Caverns of Ta-Wahi

Fitting music: In the Bowels of Norfair

The trend of BIONICLE models coming to Garry's Mod continues.  After being teased with weapons and then masks, we finally have ragdolls of the Toa model used for the work-in-progress "Legend of the Toa" Skyrim mod, thanks to Deika.  Of course, anyone hoping to see representations of any canon characters will have to wait a little longer, since Deika has only thus far uploaded MOCharacters.

Of course, knowing me and how impatient I am, I simply couldn't wait and set out to find my own means of recreating nostalgic childhood memories.  Thanks to the submaterial tool, I was able to take advantage of the conveniently basic texture sheets of these models, swap them around with each other (and with some other LEGO models), and voila - instant Toa Mata (just add water)!

Now, isn't this so much better than what BIONICLE: The Game had to offer?  Though, don't feel bad, Segatendo12 - you did a fine job porting those models, and we still owe a lot to you... besides, you still have the only Toa Nuva and Makuta models in GMod.

Next step: finding a decent volcanic map.  Unfortunately, those are quite rare to come by in GMod.  Sure, there's gm_Lair, but my computer hates that map and rates it a 7.8/10 because "too much water".  I could use Helltower's underworld, but that's a little too cartoony for this artstyle.  This year's "Best Drama" Saxxy Award winner showed a fantastic volcanic area... but, of course, that's SFM.  In the end, I settled for a Perfect Dark Source map that had this nice little volcanic corner... however, while the map creator decided to include enough heat to visually distort the map, not everything would distort the same way, making it a little awkward to make a picture when Tahu's sword would suddenly grow blurry at times while Tahu himself remained crystal-clear.

Because Tahu posing in a map with a sword wasn't enough for me, I decided to spruce it up just a little with some background details.  Namely, I took a few Kanohi masks, applied the same material used for the volcanic rocks in this map, and then placed them on the rocks to look like ancient carvings.  That's what always stood out to me about those early years of BIONICLE... ancient carvings and sacred statues that gave the fictional world a sense of history and culture.

Personally, I can't wait to see what lies in store for the future of BIONICLE in Garry's Mod.  Will we see more models from this fantastic-looking mod?  Maybe the nasty Nui-Jaga?  Or perhaps the legendary Kini-Nui?

BIONICLE belongs to The LEGO Group.  Garry's Mod belongs to Garry Newman.