LDD (4.3.11) MAX # of pieces??

[Johnnycrash]

Hey all,

I have done a search, but didn't find an answer. Hmm...

Is there a maximum number of pieces a MOC can have in LDD?? I have one now that is at 6000 parts, and man, does it slow to a crawl. Is that a limit of the program, or my computer, or, as is most likely, a combo of the two??

Thanks all. :-)

[SylvainLS]

1. LDD is old.
2. The more parts, the more memory it uses.
3. Even if your computer has plenty of memory, on Windows, LDD is 32bits, so it can’t use more than 2GiB.

Forgot to say:

1. Not only do the parts take more memory, the “simple” act of browsing the available parts and colours and prints eat a lot of memory.  Even with relatively few parts in your model, the more you have browsed, the slower LDD gets.  (Quitting and restarting LDD helps in that case.)

Edited July 4, 2019 by SylvainLS

[Kevin Flemming]

I've gotten up to roughly 23,000-24,000 bricks in LDD before, on an old laptop (that is about 10 years old). And mostly it was only laggy when moving the larger sections. But that happens even with a 1,000-2,000 brick model. It just doesn't like big sections being moved around. Split them up into smaller ones, and it'll stutter less.

[Johnnycrash]

Thanks guys. So, there seems to be NO limit as such, but performance will become an issues as the number climbs. I can live with that. I just didn't want the thing crashing when I hit 6400 or some such thing. Thanks.

[MatthewRC]

On 7/3/2019 at 8:25 PM, SylvainLS said:

1. LDD is old.
2. The more parts, the more memory it uses.
3. Even if your computer has plenty of memory, on Windows, LDD is 32bits, so it can’t use more than 2GiB.

Forgot to say:

1. Not only do the parts take more memory, the “simple” act of browsing the available parts and colours and prints eat a lot of memory.  Even with relatively few parts in your model, the more you have browsed, the slower LDD gets.  (Quitting and restarting LDD helps in that case.)

Wow. Since LDD eats a lot of memory on my computer, does anyone think I should uninstall it from my computer?

[Kevin Flemming]

RAM doesn't work in that way. If LDD isn't being used, it won't use memory. I think you're confusing RAM with hard drive space?

[Johnnycrash]

I left LDD running for 4 or 5 days - No issues. Now, my Firefox 56... UGH!!

But here is the next question: Can you update the database of parts?? And if so, how?? I seem to be missing parts. What about classic parts, like windows and doors?? The current LDD selection is pitiful.

[Kevin Flemming]

No, because LDD is no longer supported by TLG. If they happen to bother making a new update, it probably won't be for a loooong time. I can't even connect LDD to the internet anymore (for whatever reason).

You'll have to make your own custom parts for things that are missing, which in itself can be just as satisfying really. I've just created my own Baseplate 36 x 48 x 6 with 4 Corner Pits and it turned-out quite good.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Kevin Flemming

[Johnnycrash]

3 hours ago, Kevin Flemming said:

No, because LDD is no longer supported by TLG. If they happen to bother making a new update, it probably won't be for a loooong time. I can't even connect LDD to the internet anymore (for whatever reason).

You'll have to make your own custom parts for things that are missing, which in itself can be just as satisfying really. I've just created my own Baseplate 36 x 48 x 6 with 4 Corner Pits and it turned-out quite good.

Well, that's too bad. I like the interface. It's easy to use, and, well, I now know it. Mine didn't connect either, but I upgraded to 4.3.11, and it's fine now. I think.

So, what do you create parts in, and how do you add them?? I know I should know this, but it has been a long time since I used LDD. Getting back up to speed. Thanks.

[Kevin Flemming]

Yeah, I've used LDD for years now and struggle with the others. The simplicity of the UI is what appeals to me. Plus I know exactly where most parts are in each category and it takes a second to find what I want now.

I build them using existing pieces in LDD. It's fun to find alternative ways of doing things. There are some methods that just aren't possible, due to clipping and limitations but generally you can create your own makeshift parts with what LDD has to offer.

As an example, I've just built a Baseplate 32 x 32 with Ramp and Pit, using existing LDD pieces. It's not perfect, but the shape is pretty much what is needed.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Kevin Flemming

[anothergol]

Good old LDD still handles thousands of parts a lot better than Studio. Move a large assembly in Studio with part-snapping on, and it becomes unusable, while still smooth in the LDD.

