General Hidden Side Discussion

M1J0E · December 2019

^ haha I think that was like the first concert I ever went to :D. Awesome!

SilverLove · December 2019

klinton said:

Great success! I finally caught the third holday ghost tonight! Having all the sets crammed on the desk for daily play did lead to this fun pic of the school poking out of the fog in the diner level. I thought it was kinda fun. :D

Thats such a cool picture, getting glimpses of your other sets on the screen than what you are playing.

Map-drawers of Newbury must be pulling their hair though...with the locations changing relatively to each other 🤣

klinton · December 2019

I fully expect a sternly worded letter from the Newbury planning commission. The school and the diner are clear across town from one another. :p

TheOriginalSimonB · December 2019

^I suspect they want to keep the kids in school at lunchtime to stop them getting possessed if they leave the grounds...

klinton · December 2019

TheOriginalSimonB said:

^I suspect they want to keep the kids in school at lunchtime to stop them getting possessed if they leave the grounds...

Which is an extremely odd tack considering that school is absolutely rife with fiends in it's own right. It's completely possessed of a ghost itself. :p

panchox1 · December 2019

Today, I used the mini figure scan on my big Boba Fett clock fig. It totally worked! Lol.

klinton · December 2019

Aye, I've tried all sorts of different figures. I was kinda surprised that it recognized the Keaton Batman figure. It doesn't accept minidolls though, which is unfortunate. I'd assume they're all possessed by demonic entities. :p

klinton · December 2019

There's a new episode up! I wonder if this will be the last one until the new year? They've visited all of the bosses now.

https://youtu.be/O6SVU0PSNW8

Odeinoichus · December 2019

Now that makes me even more annoyed at the complete lack of anything interesting in the Lab set. Why couldn't we get that ghost zappy cannon? Or anything else more interesting than what actually was built.

Lyichir · December 2019

Odeinoichus said:

Now that makes me even more annoyed at the complete lack of anything interesting in the Lab set. Why couldn't we get that ghost zappy cannon? Or anything else more interesting than what actually was built.

Because it's a $10 set? Honestly I don't think it could really spare parts being pulled away from the lab build itself just to make a big cannon like the ones that are already prevalent in the larger sets. You're right that the lab is easily the least essential set of the debut wave thanks in no small part to its lack of any unique figs, but to be honest that's been the case with the vast majority of entry-level sets for as long as I can remember.

klinton · December 2019

You get JB's various weapons across the line. There are numerous contraptions of hers included in nearly every other set that you can incorporate into your use of the lab (for display and/or play), should you desire. The lab itself really is just a starter set that delivers a colourful backdrop, most of the central characters (everyone but Parker is included), and access to the app's AR content... at a low price. It fills it's place in the line rather admirably, tbh.

560Heliport · December 2019

It's a $20 set...

Odeinoichus · December 2019

It's a boring 25$ set for Canadians. The biggest draw of the set is a cheap way to get Minifigures from Hidden Side, there are no decent play features, the model has nothing of great value outside of possibly the stickers. This is my opinion, anything would have been better to see from the model, it even has a part on it that serves no purpose. The image on the box makes it seem like the character pops out via some kind of spinning play gimmick, the model uses parts that seems to indicate it could do this, but it doesn't officially do anything like that. It's also somewhat small for this price range honestly.

I feel the set could have been better or had an interesting side-build. It's my opinion though.

klinton · December 2019

The listings for the new sets are up on S@H, with more images of the sets and videos for each! There's even a bit of hinting at the multi-player feature (although, it looks to be localized. I hope there's an online option... as I know absolutely no one whom I could coerce into playing silly Lego games with me, :p).

It states the release date as January 1 though? I could have sworn I'd read that they'd be available December 27, like how the Spider-man sets came out a bit early last December... but I don't recall now where I saw that. I just dug up the article on the main page where the sets were revealed, and it's not there. I don't want to wait yet another week for these. :p

klinton · December 2019

There's a new episode up! Now we know what happened to Douglas between waves one and two! :D

https://youtu.be/kk62FK-7BEU

panchox1 · December 2019

Hmmm.... Not sure I'm a fan of the app update. I don't like that the solo mode for being a ghost appears to be gone as that was my main method of playing. and I don't like that the difficulty settings in the hunter mode is not turned on.

