Alpha Version of Bionicle: TLoMN Discovered!

[Kopekemaster]

If you haven't heard of it before, Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui is a long-sought unreleased Bionicle game from 2001. There have been a few bits found of it here and there, but nothing really "complete" in any way. That has now changed, and The Beaverhouse is streaming it on Twitch right now! You can watch it right here. Watch it!

 

(It's Twitch, so there's bound to be some profanity in chat/in the stream. But this is just such a momentous event in the Bionicle community that I knew I needed to share it here.)

Edited February 10, 2018 by Kopekemaster

[Uhmbra]

I'm assuming this guy isn't willing to release it either?

[Kopekemaster]

No, they'll be releasing it (somewhere, probably BMP) after the stream. They'll also be releasing the full soundtrack.

[Pohaturon]

No, they'll be releasing it (somewhere, probably BMP) after the stream. They'll also be releasing the full soundtrack.

woah

 

 

WOAH

 

 

This is major. I joined the stream just as a Kaukau wearing Pohatu was dancing with a bunch of Po-Matoran, and I knew this is something I must experience. Glad to hear they will release it!

 

[Hexadecimal Mantis]

I wonder if this came from that Harry Potter disk lol. Anyways, this is fantastic!

[Toatapio Nuva]

The biggest question I have is how on earth did they get their hands on it?

[Kopekemaster]

They haven't said much about how they got it, since they don't want to incriminate anyone, but it sounds like they got it via email from a LEGO employee.

[Hexadecimal Mantis]

They posted a link

Edited February 11, 2018 by Hexadecimal Mantis

[Fry]

This game has been on my mind incessantly for the past five years. Is it still being streamed?

Edited February 11, 2018 by Jaekoff

[KYM Jacob]

I hope that means we can get some better information/ views at some of the rahi in the game. While I know many aren't official canon, they look like they might be able to be physically built if you could see them from a few more angles. I thought I saw something in the stream in the Ko-Wahi are that looked like it could pass for an ice bat (though I only got a glimpse of it). I'm pretty sure that they are not intended to be that, but as no canon image of ice bats exist, might be a good fan placeholder. 

[Fry]

They haven't said much about how they got it, since they don't want to incriminate anyone, but it sounds like they got it via email from a LEGO employee.

who is "they"?

[Planetperson]

Well, it goes without saying that this is a historic moment. Although the means by which they obtained this release sound a bit dubious, I'm glad that people have not forgotten the importance of this game to the community and have continued to pursue ways to get it. Thank you to the people who arranged this (apparently from BMP? Sorry, I honestly don't know who any of these guys are. If someone can fill me in on who these guys are, I would appreciate it .)

 

Like they said at the end of the stream, hopefully this will encourage people to consider releasing the beta.

 

Here's a link to a recording of the stream, since it wasn't obvious for me to find:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/227696626

 

And if you want to skip five hours of dudes yelling over each other, here's the download link:

http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/the-legend-of-mata-nui/

Edited February 11, 2018 by Planetperson

[Fry]

My Windows 98 Voodoo 5500, Pentium 3 setup seems to have trouble rendering the game. I don't know if that is within the recommended benchmark for running it, but it seems pretty good for the era. Incidentally, it seems to be running on modern OSes a lot better than I figured it would considering that Lego themselves cited chip (in)compatibility as a factor in the game's cancellation.

[evil_jaga_genius]

Downloading and backing up, it's gonna take one heck of a dataclysm to wipe this off the net.

[Pahrak Model ZX]

*grabs stick and leaps to feet, cackling excitedly*

 

HE'S ALIVE?!

 

Well that's not something I expected to see ever.  Does this count as new Bionicle content?  In 2018?  Wow.  Now that the files are out, I can't help but wonder if some talented fans might actually make a complete and updated version...

[Kopekemaster]

Sorry, I honestly don't know who any of these guys are. If someone can fill me in on who these guys are, I would appreciate it .

 

 

-snip-

who is "they"?

 

 

I'm not familiar with everyone there, but Vahkiti and JrMasterModelBuilder were on the stream. There was also someone, a regular of that channel I think, named Josie. Other than that, I don't really know. They have a YouTube channel of let's plays, though.

[evil_jaga_genius]

Gah, can't coax it into running on my Windows 10 machine - I get a white screen for half a second, black for half a second, then it quits to the desktop.  What I wouldn't give for my old WinXP laptop right now.  Maybe some others among you are having better luck?

