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Hi everyone!
First off, Merry Christmas! Virtual bricks are great, but I hope there are
many real bricks under your tree this year! :-)
If I have everyone's permission, I'd like to run at the mouth again. ;-)
Everyone's heard it before, just not phrased in this way. So, here goes.
I put the time into LDraw that I do to make the community better. So do a
few other bigtime contributors like Steve Bliss, Jacob Sparre Andersen, Dan
Boger, Terry Keller, Erik Olson, Mike Lachmann, Leo Zide, Lars Hassing, Bram
Lambrecht...and the list goes on (I can't possibly name them all). The
LDraw system of tools - the file format and all derivative editors and
renderers - are made available to you absolutely FREE. And it seems you
enjoy them too, because the main page averages 30,000 hits per week!
With all that popularity, why aren't more things getting done? Good
question.
I've been putting in many hours behind the scenes for a big surprise for you
all. It will make the LDraw.org experience a lot better, but I can only do
so much. Steve and Dan have been putting in many hours behind the scenes
and making the Parts Tracker -- one heckuvan awesome tool to help in the
parts update process!! No longer will we wait a year between updates at
times!! Woohoo!! I've got a few people doing other things like running
contests or moving data around when I'd rather be creating new content (Hi
Terry, hi Dan Crichton, hi Erik Olson!)
Even with all of us, why isn't more getting done?
Answer: Because we can't do it all ourselves. The current people working on
the site either don't have the time, knowledge, or desire to do it all. And
no one says we should have to either.
Through the history of the site, I've asked many times for people to do
things like write tutorials. Not many people have bitten on that. In fact,
I feel a lot of times my calls for help are ignored because I've called for
help so many times.
I think tutorials and reference materials are probably some of the most
important things LDraw.org could add to the website to make it better. If
there's a tutorial for an action - especially beginner actions - less people
get frustrated and shelf LDraw. More people get involved and do cool
things, like renderings. LDraw as a whole grows.
I've percieved something also - some people have downloaded the stuff for
free, even gotten it to work despite a complex setup, and then are
ungreatful because the website doesn't have a complete array of resources.
Instead, why can't there be more of an attitude to give back - to make LDraw
better? For someone who is knowledgeable in an area, it would probably only
take an evening or two to write a tutorial out. Not a ton of time, and not
a big sacrifice seeing the value people get in the LDraw tools for free.
The absolute BEST 3D LEGO-style CAD system for both renderings and
documenting models is available for free, and people are not willing to
spend a little time to improve it for others.
There's an old folk tale about the Little Red Hen. In a nutshell, the
Little Red Hen was baking a cake. She asked the other farm animals to help
bake the cake, and none volunteered. But when the cake was done, all of the
farm animals wanted to help eat the cake. The Little Red Hen refused, and
said 'he who does not work, does not eat.'
This is what I feel like when it comes to people taking a little time to
write stuff or pitch in here and there.
If more material filled the website, the LDraw community would be richer for
everyone. The community is what *you* make it. If you don't put into it,
don't expect much out of it.
I don't know about you, but I have a big vision for LDraw, and for the LEGO
community. It makes me sad when others don't take that same vision and chip
in even just a little bit.
All of this said, I'm calling for tutorials. Please - if you have a skill
in a certain area - POV-Ray, Animation, Building Instructions (hey
Guildsmen!), PARTS AUTHORING, etc etc... help by writing something! Take an
evening, two at the most, to do it. Write short stuff, brief tips.
Something is better than nothing. Give something back in exchange for the
awesome tool (and toy) you got for free.
I'm looking at the LDraw FAQ I'm in the middle of editing and cleaning up,
and there are a few questions that belong in tutorials rather than in the
FAQ. Like 'How can I create a part that is not yet in LDraw?' Good one for
a tutorial.
Email me if you're willing. I'll cut you a deal. Volunteer, follow
through, and not only will I post it on the site, you'll have room to
complain cause you helped out!! ;-)
Tim Courtney - tim@ldraw.org
http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
PS - Sure this is long. Sorry, but if I had just said 'I'd like people to
write some tutorials,' it would have been shrugged off like it has been so
many times before. Something has to be done to get peoples' attention.
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Tim:
I just wanted to say that I would like to contribute to some of the more
novice tutorials once I get a little more proficient with some of the tools
I am using. I actually think about it all the time, esp. if I am messing
with Mlcad, etc. And I did actually read all the emails that were being
sent out on the subject about a month ago or so.
I just didn't want you to think that I had forgotten agitating on this
subject, or my own previous offer to help with some of the writing (I DID
offer, right?). But as you know, I am still getting familiar with some of
this stuff as my own CAD needs arise.
One of my own problems is that I am not using LDAO because of some issues I
have had with it. I am assuming that most other people work from LDAO as an
initial interface for every project, or am I wrong about this? As it turns
out, I have never used it for anything except trying to generate HTML
instructions which has proven only partially successful.
If I come to figure it all out, I'd like to eventually contribute some texts
for beginners from the perspective of a beginner.
Anyway, just checking in.
-- Hop-Frog
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"richard marchetti" <blueofnoon@aol.com> wrote in message
news:GouEot.BxD@lugnet.com...
