CNET Editors' review
Lego Digital Designer gives users the chance to play with Legos without paying for Legos. Loaded with features, the drawbacks are minor and this program is a lot of fun to use.
The program links to the Lego online store, but there's more going on here than corporate shilling. The graphics-intensive program seamlessly zooms in and out, rotates your point-of-view 360 degrees, connects bricks to each other, rotates them, and moves any hinges they might have so you can explore how your pieces fit together. Parts include basic bricks, model jet engines, and infrared sensors. The Brick Palette puts all your bricks in one basket, so to speak, so that managing them is no more difficult than keeping track of more than two dozen subpalettes that catalogue the variations.
Seventeen prebuilt models are included to help beginners. You can place your model against a cheesy 3D background, save it, take a screenshot, explode it only to have it reassembled on the next mouse click. There's an option to watch an animated guide on how to recreate whatever complex design you just built. In addition to all this, you can send your model to Lego.com to share with other Lego builders.
The user interface for Version 2 is a big improvement, although some controls could be more intuitive. The app chows on RAM, so those with older machines should be prepared for serious slow-downs if they can get the program to run at all. Still, it's a great facsimile for replicating the fun of Lego bricks digitally, and since its free, it's the cheapest Lego experience you'll ever have.
Publisher's Description
From Lego Systems:
With the free Digital Designer software you can build absolutely anything with virtual LEGO bricks right on your computer. Then you can buy the real bricks to build your creation online in Lego Factory, or you can print out an inventory of bricks and take it to any Legoland theme park or Lego Store.
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All versions:
3.8 starsout of 53 votes
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Current version:
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"Not the best Lego software out there"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.1.8
Pros
It's free and you can build lego stuff with it. The building is very accurate and the pieces snap together like they should.
Cons
Limited library of pieces. It mostly includes pieces from their newer sets so that you can order the (ridiculously overpriced) parts from them to build what you make in the real world. The whole program is centered around getting you to buy custom lego sets. The 3D viewer is horrible, it's hard to move around your design in the 3D space.
Summary
Like I said above, this product may be free, but it's really just a commercial endeavor. They want you to build custom Lego creations and then pay way too much so that they can box up the parts and send them to you. The library of parts is bad, you can only use stuff they're currently manufacturing and in colors they're currently making them, so that they don't have to make anything special to send to you.
If you're just out for making cool 3D Lego creations or make instructions for your custom Lego creation or you want to design something virtually using parts you have on hand before you build it in the real world, try LeoCad. It has all of the classic parts and a lot of the custom parts. It is better than this software because its goal isn't to get you to buy stuff. -
"Cool and you don't have to clean up!"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.1.8
Pros
Good program kids love it!!
Cons
Need internet to fully use all of it's features.
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"great for buying special peices that you want."
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.1.7
Pros
has almost all of the peices ever.
Cons
kind of hard to use.
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"UM NEEED HELP"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 2
Pros
i like digital lego designar
Cons
please help
Summary
un i need help it says my open gl driver is missing or outdated what is that??
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"Excellent Product!!"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.1.7
Pros
Excellent product, and yes this does bring back memories for me...sniff.. sniffle :-(
Cons
I have one gripe. I wish the help guide was in PDF format or CHM
because the help guide now is in HTML though it is stored on the hard drive, and the icon for help is just a blank icon.Summary
Why the help HTML document is just a blank icon in my start menu is possibly because I haven't set a default HTML document handler (opener). Though I have several browsers, and HTML editors on my computer. However, I haven't test this theory in full because I don't want to set one program to take over all HTML files (besides the ones on the internet of course) on my computer.
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"Won't install completely."
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.1.6
Pros
If I didn't have the problem shown below, I think it would be fine. Rating is based on my expectation from using previous version.
Cons
Can't get it to load completely on my computer. Tried several times installing and uninstalling but it doesn't finish to the place where the X in the top right corner is red. Have to use Task Manager to close it. Windows XP, SP3.
Summary
Previous version worked perfect. Grandson loved it. Now it's also gone as a result of this happening.
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"Awesome. grandmother easy."
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.1.6
Pros
Selection, manipulation, and placement of pieces is straight forward.
Cons
haven't found any yet.
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"Works Great"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 4.0
Pros
East to use
Cons
Limited selection of builds
Summary
Must be a Lego lover. Children will in enjoy
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"Great program if you like building legos"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 3.0.9
Pros
Comes with a lot of piecess that you can use and it is very easy to use.
Cons
When you want to buy the lego creation that you've made, it's a little pricy, but if you have the legos at home, it can generate step by step instructions how to bring your creation to life.
Summary
Its a great program that I would recommend to most.
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"did not work right"
Version: Lego Digital Designer 3.0.9
Pros
looked good but i did not like
Cons
could not put blocks side by side they would either stack over the edge or leave a space in between one another. when uninstalled left a lot of grapics in the back ground
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