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| ldr_tools_blender addon import LDraw into Blender |
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Posted by: Jonathan N - 2023-03-16, 3:31 - Forum: LDraw File Processing and Conversion
- Replies (9)
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The first release of the ldr_tools_blender addon is available on github. The goal of this project is to provided a reliable and performant way to import digital LEGO models into modern versions of Blender for rendering. Both .ldr and .mpd files are supported. You can even import and render very large scenes with hundreds of thousands of pieces using a special instancing option on import.
I've attached a render made of the UCS Millennium Falcon using the addon. The addon creates PBR materials for use with Blender Cycles. You'll need to create your own lights, however. This render is using an HDRI for the environment and a sun lamp with a softer lighting angle to create the shadows. Working directly in Blender has a bit of a learning curve compared to something like Studio's renders. The advantage is better control and being able to take full advantage of your hardware for rendering. I plan on updating the github WIKI with a tutorial for rendering at some point.
The basic installation process and usage is the same as previous importer addons like https://github.com/TobyLobster/ImportLDraw or https://github.com/cuddlyogre/ExportLDraw. Supporting older Blender versions is not a goal of this project, so these are still your best options for Blender versions prior to 3.3. Some releases of ldr_tools_blender will have to break compatibility with previous Blender versions if Blender updates its Python version. This doesn't happen often, so it shouldn't be a big issue. Previous addon releases will still be available to download when this happens.
![[Image: 225458929-e1870792-6125-443b-af49-fc047b6c8167.jpg]](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/23301691/225458929-e1870792-6125-443b-af49-fc047b6c8167.jpg)
This is the first release, so there will be bugs. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Making an issue on github is the best way to notify me and others of of feature requests or bug reports. This is also how I track if something has already been reported or fixed. I'll still check this thread, but I won't always be as quick to respond as github notifications.
While most of the core LDraw spec is implemented like MPD, I'm hoping to get feedback on what additional extensions or features need to be added. The last time I did digital lego modeling, LDD was still getting updates. The LDraw tools are still very new to me. I do most of my testing with OMR models or exports from Studio. Please let me know if any of your models don't import or don't import in the way you would expect.
The addon is a thin Python wrapper over some LDraw processing code written in Rust. The components are all open source. Check the github link for information on how to develop and contribute or figure out how it works. Most of the code is written in Rust for performance reasons and to take advantage of existing libraries. Splitting up the code like this means the actual addon itself has very little code and also allows components to be reused in other projects. Sadly, some implementation quirks in Blender prevent the importer from being as fast as it could be. The code is still substantially faster than any of the existing Blender importers and can even outperform the Mecabricks importer. Differences are most noticeable on large scenes.
Some quick benchmarks using a stopwatch. I've done my best to use comparable quality options for all importers. I'm not including memory usage, but memory usage was also substantially lower in ldr_tools_blender. You can get comparable memory usage in the other two addons by disabling any options that create modifiers, since this doesn't play nicely with sharing meshes in Blender.
10179-1 - Millennium Falcon - UCS, Logo4
ExportLDraw - 68s
ImportLDraw - 100s
ldr_tools_blender - 7s
ldr_tools_blender (instance on faces) - 5s
31203-1 - World Map, Logo4
ExportLDraw - 24s
ImportLDraw - 58s
ldr_tools_blender - 6s
ldr_tools_blender (instance on faces) - 2s
Repository
https://github.com/ScanMountGoat/ldr_tools_blender
Download:
https://github.com/ScanMountGoat/ldr_too...r/releases
Report bugs or request new features:
https://github.com/ScanMountGoat/ldr_too...der/issues
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| [LDPE] 1.8.66 Released (change winding / merge / library.ldraw.org) |
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Posted by: Nils Schmidt - 2023-03-15, 18:55 - Forum: Parts Author Tools
- Replies (12)
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Hey,
this version will extend the "change winding"-tool to work with lines and condlines, too.
It also corrects a "Merge to Nearest Vertex" bug. This merge function will now skip pure condline control points.
There was an important change on the LDraw library URL, too (www.ldraw.org -> library.ldraw.org).
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=12753]](https://forums.ldraw.org/attachment.php?aid=12753)
As always, you can download LDPE from this page:
http://nilsschmidt1337.github.io/ldparteditor/
Changelog:
(4 new features and 3 bug fixes)
With this release you will be able to...
- ...use the change winding tool (j) on type 2 and type 5 lines, swapping the end points.
- ...have the "verbose" option common to nearly all tools, and be remembered between sessions.
- ...deep inline a subfile and it will mark the end of that subfile, too.
- ...have the CR LF at the end of a line to be included in the selection when you click on a line number.
The following critical issues were fixed:
- "Merge To Nearest Vertex" recognized condline control points as vertices to merge for.
- The LDraw library URL was outdated (www.ldraw.org -> library.ldraw.org).
- 3D scenes only rendered to 1/4 of 3D window in some rare cases.
The program was tested intensively with "real world" files.
However, something can go wrong in about 140.000 lines of code.
Installation on Windows:
- Download and extract LDPartEditor_win32_x64.zip
- Run LDPartEditor-1.8.66.msi
- Start LDPartEditor from the start menu
Installation on Linux:
- Download and extract LDPartEditor_linux_x64.zip
- Install ldparteditor_1.8.66-1_amd64.deb
- Start LDPartEditor from the menu or via launcher
Installation on Mac OS X:
- Download and extract LDPartEditor_mac_x64.zip
- Mount LDPartEditor-1.8.66.dmg
- Drag LDPartEditor.app to the Applications folder
- Copy ldparteditor.sh to your home folder
4a. Open a Terminal.app and run ./ldparteditor.sh
4b. Or open a Terminal.app and run /Applications/LDPartEditor.app/Contents/MacOS/LDPartEditor
I listen carefully to your requests and possible complaints. Please leave me a message, with your thoughts and wishes to further improve the software.