Hi Richard -
> I just wanted to say that I would like to contribute to some of the more
> novice tutorials once I get a little more proficient with some of the • tools
> I am using. I actually think about it all the time, esp. if I am messing
> with Mlcad, etc. And I did actually read all the emails that were being
> sent out on the subject about a month ago or so.
Thanks!! I put you on my list (buahahaha!!). BTW - thsoe emails about a
month ago just *died*. I never took the time to revive them, but I will
sometime before BricksWest.
> I just didn't want you to think that I had forgotten agitating on this
> subject, or my own previous offer to help with some of the writing (I DID
> offer, right?). But as you know, I am still getting familiar with some of
> this stuff as my own CAD needs arise.
Honestly, I forgot if you did offer or not. But thanks for reminding me!!
I added your name to a new 'master list' of volunteers - so I can keep track
of these people :-)
Understood about learning yourself. I think I'll go through and make topics
I'd like to see (that would help both me and others) for people to do. And,
I could put some time into thinking up more basic topics as well.
> One of my own problems is that I am not using LDAO because of some issues • I
> have had with it. I am assuming that most other people work from LDAO as • an
> initial interface for every project, or am I wrong about this?
I haven't used LDAO in years, actually. I just manage my files in Windows
Explorer and use MLCad and LeoCAD for my drawings (depending on what I want
to do, I have different editor preferences).
It would be good to have a tutorial for the people who want to use LDAO, but
its not safe to assume 'most' use it. One of the things I plan to do in the
near future is a survey for LDraw users where I'll get a lot of this data.
Perahaps I'll give the survey at BricksWest?
> As it turns
> out, I have never used it for anything except trying to generate HTML
> instructions which has proven only partially successful.
I've used the VEC before, and I've used it in the past to launch projects.
Things like the Minifig Modeler use the original LDraw to render though -
that makes it a bit clunky in Windows 2000. So, I prefer LeoCAD's Minifig
Generator.
> If I come to figure it all out, I'd like to eventually contribute some • texts
> for beginners from the perspective of a beginner.
Cool, thanks :-) And if you need help figuring it out, don't hesitate to
drop me a line.
-Tim
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In lugnet.cad, Tim Courtney writes:
> "richard marchetti" <blueofnoon@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:GouEot.BxD@lugnet.com...
> > One of my own problems is that I am not using LDAO because of some issues
> > I have had with it. I am assuming that most other people work from LDAO as
> > an initial interface for every project, or am I wrong about this?
>
> I haven't used LDAO in years, actually. I just manage my files in Windows
> Explorer and use MLCad and LeoCAD for my drawings (depending on what I want
> to do, I have different editor preferences).
I think Tim is right on this. LDAO's file management functionality is very
handy for use with LDraw and LEdit, but it's not really a tool of choice for
most Windows-people. *I* still use it that way (well, I use both LDAO and
Windows Explorer), but most people wouldn't.
> Things like the Minifig Modeler use the original LDraw to render though -
> that makes it a bit clunky in Windows 2000. So, I prefer LeoCAD's Minifig
> Generator.
BTW, that's a default setting, that can be changed. LDAO can use LDLite,
Ldglite, L3Lab, or any compatible programs as a 'view window'.
Steve
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In lugnet.cad, Richard Marchetti writes:
> One of my own problems is that I am not using LDAO because of some issues I
> have had with it. I am assuming that most other people work from LDAO as an
> initial interface for every project, or am I wrong about this?
I don't know about everyone else but I do not.
I work in MLCad (using an .mpd to keep it all together and organized but
outputting .dat files as needed) until things are captured, then I use a
variety of home made .bat files and command line work to create my final
instruction images and parts lists Then I work with L3P and POVray. What I
do isn't all that repeatable, really, so not sure that a tutorial would be
very much help to others. In fact there probably are as many different ways
of using the tools just in the GoB as there are GoB members actively
creating instructions.
(I've stopped using LDAO as well)
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"Larry Pieniazek" <lpieniazek@mercator.com> wrote in message
news:GouxnK.Kyp@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.cad, Richard Marchetti writes:
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> I work in MLCad (using an .mpd to keep it all together and organized but
> outputting .dat files as needed) until things are captured, then I use a
> variety of home made .bat files and command line work to create my final
> instruction images and parts lists Then I work with L3P and POVray. What I
> do isn't all that repeatable, really, so not sure that a tutorial would be
> very much help to others. In fact there probably are as many different • ways
> of using the tools just in the GoB as there are GoB members actively
> creating instructions.
>
> (I've stopped using LDAO as well)
My process is very similar to Larry's although I have a couple of Unix shell
scripts thrown in the mix to do some POV rendering on a high end Sun
workstation. About the only thing I use LDAO for is the visible parts
catalog.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring dot com
http://www.nclug.net - North Carolina LEGO Users Group
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.brickbay.com/store.asp?u=mpw - Brick Depot
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In lugnet.cad, Mike Walsh writes:
> About the only thing I use LDAO for is the visible parts
> catalog.
