Custom LDD bricks and fixes

[Stephan]

On 2/21/2022 at 1:36 PM, Equilibrium said:

• I have also updated these files in my last update: 2684.g, 2686.g, 25561.g and 25561.g1
• You have these 3 .g files in main primitives folder instead of LOD0: 47326.g, 47326.g1, 73230.g

The 4 .g files will be included. The others have been removed from GitHub and will are now placed in the LOD0 folder.

On 2/21/2022 at 1:36 PM, Equilibrium said:

What's the reason behind 24119 changes

Good question... There was no date stamp from LDD Brick Editor, so I didn't change it... Restored and added additional stud connection points.

On 2/21/2022 at 1:36 PM, Equilibrium said:

I've noticed you aren't using my 71708, you might reconsider it due to nicer 3D model (the orientations are different so in order to not brake any existing models the 3D model from .g file would have to be rotated to match .xml pin holes).

3D model updated with yours.

On 2/21/2022 at 12:43 PM, HarlemHomeboy said:

Two half cones 10x5x6 (29096) cannot stand close to each other as you can see.

Fixed.

[Stephan]

On 2/20/2022 at 9:19 AM, BrokenEye said:

Hey, I finally got around to starting to remake one of the Nexo Knights shield decals with what I hope are the correct dimensions.

Hi, the size looks to be good. But I think it is wise to include a little more room around the the print (see this print on LDraw). When I look at the BrickLink image, the also appears to be a 3rd color in the flames (dark red).

[suenkachun]

On 2/17/2022 at 3:47 AM, Stephan said:

Oops... I read 6x6 tile somehow in your previous posts... Consider it fixed! Regarding your decorations, I will include what is possible :)

Thanks for the fixes. Just noticed two minor issues with Part 35789 Mudguard 2x4x2 while constructing the main vehicle of Set 40532 Vintage Taxi in LDD (I did use some replacement parts and I’m assuming that newer parts such as the new radiator piece will be included in future LDD updates), although they did not affect the Taxi build itself at all.

As shown on the left, collision is currently missing for the two middle areas, which is not major as it does take time to gradually add collision data to newer pieces. However, as shown on the right it is currently possible to attach certain Sticks and Shafts onto the eight studs on top as legal connections, an odd behaviour that I didn’t normally see in other newer Bricks (when you place the Sticks or Shafts near these eight Studs LDD will prompt you to attach them onto the Studs, perhaps the wrong connection type was added by mistake?).

BTW, just checked again and collision is also missing at the base of this part at the two tips on either side, so it’s currently possible to place other Bricks through these sections.

Edited February 22, 2022 by suenkachun

[Stephan]

1 hour ago, suenkachun said:

BTW, just checked again and collision is also missing at the base of this part at the two tips on either side, so it’s currently possible to place other Bricks through these sections.

I think it doesn't have any collisions. I will update this part for the coming update. 

I am now working backwards through this topic to find posts about fixes or additions :)

Edited February 22, 2022 by Stephan

[PicnicBasketSam]

If you're looking for things to fix, I downloaded the pre-release parts a few days ago to try building the new Technic motorcycle 42130 (which, as it turns out, practically requires an engineering degree to assemble virtually) and found that 69636 and 67498 don't fit together like they're supposed to. I just attempted to place some other liftarms into the top of 69636 and they'll fit, but the shock absorber does not.

[BrokenEye]

5 hours ago, Stephan said:

Hi, the size looks to be good. But I think it is wise to include a little more room around the the print (see this print on LDraw). When I look at the BrickLink image, the also appears to be a 3rd color in the flames (dark red).

Hmm... I think I better start looking for a clearer reference photo. I can kinda see the third color in the one I'm using, but I can't make out where its edges are at all. Adding room shouldn't take more than a minute, though.

[Stephan]

3 hours ago, PicnicBasketSam said:

If you're looking for things to fix, I downloaded the pre-release parts a few days ago to try building the new Technic motorcycle 42130 (which, as it turns out, practically requires an engineering degree to assemble virtually) and found that 69636 and 67498 don't fit together like they're supposed to. I just attempted to place some other liftarms into the top of 69636 and they'll fit, but the shock absorber does not.

