Can I trade the MMB functionality against the "M" key workflow?

Personally, I don´t use MMB much because when modeling, I will usually
resort to using either the "M" key or rick-clicking to access polygon 
operations.

Sliding a component (selection) around on a polygon surface is a wonderful 
feature
in Softimage.

I would say that using a combination of variations of the M key settings, add 
edge,
and extrude is covering 65% of my work for modeling, with a Split Edge (with 
split control)
here and there. I tend to model my bevels due to legacy shortcomings in tools.

A good 15% is the ease of using "U"/"T"/"E" with raycast perference options 
that prevent
selecting unwanted (backfaced) areas.

10% is viewport interaction. Tumbling around and view modes.

10% is unfold3d. (It´s a lot more this brings but it´s become so easy :-)

Using wheighting edges in subD models I refuse to use until it is consistenly 
supported
in something as reliable as a blank *.obj format in any other app available.

There´s no point in wheighting a (subD style) edge hardness when you realize 
you can´t import/export it anywhere
like that.

Cheers,

tim

P.S: Merging vertices in Maya is nicer, with it´s treshhold options.



On 27.03.2014 00:45, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
We are keeping MMB Repeat under consideration for Maya, thanks all for the 
feedback.

On Wednesday, March 26, 2014, Matt Lind <ml...@carbinestudios.com 
<mailto:ml...@carbinestudios.com>> wrote:

    I fully understood what your post was about, Luc-Eric.

    What I stated is what many users here liked MMB upon learning about it as, 
other than myself and one other person, nobody had used Softimage before.  They 
had all come from
    3DSMax and/or Maya.  Many of them have commented they wish the MMB feature 
was in Maya as it's simple, intuitive, and saves repetitive work freeing up a 
spot or two on the
    keyboard for something else.  While you can use 'g' in Maya, it's not the 
same as MMB in the menus as each menu can have its own history remembering a 
different command whereas
    'g' can only remember one command - the most recent.  That's important.  
Users here have a mentality burned into their skulls from those other software 
that they have to make
    lots of keyboard shortcuts and toolbars to get anything done.  Introducing 
something like a MMB is a revelation as it's both simple and powerful.

    What should also be conveyed is that when artists feel like they have to 
make lots of keyboard shortcuts and toolbars, they often tend to start dabbling 
in scripting to make
    those customizations.  Artist code tends to be a frequent cause of fires I 
have to exterminate and generally a waste of my time as a TD.  If artists have 
these nice UI workflow
    touches such as MMB to repeat, they're less inclined to write crappy code 
which means fewer fires to fight and more focus on productivity not only for 
the artists, but also for
    me as it allows me to spend more time focusing on writing tools which can 
provide bigger impact than quickie buttons.


    Matt




    -----Original Message-----
    From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau
    Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 12:25 PM
    To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
    Subject: Re: humanize Maya, SOFT top 5

    On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 3:00 PM, Matt Lind <ml...@carbinestudios.com> wrote:
     > Here at Carbine, users like the MMB to repeat a menu command.  It's 
popular.  They're not as fond of tear off menus.  They don't hate tear off menus, 
but given the choice
    they'll use a custom key as 1st option, custom toolbar as 2nd option, and 
tear off menu as last option.  The issue being that tear off menus don't allow 
for customized menus.
    You only get the existing menu structure in a different place.
     >
     > What users want is clutter free and minimal effort to execute commands 
or a series of commands.  Tear off menus are good for situations where the entire 
menu is a custom
    menu of commands like a custom toolbar would be, and the commands in that 
menu are very closely related to the task at hand.  If the menu is full of 
built-in commands, they're
    less liked because usually the user only cares about one or two tools in 
the menu but is stuck having to take all of them as part of the package deal 
resulting in clutter.  For
    example, go to the property menu and you have entries for visibility, 
display, etc..., but also a lot of unrelated tools such as rendermap or gator.  
It's a very tall menu but
    the user only wants 3 or 4 items out of 30.  If tear off menus allowed 
individual items to be torn off and merged into a toolbar, then that would be 
ideal.
     >
     > Implementing MMB to repeat a command in a menu would be a popular move.

    that's OK, but that's in Softimage.  The bit that's not obvious is whether 
someone using Maya needs a MMB, that's what my post is meant to be about.
    In Maya, you can even hold shift+ctrl while selecting a menu to make it a 
button the shelf.  (Doing the same thing in Softimage would be a
    pain) You'll be working differently, have different reflexes.


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