[Mechaton] How Often Do You Play?

[Mantisking]

As the title reads.  I know that I don't get to play as often as I'd like, in fact it might be just twice a year.  How about you?

[mike_the_pirate]

I have just recently played this game after owning the pdf for many months. It took a few turns for me to get into it, but after we got the gist, I am excited to play some more. We didn't have enough destruction, but now that I am familiar with the game, I plan to bring more destruction to the table.

[Noclue]

I have the game and would love to play, but you have to get special lego parts to make cool mechs and that means going to bricklink and trying to figure out all the pieces. I just don't have the time or the motivation. Now, if someone sold prepacked mecha kits online so I could just put it in my shopping cart and be done, I'd totally get a couple armies worth and be off to the races.

[Mantisking]

I have the game and would love to play, but you have to get special lego parts to make cool mechs and that means going to bricklink and trying to figure out all the pieces. I just don't have the time or the motivation.

Do you have a Lego store near you?  For a while they had the hinges that form the legs of the basic mech on the pick-a-brick wall along with a bunch of other parts.

Now, if someone sold prepacked mecha kits online so I could just put it in my shopping cart and be done, I'd totally get a couple armies worth and be off to the races.

Heh.  We were talking about this on the Mechaton Flickr group just the other day.

[David Artman]

I have yet to play, sadly. But I plan to... someday. (Hmm, maybe I'll switch to Mechaton for a MACE slot?)

As for needing special pieces: I don't think you need Bricklinks or any pre-planning--Mechaton seems to have an implicit scale (the 9-unit ruler is partly to blame), but there's no reason you can't go larger. I was thinking a battle all over a room, using Bionicle-scale mechas, would be bad-ass. But even if you're going to make small mechas, you could probably do whole armies with one good Technics set in the $30-$40 range. If you're on a REALLY tight budget, consider abstraction: I could make workable (if not beautiful) mechas using only bricks and plates, for less than a dollar a unit.

Also, pre-packaged mecha armies are pretty trivial to do, though no one seems to have started to do so: use Lego Digital Designer to make them, upload to Lego's database, and link to the "product". Alternately, save the file and share them, which in turn means others can just open the file and then order (this means Lego doesn't have to "host" it, and you don't lose the design work if they stop listing it). In fact, this is but one of the MANY things Vincent could do to make his (bare-bones) Mechaton page more like the (resource-rich) Dogs in the Vineyard page (towns :: armies).

[lumpley]

You'd think it'd be as easy as that, wouldn't you?

If anybody manages to accomplish something like what David suggests, get with me and we'll talk terms.

-Vincent

[Mantisking]

Also, pre-packaged mecha armies are pretty trivial to do, though no one seems to have started to do so: use Lego Digital Designer to make them, upload to Lego's database, and link to the "product". Alternately, save the file and share them, which in turn means others can just open the file and then order (this means Lego doesn't have to "host" it, and you don't lose the design work if they stop listing it). In fact, this is but one of the MANY things Vincent could do to make his (bare-bones) Mechaton page more like the (resource-rich) Dogs in the Vineyard page (towns :: armies).

While LDD (Lego Digital Designer) is nice, Lego cycles through the pieces that are available to use and you may have to substitute pieces to finish a model.  Also, it doesn't allow you to make certain connections between pieces.  So while you may have a LDD file to share and a list of pieces, it's not really complete.

[Noclue]

You'd think it'd be as easy as that, wouldn't you?
If anybody manages to accomplish something like what David suggests, get with me and we'll talk terms.

Yes please. LDD always makes me go Grrr!

[David Artman]

While LDD (Lego Digital Designer) is nice, Lego cycles through the pieces that are available to use and you may have to substitute pieces to finish a model.

Ah, I did not know that. Crap. Any notion of pieces they have that are "core"? What about Pick A Brick--does that cycle, too?

Worst case scenario, a mecha is "saved" as a pic and a (Lego part number) parts list; and folks hope for the best when it's time to order from Lego/Bricklink.

Also, it doesn't allow you to make certain connections between pieces.  So while you may have a LDD file to share and a list of pieces, it's not really complete.

I hear ya. But there's always a parts listing (per above).

...I wish someone would leak Lego's internal CAD software/element library. :)

[Noclue]

Worst case scenario, a mecha is "saved" as a pic and a (Lego part number) parts list; and folks hope for the best when it's time to order from Lego/Bricklink.

Hmm...that doesn't sound like what I'm after. That actually sounds familiar...

...and that means going to bricklink and trying to figure out all the pieces. I just don't have the time or the motivation.

[David Artman]

How so, James--you spoke of "trying to figure out all the pieces" and I suggested "a (Lego part number) parts list."

So if you have a list of parts that you can just fill out on a search form and click "Add X" (where X is the number of that part used--often 2), what do you have to "try to find" at Bricklinks or anywhere else?

Sorry that Lego won't enable a five-click purchase by maintaining stock consistently in LDD. Sometimes, ya gotta suffer for your art, man....