Brick Factory

Let me start by saying I never set out to make LBP Lego bricks. It was only after not finding any satisfying themed levels out there that caused me to make some bricks my son can use that I could be proud of.

I think this might just be the LBP2 level I finish first. It would have been done a year ago, but after making all the bricks and getting ready to pop them in emitters, I discovered a fatal flaw that would require rebuilding every brick from scratch. Disheartened, I shelved the project.

Recently, I realized this process is, while repetitive, now nostalgically relaxing. I also just had a breakthrough on another problem which is now solved and not only fixed, but uses even less thermo than before.

Perhaps I should explain what this level is. There is software for your computer that allows you to build your own Lego sets called Lego Digital Designer. LDD used to be called Brick Factory. In my version, you will be able to build your own creations with the bricks I have made, modeled after actual Lego bricks.
I am going to include an option that allows you to choose if you want to win the bricks you build with as prize bubbles. While I have modeled over 100 LBP versions of Lego bricks, the Brick Factory will start out with about 50 individual types. So that you can continue the fun on your moon.

You will be able to build in all three layers, and there will be bricks that will bridge layers so you can build a multi layer model. One drawback is that I won't be able to provide a variety of colors. Luckily you can sticker them to your hearts content. I will include stickers that look more to me like Lego colors than the color stickers that LBP provides.

Here are a few things I have built with the bricks available in Brick Factory:

http://i9.lbp.me/img/ft/c19891888f93...1b36553c67.jpg

http://i5.lbp.me/img/ft/615a3e795747...db274f3580.jpg

These were from my level that is on my planet, but they are the same bricks. More pics coming as things come together.

These are the icons for the brick selector. It's just a bunch of stickered slivers of holo, but it gives you an idea of the variety you will be able to work with. There are 82 unique bricks represented in this picture

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/a709f890bc41...d9bc51efe5.jpg

Wow, very cool!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by theIronHorse

Wow, very cool!

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thanks. any encouragement helps.

I got some of these holographic pieces loaded into the brick selector last night. I would have gotten more done, but I was showing some new friends around my moon.

I intend to buckle down and get more done tonight.

Update:

Only 27 of 85 unique brick icons left to catalogue.

I would like to make a build contest once this level is complete, but I don't know what to offer as prizes other than having the top builds become in-level build instructions and maybe a copy of the brick selector to use on your moon...

Hi DreadRandal,
What a cool idea. I have used it in the past (the lego digital designer) and its a brikkiant piece of software. Thats a totally inspiring idea... making an LBP version. Genius my friend. Really well done. :)
Ever need a hand, be happy to assist :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sean88

Hi DreadRandal,
What a cool idea. I have used it in the past (the lego digital designer) and its a brikkiant piece of software. Thats a totally inspiring idea... making an LBP version. Genius my friend. Really well done. :)
Ever need a hand, be happy to assist :)

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While you are very kind to say so, I don't feel even remotely close to genius. Especially when I look at blogs about analog logic signals and my brain melts. However, I keep getting ideas about adding stuff to this project, or related offshoots. I thought about making a flat plate with a controlinator attached to it. It could wirelessly control wheels you add to your model, or pilot a rocket if I added a rocket engine brick. I thought about adding a water switch in case you make a boat, and a jump pad brick for anyone who wanted to make a bit of a platformer within the level, complete with a second scoreboard placed higher up for such an event.

It could even be variant builder levels, one vehicle based, one that provides bricks with rotators, jump pads and such to build a platformer course out of bricks to, as I said, reach the scoreboard. would you even want to play a level that you have to build yourself in play mode just to get to the finish?

Ever since I started playing LBP, I thought a Lego themed level kit made perfect sense. Especially if it got me a stud decoration or object that made my bricks look more genuine from all sides.

I also thought about providing prize bubbles for each brick, rewarding players with the specific ones they use in their model at the end of the level. Let me know if any of this is worth taking further.

