LDCad 1.6c (win+linux)

[Roland Melkert]

I decided to release LDCad 1.6c early 

I was planning on some more scripting examples and maybe a new animation but unfortunately I can't seem to find the time needed at the moment.

Also the 1.6c version has been long overdue

This version includes mostly (minor) bug fixes and some tweaks to existing behavior.

It also includes some new stuff, namely:

• File cleanup templates
  
• Part bin export
  
• Scripting api extensions (I also decided to open up the lua 'io' module.
  
• Some new scripted macros including some MLCad 'HIDE' tools.
  
• New, 1802, templates, also tweaks some existing ones to be more consistent with their static counter parts.
  
• Snap and mirror info for, most of, the 1802 library.
  

For the full list of changes see the changeLog.txt file.

I was also planning on overhauling the part bin structure, but decided to leave that for 2.0 instead.


You can download the newest version here:
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/download

[Philippe Hurbain]

I decided to release LDCad 1.6c early 

Yeah !!!

• Part bin export
  

What's the intended purpose?

[Jaco van der Molen]

I was also planning on overhauling the part bin structure, but decided to leave that for 2.0 instead.

Hi Roland,

Thanks for this update. I got 1.6c running smoothly.

I did some re-work on the part bins for my self in 1.6b and got most things like I wanted it there.
However, I cannot seem to repeat this entirely in 1.6c.

For example: I'd like the Plate 1x1 with sockets, joints and balls in a modified plate category I created, so that the normal plates category is not too crowded.

I wanted these to be excluded from the hinges bin.
The strange thing is that I only am able to include the last two in my bin.
The other 3 with sockets and socket and ball are no where to be found.

Any idea how to do that?

[Roland Melkert]

What's the intended purpose?

People asked for a way to export part lists.

[Roland Melkert]

The other 3 with sockets and socket and ball are no where to be found.

Those are in the hinge plate group. I thought I moved all the ball plates there too, but this seems to have fallen trough the cracks.

But if you defined a custom group it doesn't really matter if they are visible somewhere else too, group content doesn't need to be unique.

[Jaco van der Molen]

Those are in the hinge plate group. I thought I moved all the ball plates there too, but this seems to have fallen trough the cracks.

That is the problem: they are not there, due to my own tweaking... :-(

But if you defined a custom group it doesn't really matter if they are visible somewhere else too, group content doesn't need to be unique.

The thing is, I cannot seem to get them in any group.

I think I messed up my PBG files too much and I must restore them somehow.
Can I just delete the partBin folder to regenerate it?

[Jaco van der Molen]

Those are in the hinge plate group. I thought I moved all the ball plates there too, but this seems to have fallen trough the cracks.

I think I now see and understand why: 14418 has 0 !CATEGORY Hinge in it. Just like 14419 and 14704.
Whereas 14417 and 22890 do not have this category meta.

Do we think the category hinge needs to be added to 14417 and 22890?

[Roland Melkert]

I think I now see and understand why: 14418 has 0 !CATEGORY Hinge in it. Just like 14419 and 14704.
Whereas 14417 and 22890 do not have this category meta.

You can force them into any group using

Code:

static partName 14418.dat,14419.dat,14704.dat

at the beginning of the rules.

[Moreau]

I decided to release LDCad 1.6c early 

I was planning on some more scripting examples and maybe a new animation but unfortunately I can't seem to find the time needed at the moment.

Also the 1.6c version has been long overdue

I have this and it works great, and i like your videos on youtube.
Just a few suggestions
Foremost i can't find a discussion board on the forum dedicated to scripting. I only recently tried reading up on LUA and it still mystifies me how it works. Your videos are good as i said, but its hard to see clearly what you are editing and how.

P.S. i want to make a script for moving the camera through a model as if giving a walking tour of the interior (of a castle)

[Roland Melkert]

Foremost i can't find a discussion board on the forum dedicated to scripting. I only recently tried reading up on LUA and it still mystifies me how it works. Your videos are good as i said, but its hard to see clearly what you are editing and how.

I always capture in HD, but sometimes youtube messes with the resolution especially in the first minute of playback.

Manually forcing the playback quality to HD might help.

P.S. i want to make a script for moving the camera through a model as if giving a walking tour of the interior (of a castle)

This is an ambitious project if you not familiar with general scripting and or lua.

