I was discussing this overall topic with my brother last night, and he actually brought up a really good point:
#It would be extremely hard to MOC with System Bionicle
At least in the terms this community is so used to: Character Creation.
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I disagree with that statement, since you can use system parts to make a constraction figure, just look at some new stuff from Shadowgear as an example. You just need to get use to the system design and fuction for that specific character demand. Its not hard, you just arent use to it (people also said it was hard to MOC with CCBS and look where that system is now).
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What l ment was making a custom character for a system theme would be making a custom minifig. It is hard to make them as unique as if you were making a custom Bionicle character. There is just more options for custom characters when building constraction characters.
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Who says you cant make a custom character with both system and constraction parts? Those ones are even more custom to be exact since you can make whatever shapes, armor variants, weapons, heads, and more.
The day when LEGO starts encouraging this trend is gonna be a happy day (cause even though MOCist have already been doing that, I guess other people need the nudge from the official sides to actually move them into that trend).
In terms of the minifigures, well thats the standard and its not going anywhere anytime soon due to many people using it and its a standard for easy customization. The best way they can make different characters with the minifigure parts is the printing, those are what add detail. But if you want something more special, use system and constraction parts.
But the flaws you specified are flaws of system in general, and those will not go away even if Bionicle tried to go into systemâŚwhich is why I personally think having both system and Constraction sides to this line will to a degree satisfy both of the communities.
^Essentially this^
What I was stating is that system minifigures, in any given theme, can only be customized by swapping out roughly 5 to 7 pieces; contraction characters on the other hand, due to their size, can be customized and added to much much more than system figures can.
I think that you thought that I was talking about a combination of the two, which I did not mean to.
Iâm talking about if the two were separate. Like in actual Lego sets, you normally never see a combination of the two systems together.
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I never said you cannot use system in a constraction figure. I think system can be used to improve certain MOCs.
Would you like to see system parts have a larger role in constraction set? I mean to some point I hope there is such a blend of both (or at least a larger use of it in system) that people will be just use to it like they did with Technic.
The nice trifecta of constraction, technic, system should never be changed since all of them compliment each other greatly. Each designed for the main roles they were made for, but still versitile for use outside its primary one.
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Lego rarely does combine them all though.
I would say Mechs/Mixel-like-sets would be the best combination between constraction and system.
The 2001 rahi are the _technic_ally see what I did there?
Bionicle, but they are more Technic than anything else.
Lego never really combines all three systems together and if they did, I think that they sort of fear from doing so again.
For MOCs, they can all be utilized, but for an actual set, I highly doubt it.
I voted without thinking, and now wish I could withdraw my votesâŚ
You know if G3 was a system theme, it would make people more angry than G2 did. People complained that G2 used CCBS and wasnât âthe true Bionicle.â Think how those people would act if all we got for G3 were system sets.
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Looks to all the system MOCs out there.
And weâre also spinning a system and constraction BIONICLE line, so there would still be constraction in it.
Iâm pretty sure we all know what made Bionicle so great, but does LEGO know what made it great? G2 kind of just went in and tried to imitate what G1 already established, but didnât set any ground of its own.
This is all over the place, just a little warning.
If weâre going along with the system/constraction idea, why not integrate constraction figures along with a system set. (This is probably a really bad idea.) For example, picture a Ninjago looking set but with a constraction figure there too. What Iâm picturing is like Titanfall but with less titans and more Toa, like they would have minifigure âpilotsâ to kind of link with the Toa.
Iâm saying just for singular characters and not scenery.
For example, try creating a new expressive character with just Ninjago minifig elements; While it can be done, it would be a great challenge. Something that I feel can be done with constraction fairly easily.
