Scrubs

I created another post in this forum to index the official sets released with mecabricks.

I set up two up-to-date CSV lists of LEGO sets and minifigures. [update] I deleted the list of URLs redirecting to the models. Just go to the library page on mecabricks.com and you can browser the models by themes. For more information about mecabricks and a quick introduction to the software, please see the related topic.

I might try to make a test page sometime next week to load and visualise 3D models on a touchscreen including basic controls like rotation/move/zoom.

I tried it on the Galaxy S3 of a friend today. Effectively it works (except for the rotation & zoom controls). It looks pretty cool actually.

Yeah, apparently WebGL is only activated for iAd on iOS... It's a little bit of a shame. I'd be happy to create a version optimised for touchscreen devices otherwise .

For the decorated parts, the technical way it actually works is the one you described. I have only one geometry file for the part and the only difference is the image file loaded as a texture. However in my part table, effectively if the texture is different, it actually counts as one more part. Your part request system is pretty interresting. I really like the idea. I'll try to see how easy it is to quickly include it. For now, in the properties menu, you can specify if the model you are building is an official set, an official minifigure or a moc (it is used to sort the models in the gallery). For the official sets, the user only needs to enter the set ID and mecabricks retrieves the information from brickset. However i don't think they provide a part list. Yes, I really need to provide the possibility to save a local copy. I'd feel safer too when I build a model! It's always stressful when it's time to save. I pray for my internet connection to be good... even if it never crashed yet for me. The last idea you developped is also really interesting. I never really thought about that custom palette system but it could be really useful. I need to think about too. Thanks a lot for all those great ideas!

Yes, the number of parts kinda refers to Design IDs but also includes the decorated elements (~100 mainly minifigs torsos and heads). For now there is a mix of new and old parts. I brought to new zealand a lot of my old sets from the 80s - early 90s and I also have new ones from 2011 up to today. So depending on which one I want to model it can be new or old parts. If a user needs a part(s) I have no problem to make it (them) straight away. It generally takes a few minutes for the most simple parts to an hour for more complex ones (I don't really like making minifig wigs they are pretty hard ). You can send me a message using the contact us form in the help menu of the tool bar in the workshop or even here on eurobricks. Just indicate the part IDs you want. For now there is no compatibility with LDD or LDraw. I was thinking about it at some stage but it's quite a big work as I would need to create a translation table for the position/rotation for each parts. It's more a time issue. Otherwise for the performances, I didn't reach the limit of the system but I didn't really do any tests. I already opened a model with about 10,000 parts and it was ok to use on my computer which is from 2008 with the antialiasing activated. A year ago I tried to generate and display a wall of 100,000 2X2 bricks. I managed to display it in safari even if it was slow to move or rotate but chrome had a limit for the number of 3D objects that could be displayed if I remember. For the language files, I could do that actually. The dutch language is already coming from a user who translated my files. I'll tried to tidy it up and set up something at some stage to simplify the translation process. I just saw your last question about the files that wasn't here when I started to write my answer . So the files are actually saved on the mecabricks server. They can be public or private (default setting). There is a file manager that you can access when you are logged in. You can create folders and organise your models using the drag & drog method. Anybody can also access the gallery page to view and search for all the public models. So basically you can work on your models from any computer having the WebGL capability. As a safety net, even if you can only access the last version of your model, I keep all of them on the server (however if you delete the model, all the other backups are deleted too). It already happened that users asked me to recover a previous version of their model!

Hi, I just updated the first post of this topic to put more useful information about the software. I will keep it up to date in the future. Cheers

Yes of course, There are now about 800 parts and still growing.

Hello, Here are the last models I made on Mecabricks. They are 2 modular buildings - Grand Emporium (10211) and Pet Shop (10218). I put them together to take this screenshot. This weekend, I'll try to reorganise the first post of this topic to present better the functions of the software, list the official lego sets already made and so on. I also made a that I uploaded on youtube to show how to use some of the tools to build a little lego frog.

6. sdrnet - 2 18. Priotvit - 2 13. Emma - 1

Hello, I guess if possible, maybe use only "Mecabricks" I saw that my first post needed an update after the migration. of course it sounds like a good idea to use it to put the info relative to mecabricks. I'll do that.

Kia Ora, I released the second version of the mecabricks workshop today which I think improves a lot the ease of use. A new tool bar is located on the top of the page: File: open / import / save / properties / new scene Help: Tools / shortcuts Camera orientation Render mode: texture / wireframe Grid: small / medium / large Snap selection to grid Pivot Point. relative to selection origin or cursor 3D. Display grid Display transformation axes Reference system global or local Initialise position and rotation of selection Create a new folder in the hierarchy Duplicate selection Delete selection You can now look for parts in the library using their names or references. To organise the project (parts, folders) you can use the drag and drop functionnality with multiple objects. It is possible to lock a folder which means that you won't be able to open it or add elements in it. If you click on one of its parts in the scene you will select all the parts from this folder. To move parts you can use the axes. Pull the arrow corresponding to the axis (press ESC if you wish to cancel the move). Or press G to start the translation, then X, Y or Z to constrain the translation along a particular axis in the global reference system and X, Y or Z again to constrain the translation in the local reference system. Same method to rotate de parts but use the R key instead of G. For the camera, no change. It is better to use a 3 buttons mouse, but keyboard is enough. Zoom: mouse wheel (or CTRL + mouse) Move: right button (or SHIFT + mouse) Rotation: middle button (or A +mouse) Don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer

Today I modeled the set 10216 - Winter Village Bakery in mecabricks and added about 50+ parts in the library. Only the light brick is missing here.