Re-download 9560 and it will work. There was a lost collision box...

[BrokenEye]

Alright, I've done two versions, because it kinda looks like the third color might actually be a transparent patch showing the red of the piece itself, but I'm not entirely sure that it is.

[PicnicBasketSam]

1 hour ago, Stephan said:

Re-download 9560 and it will work. There was a lost collision box...

It worked, thank you!

Any chance of the huge new wheels, tires, and front windshield of the 42130 coming soon?

[Stephan]

8 hours ago, PicnicBasketSam said:

Any chance of the huge new wheels, tires, and front windshield of the 42130 coming soon?

Yes! Wheels should already be on Github though (I think, there is something strange going on which makes connecting the tire and the rim quite hard). Same for the windscreen! Don't forget to download the DecorationMapping and png decoration for the windscreen as well! For best quality color the area under the print white since LDD has trouble displaying prints on transparent surfaces.

Please note that the connection points of the windscreen have not yet been tested in the actual BMW build and might have to be tweaked.

Only missing new part from the BMW is the rear shock absorber.

Edited February 23, 2022 by Stephan

[Calabar]

11 hours ago, BrokenEye said:

Alright, I've done two versions, because it kinda looks like the third color might actually be a transparent patch showing the red of the piece itself, but I'm not entirely sure that it is.

Maybe someone who owns the shield could confirm this guess.

Here is a list of the sets containing that shield, maybe someone could recognize something is on his/her shelves.

[BrokenEye]

3 minutes ago, Calabar said:

Maybe someone who owns the shield could confirm this guess.

Here is a list of the sets containing that shield, maybe someone could recognize something is on his/her shelves.

Looks like in the photos it takes on a much darker red when there's something behind it, which would certainly appear to confirm my suspicions.

[PicnicBasketSam]

11 hours ago, Stephan said:

Yes! Wheels should already be on Github though (I think, there is something strange going on which makes connecting the tire and the rim quite hard). Same for the windscreen! Don't forget to download the DecorationMapping and png decoration for the windscreen as well! For best quality color the area under the print white since LDD has trouble displaying prints on transparent surfaces.

Please note that the connection points of the windscreen have not yet been tested in the actual BMW build and might have to be tweaked.

Only missing new part from the BMW is the rear shock absorber.

Thanks for the tip on the decorations. However, I just re-downloaded the whole pre-release branch and I'm not finding the wheels or windscreen.

[Stephan]

22 hours ago, BrokenEye said:

Alright, I've done two versions, because it kinda looks like the third color might actually be a transparent patch showing the red of the piece itself, but I'm not entirely sure that it is.

I made the decoration area easier to use for you!
You can use these four files to make your life easier ;)
PNG image, *.g file, *.g1 file and *.xml file.

14 minutes ago, PicnicBasketSam said:

Thanks for the tip on the decorations. However, I just re-downloaded the whole pre-release branch and I'm not finding the wheels or windscreen.

Just uploaded them for you.

[PicnicBasketSam]

39 minutes ago, Stephan said:

Just uploaded them for you.

Got them, thank you! I'm about 75% of the way done with the bike, I'll try and upload the finished model here later today. 

The windscreen connects to 2 out of the 4 pins (1 on either side) but the other 2 pins will fit without any trouble, they just don't snap into place. It gets the job done.

Edited February 23, 2022 by PicnicBasketSam
Got to the point of using the new windscreen.

[BrokenEye]

1 hour ago, Stephan said:

You can use these four files to make your life easier ;)
PNG image, *.g file, *.g1 file and *.xml file.

Something seems to have gone wrong

[PicnicBasketSam]

Finished the 42130. I am a very experienced LDD user, I've built a lot of massive Technic sets, and this took me 6 hours. (One of them was just fiddling with the chain and the last two pieces of bodywork.)

