JopieK

I haven't tried them out yet :( look nice though.

that tetrix stuff is also used for the FIRST Tech Challenge and believe me it is totally crap. My students were quite disappointed about the quality and it costs a lot to get it over here in europe. Maybe those bricklink items are a bit better, but well, I don't like using it at all. B.t.w. those bricklink parts don't look like Tetrix at all so I doubt that it is tetrix, seems more like someone who has access to a CNC mill.

How about this ;)

Well this version looks very nice indeed. First vid is very promising, better building instructions I hope (with all the others here). Nice to see it is done on a Mac ;)

Well just think very hard, this popstar is very doable, instead of the traffic cop, that I didn't find yet :)

But where are the tentacles?! Maybe patrick from spongebob could be sarcificed for that ;) (or any other ideas?!)

Well, upload it to e.g. google and then link it. That is how I do it. Will you also show it at LEGOWorld?!

How would you use PID control on a LEGO train then?! It is kind of strange for a train to use PID, it is more suitable for robots isn't it?! Update: after seeing the nice video, I understand what you mean, but that is not PID, it is more like the servo principal. I like the idea very much however.

Well, nice contest ;) I also found the first one. That wasn't very hard! A good starter I think!

I think it is stupid that LEGO already got rid of series 1. We AFOL's are likely to buy a whole bunch of them also using our scanner tricks getting full series. But I don't have all of them (the robot and the skater I think). Now in the store I visited they just had 2 (although I hoped to still get some 1 series). Why is LEGO always giving the impression that they can earn more money than they are earning with ease.

Well, if you don't know any program with that function, you better think about games. Also tools like Blender support this using in that case the Blender game engine: http://www.ingiebee.com/tutorials/Blender%202%20tutorial%20The%20Blender%20Game%20Engine.htm Adding physics to 3d models is often very important and even almost necessary to make a game with it.

What I see in the XML file is: <Cameras> <Camera refID="1" fieldOfView="80" distance="207.7166595458984375" transformation="0.745532572269439697265625,0,-0.66646921634674072265625,-0.2326819896697998046875,0.93707573413848876953125,-0.2602851092815399169921875,0.624532043933868408203125,0.349126398563385009765625,0.698620378971099853515625,134.8406219482421875,62.021808624267578125,131.483428955078125"/> </Cameras> <Bricks cameraRef="1"> ... So apparently more cams can be used (the file format supports it at least), and you can assign a camera to groups of bricks. An other interesting find is this: <Group transformation="1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0" pivot="0,0,0" ... So we could also in theory make a tool that lets you really animate objects...

but then without the plate (maybe a square one with studs on both sides would even be better). So that one could even make better use of SNOT. I think some alternative brands have that one. Army green as a new color would also be great next to the other green colors: RGB #4B5320 If one doesn't understand it, click here but then a 1 x 1 version. I agree with others about: - Cheese Slope double convex - round plate 1 x 1

You don't need graphical programming, using windows messages would also be nice already, but still, it doesn't give you a lot of feedback of course. I'm not sue wether that is possible, but maybe it could even become a photoshop plugin. Problem with windows is that the applications are not normally scriptable. In Mac OS most applications are so no real programming (just Applescript) is required although I don't think this is usable with LDD for Mac (but didn't look into it so it is a wild guess). In fact looking at havok.com it might be that LDD is just an application built around the havok.com tools: http://www.havok.com/index.php?page=general-information

I did the Town Hall myself also, (looking first could have saved some time, but was fun anyway ;)). Allthough not all bricks are buyable (some wrong colors and the outer cables aren't there in that length), the Town Hall alone costs 105.71€ without the Bride and Groom.

Well there are more elegant ways then to unzip the file. What we first need is then an unzip algorithm and an XML parser. The only thing is that I'm not too good at graphical programming, that would be the ideal solution. An alternative might be to 'hack' into the existing interface of LDD by using keyhooks.

Well, first of all, lxf seems to be a binary format file. I can export the XML in LDD of course, but is there any info on how the lxf is built?!

Well, mono is just a virtual .Net platform. I don't use it but I have installed parallels and use it in coherence mode (then you can also visually use Mac and Windows applications next to eachother (although underwater they are separated of course).

Well, I would be very eager to hear it. Using your tips I should also make an application that can do this but I'm not too good a Mac programmer, maybe in Java then (or in C# under windows but I don't like windows).

Well, that is true, I was also hoping to be able to go from LDD to Blender or so. I noticed that LEGO has a special render application because the "Design By ME" box is definitely rendered using raytracing etc. If one wants too look inside that virtual environment (not working in some IE version according to my girlfriend): eurobricks / eurobricks is a valid username / login I already came up with this idea quite some time ago. It will be a mix of an adventure (like monkey island), some contemporary internet games and a collaborative or complex learning environment. I will let students (and in future maybe also other teachers) develop part of it. Subjects like basic math, counting money, information retrieval and language learning will be among the subjects taught in the environment. Factors like fun and motivation will be a very important part. Hope you enjoy the basics already ;) BlocksWorld

EDIT by regulator: I thought this was such an intersting idea, that I made a new topic out of it. Hope that was OK. Especially the CMD-K (ctrl+K on windows?!) option is very handy... It is not very difficult to make animations in that way: Here you can see the scene it is used in: BlocksWorld (not yet finished and also not totally IE proof, but gives a good idea)

Sorry Ralph (and others), I was not paying attention indeed.

I don't agree with that analogy. Virtual building serves a different purpose. I would go more with the analogy of software or (real) building design. A good engineer always starts with a blueprint or some (e.g. UML) analysis based model. Then (s)he builds the real thing. That is why I really like those tools. I have used LDraw for years now, but since 2.0+ versions of LDD I have (for most part) switched to that. For making e.g. stop motion (or in my case a virtual environment), taking pictures in the photo tent from real LEGO is much less convenient than using LDD and/or other virtual building tools. One can also see the design in non-existing colors and one doesn't have to seek for elements time and time again (we have too much LEGO in a too small room).

Well, it would be nice, I didn't see all doctor who episodes, but at least some... A nice dark blue phone booth etc ;)

Then I was just not looking hard enough in the old version ;) My mistake.