Me too. But between Peeron, the improvements in MLCad's organizational
scheme and just generally knowing the parts better I don't use it as much as
I used to. But the VEC is a good thing for novices.
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In lugnet.cad, Tim Courtney writes:
> Hi everyone!
>
> First off, Merry Christmas! Virtual bricks are great, but I hope there are
> many real bricks under your tree this year! :-)
Merry Christmas to you too, I'm afraid the won't be any LEGO bricks for me
this year main reason is I'm goin to get some DVD's and a DVD table to have
then in place.
> If I have everyone's permission, I'd like to run at the mouth again. ;-)
> Everyone's heard it before, just not phrased in this way. So, here goes.
You do from me.
> I put the time into LDraw that I do to make the community better. So do a
> few other bigtime contributors like Steve Bliss, Jacob Sparre Andersen, Dan
> Boger, Terry Keller, Erik Olson, Mike Lachmann, Leo Zide, Lars Hassing, Bram
> Lambrecht...and the list goes on (I can't possibly name them all). The
> LDraw system of tools - the file format and all derivative editors and
> renderers - are made available to you absolutely FREE. And it seems you
> enjoy them too, because the main page averages 30,000 hits per week!
>
> With all that popularity, why aren't more things getting done? Good
> question.
>
> I've been putting in many hours behind the scenes for a big surprise for you
> all. It will make the LDraw.org experience a lot better, but I can only do
> so much. Steve and Dan have been putting in many hours behind the scenes
> and making the Parts Tracker -- one heckuvan awesome tool to help in the
> parts update process!! No longer will we wait a year between updates at
> times!! Woohoo!! I've got a few people doing other things like running
> contests or moving data around when I'd rather be creating new content (Hi
> Terry, hi Dan Crichton, hi Erik Olson!)
I hope next year is not like this year we had too many bad thing in the NET and
in the real world.
> Even with all of us, why isn't more getting done?
>
> Answer: Because we can't do it all ourselves. The current people working on
> the site either don't have the time, knowledge, or desire to do it all. And
> no one says we should have to either.
>
> Through the history of the site, I've asked many times for people to do
> things like write tutorials. Not many people have bitten on that. In fact,
> I feel a lot of times my calls for help are ignored because I've called for
> help so many times.
>
> I think tutorials and reference materials are probably some of the most
> important things LDraw.org could add to the website to make it better. If
> there's a tutorial for an action - especially beginner actions - less people
> get frustrated and shelf LDraw. More people get involved and do cool
> things, like renderings. LDraw as a whole grows.
>
> I've percieved something also - some people have downloaded the stuff for
> free, even gotten it to work despite a complex setup, and then are
> ungreatful because the website doesn't have a complete array of resources.
>
> Instead, why can't there be more of an attitude to give back - to make LDraw
> better? For someone who is knowledgeable in an area, it would probably only
> take an evening or two to write a tutorial out. Not a ton of time, and not
> a big sacrifice seeing the value people get in the LDraw tools for free.
> The absolute BEST 3D LEGO-style CAD system for both renderings and
> documenting models is available for free, and people are not willing to
> spend a little time to improve it for others.
>
> There's an old folk tale about the Little Red Hen. In a nutshell, the
> Little Red Hen was baking a cake. She asked the other farm animals to help
> bake the cake, and none volunteered. But when the cake was done, all of the
> farm animals wanted to help eat the cake. The Little Red Hen refused, and
> said 'he who does not work, does not eat.'
>
> This is what I feel like when it comes to people taking a little time to
> write stuff or pitch in here and there.
>
> If more material filled the website, the LDraw community would be richer for
> everyone. The community is what *you* make it. If you don't put into it,
> don't expect much out of it.
>
> I don't know about you, but I have a big vision for LDraw, and for the LEGO
> community. It makes me sad when others don't take that same vision and chip
> in even just a little bit.
>
> All of this said, I'm calling for tutorials. Please - if you have a skill
> in a certain area - POV-Ray, Animation, Building Instructions (hey
> Guildsmen!), PARTS AUTHORING, etc etc... help by writing something! Take an
> evening, two at the most, to do it. Write short stuff, brief tips.
> Something is better than nothing. Give something back in exchange for the
> awesome tool (and toy) you got for free.
>
> I'm looking at the LDraw FAQ I'm in the middle of editing and cleaning up,
> and there are a few questions that belong in tutorials rather than in the
> FAQ. Like 'How can I create a part that is not yet in LDraw?' Good one for
> a tutorial.
>
> Email me if you're willing. I'll cut you a deal. Volunteer, follow
> through, and not only will I post it on the site, you'll have room to
> complain cause you helped out!! ;-)
I agree we need tutorials like how to do some animations and other cool stuff.
May be I'll write one my self but not this year wait until the 7 or 8 of
next year.
> Tim Courtney - tim@ldraw.org
> http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
>
>
>
> PS - Sure this is long. Sorry, but if I had just said 'I'd like people to
> write some tutorials,' it would have been shrugged off like it has been so
> many times before. Something has to be done to get peoples' attention.
You talk a lot LOL!!!
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"Eduardo Vazquez Harte" <eduvazhar@terra.es> wrote in message
news:GouJ5F.J19@lugnet.com...
