Custom LDD bricks and fixes

Stephan · November 30, 2022

~~I need some advice on the connection between 1936 and 1938. Maybe the sphere connection will be the best? Or a hinge?~~

Fixed

Edited November 30, 2022 by Stephan

Equilibrium · November 30, 2022

@Stephan, @jester, @suenkachun

Image is distorted because UV mapping of this part exceeds texture bounds no matter its dimensions. Range should be from 0 to 1.

@BrokenEye

Edited November 30, 2022 by Equilibrium

Stephan · November 30, 2022

2 minutes ago, Equilibrium said:

Image is distorted because UV mapping of this part exceeds texture bounds no matter its dimensions.

That should be a relatively easy fix then.

jester · November 30, 2022

1 minute ago, Stephan said:

That should be a relatively easy fix then.

I had a suggestion to update the minifigure UV maps like on mecabricks, but all the prints will have to be redone. What do you think?

suenkachun · November 30, 2022

16 minutes ago, Equilibrium said:

Image is distorted because UV mapping of this part exceeds texture bounds no matter its dimensions. Range should be from 0 to 1.

Thanks for checking, I guess Flat Tile 2×4 should have the same issue then? If that is the case then it too can also be fixed easily.

10 minutes ago, jester said:

I had a suggestion to update the minifigure UV maps like on mecabricks, but all the prints will have to be redone. What do you think?

This could be beneficial but should only be implemented if the existing Prints can be updated in time. For now, I suggest at least checking Minifigure Torso Parts for the same boundary issues found in both Flat Tile 2×2 and Flat Tile 2×4. As mentioned in the first reply regarding how to temporarily fix the issue:

Leaving an empty single pixel-width border around a decoration will remedy the issue. It is also apparent on the standard minifig torso.

This means that Minifigure Torsos may also potentially have the same boundary issues as the empty border is needed for relevant Decorations in certain cases.

Edited November 30, 2022 by suenkachun

BrokenEye · December 1, 2022

14 hours ago, Equilibrium said:

Thanks. I realized you meant LIFCreator about a minute after posting my question.

For some reason it's not working for me, though. I created the new LIF file with all the new parts in it, but for some reason when I completed the Bluerender render, a whole lot of parts are missing, and I haven't made a complete review of all the missing parts, but the ones I can identify off the top of my head are all from the mod. Do you have any idea what might be going on here?

jester · December 1, 2022

It was really interesting to spend some time on custom parts)

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Edited December 1, 2022 by jester

suenkachun · December 3, 2022

On 12/1/2022 at 12:31 AM, Stephan said:

That should be a relatively easy fix then.

I checked past replies on this issue and did some simple tests in LDD, then compiled the following list of Bricks which seem to all have their Decoration UV mapping(s) exceeding texture bounds thus leading to distorted images being displayed after decorating them in LDD.

All%20Bricks%20With%20Decoration%20Error

The first two Bricks are Part 3068 Flat Tile 2×2 and Part 87079 Flat Tile 2×4, which was how the issue was discovered in the first place. In the screenshots above I used a sample Microsoft PowerPoint Medium Wood Texture to highlight the image distortion around the four edges.

I later checked all current LDD Minifigure Torso Elements (Mini Upper Part) thanks to a previous reply and discovered that they seem to also have the same issue. As shown above, I inserted a plain Black shape modified from Official Decoration 62375 which is a Torso Design completely filled in, this also helped me determine the UV Mapping of Minifigure Torsos for creating custom designs. The Black shape does not fill up the Torso surfaces completely both in front and at the back with slight distortions at the edges, suggesting that boundary issues are existing too. The nine Torso Bricks include Part 16360, Part 63208, Part 76382, Part 84638, Part 12896, Part 34412, Part 97149, Part 24319 and Part 11938, with the only excluded Brick being Part 43370 Mini Upper Part NBA since this one is not yet Decoratable. As all Minifigure Torsos are the same with the only difference being the arms, I guess only one Decoration UV Mapping needs to be fixed then reapplied onto the 18 Decoration surfaces all at once. If future Minifigure Torsos are added, the updated UV Mapping should be used by default. Thanks to everyone in advance!

suenkachun · December 3, 2022

1 hour ago, suenkachun said:

I checked past replies on this issue and did some simple tests in LDD, then compiled the following list of Bricks which seem to all have their Decoration UV mapping(s) exceeding texture bounds thus leading to distorted images being displayed after decorating them in LDD.

