Hi Brent, Thanks for your detailed explanation.
from a SI user POV yeah that isn't very impressive, but being a partial Maya user, that sounds pretty cool. Not enough to make me want to model in Maya but I may not need to move back to SI when tweaking models for a Maya based project. BTW, One of the model tools I miss in Maya is the old SI Move Tool with Magnet. Moving edge loops almost without affecting the object form is something I can't live without. I remember how excited I was when learned MMB + drag + Magnet to move edge loops. I couldn't stop moving edges :D Is there anything close to that in Maya? If not, you should add it. Martin On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 12:07 AM, Brent McPherson < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Martin, > > Since I work on modeling I can comment directly on the NEX integration in > 2015 and how modeling toolkit features have made their way into the native > Maya selection tool. (as the other bigger features are covered in the > what's new videos) > > Maya's native selection tool now has lazy preselection highlighting just > like NEX that selects the closest component on the poly under the cursor. > (like Soft's tweak tool) Sub-pixel picking precision no longer required. > ;-) It also respects the highlight backfacing toggle in the modeling > toolkit panel and is smart enough to ignore occluded components in shaded > mode etc. > > We have also revamped the Drag (Tab key) and Tweak (` backtick key) modes > in Maya's select tool. Drag is a raycast selection mode that you activate > by holding Tab and again makes use of lazy preselection. So just hold Tab > and raycast away from your current selection tool. If you start dragging on > an unselected component the tool adds to the selection but if you start on > a selected component it removes so no need for keyboard modifier > calisthenics! > > Tweak (` backtick key) is a quick (manip-free) way of adjusting components > (like the *old* Soft move tool) and has a nice big tolerance when outside > the object so it can be used to tweak components on the silhouette of your > mesh. Maya's "multi" selection mode (RMB menu) is also a nice way to work > with points/edges/polys without switching selection modes. > > Speaking of RMB menus in Maya you can activate RMB radial menu items by > RMB dragging quickly - so a RMB-left-swipe will put you in vertex mode > without displaying the menu. > > Maya's loop selection has also been updated to the same level of > functionality in NEX/Soft so you can make ring or partial loop selections > by clicking an edge and the shift-double-clicking another edge in the > loop/ring. (so for those familiar with Maya you don't need to switch to the > special purpose ring selection tool anymore) > > Symmetry in Maya has been completely re-written and integrated between > Maya and NEX. When symmetry is enabled your selections are fully > symmetrical so most non-interactive modeling ops will basically work in > 2015. It also supports NEX's topological symmetry which works off the mesh > topology and can work on a posed/deformed character as long as the mesh is > symmetrical. > > Maya and NEX soft selection settings have also been unified in 2015. In > this instance we went with the Maya tech because it has some really nice > features. You tap B to toggle soft select or hold B and LMB drag to adjust > soft select. My favorite feature here is how the current weights are locked > until you change your selection so you can tweak the same selection > multiple times without having your soft selection recalculated each time > you release the mouse. Undo also restores your soft selection weights which > is a nice added touch. (Unfortunately the NEX tools don't have this weight > preserving feature though they use same soft-select falloff settings in > 2015) > > Anyway those are just a few of the ways we have started to integrate NEX > into Maya in 2015. Maybe it doesn't sound that impressive to Soft users but > we are making progress. > -- > Brent > >
