LEGO Universe - now free to download, with a 'Free To Play Zone'

 

  • LEGO Universe - now free to download, with a 'Free To Play Zone'

    Posted by bluemoose, 15 Aug 2011 19:37. Filed under Miscellaneous.

    55000: LEGO Universe Massively Multiplayer Online Game
    Gear/Video Games/PC, 2010
    More details...
    ©2010 LEGO Group

    From Lego -

    "Let Your Imagination Run Wild in LEGO® Universe: Free to play launches

    The Battle has Begun!Team up with friends to Save the Universe as Gates Open to Unlimited Free to Play Zone
     
    August 15, 2011 - LEGO® Universe, the MMOG (massively-multiplayer online game), is now welcoming new players to traverse the LEGO brick-building digital universe with its newly introduced Free to Play Zone. Fans will be able to enjoy the game for free for as long as they like, with the option to upgrade to a membership account at any time (for $10 USD per month) and receive full game access.
     
    The LEGO Universe free-to-play experience offers a selection of game content, including two adventure zones and one player property area for building your own virtual LEGO models as well as access to thousands of other players’ properties. Paying members will have access to all areas in the full game, along with membership benefits such as competitions and community events. In addition to the 15+ robust adventure zones and instances as well as 5+ property worlds currently in-game, access to new expansions, like major Ninjago content coming later this year, will require players to register for full membership.
     
    Here’s a list of all the cool stuff Free to Play players can do in LEGO Universe:
    ·         Custom build one LEGO hero
    ·         Interact with in-game friends
    ·         Collect up to 10,000 coins
    ·         Earn Universe Score to level up
    ·         Play through The Venture Explorer
    ·         Play through Avant Gardens
    ·         Join the Nexus Force
    ·         Sample Faction Gear
    ·         Play the Survival mini-game
    ·         Claim the Avant Gardens Block Yard Property
    ·         Fight the Spider Queen
    ·         Place LEGO models you have collected
    ·         Build LEGO models of your own
    ·         Bring LEGO models to life
    ·         Visit thousands of other players’ Properties
     
    And here’s the list of full membership benefits:
     
    If you haven't played LEGO Universe yet, now is the time! Not only can you play for free, but the game is now easier to access; available via free digital download only. Log in today, and see just how far your creativity can go to save Imagination in LEGO Universe. Read more in the full Free to Play announcement, and answer the call at:

    34 comments, latest one posted 21 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by collectormom in United States, 15 Aug 2011 19:56

We might actually check this out now. Free is always good, right?

Posted by yys4u in United States, 15 Aug 2011 20:06

Cool I'm downloading it now!! I played the Beta and have been really interested to see if they exacted many of their mistakes..

Posted by IlovePowerMiners in United Kingdom, 15 Aug 2011 20:17

I'll have to do this...

Posted by kipper147 in United States, 15 Aug 2011 20:32

well i'm sure glad they finally got around to this...honestly i think they should have released this WAAAYYY sooner. it's too much money for the target audience, and the people who have the money for memberships usually dont have time for this. I just downloaded the free-play and....ya

Posted by yys4u in United States, 15 Aug 2011 21:57

Well after playing for about 30 mins and having the game crash on me. My conclusion: it still sucks

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 15 Aug 2011 22:20

I'm definitely joining!

Posted by m8anU1 in Australia, 15 Aug 2011 22:31

i got the game it rocks.

Posted by The_Box in United States, 15 Aug 2011 23:18

It's been free to download since at least Saturday when I actually did that. What I can say after a half hour of play is that it's a fun game. It should have been this way since the beginning. Maybe after I start playing it a few more times and I get to see the NinjaGo expansion, I might end up getting the membership,

Posted by aaronptrck in United States, 15 Aug 2011 23:38

Game instantly freeze after I login on my MacBook Pro... That's my MacBook Pro with 8GB of memory! :(

Posted by kipper147 in United States, 16 Aug 2011 01:43

alright, well i played for about 3 hours i think (lost track of time), and it's great. a little be slow (story-wise) but overall a pretty good game. the membership fee also dropped about $5 USD i believe, and if it drops another $5USD then i will defenatly get a membership

Posted by Galactus in Netherlands, 16 Aug 2011 02:07

@The_Box "access to new expansions, like major Ninjago content coming later this year, will require players to register for full membership." So you will need the membership first to check it out...