Apparently Flat Tile 2×2, Round is also affected by the image distortion error which I only just noticed, so this needs to be fixed too. Shown below is a custom Road Sign Decoration (Vehicles carrying hazardous materials prohibited). On the left is Part 14769 which is completely fine where the Decoration fits completely (do check this Brick too just in case), but on the right is Part 4150 where there is a clearly visible gap between the Bright Red Ring and the edge of the Flat Tile and slight distortion is clearly visible at four locations within the gap. If I do find any more additional distorted Decoration surfaces I will post them here ASAP, hopefully all of these mentioned Bricks can be fixed in a similar and easy way. Thanks in advance!

Flat%20Tile%202%C3%972,%20Round%20Error.

Equilibrium · December 5, 2022

@BrokenEye I didn't use it for the last 2 years, sorry.

@suenkachun I think I understand why they mapped uv's like this. It was made so they didn't have to make unprintable border themselves, only align more or less and it was finished. I've edited uvs on torso so decoration fills whole front and I'm not sure if it looks that good. Depends on print I guess...

suenkachun · December 6, 2022

11 hours ago, Equilibrium said:

I think I understand why they mapped uv's like this. It was made so they didn't have to make unprintable border themselves, only align more or less and it was finished. I've edited uvs on torso so decoration fills whole front and I'm not sure if it looks that good. Depends on print I guess...

Thanks for the updates. I would say the new version looks a lot better without the distorted edges, and this update will benefit the most under the following two cases: if the Print does include a background colour then the distortion will not be shown at all; if any current official Prints do exceed the borders then distortion can be avoided too. In addition, for me personally, when I create custom Prints I tend to fill up the entire surface as including gaps is slightly more difficult without professional assistance. In the future, gaps can be manually included for each individual Decoration instead of having a universal gap.

I guess the new version is the best solution to move onwards with, but please remember to apply it to the backs of the torsos too as the distortion happens both front and back.

BTW, hopefully the UV Mappings of the three Flat Tiles I mentioned earlier (Part 3068 Flat Tile 2×2, Part 87079 Flat Tile 2×4 and Part 4150 Flat Tile 2×2, Round) can be fixed in time too together with Minifigure Torsos (both front and back) and be included in the next LDD Update.

BrokenEye · December 6, 2022

On 12/1/2022 at 2:26 AM, jester said:

It was really interesting to spend some time on custom parts)

Looking good.

Hey, Quick question. If you're getting those from the game files, do they also have anything in there about the in-game brickbuilt props and scenery elements? I've been thinking about examining some of those a little closer outside of the game to see how they're built and if I could glean anything useful from that, but up 'til now I haven't really had any idea about how to go about that. Doesn't need to be converted into a format compatible with LDD or anything. I just want to look at them. Most of them probably wouldn't have new parts anyway.

Equilibrium · December 8, 2022

@suenkachun Files for torsos: Link

suenkachun · December 8, 2022

Just now, Equilibrium said:

@suenkachun Files for torsos: Link

Thanks for the files. Hopefully, there will soon be updated files available for Part 3068 Flat Tile 2×2, Part 87079 Flat Tile 2×4 and Part 4150 Flat Tile 2×2, Round too, or else I will wait until the next LDD update which should be when these three Flat Tiles have their UV Mappings officially fixed to avoid image distortion altogether. P.S., The updated Torsos should also be included in the next LDD update.

Stephan · December 9, 2022

17 hours ago, suenkachun said:

The updated Torsos should also be included in the next LDD update.

First we have to check the consequences. If all decoration files need to be updated, it might not be beneficial. No real minifigure torso part is printed to the edges.

suenkachun · December 9, 2022

11 minutes ago, Stephan said:

First we have to check the consequences. If all decoration files need to be updated, it might not be beneficial. No real minifigure torso part is printed to the edges.

That is true, I might install the new files and check for glitches this weekend and report back if I find anything wrong, if the Torso design does include a background colour then the new versions will definitely benefit. However, the three other Flat Tiles should be definitely fixed as some official designs do tend to be printed more towards the edges (plus my OCD wants them to be fixed as the distortion does look less pleasant in some cases, but I can definitely still live with them for now). Thanks anyways.