Alban Nanty Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 This is just a quick note to present the new parts XML file to the GIF builders. The parts XML for version 1.5 now not only includes your authoring details, but also the set description which used to be located in a seperate file called partinfo.xml. You also have the possibility to add the Peeron image URL.Incase you have't done so already. Please update your current XML files with your authoring details and part descriptions. These two elements are important. If you have the time to add the image URL that would be great too. Hi, Thanks Missouri, I will add few comment here. Usually, the way I complete the XML file is to go to peeron page and search the set or part. Then I copy the peeron description and paste it to the XML file. Then I usually translate it in my language (but this is optionnal of course ). Since I'm already on the peeron page, I right click on the image and select "copy image URL") then I paste the URL in the XML file. The URL is not always necessary if the image on peeron is a LDRAW image. Then in this case BlueBrick can construct the URL itself according to the peeron naming convention. But if peeron doesn't have a LDRAW image, but a real picture taken from the real part, then it's better to add the URL in the XML file. A very easy and good way to check if your part need an URL, is to create a layout with all your part in and then export the part list in HTML. Then open the HTML file in your browser, if any image is missing, you know that you need to add an URL (or you made a mistake in the copy/paste). Bye. Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks for the additional information Alban! I will give that a try later on. In the mean time here are my revised monorail points. I did a little more tweaking, but not much. Just replace the old ones in your 1.4 parts folder with these ones. The current XMLs will work just fine. I am dedicating much of this weekend to BlueBrick so you guys can expect more posts from me soon. GIF XML : 2889 Monorail Point Right GIF XML : 2890 Monorail Point Left Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) As this point is quite important I figured I should give it an extra post. This is a new rule/recommendation for the GIF makers. There are some sets which contain vehicles that do not fit on the sets baseplate. Up until now we have included the vehicles in the regular set GIF but outside of the baseplate or extremities of the main model. The downside of this is that it might get in the way of other set GIFs. The blue boat in my 6542 launch and seaport GIF might be a good example of this. After a brief discussion with Alban it was decided that we go with the solution used by user Rapseflaps for his 7641 city corner set. The vehicle is saved as a seperate GIF and given the following file name 7641.set2.gif and 7641.set2.xml. In BlueBrick 1.5 it will be included under the regular "Set" tab. This way vehicles that do not fit on the sets basplate can be positioned somewhere where they won't get in the way of other set GIFs. The file naming used above can be used for any set that consists of more than one part (buildings, vehicles etc...). Edited October 3, 2009 by missouri_bb63 Quote
Rapseflaps Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 I've finally added the figs and the bicycle to my gif of 6689. Make sure you download the updated XML as well, since there's now some overhanging parts in there! 6689 Post Station GIF | XML Quote
Alban Nanty Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 I've finally added the figs and the bicycle to my gif of 6689. Make sure you download the updated XML as well, since there's now some overhanging parts in there! Hi, That's nice. But I can see that the overhanging is only due to the hands of the minifigs. For this situation, I would recommand to move a little bit the minifigs inside the baseplate, or lower down a little bit their hand. Why? Because I think you should minimize the overhanging to the only necessary (like a roof or a track), because else you ask the user to do more work in sorting the parts in his layout. What I mean is: if the user put your set on his plan, then add a baseplate just next to it, the minifig hands will goes under the baseplate. Of course there is a way to solve this issue: right click and choose "send to back" for the baseplate. But the more unnecessary overhanging you have and the less work the user will have. Bye. Quote
Rapseflaps Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) Hi,That's nice. But I can see that the overhanging is only due to the hands of the minifigs. For this situation, I would recommand to move a little bit the minifigs inside the baseplate, or lower down a little bit their hand. Why? Because I think you should minimize the overhanging to the only necessary (like a roof or a track), because else you ask the user to do more work in sorting the parts in his layout. What I mean is: if the user put your set on his plan, then add a baseplate just next to it, the minifig hands will goes under the baseplate. Of course there is a way to solve this issue: right click and choose "send to back" for the baseplate. But the more unnecessary overhanging you have and the less work the user will have. Bye. Understood. I will make the adjustments. Fixed: 6689 Post Station GIF | XML Edited October 3, 2009 by Rapseflaps Quote
Alban Nanty Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 As I replied to missouri by mail, when you create a part, you should try to keep the same orientation than the LDRaw one, because this increase the compatibility with LDraw when exporting your layout in LDraw. So for example, if you check this part in a LDraw software, just by adding the part in a model (without rotation), you will notice that in fact, the part should be rotated 90° CCW. Of course there's a way to fix this problem if you keep the GIF unchanged, but it is more configuration work. Moreover, be advised that if you release the part with a wrong orientation and then fix the orientation in a following release, people who used your part with the first release will see it rotated, when they open their layout after updating to the second release. Since I'm sure you want to minimize this kind of trouble for the user, it's better to pay attention to the orientation from the begining. Bye. PS: yes, I'm sorry, it seems creating part (at least for the official library) requires to meet a lot of constraints. But in fact, take a look at how the LDraw parts are approved, this is also a painful process... I will make the adjustments.Fixed: 6689 Post Station Nice and quick! Thanks a lot! Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) My first new, non photoshopped GIF in ages.. and I think it turned out well. Below are the links to the GIFs and XMLs (still 1.4 versions), to build what you see in the picture below. As I actually own this set, and I needed the GIF to re-create my old layout, I just couldn't resist. This evening I will finish adding minifigs and vehicles to my remaining set GIFs. It is hard to see here but the Pilot is actually taking a nap on the wing of the aircraft. ZZZZzzzzz GIF : 6392 Airport Set 1 GIF XML : 6392 Airport Set 2 GIF XML : 6392 Airport Set 3 GIF XML : 6392 Airport Set 4 Edited October 3, 2009 by missouri_bb63 Quote