[Planetperson]

I've gotten it to install and run on both my Windows 8 laptop from 2012 and Windows Vista laptop from 2007, but the levels always show up as mostly black as discussed on the BMP page, so I can't actually play the game yet. The SvpRad=1 trick does not work for me in either case.

[CommanderKumo]

This is the biggest news since G2! Absolutely awesome! There are those who said this day would never come, what are they to say now? But I look forward to the entire community enjoying a playthrough of this once lost grail!

[Toa Hexagon]

When I load a level, the level is always black, I'm using Windows 7, done SvpRad=1, and using Windows XP compatibility settings. Am i doing something wrong?

[Gallus Faberge]

When I load a level, the level is always black, I'm using Windows 7, done SvpRad=1, and using Windows XP compatibility settings. Am i doing something wrong?

Try changing the compatibility to XP service pack 3, instead of 2

[Taria Pakari]

Now that the files are out, I can't help but wonder if some talented fans might actually make a complete and updated version...

 

Probably not from this version of the game.

[Wokat]

This is absolutely RAD. Great find, this is something I've been waiting on for a long time.

[Zidonaro]

What's the difference between an Alpha and a Beta? 

[(Daedalus)]

What's the difference between an Alpha and a Beta?

Someone here probably has a more accurate or technical answer, but my basic understanding is that an alpha is incomplete—playable, but incomplete. There might be large chunks of the game that are missing or in a broken state. A beta is more or less complete, but still has bugs and other issues that have to be smoothed out.

 

That’s how I’ve always understood it, anyway.

[CyclonatorZ]

So, is the news team going to make an article about this soon? Or have they chosen not to due to the questionable legality surrounding the release?

[Constraction_Deva]

Wew! Bionicle isn't dead!

[CyclonatorZ]

Wew! Bionicle isn't dead!

 

I wish this was true.    If this had happened around 2008, we would already be on page 6. But there's no one here anymore, and the Bionicle fanbase has largely moved on.

[Fry]

"They will arise out of their sleep and fulfill their mission | They will come and purge out world of the darkness that has infested it | There will be many ***ts and obstacles in their way but they shall wake him"

[TheSkeletonMan939]

I wish this was true.    If this had happened around 2008, we would already be on page 6. But there's no one here anymore, and the Bionicle fanbase has largely moved on.

 

I remember six or seven years ago when the cutscenes were revealed... oh man, what a nuthouse BZP was for a few weeks. Pages spilling over each other. It was very exciting to get a fresh look at Bionicle's earliest history (plus of course everyone was trying to coax more information out of Red Quark!) People were changing their avatars to the dancing Tohunga and everything; now of course we realize dancing was a bigger part of the game! 

 

Eight years after Bionicle ended, it's nice to get one last little hurrah out of it; most appropriate that it's the matter which has haunted us ever since the beginning. It's a shame that the hundreds of people from back at the beginning of the decade aren't around to see this. But hey, at least we are.

[The Hip Historian Iaredios]

i had fun being on that live-stream during the last 2 hours of it. Crazy bunch I tell ya, though I think I somewhat fit in.

I should do it more often.

[Uhmbra]

Now that the files are out, I can't help but wonder if some talented fans might actually make a complete and updated version...

 

It's unlikely that a fan could finish the game, as we obviously don't know what the developers planned to put in the empty chunks... but it's possible that a fan could make what's there run a little better. I've been poking around the game's files for a while now, as I intend to do just that (I have experience with this kinda thing). It's not gonna be an easy project, though. Most decompilers spit out complete gibberish when you try to load the files, since they're generally designed with only one language in mind... and there's virtually no information on Saffire's game development pipeline online.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Uhmbra

[Kopekemaster]

So, is the news team going to make an article about this soon? Or have they chosen not to due to the questionable legality surrounding the release?

 

They just made an article about it today, actually. I was wondering the same.

