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Tutorial: Adding Custom Decals into LDD


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MaelstromIslander

Hello!

I've been using this for a while, but I started drifting away from LDD. Now I'm using it again, and I wanna use this. But it looks like I can't. I've sort of forgotten how to do this, and that video tutorial must have been taken down or something. I can't seem to drag the db.lif into the LIFExtractor. Gives me a 'File not found or no read permission' error. 

I'd really like to use this again, and if anyone can help, please help ! !

You're either using safe mode or LDD is just screwed up from something you might have done in the past. I don't know how to fix this problem but if I remember correctly this was caused by safe mode.

Edit: LIF Extractor runs on Python. You probably either don't have python or you have an outdated version of it.

Edited by MaelstromIslander
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Hello!

I've been using this for a while, but I started drifting away from LDD. Now I'm using it again, and I wanna use this. But it looks like I can't. I've sort of forgotten how to do this, and that video tutorial must have been taken down or something. I can't seem to drag the db.lif into the LIFExtractor. Gives me a 'File not found or no read permission' error. 

I'd really like to use this again, and if anyone can help, please help ! !

You're either using safe mode or LDD is just screwed up from something you might have done in the past. I don't know how to fix this problem but if I remember correctly this was caused by safe mode.

Edit: LIF Extractor runs on Python. You probably either don't have python or you have an outdated version of it.

 

I installed something from python.org and still didn't work. No safe mode.

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  • 1 month later...

I ran into a problem: for some reason, one of my decals isn't displaying correctly. There's nothing wrong with the scale, but the transparency and color is gone:

 

Spoiler

WFx5Y8v.png

This has never happened to me before, so I'm not sure why this is happening. I checked my texture to make sure it was saved right, but I still can't get it to work. Has anyone else ever had this issue?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I now have another problem: my custom decorations won't even appear in the program anymore. Although the images and .xml are both set up properly, I only get a blank piece in the selection tray. I upgraded LDD to 4.3.8 a few days ago, but I doubt that would be the reason why this is happening...

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  • 2 months later...
On 3/20/2016 at 5:31 AM, PyroxPlayz said:

About how big are the decals supposed to be?

Most of them are either 128x128 or 256x256

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  • 2 weeks later...
lol username
On 3/22/2016 at 2:14 PM, CM4Sci said:

EDIT - Finally worked! Never mind.

 

On 4/6/2016 at 0:09 PM, DraikNova said:

EDIT: sorry, never mind.

I want to frame these two consecutive posts and hang them on my wall

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  • 6 months later...
BaconWizard17

I feel silly for asking this, but to where do I extract the extractor files? I put them in C:\\Windows, but I'm not sure if that's right, because whenever I try to start the extractor, the window pops up but immediately disappears. Also, what is python and is it necessary to run this?

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  • 2 weeks later...

None of my custom decals will show up in ldd. I've checked and double checked everything, and I didn't make any mistakes with the ids, so I'm not sure what is wrong. Is there a chance that this doesn't work with the latest versions of ldd or something like that? If you have any ideas what could be wrong, please respond.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hey, what if I want to add a decal to a piece that doesn't have any? How do I get the design ID for it? I'm trying to add clone trooper helmet decals.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/25/2015 at 6:42 PM, Nanoline said:

I'm having a problem of my own with this process now. I'd made it work in the past, before an update wiped out those changes, so I've been trying it again recently.

I unzipped the LIF file and checked to be sure all it's internal files and folders were in order in the new db folder, as the instructions said to do. I also made sure to remove the original db.lif file from the Lego folder and put it elsewhere as a backup. With the db folder in place in the correct folder, I opened Lego Digital Designer to test and be sure it was working.

First, LDD crashed. When I opened it a second time, it ignored the db folder and began downloading every single update again, creating a brand new db.lif file right there in the Lego folder. This process took forever, and the newly created db.lif file naturally didn't have any custom decals in it. I have tried this several times now, and keep having this same problem - rather than reading out of the db folder, LDD is creating a brand new db.lif file. I also tried re-compressing the db folder with decal edits into a new db.lif file on it's own, and LDD proceeded to overwrite that file in this same manner upon opening the program (after an initial crash).

For reference, I am on a Macbook Pro, I have made Game Extractor work for me via jiggery pokery. Extracting the files isn't the issue, it's getting the program to actually read them from the db folder instead of creating a new db.lif file. Again, I've done this in the past and it worked, but an update reset it a while back, and I've neglected to do it all again until now. I'm beginning to wonder if Lego hasn't somehow patched the game to immediately create a new db.lif file if it senses anything has been changed or tampered with from a default of what should be in the .lif originally.

I am  having this same issue... any fixes?  I am using a Windows 7 desktop.

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  • 3 months later...

When i tried to open LDD with this installed, it did not work. also, i did not find the db.lif at all in the files, and when i did find it after a search, i was not able to do anything with it.

 

and ldd crashed when i tried to open it but when i uninstalled this, it worked again

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  • 9 months later...

Does this work with python 3.6.2? When I try to run the extractor, it opens the program for maybe half a second, enough for me to see it flash on the screen, then it closes, and there is no folder of extracted files.

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  • 3 weeks later...
LazerLuke19

Is there a LIF file patcher for LDD? I modified some decals for LDD and they keep showing up as the normal decals.

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  • 2 months later...
MinifigRenderer
On 3/2/2018 at 6:33 AM, LazerLuke19 said:

Is there a LIF file patcher for LDD? I modified some decals for LDD and they keep showing up as the normal decals.

You need to open "DecorationMapping.xml" which you'll find in the root folder in which the decorations folder is in. You then add at the top for example:

"<Mapping decorationID="00018" designID="3626" surfaceID="1"/>". decorationID and designID values change depending on what decal you're using and what part of the minifigure, tile, brick you're texturing.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...
Infamous-Theme

Hello, a bit late to the talk but can someone help me?

I did all as instructed and it worked perfectly but a few months ago I upgraded my pc hdd and had to download ldd again. I did, but without realising, it was the 4.3.12 but added the decals anyway. I saw they worked but the decoration tool would not open to use it and my models had incomplete parts. So eventually i found the 4.3.11 on some forum. The decals show up but the decoration tool still won't open.

Anyone know a fix to this?

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