For folks that know technical things...

Discussion in 'Norrathian Homeshow' started by Uwkete-of-Crushbone, Sep 30, 2018.

  1. Uwkete-of-Crushbone Well-Known Member

    I'm looking not so much for a 3D item creator or modeler, but just a regular, fairly generic (i.e., OpenSource is a wonderful thing) 2D sort of drawing program, like CAD, but cheaper. Does anyone use anything like that, like for decorating house plotting ideas, and if so, which brand do you recommend? :)

    Uwk
    who's since given up on AutoCAD 2000 for Win7 Home Edition (siiggghhhh...) :(
    Kassamai likes this.
  2. Sigrdrifa EQ2 Wiki Author

    I like vector graphic programs. The commercial ones would be things like Adobe Illustrator (expensive!) and Microsoft Visio, but Inkscape is free.

    Visio is particularly good for this sort of thing because it has templates for interior decorating (I use Visio, and you can often pick up a copy on eBay very affordably). You have a template panel to the left, from which you drag shapes onto the work area, where they can be rotated, resized, etc.Here's an image created from the interior decorating template:

    [IMG]

    All these programs have tools for drawing as well that are very flexible. I use Visio to produce heraldry designs, and if you look at them you see they can be pretty elaborate if desired.

    If I am sharing files, I save them as SVG (scalable vector graphics, Inkscape's default file type). SVG is nice because if you rotate or resize, the image doesn't pixellate like a raster graphics image will (examples of raster tools are MS Paint, Adobe Photoshop, GNU Image Manipulation Program (better known by its initials, which the forums censor, but a good opensource freeware tool).
  3. Uwkete-of-Crushbone Well-Known Member

    Oh, brilliant! Yeah, I've had pixellation issues before, I know how that can go. And I know what you mean about the GNU etc. software; I had to wonder about that name myself. ;->

    Inkscape, eh? Where did you get it from? I've been seriously considering LibreCAD (since it'll open my old .dwg files :D), but the only places you can download it from, apparently, are SourceForge or GitHub, both of which have issues, apparently. :(

    Uwk
    paranoid about a good safe site to download from
    Cyrrena likes this.
  4. Sigrdrifa EQ2 Wiki Author

    I linked Inkscape for you above.

    I use Malwarebytes and Ad Blocker Plus, and I usually have javascript turned off in my browser. This prevents most mayhem a website can inflict upon you: I have no problems with either SourceForge or Github. Well-known, highly regarded programs generally can be downloaded without fear, and if you have a competent antivirus program running, it will catch a malicious download (and what the AV misses, Malwarebytes catches). Malwarebytes has a free version. I pay for mine for the extra features.
    Rosyposy and Uwkete-of-Crushbone like this.
  5. Uwkete-of-Crushbone Well-Known Member

    D'oh! Yes, yes you did. X-P Okay, I'll go there. ;->

    Okay, cool; I'll probably look up SourceForge. Our watchdog is pretty paranoid and catches just about everything (and tells us right away, which is why we don't have Norton any more: "Ya wanna quit me? Okay, whattaya want me to do with this virus I found?" "WHEN WAS THIS...?" "Oh, about 2 years ago. You want it back?" "No, just kill it and get out. Please let the door hit you on the bum on the way out."). ;->

    Thanks again! :)

    Uwk
    Cyrrena and Rosyposy like this.
  6. Cyrrena Well-Known Member

    I cannot even remember when I gave up on Autocad, 1998 maybe...

    I found that even though I smell at drawing, I smelled worse using Autocad. I remember in one of my engineering classes where they made us use Autocad on Linux, the instructor set up a ladder with a hose coiled on it and dangling down and a bunch of other stuff in the middle of the room. We had 1 hour to draw that menagerie of stuff by hand and then 1 hour to replicate our drawing with Autocad. Needless to say, my drawing smelled but you could tell what it was supposed to be and what the items were in the drawing. My Autocad drawing looked like my dogs drew it in the middle of fighting with each other.
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  7. Uwkete-of-Crushbone Well-Known Member

    LOL! :D

    I'm just about the opposite; I literally can't draw a straight line without at least a ruler and several "pre-points": if I have to draw a straight line 1" from an edge, I'll do at least 3 points with the ruler vertical at the 1" from the edge, then line 'em up with the ruler and draw the line between. Circle? Gimme a protractor, either the sharp pointy thing with a golf pencil attached or a plastic curvy thing with all the angles and I'll do a semi at a time.

    With a CAD program of any sort, ohhh, I loved them so, and I do appreciate my Win7, with its free Microsoft Notepad (yay Notepad Method! :D) and Paint: "I want a straight line" or "I want a perfect circle." "Okay, hold down this button whilst you draw it." "Thanks so much, Paint!" "You're quite welcome, O User. Please enjoy your day. :)"

    But it can't do my beloved fancy stuff. ;->

    Uwk
    Cyrrena, Breanna and Rosyposy like this.
  8. Kassamai Member

    LOL as I sit here with the late night down time, I was thinking how nice a program to continue my roll :D during downtime and internet outages.
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  9. Aabari Active Member

    As silly as it sounds I use Lego Digital Designer you can download for free to help me decorate and brainstorm ideas
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  10. Sigrdrifa EQ2 Wiki Author

    I personally love Microsoft Visio. You can often get used or older copies very inexpensively on eBay.

    Microsoft has pre-made interior decorating stencils for Visio that you drag-and-drop onto your workspace. You can set it to metric, since distances in Norrath are in meters, and you are in business. I measure spaces by placing something small such as a candle, targeting it, and backing up, then read the distance from the distance meter.

    Here's the kind of thing you can do in Visio, no drawing skills required:

    [IMG]
    Breanna and Uwkete-of-Crushbone like this.
  11. Uwkete-of-Crushbone Well-Known Member

    I've also checked out Inkscape, and they have interior decorating stuff, too. :)

    (BTW, what's the gap between the wall north [I'm guessing] of the sink and the door? A small window?)

    Uwk
    thinking that, even though you could do this kind of thing with even MS Paint, it's just faster to be able to grab a bed or tub or sofa block (small picture someone's already done somewhere) and insert it ;->

    So, EQ worlds are completely metric? The "1" or "2" defaults of a width of a block or half block or whatever (for example) are actually meters? Good to know. :)

    Uwk
    Breanna likes this.