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All,
I would like to take this opportunity to announce a cool new project many
years in the making. I hope you find this as exciting as I do.
== A new LEGO building application ==
LEGO has been making building software for many years now (like LEGO Creator
and LEGO CAD). In (or around) June we will be releasing the latest and best
version, tentatively codenamed "LEGO Digital Designer." You will be able to
download it from LEGO.com. It's targeted at kids and novice users, so it's
not meant to "compete" with the powerful tools that have been developed for
the LDraw file format. We hope that it'll be a fun and easy to learn way for
many new users, young and old, to start playing with LEGO bricks in 3D. As
they learn, they would hopefully graduate to more complex powerful LEGO
building tools.
== Our goal is for all LEGO-style building software to work together ==
We think all LEGO builders, inside and outside the company, should have
tools that suit their skill level and particular requirements, and that you
should be able to move models between these tools. For many years now we
have been developing an internal file format, known as LXF, to make this
kind of interaction possible. Starting a couple years ago, we also solicited
input from some members of the LDraw community about what they would like to
see in a new LEGO model format, and we'd like to continue that process. We
would also like to see the LDraw file format models work with LXF format for
the same reason -- so that models you build in one program can be used in
others.
== LDraw Standards Committee (LSC) collaboration ==
It is absolutely marvelous to see the LDraw community begin a push towards
formalization. This will, end the long run, make it much easier for LEGO to
work with directly with the LDraw community on issues of collaboration, and
future development. Much like the ILTCO provides a “Batphone” between the
Train community and LEGO, hopefully this is the Batphone to the LDraw community.
== Tools for software developers ==
Unlike many other companies, we have a tradition of trying to encourage the
work of independent software developers, who want to tinker, revise and/or
restructure and build on our software. The work done by developers on the
software in our RIS sets, which operates the RCX, is a great example. In the
same spirit, we plan to release a Software Development Kit (SDK) based on
our new building application, with tools that will hopefully prove useful to
developers that want to work with or try to improve upon the current LEGO
building software.
This is likely to raise some questions:
- Will your new building applications open DAT/LDR/MPD files?
Probably not, but we hope to provide some tools for translating DAT/LDR/MPD
into LXF. There are many complex issues involved and we will be asking for
information from the LDraw community to help with this goal.
- Aren't you just trying to replace the LDraw file format and take over?
Not at all. We think users and software authors should support whatever
format they find works the best for them. We developed LXF originally as a
format for our own use, and we think it might prove useful to everyone. We
would definitely like to see the tools necessary to go back and forth
between the two formats, because there is a lot of great stuff out there in
the LDraw file format.
- Are you going to release a parts library?
It makes a lot of sense for us to release parts, as LEGO is the source of
all official parts anyway. However, we do not yet have a complete plan for
how or if we can do this, and it's highly unlikely that we'd be able to
release every part all at once. Your input on this issue is more than
welcome; please tell us what would be useful for you.
- Is the LXF format going to be open, will you publish it and will we be
able to extend it?
We will provide all of the necessary information in the SDK so that
independent developers can make their own tools that use LXF. However, as
many developers will tell you, it's good to try and manage the growth of a
format to some extent, so we would like to maintain the official list of
what the format includes.
- Where can I get more information about how LXF works? Can I see LEGO
Digital Designer?
Since the software is still in development, we are not able to legally
release it for viewing. In June, you will be able to download the program
for usage. That being said, we have beginning to open a dialog with the
LDraw software developers under Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA). This will
allow us to get their feedback on the SDK development, implementation
concepts, and future developments. Unfortunately, since the issues involved
with how this software works relates directly to our core business, we have
to be careful what is shared with the outside world.
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Community Developement Manager - N. America
LEGO Direct
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Message has 13 Replies:
 | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) Perhaps Digital Designer could offer third-party "plug-in" capabilities (import/export) for reading and writing LDraw files...similar to the way Adobe Photoshop works. But having some command-line tools to do the conversion would probably be (...) (22 years ago, 29-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) Sounds great! (...) Have you considered following that spirit all the way and making the software open source? I know that's a big step, but other big companies have done the same with great success. I'm particularly concerned that this very (...) (22 years ago, 29-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) By that I assume you mean true ABS. <grins and smirks> Nothing beats the real thing for complex and powerful... IMHO... Seriously though, I think what you are announcing here is great for the future of the community and its ability to further (...) (22 years ago, 29-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) [...] I'm excited about the progress, and thankful for your sharing the news with us, Jake. It's good to know that TLC/LD continues to take into account the adult community's dreams and hard work, while planning for their future. -Suz - Yet (...) (22 years ago, 29-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) Is this the program announced three years ago? "And in 2002, we will begin a program where LEGO builders will be able to build any three dimensional creation using free software to create building instructions for their model - and then order (...) (22 years ago, 29-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| This is great timing and I'm very encouraged by what you've outlined here. I'd like to throw in my "me too" post about supporting other platforms in addition to Microsoft Windows(TM) and that the LXF spec be publically documented. It's reasonable (...) (22 years ago, 30-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) But, whether or not it's meant to compete, it will compete, won't it? Or will it have such a limited parts selection that only kids would want to use it? What about the more complex powerful LEGO building tools mentioned below? Won't those (...) (22 years ago, 30-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| (...) Does this mean there will be a complex, powerful LEGO building tool to be released later or does this mean the graduation towards the LDraw tools such as MLCAD? (...) Multiple file formats never seem to work out too well (can you say BETA vs. (...) (22 years ago, 30-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| Hi Jake! (...) Sounds great! (...) I'm very excited by this idea. I'm glad you are planning to work with what the community has developed and used. As you mentioned in the previous paragraph, this provides an excellent opportunity for kids using LDD (...) (22 years ago, 30-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| In lugnet.cad, Jake McKee writes: <snipped Jake's announcement for brevity - since I'm sure you've all read it already!> First of all, this sounds very spiffy. It shows that LEGO is really taking the AFOL community seriously, and that is (and always (...) (22 years ago, 30-Apr-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Announcing LEGO Digital Designer 1.0
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| I can see this being a great thing as long as: 1.it doesnt have any artificial limits on it 2.the LXF file format is documented and there are no restrictions on using it (ref the TLC patents mentioned earlier in the thread) 3.it has support for all (...) (22 years ago, 1-May-03, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.lego.direct)
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