Mecabricks is being improved everyday. Sometimes I have the impress that it doesn't go fast enough, however when I stop and reflect on what has been made in the past year, it is actually quite amazing:
- A year ago, the only solution to render models was to export the scene and do it yourself. Nowadays, you have another fast and easy option to do it right inside the workshop in your browser. It supports custom lamps, environment lighting, floor, background, part appearance and compositing among other options. I wouldn't even think about going back before this time as I use this tool pretty much every day.
- A year ago, people adding parts to the library had to go through the painful process of generating the little preview icons in Blender. Now it only requires one click. It has saved countless hours for all of us part designers. Ask Stas 😛
So for 2019 I hope to achieve the following. It is quite ambitious, but I think it shall be possible overall. This is mainly centered around the workshop, model presentation and rendering.
1. Upgrade viewport code.
2. Add new options to display and shade objects in viewport - lighting, shading, edges, reflections, transparency, logo on studs.
3. Save custom viewport settings.
4. Redesign flexible tool - parametric geometry description, snapping, real time geometry refresh, configurable coils and knots for strings.
5. Write converter for legacy flexible geometry.
6. Refresh viewport information and tools - gizmos, controls, statistics.
7. Activate/Deactivate custom lamps in viewport.
8. Add a third mode to configure scene displayed in 3D player - lighting, compositing, color management, background, preview, camera.
9. Update 3D player to include all the new options described above.
10. Add new configurable environment objects for rendering - volume scattering box, smoke and fire, water.
11. Add support for custom 3D objects and PBR materials in the scene - image plans, custom 3D model importer, particles.
12. Add support for custom decorations.
13. Update Add-ons for blender 2.8
14. Redesign workshop file explorer.
Items 1, 2 and 3 are already well under way and I hope to be able to release them before the end of the year.
Feel free to comment on this roadmap.
If everything goes according to plan, the big items for the following years are:
- Redesign of the forum.
- Redesign of the homepage.
- Redesign of the user file library to add support for password protected files, file sharing between users and classroom options.
- Support for animation in the viewport, the 3D player and the renderfarm.
- Instruction maker.
Let's see how many of my ideas stud.io will integrate...
What exactly do you mean by, "Redesign workshop file explorer"?
The windows you see when you save/open a model in the workshop.
Oh 😮, Thanks. 😃
A good thing would be to have a missing part section where you can easily check if the missing part you requested is modeled. Missing part could be add by using a form and all the missing parts would be stored in a database. This database would be updated each time a new part is added and a request to the database could generate the page on the website. That’s my idea 😉
By the way, IMO the animation feature would be a killer feature!
Thanks for everything you do with this tool
@OBrick_Wan
Agree and Agree.
I find that the flex tool does need rework, especially since I prefer realistic constraints to the flexible parts.
@RebelliousRobot That is why it will be recoded. Even if it will be simpler and nicer to use, there won't be any physics in it. That is still probably the most complicated piece of code of Mecabricks.
Wow @Scrubs i've never seen someone with the dedication and passion that you have for a personal project, where isn't pay and all comes from your own money and time, most people would like to have some part of your effort for projects e.g. the final semester projects XD
Without jokes, congratulations and thank you for make this place an epic community of the lego world
@Blender4bricks Thanks!
Love this site, so thanks for that. I like OBrick_Wan's missing brick ideas. Personally I would just like to see more classic parts and better export functionality so that I don't have to spend loads of time in 3D programs fixing materials and pivot points.
Point 4, the knot tying and coils would be super handy!!
This looks great Scrubs, looking forward to seeing these things get checked off as the year goes on! You have a ton of dedication for this, are obviously quite passionate about it, and are really hard working. As they say, "A man without a vision shall perish", from this list we know that you and Mecabricks will surely not.
When I go to New Zealand (or France perhaps, if it's timed right), I'll buy you lunch. 😉
I'll join the others to say your dedication to Mecabricks is admirable, and I'm deeply grateful for your work.
Looking forward to see all of these features implemented, and most of all the file sharing between users and the instruction maker. Right now I use stud.io to create instructions because to me it's the best tool out there, but it's awful when it comes to build models. So my current process is designing the models with Mecabricks (the good part), rebuilding with stud.io (the painful part), and make instructions. So as soon as I can make instructions with Mecabricks, I'll happily get rid of stud.io.
This looks fantastic! I was just wondering, when you said "Redesign of the forum" in the future updates, what exactly do you have in mind? Other than the lack of a search feature, these are the best online forums I've seen yet.
Absolutely looking forward to 8, 12, and 14! Keep up the great work, and thank you very much Scrubs! 😃
Mainly search but also a few other nice to have little features. Don't want some crazy complicated stuff like phpbb or IPB.
Stud.io... 😁 lol
Can't wait for the new stuff, and good luck!
There seems to be several blocks where the Lego lettering is slightly above the stud. For example 4213. Not sure whether this only happens with obj export, but that's what I was using.
Amazing work. Thank you so much for all the effort!!!
Considering the fact that LDD seems to be dead at this point, I feel like I am going to have to rely on this more and more.
That is the goal 😛
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