LEGO Ideas: Share your submissions here.

durazno33

Since Lego Cuusoo is officially over. We need a new forum page to discuss submissions. Check out a these castle projects.

King's Castle Keep
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/49537

Forge:
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/46173

Age of Empires II
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/52276

Goblin Fortress
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/18935

Huw

Thanks for the reminder to check out the new website. I'm having look round now. What do others think of it?

Shib

Well I'm already not liking it because it won't link my old cuusoo account...seems to be because I was signing in via twitter with cuusoo which is linked to the same email account as my LEGO ID so it won't let me have my twitter sign in!

CCC

I don't understand the video, at 17 seconds an example project has 9999 votes, yet the green bar is past the 10000 marker, on the way to being approved.

Sorting by most supported reveals lots of past projects that reached 10000, some of them already past review and made. They need to be got rid of, at least as active projects.

Other than that, it looks like cuusoo and I doubt I'll be looking again.

plasmodium

Yeah. To be honest, all the info I ever got about Cuusoo was from @Glenbricker's posts on the front page (of Brickset). That said, from my limited experience of both, the new site looks pretty slick. Not sure I knew the old one well enough to say whether it's better or not.

Schwallex

Some obvious teething troubles here and there. Let's see if and when they get ironed out.

Yup, mixed metaphor is mixed, but so is the bag, and so are my feelings. Some things got better, others much worse. For creators, supporters, and random passersby alike.

As far as my own project is concerned, I guess I will have to wait and see, collecting stats and drawing graphs before drawing conclusions. Except, of course, waiting is a luxury I no longer have, what with the new one-year deadline. Every day matters. Every hour, even. The year has but 8760 hours.

The real fun is going down in 364 days, when 6000+ projects bite the dust. The consequences will be dramatic. Of course I am not saying they haven't given it a thought; I'm saying they gave it a thought but then erred on the side of being way too optimistic.

legodude

It looks great.

Good improvements, include the main page summarizing the process. Also Staff Picks, showing the Flying Dutchman and Honda Motorbike. That is a nice new feature as well. Will be interesting to see what the Staff like.

Also the name makes much more sense to people unfamiliar. 1 year to reach 10,000 will also clean up the amount of projects, focusing on high quality ones only.

Overall I am impressed with the new Lego Ideas site.

scrumper

I would like to see a shorter deadline to reach a lower amount of support to reduce the amount of projects rather than have thousands of doomed ideas clogging up the site for a year.

Schwallex

@legodude it was always possible to see what the staff liked, on the official Cuusoo Facebook page. But it's completely irrelevant anyway. Neither idea will get to 10k in time (and the Dutchman would never pass the review due to sheer size).

Instead, both will get deleted. All current projects will be deleted, regardless of quality. Only half a dozen will pass — and again, based not on quality but on popularity —, but the other 6100+ will be nuked no matter how much effort went into them.

When you specifically delete everything across the board regardless of effort, that is no "focus on high quality". That is no focus at all.

Meanwhile, the average quality will quickly go down for two reasons:

1. Many more people are now allowed to submit.
2. Project creators who do care about quality but fail to reach 10k will eventually stop trying, while people posting rubbish will happily keep posting rubbish because obviously they don't care about getting to 10k in the first place, so not getting to 10k can't discourage them.

The only way to discourage people from posting rubbish would be by not letting them post rubbish.

Cuusoo has never been about quality, by design. And now they are more open about it than ever before. Only Purdue Petes and TV shows will really have a chance now. Except that TV shows are all but done with at this point, as all the obvious candidates have long been submitted. So basically it's just Purdue Petes from here on.

legomatt

Having clicked the links, I particularly liked the Age of Empires II stuff, which has a very gondor-ish looking fortified wall (have to scroll down a bit). Just made me hanker for a LotR 3rd wave all the more.

graphite

Anyone else having trouble signing in with Chrome? I click on the Login box and it just refreshes with a box next to it that says I've been logged out of Ideas. Was able to login and vote on something in IE.

Shib

Schwallex said:

Cuusoo has never been about quality, by design. And now they are more open about it than ever before. Only Purdue Petes and TV shows will really have a chance now. Except that TV shows are all but done with at this point, as all the obvious candidates have long been submitted. So basically it's just Purdue Petes from here on.

