Point of making models in LDD before real?

[ThatGuyWithTheBricks]

Is there really any point to making a MOC in LDD before real life? I mean, is there an exportable piece list?

Basically, what re the advantages and disadvantages of LDD. And do you think it's worth the hassle.

[lgorlando]

Since it's launch some years ago, I am convinced LDD is essential to planning a MOC. Until, recently, the parts were limited but you could still plan the shape, color and composition of your Lego idea into a living concept. With LDD you can build a virtual structure, suspend it in mid air, add a floor, Add a section of window or door (or wings and engines, or whatever)and then fill in the blank. It is physically impossible to do this with real parts.

I can change the colors move a part, Copy a section and paste it over and over in a repeat design. If you don't like something you can delete it. Did you make a mistake? Click Undo (I sometimes have trouble separating myself from the virtual world and the real world wishing i could "undo" a physical MOC

The best part of LDD in my opinion: I can save a "template" of my favorite custom design elements and use them in future virtual MOCs.

When planning in LDD I try to remain realistic; the key for me has been to make sure the parts I use are parts in my existing collection or are easy to obtain so that I will be able to build a real MOC once I generated the instructions.

Superkalle introduced us to the Lego Universe Mode which is the holy grail of unlimited design access in LDD. Universe mode allows use of about any part Lego manufactures which is a dream come true for Lego planners and experienced MOCers.

Need a part list? Superkalle has a great program that lets you generate the parts you used in your model. The program links the LDD part number to common part numbers used in Peeron and Bricklink databases. With these tools, you are master of MOCs! So I say invest some time in LDD (hint: Learn the Keyboard copy and past shortcuts) and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

[prateek]

Before Superkalle's LDD manager and the LU mode, there wasn't really any point, but now, I use it more than I build with actual Lego.

[Carbohydrates]

I design in a very abstract sort of style. I start with the most difficult or iconic part of a MOC and build around that. If I'm trying to capture a certain shape, I'll "cheat" pieces into floating in the place they would need to be to get the look I want, then I go back and connect it together. This sort of building really isn't feasible without LDD and similar rendering tools to help me.

I haven't designed a MOC without the help of a LEGO CAD program of some sort in about five years. Maybe more.

[Flare]

I'm not sure, I never use LDD as it won't work on my laptop so I really have no opinion on this. Interesting topic though!

[roamingstop]

Ive just started out with LDD after a couple of abortive virtual lego attempts (ML Cad etc). My limited experience is that the tool is invaluable and helps support creative effort.

E.g. first I will start with the physical bricks - and build up my concepts; get a rough idea of what it looks like. Probably no complete models - but bits (with strange colours).

Then switch back to LDD to give me a design with coherant colour scheme, and try out ideas with components I may not have.

Then switch to bricklink if there is an interesting set of bricks to get

Then switch to physical building - prove that the LDD design work - and make modifications. There really is no substitute for seeing something in the brick and feeling how well it is - how strong the bits are? Does something easily fall off etc.

Then finally switching back to LDD to implement the final designs and attempt some lego instructions.

For some models if I know how it will look I may skip the first step - but only because I had probably developed an idea from an earlier MOC.

The main influence for me is to have coherant colours in bricks which I may not have (or may not be able to get).

[Odyssey]

Well, I for one am travelling a lot and have several places where I live and just can't take my bricks with me. Which means, I use LDD a lot for designing MOCs and trying out different ideas and concepts. That way I can work on a model wherever I am, over a long time and only once I'm happy with the design I might proceed to actually build it in real bricks (or even order it over DBM).

As a matter of fact, most of my LDD designs never turn up in real bricks, but at least I can brick virtually wherever I am :)

[Shroud]

I couldnt imagine desiging a moc now without the resource of almost all the parts you can actually obtain. It allows for more freedom and an easy way to make the instructions if you ever want to make it again.

In one word...AWESOME

[Marckeyh]

I'm going to start MOC'ing soon, I've got a few good ideas. I'll look into LDD,

sounds like it very usefull!

It shouldn't be too hard, as I work with 3DsMAX and Maya often.

[vexorian]

It sounds very useful. Although to be honest, MoCing for me stands for putting whatever brick I can find together until it starts looking like something I want to finish and with LDD it would sound hard. Another thing that sounds hard to do is knowing if the build is strong enough. Nevertheless, the ability to use any piece without having to go through all your sorted bins sounds nice.

I would give it a try, if it wasn't that it is dows/mac-only. Booting windows is to me a very sad experience that I would like to avoid as much as possible and LDD's potential is not strong enough to make me want to go through all that suffering. Normally I would use WINE but LDD has been programmed using the worst techniques possible (full of flash :( ), so it just does not work in WINE. Even tried in virtualbox but it comes out sloooow.

[vynsane]

The current LDD design challenge was the first time I used LDD expressly to plan out a MOC, now that 'Universe Mode' is enabled. I have to say, if you have a specific vision in mind of what you want to build and are pretty sure you don't have all the pieces to actually do it, LDD/UM is the absolute BEST way to go. I've played around with other LDraw-based programs and always found them a bit wonky. The full rotation connection sticking in LDD really beats out other programs. Of course, I'm on a Mac, so my options are limited.

That said, having a pile of bricks to just play around with and put together is a fun thing to do as well.

Need a part list? Superkalle has a great program that lets you generate the parts you used in your model. The program links the LDD part number to common part numbers used in Peeron and Bricklink databases.

For those of us on Mac, you can use Brickhelper (scroll down the page a bit). This is what I used to generate a parts list for my LDD design challenge MOC, and it worked like a charm.

