Lego Universe Commentaries: Now Public!

It's been a long wait since I announced the possibility of Lego Universe Commentaries. But now they are finally here! The videos will be hosted by Metacafe, and I have my own mini-channel there. I have even set up an entirely new blog for the updates and news on the commentaries! The new official website for the commentaries is:

www.lucommentaries.blogspot.com

Don't worry, I will still post on this blog too! The commentaries are just something a little extra. I may even have them out for download soon!

The first commentary takes place at Nexus Tower (and I'll be honest, it IS a little boring), and I complete a few missions there. Hopefully soon though, Smashed will be able to join in on the commentaries and it will make them much more interesting.

Here is the url for the first commentary. Enjoy! And don't forget to rate up on Metacafe!

LU Commentaries: Episode 1

Coming Soon: Vaults and Safes!

It sounds like the LEGO Developers have finally listened to the players and are adding a new bank/vault system to the Universe. It will be released when Nexus Tower comes out and its base of operation will be Nexus Tower also. So if you have any extra items that you don't need, but want to keep (like me) you can put them in the vault and you can come and get them at any time! The system can also be set up on any of your claimed properties, allowing you easier access to your storage space! Awesome!

Here is the offical article on vaults and banks:

You’ve asked for it, and so now you’re getting it: more space for your stuff! Dr. Overbuild has been working non-stop on a new Vault and Safe system! This new storage system will allow you to safely store away extra items into your own private Vault in Nexus Tower. The Darkitect would love to get his hands on the contents of the Vaults, but never fear! The Sentinels are standing guard to make sure only YOU can access your personal Vault!

Before you can access the Vault system, you will need to first speak to Nexus Naomi, Nexus Tower’s Artificial Intelligence. She will guide you to meet your Faction Leader, who will give you a series of missions. After you receive approval from your Faction Leader to use the Vault system, find Nexus Naomi near the Sentinel Faction HQ. She will help you open up your Vault account –and has a complimentary toaster model for you too!



The standard Vault size begins with 40 slots for general items (like gear or consumables) and 40 slots for your models. If you find yourself needing even more space, talk to Nexus Naomi again, who will give you some Missions to expand the size of your Vault! You can expand your Vault up to 240 slots for general items and 240 for your models!

That’s not all! Complete even more Nexus Tower Missions, and you will be able to access a special Safe on all of your claimed Properties! Your Safe will allow you to access your Vault and all of the items inside. Property visitors will be able to see the Safe on your Property, but only you will be able to use your Safe on your claimed Properties!



Keep up your Brick Donations to complete the construction of Nexus Tower. When the Tower is done, you’ll be able to finally find a place for all of that extra stuff you’ve been carrying around. And this is only the beginning!

Discuss this article on the message boards!

Dr. Overbuild's Nexus Diary (Week 1)

Here is the all new Nexus Tower diary from Dr. Overbuild! This is a new series of articles that just came out today. I hope you enjoy it!

Duke Exeter thought it would be a good idea for me to chronicle the completion of Nexus Tower. So for future builders, here we go!

First, you may wonder, why build a massive tower on Crux Prime- a planet which is swarming with the Maelstrom? Well, the Imagination Nexus of course! It's the original, pure source of Imagination in the Universe and it must be protected!

Construction on Nexus Tower was going well, but we started to run short of bricks. Hael Storm proposed a vast collection of bricks from Minifigures across the Universe, and Duke Exeter has agreed to lead the effort! We've put out a call to all Minifigures to donate bricks and help finish Nexus Tower There is even a competition to see who can donate the most bricks!

I'm a little worried about the Bank we were building in Nexus Tower. I am just not sure it is safe enough! What if Nexus Tower were under attack? We must protect everyone’s gear and deposits!!. Duke Exeter had the great idea to make the Bank into a Vault instead. What is the difference between a Bank and a Vault? Why, rocket engines, of course!

Bricks have been arriving daily on the cargo ships out of Nimbus Station, and now progress on the Tower is moving at an accelerated rate! After a week of donations, redontop, Ninewells and huss1 have donated over 2,234,000 bricks combined!

Check back next week for another update!

Nexus Tower Sneak Peek!

With Nexus Tower about 50% complete, a sneak peek of the inside of Nexus Tower was just released by Lego! It is in the form of a message from the tower's AI (Artificial Intelligence) named Nexus Naomi. Here is the official article, including pictures.

Hello Minifigures,

You may call me Nexus Naomi. I am the Nexus Tower Artificial Intelligence created by Dr. Overbuild. My purpose is to serve as a guide to all Minifigures who have come to Nexus Tower.