I kind of hope that with TLG taking this more in house they will be a bit more selective when people submit projects. Cuusoo had a real problem with not following their own guidelines, probably because they were making them up as they went along, so occasionally a project that had the LDD grid view would slip through.

I agree there likely to be an issue with the new deadline that needs to be worked out, if they were clever they would have made it so that all the existing projects had 1 year from the date they were submitted so that all the old projects weren't clogging up the site for the next year.

incidentally has anyone submitted a project since the change? has anyone noticed any differences in the submission process?

Aanchir

Schwallex said:

Cuusoo has never been about quality, by design. And now they are more open about it than ever before. Only Purdue Petes and TV shows will really have a chance now. Except that TV shows are all but done with at this point, as all the obvious candidates have long been submitted. So basically it's just Purdue Petes from here on.

Purdue Petes won't stand a chance whatsoever because there's now a rule explicitly prohibiting proposals depicting mascots of any kind. So you're wrong on that point.

And all the obvious TV show candidates have long been submitted? I've got to disagree with you there. There is not yet a single high-quality Teen Titans proposal, and that's a cartoon franchise with a very significant fanbase. There are no proposals based on Static Shock, a show I have very fond memories of from my childhood. There are no proposals based on Sailor Moon, a franchise some of my friends still follow, or on Looney Tunes, a franchise that I think any fan of cartoons can agree is a classic. That's just a small handful!

Furthermore, there have already been projects NOT based on TV shows that have advanced rapidly to 10,000 supporters and passed review. Minecraft proves that video games are also viable territory. And the Curiosity Rover proves that proposals based on subjects from real life, not on fictional franchises, can reach the support threshold and pass review with flying colors. I don't think any of the recent changes to the platform would have doomed these or similar projects.

legodude

They had a facebook page? Never heard of it. Being integrated on the main and real site is much better.

Schwallex said:

@legodude it was always possible to see what the staff liked, on the official Cuusoo Facebook page. But it's completely irrelevant anyway. Neither idea will get to 10k in time (and the Dutchman would never pass the review due to sheer size).

I still disagree and think the 1 year deadline was a smart move and does help to focus on quality submissions. People have different 'definitions' of quality or good submissions. This is the case with our disagreement.

Regardless I think you are overreacting to the changes and just need to relax and wait and see and adjust your expectations about what LEGO Ideas is about.

legomatt

It would probably work better if the VOTE itself carried a lifespan, and not the Idea.

After 12 months (or something) the vote itself expires. You can vote on the set again if you still like it, (getting an alert when a vote is due to expire), but if you don't act it just drops off.

This would mean if a set is popular and remains popular over time, people would keep their votes 'live', and if it continues to grow in popularity, it would gain in votes.

But if people grow tired of it (or didn't like it) they'd let their votes die (or not vote at all), and the set would slowly lose its votes (effectively dying as the voting public move away from the idea and no longer support it).

Any newly submitted idea could be given 6 months 'grace' to acquire an initial votes supply, after which time, any set with a votes total below a certain minimum threshold (say 500 or something), would result in the idea being removed (to trim the deadwood from the site).

I'd probably combine this system with Submission windows, rather than a 365 day open format.

cheshirecat

I like that anything not reaching 10,000 in a year should go (if only because it would mean the stupid apple store would have been deleted long ago) perhaps should be milestone requirements too - 3000 in 6 months, 500 in two months? Anything close will probably get a jump in order to reach it and anything thats not close should be deleted. Its not mocpages or flickr, its not meant to be a permanent depository for mocs, irrespective of how good they might be.

I also prefer the front page emphasis on currently popular projects than most voted for projects as it has the potential to keep it fresher.

durazno33

This project here:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/58946

has been on the front page for a couple days. It seems to be listed as a "Staff Pick". I don't remember this being part of Lego Cuusoo.

Schwallex

legodude said:

I still disagree and think the 1 year deadline was a smart move

The 1-year deadline actually makes perfect sense. I've gone on record as saying just that, time and again. I've gone on record as proposing some kind of deadline myself. It's the implementation that is subpar. What @legomatt proposes if much more sensible, for example.

