Hi Luc-Eric,
I´m a long-term Maya user.
In regards to the Maya interface, I would hope that you guys
could look into the following perception when using Maya:
This should work but there must be a setting that is wrong or off.
--
As an example, Maya2012 had brought new envelope editing options (using
influence
capsules) and a modified workflow and defaults for wheight
interpolation/normalisation
to make those wheight capsules work.
Practically, when then using the "default smooth bind settings" and then
clicking on the
paint wheights tool to actually decently paint a wheighting the workflow was
broken
because it interferes with the capsuled workflow.
Personally, I would describe this a typical Maya behaviour.
It seems as if Maya´s structure is too complex to even implement possibly useful
improvements without breaking something else that may even go unnoticed at
first.
I have no general arm-chair general solution to share for this
---
A more practical wish in terms of interface, I can share:
I would like to have a GUI *compound* node. A graphical user custom PPG node.
An empty node that can be used to easily drag&drop or connect and combine
channels
into a keying set and serves as a way to help collect all parameters one might
want
to key or access for a specific task and conveniently access via the Channel
box,
attribute spread sheet or Atribute editor by just having that node and it´s
inputs.
It would be nice to be able to have it displayed in the above editors even if
other
nodes/elements are selected. Not just for setting up connections but also
actually
manipulating data. (Maya doesn´t have a "lock PPG" option afaik)
The grapical representation in the Hypergraph/Hypershade could be something
like a
Shading Group node that allows to use the Connection Editor to feed, collect,
create
and validate inputs.
This can be done with Mel since day one but then requires at least some
scripting
and ideally some layout templates.
What I would prefer would be a ICE Compound node workflow.
Benefit:
Many tasks, even if massively complex end up actually just requiring a handful
of
parameters to be finetuned. It can become tedious to adjust these parameters
when
they are scattered all over the place instead of bundled into one place to be
readily manipulated at a glance and in context.
Cheers,
tim
On 20.11.2013 13:58, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
at least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.
This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual ease of use
(which should be measurable on a new user). You will always find
your way around and be more productive in the software that you're the
most invested in, it becomes second nature to you. You've got the hot
keys burned into your muscle, you've got your habits (sometimes
workarounds), etc. It depends when you learn it, too. There is an
Anthony Rossano book out there about XSI that teaches new users in the
first chapter how to make XSI awesome by turning all the preferences
back to Softimage|3D emulation modes. F** those sticky keys and
manipulators, right? There is a certain age (the 30s?) when we stop
learning new things if we don't push ourselves in the butt..
On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, Stefan Kubicek <[email protected]> wrote:
Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
with a usable interface.
It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
anything else :-/
Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to
develop Maya in
the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to
the reliability
and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was
stagnant during
that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
at least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak
someone Softimage-affine into the
top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of
shareholders only.
Any one around here with pointed elbows and a background in political
engineering willing to conspire ? ;-)
