Wings 3D Development Forum

What ... are you talking about? o_O

...that I can't believe you never had seen that extra option (loop cut on/off).
The right hand side of information line is used by many commands to extend its options.

(or am I misreading what you wrote ?! )

(12-14-2014, 02:40 AM)micheus Wrote: [ -> ]...that I can't believe you never had seen that extra option (loop cut on/off).
The right hand side of information line is used by many commands to extend its options.

(or am I misreading what you wrote ?! )

No no, I definitely did miss it all this time, it's just I personally find it a bit impractical to have the extra information on the right side of the screen, simply because at larger resolutions it can become completely lost -- insofar as there is no reason to be looking at the bottom right corner of the screen in Wings.

This is especially true for most Left to right languages, our eyes have been trained to start at the left side of the screen, and with the Connect Tools information ending midway, it was easy to miss that there was an extra option way over on the other side of the screen.

All pertinent information in Wings is currently displayed on the left hand side of the screen, except for these small tidbits. I'd be curious as to the reasoning behind this? Was it a programmatic limitation or, probably more likely, a want to keep the UI as condensed as possible?

Personally, I'd prefer ALL information from Wings to be displayed on the left side, even if it was in the style of the component count / length / etc. However, I do realize that this is far from a priority, especially given the current climate around Wings.

As for mentioning connect tool versus connect command, I am not quite sure what you meant by that either. I *was* talking about the connect tool (in the tools menu). The way it currently works gives no visual feedback as to what WILL happen instead leaving the user to guess at what the angle of the loop might end up being. It's all very view dependant, which feels to me counter intuitive to what a user might want to do. It also doesn't help that the tool is reset every time you use it, making consecutive looping actually quite slow, BUT that is another matter entirely.

Perhaps however I am simply misunderstanding the usage cases for this aspect of the Connect Tool?

As I said previously, I love how Wings goes about most of its functionality, it's a solid piece of kit that almost never fails me.

(12-14-2014, 03:48 AM)Geta-Ve Wrote: [ -> ]I'd be curious as to the reasoning behind this? Was it a programmatic limitation or, probably more likely, a want to keep the UI as condensed as possible?

I'm not sure. I can't affirm this as truth, but as in the past the monitors were small and wings was not able draw informations in multiple line (that it can nowadays) I believe that was a way to ensure you don't loose that information. (maybe just the old wings guys can know)

Quote:I am not quite sure what you meant by that either. I *was* talking about the connect tool (in the tools menu). The way it currently works gives no visual feedback as to what WILL happen instead leaving the user to guess at what the angle of the loop might end up being.

The word was "interactive" and by that I consider the fact that using different view point we can define a different cut than that one produced by the plain connect command. Of course, there is no visual feedback, but we have some interaction "with the result".

Quote:It also doesn't help that the tool is reset every time you use it, making consecutive looping actually quite slow, BUT that is another matter entirely.

Perhaps however I am simply misunderstanding the usage cases for this aspect of the Connect Tool?

If I understand you point, that is not really true. You run consecutive loops by double-clicking the mouse in the last edge/vertex you cut/connect.
But that you probably didn't have a way to know since it's not in the information line.

Ah, yeah, its definitely interactive in that sense. I agree.

Yeah I had no clue about the second click functionality...

Thanks micheus!!

I love wings, I really do. I started modelling with it back when i was in high school and that is why i want to see it reinvent it self as something modern and up to date. I want to see something that can compete with the likes of blender, atleast as far as modelling/texturing is concerned. There are still so many great ideas in the wants thread and many of them have gone untouched for years sadly..

Quote:Neostyles ... Wings can evolve by embracing it's current technology ... without inventing new. There is a plugin manager where you can PICK STUFF (on and off). Ever use it ?

How? By dumping more options into a context menu that already has no sort of logical organisation? All other apps have way better performance too afaik. Ive opened up complex scenes in other apps just fine but lots of objects in wings tends to bog it down. I dont know how the plugin manager really helps things.. This is kind of like just sweeping the mess under the rug.

Quote:sorry, but it seems typical of someone don't really intend to explore the tool's potential. If we want seriously use a tool we need to learn - at least - its basic aspect and pay attention to the information line is the most noticeable one in Wings3D - it's too basic.

I have to agree with the Geta-Ve. Its very easy for people to miss this. Saying this is kind of like the fine print that says "you agree to give us your unborn child." This isnt really good ui design.

(12-19-2014, 08:07 AM)neostyles Wrote: [ -> ]By dumping more options into a context menu that already has no sort of logical organisation?

This is a very good point. Wings would benefit immensely from some method of hiding commands you don't need from context menus. To compensate, there should be a an auto-complete filter where you type and select the name of that command which you use once in a thousand years.
There are neat implementations of this in Blender (space bar) and Houdini (Tab).

I just told you guys how to declutter menus (hide offical and unoffical things). But you did not listen.

ggaliens
You told us about enabling and disabling plugs, but that doesn't cut it. What if I need a plug to be enabled but stay out of my sight until I need it?

I know it does not cut it ... certainly not perfectly ... but maybe it is ...

All you got ?

---

I suppose the HOT-KEYING mechanism could be overloaded to hide and unhide an option. That might be cool.

Maybe ATL-DEL could just mean hide this menu item !