Buildings
The LEGO Rock Raiders PC Video game featured a variety of different buildings that could be constructed to assist with mining operations. While some of the buildings are virtually identical to what we saw released in physical LEGO sets, many of the buildings were created solely for the game.
In the section below we’ll go through the buildings one-by-one and compare the in-game versions to the variants that appeared in the instruction manual that came with the video game.
Note: Some of the ‘prototype’ renders were discovered a few years back in the Data Design Interactive content dump. Thanks to Baraklava for making that accessible.
Tool Store
In-Game Version
- Central space for Rock Raiders to teleport to
- Construction fences lights are a mix of neon green and orange and the
Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Headlightpieces are Light Gray - Has Neon-Trans Green mailboxes on either side
Manual Version
- More focused on tool storage
- Includes extra dynamite on the pallet
- Includes a walkie-talkie
- Construction fences lights are all neon green and the
Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Headlightpieces are Dark Turqoise
Teleport Pad
In-Game Version
- Almost identical to a portion of the base in
4990 The Rock Raiders HQ - The Trans-Neon Orange
Plate, Round 1 x 1are missing from the in-game model. This was likely done to simplify the model and reduce poly count. - The
Bar 1 x 4 x 2 with Studspieces in the set are Light Grey but appear Dark Turqoise in the game version. This could be a mistake by DDI since the piece has never been produced in that color. In an early screenshot namedJan191999the bar pieces were seen in Light Gray.
Manual Version
- This appears to have been reused for the central portion of the in-game version of the Tool Store.
Docks
In-Game Version
- Has
Yellow Tile 1 x 4 with Black and Yellow Danger Stripespieces with aYellow Plate 1 x 2on the roof.
Manual Version
- Has headlights on the sides.
Prototype
- An early render from DDI displayed an alternate version of the docks.
- This version is L-shaped and presumably would need to be built on a corner where land intersects water.
- Does not contain a
Vehicle, Tipper Bed Smalllike the later versions do for unloading cargo.
Power Station
In-Game Version
- The top portion of the Power Station is identical to a portion of the base in
4990 The Rock Raiders HQ. - Construction fence
Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Headlightpieces are Red and Blue - The 3-tall slope pieces are lined up in a row.
- The Black Ribbed Hose connects into the side of the main power station tower in a way that is physically impossible with the
Yellow Tile 1 x 4 with Black and Yellow Danger Stripestile. One workaround is to elevate the tower by moving the rest of the pieces 1 plate higher
Manual Version
- Construction fence
Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Headlightpieces are Dark Gray - The 3-tall slope pieces in the front are inset
- The Black Ribbed Hose connects into the
Dark Gray Slope 45 2 x 2 with Black and Yellow Danger Stripes Patternin a physically impossible way
Prototype
- The filename of an early render from DDI revealed that the tower was originally meant to be the Ore Refinery.
- This version only had the tower portion of the model.
- This early version was seen in an early screenshot named ‘Jan191999’
Support Station
- In-game and manual versions appear almost identical
- One difference is that the manual render has two Yellow
Plate 2 x 4on top of the foundation
Prototype
- Extracting files from the LRR PC game revealed that the Support Station is named Barracks internally
- The first render is missing a portion of the roof including the
3 Cross with Domewith caution stripes.
Upgrade Station
In-Game Version
- Almost identical to a portion of the base in
4990 The Rock Raiders HQ - The in-game version has a brown chain like the physical set
- The gap underneath the crane cab is filled in, presumably to reduce poly count.
- It’s unclear why the 8x8 part underneath the crane is seen in Dark Turqoise here, and whether the Dark Grey portion is intended to be the height of a single plate.
- It’s likely that DDI was taking creative liberties with this approach, potentially to create a sharper visual contrast between the foundation and the Upgrade Station.
Manual Version
- The manual version has a dark gray chain
- The
Crane Arm Outsideappears Black in the render instead of Dark Gray like in the physical set and the in-game version - Notably, it has a magnet at the attachment end of the chain
- It also has a set of Trans-Neon Green
Plate, Round 1 x 1pieces arranged in a circle on the ground
Prototype
- Two prototype renders of the Upgrade Station exist
- The first has a Red
Crane Arm Outsidewith no magnet attachment and a brown chain - The second has a Black
Crane Arm Outsidewith a dark gray chain - Both of these versions sit on the edge of a large rectangular piece
Geological Center
In-Game Version
- The Radar dish is a copy of the one seen in
4970 The Chrome Crusher - Lacks the
Antenna Small Basepieces, presumably to reduce poly count. - The internals of the cockpit are obscured by a black texture.
Manual Render
- The
Slope 45 2 x 2 with Rock Raiders Patternappears Dark Gray here, but it was only ever produced in Dark Turqoise
Prototype
- An early render of the Geological Center shows a 3D wireframe indicating that it was meant to have two cockpits back-to-back
- It also had a Light Gray roll cage, seen in many of the physical prototypes that LEGO produced for Rock Raiders
Ore Refinery
In-Game Version
- Missing the Neon-Trans Green Antenna piece
- Presumably this was done by DDI to reduce the poly count.
Manual Version
- At first glance the Yellow plate underneath the Technic liftarm appears to be 2 x 10, but that’s an optical illusion.
- In the prototype render below, we can see that the plate is 2 x 8 and there’s a separate Yellow plate on the base piece.
Prototype
- An early render named ‘CrystalRefinery’ indicates that this was originally intended to be used for crystals instead of ore.
Mining Laser
In-Game Version
- The Mining Laser is a shortened version of the one seen in
4990 The Rock Raiders HQ - The in-game one has a version of Sparks with no helmet
- It does not contain the antenna or 1x1 round plate, probably to reduce the poly count.
- The Yellow ladders are also simplified to reduce the poly count.
Manual Version
- Does not have a minifigure on it
- Has the antenna and 1x1 round plate
Prototype
- There are 3 separate prototype renders of the mining tower.
- MiningTower is identical to the manual render, from a different angle.
- Tower is an exact copy of the Mining Laser from
4990 The Rock Raiders HQ - The name of AdvMiningTower implies that there was a plan to have the taller version of the Mining Laser as an in-game upgrade, but it was scrapped during development.
Super Teleport
In-Game Version
- The center of the the Super Teleport is identical to the in-game Teleport Pad
- Just like in the Teleport Pad model, the
Bar 1 x 4 x 2 with Studspieces appear Dark Turqoise but were never produced in that color.
Manual Version
- Does not include an 8x8 Dark Gray part below the central Teleport Pad
Prototype
- A prototype version of Super Teleport was named
TeleportCentre - The outer pillars from the back corners ended up in the final version
- The Black 4x4 Tile with Arrow appears to be a nonexistent part.
Electric Fence
Although it does not appear in the manual, the electric fence is easy to assemble.
Prototype Version
- In the Rock Raiders Design document, we see a primitive early version of the Electric Fence.
- The alpha channels on the image appear to have been lost, giving it a black background.
Canteen
The Canteen was never included in the actual game, but the mesh and texture were discovered recently and Baraklava re-created it.