Hi Eduardo -
> I agree we need tutorials like how to do some animations and other cool
stuff.
> May be I'll write one my self but not this year wait until the 7 or 8 of
> next year.
Sounds good. Let me know when you're ready via email.
A note on how to best format them for me (for you and for everyone):
Write the files in text format. No special formatting, no HTML. Space
paragraphs a couple lines apart, zip up gif, jpg, or png images. If you
want to note where images should be placed in the text, let me know.
Type out any applicable URLs and I'll create links of them.
This way, you don't waste time on formatting only for me to reformat it for
the website :-)
> > PS - Sure this is long. Sorry, but if I had just said 'I'd like people • to
> > write some tutorials,' it would have been shrugged off like it has been • so
> > many times before. Something has to be done to get peoples' attention.
>
> You talk a lot LOL!!!
Yep. Ask Shiri Dori (quite the talker herself) about how much I talk in
person ;-)
-Tim
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*Scroll down please.
Tim Courtney <tim@zacktron.com> wrote in message
news:Gotzu5.D9G@lugnet.com...
> Hi everyone!
>
> First off, Merry Christmas! Virtual bricks are great, but I hope there
> are many real bricks under your tree this year! :-)
Merry Christmas to you too!!
<BIG! snip>
> Tim Courtney - tim@ldraw.org
> http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
>
>
>
> PS - Sure this is long. Sorry, but if I had just said 'I'd like people to
> write some tutorials,' it would have been shrugged off like it has been
> so many times before. Something has to be done to get peoples' >attention.
Well I'm still trying to learn all of this stuff too, but I'd love to write
something for you. In another response you said something a bout a list of
what you'd like, when you get that I'd be happy to do one of the basic
items. (IMHO, with a list it will be easier for people to claim what they
want to do).
Gary
curently learning to do POV animations. *sigh* back to work.
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"blessing" <blessing@icefog.net> wrote in message
news:Gous88.A17@lugnet.com...
> > Tim Courtney - tim@ldraw.org
> > http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
> >
> > PS - Sure this is long. Sorry, but if I had just said 'I'd like people • to
> > write some tutorials,' it would have been shrugged off like it has been
> > so many times before. Something has to be done to get peoples' • attention.
> >
> Well I'm still trying to learn all of this stuff too, but I'd love to • write
> something for you. In another response you said something a bout a list of
> what you'd like, when you get that I'd be happy to do one of the basic
> items. (IMHO, with a list it will be easier for people to claim what they
> want to do).
I probably know less than you do about POV animations. Anyways...I'll try
to get that list out later today. Right now I have to run a few errands
and do my Christmas shopping - haven't had the chance to do it yet.
> Gary
> curently learning to do POV animations. *sigh* back to work.
Fun fun. What are you using to learn them?
-Tim
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Tim Courtney <tim@zacktron.com> wrote in message
news:Gouuys.FA5@lugnet.com...
> "blessing" <blessing@icefog.net> wrote in message
> news:Gous88.A17@lugnet.com...
> > Gary
> > curently learning to do POV animations. *sigh* back to work.
>
> Fun fun. What are you using to learn them?
>
> -Tim
creating the file with l3p and then adding POVs clock function,by hand.
if you don't know what the clock function is,its too hard for me to explain.
:-)
Gary
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"blessing" <blessing@icefog.net> wrote in message
news:Gp05FI.J6z@lugnet.com...
>
> Tim Courtney <tim@zacktron.com> wrote in message
> news:Gouuys.FA5@lugnet.com...
> > Fun fun. What are you using to learn them?
> >
> > -Tim
>
> creating the file with l3p and then adding POVs clock function,by hand.
> if you don't know what the clock function is,its too hard for me to • explain.
> :-)
LOL :-) I haven't taken the time to read the animation/clock tutorials yet
for POV...all I've done in it so far is mess with camera positioning and
background color. I'll get to animation soon enough, after I'm done with
the lot of this website stuff I'm working on.
-Tim
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"blessing" <blessing@icefog.net> wrote in message
news:Gous88.A17@lugnet.com...
> Well I'm still trying to learn all of this stuff too, but I'd love to • write
> something for you. In another response you said something a bout a list of
> what you'd like, when you get that I'd be happy to do one of the basic
> items. (IMHO, with a list it will be easier for people to claim what they
> want to do).
Ok, here's a list of topics I think are needed for tutorials. If anyone can
think of more, please post them here.
- How to make images of your models for building instructions, web
publications, and print media.
- How to create photo-realistic renderings using L3P and POV-Ray.
(step-by-step for beginners, with introduction to L3PAO and POV-Ray - point
to POV's tutorials for more advanced topics)
- How to use the LGEO Library for better renderings.
- Animations with POV-Ray
- Creating Scenes in POV-Ray
- LDraw Glossary of Terms (as many words as can be defined, from across the
range of tools)
- Using Multipart files in your model - MPD
- Introduction to Parts Authoring
- Optimizing a model for creating building instructions (rotation steps,
submodels, etc)
-Tim
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> - How to create photo-realistic renderings using L3P and POV-Ray.
