Subject:
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Re: LDD vs LDraw
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.cad
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Date:
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Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:48:47 GMT
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Viewed:
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1652 times
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In lugnet.cad, Jim Foulds wrote:
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Hey gang,
So with the update on licensing soon to be finished for the LDraw
community, it got me to thinking about the Pros and Cons of LDD vs the LDraw
toolset. So I thought I would throw it out to the community to see what other
thought.
What are the Pros and Cons of each?
What do people like about each tool?
What do people not like about each tool?
Is there any feature that one has that we wish the other had?
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I have used LDD (a little) and MLcad (occasionally over several years) and had
already given this topic some thought, so here goes. If I were writing a new
CAD program, it would do everything MLcad can do today, plus:
- I like the way that LDD knows how pieces connect, and “snaps” them into place. OTOH, I have found MLcad to be difficult to consistently place parts at “integral” locations, regardless of the snap resolution. I need flexibility sometimes, but not nearly as often as I need the parts to line up correctly.
- I’ve found cases where no matter what I do, LDD doesn’t want to put a piece where I want it to go. (Known bug.) MLcad’s orthogonal views make it possible to precisely place a part anywhere in 3D space, but sometimes it’s a pain to have to use 2 or 3 windows to get the piece where I want it. Best of both worlds: make MLcad’s 3D window editable, similar to LDD.
- I do like the flexibility in MLcad to place pieces anywhere, even with interference w/ other parts. But it would be nice to be able to interference-test a model as a sanity check. I’ve also had multiple pieces in the same exact location, which can confuse things a little.
- Easier manipulation of hinged or axled sub-assemblies? Would be nice to be able to “play with” a model and have gears mesh, or tweak a hinge and have all of the affected pieces rotate in space. (I know that’s a tall order, but MLcad is soooo good already that there’s not much else missing.)
- I love LDView’s rendering, zoom and rotation capabilities for inspecting models. Would like to see that level of realism and ease-of-use built right into the CAD program itself.
- Keystroke shortcuts for all mouse operations? (I think MLcad does this, LDview leaves something to be desired.)
- LDD does a better job of categorizing parts by default than MLcad. Would be nice if there was an easy way to find basic bricks, plate, tile, Technic, etc. without having to dig through a million “brick with xxxx pattern” items. The Favorites folder in MLcad helps, but could be refined to improve the initial “out-of-box” experience.
- Would be nice to be able to easily import a palette of available parts (and quantities) when designing. For example, I want to design alternate models based on the parts in Set nnnn. Or I want to use only parts available at legofactory.com or the local Pick-a-Brick.
- Easier hierarchical model editing. If I need to edit a sub-assembly in MLcad, must move it somewhere, un-group, edit, re-group, then replace. This becomes a nightmare with nested group hierarchies. Would be nice if I could easily edit a group in its own window without having to temporarily disband the group or use multiple DAT files.
- Specialized edit window for designing new part definitions. Easily work with primitives and copy portions of other pieces.
- Going open source would be a nice touch. :)
I could go on, but if someone came out with a new CAD program that did all of
this, plus what MLcad can do today, I’d be pretty darn happy for a long, long
time. (Let me know if you need any help writing some code.)
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: LDD vs LDraw
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| Hi Chris, Some of what you ask for in MLCad can already be done... (...) This surprises me. I've never had a problem. (...) You can sort of do this with submodels (...) Apart from looking nicer I don't think there's any viewing that LDView can do (...) (18 years ago, 13-Dec-06, to lugnet.cad, FTX)
| | | Re: LDD vs LDraw
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| (...) ... Hmmm, I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but what would you think about maybe taking over the maintainence and development of ldglite? I tend to think of it as the lowest common denominator of LDRAW viewer/editors, but with a (...) (18 years ago, 13-Dec-06, to lugnet.cad, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | LDD vs LDraw
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| Hey gang, So with the update on licensing soon to be finished for the LDraw community, it got me to thinking about the Pros and Cons of LDD vs the LDraw toolset. So I thought I would throw it out to the community to see what other thought. What are (...) (18 years ago, 13-Dec-06, to lugnet.cad)
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