I keep working on mecabricks and adding parts - about 500 now. Here is one of the last set I designed. This is the set 6595 - Surf Shack.

Hello, A month after, I kept improving mecabricks and there are now 400+ parts in the library which shall allow to build more awesome stuff. It has also been accepted on the chrome experiment website by google, which I'm proud of .

I'm glad that this one got 10000 supporters too! I supported it when it was at about 5000 and I basically only went back on the cuusoo website to check the status. Anyway, congratulation to mb_bricks. I hope lego will accept this project!

I found a page on the wiki of the khronos group in charge of webgl that is about white and black lists: http://www.khronos.org/webgl/wiki/BlacklistsAndWhitelists

I tried to export Ldraw parts in STL format using LDView to import them with Blender but I need to rework them as the mesh is pretty messy and often it finally takes the same amount of time as making them. I also handle the textured parts differently. Another point is that LDraw uses its own measurement system which I am not a big fan of. I admit that I really enjoy designing the parts myself . @Calabar I don't detect the browser but only the fact that webgl is starting. Maybe your graphic card is not compatible... Could you try to open this page http://mrdoob.github.com/three.js/examples/webgl_geometry_cube.html and tell me if you see something? It would help me to maybe fix a bug. Thanks

Yes, one of the advantage is that you don't need to install any software and the only thing you need is a browser. No I don't use the Ldraw library. The parts have been made with blender (free 3D software) and exported for the 3d engine. I didn't find an easy way of converting the ldraw parts for now but I was thinking about at least exporting/importing the models to/from ldraw. @Calabar Normaly you don't have to activate or do anything with firefox 12. I just tried it now it seems to work. weird. The banner you see is supposed to appear only when you browser doesn't support webgl...

Hello, In april 2012 I released a first version of my webapp called mecabricks. Since then I improved it quite a lot and I am now using the first post of this topic to introduce it a bit more. I'll try to maintain it in the future to talk about the new features, modifications, tutorials coming up and so on. What is mecabricks? Mecabricks is a free webapp that you can use to build LEGO 3D models and if you wish you have the possibility to publish them so that they are accessible to anybody. You actually don't need to install any software or plugin in your browser. The only requirement is to have a browser and a graphic card supporting WebGL. If I can't do anything if your GC doesn't support it, here are information about the browsers: Firefox - WebGL has been enabled by default since version 4.0 Chrome - WebGL has been enabled by defalut since version 9.0 as well Opera - WebGL is supported since version 11 but is disabled by default. Safari - WebGL is supported since version 5.1 however it has to be enabled. For that, select Preferences in the Safari menu. Click on the Advanced tab. Check the Show Develop menu in menu bar checkbox. To finish, open the Develop menu in the menu bar and select Enable WebGL. Since version 8.0 it is enabled by default. Internet Explorer - Supported from IE 11.0 Language Currently Mecabricks is fully translated in French (my mother tongue), English (my second language), Russian, Italian and German and Portuguese. Part library Because it is a webapp, new parts are added without the need to update anything. The library currently includes almost 3000 part designs and about 7000 decorated elements. We have a team of decoration admins and people submit new assets daily for review. You can follow the new part released here. You can also request missing parts in the mecabricks forum if you wish. The editor also support flexible part like Flex Rods, Hoses, Strings, Flex Tubes, etc. How to start building a model? Like any other software, you will have to play with the workshop for a little while to fully understand how it works. However, to speed up the learning curve you will find more information about the tools and shortcuts in the help menu of the workshop or in the forum. Workshop functions Perspective / Orthographic view Undo/Redo Part edges Group management Snap Pivot point Flexible parts Show / Hide Screenshot Export to other 3D formats LDD file import Photo to LEGO Mosaic A lot more... What kind of result I can expect? Again it depends on your graphic card and browser. Mecabricks is using the antialiasing technic to smooth the edges however it might not be supported by your browser or GC and it will be more pixelated. Have a look at thousands of models in the Mecabricks gallery for an overview of what can be done with mecabricks. Export Functions If you register to mecabricks, you will have access to functions to export models as STL, OBJ and Collada files. It can be useful to render them in other software. Besides to increase the realism, you can choose to export the LEGO logo on studs. The following image has been generated with Blender which is a free open source software and the free script available on mecabricks. Batmobile by Mecabricks, on Flickr There is also an advanced version of the script that allows you to get results quite close to the LEGO movie available for a few bucks on Mecabricks (due to the time and energy I put into it). LDD Import Function Mecabricks is capable of converting LDD models to Mecabricks. Pieces not available yet in the software are ignored. Embed Player If you wish to display a public model on your website, you can use the following code and replace [iD] by the mecabricks Id of the model: <iframe frameborder="0" allowFullScreen webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.mecabricks.com/embed/[iD]?autostart=0&animation=1&transparent=0&white=0&antialias=1"></iframe> Model List Two CSV files listing the official sets and minifigures available on mecabricks can be retrieved at the following addresses: Sets: http://www.mecabrick.../catalogue/sets Minifigures: http://www.mecabrick...alogue/minifigs

I'd love to be able to build such a scene. It's simply beautiful. There are so much details! I spent quite some time on the mocpage to look at the other pictures.

Hello, Nice work actually. It is simple but it seems to work pretty well. I'd love to see the real version of this model

Pretty cool scene! I particularly like the second photo with zoom in the treasure cave under the statue. Nice feature.