ways of writing every word, and the alternative way, if spoken aloud, would be English? I'm sure that he was just trying to keep everything that had been released prior to the time canon, but it really is a strange answer.

While I own no prototypes myself, there are a few Brickshelf folders you may find useful here, here, and here.

I would just like to throw in that this line from Kapura (and the other ones from him and a few other Tohunga) on the journey to the Kini-Nui were apparently in the original, online version of the game. Chronicler06 recalls them here. Although one could argue he is being dishonest, I can't see a reason for him to be so, and what's more this version of the game is likely a predecessor to the 2006 version - so it can be assumed that the text was lost somehow when LEGO went through and edited out the word 'Tohunga' for the 2006 release.

I can summarize the content of the discs, if that is what you were looking for. They feature both a Bohrok Kal and a Toa Nuva (decided according to element, so for example Tahu is paired with Tahnok Kal) and offer a brief biographical description of each. The tools of each character can also be examined, and there is an explanation of the the Kanohi Nuva and Krana Kal. There are also 3D viewers of the two featured characters. You can click and drag to view the character from any angle. I believe the discs also contain the short Ghost animations of the Nuva and Kal featured, a multitude of BIONICLE wallpapers, and advertizements for Mask of Light, BIONICLE: The Game, and bionicle.com. Biosector01 has more detailed summary of the content here.

There were six Kini, one in each Wahi. They aren't remembered much because their only story appearance was The Legend of Mata Nui. If you look up the walkthrough of the first level of the game online, you will see that it includes the Onu-Kini. Beyond the game, the Kini were labeled on the Map of Mata Nui poster that was distributed in a Toys R Us promotion, as well as being mentioning in the Quest for the Masks cards. I completely agree that neither is reliable as far as the current BIONICLE canon. As far as what was planned in 2001, though, I have found that both are reliable sources (although the cards are only so as far as general information, the specific events that they depict were not made in consideration of other media that existed at the time). An advertizement in Comic 2 says the game features "eight massive game environments," so I based my assumption that there would be a level featuring the journey to the Kini-Nui based on that. It may have been something else entirely, though, or perhaps simply an early idea that is not actually in the most final version of the game at all. Certainly. I intended to convey that the masks would be their normal colors for some or all of the final level (thus requiring the player to cycle between Kanohi to solve the level's problems), and that they would return to their golden state some time at or before the end. I believe the explanation that has been given for this is that since one of the sources of the original story was cancelled and the other was not approved by the story team (even though it appears to have paid close attention to the story of the cancelled game and done nothing to infringe upon the intended BIONICLE story), the book is automatically more accurate, despite contradicting the original ideas surrounding the Golden Kanohi. Later I think Greg may have taken a more 'you decide for yourself which one is more accurate' approach when people asked him about this. Personally, I have always felt it is more logical for MNOLG and TLOMN to be considered more accurate. EDIT: Actually, the Kini were temples dedicated to the Toa, found in the wilderness outside of the villages.

I was merely speaking from the perspective of how matters stood in 2001. To be honest, I'm not informed enough to know what is currently considered canon.

When it comes to the original plan for the Toa and how they collected the Kanohi (I won't delve into the current canon, whatever that may be), it is important to remember that the cancelled Legend of Mata Nui game was probably going to explain the details more fully. Due to it's cancellation, we were left with an incomplete picture. Thankfully, we have clues left from Mata Nui Online game and what we know of the cancelled game to at least partially fill in the blanks. I would pose the theory that the oft-forgotten Kini of the various Wahi provided housing for the Noble Kanohi. The Kini (or at least the Onu-Kini) bear a strong resemblance to the Kini-Nui, and have Suva in the center that could probably hold the Noble Masks. The interior of each Suva was originally intended to house a Golden Kanohi. By placing all six Great Masks on a Suva, a Toa could descend within it and claim his or her Golden Kanohi and Makoki stone. This is shown in MNOLG, and supported by the Quest for the Masks story cards - in addition to being implied elsewhere. In 2001 it was stated that the Noble Kanohi were intended to be used by both the Turaga and Toa (see the Kanohi advertizement in the center of comic 2) - it is certainly possible that Greg forgot or was not aware of this, though. The Toa definitely needed to search for six Noble Masks each. They are shown collecting Noble Kanohi in The Legend of Mata-Nui, as well as (if I remember correctly) the Quest for the Masks story cards. This is one mystery that may never be solved. Everything in 2001 points to the Toa receiving their Golden Kanohi at the Suva, but everything that depicts them arriving at the Kini-Nui shows them with their standard Kanohi. I suspect that there may be an answer in The Legend of Mata Nui. The game was said to have eight levels, which makes one for each Toa plus two additional levels. Based on the cutscene depicting the battle with the Manas, we know that the gameplay must have ended off at some point near the Kini-Nui, which to me implies one of the levels would have been spent reaching it. Also, at the end of the cutscene (which would logically lead into the next level) the Toa actually loose their Golden Kanohi. It is possible that the developers created story excuses for the last two levels, in order to avoid having to program in the Golden Kanohi. Looking at how the Kanohi work in the game, it would have been understandably difficult to employ a mask that can use multiple powers at once. In any case, this would partially explain why the Toa must reactivate their Golden Kanohi when they reach the Kini-Nui - so that the game developers would have less work to worry about.

What were these? I am probably forgetting a few, but the three that come to mind are the The Legend of Mata Nui booklet included in Quest for the Masks Theme Decks ("With each mask they find, they will grow in knowledge, strength, and power"), the introduction to issue one of the comic ("...they must gather the Kanohi Masks of Power, which give them greater skills, abilities, and wisdom"), and the Legend of Lewa comics that were in Adventures! Magazine in the UK and Homemade Magazine in Russia ("Lewa put on the Kanohi [...] At once, he knew more of his purpose in the world").

To add to what has already been said, several examples of BIONICLE media in 2001 stated that the Kanohi increased the wisdom of the Toa, in addition to increasing their powers. It is possible that the Golden Kanohi were intended to do this to a greater degree, although the idea was never elaborated on enough to know for certain.

Short of restarting the game, there are two options that I can think of. For both you would have to edit the getstate file. First, you could simply edit your inventory to include the missing charms. If, for example, you needed the Charm of Destiny, you would find the line of text "ItemCharmDestiny=0" and alter it to "ItemCharmDestiny=1". Alternatively, you could find the line "TakoroDestroyed=1" and change it to "TakoroDestroyed=0", as well as changing the value of "scene=" to somewhere in Ta-Koro (e.g. takorotownsquarenorth), so you can find any charms there without having the village be destroyed when you enter it. With this method, you still have to search for all of the charms you have not yet collected. Perhaps I am over-explaining this. In any case, I hope I have helped.

No problem! Have fun finishing the game.

You may want to consider editing your getstate file within the hahli folder of the game files, in order to increase your skill level without having to play the mini games a great number of times. It is not exactly playing by the rules of the game, but I have found that when I set all of the skills Hahli is supposed to have obtained at the time of a match to 100, I can still have difficulty winning. Perhaps I am just a terrible player, but I suspect the the level that one must attain to stand a good chance at many of the Kolhii matches is rather high. Alternatively, depending on the version of the game you have downloaded, bringing the game to full screen may reveal two options below the field ("win match" and "lose match," if I recall correctly). After one team has scored a point, you can click "win match" to automatically win. Theoretically, I think you could train an infinite amount of times. There is probably some point at which it ceases to improve Hahli's Kolhii skill, though.