> (step-by-step for beginners, with introduction to L3PAO and POV-Ray - point
> to POV's tutorials for more advanced topics)
I'd like to (co)-write this one.
Jeroen
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Tim Courtney <tim@zacktron.com> wrote in message
news:GovBt3.LJv@lugnet.com...
> - How to make images of your models for building instructions, web
> publications, and print media.
>
> - How to create photo-realistic renderings using L3P and POV-Ray.
> (step-by-step for beginners, with introduction to L3PAO and POV->Ray - • point to POV's tutorials for more advanced topics)
>
I'll take that if I can assume that the person reading it already knows how
to create the model.
>
> - Animations with POV-Ray
Anyone who wants to animate with POV is crazy!
;-)
> - Creating Scenes in POV-Ray
from scratch? without l3p? I'd just point people to the tutorials included
in POV. (or re-write them, they can be a little confusing)
Gary
>
> -Tim
>
>
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"blessing" <blessing@icefog.net> wrote in message
news:Gp05x8.Jx4@lugnet.com...
> > - How to create photo-realistic renderings using L3P and POV-Ray.
> > (step-by-step for beginners, with introduction to L3PAO and POV->Ray - • point to POV's tutorials for more advanced topics)
> >
> I'll take that if I can assume that the person reading it already knows • how
> to create the model.
Yep. We don't want to start from the very beginning in each tutorial. They
should build off of each other. This would be a step up from 'how to make
my first lego model' ;-)
> > - Creating Scenes in POV-Ray
> from scratch? without l3p? I'd just point people to the tutorials included
> in POV. (or re-write them, they can be a little confusing)
I was thinking along the same lines - POV has a lot of tutorials included
already. We could introduce them and then link off to them (er, refer to
them, because they're included in the POV distribution).
We could cover a few basics though, like adding a sky and clouds and a
ground plane, right?
-Tim
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Tim Courtney wrote:
[snip]
> We could cover a few basics though, like adding a sky and clouds and a
> ground plane, right?
>
> -Tim
Please do! I've been wondering about how to do some of those things!
;-)
--Ryan
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"blessing" <blessing@icefog.net> writes:
> Anyone who wants to animate with POV is crazy!
Right on spot! ;-)
Fredrik (raving mad)
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In lugnet.cad, Tim Courtney writes:
> - How to make images of your models for building instructions, web
> publications, and print media.
I'd be willing to help out or write this up as soon as I figure out the
logistics myself. I've been using Ldraw and MLCad for a little over a week
now so there is still a lot of learning to be done, especially with the
rendering programs.
sun
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In lugnet.cad, Sun Yun writes:
> In lugnet.cad, Tim Courtney writes:
> > - How to make images of your models for building instructions, web
> > publications, and print media.
>
> I'd be willing to help out or write this up as soon as I figure out the
> logistics myself. I've been using Ldraw and MLCad for a little over a week
> now so there is still a lot of learning to be done, especially with the
> rendering programs.
To get you started, here's a small piece of the puzzle for printing
images (culled from several recent threads. This still needs work,
perhaps some sample command lines containing the -w edge width values
and -s scale values used by the pros to get the best printouts. Also
I don't know which program is preferred to actually print the resulting
image. In addition, I know of a method documented here:
http://news.lugnet.com/cad/?n=5344
to do some cheesy antialiasing effects with ldglite that could probably
be duplicated with LDLite and ImageMagick, but that's beyond my abilities.
Enjoy,
Don
--------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION:
How do I change the edge colors on my printouts so they are clearer?
(eg. change the edge color for red to black instead of the pinkish
color it is now)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWER:
Some folks use LDLite for final rendering due to the edge line
thickening feature that LDLite introduced in version 2.1. With
LDLite, you can also add lines to the main DAT files to control the
colors. To modify red to use black edges you'd add a line like:
0 COLOR 4 red 0 196 0 38 255 196 0 38 255
The '4' is because you're modifying color #4, the 'red' is a name for
the color (which you could use in place of the 4 in later commands, if
you desired), the '0' is the code for the edge-color you want to use
(black), the remaining codes specify the RGB-A values of the color,
which are very important, but beside the point for this example.
When LDLite renders a model it will render red parts with black edge
lines instead of pink for the rest of the model after it encounters
that line. Put this line at the top of the file, modifying it for
each color you want to change.
Unfortunately, I don't think MLCAD will recognize this command. :(
Supposedly, MLCad doesn't like mods to color numbers under 60.
Another example, let's redefine Blue to use black edges:
0 COLOR 1 Blue 0 255 153 0 0 255 153 0 255
The syntax of a color definition is:
0 COLOR index name edge_color r g b alpha d_r d_g d_b d_alpha
The index is an index into the color palette. LDLite allows you to
use the numbers 0 to 255. By default, the numbers from 0 to 64 are
defined to match LDRAW's, the rest are currently undefined. LDRAW
used the numbers from 256 to 511 to represent dithered combinations of
the first 16 palette entries. You can still use the numbers from 256
to 511 in your models, but to make life easier, LDLite allows you to
set palette entries to dithered combinations directly. The COLOR
command expects two sets of rgb values which it will dither. For
solid colors, set both r,g,b,a and d_r,d_g,d_b,d_a to the same values
and no dithering will occur. Alpha should be 255 (or 0xff) for opaque
colors. For transparent colors, set d_alpha (i.e. on the dithered
color) to 0. If you set alpha to zero on both colors, nothing will be
drawn at all. Here are the default color values used by LDLite.
