LEGO MMO announced!

[EngineNo9]

it just went gold!

The beta is also open 24/7 for those in it.  Don't expect an open beta before launch, though.

[EngineNo9]

The early-access "Founders" launch, for those who pre-ordered the game through LEGO.com or picks it up at a LEGO retail store, starts tomorrow.  The full retail launch will be later this month on the 26th. 

And here is the super sweet intro cinematic.

[VegasD]

I picked this up today to play with my 3 year old daugther.  So far, she approves.  "We made a rocket-ship that went ZOOOOOM and then found lots of robots with Legos!"  Her words.

[vizionblind]

OUCH 5.0

http://pc.ign.com/articles/113/1131319p1.html

[Roguetad]

My 6 year old played a lot during the beta and early access, but he seems to have already moved back to Free Realms.  He's a huge lego fan, and was really geeked for the game, but it hasn't held his interest.  I started a character during the beta and I just couldn't click with the game.  It seemed really clunky, laggy, and kind of boring.  I found the inventory management to be insane for a game marketed for kids.

I think they missed a big opportunity by not making this game free to play with tons of micro purchases and block kits.  It's not good enough imo to justify a monthly fee.  Free Realms is a much better option for kids, based on what I've seen and played.  I think the Free Realms club membership (or whatever it's called) is $4.99, and that's only if you care about having some of the membership perks for your kid(s).   

[PR_GMR]

I was initially excited about this one.. until I started to see the gameplay videos and read some reviews. I was afraid that NetDevil was gonna fuck it up.. and it looks like they did.. It's an MMO... and they actually don't allow you to help anyone build anything. You have to spend hours sorting thru blocks in your uncategorized equipment window to build anything.. and they kiddy-fied the game so much, it's near-impossible to chat or start communication to other users in-game. Goddamn you, NetDevil! 

[PR_GMR]

I think they missed a big opportunity by not making this game free to play with tons of micro purchases and block kits.  It's not good enough imo to justify a monthly fee.   

This!! Seriously, what a major blunder not going with a micro-transaction model. They would have made big money!

[EngineNo9]

I was initially excited about this one.. until I started to see the gameplay videos and read some reviews. I was afraid that NetDevil was gonna fuck it up.. and it looks like they did.. It's an MMO... and they actually don't allow you to help anyone build anything. You have to spend hours sorting thru blocks in your uncategorized equipment window to build anything.. and they kiddy-fied the game so much, it's near-impossible to chat or start communication to other users in-game. Goddamn you, NetDevil! 

By no means are these reviews the first time people have mentioned these complaints.  Without going into details, let's just say that LEGO as a brand have committed to making this the safest online game for kids out there, and they continue to stand firmly behind that ideal (and rightly so), so it may not be fair to lay all of these complaints at the foot of the developer.  There are decisions made at many levels on something like this, and not all of them are from people directly working on the game.

As far as the chat whitelist/blacklist stuff goes, those are being constantly updated to make chatting easier.  That system is far from perfect, and often it pisses me off when I'm trying to communicate while playing, but it has improved a ton since beta.  And of course it all goes back to the point above, where the end goal is safety.

As for building with other people, you can in fact build on your property with other players, but you must first become Best Friends with them first.  (ie: adults exchange real-world information to verify the friendship on the website).  The system is not really publicized to players in any way, and signing up for it is at best mildly invasive, but the desire is that unless two players actually know each other in the real world all interactions must be moderated, and that includes seeing each other's models.  Parents generally don't/can't/shouldn't watch over and moderate everything to do with how their little Bobby plays with Jimmy down the street in real life, but in an online world aimed at 8-12 year olds you really want to be damned sure that Jimmy isn't a 45 year old pederast first. 

You can sort your brick backpack based on different filters for different types of bricks (square, angled, rounded, vehicle parts, and so on) as well as making "buckets" for your own presorted category of bricks or models.  Sorting through 1500+ unique types of bricks is still not a trivial task, but this helps.

