Gnac

Eurobricks Knights
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Everything posted by Gnac

  1. Gnac
    For a while now, I have been itching to know just how LXFML files work. Although there is official documentation to explain the purpose of the <nodes>, information which details the attributes of these nodes is scarce. The most useful thing to understand would be the "transformation" attribute of the <Bone> nodes, which appears to contain data about the position and orientation of each <brick>. However, before we can even begin to try to understand the comma-seperated values here, we need to understand the LDD grid, how the application displays it to you, the user, and how it relates to the 3D Cartesian Co-ordinate System. Take a look at this image here! This is what I have learned about the LDD grid from doing a series of tests on an instance of part 3039, placed in the very centre of the LDD grid. I planned 32 test cases which resulted in all the basic positions for a brick that I could think of, and made a PHP script to read the LXFs, extract their values, and display them in a comparison table. The X, Y and Z movement values are pretty obvious, but the rotation values less so. 10 tests are pending (because I think I really should have made sense of these values by now), and I see no sense in doing them until I have an "epiphany". Seriously, Just LOOK at the changed values (in red) on that table. Could there be some sort of bitwise combinations going on with fields 1-9? My brain is getting smashed in by plastic rocks here.
  2. Gnac
    It seems that I am "AmbassadorShiveringCucumber". As expected of country grown vegetables!
  3. Gnac
    Ooo, a "Stratocaster switch" valve!
  4. Gnac
    Just spotted an unusual trick that isn't documented in the official help files... For a while now I've been making use of holding down the [Alt] key while dragging a selected part, to quickly make a copy of it (a bit like the clone tool). Seeing as I'd normally used this method to build walls quickly, I hadn't tried leaving the "cloned" part on the grid. Once I did, I noticed that the cloned part expected to "drop" at a half offset on the X and Y axes; in other words, a 1x1 brick cloned and dropped this way will expect to centre itself as if you dropped it onto an 87580. If you do the same thing with the recently cloned brick, it'll take another half X/Y offset and put the newest clone back "in system". I haven't really found a reason for this particular quirk, and until I find if it's possible to make it add an offset on only one axis, it's probably not a solution for mirroring precisely aligned parts.
  5. Gnac
    I use the battery box and siren brick from 6840 for this :| I can't make 9V batteries taste good, not even with rad herb and spice knowledge.
  6. Gnac
    Do your friends ever make excuses to refuse a dinner invitation
  7. Gnac
    I bet you they don't smell as bad as mine. Despite storing all my PF stuffage in sealed boxes with regularly refreshed mesh bags full o' rice, it all ended up smelling like an unloved 1960's analogue synthesiser. I had to do all this because I used to live above a derelict basement full of sludge, see. Everything still appears to work, but cripes the XL motors are noisier than ever.
  8. Gnac
    Bootleg parts discussion was chased out for good reason; sophistry is no excuse to re-introduce it by stealth.
  9. Gnac
    No you weren't, you made a choice
  10. Gnac
    A quick search shows many existing conduits for speculation
  11. Gnac
    These things are happening again in good ol' black! And you can thank some sort of CITY set for them. Thank it right now with the equivalent of 25 quid for 4 of them, or maybe later for a better part-to-moneys ratio if you are patient. If you're anything like me, I can wait until I accidentally forget about them.
  12. Gnac
    I am gonna BUY THE H*CK out of those strange new gearbocks bits EDIT: I like how the "quantising" on the extension ring seems better because there are twice as many notches to lock onto now. Why they didn't make that happen with the super new blue freewheelin' double bevels will probably be an underwhelming answer to a hastily-worded future question.
  13. Gnac
    I'd totally forgotten about them (even though I did add them to my offline inventory ages ago)! Most likely, those silver hubs were chosen because they're still in production for other models. An arguable advantage - considering the topic - might be that some folk would otherwise complain about snot-green hubs :|
  14. Gnac
    This sentence answers itself, really - we will get an opportunity to have those hubs in a previously unavailable colour.
  15. Gnac
    Why do I even bother making links to things
  16. Gnac
    Not the first time, probably not the last. The mystery of how they managed to insert those 11214s the wrong way around remains unsolved! Maybe their rendering process deliberately puts some "quirks" in for realism, and sometimes things go a bit too far.
  17. Gnac
    I like the fact that we're getting standard green 3x7 and 3x11 panels - some more gaps in the missing bits matrix filled. I'll be getting a couple for all the nice bits (specially the new valves).
  18. Gnac
    I dread to think how to bolt in such integral components as steering and drive motors AFTER a build is completed, while meeting product standards. They'll need some pretty hardcore bracing to not come loose or tear the surrounding build apart. Part 32054 can fulfil many needs though!
  19. Gnac
    Aw nuts, that's what I get for afternoon drinking D: Glad to help, even if by accident.
  20. Gnac
    The instructions on LEGO.com show the one with no stoppers (and a notch on the bar), so it looks like you already have the right ones.
  21. Gnac
    #4 Angle Connectors in Medium Stone Grey from that there UCS Hulkbustah HUZZAH, another hard-to-find piece that will be more abundant and affordable when it appears on Bricks & Pieces in 8 months! Now give us the yellow ones.
  22. Gnac

    How was this build?

    Gnac replied to RNRS001's topic in General LEGO Discussion

    Gah, I wish I'd looked at the thread again after messing about in LDD. Anywaaay...
  23. Gnac
    "Outer Cables" (like the ones used on the ROPS cage for 42053) have appeared in such hewge lengths as 66M (~53cm). They also have the advantage over flex axles of being thin enough to clamp at any point with standard clips.
  24. Gnac
    Just spotted two of these things in the Speed Champions set 75888 - Lego Porsche 911 RSR + 911 Turbo: NOICE.
  25. Gnac
    We sort of had something like that already, if this video has any sort of doings. On a similar and topical note to all such as Technic Merderin' Masheens, I want ALL of @allanp's pneumatic predictions about 42080 - Robotic Mantis Shrimp to come true. That would be so nice!