LXF File (must have the very newest parts from Stephan's pre release Github directory!)

Picture

Edited February 23, 2022 by PicnicBasketSam

[Stephan]

7 hours ago, PicnicBasketSam said:

The windscreen connects to 2 out of the 4 pins (1 on either side) 

I will use your model to correct this since I haven't had time to build it myself yet.

6 hours ago, BrokenEye said:

Something seems to have gone wrong

Maybe I sent you the wrong files... That would be silly, but it would explain it... I'll send you the correct ones asap.

[BrokenEye]

51 minutes ago, Stephan said:

Maybe I sent you the wrong files... That would be silly, but it would explain it... I'll send you the correct ones asap.

Just to make sure there's no confusion, the hover text isn't an intended part of the screenshot. The corrupted brick still shows the correct name.

[Mobieus69]

Hi there, all.  I've been an LDD user for a few years now, and let me just say, what you guys are doing is freaking amazing!  I've been trying to use 2017 parts to build newer sets and the amount of substitutions and work-arounds required has been steadily increasing.  I actually do have my database already extracted as I add a lot of my own stickers/decals or redraw existing lego prints (sometimes with my own custom edits), to use (I'm a graphic designer by trade, Photoshop is my jam).  I was a little confused on how to add the latest completed new parts to my database though.  Once I've extracted both LDD.lif and LDDExtended.lif, does a copy of the new 2020 parts folder go into both of those folders?  Just one?  In the main "Palettes" folder?  Also, I'm a bit worried about my current decoration mapping file being overwritten or having conflicts as I have quite a few images already associated with various parts.  All of my image file names are from 10001 to 10236 at the moment, so it looks like I'll be okay.  I took a look at the latest decoration mapping file in dropbox and it looks like your png's start at 10378.  Anyway, I'm just trying to make sure I do this right so I don't hose anything up.  Any assistance would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Also, another quick question.  Have any of the existing parts been re-mapped for decorations?  Does most everything still require a square png?

[Stephan]

2 hours ago, Mobieus69 said:

Hi there, all.  I've been an LDD user for a few years now, and let me just say, what you guys are doing is freaking amazing!  I've been trying to use 2017 parts to build newer sets and the amount of substitutions and work-arounds required has been steadily increasing.  I actually do have my database already extracted as I add a lot of my own stickers/decals or redraw existing lego prints (sometimes with my own custom edits), to use (I'm a graphic designer by trade, Photoshop is my jam).  I was a little confused on how to add the latest completed new parts to my database though.  Once I've extracted both LDD.lif and LDDExtended.lif, does a copy of the new 2020 parts folder go into both of those folders?  Just one?  In the main "Palettes" folder?  Also, I'm a bit worried about my current decoration mapping file being overwritten or having conflicts as I have quite a few images already associated with various parts.  All of my image file names are from 10001 to 10236 at the moment, so it looks like I'll be okay.  I took a look at the latest decoration mapping file in dropbox and it looks like your png's start at 10378.  Anyway, I'm just trying to make sure I do this right so I don't hose anything up.  Any assistance would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Also, another quick question.  Have any of the existing parts been re-mapped for decorations?  Does most everything still require a square png?

You should adhere to the folder structure in the rar file. So, indeed the 2020NewPreColoredParts is a new folder which you copy/paste from the rar file. After that it is accessible through the Mindstorms section in LDD.

Our png's are using TLG's partID reference which is unique for printed parts. So, a number below 10378 might appear in the future.

Regarding overwriting your decoration mapping: copy your custom lines and re-paste them in the new file.

Yes! The 1x3 Brick, the 2x3 pointed shield piece, the 3x4 Slope piece to give some examples. Decoration are often sized in 512x512 or 1024x1024 or 512x1024. So they are indeed rectangular. Easiest way is to adhere to the dimensions and layout of a recent decorated part.

 

[suenkachun]

On 2/24/2022 at 5:00 PM, Mobieus69 said:

Also, another quick question.  Have any of the existing parts been re-mapped for decorations?  Does most everything still require a square png?