I don't really need to adjust my expectations about what LEGO Ideas is about, because they never were particularly secretive about it to begin with. And with this recent move they are more open about it still. It is perfectly in line with their goals, the goals they always had from day one.

legodude said:

and does help to focus on quality submissions.

That is the only part I was disagreeing with. When you first keep everything around for a year regardless of quality, and then delete everything regardless of quality, how is that a focus on quality?

legodude said:

People have different 'definitions' of quality or good submissions. This is the case with our disagreement.

Very much so. Your definition is "Anything that reaches 10k in a year is high-quality. Anything that does not is not". You are right that I do not share that definition. There is more to quality than popularity. In fact quality and popularity can be inversely related.

Quality is what the TLG review is then about.

CCC

legomatt said:

It would probably work better if the VOTE itself carried a lifespan, and not the Idea.

After 12 months (or something) the vote itself expires. You can vote on the set again if you still like it, (getting an alert when a vote is due to expire), but if you don't act it just drops off.

This would mean if a set is popular and remains popular over time, people would keep their votes 'live', and if it continues to grow in popularity, it would gain in votes.

But if people grow tired of it (or didn't like it) they'd let their votes die (or not vote at all), and the set would slowly lose its votes (effectively dying as the voting public move away from the idea and no longer support it).

Any newly submitted idea could be given 6 months 'grace' to acquire an initial votes supply, after which time, any set with a votes total below a certain minimum threshold (say 500 or something), would result in the idea being removed (to trim the deadwood from the site).

I'd probably combine this system with Submission windows, rather than a 365 day open format.

But at what stage is it removed from the site? The number of votes might go towards zero, but it still need to be removed at some stage.

Something else that might be a good idea is a remove vote button. So if another version of something comes along that you prefer, then you can change your vote.

SavetheBrick

Has anyone created a new project under the new format? When I load the main image with the white background from LDD, the main image is fine and has a white background, but the gallery image now has a grey background (and looks terrible). Is there a way to get the white background in the gallery image? (I think the answer is probably no, as the two projects posted after the launch of the new site that fit these conditions have the grey background, but I just wanted to check).

legomatt

@CCC I haven't given it much thought as to precise details, but i'd suppose (depending on how the website would be programmed), it would be immediate, or as soon as feasible (if that's what you're asking). (I don't understand the 'Toward zero?' Did you miss the minimum threshold to stay live bit?).

Basically as soon as an idea dips below the minimum votes required to stay on site (whatever number would be most appropriate), it would disappear from public view, (maybe deleted, maybe put in owner's history file - whatever the storage system is).

For sake of argument, say 500 was the minimum score required (this might be too low, i don't know), it would mean any set with 499 votes or less is immediately removed from public view after the set has had its grace period to acquire votes. (The owner could be given alerts as their design hits certain votes scores to keep informed of status).

So if it didn't generate enough votes during it's grace period, it'd be deleted immediately that grace period ends. If it gained 947 votes, but after x months those people who voted have lost interest, their votes would start expiring naturally (if not removed by the voter already), and the set would start dropping toward that score of death, until -upon reaching the score of death - being removed.

The precise numbers (and lifespan durations) would be whatever is most appropriate - i'm not familiar with the sites to be able to put a figure on details (it would be an adjustable variable until the right spot was found). That's fine details. This was just an idea in principle to suggest votes to die.

I'm assuming the lego design team want to know what's popular now, the way to know what's popular now (without discarding a slow-burner) is to allow votes to expire (and be retracted). It's effectively a living-poll.

*young ones sing*
Living Poll!

:oP

legodude

Schwallex said:

legodude said:

People have different 'definitions' of quality or good submissions. This is the case with our disagreement.

Very much so. Your definition is "Anything that reaches 10k in a year is high-quality. Anything that does not is not". You are right that I do not share that definition. There is more to quality than popularity. In fact quality and popularity can be inversely related.

Quality is what the TLG review is then about.

From a business standpoint of quality which is what LEGO Ideas is about, if a project fails to reach the required supporters in a reasonable amount of time, which a year is generous I feel, then chances are this project is a poor candidate for production as a LEGO set.

