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kangmingjie

Eurobricks Vassals
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Everything posted by kangmingjie

  1. kangmingjie
    To whoever made this program, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! One of the most intuitive programs I've used, up to date library, and the part designer is a dream come true. I went through a second dark age with LEGO but this may bring me out of it. Well done!
  2. kangmingjie
    I'm unfamiliar with Developer Mode. Is that just the Extended Theme?
  3. kangmingjie

    Please email me regarding your reverse engineering of LDD. I'm very interested to see how you did it. jimmycarrigan@hotmail.com

  4. kangmingjie
    Fantastic update! This comes at a bad time because I have a large project that needs to be completed soon at work but I'm going to be distracted by LDD now! There seems to be a lack of new Star Wars pieces. For that, I blame Disney or myself for not being able to find them.
  5. kangmingjie
    Thanks Calabar
  6. kangmingjie
    I've had to switch to Mac for work and gave my old PC to my wife. How would I access the proper folder to drop my custom palette in LDD on a Mac? Has this question been answered already?
  7. kangmingjie
    Some suggestions I've gathered from this thread, having followed it from day one: 1) Wait for an update from TLG for LDD (I'm holding my breath ). 2) Use an alternative building program like any of the LDraw tools or SR3D. 3) Hack LDD and add the new pieces yourself. Some responses I've seen to the above suggestions: 1) TLG has other digital interests in mind and LDD is no longer receiving the attention we'd like. 2) The alternative programs are not as user friendly and lack many of the features we've grown accustomed to in LDD. 3) It's against the EULA to hack LDD and would require an expensive CAD software that can read and manipulate .g format for injection molded components (they do exist by the way). The only suggestion I have not seen is for the developers/ software engineers present on this forum to get together and start building a new builder. That's mainly due to a few things such as: 1) Programs on a scale of LDD are not built quickly. 2) Who honestly has time to dedicate to a project that large without receiving compensation? 3) How does one create a program like LDD without being told by TLG to cease and desist? 4) Will the brick geometry come from LDraw, another library or will Lego be kind enough to release LDD's part geometry (again, I'm holding my breath ) or will we need to build one from scratch? 5) Many, many other issues that will undoubtedly arise during development. Yet if, hypothetically speaking, we were able to resolve those problems and move past the issues barring us from such a program, how much better would it be than what we have now? I'm not a software engineer and I doubt many of us here are, but if we could get together and create something (share a repo on Github, communicate over Slack or Skype) I think it could be a fun venture during our spare time. Would anyone else be interested in at least exploring this as an option?
  8. kangmingjie
    I wouldn't be surprised if TLG included a better version of LDD in Lego Worlds.
  9. kangmingjie
    In my opinion, it would be in TLG's best interest to keep LDD free of charge to act as a gateway drug (forgive the poor comparison) to LW. "Enjoy building models, kids? Now imagine if you could run around in them with your own character! Have you heard of LEGO Worlds...?" For years now, I've seen suggestions for what LDD 5 should include and having a working physics engine where a user could "play" with the model always pops up. TLG has delivered on that, just in the form of LEGO Worlds which is a great game! Whatever they have in store for the future of LDD, I'm sure it's going to be something with which all of us can be pleased.
  10. kangmingjie
    Since there won't be an update anytime soon would TLG consider outsourcing the 3D modelling for LDD to the community here at Eurobricks? I understand that to be able to do so would break the EULA, but if TLG gave us permission, that would no longer be an issue. One of the developers could double check a community made part is compatible and have it thrown in to the program just so everyone can be on the same page.
  11. kangmingjie
    Agreed. A loader still needs to be written, checked and double checked for compatibility on multiple OS's and debugged before it's released. Additional code needs to be written to convert the .LXF files used in LDD to whatever the 3D models are in LEGO Worlds (.3ds, .obj or whatever they may be).
  12. kangmingjie
    This is a great idea, but unfortunately, it's not that simple. All bricks in LDD are made up of two components, the XML that determines it's mesh, connectivity and bounding box and the .g, or gCode, that stores the 3D data. The only individuals with the capability to create the .g files are the good folks on the LDD team. There are plenty of CAD programs used to create .g files for 3D printers, but none of them are compatible with LDD. More importantly though, to even gain access to those files, you'll have to hack the main .lif file for LDD, which breaks the End User License Agreement, which is illegal. Hope this answers your question.
