RE: Instruction making rant
2020-05-26, 20:26 (This post was last modified: 2020-05-26, 20:48 by Merlijn Wissink.)
2020-05-26, 20:26 (This post was last modified: 2020-05-26, 20:48 by Merlijn Wissink.)
Over the years I've made many instructions, small and large and I agree with most of your points. Yes, making (large) instructions can be a (needless) pain sometimes.
I think most of them stem from endless backwards-compatibility and a lack of organized teamwork between LDCad and LPub3D.
LDraw is an old format, and lots of things work, no offense, kinda old-fashioned. And a lot of things stem from concepts made 15-20 years ago. LDraw is very focused on backwards-compatibility and that's a good thing, don't get me wrong. But sometimes, it becomes too much and there just has to be drawn a line somewhere. For example, in the case of buffer-exchange: just throw it out the window and start with something new. Thing is, it takes ages to draw that line, if at all. I mean, how long did it take to finally get texture-mapping spec fully done and working
Not to mention that an 'LDraw 2.0' discussion pops up every now and then for years I feel like, but it never leads to anything except discussions. We still don't have any official snapping-metadata right?
So, everything just goes along as it used to. And now it's getting passed by newer initiatives like stud.io or mecabricks. They're more modern, easier to work with, have a lower learning curve and have all kinds of fancy new features. Sure, it's certainly not as flexible as LDCad + LPub3D and that's the reason I still use that combination for everything I do, but it's not hard to imagine that with time there will be more feature-parity.
I've used LDraw for instructions for years and I see no reason to stop doing that for the years to come. But, I am used to it. I don't know any better. I know all the ins and outs, my workflow is 'perfected'. But it's also not hard to imagine that, as things currently go, it'll end at some point and I just have to move on to something else if things don't change.
But it's certainly not all hell and damnation. There is great improvement too. LPub3D has made some great progressions last years when Trevor took over the code. Compared to the old LPub4 it's miles better and I can't imagine using LPub 4 nowadays. LDCad brought new life into the LDraw CAD world, with fancy features and good support. This is not meant as a rant or anything, don't get me wrong. I love LDraw and it's all volunteering work of course and I have nothing to complain. The work that everybody puts into it is amazing.
I think most of them stem from endless backwards-compatibility and a lack of organized teamwork between LDCad and LPub3D.
LDraw is an old format, and lots of things work, no offense, kinda old-fashioned. And a lot of things stem from concepts made 15-20 years ago. LDraw is very focused on backwards-compatibility and that's a good thing, don't get me wrong. But sometimes, it becomes too much and there just has to be drawn a line somewhere. For example, in the case of buffer-exchange: just throw it out the window and start with something new. Thing is, it takes ages to draw that line, if at all. I mean, how long did it take to finally get texture-mapping spec fully done and working
Not to mention that an 'LDraw 2.0' discussion pops up every now and then for years I feel like, but it never leads to anything except discussions. We still don't have any official snapping-metadata right?So, everything just goes along as it used to. And now it's getting passed by newer initiatives like stud.io or mecabricks. They're more modern, easier to work with, have a lower learning curve and have all kinds of fancy new features. Sure, it's certainly not as flexible as LDCad + LPub3D and that's the reason I still use that combination for everything I do, but it's not hard to imagine that with time there will be more feature-parity.
I've used LDraw for instructions for years and I see no reason to stop doing that for the years to come. But, I am used to it. I don't know any better. I know all the ins and outs, my workflow is 'perfected'. But it's also not hard to imagine that, as things currently go, it'll end at some point and I just have to move on to something else if things don't change.
But it's certainly not all hell and damnation. There is great improvement too. LPub3D has made some great progressions last years when Trevor took over the code. Compared to the old LPub4 it's miles better and I can't imagine using LPub 4 nowadays. LDCad brought new life into the LDraw CAD world, with fancy features and good support. This is not meant as a rant or anything, don't get me wrong. I love LDraw and it's all volunteering work of course and I have nothing to complain. The work that everybody puts into it is amazing.