aawsum Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 It is hard to see here but the Pilot is actually taking a nap on the wing of the aircraft. ZZZZzzzzz Quote
FreeBee Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 6392: IMG XML 0376: IMG 1682: IMG what to do with the road connections in the 1682 ?? Quote
aawsum Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 what to do with the road connections in the 1682 ?? I would only add the left one. The right one is not really connectable in my opinion Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) Nice GIFs FreeBee! It is interesting that we made the same GIF on the same day. I had hoped that when I added mine to the "under construction" list at lunch time it would have been soon enough. I chose to dedicate a GIF to each baseplate as the airport can be made up in different configurations depending on the layout / space available. This is also the reason why I left out the runway end markers so that any baseplate can be used at the extremities of the runway. FreeBee I would recommend changing your landing pad to part number 6099p01 and the cone for the wind sock to part 3942bp01 which were the ones used in the original set. Please people, send me a PM with the sets you would like to build so I can add them to the index and hopefully prevent this from happening again. I agree that a connector is probably only needed on the left side of set 1682. Edited October 3, 2009 by missouri_bb63 Quote
FreeBee Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 FreeBee now that is interesting. It appears that we made the same GIF on the same day. I had hoped that when I added mine to the "under construction" list this morning it would have been soon enough. lol i found the ldr last week somewere online and i made the gif yesterday. just didn't had the time to put it on brickshelf. Ok i'll only connect 1682 only on the left. Quote
Alban Nanty Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 I would only add the left one. The right one is not really connectable in my opinion I agree, I would only add the left one too. Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 (edited) OK, this is my last BlueBrick entry for the next few days. Need time to roam through all the other great threads too! I have finished adding minifigs and vehicles to my set GIFs. If you notice anything missing let me know. One of them includes the 6362 post office. As you can see I decided to include the vehicle in the Set GIF as this vehicle is quite small and its position is unlikely to get in the way of something else. I guess whether one seperates the vehicle has to be decided on a set by set basis. Other sets that I re-worked are the: 6372 Town House and... 4532 Crossing (Minifig says... "Damn that is heavy! When is Lego finally going to bring back the level crossing with electric gates?" ...and before I forget, I was hoping Aawsum would mention it here as he did the translation, but I figured I should let you know that the Dutch version of the Video Tutorials have been available for a while so go check it out! (link in my signature below) Edited October 4, 2009 by missouri_bb63 Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 (edited) Ok... one more post. This is an important one though. Final due date for GIFs in the 1.5 release. 07.10.09 As Alban would like to release version 1.5 as soon as possible I think it is a good idea that we postpone the integration of any more set GIFs until version 1.6. Alban might have to do a certain amount of post processing on our GIFs and XMLs and the more GIFs there are, the further the release will be delayed. Also, this way we can start creating the next round of GIFs with 1.5 compatible XML files instead of having to make 2 versions like we do now. I did a quick count this morning, and it appears that we have 76 new and reworked GIFs (this does not include subset GIFs like xxxx.set2... xxxx.set3 etc...), which I might add is... just amazing! Thanks to everyone who slaved over a keyboard an mouse to get them all done. Make sure you put your authoring details in your XML files! If you don't know how, let me know! Feel free to complete any set GIFs that you have started and try to post them by Wednesday. After that, I will make a new post in the BlueBrick index for Version 1.6. I will carry over the construction list and any GIFs that arrive after that date. (exception is user cusaeng who made MSPaint GIFs a while back and is still converting them). Edited October 4, 2009 by missouri_bb63 Quote
aawsum Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 ...and before I forget, I was hoping Aawsum would mention it here as he did the translation, but I figured I should let you know that the Dutch version of the Video Tutorials have been available for a while so go check it out! (link in my signature below) If I could find the blushing smiley I would add it here. I am afraid I have a big time management problem. So indeed, I did a try to translate the Bluebrick tutorials to Dutch. Missouri_bb63 added everything together and made them available. Feel free to have a look and give your feedback. Link to youtube Quote
FreeBee Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 (edited) I updated the 6392 airport with right baseplate and the cone: 6392 Airport: IMG XML I move the file below to another directory in brickshelf: 1620 Factory: IMG XML Here are three nice old ones: 0340 Blockhouse: IMG 0341 Warehouse: IMG 0342 Station: IMG and sone others: 1472 Holiday Home: IMG IMG IMG 1484 Weetabix Town House: IMG IMG 1490 Town Bank: IMG IMG 6363 Auto Service Station: IMG IMG 6364 Paramedic Unit: IMG IMG 6683 Burger Stand: IMG Edited October 4, 2009 by FreeBee Quote
