LDD Modding Guide I made for Eurobricks

[LUModder]

I made a modding guide on Eurobricks and it was removed since it breaks the LDD EULA and they're like best friends with LEGO so I decided to post it to see how horrible "great" you guys think it is.

 

Proceed at your own risk.

Hello, I am Flex (AKA LUModder) and I am here to bring you my official guide to LDD modding.

Tools Needed:

• JrMasterModelBuilder's LIF Extractor
• A text editor (I will be using Notepad++)
• An Image Editor (I will be using Paint.NET and Photoshop

Chapter 1 - Getting the tools:

Get the tools you need.

LIF Extractor can be downloaded here (JMMB's link, not mine)

Chatper 2 - Extracting db.lif

Head to "C:UsersyourusernameAppDataRoamingLEGO CompanyLEGO Digital Designer" and Drag And Drop db.lif onto the specific version of LIF Extractor, this will take a few seconds to extract. After that, head to the "db" folder.

Chapter 3 - Modding Time

The main files you will be modding are:

• CurrentMaterials.xml - holds the ID's of the materials.
• DecorationMapping.xml - lists the materials, edit lxfml formated files to get the model ID, the decoration ID is the file name without the extension in the Decorations folder.
• Materials.xml - registers the ID of the color, the RGBA value and the material type, material type tells if it's a basic color or a metal-looking color.
• The "Decorations" folder - holds all the decorations, these are where your custom decorations go.

Now, the specifics.

CurrentMaterials.xml:

The code is:

<Material MatID="#" />

Replace the number in MatID with the number of your custom material MatID. We will get onto how to do this later.

Materials.xml:

Code:

<Material MatID="#" Red="###" Green="###" Blue="###" Alpha="255" MaterialType="shinyPlastic"/>

MatID is the unique ID of the color, the defaults start from 1 and end at 330. You can most likely go infinitely after 330.

This uses RGBA color scale. If you don't know the color value of a hexadecimal value (ex: #217470), there are many sites that can tell you the RBG value. The Alpha you leave at 255 UNLESS you are making a transparent color. The transparent colors have an alpha of 150. MaterialType only has two types. They are "shinyPlastic" and "shinySteel". There may possibly be more, but I have not found any others. "shinyPlastic" is a basic piece color and "shinySteel" is for special colors like Warm Gold. There is no way to add custom colors to the color pallet yet.

DecorationsMapping.xml:

Warning: This section may be confusing and hard to understand for most, I will try my best to make it easy to understand. You have been warned.

Code:

<Mapping decorationID="filename" designID="partID" surfaceID="1"/>

You will have to use lxfml files to get the DesignID.

Lets say I want a 2x2 plate with a decal of my avatar. I would take my avatar picture, scale it down to 128x128 (your rectangular textures will work just fine even though they are scrunched up) and save it in the Decorations folder. Then I would open LDD, place down a 2x2 plate and export it as a .lxfml and open it with my text editor of choice. I look for this line of code:

<Brick refID="0" designID="3068">

Then I would go into the XML file and find the design ID in one of the default textures, copy and paste the line at the top (this is completely optional, it is recommended for small screens so you can see your textures first) and then save the XML file.

List of parts you can put decals on:

• Minifig Head
• Minifig Body (all)
• Minifig Legs (all)
• Racer/Space Helmet
• 2x2 plate
• 1x1 plate
• 1x2 plate (regular)
• 1x2 brick (w/ pin)
• 1x4 plate
• 1x6 plate (unsure)
• 1x8 plate (unsure)
• 6x4 plate w/ 12 studs
• 4x4 plate w/ 4 studs (unsure)

If I missed any, please post the part and I will add it.

That's it for now. I will post updates on any new discoveries or stuff I missed.

If you want any specialized templates, ask me and I will make it for you.