Renzatic on 15/4/2011 at 21:42
Quote Posted by Yakoob
I donno about the extra line there, thats just what it did with stock settings.
Also, how do you do the cut you just showed me? Is that a loop cut?
Now that I think about it, you might be using a different tool than mine. Your default cut probably has you draw out a line, then it slices all the polygons behind it along that line like you ran it through a bandsaw. My default is called the edge slice tool, which has you dragging points along edges, then makes a cut between them. It's better to use, since it allows for more control.
Inline Image:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3018396/cut2.jpg...or to really show it off
Inline Image:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3018396/cut3.jpgI'm sure Blender has the same thing. You just gotta figure out where it is and what it's called.
Quote:
So far I had a bit of a problem figuring out how to remove extra verts and edges (either nothing would happen, or it would not remove them the way I wanted, fucking up my geometry) without having to delete a bunch of shit and then re-connect everything from gaping holes.
Try welding all your verts together. I don't know how Blender does it, but if you can't remove elements without destroying the geometry underneath, then welding is definitely the way to go.
Yakoob on 16/4/2011 at 06:46
What program are you using?
Also, I switched to latest 2.57 and the organization of materials is much MUCH better. Actually makes it workable.
I got annoyed with all the exporters consistently missing key data, or just exporting it wrong (preview material instead of actual assigned material etc) and so I bit the bullet and wrote my own exporter plugin in an easily parsable format that properly keeps track of all the material info and per-face material assignments. I was also able to hack in support for defining collision boxes and sphere for my meshes :)
However, in doing so I was also exposed to the marvel of python's "tab-based programming." Seriously, whoever thought of that idea needs to be punched in the face.
Eldron on 16/4/2011 at 08:05
Quote Posted by Yakoob
I am beyond convinced the snapping is utterly broken. Now it only snaps me when I DONT select the snapping mode! Which, of course, means I cant change any of the snapping options.
Also, it's not 'snapping,' it's 'incremental movement.' If my vertices arent centered at a grid point and I move them, they will move by the amount equal to grid size, but not actually snap to the grid points. Meaning, you can never have perfectly aligned verts because the default plane/box/whatever tends to place it slightly off center. Peachy!"
CTRL-S -> selection to grid
Will move the center of the selection to the nearest grid-point.
Yakoob on 16/4/2011 at 13:06
ctrl+s = "save" as of 2.57
Renzatic on 16/4/2011 at 16:12
Quote Posted by Yakoob
What program are you using?
I'm using (
http://www.luxology.com/) Modo. It's the best modeler I've used, in my opinion. Ain't cheap, though.
Oh, and if you want perfectly aligned verts, select the ones you want to row up, and use the scale tool to push them into place. The only potential snag is that this'll only works if you have a "don't negative scale" option. Otherwise, it'll bend them out in the opposite direction instead of pushing them flat.
(
http://www.blender3dclub.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7&theme=Printer) ...or this.
Neb on 16/4/2011 at 21:46
I don't know how true this is, but I noticed that Blender frustrates the people who want to use it for a specific purpose well before those who just want to learn the program and don't have a project in mind.
Bakerman on 17/4/2011 at 00:46
Quote Posted by Yakoob
ctrl+s = "save" as of 2.57
I think he meant shift-S. Should have thought of that - I always forget that Ctrl is just incremental movement instead of actual snapping. I usually keep vertices aligned to the grid from the start (not sure why the default box is messing up for you!).
Alt-M will 'merge' or weld vertices. The 'at first' and 'at last' options refer to the order in which you selected the vertices.
Yakoob on 17/4/2011 at 02:21
Quote Posted by Bakerman
I think he meant shift-S. Should have thought of that - I always forget that Ctrl is just incremental movement instead of actual snapping.
Ok I finally realized what all the 10 different snapping options do (or rather, why I always thought none of them ever did anything). It snaps the little 3D circle thingy that floats in space... which is nearly useless cause I cant think of a time I ever used it. I can kinda see it being useful for rotating around a pivot but... eh, how often do you really need to do that?
Quote:
I usually keep vertices aligned to the grid from the start (not sure why the default box is messing up for you!).
Well yea, but what if I accidentally move something off the grid and dont realize until way way later when my undo history already forgot about it? :p
Actually, apparently shift+s -> snap selection to grid seems to actually allow me to snap to the grid. jesus.
See, I have nothing against arbitrary efficiency-driven shortcuts, as long as all the functionality is logically in some easily accessible place so at least a) I know what my tools are and b) it shows me what the shortcut key is so I can memorize it. As it stands it seems like there's tons of features seemingly scattered all over the fucking place. Yea the Mesh->Edit->Edges has tools for editing edges. But that's not even HALF of the possible edge operations. The other half is hidden under the side panels, the bottom pannels, cutting sub-menu, and some cant be accessed at all without an arbitray shortcut.
Seriously, you ALREADY HAVE a whole Edit->Edges menu, just put EVERYTHING that has to do with edges there Shit!
That being said, I am liking the 2.57 UI much better (materials finally make sense!!! Select Object->Assign Material->Assign Texture Layers). Also I've began memorizing some of the shortcuts now which helps the flow (although I still find myself stumped trying 10 different combos until I find what I was looking for). Might post some of my progress soon...
Quote:
I don't know how true this is, but I noticed that Blender frustrates the people who want to use it for a specific purpose well before those who just want to learn the program and don't have a project in mind.
Which is... interesting, considering Blender touts open sourceness and extendability. And while writing my custom exporter I understood how all objects are represented under the hood, so there actually is quite a bit of flexibility there. I really think it is the UI that is holding it back, at least in my case. The learning curve is really steep and, as I said, scrambling all features around many different panels, menus and shortcut keys, instead of keeping them accessible from a single place, does a great deal to confuse new users who have not yet memorized thousands of shortcuts.
EDIT: I just wanted to clarify one thing - this whole thread has been a limitless cesspool of my infantile bitchery, but nonetheless, having worked with various other 3D modelling programs in the past, and understanding the main concepts that go into it (especailly from a game design angle), I do fully admit that Blender IS quite an amazing piece of software, with a lot of power, and a lot of great tools at its disposal. It's just that I wish half of those tools weren't hidden behind the convoluted UI :P
Yakoob on 17/4/2011 at 04:50
It's 5 am, 24 hours before I leave for Poland I have not been to in 8 years, and between the frustration of python retarded tabbed-based programming and insistence on a colon after every conditional statement, and waiting for my mesh importer code to compile, what's a better way to spend my night than baking bread?
Inline Image:
http://koobazaur.com/temp/bread.jpgFully expecting a baller breakfast tomorrow morning :D
Eldron on 17/4/2011 at 07:12
Quote Posted by Yakoob
Ok I finally realized what all the 10 different snapping options do (or rather, why I always thought none of them ever did anything). It snaps the little 3D circle thingy that floats in space... which is nearly useless cause I cant think of a time I ever used it. I can kinda see it being useful for rotating around a pivot but... eh, how often do you really need to do that?
Well yea, but what if I accidentally move something off the grid and dont realize until way way later when my undo history already forgot about it? :p
Actually, apparently shift+s -> snap selection to grid seems to actually allow me to snap to the grid. jesus.
Yeah sorry, I accidently mixed those up when I wrote it in the reply, shift-s it is.
the 3d cursor is extremely useful in so many ways, and with shift-s you can place it on any selected element.
for example, if you set the pivot to be the 3d cursor, you can rotate objects around very specific points, that you either clicked out or selected from an object or vertex via shift-s->cursor->..
And I've used that specific so many times I've lost track of it.