LDPE is a 3D CAD application: The overall system requirements are higher. While I recommend to use a powerful 64-bit multicore system, it could be possible, to run LDPE on older machines as well.
System Requirements:
Minimum System Requirements:
- OpenGL 2.1 compatible Graphics Card
- Operating System (64-bit): Windows [7 or newer], Linux [e.g. Ubuntu Linux >=14.4], Mac OS X [>=10.6]
- CPU: Multicore-Processor e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon II (>2.0Ghz)
- RAM: 4GB
- Video-Memory: 1 GB
- Free Disk Space: 100 MB
Recommended Requirements:
- Operating System (64bit): Windows 7,8,10, Linux [e.g. Ubuntu Linux >=14.4], Mac OS X [>=10.6]
- OpenGL 3.3 compatible Graphics Card
- CPU: Multicore-Processor with 4 cores (or more)
- RAM: >4 GB
- Video-Memory: >1 GB
- Free Disk Space: 512 MB
- For a faster start, LDPartEditor and the LDraw™ library should be installed on an SSD.
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| Train > Sliding Bricks based on x946 |
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Posted by: Gerald Lasser - 2023-03-15, 17:19 - Forum: Parts Authoring
- Replies (2)
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I am done with the sliding bricks.
On Bricklink they are listed as "bb0037" and "bb0037b" in our library we do have only "bb0037b" as "x946"
- bb0037
is loosely mounted on the Sliding Brick Holder and kept in place by an extension on the bottom of the Train Base (LDraw: 303, BL: x902)
- bb0037b (LDraw: x946)
needs to be pushed in the SLiding Brick Holder to "clip" in place, it will not come loose easily and does not require the Train Base to be held in place
-> Should we call them in a similar fashion?
- x946 and x946b or
- x946a and x946b
Both bricks consist of several parts and are actually glued togehter, they do not come apart, so I have split them into:- u9597a - housing as bb0037
- u9597b - housing as bb0037b
- u9580 - weight (2x)
- u9582 - cover
- and the existing bearing 3111 (2x)
so the above combined will give us the x946x parts
-> Shortcuts- Shall we add shortcuts? They might be reasonable as the brick usually holds two train wheels and swivels with them (by approximately 11 degree in either direction. The question is, what is uncoloured, best is tthe train wheel...
- They are used as follows
- x946(a) with wheel 244c02
- black wheel with black rubber (sets 162, 727)
- red wheel with black rubber (set 182)
- x946b
- red wheel 244c01 motor without rubber (set 720)
- red wheel 243c01 (Set 721)
Main geometry change done:- I moved the origin by 6 LDU to have it swivel around the centre of the circle that the bows on the part are part of.
-> This might have a lot of impact on existing models, as this part is practically since an eternity on the tracker. On the otherhand it is unofficial.
-> What do you think? is it ok to move the origin or if we use a new naming, the old part will anyway become obsolete
a lot to read! thansk for your input!
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| 2023/2024 LDraw.org Steering Committee announced |
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Posted by: Max Martin Richter - 2023-03-14, 21:15 - Forum: LDraw.org Announcements
- No Replies
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Since we had only 5 confirmed nominees, no election was necessary.
Therefore, the 2023/2024 LDraw.org Steering Committee [1] is:
Philippe Hurbain
Gerald Lasser
Orion Pobursky
Max Martin Richter
Willy Tschager
[1] Try not to confuse the LDraw.org Steering Committee (SteerCo) with the LDraw.org Standards Board (LSB). The Steering Committee sets the course for the LDraw Organization while the Standards Board deals with the LDraw File Format.
Congratulations to the reconfirmed members!
Max Martin Richter
On behalf of the LDraw.org Steering Committee
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| !KEYWORDS question |
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Posted by: N. W. Perry - 2023-03-14, 14:08 - Forum: Official File Specifications/Standards
- Replies (2)
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A minor thing that I've always been curious about:
Keywords are not allowed to contain words or phrases from the part or model description. So for the model of "Benny's Spaceship Spaceship Spaceship!!!" you could not have a keyword of "Benny" or "spaceship". Easy.
But what about the model for "Tokyo" (the Architecture skyline set) which includes the Tokyo Tower? Can the entire phrase "Tokyo Tower" appear as a keyword, or does it have to be just "Tower" since "Tokyo" already appears in the description? By itself, "Tower" might be too generic to be useful.
My feeling is that it's fine to just apply that weaselly concept of "common sense", but it's worth asking as some LDraw tools may need to distinguish the rule when evaluating file headers.
A suggestion would be to clarify that a !KEYWORDS term—a complete word or phrase—is not allowed if the same word or phrase appears exactly in the file description.
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| Get models from LEGO Bricktales |
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Posted by: Jaco van der Molen - 2023-03-13, 11:46 - Forum: Help
- Replies (37)
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Hi all,
Is there any way to extract the models from the game LEGO Bricktales?
These worlds are wonderfull vignets and have nice builds.
I finished playing the game and I am working on various models from it.
Example: https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-26926.html
I also started building some of the worlds and level vignets, just for fun, but this is very intense.
It would be nice if you could extract builds form the game, just like with instructions and other LEGO 3D sources from the past.
Any help or advices is apprieciated.
Jaco
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