@kipper147 so you'll only get a membership if it's for free? (two times a $5 drop on a $10 a month price)

Posted by yys4u in United States, 16 Aug 2011 02:47

It dropped 5 bucks really?? I'd probably pay for at least a couple months if its only 5. My problem is there are small glitches still, like objects disappearing, battles kinda screwy. It's a lot better than the beta I'll admit tho. And unless they more than doubled the length of the game a dedicated player can get through it in about 2 months. maybe a little shorter

Posted by The Cobra in Italy, 16 Aug 2011 03:27

Did the whole world sign in? Lego Universe is "down for maintenance".

Posted by jjr in Netherlands, 16 Aug 2011 03:49

Finnaly after such a long time Lego realizes that we want to play it for free, I would have paid the normal money for the game but after that I don't think many parents would again pay regular to let their child play it :)

Posted by The_Box in United States, 16 Aug 2011 05:23

@Galactus: what I meant was when I see pictures of the NinjaGo expansion it might persuade me in getting a membership.

Posted by Starwarsgeek500 in United States, 16 Aug 2011 10:33

FINALLY!!! I guess it took the game almost becoming one of the least popular internet MMORPG for the LEGO people to do what all the successful MMORPGs do when they're FIRST LAUNCHED!

Posted by legomaniac101 in United States, 16 Aug 2011 12:28

They should make the whole game free. Not just two areas. Soon a never ending battle between F2P(free to play) and P2P(pay to play) players will soon begin....

Posted by Gandalf1 in United States, 16 Aug 2011 13:55

Cool! The game didn't seem to be doing very well, since they keep putting up ads everywhere and having sales and discounts. Now they FINALLY have a free version, like they should have had from the beginning!

Posted by coolpix in United States, 16 Aug 2011 14:36

I might try it now!

Posted by Rotor_Head in Canada, 16 Aug 2011 16:42

I makes more sense from a marketing stand point. I usually stay away from the subscription based games but if I could try one and see if I liked it... well who knows... once trying it I just might see value in the monthly fee... well that's maybe a stretch but I'm sure many people would.

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 16 Aug 2011 18:19

Lego has finally made a good decision for this game. Still, won't get it. My reasons? One is that I ain't paying ten bucks a month for a game. PERIOD. Two is that my computer is archaic, and the game would most likely break it.
Turn LU into a console game and have the sub. price reduced to 0$ then I'll get. I feel bad for Lego, for something that had so much anticipation it sorta turned out to be a flop.

Posted by BooMakuta! in United States, 16 Aug 2011 19:41

Everyone knows TLG is doing this because LU stunk and 75% of fans don't like it, myself included. I feel that it looks extremely corny.

Posted by LEGOSLUG in New Zealand, 16 Aug 2011 20:59

About time too isn't it? I mean, c'mon everyone, this is a LEGO game we are talking about, online too.
Online games should be free-especially a LEGO game. I will not be downloading the game, even if it IS free, I have been put off LEGO UNIVERSE forever, it should have been free from the start. Even though this is a smart idea on LEGO's part, I think the majority of LEGO fans will give this a miss.

(P.S. itsaturkey is right- LU is a flop!)

Posted by kipper147 in United States, 16 Aug 2011 22:45

ya, the "free-to-play" barely lets you do anything. its a demo that doesnt have a time limit. TLC should have made this F2P from the beggining, and then added in Member's stuff...

Posted by knuclear200x in United States, 17 Aug 2011 02:42

I...LOVE IT. I also appreciate collision detection for once in an MMO, and no crashes either. Too bad the exploration is limited, which i didn't expect in a free game. I just thought there'd be weapons and features we couldnt have, but those are the case anyway.

Posted by Hob in United Kingdom, 17 Aug 2011 06:32

Finallt downloaded it as my computer was playing up and am really enjoying it. Wish it was complelty free as i wouldn't pay 7.99 a month for full version.

Hope thy make it fuly free to all soon.

Posted by Zacherano in United States, 17 Aug 2011 10:31

I downloaded the game for free, but so far it seems mediocre at best. I was hoping to see fantastical Lego spires built into the game, and the ability to build and use whatever you want, but so far I am disappointed. The best thing so far is the minifigure monument in Avant Gardens. :-) Still, I am not a gamer, and probably never will be.

