Building with LEGO bricks may be as old-school as play activities can get. Still, even with the timeless appeal of the toy brand, LEGO does keep pace with the advance of technology. One example lies in digital brick-building software. LEGO launched its official digital brick-building utility, LEGO Digital Designer, in 2004. LDD used 3D digital rendering of actual LEGO bricks in real-time. The software would even be used in videogame and film development. Meanwhile, Bricklink launched its own Studio software in 2014, and quickly rose to wide usage itself. The popularity of BrickLink Studio with digital LEGO builders has led to this rather surprising announcement.
The Brick Fan reports that they’re shifting official 3D building software status from LEGO Digital Designer to BrickLink Studio. In a statement last Wednesday, January 12, LEGO declared the end of support for LDD. On the software’s official page at LEGO.com, they warn that LDD 4.3.10 will stop being available on January 31. Presently, the software will also have errors when launched except when working in offline mode. LEGO advises LDD users to download BrickLink Studio instead and import their LDD files. Bricklink will also replace the LDD page at the end of the month.
It’s the end of an era for LEGO Digital Designer, the development of which began as early as 2002. The software’s first-gen producer Tommy Scheer envisioned LDD as a simple digital-LEGO building tool for children with computers. He was impressed by the user community evolving the experience into something greater. This in turn led to Bricklink similarly developing BrickLink Studio. The torch has been passed, and LDD’s retirement on January 31 will make things official.