Yes, it is not absolutely ideal as when stuff like Minecraft and other gimmicks come along and reach the 10,000 in a day or less, those are flukes and don't really make a difference to the year deadline. Those are voted up by fans of the source material and I would like to see data on how many actually purchased something they supported. Dr. Who another example of this, hyped big time, but in the end all style and no substance.

Aanchir

legodude said:

Schwallex said:

legodude said:

People have different 'definitions' of quality or good submissions. This is the case with our disagreement.

Very much so. Your definition is "Anything that reaches 10k in a year is high-quality. Anything that does not is not". You are right that I do not share that definition. There is more to quality than popularity. In fact quality and popularity can be inversely related.

Quality is what the TLG review is then about.

From a business standpoint of quality which is what LEGO Ideas is about, if a project fails to reach the required supporters in a reasonable amount of time, which a year is generous I feel, then chances are this project is a poor candidate for production as a LEGO set.

Yes, it is not absolutely ideal as when stuff like Minecraft and other gimmicks come along and reach the 10,000 in a day or less, those are flukes and don't really make a difference to the year deadline. Those are voted up by fans of the source material and I would like to see data on how many actually purchased something they supported. Dr. Who another example of this, hyped big time, but in the end all style and no substance.

Is Minecraft a "fluke"? I wouldn't think so. From what we've seen, it seems to have been one of the most popular LEGO Cuusoo projects, since the original set sold like hotcakes and ended up being the only set so far to have spun off into its own theme which continues to expand. And generally, the Minecraft sets have been high-quality for what they are: small modular Minecraft layouts with lots of appropriately blocky detail. Perhaps the original project, which featured just a couple rudimentary examples of what a Minecraft set might look like, was not the epitome of quality, but it was the concept that garnered support so rapidly, not so much the execution.

I have no idea how many supporters for franchise-based products end up buying the sets themselves, but even if they don't, an outpouring of fan support in that stage of the process can be a strong indicator for the level of support that can be expected when the product actually launches. Any individual fan might have their own reason for not being willing or able to buy a product, but for every fan who goes on LEGO Cuusoo/Ideas to show their support, there are probably several other fans out there who are also potential buyers and who might not have the same reservations about buying the end product.

legodude

It was a fluke in the way it reached 10,000, the previously established fanbase spammed CUUSOO with votes for it. Lightning in a bottle at its finest.

Also, the concept is what CUUSOO has tried to avoid, that one submits great model execution for submissions, the Minecraft Project didn't have this as you said, again a fluke.

I should also mention Minecraft IMHO is the most overrated game ever, and yes I have actually played it. The sets LEGO makes are jokes IMO, a bunch of 1x1s for $35, TLG is milking the cash cow in its prime, that is the only reason they have expanded that line into more sets.

Aanchir

legodude said:

It was a fluke in the way it reached 10,000, the previously established fanbase spammed CUUSOO with votes for it. Lightning in a bottle at its finest.

Also, the concept is what CUUSOO has tried to avoid, that one submits great model execution for submissions, the Minecraft Project didn't have this as you said, again a fluke.

I should also mention Minecraft IMHO is the most overrated game ever, and yes I have actually played it. The sets LEGO makes are jokes IMO, a bunch of 1x1s for $35, TLG is milking the cash cow in its prime, that is the only reason they have expanded that line into more sets.

I always hate descriptors like "overrated". If people enjoy something harmlessly, it's nobody's place to tell them that it's not worth enjoying. I feel the same way about these sets. The design quality is fantastic IMO and does a great job achieving what they set out to do: replicating the blocky landscapes of Minecraft at a small, affordable scale.

Yes, they're made mostly of 1x1s. The same is true of LEGO mosiacs, but that doesn't stop people from admiring the mosaic designs they see at LEGO conventions. "Intent" is a big part of judging any design — if you judge a set like these by the same standards you use to judge a minifigure-scale playset, then your qualifications are inherently warped and will not result in a really valid assessment.

legodude

And it is also nobody's place to tell others that it is not their place to describe how they felt about an experience. Always agree to disagree. I wasn't knocking others for enjoying it, simply an observation. Also overrated does not necessarily mean something is poor, on the contrary sandbox style games like Minecraft are great.