Posted by vynsane in United States, 17 Aug 2011 18:06

I bought the game for $10 a few months ago because they were still offering the Nexus Astronaut figure as a freebie with purchase (missed out on the rocket, but whatev) and a free month of play (I think that was basically standard, though). I'm not upset that it's now free, because I got the minifigure in addition which I wouldn't have gotten by downloading the free-to-play version. What I'm wondering is whether or not I can log in to LU through the disc version and access the free-to-play areas now that my free month is up, or do I need to download the new version in order to play without a subscription? Or is there some sort of software update that will upgrade the installed disc version to work with free-to-play? I just got a new MacBook Pro, and haven't installed LU on it yet, and would like to know whether or not it's a waste of my time to do so.

Posted by The Reviewer in United States, 18 Aug 2011 00:42

This is stupid, Doesn't lego know that people would rather be building real lego bricks not digital computer ones

Posted by yys4u in United States, 18 Aug 2011 03:25

@vynsane thats a good question... Hopefully you can still play the free version. I agree with you about the fig though, I got him a while ago by trading with a friend who had bought the game and I like him. I mean its simple enough, but he was one of my first little exclusive things.

Posted by Skywalker1966 in United States, 19 Aug 2011 17:49

Well... at least LEGO is finally doing what they should have done from the beginning, offer the game for free to start and then have players buy memberships if they like it. That would most surely have helped at the start. I just hope that it is not too late for LU...

@Zacherano: Unfortunately, the only spires you will see in game are those at the "Siege at Bat Lord Towers". I was pretty disappointed to not see many things in the trailer actually in-game. However, as they just implemented a fix for the property bugs, my property on Nimbus will be going up and should be operational by October. I hope to show what I really was hoping for LU to be like... By the way, what is your in-game name? I'd be happy to help you find your way around the excessively small zones. : )

@The Reviewer: The fun of the game is pretending that you are a minifig playing around in your very own fantastical creations. On that same note, LU would be more fun if it actually HAD fantastical creations. As is, it is mainly just a plastic smash fest, centered on destroying as many enemies as you can. Even further killing the LEGO idea is that you are a minifig who has been recruited to the "Nexus Force" (or, in my little world, the Nexus Farce because it is a joke and insult to LEGO) and your sole purpose is to "save Imagination" by "fighting the Maelstrom". I am just wondering where the LEGO Universe of exploring, building and the old trailers went...

Posted by vynsane in United States, 21 Aug 2011 12:29

Just FYI to everyone who previously played the free month that comes with the physical media edition and then let it lapse - you need a separate LEGO ID to log in and play Free-To-Play, as your progress and minifigure data are stored in your 'main' LEGO ID account. From their KB:
____________________________________

If I decide to stop my Membership, can I go back to Free to Play?

Free to Play is open to all adventurers, no matter if they are new recruits or have been members of the Nexus Force already. However, you will need another LEGO ID to play for free, as your Minifigures and their progress will stay saved on your member account, even if you don't have an active Membership.

This way, even if you need a break from the Maelstrom and its pesky helpers, your Minifigures are ready to continue their adventures with you if you renew your Membership!
___________________________________

I understand the reasoning, but think it's a bit kludgy - they could have easily added a fifth minifigure to your account that would be used in Free-To-Play only instead of this odd work-around.

Posted by The Creator Horacio in Chile, 23 Aug 2011 17:40

This Rocks,but if only i could go to the nimbus station it could be awesome

Posted by markg11cdn in Canada, 25 Aug 2011 08:54

I downloaded this last night and tried it out with my six year old son. I was really surprised at how terrible this game was. I expected something close to the LEGO Star Wars that we've been playing on our old XBOX. The scenery and characters in the LU game are terrible in comparison.

- game control was clunky (no gamepad support?)
- some of the text boxes are difficult to read
- game start was really slow (too much downloading)
- lot's of lag
- game froze up a number of times
- game crashed 2 or 3 times in the 20 minutes we played

I'm guessing the target audience must be a little older than my son. He can play and finish just about all of LEGO Star Wars but this game was a little more tricky. The keyboard/mouse interface certainly didn't help.

Whatever LEGO paid to get this made was too much. I hope they dump this lemon and go back to their core product, I don't want them to have to jack up the price of LEGO to cover the losses on LU.

Commenting has ended on this article.