Each of the Faction Headquarters is located inside Nexus Tower. There, you will be able to meet the Faction Leaders for the very first time. Duke Exeter, Hael Storm, Vanda Darkflame and Dr. Overbuild cannot wait to meet all of their loyal Faction members. Each has many Missions for you to complete, including some unique, top-secret Faction-only Missions for the most loyal members of the Nexus Force!



Nexus Tower is also a important destination for all of your shopping needs. More than a dozen new vendors are waiting to sell you exciting new gear and consumables! You will also find additional Faction vendors in the Tower – they sell the Rank 3 kits which were previously sold in Nimbus Station, but they will also have new items like Valiant Weapons! Valiant Weapons are the most powerful weapons created so far, but you’ll need both hands – and a lot of Tokens – to wield them! In addition, a completely new Vendor, Admiral Honor Accolade, is setting up his shop in the Sentinel area. He specializes in Mission and Achievement reward items that you have previously earned.



Are you concerned with where you will put all of these new items? I have just been authorized to disclose the new Vault system that is being finalized! Each Minifigure will be able to open a Vault account where you can safely store your extra items, and you will be able to pull them out whenever you wish. The Faction Leaders may also help you to construct a Property Safe, which will allow you to securely access your Vault from any of your claimed Properties.



The last piece of information which I have received clearance to disclose is that Dr. Overbuild has even more plans to expand Nexus Tower. Once the Tower is completed, you will be able to use it as a launching point to Nimbus Station, Crux Prime, Starbase 3001 and LEGO Club, but new destinations will be added soon!

As Adventurers and Explorers, you understand that the Universe is vast and there are always uncharted territories. Nexus Tower is being built to become the launching point for all future exploration and expansions. Be prepared for the adventure of your life.

Nexus Naomi

So, what do you think? I now that I'm excited! Plus, the release is just right around the corner!

-Zorkonian12

Build Nexus Tower Today!

Well, here it is! The moment you have all been waiting for! The Nexus Tower donation box was finally opened yesterday which means that Nexus Tower will be coming within the next couple of days! Along with the Jawbox, a new racetrack has been added, including new faction cars and rockets to spend your accumulated tokens on! Here are the official release notes for May:

3 May 2011 (v.1.6.50)
Dragonmaw Chasm Racetrack-Yep! You will be able to race through the underworld of Forbidden Valley and swoosh across the branches of the Great Tree! Point of entry is a bouncer located in Mantis Rock.
- Two new Dragonmaw Chasm Race Cars are available at Vendor Yam Waterwolf’s shop.
- There will of course be new racing Missions and Achievements for you to complete on this exhilarating racetrack!
Faction Cars and Rockets- Faction Cars! Assembly Blockader, Paradox Blindsider, Sentinel Stalwart and Venture League Hinterlander.
-Faction Rockets! Assembly Solarblast, Paradox Darkwarp, Sentinel Startalon and Venture League Astroscout.
-Buy them from your Faction Vendor in Nimbus Station – bring coins and Faction Tokens!
Brick Donation for Nexus TowerEveryone needs to brick in so Nexus Tower can be built in due time! Find the hungry Nexus Jawbox at the Race Place in Nimbus Station, and donate as many bricks as you possibly can. This is the first community mission in LEGO Universe history, so make sure you are a part of it. Hopefully, Nexus Tower will be the largest build ever seen in LEGO Universe!
Nimbus IsleThis new Nimbus Station property is approximately as big as Avant Grove, so let your Imagination run wild!
New ModelsAutumn Helix’s new Safari and Zoo models will allow you to create the perfect setting on your property for…
Pets on PropertyThat’s right! Place your Pets on one of your Properties in Place Models mode, and add behaviors and movements to them. Find Autumn Helix in Brick Annex in Nimbus Station.
New Daily Missions- Donate More Bricks! Every day will have a new challenge to donate more bricks in the Nexus Jawbox for the construction of Nexus Tower.
- Plus many additional very challenging missions, given to you daily by your Faction Representative.
Specialty Gear
- An achievement has been added for equipping all pieces of rank 1 gear. The reward for this achievement is the rank 2 book. You will be unable to purchase the rank 2 gear until you complete the rank 1 achievement. Any players who have currently used the rank 2 book will continue to be able to use and buy new rank 2 gear.
- An achievement has been added for equipping all pieces of rank 2 gear. The reward for this achievement is the rank 3 book. You will be unable to purchase the rank 3 gear until you complete the rank 2 achievement. Any players who have currently used the rank 3 book will continue to be able to use and buy new rank 3 gear.
Known Issues
- Icons for custom cars, rockets and models may not appear for some players. This issue will be fixed in an upcoming maintenance.              

May is all about Factions!

In this month of May, Lego Universe will be focusing on the factions! The contest calendar has been posted, and there are some exciting things planned for this month. There is going to be a wide variety of contests, but they will all be related to your faction! Here is the official contest calendar for this month!

