Modifying your LDD

[petero]

I'd be happy to send you the file, but you'll have to make 10 posts first. The board does not allow messages to or from anyone with less than 10 posts.

I'm not familiar with specific castle parts, but every piece has about 32 colors. You have to watch out though, since most pieces don't actually exist in all those colors.

Peter

Edited March 19, 2010 by petero

[Hive]

I'd be happy to send you the file, but you'll have to make 10 posts first. The board does not allow messages to or from anyone with less than 10 posts.

I'm not familiar with specific castle parts, but every piece has about 32 colors. You have to watch out though, since most pieces don't actually exist in all those colors.

Peter

Cool, thanks. I'll try to find some places to post without it being too spam-like. :)

So there's not actually any new parts, they just come in new colours? Oh well... that's good enough for me. :)

[petero]

Yes, there are many new parts also. I just meant that I don't know what parts are specific to the Castle theme.

Peter

[SNobleJr]

I'd be happy to send you the file, but you'll have to make 10 posts first. The board does not allow messages to or from anyone with less than 10 posts.

If it's not too much trouble, could you send me the hack as well? It would be a godsend, and much appreciated. (There should be an e-mail option in my profile, I think, but in case that doesn't work, try this one: gjakab666@gmail.com)

And to Bojan: thank you as well, for creating the mod and enhancing LDD in the first place. The far greater color selection is a much needed improvement.

[Bojan Pavsic]

If it's not too much trouble, could you send me the hack as well?

I'd be very happy if the file wouldn't be distributed, because i'm in process of creating a new palette with only valid colors for each part and i will try to contact TLG and get their approval to distribute that one. That will happen in a week or two, because right now i'm busy with making a connect 4 robot with NXT for a Lego show that will take place here in Slovenia next Saturday.

I'll keep you posted.

[Henri]

Hello,

I am also interested in the files to add more bricks and colors in LDD.

I have made a copy of my modular house in LDD, but some parts were missing, maybe they are in this file.

Please send me the file.

best regards,

Henri

[petero]

I'd be very happy if the file wouldn't be distributed, because i'm in process of creating a new palette with only valid colors for each part and i will try to contact TLG and get their approval to distribute that one. That will happen in a week or two, because right now i'm busy with making a connect 4 robot with NXT for a Lego show that will take place here in Slovenia next Saturday.

I'll keep you posted.

Okay, I won't send any copies. Being a programmer myself, I don't envy you going through all those pieces and figuring out the valid colors I certainly appreciate all the hard work you're doing for us! :thumbup:

Peter

[Bojan Pavsic]

Thanks, Peter

Like i already said, the thing got out while it was not ment to. The only thing i'd like is to improve the LDD experience in a legal way and there's a much better chance to do that if we don't go just full out and publish everything without TLGs approvement. I know LDD is free and everything's accessible if you only know how, but they still didn't publish all the available parts (i hope they have very good reasons). I can't really delete all the files that got out and i can't make people to not publish them.

p.s.: It's not about my work or time i spent on those files... It was interesting to take those things apart, but i think we have better chances to improve the LDD if we don't go against TLG but with them.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Bojan Pavsic

[thomassio]

Could you please send me the file?

[Hive]

I'd be very happy if the file wouldn't be distributed, because i'm in process of creating a new palette with only valid colors for each part and i will try to contact TLG and get their approval to distribute that one. That will happen in a week or two, because right now i'm busy with making a connect 4 robot with NXT for a Lego show that will take place here in Slovenia next Saturday.

I'll keep you posted.

I'm sad to hear this. I personally cannot see any harm done by this modification, and consider it more of a mod (which are normal and accepted for most software applications) than a hack. But it is, of course, your own choice.

[Superkalle]

I'm sad to hear this. I personally cannot see any harm done by this modification, and consider it more of a mod (which are normal and accepted for most software applications) than a hack. But it is, of course, your own choice.

It's not a matter of what we individually think about what is accepted or not, but what is written in the User Agreement, section I. I think Bojan is on the right track here - it's better to have a dialogue with TLG about this. Otherwise there can be at least two consequences: 1) TLG take legal action (which I guess that Bojan as a respected member of the Lego community is not interested in) and/or 2) TLG remove all the extra bricks in the next release of LDD, and/or possibly protect the software more, and then we're back to square one.

[petero]

Bojan is doing the right thing. Ignoring the legal issues, it's not a good idea to annoy Lego's software folks. It would take them about an hour to add code to the program to check the files to make sure they're Lego's official versions, and replace them if they're not. Since LDD looks online when it starts, and has to run online to check prices or buy, it would be virtually impossible to circumvent such a check. Want to run offline instead, and buy the pieces from BL? Lego can fix that too, so the program won't run without an internet connection.

I believe Lego will be willing to work with Bojan. Just the fact that he's willing to contact them and tell them what he's doing, rather than simply modifying the software, will get it off to a good start. Lego apparently values their AFOL customers, and this would be another way of supporting them.