The free-to-play with microtransaction model is another thing that some people would view as obvious, but the publisher is the one forking out the money for the game and they are the ones that have the final decision in how the game is going to hit the market to best recover their investment.  One thing to note is that a lot of recent games (like DDO, LOTRO, etc) have shown that subscription games can always transition to other models, but you generally can't go the other way from free-to-play to subscription.

I'm not trying to make excuses.  I wholeheartedly agree with most every criticism that reviews have levied against the game.  Trust me when I say that there are fewer people who are bigger critics of the game than those on the inside.  It is bittersweet to see all of the things we have been complaining about for months or years finally being said by outside sources.  The best I can say is that the game will be getting regular content and feature updates (the first of which went out this week), so hopefully the game can grow into one that everybody wants it to be.

[CeeKay]

new stuff created by fans.

[EngineNo9]

The "Frostivus" winter event launches next week.  This brings a new small quest zone, a snow- and ice-covered racetrack, a new reindeer pet, a couple new modular race cars, a bunch of winter/holiday themed models and the usual sort of holiday content. 

Also, you may be able to find the game on sale for $20 at Best Buy on Black Friday if you wanted to give it a try for half price. 

[CeeKay]

next up:   

[EngineNo9]

next up:   

I'm assuming you meant to link to this video for the new content release?

[CeeKay]

next up:   

I'm assuming you meant to link to this video for the new content release?

Nope, I was going to see how many people figured out what was next using smileys.

[Vindel]

next up:   

I'm assuming you meant to link to this video for the new content release?

Nope, I was going to see how many people figured out what was next using smileys.

NINJAGO???

[CeeKay]

well this is down to 20 bucks already, might be time to give it a spin.

[CeeKay]

a look at some user generated content.  I wish they'd do a free trial already.

[Teggy]

Now it's only $9.99 if you order the DVD through the site. I played a drop of the beta but didn't go very far. How is this game for an adult?

[Blackjack]

I guess this key Lego MMO developer wasn't happy with how things went down...  

guest op-ed
LEGO Universe Developer: I Will Never Make an MMO Again
http://kotaku.com/5803598/
Actually, it's more of a reflective piece on his exhaustion working on MMOs for so many years and wanting their new company with other Netdevil refugees to tackle some different types of gaming concepts.

I recently departed my beloved old development studio after helping build it from five to two hundred people, with consistent 50% growth year over year for over 10 years. I departed just after a five-year stint heading up development of LEGO Universe, the third major MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) we built. While the specific reasons for departure were related more to cultural and ethical conflict with the corporate ownership, it created an opportunity to reflect on the past decade and re-evaluate creative priorities. I have decided to get out of the MMO game, for 3 reasons.

[EngineNo9]

a look at some user generated content.  I wish they'd do a free trial already.

Your wish is granted (in August).  It will be a free trial limited by the areas you can visit and some features (no chat, etc), but unlimited in time.  It will include the first two starter areas as well as the first small property for UGC, so you can try out the building yourself and check out what other people have built on their property.  Also, the mission flow for the first couple areas has been significantly reworked to improve the new player experience and add some more diversity and peeks at later content.

[CeeKay]

a look at some user generated content.  I wish they'd do a free trial already.

Your wish is granted (in August).  It will be a free trial limited by the areas you can visit and some features (no chat, etc), but unlimited in time.  It will include the first two starter areas as well as the first small property for UGC, so you can try out the building yourself and check out what other people have built on their property.  Also, the mission flow for the first couple areas has been significantly reworked to improve the new player experience and add some more diversity and peeks at later content.

awesome!  thanks for the heads up!

[EngineNo9]

The new patch went live today, which means the Free to Play version is available to be downloaded (for PC or Mac). 

The F2P thing isn't prominently displayed on the website yet to keep the influx of new accounts reasonable for now, but it is available for everyone (from the main site's Game Info page) and should be advertised much more towards the end of the month I guess.

[coopasonic]

The new patch went live today, which means the Free to Play version is available to be downloaded (for PC or Mac). 

