LEGO Digital Designer
 | |
| Developer(s) |
|
|---|---|
| Initial release | 24 July 2003[2] |
| Final release | 4.3.12
/ 30 July 2019 |
| Written in | C++[3] |
| Engine | Q1.x |
| Operating system | Windows, Mac OS X |
| Platform | x86 |
LEGO Digital Designer is a discontinued CAD program for designing LEGO models. It was originally designed by Qube Software, based on software originally made for the 2002 game Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The LEGO Group transferred its development to an internal team in 2006. In 2022 it was officially discontinued in favor of BrickLink Studio.
Features
Qube version
LEGO Group version
History
Following the release of LEGO Creator: Harry Potter in 2001, LEGO Software moved development of a fourth LEGO Creator title from Superscape to Qube Software. [4]
The first version of LEGO Digital Designer was released on 24 July 2003.[2] The project developed by a team of four programmers led by Marc Sutton.[5]
Version 1.3, released in November 2004, updated the program's engine to Q 1.1.1.[6] Qube Software announced on 4 March 2005 that the next version of Digital Designer would be the first software using the Q engine to be available for Mac OS X.[7] Version 1.4 was announced on 26 July 2005 and released on 26 August.[8][9] Version 1.5 released on 20 December 2005.[10] Version 1.6, released on 8 May 2006, updated the engine to Q 1.1.2.[11][12]
1.6 was the final version of LDD developed by Qube Software. In 2006 Qube pitched an idea for an online game based on LDD to the LEGO Group. The game would have featured an online world where each user would have their own baseplate, and players could travel through the world to other players' bases. Every day a user logged in, they would receive a certain amount of new bricks they could build with. Qube submitted several versions of this pitch, but the LEGO Group rejected them. LEGO also decided to take control of LDD from Qube and continue developing it internally.[4]: 18
Qube Software claimed on their website that LEGO Digital Designer had been used by over five hundred thousand people by November 2004,[6] by over one million people by August 2005,[13] and by over 1.5 million by May 2006.[12] The podcast Bits N' Bricks claimed in 2022 that LEGO Digital Designer had been downloaded over one million times by September 2004.[14]: 11
References
- ↑ "Powered by Q – LEGO Digital Designer". Qube Software. 2003. Archived from the original on 22 July 2004.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "News". Qube Software. 2003. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003.
24-Jul-2003 – LEGO Digital Designer ships!
- ↑ Sutton, Marc (30 October 2006). "LEGO Digital Designer". Codev Software Consultancy. Archived from the original on 2007-02-26. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Crecente, Brian; Vincent, Ethan (8 December 2021). "Episode 43 – The LEGO Game That Unlocked True Digital Creation" (PDF). Bits N' Bricks (Podcast). Participants: Servan Keondjian, Ronny Scherer, and Rob Smith. The LEGO Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2023. Audio version via YouTube.
- ↑ Sutton, Marc (26 September 2023). "Marc Sutton - Resume" (PDF). Codev. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Applications Powered by Q – LEGO Digital Designer". Qube Software. 2004. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005.
- ↑ "LDD for Mac OS X Announced". Q Developer Network. 4 March 2005. Archived from the original on 8 July 2006.
- ↑ "LDD 1.4 for Windows and Mac OS X". Q Developer Network. 26 July 2005. Archived from the original on 8 July 2006.
- ↑ "LDD 1.4 Released". Q Developer Network. 26 August 2005. Archived from the original on 16 July 2006.
- ↑ "LDD 1.5 Released". Q Developer Network. 20 December 2005. Archived from the original on 23 September 2007.
- ↑ "LDD 1.6 Released". Q Developer Network. 8 May 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Applications Powered by Q – LEGO Digital Designer". Qube Software. 2006. Archived from the original on 7 September 2006.
- ↑ "Applications Powered by Q – LEGO Digital Designer". Qube Software. 2005. Archived from the original on 30 April 2006.
- ↑ Crecente, Brian; Vincent, Ethan (1 February 2022). "Episode 47 – The Rise of BrickLink" (PDF). Bits N' Bricks (Podcast). Participants: Tormod Askildsen, Tim Courtney, Tue Jakobsen, Junam Kim, Servan Keondjian, and Eliska Jezkova. The LEGO Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2024. Audio version via YouTube.
