[HN Gopher] picoCAD - a tiny modeler for tiny models
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picoCAD - a tiny modeler for tiny models
Author : johanpeitz
Score : 191 points
Date : 2024-11-28 05:35 UTC (17 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (store.steampowered.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (store.steampowered.com)
| pjerem wrote:
| I really don't have any usage for such a thing but I love the
| simplicity of the trailer.
| hnarayanan wrote:
| This is super cute.
| throawayonthe wrote:
| oh that is sick
|
| edit: their website - https://picocad.net/
| slopeloaf wrote:
| Love this! Might nab it just to try it out. A very similar tool
| is Kenney Shape which has you drawing pixel art with depth
| numbers for each square that turn into models:
| https://kenney.nl/tools/kenney-shape
| johanpeitz wrote:
| Hallo! Johan the dev here, thanks for all the positive responses.
| Happy to answer any questions about picoCAD if there are any.
|
| You can also check out https://picoCAD.net for more info :)
| tym0 wrote:
| Hey, been meaning to try picoCAD for a while now this might
| push me over the edge :)
|
| For my curiosity: How are you distributing this? Is it the Web
| version of the pico8 game or did you rewrite it in love or
| something? Or does pico8 allows to embed their VM when
| distributing on Steam?
| johanpeitz wrote:
| pico8 has the ability to export anything you make into native
| binaries. Simple as that :)
| Herbstluft wrote:
| Love picocad.
|
| Now that picotron is ramping up which basically offers a
| superset in terms of features compared to pico8: will there be
| an expanded picotron version of picocad?
| johanpeitz wrote:
| It has definitely crossed my mind. Main reason I haven't
| looked into it is Picotron's (so far) lack of ability to
| export native binaries.
| elldes wrote:
| This looks so cool!
|
| Is there a workflow you would recommend for creating animations
| once the model has been created in picoCAD?
| johanpeitz wrote:
| Unfortunately I know next to nothing about animating so I am
| not much help here. That said I didn't know anything about 3d
| modelling when I made picoCAD so maybe there will be another
| tool in the future :D
| d--b wrote:
| Jesus fucking christ, you're good at this.
| oefnak wrote:
| Does it have steam deck support? Can you export to .stl?
| johanpeitz wrote:
| I've seen the linux version (available on itch.io) run on the
| steam deck but haven't tried my self. Lots of keyboard and
| mouse required to have a good time. :)
|
| It does export to obj/mtl which is usually importable into
| most other softwares
| Rygian wrote:
| The texture mapping UX looks so fun, great job!
| johanpeitz wrote:
| Thanks! A bit fiddly sometimes but very rewarding
| WillAdams wrote:
| For folks who want a regular (not low-poly) modeler which is a
| small/light-weight download, Dune 3D seems the best thing to try:
|
| https://dune3d.org/
|
| Previous discussions:
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37979758
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40228068
|
| The other notable thing to try is Solvespace or maybe NASA's Open
| Vehicle SketchPad (for opensource)
| phkahler wrote:
| I wish the guy behind Dune3d had joined Solvespace development
| instead. His GTK4 UI on all platforms would have been nice. I'm
| hoping to address some of the solvespace shortcomings in 2025,
| but he really needed assembly with STEP files which I don't see
| happening soon.
| WillAdams wrote:
| Did his rewrite of the Solvespace parser get integrated back
| into Solvespace?
| phkahler wrote:
| I think you mean solver improvements, but no.
|
| We are doing named parameters soon. Then I make no
| promises, but looking at fillets and chamfers.
| WillAdams wrote:
| Yes, solver, thank you for correcting my error.
|
| Named parameters would be _huge_!
|
| Looking forward to the announcement!
| hombre_fatal wrote:
| I don't think there's overlap despite picoCAD having the word
| "CAD" in its name.
|
| Just compare its examples with dune3d's real world circuit
| board example to see the difference: https://picocad.net/
|
| Better comparisons would be Crocotile and maybe Blockbench. Not
| CAD software.
| WillAdams wrote:
| I was writing for folks expecting a "normal" CAD program
| which was a small download.
| catskull wrote:
| I've tried other 3d modeling software (blender, fusion, etc) and
| picocad is the only one I've been able to actually pick up and
| use without unsuccessfully spending hours watching outdated
| tutorials. I understand it's not apples to apples. Just wanted to
| say thanks and this is an awesome tool!
| johanpeitz wrote:
| Wow, that makes me so happy to hear. I'm no 3D modeler myself
| so it is very much built from a beginner/2d perspective.
| nickthegreek wrote:
| That's how I feel about tinkercad.
| hombre_fatal wrote:
| Same. I randomly stumbled across someone's (Ben's) picoCAD
| timelapse on Youtube last January[1] and the toolkit was so
| simple that I bought it and tried it myself.
|
| Sure enough, I was more productive with picoCAD in my 30s than
| I was with 3dsmax/maya/etc in my teens despite many hours of
| tutorials. I joined the Discord and even participated in some
| jams.
|
| [1]: https://www.youtube.com/@bencanfield/videos
| amne wrote:
| Looking at the video I was instantly teleported back here:
| https://playclassic.games/games/racing-driving-dos-games-onl...
| butz wrote:
| Building low poly models is easy. Hardest part is texturing. Even
| harder to draw textures that look great at low resolutions.
| 2mol wrote:
| These kind of tools (and the aesthetic) make me so happy for some
| reason.
|
| Another one that's pretty impressive and very lovely looking is
| Crocotile: https://crocotile3d.com/
| j_4 wrote:
| I love Crocotile. It's got very opinionated, kind of weird UX,
| but it gets me in the zone so so well. I haven't used it in
| ages, I should give it another spin.
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