0 COLOR 0 Black 8 0x22 0x22 0x22 0xff 0x22 0x22 0x22 0xff
0 COLOR 1 Blue 9 0x00 0x33 0xb2 0xff 0x00 0x33 0xb2 0xff
0 COLOR 2 Green 10 0x00 0x7f 0x33 0xff 0x00 0x7f 0x33 0xff
0 COLOR 3 Dark-Cyan 11 0x00 0xaa 0xaa 0xff 0x00 0xaa 0xaa 0xff
0 COLOR 4 Red 12 0xcc 0x00 0x00 0xff 0xcc 0x00 0x00 0xff
0 COLOR 5 Magenta 13 0xff 0x33 0x99 0xff 0xff 0x33 0x99 0xff
0 COLOR 6 Brown 0 0x66 0x33 0x00 0xff 0x66 0x33 0x00 0xff
0 COLOR 7 Light-Gray 8 0xaa 0xaa 0xaa 0xff 0xaa 0xaa 0xaa 0xff
0 COLOR 8 Dark-Gray 0 0x66 0x66 0x58 0xff 0x66 0x66 0x58 0xff
0 COLOR 9 Light-Blue 1 0x00 0x80 0xff 0xff 0x00 0x80 0xff 0xff
0 COLOR 10 Light-Green 2 0x33 0xff 0x66 0xff 0x33 0xff 0x66 0xff
0 COLOR 11 Cyan 3 0x55 0xaa 0xff 0xff 0x55 0xaa 0xff 0xff
0 COLOR 12 Light-Red 4 0xff 0x55 0x55 0xff 0xff 0x55 0x55 0xff
0 COLOR 13 Pink 5 0xff 0xb0 0xcc 0xff 0xff 0xb0 0xcc 0xff
0 COLOR 14 Yellow 8 0xff 0xe5 0x00 0xff 0xff 0xe5 0x00 0xff
0 COLOR 15 White 8 0xff 0xff 0xff 0xff 0xff 0xff 0xff 0xff
0 COLOR 16 Main-Color 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff
0 COLOR 17 Pastel-Green 2 0x66 0xf0 0x99 0xff 0x66 0xf0 0x99 0xff
0 COLOR 18 Light-Yellow 14 0xff 0xff 0x80 0xff 0xff 0xff 0x80 0xff
0 COLOR 19 Tan 6 0xcc 0xaa 0x66 0xff 0xcc 0xaa 0x66 0xff
0 COLOR 20 Light-Purple 8 0xe0 0xcc 0xf0 0xff 0xe0 0xcc 0xf0 0xff
0 COLOR 21 Glow-In-The-Dark 0 0xe0 0xff 0xb0 0xff 0xe0 0xff 0xb0 0xff
0 COLOR 22 Purple 8 0x99 0x33 0x99 0xff 0x99 0x33 0x99 0xff
0 COLOR 23 Purple-Blue 8 0x4c 0x00 0xcc 0xff 0x4c 0x00 0xcc 0xff
0 COLOR 24 Edge-Color 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff
0 COLOR 25 Orange-Solid 8 0xff 0x66 0x00 0xff 0xff 0x66 0x00 0xff
0 COLOR 26 Dark-Pink 0 0xff 0x33 0x99 0xff 0xff 0x33 0x99 0xff
0 COLOR 27 LimeGreen 0 0xad 0xdd 0x50 0xff 0xad 0xdd 0x50 0xff
0 COLOR 28 Tan-Solid 0 0xcc 0xaa 0x66 0xff 0xcc 0xaa 0x66 0xff
0 COLOR 29 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff
0 COLOR 30 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff
0 COLOR 31 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff
0 COLOR 32 Trans-Black 8 0x22 0x22 0x22 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 33 Trans-Blue 9 0x00 0x00 0x99 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 34 Trans-Green 10 0x00 0x50 0x18 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 35 Trans-Dark_Cyan 11 0x00 0xaa 0xaa 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 36 Trans-Red 12 0xcc 0x00 0x00 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 37 Trans-Magenta 13 0xff 0x33 0x99 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 38 Trans-Brown 0 0x66 0x33 0x00 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 39 Trans-Light-Gray 8 0x99 0x99 0x99 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 40 Trans-Dark-Gray 0 0x66 0x66 0x58 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 41 Trans-Light-Blue 1 0x99 0xc0 0xf0 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 42 Trans-Light-Green 2 0xcc 0xff 0x00 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 43 Trans-Cyan 3 0x55 0xaa 0xff 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 44 Trans-Light-Red 4 0xff 0x55 0x55 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 45 Trans-Pink 5 0xff 0xb0 0xcc 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 46 Trans-Yellow 8 0xf0 0xc4 0x00 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 47 Trans-White 8 0xff 0xff 0xff 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 48 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 49 unused 2 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 50 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 51 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 52 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 53 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 54 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 55 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 56 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 57 Trans-Orange 8 0xff 0x66 0x00 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 58 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 59 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 60 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 61 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 62 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
0 COLOR 63 unused 0 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0xff 0x7f 0x7f 0x7f 0x00
Edge colors for colors 0 to 15 are documented in the LDraw FAQ
at the very end of question 27.
http://www.ldraw.org/memorial/archive/FAQ/#question-27
As of LDLite version 2.2 you can place the 0 COLOR meta-commands in
the ldliterc.dat file in the working directory.