I did get in a couple of games of the new ghost multiplayer mode. and it was actually pretty fun but some of the ghost abilities have been changed. Captain Archibald no longer has his Kraken tentacles.

klinton · December 2019

I'm not too sad about losing the solo haunting mode. I never really used it. I am a bit annoyed that they've done away with the medium and hard modes now though. I was so used to the hyper fast degloomer wheels that it's painful to wait for them to crawl around now. That and the fights themselves are far, far too easy. I used to die quite frequently, but now I don't think I've ever dipped below 80%. There's zero peril now. It's just mindless button mashing.

The backgrounds for the new sets are spectacular though! The dev team really amped it up. I'm stoked for a host of new ghosts too. It's nice to see new faces pop up. I was full chuffed to finally see the mysterious Lady E. :D

KungFuKenny · December 2019

There will be a free Hidden Side dragster available with purchases over $45 Jan 24th to Feb 9th...

klinton · December 2019

KungFuKenny said:

There will be a free Hidden Side dragster available with purchases over $45 Jan 24th to Feb 9th...

I'm excited for another haunted contraption with which to populate Newbury. It looks to feature another member of the Hares of Havoc gang, which is freaking fantastic! I think they're my favorite minifigs in the line. :D

It once again seems to miss the opportunity to introduce people to the virtual experience though. There looks to be no colour wheel on it, and there is no level for it in the latest update. Being able to scan the minifigs and quickly dispatch a ghost doesn't quite convey the appeal of the actual virtual game experience, especially with the immersive environments they've created for the season two sets.

panchox1 · December 2019

I can see why they don't have app integration for the GWP's. Someone who doesn't know about them will have these inaccessible levels in the app and they probably want to avoid that. Personally, I wish they were there. Maybe have the GWP's packed with a code that you can enter to unlock them or something. that would be really fun.

Lyichir · December 2019

panchox1 said:

I can see why they don't have app integration for the GWP's. Someone who doesn't know about them will have these inaccessible levels in the app and they probably want to avoid that. Personally, I wish they were there. Maybe have the GWP's packed with a code that you can enter to unlock them or something. that would be really fun.

I would guess that the real reason for the lack of integration in those sets might just be a consequence of their design—GWPs lack truly unique parts or figures and I suspect they may be designed on a more condensed budget and schedule (leaving less time or resources for them to be programmed into the app game ahead of time).

That said, there's something sort of nice about having a few sets (like the GWPs or polybags) that can be designed independently of gameplay concerns like having a color wheel, platforms for figures, and other visual markers. It not only allows those smaller sets to devote more of their part count to the visuals, but also helps to inspire builders to MOC their own Hidden Side ideas without having them feel as substandard for their lack of app recognition. While the current wave of sets actually touched on the same ideas I had had for Hidden Side MOCs (like a stunt plane for El Fuego, a possessed lighthouse with a light that could turn into a ghostly eye, and a haunted funfair), I've still got plenty of other ideas I've been thinking about—things like a haunted construction site that could reuse the construction worker figs from the bus set, a haunted mini-golf course, a haunted hot air balloon, or a ghost-fighting helicopter.

On a completely different note, looking forward to the future of the theme, I'm hoping that we might get more sets like the "Inside the Hidden Side" set with physical ghosts and new versions of the human protagonists. I especially hope that the summer wave this coming year might have a larger set based on that conceit, with faded versions of characters like Parker and J.B. as well as more physical ghosts (hopefully including a blue "sad" ghost and perhaps even a bigfig-style ghost like many of the boss ghosts in the app). Maybe the bluish shadowy aesthetic of the hidden side itself could also allow for a unique take on a more "conventional" spooky subject like a haunted mansion?

One thing that would be awesome to see but I doubt will ever happen, at least not to any degree of completion, would be the release of physical versions of the boss ghosts from previous sets. There's just too many of them at this point for them all to be included in a normal-sized wave (especially since the majority of them are bigfigs who would add substantially to the cost of any set that included them), and most of their designs would require an abundance of new, complex molds (again, especially for the bigfig ghosts who would each need unique co-injected torso/head assemblies to even come close to resembling their illustrated or rendered depictions in the app and animations and matching the standard of detail established by the physical ghosts we've gotten so far).

If the theme continues beyond this year, I also wonder if it might be possible to introduce small sets that DO function in the app without having one of the larger sets. Something akin to the Nexo Knights "Ultimate" sets, with a unique fig and a small brick-built base to scan them on, might work. Perhaps they could even do something like this year's Nexo Knights arcade pods with multiple interchangeable figs in each.

klinton · December 2019

Lyichir said:

I would guess that the real reason for the lack of integration in those sets might just be a consequence of their design—GWPs lack truly unique parts or figures and I suspect they may be designed on a more condensed budget and schedule (leaving less time or resources for them to be programmed into the app game ahead of time).