CCC

legodude said:

It was a fluke in the way it reached 10,000, the previously established fanbase spammed CUUSOO with votes for it. Lightning in a bottle at its finest.

One person's fluke is another person's concerted fanbase effort.

legodude said:

I should also mention Minecraft IMHO is the most overrated game ever, and yes I have actually played it.

I haven't played it and I won't. But the fact (well, your opinion) that it is overrated highlights that many people enjoy playing it, and rate it.

legodude said:

The sets LEGO makes are jokes IMO, a bunch of 1x1s for $35, TLG is milking the cash cow in its prime, that is the only reason they have expanded that line into more sets.

Another reason is that the sets sell. They could put a high price tag on any set and think what a great profit, but it is only profit if the set sells. It will only sell if people want it, at the price it is offered for.

jasor

Minecraft is great for Microscale MOC parts, as well...if it had more headlights in it, it would be almost perfect for stand-alone microbuilds. Awesome color palletes too. I'm glad they are expanding the line. I've got more Mini-Modulars to build.

TheLoneTensor

legodude said:

I should also mention Minecraft IMHO is the most overrated game ever, and yes I have actually played it. The sets LEGO makes are jokes IMO, a bunch of 1x1s for $35, TLG is milking the cash cow in its prime, that is the only reason they have expanded that line into more sets.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think you're being a bit unfair. At first glance, the game looks like crap, but after you get deeper into how the game works, you realize why it's so popular. It forgoes realism visually to focus on the real interesting stuff, the interactions of the components and things, which is far more compelling. The concept of creation and pride that people (kids, including my kids) get from it is amazing. It's like Othello "an hour to learn, a lifetime to master."

My boys have Minecraft shirts, and people comment on them all the time. When we went to Cedar Point recently (amusement park), people didn't just stop at commenting, they engaged also. That kind of community and friendly like-minded interest and interaction is awesome to see, and is great for kids to experience.

legodude

Again in the context of the original conversation the only example I was giving was that projects like Minecraft/Purdue Pete/etc have no effect on the year deadline for other projects. They are irrelevant because they would have gotten to review no matter what.

Anchir misinterpreted the context since he was never involved in the original conversation and felt the need to defend/discuss Minecraft.

Aanchir

legodude said:

Again in the context of the original conversation the only example I was giving was that projects like Minecraft/Purdue Pete/etc have no effect on the year deadline for other projects. They are irrelevant because they would have gotten to review no matter what.

Anchir misinterpreted the context since he was never involved in the original conversation and felt the need to defend/discuss Minecraft.

I understood the context, but I didn't understand what you meant by "fluke". I thought you were trying to suggest that the project's supporters were somehow a less valid indicator of the project's potential sales strength than a project that got its supporters through other means.

Believe it or not I have been keeping up with this conversation. I didn't just randomly butt in to defend Minecraft — to be honest, I have never played Minecraft, though I think the sets are fairly good at what they set out to do.

What I'm defending, if anything, is the way the Minecraft project got as much support as it did and the reasons people supported it. A lot of people seem to feel like votes solicited from outside fan communities are less valid than AFOL votes, and I don't see any reason to think that's the case.

Non-AFOLs might be likely to misjudge the expected cost of a set, and thus support something they wouldn't end up being willing to pay for, but then again, the same can often be true of AFOLs, especially if not given details like an exact piece count.

TheLoneTensor

As for the Minecraft sets, to be perfectly honest, even though the piece count is "1x1 heavy," those same pieces are usually not cheap to buy outside a PAB wall. Example, the only real source of 1x1 dark green tiles is the Village.

JamesJT

This is brilliant.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/65782

I'd like to see a full solar system done in lego.

durazno33

Project updates. So I've spent some time during the last few weeks updating my Lego Ideas castle. I added some more color, fixed a few design flaws and redid the interior.

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/49537/updates

However, when I went to update my project on Cuusoo, I couldn't update my cover picture with the new design. The updates tab limits me to adding content to it instead of to the main description tab (this equates to a terrible place to "hide" updates). Is anyone else limited this way? It may be that since my project was moved over from Lego Cuusoo, I only get limited functionality.