Example 3:
Just add something like this to the ldliterc.dat file or at the
beginning of your model file:
0 COLOR 0 black 15 34 34 34 255 34 34 34 255
0 COLOR 4 red 0 196 0 38 255 196 0 38 255
0 COLOR 1 blue 0 0 51 178 255 0 51 178 255
0 COLOR 2 green 0 0 127 51 255 0 127 51 255
0 COLOR 7 light-gray 0 170 170 170 255 170 170 170 255
It comes out like this is ldglite (with antialiased lines enabled).
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=81479
That should make for a clearer printout.
Warning:
It is occasionally suggested that there is a way to do this in the
LDraw.ini file (created by LDAO and used by several other programs)
but it only contains lines for the basic colors and NOT the edge
colors, like this:
[Colors]
0=0,Black
1=8388608,Blue
2=32768,Green
3=8421376,Dk Cyan
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Don Heyse wrote in message ...
> Some folks use LDLite for final rendering due to the edge line
> thickening feature that LDLite introduced in version 2.1. With
> LDLite, you can also add lines to the main DAT files to control the
> colors. To modify red to use black edges you'd add a line like:
>
> 0 COLOR 4 red 0 196 0 38 255 196 0 38 255
>
> The '4' is because you're modifying color #4, the 'red' is a name for
> the color (which you could use in place of the 4 in later commands, if
> you desired), the '0' is the code for the edge-color you want to use
> (black), the remaining codes specify the RGB-A values of the color,
> which are very important, but beside the point for this example.
>
> When LDLite renders a model it will render red parts with black edge
> lines instead of pink for the rest of the model after it encounters
> that line. Put this line at the top of the file, modifying it for
> each color you want to change.
>
> Unfortunately, I don't think MLCAD will recognize this command. :(
> Supposedly, MLCad doesn't like mods to color numbers under 60.
Yes, MLCad complains when you have a line like this in the file. It does
still load the file but it chucks out the line when you save the file in
MLCad. So if you're going to use this with MLCad you'll need to add the
lines at the very end just before outputting bitmaps with LDLite.
Kevin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW Tank Engine custom train set: http://www.lionsgatemodels.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Annual SYSTEM Creativity Contest: http://www.creativity-contest.net/
Craftsman Lego Kits & Custom models: http://www.lionsgatemodels.com
Brickbay Lego parts store: http://www.brickbay.com/store.asp?p=Kevinw1
The Guild of Bricksmiths: http://www.bricksmiths.com
Personal Lego Web page:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kwilson_tccs/lego.html
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Don Heyse wrote in message ...
> Example 3:
>
> Just add something like this to the ldliterc.dat file or at the
> beginning of your model file:
>
> 0 COLOR 0 black 15 34 34 34 255 34 34 34 255
> 0 COLOR 4 red 0 196 0 38 255 196 0 38 255
> 0 COLOR 1 blue 0 0 51 178 255 0 51 178 255
> 0 COLOR 2 green 0 0 127 51 255 0 127 51 255
> 0 COLOR 7 light-gray 0 170 170 170 255 170 170 170 255
This is great info Don! Is there a specific directory ldliterc.dat needs to
go into? I've tried it in the ldraw and ldlite directories and ldlite
doesn't seem to pay any attention to it, although putting the color red line
directly into the file does indeed change the line color to black.
Kevin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW Tank Engine custom train set: http://www.lionsgatemodels.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Annual SYSTEM Creativity Contest: http://www.creativity-contest.net/
Craftsman Lego Kits & Custom models: http://www.lionsgatemodels.com
Brickbay Lego parts store: http://www.brickbay.com/store.asp?p=Kevinw1
The Guild of Bricksmiths: http://www.bricksmiths.com
Personal Lego Web page:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kwilson_tccs/lego.html
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In lugnet.cad, Kevin Wilson writes:
> Don Heyse wrote in message ...
>
> > Example 3:
> >
> > Just add something like this to the ldliterc.dat file or at the
> > beginning of your model file:
> >
> > 0 COLOR 0 black 15 34 34 34 255 34 34 34 255
> > 0 COLOR 4 red 0 196 0 38 255 196 0 38 255
> > 0 COLOR 1 blue 0 0 51 178 255 0 51 178 255
> > 0 COLOR 2 green 0 0 127 51 255 0 127 51 255
> > 0 COLOR 7 light-gray 0 170 170 170 255 170 170 170 255
>
> This is great info Don! Is there a specific directory ldliterc.dat needs to
> go into? I've tried it in the ldraw and ldlite directories and ldlite
> doesn't seem to pay any attention to it, although putting the color red line
> directly into the file does indeed change the line color to black.