That said, there's something sort of nice about having a few sets (like the GWPs or polybags) that can be designed independently of gameplay concerns like having a color wheel, platforms for figures, and other visual markers. It not only allows those smaller sets to devote more of their part count to the visuals, but also helps to inspire builders to MOC their own Hidden Side ideas without having them feel as substandard for their lack of app recognition. While the current wave of sets actually touched on the same ideas I had had for Hidden Side MOCs (like a stunt plane for El Fuego, a possessed lighthouse with a light that could turn into a ghostly eye, and a haunted funfair), I've still got plenty of other ideas I've been thinking about—things like a haunted construction site that could reuse the construction worker figs from the bus set, a haunted mini-golf course, a haunted hot air balloon, or a ghost-fighting helicopter.

On a completely different note, looking forward to the future of the theme, I'm hoping that we might get more sets like the "Inside the Hidden Side" set with physical ghosts and new versions of the human protagonists. I especially hope that the summer wave this coming year might have a larger set based on that conceit, with faded versions of characters like Parker and J.B. as well as more physical ghosts (hopefully including a blue "sad" ghost and perhaps even a bigfig-style ghost like many of the boss ghosts in the app). Maybe the bluish shadowy aesthetic of the hidden side itself could also allow for a unique take on a more "conventional" spooky subject like a haunted mansion?

One thing that would be awesome to see but I doubt will ever happen, at least not to any degree of completion, would be the release of physical versions of the boss ghosts from previous sets. There's just too many of them at this point for them all to be included in a normal-sized wave (especially since the majority of them are bigfigs who would add substantially to the cost of any set that included them), and most of their designs would require an abundance of new, complex molds (again, especially for the bigfig ghosts who would each need unique co-injected torso/head assemblies to even come close to resembling their illustrated or rendered depictions in the app and animations and matching the standard of detail established by the physical ghosts we've gotten so far).

If the theme continues beyond this year, I also wonder if it might be possible to introduce small sets that DO function in the app without having one of the larger sets. Something akin to the Nexo Knights "Ultimate" sets, with a unique fig and a small brick-built base to scan them on, might work. Perhaps they could even do something like this year's Nexo Knights arcade pods with multiple interchangeable figs in each.

If you're willing to buy into it, then there are already inexpensive sets in the theme. Even lower price points aren't going to lure in people who are not already intrigued by the concept. I don't think it's in any way essential for the GWP sets to offer virtual interaction (the Juice Bar is a brilliant little build in it's own right, and I expect more of the same with the forthcoming racer. The entire theme consists of gorgeous builds that drew me in, with zero initial regard for the virtual content), I just feel that with Lego emphasizing the virtual play aspect, they should be offering it up at every opportunity. I think promotional content might go a lot further than the store demos, no? I dunno.

As to validating original MOCs via virtual content... really? It's still a Lego theme, mate. The entire point of Lego is to think beyond what's in the box and get your creativity on. Newbury is most certainly enhanced by anything and everything you add to it. If there's anything that I personally dislike about the theme, it's the inability to modify the existing builds in order to facilitate gameplay. I'm not really one to conjure up original structures, but I seldom leave buildings exactly as they're offered. I'm constantly tweaking things until they feel perfect to me. The HS builds really limit this, due to the nature of the game interaction. I think I'll be much happier with the theme if/when the game stops offering new ghosts to catch. Then I won't feel oblidged to leave every set 'gameplay ready'. Hahaha.

I kinda dislike that there are physical ghosts, I have to say. It almost nullifies the already meager appeal of the game to me. I like that they're immaterial virtual things that you collect parallel to the physical sets and minifig characters. It really fits with the idea of them being something 'other'. (I'm also not really a fan of the ghost mold at all though. The offset in their footprint really annoys me.) If they insist on producing more though, I do hope they release some sad ones. All of my favorite ghosts in the game are sad, hahaha. Unless, of course, the three ghost minifigs represent the success of thier plans to 'return' and inhabit the physical world? Then bring it on!