  13. kangmingjie
    LDD will probably receive a "Fall Update", usually mid-October to mid-November. Seems doubtful considering the communications we have received from LEGO have stated that LDD is not a priority at the moment.
  14. kangmingjie
    Since LDD is not a priority for TLG and all those working on it did so on a volunteer basis, would it be possible to put some money together via Paypal and donate it as an incentive to have an update come sooner rather than later? I'd be willing to do that, but I certainly do not speak for everyone else.
  15. kangmingjie
    I have Ldraw and love using it, but a lot of my friends are not interested in taking the time to get past Ldraw's learning curve. We use LDD for a few RPGs because it's a little quicker to set up scenes.
  16. kangmingjie
    If the brick models are submitted to LEGO to be inspected before they are added to LDD, then that should take care of any incompatibility issues. I think its a great idea as well.
  17. kangmingjie
    I didn't know that. I wonder if there is some sort of petition we can create to keep LDD up to date.
  18. kangmingjie
    I use LDD for the same purpose and I hope TLG takes that into account. However, compared to the staggering number of parents and children that buy LEGO directly from the store, I don't think a small amount of AFOLs will make much of a dent when it comes to determining whether or not LDD should be continued. The email reply from CM labs seems to indicate that LDD will not be completely dismissed, just put on the back burner for a while because it isn't a priority. Still, I wish TLG would understand how much potential is in LDD and keep it up to date like most of their other products.
  19. kangmingjie
    LEGO Worlds is a colossal project, so I can understand it taking up a lot of their time, but there are so many new minifig pieces that could be in LDD... It seems like we have a concrete answer at least.
  20. kangmingjie
    Just got off the phone with Shawn/Sean with the US customer service for LEGO. He says they don't have any information regarding an upcoming update. He did say they usually try to maintain the free software and that updates happen sporadically, which we already knew. Other than that, he had no additional information to offer me. All that aside, he was very courteous and professional. I honestly wish we could get some sort of answer directly from the LDD team.
  21. kangmingjie
    Well, I can always ask again from a different email :D
  22. kangmingjie
    This is the email I received yesterday: I don't know if two conflicting emails should be taken as a good or a bad sign. I can understand why LEGO would let go of LDD. It doesn't make them any money and it takes some of their team away from other projects since everything they do with the program is on a volunteer basis. LEGO may have (or still be) discussing whether or not they should drop the project and probably have no definitive answer as of yet, which could be delaying the news of what the future of the program will be. Still, I agree 100% with Bublible regarding the release of the source code to the community of developers here at Eurobricks. If LEGO were to let allow us to develop the software, the many more features that we have discussed can be added along with pieces and decorations (some of them could even be from Brickforge or Brickwarriors). However, I think that if LEGO does stop LDD, then it will be tucked away into an archive rather than released to the public. Either way, I'd hate to see LDD fall by the wayside when it is such a great program. I suppose all we can do for now is hope that I am wrong.
  23. kangmingjie
    I'm honestly hoping the customer service rep that emailed me is new and doesn't know what they're talking about.
  24. kangmingjie
    If this means TLG is done with LDD, it would be nice to have the developers release everything there is to know to the public so we can add the features and pieces we've been craving for so long. Just my opinion. I'll post a screenshot of the email as soon as I get access to my laptop.
  25. kangmingjie
    Just heard back from a customer service rep at The LEGO Group. Names have been removed: Thanks for getting in touch with us. I bet you love creating your own designs! Unfortunately, at this time we don't plan on releasing any new versions of LEGO® Digital Designer (LDD). Also, there are no planned updates in the future for LDD. I hope that you still enjoy creating with LDD, it really opens up a lot of possibilities! We want to make sure we're doing a good job for you, so you’ll always find the link to a four-question survey in our emails. Please tell us how we did today: LEGO Survey link Please let us know if you need anything else. Kind regards, LEGO® Service
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