But it should be very fun to watch, This is how I would approach it:

- Make a copy of the model (backup)
- Make sure the minifig is in a submodel
- Find a unique small piece in the bin that is not used in the model (e.g. a 1x1 plate with some weird pattern).
- Place the helper part at locations you want the minifig to walk to, like a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.
- Create a new story animation for the model using the template button on the main models header dialog' scripting page.

After this you could write a script that moves the minifig from helper part to helper part and at the same time sync the position of a first person camera to the minifig's face location.
As you only need the position of the helper parts you can hide them in the animation script.

If it is indoors you might also want to move a light source along or the povray export will be very dark.

I'll see if I can setup something basic you could use as a starting script as I realize this uses things not really used in the examples (camera/light).

[Moreau]

- Make a copy of the model (backup)
- Make sure the minifig is in a submodel
- Find a unique small piece in the bin that is not used in the model (e.g. a 1x1 plate with some weird pattern).
- Place the helper part at locations you want the minifig to walk to, like a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.
- Create a new story animation for the model using the template button on the main models header dialog' scripting page.

After this you could write a script that moves the minifig from helper part to helper part and at the same time sync the position of a first person camera to the minifig's face location.
As you only need the position of the helper parts you can hide them in the animation script.

If it is indoors you might also want to move a light source along or the povray export will be very dark.

I'll see if I can setup something basic you could use as a starting script as I realize this uses things not really used in the examples (camera/light).

the model in LDraw has plenty of lighting so i don't know why i would need a light source. I did find something called pov ray (light.dat) but it does'n seem to do anything when placed in the model.
I have a headless minifig submodel with the part center moved to the top of the neck peg, which puts it at about eye-level. i just dont have any idea yet how to make the camera attach itself to that center or follow the submodel move-for-move.
what is a helper part?

[Roland Melkert]

the model in LDraw has plenty of lighting so i don't know why i would need a light source. I did find something called pov ray (light.dat) but it does'n seem to do anything when placed in the model.
I have a headless minifig submodel with the part center moved to the top of the neck peg, which puts it at about eye-level. i just dont have any idea yet how to make the camera attach itself to that center or follow the submodel move-for-move.
what is a helper part?

POV-Ray is a renderer LDCad can export an animation to. It allows for much more realistic rendering of the scene (shadows, reflections, etc etc). Extra lights would be needed if the camera is inside the model completely surrounded by bricks.

The light.dat is something another POV-Ray exporter uses to add extra lights to a model, but in LDCad it isn't used. Instead you can add extra (animated) lights to the scene using script.

A helper part is just some part you use to make the animation, it has no function in the model itself.

I'll setup something in the next several days you could use as a starting point. Maybe I'll include it as a sample animation script for the 1.6d version as I very much like this kind of animation use.

[Roland Melkert]

I'll setup something in the next several days you could use as a starting point. Maybe I'll include it as a sample animation script for the 1.6d version as I very much like this kind of animation use.

I gave it a go:
https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-23778.html

[Michael Horvath]

Dumb question: How do I export to POV-Ray? I cannot find the menu option. Thanks.

[Roland Melkert]

Dumb question: How do I export to POV-Ray? I cannot find the menu option. Thanks.

alt+e will open the export menu.

The next version will also have an export menu in the file menu.

[Michael Horvath]

Do you have a complete list of keyboard/mouse shortcuts handy? Would it be okay if I publish it to a database on my website?

http://isometricland.net/keyboard/keyboard.php

[Roland Melkert]

Do you have a complete list of keyboard/mouse shortcuts handy? Would it be okay if I publish it to a database on my website?

http://isometricland.net/keyboard/keyboard.php

Shortcuts are on the website
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/docs/keys

It's a bit behind but it's mostly up-to-date.

[Orion Pobursky]

Shortcuts are on the website
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/docs/keys

It's a bit behind but it's mostly up-to-date.

Also, if you go into the hotkey config section of LDCad you can find the entire list as well.

[Michael Horvath]

Shortcuts are on the website
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/docs/keys

It's a bit behind but it's mostly up-to-date.

Thanks! A website makes it much easier to copy/paste into my database than from the program itself.

I still have to figure out how to fit them all onto one keyboard graphic, or whether to split them into multiple graphics and what to split.

[Michael Horvath]

Shortcuts are on the website
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/docs/keys

It's a bit behind but it's mostly up-to-date.

Okay, here they are. There are two of them.

LDCad (Editor): http://isometricland.net/keyboard/keyboa...mt=0&ten=1
LDCad (Misc): http://isometricland.net/keyboard/keyboa...mt=0&ten=1