Difference between Standard and Extended modes.

[Inferno986return]

Hi all,

I have been using LDD for a quite a while now and I don't understand the full deal between the standard and extended modes. I know that extended adds bricks, but does that mean pick-a-brick does not work with them?

Inferno986return

[Aanchir]

Hi all,

I have been using LDD for a quite a while now and I don't understand the full deal between the standard and extended modes. I know that extended adds bricks, but does that mean pick-a-brick does not work with them?

Inferno986return

Pick-A-Brick doesn't work with either mode. Back in the day, instead of standard mode, there was a mode called Design byME mode that had the same brick selection as the online Pick-A-Brick, though there was no direct way of creating a Pick-A-Brick order through the LDD software-- you could order bricks through Design byME itself, which was a separate service, but that cost at least $25 percent more in parts alone plus a $10 additional surcharge for a custom box and instruction manual (you could opt out of the custom box and manual, I believe, but the surcharge was not dropped).

Nowadays, standard mode has about the same interface as Design byME mode, but with no function for ordering parts. Generally the difference between standard mode and Extended Mode is that the former is limited to part and color combinations that exist in real life (though there are numerous examples that have never been released for use outside LEGO Headquarters, and so aren't available to the average builder), and the latter allows for any part in any color (at least, out of those programmed into the LDD software). LDD Extended Mode also gets quicker updates than standard mode, since when a part is added to the LDD software it usually appears in Extended Mode immediately but part-color combinations have to be entered individually into standard mode's palette by the LDD team.

There is one additional change in the latest version that makes standard LDD Mode a lot more useful: the ability to generate custom brick palettes. Read how in this post.

[Inferno986return]

Thanks that does sum that up, I haven't used LDD in a truly proper fashion since 2007 when DesignByMe was still alive and kicking. I lament Lego deprecating the service especially when I reach the ultimate situation when I want to order a model I made in the designer as physical bricks. Apparently that's done with BOM.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Inferno986return

[Methesda]

Hi Inferno.

I've just come out of my Dark Ages, and as space and time is a premium for me, I've begun to use LDD, but like yourself, I found I was stonewalled at the parts ordering stage.

I've found that the combination of LDD, LDD2POVRay(and POVray for rendering hi-quality visualisations), and then LDDManager (Found at this thread) which generates order lists for Bricklink, has not only provided the same functionality, but seems to be better (rendering really inspires and gives a great visualisation of your project) as Bricklink ordering is on the whole more fully stocked than pick-a-brick (compare the 1600 or so bricks available there with the 2500+ bricks available on Bricklink).

I highly recommend you give these a go, as they will get you going without too much hassle. The hardest part for me was actually learning to use the Bricklink website itself!

Feel free to message me if you want any help getting this stuff set up, as of course, I've already gone through the experience.

Edited November 13, 2012 by Methesda