Well, I voted yes for the first poll, but there wasnât an answer that suited me on the second poll. I feel like if they made bionicle system they should make it all system. having half and half sorta seems meh, especially since I donât like buying multiple of characters
If I may cast my thoughts into the ring⌠*hand promptly gets bitten off *
I personally think that Bionicle would be very successful if it were to have a system build comparable to Mixels (only bigger). It would be more compatible with the majority of Lego sets and no longer has to compete with Starwars Constraction Figures. If the figures were to be about 5-6 inches, I feel that a lot of personality could be put into them without the price skyrocketing due to large amounts of âfillerâ parts.
By no means would I be happy to see Bionicle Constraction Figures go for good, but this would probably be the only way for them to return.
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Yeah, exactly⌠What if Bionicle was a Mixels style theme?
Eh, that style has not been fully fleshed out. Its still in its experimental phase (as seen with Nexo Knights exo suit figures). So for now I will say no to that, in the future it might be a good thing.
Would Bionicle be better as a system theme - No
Could Bionicle work as a system theme or some system/CCBS hybrid - Unlikely
Bionicleâs G2 problems were less related to the set quality or type and more the story - this is something that could affect system sets also. It would actually be more difficult to make Bionicle as a system theme because areas of the world would likely never be revisited in the story. An example of this occured with Bionicleâs previous system attempt that resulted in sets like the Lava Chamber Gate or Piraka Stronghold.
Even the epic Toa Terrain Crawler didnt perform well and that combined System and the Lego building system for Bionicle at the time + minifigures of the Toa and villains.
Actually its more likely that similar to the way Lego Mechâs or Lego Dragons are built theyâll reach a point where they wont continue to improve upon them and will instead re-hash the same aspects.
While Mixel integration presents varying options of improvement, its unclear if they will actually focus on improving it. At the moment the best inclusion of the mixel joints has been Lanceâs horse for the 2017 Nexo Knights line-up where the horse uses the mixel joints for moving legs.
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You know, when I listened to the last Podcast I was against it, and I still mostly am, but as I was voting I could see the reasoning.
A big part of Bionicle for me is the characters and the aesthetic. I was always into the story, and I know itâs almost the sole factor why Bionicle has endured for so long, but for me even something as shallow as âI think these characters look cool and have interesting personalitiesâ was a big pull factor.
I prefer it as constraction line for that reason, but I can see that for the people who place the story and world above everything else that a System line would better allow for a physical representation of places, landmarks, and landscape. I wonder now, what if the second question was flip-flopped?
What if Bionicle was a mostly constraction theme with some System sets for the landscape and landmarks?
@Jon @Mesonak Also, I think there should be a poll, or at least a discussion on what people think the essence of Bionicle lies in. As I mentioned before, I think the preference for which side of LEGO it should reside on is determined by what one interprets Bionicleâs key essence is. Tagged because I want them to see this, at the least Meso since he has some very interesting discussions on the essence of Bionicle.
For me, itâs the characters, their design, and the aesthetic, hence constraction preference.
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I think that thatâs an interesting topic to delve into, and that might be a good way to gage community response. I might do a poll next week about it.
However, one thing to note is that Bionicle means different things to different people. Some people are MOCists, so of course constraction is very important to them. Others are writers, so perhaps worldbuilding is better. Still others are abstract consumers - kids, who wonât participate in message boards and hence are fully unrepresented in polls like this one.
Thereâs a definite limit to the sample size weâre talking here. The point of this poll is to kind of gain a rough estimate of what our community wants, but our community is limited. We have a lot of skilled MOCists here, but our writing community isnât as prevalent or strong. That can lead to a bias, one that we canât solve. Another is that we donât know how much the public likes Bionicle constraction sets. Itâs split generally evenly here on our boards, but thatâs because a lot of people are here because they already like Bionicle, so of course theyâre more likely to like constraction more than System.
Long story short, the majority of TTV would say that the essence of Bionicle is the atmosphere and the worldbuilding - the âfeelâ, as it were. Iâm sure others will disagree, and I would really want to hear those opinions, but our discussion on the podcast will be framed by what we consider to be what makes Bionicle great.
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