The 'Hidden Side' Jack figure is kind of odd. It's so event specific that it's useless for general display (and gameplay, actually. The app doesn't even recognize it. The colouring is such that it rejects it any time you try to use him when it asks for a minifig, hahaha). I actually only recently realized that the 'Hidden Side' was an actual dimension and not just a layer of reality hidden from common observation, but revealed through JB's tech. The distinction wasn't clear until that last episode. While I'd much rather see future sets expand Newbury itself, if the same design team is behind it, I'd be full open to sets depicting Hidden Side locales (and appropriately decorated JB, Parker, and Douglas minifigs). :D

klinton · December 2019

Do you kow what I really want to see from this theme (besides a Hares of Havoc clubhouse, obviously)? There's this ominous cathedral featured in every single piece of promotional art. I would freaking love to get a large haunted cathedral build! Like, that would make me insanely happy! It's constant presence has to mean something, no?

klinton · December 2019

Does anyone else get the distinct feeling that the designers of #70431 were inspired the Masters from John Christopher's Tripod books, or even Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons? I didn't think much of it's transformed model at first until I was looking at it just now and appreciated the entire creature being represented. Suddenly, I think I like it better than the school's transformation. It looks like it's about to pull itself up out of the bedrock and gleefully gad about, wreaking havoc on Newbury.

klinton · December 2019

I was playing the buggy level today and noticed this little cameo. It seems the Hares' trike needs no rider to pull wheelies across the beach. :p

They're are never other people in the levels (other than the figures you place there), but I would think they'd make an exception here and give the trike some riders, hahaha. It's still a fun little extra.

panchox1 · January 2020

Does anyone know when the Hidden Side GWP will be available in North America?

klinton · January 2020

panchox1 said:

Does anyone know when the Hidden Side GWP will be available in North America?

Is it not January 24? I've been planning to head to the Lego Store that weekend to pick it up.

panchox1 · January 2020

klinton said:

panchox1 said:

Does anyone know when the Hidden Side GWP will be available in North America?

Is it not January 24? I've been planning to head to the Lego Store that weekend to pick it up.

I heard that for the UK. I assume it's the same. but that's a Friday. and don't they usually start offering new GWP's and promos on Mondays? the year of the rat promo starts on the 13th, which is Monday. which is why I thought I'd ask.

560Heliport · January 2020

The Year of the Rat GWP runs 13th to 26th, so I guess 24th to 26th would be the time to buy, and get both GWPs! But you run the risk of them running out of the Rat before then. :(

M1J0E · January 2020

Well I just did my first hidden side set, #70419. Cool model I thought, & have some decent plans for it. But in the meantime, decided to try playing around with the app. Why not huh?

But I really don’t get this app yet. It’ll keep telling you to degloom spots where you’re supposed to turn the color wheel. But it’s totally random whether it thinks you’ve got the right color or not. I can scan red & it finds blue spots & brings out a ghost. Which is fine, you can shoot it then, but then your battery runs out. It tells you to find more gloom spots for more battery but you can’t do that because the ghost kills you right away. Feeling old now, LOL I know I’m not in the target market age for this but still! :D.

klinton · January 2020

@M1J0E: The battery is your life bar. It depletes when you get hit, for every second you spend searching for the gloom spots, and every time you misfire while using the Degloominator wheels. You can fire off as many shots as you want, and never deplete the battery.

It's a matter of timing when you first start (it does get easier as you level up your battery life and shields). You need to destroy all of the globs of gloom and/or fire coming at you and get off shots at the ghost until it's life meter is completely drained, all the while ensuring that you don't overheat (which temporarily prevents you from firing).

It' def a bit odd at first, but once you get a feel for the mechanics, it's not so bad. :)

M1J0E · January 2020

@klinton thanks for the tips! It makes a bit more sense now & I’m kinda actually even getting better at it! Haha. Glad of that though, as this won’t be my last set from this theme. The overall aesthetic is appealing & the sets aren’t overly large or over scale that they can’t be added to others for a scene. Hey I had the game even ask me to scan a minifig for the first time since the tutorial. Not sure why, or if it makes a difference which fig. LOL I scanned the ghost hunter dude.

vanvonfull · January 2020

Loving this theme. I came for the shrimp shack & boat... now I have my eyes set on them all, eventually.

KungFuKenny · January 2020

New pics of the upcoming promo:

https://www.thebrickfan.com/lego-hidden-side-drag-racer-40408-promotional-set-official-images/

klinton · January 2020

@faaramin: why did you add a bizarre link to the quote?

Lyichir · January 2020

klinton said:

@faaramin: why did you add a bizarre link to the quote?

Brickset's forum automatically adds advertising links to random text on occasion. It ranges from harmless to annoying, but whatever it takes to keep the site solvent, I guess.