Right now it only looks in the current directory. Depending on how you
launch ldlite this may be the directory with the main model file. Since
this isn't as useful as it could be, I'm sure it'll be changed in a
future release. There was some discussion a while back on whether or
not it should search using the normal directory search order for DAT/ldr
files, but I don't remember what came out of that discussion.
I also floated the idea of using a 0 INCLUDE meta-command for this
purpose, but I don't think that idea went anywhere.
Don
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Don Heyse wrote in message ...
> Right now it only looks in the current directory. Depending on how you
> launch ldlite this may be the directory with the main model file. Since
> this isn't as useful as it could be, I'm sure it'll be changed in a
> future release. There was some discussion a while back on whether or
> not it should search using the normal directory search order for DAT/ldr
> files, but I don't remember what came out of that discussion.
OK, that worked (putting it in the same directopry as the file I was working
with). Not quite as convenient as it could be, but still better than adding
lines to the dat file between MLCad and LDLite. Thanks for the help Don!
Kevin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW Tank Engine custom train set: http://www.lionsgatemodels.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Annual SYSTEM Creativity Contest: http://www.creativity-contest.net/
Craftsman Lego Kits & Custom models: http://www.lionsgatemodels.com
Brickbay Lego parts store: http://www.brickbay.com/store.asp?p=Kevinw1
The Guild of Bricksmiths: http://www.bricksmiths.com
Personal Lego Web page:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kwilson_tccs/lego.html
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Tim,
I'm no whiz with Ldraw, MLCad, POV-ray, or any of the other tools. I'm just
a mid-30's guy who likes to mess around with this stuff. But, I do a fair
amount of technical writing (user guides, SOP's, etc.) as part of my job.
I'll volunteer my skills in whatever way they can be useful. I have
received a great deal of enjoyment from "goofing around" with Lego CAD, and
from viewing others' creations.
Someone, let me know how I can help.
Merry Christmas to all,
James Wilson, Dallas, TX
wilson_j_s@yahoo.com, t_mingus@hotmail.com
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I'd love to help but always feel I'm not worthy.
If you take a look at http://www.sayce-jones.co.uk/lego/cad/index.htm then
you can see as much as I'd like to get involved. I only have experience of
some of the available utilities but it seems to be enough. I think what we
all suffer from is tooooooo little time.
The notes on my how to seem to be enough to generate some nice renders and
even the occasional animation.
Please don't think it's that we don't contribute but when I see some of the
great stuff done I feel slightly ashamed I can't spend more time
contributing.
I'm more than happy to let someone use my feeble attempts at a tutorial to
make something more formal on lugnet or ldraw.
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Hi Robin -
"Robin Sayce-Jones" <robin@sayce-jones.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Gpn1C5.Moy@lugnet.com...
> I'd love to help but always feel I'm not worthy.
#1 - Don't feel like you're not worthy! :-)
> If you take a look at http://www.sayce-jones.co.uk/lego/cad/index.htm then
> you can see as much as I'd like to get involved.
Taking a very quick (I gotta run soon) look at your pages, looks awesome!
I'd love to stick these tutorials on the site!!
> I only have experience of
> some of the available utilities but it seems to be enough. I think what we
> all suffer from is tooooooo little time.
True. I totally understand time constraints, that's why I say tutorials can
be done in an evening or two :-) I understand if people can't contribute
for one reason or another, and that's fine. I have noticed the lack of
responses to calls for contributions in the past, where the calls went out
to wide audiences.
> The notes on my how to seem to be enough to generate some nice renders and
> even the occasional animation.
I'll definitely benefit from these myself. I'm very poor at math and the
spreadsheets for the hoses and chains look awesome. I'm also a bit timid
trying new things that seem complicated, so I haven't picked up the
spreadsheets yet.
> Please don't think it's that we don't contribute but when I see some of • the
> great stuff done I feel slightly ashamed I can't spend more time
> contributing.
Its not something to feel ashamed about. If you don't have time, you don't
have time. But, for the people who do have some spare time, an evening or
two spent giving back for the hours and hours of enjoyment they get out of
LDraw is something that will benefit us all.
> I'm more than happy to let someone use my feeble attempts at a tutorial to
> make something more formal on lugnet or ldraw.
Great! More on this later when I get to examine your stuff in depth. If
anyone wants to volunteer to convert it over, great! Email me and I'll show
examples of a current one about to go up and we can work from there.
-Tim
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Robin Sayce-Jones wrote...
> I'd love to help but always feel I'm not worthy.
That's what I call an understatement!
> If you take a look at http://www.sayce-jones.co.uk/lego/cad/index.htm
Wow!
> I think what we all suffer from is tooooooo little time.
Aint that true...
/Lars
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In lugnet.cad, Tim Courtney writes:
> All of this said, I'm calling for tutorials.
I've put together a tutorial. It is the first in a series on how I put my
LDRAW POVRAY animations together. I'm looking for feedback and mistakes. It's
at
http://www.lugnet.com/cad/~1421/tutorials/
Tim, if you think it is worthy, feel free to link to it or repost it.
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