MLCad

[Editor's note: This review was written soon after MLCAD was written in late 1999. Most of the information regarding the software in this review is outdated because of the many improvements Michael has made. There are plans for an updated review.]

Screenshot: MLCad featuring Tim Courtney's RL-1 Rocket Launcher model

Do you enjoy LDraw but hate the old DOS interface? If so, MLCad is for you. Mike Lachmann has created this stunning Windows program which uses the LDraw parts libraries for model creation. This program features advanced LDLite-like rendering qualities along with a collapsible part library pane and part preview window to ease in part selection, as well as displaying four different angle views of your current model simultaneously.

For months, and even years, discussion about a Windows version of LDraw has come and gone. As far as I remember, several projects were considered, but all were eventually dropped or forgotten. The community has wanted, and needed software like MLCad for a long time. Now we can see the beginnings of an excellent platform which promises to provide the advanced features demanded by advanced modellers alongside the ease-of-use desired by new users.

MLCad features mouse movement of the selected part. This drastically speeds up model creation from the old keyboard method. When moving a part, the four views show you exactly where your part is by offering you complete perspective over the model. Though mouse support is a nice addition, MLCad does not support the old LDraw keyboard movements, which can be a downside to veteran LDraw users.

A simple right click on the active part in the edit window brings up a context-sensitive menu which allows the user to change the part, the part's color, hide or show the part, or view the model in wireframe mode. This menu can also add steps and comments, and change the view angle of that particular view window.

The Report menu is another nice feature. It generates reports on comments, model dimensions, and number of pieces. The dimensions report is especially useful - it gives the model's dimensions in studs, centimeters, and imperial units.

A crucial LDraw feature MLCad promises to include is MPD support. MPD support is slated for the next version of MLCad - 1.4. MPD is a multi-part LDraw file which lets an author package all the submodels of a model in one DAT file. This format has proven extremely versatile in distributing LDraw model files to other LDraw users.

To experiment with MLCad, I decided to make a simple model to test all its features cold turkey. It was easy to start given the straightforward layout of the whole program. Unfortunately for me, at this moment I hadn't discovered mouse support for parts. But nonetheless, poking around on the menu bar gave me full movement of the parts, and allowed me to create this simple model. Here is a large screenshot of MLCad with the model I designed:



In the screenshot above, the collapsible parts menu as well as the parts preview window are clearly visible off to the left. Also the four view windows guide the modeller in parts placement. The window above the view windows is similar to the LDraw parts view area, it displays the dat file features for each part such as color, position, rotation, and filename.

Here I've listed the pros and cons that MLCad has to offer:

Pros:	Cons:
Mouse movement of pieces	Doesn't support original LDraw keyboard movements
Split-pane view of model	No mouse movements allowed in 3D view window
Collapsible parts menu
Easy-to-use menu system for part and model options	Edit Mode button confusing to new modeler
Fully compatible with LDraw - uses LDraw parts library and DAT file format
	Lacks an 'Insert Submodel' feature

There are plans to include the following options in MLCad in the future:

• Printable parts lists
  
• Background image support
  
• Complete MPD support
  
• Program window customization
  
• Part grouping
  
• Built in fractal landscape generator
  

My suggestion for future versions of MLCad would be to include more LDraw-standard features. I would like to see a built-in file editor (like LDAO), Inlining (and possible reversal of such a feature - outlining?), and plugin support so others can make utilities to plug into MLCad.

MLCad is truly a remarkable software package and I feel will greatly enhance the LDraw community. It provides a lot of key features desired in a Windows Lego rendering program. It 'builds' off of the already existing extensive LDraw parts library, which continues to grow through the community's work on parts creation. And it promises to include essential LDraw features in the future. MLCad is here to stay.

Added:  Friday, September 12, 2003
Reviewer:  Tim Courtney
Score:
Related web link:  MLCad Official Homepage
hits: 17723
Language: eng