LDraw brick models - not detailed?

[Daniel West]

I'm working on a rendering application which requires very accurate models of all LEGO parts.
Naturally the LDraw library is a first stop for me, but I am running into some curious cases of lack of detail even in very common parts like 2xN bricks.
If you look at the underside of a real (modern) 2 x 4 brick for example, you will see a number of small supports, as well as divots where the studs stick out. However, such details are not present in even high resolution LDraw models.

I think it's fair enough if LDraw has some sort of philosophy that the part authors don't worry too much about this sort of detail. But I was just wondering if I was missing anything, or if there was a way to access more detailed part files, especially for very common elements such as these.

Thanks!

[Orion Pobursky]

I'm working on a rendering application which requires very accurate models of all LEGO parts.
Naturally the LDraw library is a first stop for me, but I am running into some curious cases of lack of detail even in very common parts like 2xN bricks.
If you look at the underside of a real (modern) 2 x 4 brick for example, you will see a number of small supports, as well as divots where the studs stick out. However, such details are not present in even high resolution LDraw models.

I think it's fair enough if LDraw has some sort of philosophy that the part authors don't worry too much about this sort of detail. But I was just wondering if I was missing anything, or if there was a way to access more detailed part files, especially for very common elements such as these.

Thanks!

While we strive for detail, the library often omits small, often unseen, aspects that do not have any functional need (read use in building)

[Daniel West]

While we strive for detail, the library often omits small, often unseen, aspects that do not have any functional need (read use in building)

Thanks Orion! I suspected as such, but it's good to have confirmation.

[Lasse Deleuran]

I'm working on a rendering application which requires very accurate models of all LEGO parts.
Naturally the LDraw library is a first stop for me, but I am running into some curious cases of lack of detail even in very common parts like 2xN bricks.
If you look at the underside of a real (modern) 2 x 4 brick for example, you will see a number of small supports, as well as divots where the studs stick out. However, such details are not present in even high resolution LDraw models.

I think it's fair enough if LDraw has some sort of philosophy that the part authors don't worry too much about this sort of detail. But I was just wondering if I was missing anything, or if there was a way to access more detailed part files, especially for very common elements such as these.

Thanks!

I ran into exactly this problem while following building instructions recently. the underside holes of 1x2 plates are what make them distinguishable from 1x2 jumper plates without groove when seen from below. Unfortunately the building instructions showed 1x2 plates from below without a BOM attached, so I had to guess, leading to a less fun building experience.

While this is something I will keep in mind when making my own instructions, I understand how this is an easy mistake to make and how to solve it from a parts authoring point of view.

But on the other hand we get a big penalty. A 1x2 plate currently has 3 cylinders and 0 rectangles with holes. A 1x2 plate with this detailing would get 2 additional cylinders and the rectangle needs holes for these, resulting in a vast increase of effort to design and time to render.