They screwed up the formula in the early 2000s, with what is commonly known in AFOL circles as "Juniorization" - lots of big specialized pieces replacing what u

They screwed up the formula in the early 2000s, with what is commonly known in AFOL circles as "Juniorization" - lots of big specialized pieces replacing what used to be made out of multiple pieces. Think an entire car chassis, in one piece. They turned things around again in the late 2000s, and in some cases, have gone a bit too far in the other direction, in my opinion. Some sets are overwhelmed with tiny 1x1, 2x1, etc pieces where larger ones (though still from the basic brick set) would be stronger structurally, and wouldn't inflate the piece count as much.