Jezzatheshed · January 2020

Loving hidden side but I find it depletes the battery on my iPhone really really fast -anyone else have this problem?

klinton · January 2020

Lyichir said:

Brickset's forum automatically adds advertising links to random text on occasion. It ranges from harmless to annoying, but whatever it takes to keep the site solvent, I guess.

It was randomly inserted right after the "klinton said:" line, not corresponding with any existing text. It was all in Arabic script, linking to a site my desktop at work flagged as unsafe (but our firewalls ard overly anal, tbh) when I investigated it. It was really odd, but it seems to be gone now. I dunno. /shrug

Jezzatheshed said:

Loving hidden side but I find it depletes the battery on my iPhone really really fast -anyone else have this problem?

It's oddly not as harsh on battery life as some other apps I use, tbh. It's literally the only app I use on that device though, so I could be comparing apples to oranges. The battery in that device hasn't been charged and recharged hundreds of times. I can do the daily 100% reqs for over a week and never charge it.

panchox1 · January 2020

klinton said:

Lyichir said:

Brickset's forum automatically adds advertising links to random text on occasion. It ranges from harmless to annoying, but whatever it takes to keep the site solvent, I guess.

It was randomly inserted right after the "klinton said:" line, not corresponding with any existing text. It was all in Arabic script, linking to a site my desktop at work flagged as unsafe (but our firewalls ard overly anal, tbh) when I investigated it. It was really odd, but it seems to be gone now. I dunno. /shrug

and I thought it was odd that my post was used to look like Faaramin had said it.

klinton · January 2020

Hmmm. I think #40408 is the first HS set that kinda fails to impress. The build is merely 'okay', really hampered by the gawd awful giant thruster at the back, permanently tilted in place. The 'transformation' is merely flipping out a pair of eyes from either side that leaves it looking more like an insect than a demonic contraption. Oddly, Dwayne doesn't feature a non-possessed head. He's permanently gloomed. It's fine enough for me, as I was planning on giving him another head to create a 'new' gang member, but it just feels a bit cheap.

At least going to get it gave me an excuse to grab the Caterbus set I was wanting. :p

klinton · January 2020

Finally, there's a new episode up! We get to meet Parker's parents!

https://youtu.be/qfC5FRMLEVI

panchox1 · January 2020

the dude at the end cracked me up. LOL

Lyichir · January 2020

Neat to see that even with new sets out we're continuing to get episodes based on elements of the old ones (like the possessed Mr. Clarke) that the previous episodes hadn't covered. That should hopefully mean we might get more episodes overall than we might expect if we were to keep getting around one episode per set.

klinton · January 2020

Lyichir said:

Neat to see that even with new sets out we're continuing to get episodes based on elements of the old ones (like the possessed Mr. Clarke) that the previous episodes hadn't covered. That should hopefully mean we might get more episodes overall than we might expect if we were to keep getting around one episode per set.

This is now the fourth episode that takes place in the school. The pilot, the one where Parker got gloomed, Lady E's crossing, and now this one. It makes sense, really. Lego wants kids to want that set.

Lyichir · January 2020

klinton said:

Lyichir said:

Neat to see that even with new sets out we're continuing to get episodes based on elements of the old ones (like the possessed Mr. Clarke) that the previous episodes hadn't covered. That should hopefully mean we might get more episodes overall than we might expect if we were to keep getting around one episode per set.

This is now the fourth episode that takes place in the school. The pilot, the one where Parker got gloomed, Lady E's crossing, and now this one. It makes sense, really. Lego wants kids to want that set.

That's right, I forgot about the one where Parker got gloomed. I had thought of the pilot and Lady E's crossing as more like bookends, starting and ending at the same place (though I guess that's not true either with the series continuing to cover wave one material).

Still, I kind of hope that some of the other wave one characters who didn't appear in earlier episodes (like Chef Enzo from the Shrimp Shack) might still get a chance to get their due before the episodes move on to mostly wave two material.

mustang69 · February 2020

Looking forward to the Hidden Side Castle that's been mentioned. That will be a definite on my list when it comes out. Cant wait to see some pictures.

panchox1 · February 2020

s@h Is offering double vip points on the Haunted Fairground right now. I get my bonus on Friday, hope that deal is still up then.

klinton · February 2020

New episode! Just in time for your purchase, @panchox1! :D

https://youtu.be/xGcAmidqpHg

panchox1 · February 2020

That was pretty fun!

msanders · February 2020

panchox1 said:

s@h Is offering double vip points on the Haunted Fairground right now. I get my bonus on Friday, hope that deal is still up then.

I`ve built this set and its so much fun! The kids love playing with the set.

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