Hi Dread Randal.
I love the way each brick has the bumps on top, And it is a fantastic idea in my book.
hmmmm..... ideas....
Well, if you have the thermo... definitely a control seat. Instead of having a dcs block, have a lego seat shape block. You could make the curve, and then make the sides of the seat out of a thin layer and conceal the controlinator. You could have a splitter on send a forward back signal to a forward and a backward tag on the dcs. Then on the wheel set (x1 lego block wheels), have the same tag sensors wire into the inputs on a combiner, whick can go to a forward/backward motor bolt on the tire part.

Maybe if you are making a lego propeller piece, you could have the same seat have an up/down/forward/back tag splitter setup. (like the wheels) only they go to tags, that respont to a advanced mover on the prop. So when its in range of the seat, it will allow for flying?.

I wolud have it so you can test out your creations with a visible sackbot....just for player emersion in the level.
Hope this helps mate.
I'm, looking forward to the level. good luck :)

I have previously made cars with that exact wireless tag control setup and had already set up the logic last night, seeing as it's the only way for emitted bricks to function.

As for the Lego seat, it would have to be a big sackbot, as a sackperson is not on the same scale as a Lego minifigure. However, I did set a controlinator on a special flat top plate which can pick up and place bricks on a model. If you hold L3 down for 2 seconds, it then controls wheels for a working car, truck, elephant, whatever... Hold L3 down for 2 more seconds, you can now control your rocket ship. Hold L3 down for 2 more seconds you are back in build mode. Though, I will probably redesign it so that holding a button and using a stick or DPad changes modes. The intent being, changing modes has to be deliberate. I don't want to have anyone getting annoyed because they keep accidentally tripping the mode change logic.

As for a propeller, unless L1ghtmare or someone else tells me how they did the prop in steampunk scallywags, I don't see me making a Lego propeller.

The help I think I will need, if you or anyone else is interested, is playtesting. I want people to find bugs and maybe come up with models I can post as templates. Because while some people like to design their own thing, I think others like to just put together models from the instructions. If anyone wants to sign up, this is where to do it.

I'm just wondering will there be default examples of cars etc?

Anyways this looks brilliant so far and good luck to you with this I'd say unique idea (or one not normally done)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shooter0898

I'm just wondering will there be default examples of cars etc?

Anyways this looks brilliant so far and good luck to you with this I'd say unique idea (or one not normally done)

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I was planning on providing a few and then I was hoping some play-testers would provide a few more

I'd be happy to playtest and see if I can find something to fix :)

Totally be happy to playtest and give feedbasck buddy :)

I think I'll give it a playtest. Seems a little interesting.

for those of you interested in play testing, just send me a friend request marked "LBPCentral" or "Brick Factory" and catch me when you are on. =)

Also:

A friend has made a suggestion that will slightly, yet significantly change this project. It has now become three levels. Brick Factory Basic, Brick Factory Plus and Brick Factory Pro.

I have about 90 bricks types for Pro, so Basic will have about 30 types and Plus will have about 60 brick types. Basic will be set up add a tutorial for how to use the master brick that you use to put models together.

Model idea for basic...
http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yZ...480/13%2B-%2B1

And the finished version using my bricks...
http://ic.lbp.me/img/ft/35c2822c3c77...8bdf8525c9.jpg

sweet.

There is a very early test version of "Brick Factory Basic" on my earth so I can test the master brick off my moon. this is a very early version and has not got a working brick selector yet. But it does have two models that can be assembled. A castle and a house. If you are interested in a no frills test of the master brick and how to build models with it, you will need a copy of a sticker that looks like my LBPC avatar. I have one in my pod and xxMATEOSxx has one. You can get one from either of us.

most of the controls can be figured out quite easily except one. To hold onto a brick, your master brick needs to be touching it as you hold R1. If you let go of R1, the master brick let's go of the one you are moving.

Left stick moves the brick, right stick pivots the brick at 90° angles. Triangle exits the brick. R2 gives you a wider view. Change layers using L1 & L2, circle changes the camera and controls from global to local. If you are brave, put your master brick on the prototype car and hold L1 while you flick the right stick down twice. This changes the master brick into a driver seat for a wheeled vehicle. There are no controls set up yet for flying a model around, so pressing L1 and flicking the right stick down once currently does nothing, unless you are in car mode, at which point it acts like the master brick again.