[Uhmbra]

"They will arise out of their sleep and fulfill their mission | They will come and purge out world of the darkness that has infested it | There will be many ***ts and obstacles in their way but they shall wake him"

 

The textures for this mural, along with a couple others, can be found in the game's level files. Here they are in the order they appear:

 

HAVE CAUTION WHEN WALKING

YOUR FIRST STEP COULD BE

YOUR LAST

FROM ABOVE WILL COME FALLING

CRUMBLING

FLYING TUMBLING FAST

TO YOUR END

YOULL FIND YOURSELF

IF WITH CARE YOU

DO NOT STEP

THROUGH THE

FLOOR YOULL DISAPPEAR

AND IN THE GROUND YOU

WILL BE KEPT

 

THEY WILL ARISE

OUT OF THEIR SLEEP

AND FUFILL THEIR

MISSION THEY WILL

COME AND PURGE OUR

WORLD OF THE

DARKNESS THAT HAS

INFESTED IT THERE

WILL BE MANY ???TS

AND OBSTACLES ON

THEIR WAY BUT THEY

SHALL WAKE HIM

 

IT IS

WRITTEN

THE TOA

SHALL

RETURN

AND BRING

PEACE ??O

UNITY

Edited February 12, 2018 by Uhmbra

[Toatapio Nuva]

I actually got the game to work, but for some reason I'm unable to make any of the Toa turn to face different directions. Using the left and right keys only makes them sidestep, and I've tried all other keys. Does anyone who has played this have an answer on how to turn?

 

Also, I don't know how to jump.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Toatapio Nuva

[Fry]

Also, I don't know how to jump.

right click.

[Planetperson]

I actually got the game to work, but for some reason I'm unable to make any of the Toa turn to face different directions. Using the left and right keys only makes them sidestep, and I've tried all other keys. Does anyone who has played this have an answer on how to turn?

 

Also, I don't know how to jump.

 

Did you have to do anything special to get it to work (and can you share what OS/hardware you are using)? I can get the levels to run, except that the environment appears all black, including the Toa -- the only things that show up are the HUD and the particle effects. The audio plays just fine too, and the controls for moving, switching masks, etc. work. Is anyone else experiencing this despite setting SvpRad=1 in the .ini file?

[JrMasterModelBuilder]

 

Now that the files are out, I can't help but wonder if some talented fans might actually make a complete and updated version...

 

It's unlikely that a fan could finish the game, as we obviously don't know what the developers planned to put in the empty chunks... but it's possible that a fan could make what's there run a little better. I've been poking around the game's files for a while now, as I intend to do just that (I have experience with this kinda thing). It's not gonna be an easy project, though. Most decompilers spit out complete gibberish when you try to load the files, since they're generally designed with only one language in mind... and there's virtually no information on Saffire's game development pipeline online.

 

 

A lot of discussion on this is ongoing on this Discord server:

 

https://discord.gg/6bnzdKy

 

 

 

I actually got the game to work, but for some reason I'm unable to make any of the Toa turn to face different directions. Using the left and right keys only makes them sidestep, and I've tried all other keys. Does anyone who has played this have an answer on how to turn?

 

Also, I don't know how to jump.

 

Did you have to do anything special to get it to work (and can you share what OS/hardware you are using)? I can get the levels to run, except that the environment appears all black, including the Toa -- the only things that show up are the HUD and the particle effects. The audio plays just fine too, and the controls for moving, switching masks, etc. work. Is anyone else experiencing this despite setting SvpRad=1 in the .ini file?

 

 

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem. I would double-check that the ini file was edited successfully (check that the file extension wasn't changed or anything), and it is running with XP compatibility.

 

Bugs are also being discussed on the Discord, you might get help there.

Edited February 12, 2018 by JrMasterModelBuilder

[Toatapio Nuva]

 

I actually got the game to work, but for some reason I'm unable to make any of the Toa turn to face different directions. Using the left and right keys only makes them sidestep, and I've tried all other keys. Does anyone who has played this have an answer on how to turn?

 

Also, I don't know how to jump.

 

Did you have to do anything special to get it to work (and can you share what OS/hardware you are using)? I can get the levels to run, except that the environment appears all black, including the Toa -- the only things that show up are the HUD and the particle effects. The audio plays just fine too, and the controls for moving, switching masks, etc. work. Is anyone else experiencing this despite setting SvpRad=1 in the .ini file?

 

 

I changed the SvpRad=1 thing and ran the game with a compatibility setting for XP (service pack 3), and it worked. I was using a Windows 7 with intel core i5.

 

I also figured out the movement thing. Since I was on a laptop, I didn't realize you needed the mouse to move and jump. Silly me.

[Planetperson]

Ah, I'm a buffoon and wasn't setting the compatibility mode correctly. I have the environment showing up now, although it seems like collectible items such as tokens are not showing up. I can still pick them up, but I can't always see them; it seems like the coordinates are being computed incorrectly when rendered. Is anyone else experiencing this?