With LDD Being Discontinued I've elected to migrate to LDraw and would like some help

[Hamish Grace]

I posted first in the topic here:  'LDD Is Dead?' and for the sake of ease on my part I'll just copy-paste what I wrote:

Hi, I'm a long-time user of LDD, love it to bits.  I love the simple UI, easy to use, nice layout of the pieces in an easy-to-search interface, and a pretty building interface.
I tried using LDraw once before but found the information and choices to be quite over-whelming.  A quick google for 'LDraw' came up with a parts list and a whole bunch of different editors and it was too much, so I stayed with LDD.
Now LDD is semi-dead, I'm trying to learn LDraw again.

I'm interested in learning about LDraw and want to know what the closest editor to LDD would be.
I've tried opening MLCad and was physically ill upon seeing the interface.  I've just now downloaded MLCad and SR-3D Builder and would like to know where the resources for learning how to use these would be.

As someone who uses advanced 3D applications on a day-to-day basis (I work in the games industry and use 3DS-Max and Maya), I'm not afraid of a complicated UI, but the information available to me for learning these LDraw applications is disparate and fragmented.
LDD was so easy to learn, all the info was right there in an easy-to-find options menu, and it was so simple to just get started and make some models, but with these LDraw applications I find myself completely lost.

My main gripe besides the hideous interfaces for MLCad, LDCad, and SR-3D Builder all, is the lack of part snapping and illegal colour/placement detection.  See here:



That is both an illegal colour and an illegal placement.
This I do not like.

My needs are simple:
-easy to use
-not completely hideous
-legal part colours only
-collision detection/snapping

Any help would be appreciated, this is all quite overwhelming and I'm a bit lost.