aawsum Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 (edited) Can you stop the time and create gifs, or did you find another speedy gonzales trick, WOW Incredible good job. Btw, it might be good to check the list with available gifs, because these 2 6363 Auto Service Station:6683 Burger Stand: already existed Edited October 4, 2009 by aawsum Quote
missouri_bb63 Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 I think we should change his username from FreeBee to Speedy! Don't forget to include XML files for the sets that have overhangs (and the XML for the shuttle launch set). Otherwise great work! I had never seen those 60s sets before. Quote
FreeBee Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 Can you stop the time and create gifs, or did you find another speedy gonzales trick, WOW Incredible good job.Btw, it might be good to check the list with available gifs, because these 2already existed I know they existed but i did a version with the subpic for the cars Wish i could freeze time. I think we should change his username from FreeBee to Speedy! Don't forget to include XML files for the sets that have overhangs (and the XML for the shuttle launch set).Otherwise great work! I had never seen those 60s sets before. Hiba hiba Freebee Gonzales Souns nice lol and the xml's will follow. Also for the ones with no overhang, will be some forwork for version 1.5 compatibility. ps great translation in dutch ps goede vertaling in het nederlands Quote
FreeBee Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) This is just a quick note to present the new parts XML file to the GIF builders. The parts XML for version 1.5 now not only includes your authoring details, but also the set description which used to be located in a seperate file called partinfo.xml. You also have the possibility to add the Peeron image URL.Incase you have't done so already. Please update your current XML files with your authoring details and part descriptions. These two elements are important. If you have the time to add the image URL that would be great too. I have some Questions: - Are there any restrictions of characters that can or may be used in the Authoring-string? - What is the format for the description-string. Do we have to include a setnumber. - I saw Missouri added an English and a French description. Is there a standard we will use. - And if we use French how do I find out the set-names. Edited October 5, 2009 by FreeBee Quote
Alban Nanty Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) I have some Questions: - Are there any restrictions of characters that can or may be used in the Authoring-string? - What is the format for the description-string. Do we have to include a setnumber. - I saw Missouri added an English and a French description. Is there a standard we will use. - And if we use French how do I find out the set-names. Hi, 1) Any character in encoding ISO-8859-1 is authorized for the author part except < and > that are used for the XML tags. 2) For the description, only put the description that you can copy and paste from peeron.com. Do not put the set number as it is displayed automatically by BlueBrick. The description appears in the status bar when you move your mouse over a part and in the part list. 3) At least put the english description, and refer to the documentation for more details (I copied the corresponding chapter below) 4) Use english at least and your own language if you want (and if you don't mind translating the description) Copy of the doc: Add a description in different languages Syntax: <Description> <en>...</en> <fr>...</fr> ... </Description> Default Value: The text "Unknown" in the language currently selected for BlueBrick. Description: A short sentence that describe this part. This field is a text describing the part that is displayed by BlueBrick in the status bar of the application and in the Part List window. If you don't know what to write, I suggest using the description given by peeron.com. The part description can be translated in any language. Each translation must be enclosed inside a tag of 2 letters representing the language. When BlueBrick is parsing the part library on startup, it will only keep the description of the current language selected for BlueBrick. For example if BlueBrick is configured to use French it will only search for the <fr> tag. But if the description can not be found in the language of the application, then the English version is used as a replacement. Finally if the English version can not be found either, the text "Unknown" (translated in the language of the application) is used. So you should always at least give the English version of the description. Edited October 5, 2009 by Alban Nanty Quote
FreeBee Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 Thanx Alban for explaining. When i was checking the files i came across two things i thought were strange: was in version 1.4 and i updated to when i checked out peeron i found out it was set 158 what to do? was in version 1.4 and miss updated it to: will the different orientation cause problems with conversions to trackdraw or older versions of BlueBrick? Quote
Alban Nanty Posted October 6, 2009 Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) When i was checking the files i came across two things i thought were strange: was in version 1.4 and i updated to when i checked out peeron i found out it was set 158 what to do? Yes, I also noticed that. I named it 153 because track designer named it 153. But we can rename it 158 if it is its correct name. And don't worry, BlueBrick already have a system to handle correctly renaming of part, to avoid part lost in old layout. was in version 1.4 and miss updated it to: will the different orientation cause problems with conversions to trackdraw or older versions of BlueBrick? Yes, please rotate your set as the original, else you may bring trouble to those who used it in a previous layout. If BlueBrick can handle a part renaming, it can not handle a change of orientation, and I would prefer to avoid writing such code. Bye. Edited October 6, 2009 by Alban Nanty Quote
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