LDView 3.1 review

LDView project is a real-time 3D viewer that can display LDraw models using hardware-accelerated 3D graphics

License: GPL (GNU General Public License) File size: 0K Developer: Travis Cobbs

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LDView project is a real-time 3D viewer that can display LDraw models using hardware-accelerated 3D graphics. It was written using OpenGL, so should be accellerated on any video card which provides full OpenGL 3D accelleration (so-called mini-drivers are not likely to work).

It should also work on other video cards using OpenGL software rendering, albeit at a much slower speed.

Here are some key features of "LDView":
Ability to examine LDraw models from any angle in real time.
Primitive substitution option which produces higher-quality results while simultaneously improving performance.
Supports fullscreen rendering at any resolution supported by your monitor and video card. Note that this has been reported to not work on Voodoo1/Voodoo2 video cards (which unfortunately are the most in need). It has been reported to work on Voodoo3 cards, though.
Cut-away feature which allows you to look inside models.
Transparent pieces can be displayed using alpha blending.
Specular highlight option to draw models with a shiny look, so they look more like real LEGO.
Ability to use Type 5 line information in LDraw files to smooth shade curved surfaces.
Printing support, to print the model using the current viewing angle.
Ability to take a PNG or BMP snapshot of the model using the current viewing angle.
"Cross-eyed" and "Wall-eyed" stereoscopic support, for those people who can focus on their monitor while crossing their eyes or staring off into the distance.
Native support for Full-Scene Antialiasing on video cards that support this via an OpenGL extension.
Lots of other options, to give you control over how the rendering looks.

What's New in This Release:
Download and installation of the LDraw parts library was automated.
So if you install and run LDView on a clean machine, it will do all the work of getting the latest version of the LDraw parts library installed for you.
If you already have the LDraw parts library, you can still continue to use the one you already have with this version.
Updating of the LDraw parts library was automated.
Automatic searching is done for unofficial parts in the LDraw parts tracker when a file cannot be found locally.
The ability to generate a POV-Ray compatible camera statement based on the current view in LDView was added.