[M2m]

LDD max parts depends much more on your graphics cards RAM then the RAM of your Computer. Also the size of the scene will affect performance (for ex. 2 parts which are very very far from each other perform worse then 200 parts next to each other) 

[Kevin Flemming]

Well, that's not entirely true either. Having used LDD on both an old laptop (GT 540M) and my gaming tower (GTX 980), I've noticed very little difference in performance. Only slightly does my tower handle LDD better. It's negligable, to be quite honest. I wouldn't put all of your trust in LDD being able to handle massive builds without issues based on what card you have. There can and will be crashes, stuttering and frustration with anything too large, regardless of specifications.

As a test, I duplcated large amounts of bricks and reached about 36,000 until I started noticing stuttering and had one crash while trying to paste in a "block" of bricks. So while I only reached roughly 24,000 on my laptop, it was mid-build at the time (a large castle) and I hadn't finished before the power cable broke. I could have probably gone further with it, if I didn't get a new PC.

But me being fussy aside, you should be good anywhere up to about 25,000 to 30,000 without too many problems, even on an older system.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Kevin Flemming

[M2m]

Performance and maximum number of bricks not only depends on the quantity of bricks placed, but the complexity of the geometry of the parts and the scene (ie 1x1 tile vs more complex parts like for ex. gears). Transparent bricks will also be more intense to render.

In LDD, under preferences you can also disable high-quality rendering of bricks in the scene view and bricks palette, reduce the complexity of shading, remove brick outlines or increase the compatibility mode to improve the performance which could increase also the stability and the number of bricks used. 

I read somewhere that a guy could place 100,000 1x1 tiles in LDD when it used approx 1GB of RAM and got super slow. But that was in 2015.  

[Kevin Flemming]

Yeah, that's a really good point. I didn't think about the more complex bricks and such. My old castle was mainly larger bricks, to save time and my imagination at the time wasn't too good (this was years ago now).

I use maximum settings (because it has been so long, that it looks weird without it now). Went for 2x4 bricks, as they're a good size and you can stack them, so it also renders a taller structure as well as wide. It handled 9 huge blocks of roughly 4,000 bricks before getting a bit stuttery when rotating. Still good enough to build more, provided big sections aren't being moved around. Trying to move one of the blocks is ridiculous lol. Also, takes just under 30 seconds to load the .lxf file. That's another factor to take into consideration, the loading time of a file. It will also freeze up temporarily and stop responding during the load.

I wonder if the LAA (Large Address Aware) patch works for LDD, actually. Would be great to give it some more juice.

[M2m]

Someone should really check if LAA patch does something. I am on macOS so I can’t try myself. I wouldn’t even know if macOS needs/supports LAA for 32bit applications. 

[Kevin Flemming]

I'll give it a go. I have the LAA somewhere on my drive.

Just added more to my stress test file and it bottomed-out while trying to save 45,000. So that seems to be the limit for basic structures with a non-LAA LDD. I'll see if I can add more now it's been patched, when I have some time.

EDIT: No, still crashed while trying to save 45,000. Looks like that is the most you can do (at least from a simple structure perspective).

Edited July 9, 2019 by Kevin Flemming

[Dilvish]

I got an LDraw model up to 225k parts, but that was only possible because I strategically split the model into smaller sections and worked on each section independently. Working with the whole thing at once is painful.

[M2m]

I created a LDD file with 128k parts (all 1x1 tiles) at which approx 2GB of RAM where used. It worked but was painfully slow. Doubling to 256k crashed it on my computer.

I could even use the LDD explode functions :D

If anyone needs the file: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sttng/LDD/master/128k.lxf

 

[Johnnycrash]

1 hour ago, M2m said:

I created a LDD file with 128k parts (all 1x1 tiles)...

WOW!! That must have taken some time going one brick at a time from the Library.

[M2m]

16 hours ago, Kevin Flemming said:

EDIT: No, still crashed while trying to save 45,000. Looks like that is the most you can do (at least from a simple structure perspective).

If I remember correctly LDD uses LUA internally. Maybe the LUA parts also need to be LAA aware ?

[Kevin Flemming]

No idea, or even what LUA is, I'm afraid. I'm just a mere user who knew about the LAA (having previously tested using it in conjunction with a mod for a game) and thought it might do something.

[M2m]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lua_(programming_language)?wprov=sfti1