Peter

[Scorpion]

In the first pages of this topic (2nd page, I believe) there's a link to an article by a LEGO representative saying they don't mind people MOD LDD, 'cause that will improve their product. Nonetheless, it's great that Bojan is activelly trying to get LEGO on the boat with us.

Go go, Bojan Pavsic! More power to you for unlocking the mystical secrets of LDD! I look forward to the next version of your magic file!

EDIT: Here is teh post: Linky!

Edited March 24, 2010 by Scorpion

[Superkalle]

In the first pages of this topic (2nd page, I believe) there's a link to an article by a LEGO representative saying they don't mind people MOD LDD

Yes, but you saw that that article was from 2005?

[petero]

There is one feature I'd love to see Lego - or Bojan - improve. Some of the Bricks buttons on the left side contain hundreds of parts, even with Hide Colors selected. The button just to the left of the Minifig button is the worst offender. With Bojan's list, it has over 375 pieces in the list. I've often spent several minutes searching for a particular part, and it gets very frustrating. It would be great if the largest Bricks categories could be split up somehow.

A lookup by part number would help also.

I'm still looking for the four-pronged top for a palm tree:

I'm sure it's there, since the rest of the palm parts are there, but darned if I can find it.

Peter

[Scorpion]

I'm still looking for the four-pronged top for a palm tree:

It's under the Technic button, IIRC. Down towards the bottom of the Technic parts list.

[Superkalle]

I'm sure it's there, since the rest of the palm parts are there, but darned if I can find it.

It's in the Technics accessories category (the one with the Technics pegs in the beginning).

EDIT: Scorpion beat me to it

I know Bojan is working on a much better and easier to navigate version, but we have to wait a few weeks since he is busy with other stuff now...

Edited March 24, 2010 by superkalle

[Bojan Pavsic]

@Petero

The category for a part is stored in the db.lif file. Which means modifying the parts category -> modifying db.lif, which i don't want to do.

The other thing i found out about palettes. If you make a new palette like MyBricks.lif and add it to the preferences.ini (the LDD settings file), it will get deleted. Why? Because at start LDD checks the palettes.lif in the LDD Program files folder and if the palettes that are stored in this file don't match with the contents of the Palettes folder in the User section, they will get overwritten etc... When i disabled internet, deleted the Palettes.lif and added a custom palette in my user section & preferences.ini, it worked. I didn't try to add it to the palettes.lif, but i think if i want to add a new custom user palette, i have to add it to the Palettes.lif in the program files and hope it wont get updated by LDD at start.

For the search by part number. I wont modify LDD because that means disassembling the software. All i can do is to make a software that has the lookup so basicly you search by part number and it says in which category it is and if i check the order in which items are displayed in LDD, i could show a couple of parts that are before and after this one.

[petero]

It's in the Technics accessories category (the one with the Technics pegs in the beginning).

EDIT: Scorpion beat me to it

Thanks Scorpion and superkalle! You just saved me endless frustration No wonder I couldn't find it... to me it's part of a palm tree, not a Technic part.

Peter

Thanks Bojan for the information on how LDD works!

[EDIT] How strange - my reply to Bojan was done separately after replying to Scorpion and superkalle, but it ended up in the same post.

Peter

Edited March 25, 2010 by petero

[shimon]

wow this is insane i could only dream about ldd having more parts

plesee bojan PM me the file!!

[legokitty]

Can I please have a copy of the file?

I have an engraving machine and would gladly engrave a few bricks for the favor.

Thanks

I'm new to this board as well... HELLO WORLD

[oxidonis2008]

Hello

i am also NEW in all this LEGO business, and i'm building a lots of stuff in LDD and by googling the web i came across this interesting FILE!!!

So, Bojane lijepo bi te zamolio ako mi možeš PM taj fajl.

Link na prvoj stranici traži autorizaciju, a nigdje nisam našao user/pass. (čak ni tu: http://www.legice.si/forum/viewtopic.php?t...amp;highlight=)

Unaprijed se zahvaljujem

Pozdrav iz Hrvatske

[hwarang]

Hello friends , i have some problems with connecting parts in LDD.

I am beginner and i've started to build some things that are in the net to got the idea.

I started to build Robo arm , but i stopped at one time , because i cant connect the cross axle to the other parts that i've connected.I've been trying 1 hour and it really pissed me off.

Thats the screen shot:

I cant put the cross axle to the end of the hole? Why is that ?

[Superkalle]

I cant put the cross axle to the end of the hole? Why is that ?

Welcome to Eurobricks. For the future, it would be great if you could post design questions in a new thread. This thread is for the topic of the extended LDD palette.

EDIT: Bojan seems to have found a solution to your problem in the next post....

Edited April 1, 2010 by superkalle

[Bojan Pavsic]

I'm guessing the axle through the liftarm and motor ain't going fully through, right?

If you check the image closely, the liftarm and motor isn't alligned as it should be. Try taking it off, realigning the pins in the motor and then back on, no turning around with the hinge tool. The axle should go right in.