May 3 – until Nexus Tower is done!   Jawbox Brick Donation
All Factions need to participate in the monthly challenge for us to reach the goal of finishing Nexus Tower. It will be the biggest and boldest Minifigure mission seen in LEGO Universe to date! Start collecting bricks today, so you’re ready to make some hefty donations in the Nexus Jawbox! This community mission will kick off with the ‘Build Nexus Tower’ release and end only when Nexus Tower is completed! The 20 top donators win large buckets of LEGO bricks.

May 7 – May 8   Mystery Racetrack Grand Prix
You will be pushing the pedal to the metal somewhere in LEGO Universe... The location is still unknown, but stay posted on LEGOuniverse.com/community, we will reveal the location a few days before the Grand Prix begins! For now, rest assured - it is not going to be easy, but it will be fun! All Factions welcome. Don’t push and shove members of your own Faction too much. Spectacular LEGO City Sets will be yours if you win!

May 14 – May 15   Shooting Gallery Showdown
On your mark. Take aim. Fire! Get the highest score during the weekend of May 14 - May 15 – we will give LEGO City Fire Stations and Fire Rescue vehicles to the best marksmen! Remember, hitting a friendly ship subtracts for your score. It is Venture Leaguers out there; we do not want them to sink! Everything with a purple tint you should hit – oh, and red sea monsters!

May 21 – May 22   Best Faction Screenshot
Snap a screenshot of your Best Faction Moment and share it in the Creation Lab. It could be an image of you with fellow Faction members, showing off your Faction skillz, or maybe you could join forces with other Factions and grab a snapshot which shows how heroic you all are? The 20 best submissions will be picked by the LEGO Universe judging panel and win awesome LEGO Hero Factory prizes! Heroes for heroes – it’s only fair!

May 28 – May 29   Faction Unity – Battle together for Nimbus Station!
In the Battle of Nimbus Station (or, as it is know on the streets of LEGO Universe, ‘BoNS’) defeat the 4 Riders of the Maelstrom to be in the drawing for LEGO Ninjago Sets such as the LEGO Ninjago Battle Arena and LEGO Ninjago Skeleton Bowling. Teamwork is key in this challenge – whether it’s within or across Factions!

Nexus Force Members, get ready to join forces or be prepared to beat the other Factions, and above all, remember to have fun! Let the games begin! Go Nexus Force Minifigures, go!

Community Mission: Jawbox Donation Contest!

As you all know, you need to donate LOTS of bricks to complete Nexus Tower. So why not reward the people who donate the most? That's exactly what Lego is doing. The top 20 contributors to the Nexus Jawbox will win REAL bricks! It's almost like trading in your virtual bricks for real ones! And who wouldn't want to do that? So make sure you start stocking up/buying bricks right now! It's going to take a lot to donate a ton of bricks and become one of the winners! Here is your 'mission' according to the community article. And in case you don't get what "stop" means after each sentence, it was an old term to tell the reader that the sentence ended there. It was usually in telegrams or military messages.

Here’s your mission: Start gathering loads of bricks. Stop. After May 3, talk to Nexus Jay in Nimbus Station. Stop. He will send you on to Kurt Tussle at the Race Place. Stop. Tussle stands right next to the magnificent Nexus Jawbox. Stop. You will drop your bricks into its churning abyss of a mouth! Stop. If you are one of the top donators, you will win… real bricks! Full stop.


Here is the full prize list:


--------------------------------------------------

The top contributor to Nexus Tower wins:

o LEGO Architecture – Farnsworth House (#21009) 
o 1 LEGO Large Brick Box (#5508)
o 1 LEGO Brick Separator (#630) 
o 1 copy of LEGO® Universe Massively Multiplayer Online Game (#55000)
o An in-game item exclusive to this contest: The Hood of the Mystic
o 20 in-game Faction tokens.

The 2-20 top brick contributors will win buckets of bricks:

o 1 LEGO Large Brick Box (#5508)
o 1 LEGO Brick Separator (#630) 
o 1 copy of LEGO® Universe Massively Multiplayer Online Game (#55000)
o An in-game item exclusive to this contest: The Hood of the Mystic
o 20 in-game Faction tokens.

-------------------------------------------------

But make sure that while your donating bricks, to keep your hand away from the jaws, they could bite your hand off!

-Zorkonian12

Build Nexus Tower: Coming EXTREMELY Soon!

We now have an official release date for Nexus Tower! May 3rd! But first, players have to donate the bricks that are needed to build the actual tower, and THEN you are allowed to visit. Nexus Tower isn't the only big update coming soon though, we have Dragon Maw Chasm that will also premier on May 3rd along with the new EXTRA large property, Nimbus Isle. All of the huge updates everybody has been waiting for will finally be here! Go to this link for the official article on the release of Nexus Tower.

Official Article