Bricksmith 3.0: Oh so Flexible!

[Allen Smith]

Bricksmith 3.0 adds the following features:

• LSynth integration with real-time, drag-and-drop constraint editing for creating flexible hoses, chains, bands, etc.
  
• Curved parts are drawn with smooth shading
  
• Can change spin center to center of selection
  
• “Walk-Through” camera mode lets you view your model from the inside.
  
• Search feature to select all parts of a particular color or name
  
• Translucent parts correctly show the model behind them. (The interiors of translucent parts may not be rendered correctly.)
  
• Performance improvements for rendering models with large numbers of parts.
  
• “Insert Related” command automatically inserts selected parts that match the selection, e.g. drawers for a cupboard, tires for a wheel, window glass for a window frame.
  
• Split Step command
  

It also fixes the following bugs:

• Fixed modifier shortcuts for mouse tools not working after invoking a contextual menu on 10.8+
  

Bricksmith 3.0 has some of the most exciting features yet. And I would like to extend a very special thanks to Robin Macharg and Ben Supnik for implementing most of them.

The integrated LSynth editor in Bricksmith 3.0 strips away all the pain of working with flexible elements. You get instantaneous feedback while editing your constraints. There's nothing to download or set up. No meta-commands to edit. No external program to run. No separate files for constraints and synthesized output. The only thing between you and your hose is your mouse.

LSynth in Bricksmith works like this:

• Bricksmith comes pre-packaged with the LSynth command-line tool, the configuration files, and the unofficial parts.
  
• When you add or edit an LSynth element and constraints, Bricksmith automatically calls LSynth with just the element you are working on, parses the synthesized result, and inserts it into your model
  
• The original constraints are preserved in such a way that they are still editable. Every time you make a change, Bricksmith automatically deletes the stale synthesis and inserts a new one.
  
• When you deselect an LSynth element in Bricksmith, the constraints vanish, and all you see is the synthesized hose.
  
• If you select the hose again, it becomes translucent and the constraints are revealed again, ready for you to edit them.
  
• If you open a file with just constraints, Bricksmith automatically generates the synthesized output for you. But it's completely non-destructive; the constraints are always preserved for you to edit them later.
  

Bricksmith's LSynth integration was developed by Robin Macharg, and I greatly appreciate the contribution!

But don't overlook the other great features added in the release. Ben Supnik has done some fantastic rendering work for smoothed shading and transparency sorting. He's also added a feature called "Insert Related", which is supposed to make it easier to find and position parts that always go together, such as wheels and tires, or windows and glass. The data for this features comes from a simple MPD file which contains groupings of related parts. There's a meta-command to identify groups and their names; everything else is inferred. It's really easy to add to this file, and I hope people do.

Bricksmith requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later(*), and may be download it at <http://bricksmith.sourceforge.net/>.

Sincerely,
Allen Smith

(*)only tested on 10.9