The F2P thing isn't prominently displayed on the website yet to keep the influx of new accounts reasonable for now, but it is available for everyone (from the main site's Game Info page) and should be advertised much more towards the end of the month I guess.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm installing. I played in the beta and it wasn't for me, but I'm curious if my lego fanatic 5 year old could play it. It's nice that he can try it out for free.

[PR_GMR]

And another MMO bites the dust: Lego Universe to shut down January 31st, 2012.

A damm shame.. but not unexpected considering the terrible design decisions that went into this title. If only Lego would simply make an online game that would allow unbridled digital creativity, they would strike gold.

[Isgrimnur]

LegoCraft. 
LegoFortress

[EngineNo9]

And another MMO bites the dust: Lego Universe to shut down January 31st, 2012.

A damm shame.. but not unexpected considering the terrible design decisions that went into this title. If only Lego would simply make an online game that would allow unbridled digital creativity, they would strike gold.

I will just say that what you say sounds great and intuitive, but it is exactly the type of game that couldn't be created because of restrictions with the license.  LEGO is, understandably, extremely protective of their brand and hyper concerned about child safety in an online game.  That is the reason why there is no building in shared public spaces and that every player-built property has to be hand moderated by a human before other players could visit it.  That is neither efficient, cheap or ideal for players.  Not that there weren't bad decisions made on many levels, but for these reasons and more it was a double-edged sword from the start.

When I first posted in this thread I had no idea I would end up working on the game, and it has been a wild ride.  The project was certainly frustrating and disappointing from many aspects, not the least of which is that now all my friends and co-workers and I need to go find new jobs.  The sad part is we still have a lot of dedicated kids that love the game and a decent number of subscribers, but it just wasn't enough to keep it profitable especially with 2 million free players.

The beauty of corporate "restructuring".  

[iloveplywood]

Hey engine,  if it's any consolation you were part of a game that a lot of kids loved. My eight year old son is in a state of mourning ( we actually had two accounts so we supported you guys) over the news.

[Blackjack]

Most of the MMO universe is going F2P, so it surprises me they didn't see the writing on the wall a long time ago and try to revamp it into an F2P format that would make enough in microtransactions to stay float. Pretty sad epitaph for Netdevil, which managed to produce two dead MMOs (this and Auto Assault) and one that never saw the light of day (Jumpgate Evolution).

[Razgon]

And another MMO bites the dust: Lego Universe to shut down January 31st, 2012.

A damm shame.. but not unexpected considering the terrible design decisions that went into this title. If only Lego would simply make an online game that would allow unbridled digital creativity, they would strike gold.

I will just say that what you say sounds great and intuitive, but it is exactly the type of game that couldn't be created because of restrictions with the license.  LEGO is, understandably, extremely protective of their brand and hyper concerned about child safety in an online game.  That is the reason why there is no building in shared public spaces and that every player-built property has to be hand moderated by a human before other players could visit it.  That is neither efficient, cheap or ideal for players.  Not that there weren't bad decisions made on many levels, but for these reasons and more it was a double-edged sword from the start.

When I first posted in this thread I had no idea I would end up working on the game, and it has been a wild ride.  The project was certainly frustrating and disappointing from many aspects, not the least of which is that now all my friends and co-workers and I need to go find new jobs.  The sad part is we still have a lot of dedicated kids that love the game and a decent number of subscribers, but it just wasn't enough to keep it profitable especially with 2 million free players.

The beauty of corporate "restructuring".  

Sorry to hear that, E9! Its never fun to have to go look for a new job, when it isn't voluntary. I hope you find something quickly though!

[EngineNo9]

Thanks for the support guys, it's tough to see something you've put 4 years of your life into flushed down the toilet.  I also know it means a lot to a bunch of little LEGO fans out there as well, just like your son iloveplywood, and my niece and nephews. 

In an ironic note, if you were ever a member you can have fun at the free access "Welcome back Weekend" right now.  Happy birthday, LU.