SavetheBrick

Your project and all projects are now locked and can not be edited. If for some reason your Cuusoo project is now formatted incorrectly you can email the LEGO Ideas Team and they may make changes for you. Everything else has to be added as an update. Please add you comment to the transition blog on the Ideas Website and email the LEGO Ideas Team about how you would like them to review the situation. Thank you.

graphite

JamesJT said:

This is brilliant.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/65782

I'd like to see a full solar system done in lego.

Pretty cool. Reminds me of the one in Pitch Black that shows them the planet goes dark for a year every 22 years =)

I think the gearing might get complicated to accurately simulate our solar system and the arm might get a little long without some sort of support. Could just put a few wheels on it I guess for it to roll.

Venunder

There was some great Roman and Greek Historical sets on Cuusoo
Time to get some support for mythology sets on the Ideas site.
Try this one.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/66101

cheshirecat

^ really? I would love some good roman/greek sets but that's just a mess imo.

MiniTheFig

Victorian House:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/63480

This is my first project. If you like it, remember to share it on your blog/website, or with your fellow LEGO fans.

Shib

Finally sorted an account. I don't think much of the new voting system, the price brackets are way too far apart.

JamesJT

Have lego just ignored Wayne Manor and X-Men Mansion? They were not included in the 2H review.
I wonder if any submission will reach 10k votes before the next review, there is only one "idea" that's even close.
https://ideas.lego.com/discover#search/s:most_supported

cheshirecat

^ they both missed the May 5th deadline so will be in the next review after the one with birds, dr who etc.

Shib

Probably a good thing too because theres already a lot of heavy-weights in that review, shame that they are going to be completing against each other though.

cheshirecat

^ Im not so sure that projects ever really do compete against each other in any meaningfull way as any good ones will be held over (as we saw with the female minifigs). In fact thats quite likely as I suspect LEGO will always like to have one (and preferably a nice simple little one) in reserve in case there's nothing good to choose from in a future review. They can of course pass nothing but thats harder for them to explain to the fans. If LEGO want a Dr Who set I wouldn't be at all surprised if Birds got held over for example.

Shib

^Sorry, I wasn't clear, I meant more the Wayne Manor and X-men Mansion in the same review period. I think that they are pretty much the same project but for two different randoms. Both very similar projects competing for what has generally been one spot, while if one gets through the other might get held over but it would bring more attention to the questions often raised against how Ideas/Cuusoo have reached the decision and not making it easy enough for people submitting the projects to know how best to present their projects.

cheshirecat

I wouldn't worry, I suspect both will fail due to their size.

Shib

Completely agree but I think bother would have a fairer shot if in separate reviews.

Much like I love the birds project, but no matter what it's in review against it I think it would struggle to tick the Playability and Stability boxes. It's the thing I really dislike about Ideas, it shows you these amazing things that you know are very unlikely to get made.

JamesJT

Mary Poppins
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/70096

CCC

That is another failure due to size. I cannot see a nine minifig, modular sized building making it.

legomatt

Perhaps not viable as a set, though the mary poppins project prompts some nice ideas for the CMFs line;

(off topic)
A chimney sweep, a suffragette (though the political aspect, albeit historical, might make that a non-starter too... though personally i'd place a suffragette alongside Abe Lincoln as far as being 'political' goes (as a historical personage) and therefore perfectly doable. If too taboo, they could i suppose do a victorian style lady with a rosette and sash, and leave it to the viewer to decide what she's campaigning for - if anything).

Aanchir

CCC said:

That is another failure due to size. I cannot see a nine minifig, modular sized building making it.

I wouldn't be so sure. After all, there's no requirement that it sell huge quantities. It just has to be able to sell around 20,000 units minimum. The modular buildings themselves are probably expected to sell more units than that throughout their entire lifespans.

I agree that it's definitely much more ambitious than anything that has previously passed review, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless. There's a first for everything.

I think the IP would give it trouble, though, since Mary Poppins doesn't have the same level of pop cultural saturation and "nerd appeal" as Back to the Future, Minecraft, or Ghostbusters. It's a classic film definitely (and a damn good Broadway show too — it was a real treat to watch), but would it get huge numbers of fans excited the way those other projects did? I strongly doubt it.