Welcome to the forum! According to the latest standards found, LDD can accept either Square Decorations or Rectangular Decorations which are the power of two. Rectangles only include the following: 1×2, 1×4, 2×4, 1×8 and 8×16, while Squares are used for both Square surfaces and irregular surfaces (including regular rectangles 2×3 and 1×6) in which the longer side is usually compressed to form a Square. The largest Decoration size accepted by LDD is 1024 Pixels times 1024 Pixels, which should be the default dimensions of all Square (and compressed irregular) LDD Decorations. For the five Rectangles, 1 Brick=64 Pixels; so we have 1×2/2×4/8×16=512 Pixels times 1024 Pixels, 1×4=256 Pixels times 1024 Pixels and 1×8=128 Pixels times 1024 Pixels. Please also remember that all Decoration PNG files must have a “Bit Depth” of 32 for everything to be displayed properly.

There is at least one known exception: the newer element Part 69729 Tile 2×6 (also Part 63864 Flat Tile 1×3 which is under the same ratio) has an updated Decoration Mapping which can be found in this earlier post within this topic. For more details regarding LDD Decoration sizes, check out this handy three-page PDF which includes information regarding the dimensions of common LEGO Brick Surfaces which are currently decoratable in LDD. I might also start a separate topic in the near future to post all relevant information.

On 2/23/2022 at 5:10 PM, Stephan said:

For best quality color the area under the print white since LDD has trouble displaying prints on transparent surfaces.

I did notice this a while back when trying to import a Custom Decoration to be used on a Transparent Brick 1×1×3. Are there any standards to follow regarding this such as the best base Colour to add depending on the Colour of the Brick to be decorated? BTW, please don’t forget to update Decoration 733271 (used on Tile 2×6 with new Decoration Mapping) for the next update so that it can be displayed properly.

P.S., Even with the current information available I still can’t figure out the dimensions of Decorations to be used on Part 3062 Round Brick 1x1, as it wraps around the Brick on one side and I don’t know the borders. The only relevant example I found was Decoration 13450 “Ü” modified into Decoration 306201 so that the compressed letter now shows properly on the Round Brick, but with a Transparent Background, I won’t know for sure the exact compression values or ratios. Can the Decoration Dimensions or Mapping of this Brick be shared so that relevant Decorations can be more accurate? Thanks in advance!

Edited March 11, 2022 by suenkachun

[Stephan]

20 hours ago, BrokenEye said:

Something seems to have gone wrong

Try this rar file: link.

3 hours ago, suenkachun said:

Can the Decoration Dimensions or Mapping of this Brick be shared so that relevant Decorations can be more accurate?

I have to look into this. I am planning on releasing the next update Saturday, so I don't think we will manage before that.

3 hours ago, suenkachun said:

I did notice this a while back when trying to import a Custom Decoration to be used on a Transparent Brick 1×1×3. Are there any standards to follow regarding this such as the best base Colour to add depending on the Colour of the Brick to be decorated?

Nope, normally we don't use an under-color. But for this windscreen part it works since there are no transparent sections on the png. But for normal transparent parts: LDD can't handle the rendering properly.

3 hours ago, suenkachun said:

BTW, please don’t forget to update Decoration 733271 (used on Tile 2×6 with new Decoration Mapping) for the next update so that it can be displayed properly.

Yes, will do that!

Edited February 24, 2022 by Stephan

[BrokenEye]

35 minutes ago, Stephan said:

Try this rar file: link.

Winrar isn't letting me extract. It's saying "The archive is either in unknown format or damaged" and also "No archives found"

[Mobieus69]

Thanks for the assist. Got all the new parts added.  One more question if I may.  The decoration folder from github seems to have only a small selection of your updated decorations.  For instance, I'm not seeing all the star wars helmet decorations that you had a pic of in the main "LDD New Parts Key Topic" page.  Did I miss something?

Nevermind, I wasn't in the "Pre-release" branch.  I figured it out.  Thanks.