Update:

Apparently, you can't use a copy of a specific sticker to trigger a sticker sensor, it has to be in your inventory. This both annoys and relieves me. I started work on a code room level that will currently give away the previously mentioned sticker key. Eventually I may just expand it to instead hold level links to unfinished levels, but for now I am going to use a 4 digit code that unlocks a sticker.

http://i3.lbp.me/img/ft/d231914d7f12...6ffb59e80d.jpg

Hi DreadRandal,

compliment, this is really a wonderful idea!^^ I've also experimented with the Lego Digital Designer when it was published a long time ago and its been funny!^^ Though I have to confess that I didn't have the patience to puzzle out more complicated objects!^^ I'm rather curious to see, how your brick factory will function and how it feels to play with it!^^ :)
Wish you luck and many greetings, Jürgen^^

I have been busy at work on this level. Lately I constructed a ghost brick satellite for the master brick designed to remotely sticky bricks together.

L-I-M-I wants me to hold them together with followers and tags, but I have seen the physics in this game take a process that is supposed to work well for one or two objects create resonant feedback when you have a stack of something. Watching a stack of non-metals try to steady itselfh and vibrate apart is quite a sight to see. I think this would happen when you have potentially 200+ followers trying to keep track of as many tags in close proximity. (he suggests a follower on every stud, a tag in every slot.)

Instead, if you have a particularly fragile connection, you will hold R2 which keeps you in place as you now control a bit of brick shaped holo which you can pass through your model, pressing 'x' when you come across bricks flagged as unlocked.

You have the option of playing a tutorial for the master brick (which I have written in a very Stephen Fry-ish manner, according to those who have read it), or you can just read through the popup instructions at the bottom of your screen, which someone recently taught me how to do.

Tonight I plan on finishing the ghost brick logic, which would, in turn, make the master brick functional enough for Brick Factory Basic. (aside from the HUD.)

I also plan on loading creatinators with bricks and loading those in the modified brick index. I have to use creatinators because I can't think of another way to produce both versions of an asymmetrical brick other than pointing a creatinator to the left without having two emitters for each type.

The physical look of the level will be easy. You will see brick baseplates on either the floor of Andy's living room or the floor of his bedroom if I can get glitch layered materials to match.

Thanks for letting me attempt to build with your Lego bricks. I see a lot of potential for this to spawn into several different ideas all involving the bricks, but first I want to provide you some feedback from my experience the other night since I couldn’t easily communicate with you real time. Next time, I’ll try to have my PSeye hooked up for voice.

The master brick is easy to use an intuitive for the most part. There were several times when I couldn’t pick up a brick and I was holding R1 and a couple of times where the master brick plain got stuck and I basically had to pop and get a new master brick. When it got completely stuck like that, It seemed like it was often next to the red button.

My first build objective was the house and when I first hit the button and it dropped down all the bricks, I was like @#$%! and about cried! How on earth was I ever going to put this house together? One brick at a time, was the only answer. The bricks were scattered everywhere, but once you get a few down and the house begins to take shape, you suddenly acquire a little completion addiction. I’m not sure everyone will have my same thoughts, but it worked for me. The whole time I was building, I kept thinking how great it would be to have a race against another person to see who could build the house first. This absolutely should be a spin off level or even the first level published! For the beginner builder or spin off level, I would recommend not giving them an option to switch layers with the bricks. In other words keep everything confined to one layer as well not give them much room to roam. For your advanced builders, I think you could let them have free reign.

While I was building the house, about 8-10 bricks in, a couple of my seven year old triplet girls popped in and saw me building and loved it. It was funny, I think one of them said something like I don’t like this level… Pause. Pause. I love it!!! They both thought it was really awesome and were being quite the backseat drivers as I tried to grab bricks and build. I could totally see them building with these bricks on their own. They’re quite rabid LBP fans themselves, so they know there way around LBP and the PS3 controller. The only problem for them, might be what to do if they broke the master brick. If you had a move, it seems like that would be a natural tool to use to move the bricks around. We have a couple at my house, so let me know if you ever try and go that route and need testing.

After the house you showed me the castle build, which was huge. When all those pieces fell from above that was a LOL moment for sure, because I knew there was no way I could build that. That is definitely one for the advanced builders out there and people with a lot of time. What type of plans do you have for these “builds?” Will the players have to complete the “builds” to obtain certain bricks or to score points or is this all just for building fun?