Edited August 3, 2010 by vynsane

[Praiter Yed]

I don't have enough 'spare' Lego for experimentation so the freedom of design allowed by LDD is essential to MOCs. As a Mac user my only problem has been not being able to generate a parts list...

For those of us on Mac, you can use Brickhelper (scroll down the page a bit). This is what I used to generate a parts list for my LDD design challenge MOC, and it worked like a charm.

...looks like this should help, thanks vynsane.

[Superkalle]

For those of us on Mac, you can use Brickhelper (scroll down the page a bit). This is what I used to generate a parts list for my LDD design challenge MOC, and it worked like a charm.

The problems is that (to my knowledge) BrickHelper doesn't support allt the bricks in LU mode, only the ones are in DbM and Creator Mode.

And by support I mean translating the Lego Part number to the BrickLink part number.

Mostly the Lego and BL numbers match, but not always.

[vynsane]

The problems is that (to my knowledge) BrickHelper doesn't support allt the bricks in LU mode, only the ones are in DbM and Creator Mode.

And by support I mean translating the Lego Part number to the BrickLink part number.

Mostly the Lego and BL numbers match, but not always.

That may very well be - I had a few pieces that it didn't recognize when I output the list for my contest entry (which used Universe Mode), but it was maybe 5 out of 450 or so, so it's not that bad. It's better than nothing.

[Praiter Yed]

That may very well be - I had a few pieces that it didn't recognize when I output the list for my contest entry (which used Universe Mode), but it was maybe 5 out of 450 or so, so it's not that bad. It's better than nothing.

Would be better for me to even have a partial part list than continue with how I'm listing the parts I need at the moment.

Seeing as the EB poll is showing almost 50/50 Mac & PC users maybe when Superkalle has some spare time he could create LDD Manager for Mac too ? Also how about a LDD app for the iPhone - how hard can that be?

[Carbohydrates]

Also how about a LDD app for the iPhone - how hard can that be?

I know this is implausible, but I'd buy an iPhone just for this.

[lgorlando]

I know this is implausible, but I'd buy an iPhone just for this.

Are you kidding me! I'd would have an iPhone or better yet and iPad TOMORROW if they had an LDD app. Spinning virtual bricks with your fingers, how great would that be while on the road! Fantastic suggestion!

Edited August 3, 2010 by lgorlando

[Randal]

I use LDD because I don't have my bricks anymore. And I use it every day, as I use LDD to make a webcomic. While there are a few things I'd fix in the anti-aliasing department and maybe the brick selection department... to have it be a little more lenient on "legal" connections, I find it's a very useful tool. I make mocs with it, but I also use it to make official builds. To me, LDD is a virtually bottomless bucket of bricks that is only limited by my RAM and processor. As for LXF files of even the largest size, they take up surprisingly little space on your hard drive. I also think that as time goes by, the rendering and lighting of the models will improve almost to that of actual bricks. I think they hold it back for now on account of the average system limits, but I'd like to see an option that allows you to ramp things up, graphics wise, if your system can take it. (Today's update is a little NSFW, but for the most part... I let my kids read a lot of them.)

[CP5670]

I don't use LDD much but do this sort of thing regularly with the LDraw-based programs (MLCad and SR3D Builder). I don't actually build the entire model in the program first, but I make a rough outline of it so I can visualize the overall shape of the whole thing before I start building. This is especially useful for large models, or models where you're trying to build a replica of something at a particular scale.

[LegoBuilder]

I would find LDD in ipad more practical. Imagine the pain of constructing in a small screen.

Are you kidding me! I'd would have an iPhone or better yet and iPad TOMORROW if they had an LDD app. Spinning virtual bricks with your fingers, how great would that be while on the road! Fantastic suggestion!

[vexorian]

iFad's is still too small for this kind of thing. Plus it wouldn't really have the 3d power for such a tool.

[JopieK]

it turned out that I had some little design flaws in my signal post, but it was really handy to build it in LDD. Normally I would use my own LEGO + bricklink to build the structure then, but this one was a gift from my girlfriend for our anniversary :)

[Bojan Pavsic]

Well, at first i saw the advantages of LDD especially in Lego Technic. When u're building something and you don't know everything up front, you can always change a beam or axle in LDD, but in real bricks, the only way is to disassemble the thing (which takes a lot of times). I used it to design a couple of TTs. When i got used to it, i now use it for everything. Sometimes a full design, other times only parts are made in LDD, then i switch to real bricks and finish it.

The disadvantages? Well, it makes me spend more Before, i always created MOCs with only the bricks i owned. Now i try to design good looking things and ofc, they contain bricks i don't have in colors i don't have And quite some of the creations i want to have in physical form too, so it's PaB & BL time...

There's another disadvantage too, hinges... You really need to be careful about how to use them and u need some time to learn the advanced techniques in LDD. After you master them, it's LDD first, bricks later... always.

[fred67]

I would use it more if it worked better with Linux. It works OK using a Windows virtual computer, but it's not quite as nice (gets slow really fast with large models).

I think it's a great way to plan certain kinds of MOCs; although the current MOC I'm doing (a microfig scale castle) I'm doing freehand, when I get back into doing some trains I'll definitely be using it. I will probably use it before then to practice doing rocky walls.

[Ralph_S]

Interesting topic. In all honesty, I've not used LDD myself. I have been using MLCAD and LDraw very extensively in the last few weeks (to make instructions) and while that process was less painful than I feared and I can understand that people build virtually if they don't have bricks available, but I can't see myself designing anything in a CAD program.

I either design the difficult bits of my models in my head, before sticking bricks together, or via trial-and-error with physical bricks. The overall size and dimensions are things I work out using quick sketches on paper. Using a computer as an intermediate step seems unnecessarily awkward and clunky.

Cheers,

Ralph