This might not be the place, but I’ve seen a portion of your “Lego” platformer and I think it shows great promise! I would also love to see this level completed as well. The one thing there I would change is the Lego bridge sections were you “build” them. I would make those sections smaller to navigate, so the “Bridge brick” wasn’t’ so large. You might have to use a sackbot that can’t jump far to make that work. Overall, all of your Lego stuff is top notch and I’m looking forward to the days you bring them to the masses.

All this feedback was pretty general, so let me know if there is a specific thing you want detailed feedback on.

Thank you for all the feedback. Last night and this morning, I spent time rebuilding the Master Brick from scratch. I am always looking to improve my designs so anyone who saw the guts before will barely recognize this incarnation.

It does everything it did before and more. There are a couple button changes, so now it is easier to enter the two vehicle modes and each has been expanded on. Now if you are in car mode and a water sensor is activated, it operates boat mode. If you are in air/spacecraft mode and water is detected, it operates in submarine mode. If water sensors prove troublesome, I will figure out another simple automatic land/air to water transition.

There are just a few more tweaks to it before I move on to loading brick emitters into the brick index so that you can build whatever you want instead of building the models I provide. most feedback is positive while the rest is creative criticism that I am addressing. If you would like to playtest, until I finish my key room, you will need to friend me or ask me to gift you a sticker key. (new friends are always welcome).

Hi DreadRandal,

thank you for the little tour through your brick factory!^^ My impression is that this will become a fantastic level with a unique gameplay! Its been funny to use the brick moving tool for the puzzle parts and its also been fun to produce little "bridges" with the creatinator to overcome the obstacles in the platformer parts!^^ I'm looking forward to playing the finsihed level!^^
Thanks a lot and many greetings, Jürgen^^

Here are a couple recent pics. I wasnt visually happy with the bricks until I changed the material to toy plastic, although this pic really doesn't do it justice. mainly on the red. jpgs don't do well with reds.

http://id.lbp.me/img/ft/22d08cd08528...28686b77d0.jpg

This pic shows the brick bucket. It is where you put unused bricks if you start lagging because of too many bricks.

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/3a078914080a...dca4ab0796.jpg

I love the Brick bucket!

PS - I’m sorry about the last couple times you requested to join...I've been busy trying to finish up the last level of CHUG and the thermo in all my levels is maxed to point where any new thing/person will overheat it!

I got a lot of ducks in a row this week. I now have bricks that cooperate with the bucket, The ghost brick works again, better than ever, actually. I wanted to be done today, but it looks like I will have to try for next Friday. Next is loading bricks into creatinators and loading those into the brick index and reworking the bricks for non-DLC prizes, among other loose ends to tie up.

Photo Update

Well, yesterday I was working on prize bubbles when I got distracted by this...

http://if.lbp.me/img/ft/0bf079a65614...af16554046.jpg

It is a bit too tricky for brick factory, but I plan on using it elsewhere.

Brick Factory Update

If you would like to keep up on details of this project, I am talking it up on Twitter, (I finally got around to resetting my password)

My twitter feed is @dreadrandal if this interests you at all. Over there I am giving details such as prizes available and what is left to do to make it launchable.

Hi DreadRandal. Wow man, your level is going better than ever, I think it works so cleverly. Cant wait to try it out :)

I thought I would be working on this more because I am off work while I heal from illness and surgery, but as it turns out, your body healing diverts a lot of energy from just about any activity you had in mind that isn't eating or sleeping. So basically I watch TV, sleep and wait until it's meds time. It bores me to tears, but there's not much I can do about that. =I

Update

I uploaded a metric ton of Brick Factory: Basic screen shots to twitter over the last 24 hours. @dreadrandal to see them all.

Just wow. Well, indeed, the idea isn't that special, but your bricks just look real, and the amount of different bricks is awesome! Since i've sold all my lego a few years ago i can't wait for playing this level :hatsack: I hope the logic doesn't make the level lagging - i always loved building huge constructions

#edit
i hope u get back on feets, soon :)