Maya has everything to do supra/sticky keys already -- unlike
Softimage, users have full access to press and up messages
individually in the hotkey editor. However, Maya uses the the
keyboard differently, with comparable advantages *if you're a Maya
users*. When you hold down the hotkeys for select, translate,
rotate, or scale, the marking menu to set the tool's option is
enabled. So that means that the W key already does something in
"sticky" mode, i.e. press and release the key, and in Supra mode,
where you hold it down. Some other short cuts work when you hold down
the key ("supra mode"), for example holding down [tab] to ray cast,
holding down B for the brush/proportional radius, "back tick' for
tweak mode, etc.
So there is no way we're going to break the hotkeys/marking menus for
everyone else to jam in a softimage-like tool stack. And it's
completely possible for someone to set it up with the hotkey editor,
however then you're kind of stuck in your little corner working like
no one else and not necessarily getting the modeling updates, or
seeing them in the right light.
On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 4:48 AM, skuby <sku...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 1. When, where and how is the Humanize Maya effort going (if at all?).
> 2. Has anyone made a dedicated effort to manually configure Maya's hotkeys
> and or UI?
>
> I took a several months long, extremely dedicated effort to make a full jump
> back over to Maya, after years of being with Soft and having left Maya
> behind for dead, and today I've finally had it, enough is enough, it's just
> not going to happen without further and very serious developments.
>
> I am convinced, that a dedicated TD could fully work out the process of
> mimicking Soft's sticky key system with-in Maya. The interface for
> recognizing keypress down and keypress release is already existing, however
> each command and tool would need to be assigned a well thought out place on
> the keyboard as well as a memory function script addended to each hotkey so
> that when it is pressed and held, the previous tool being used is recorded,
> so that after the mouse commands were entered (for splitting an edge loop at
> a selected place on the model for example) that the key can be released, and
> the last used tool or method was recalled (for example immediately go back
> to working in multi-component move mode). Aka, by default in soft, I can be
> in multi-component tweak move mode, pushing and pulling around points, edges
> and faces as if my geo were a sculpture, and then at any moment, hold down
> the "]" key, click the mouse where I want to split in an edge loop -
> immediately giving me a loop where I want it, clicking again where and if
> needed to add further loops, and upon finally releasing the "]" key, I am
> automagically and immediately brought back to multi-component move mode
> where I can continue refining OR whatever previous function I was using in
> some other case. This entire sticky key system is possible, I believe, to
> mimic in Maya, but it is a lot of work, and it is work unrelated to the
> direct process of being an artist and making 3D worlds and inhabitants and
> bringing them to life. In other words, it's a major distraction for an
> artist to approach and would be better handled as a sold separate tool that
> one could buy to accompany their Maya installation.
>
> I cannot seriously entertain a further continuation of using Maya as a
> primary dedicated package without such a previously described implementation
> developed -either internally via the Humanize Maya project (which may be an
> effectively dead effort for all that I know or can see) or externally via a
> sold separate plug-in installer from a dedicated 3rd party. There are other
> severe issues with Maya that I have but cannot even begin to whole-heartedly
> address without the above considerations first being fully solved. (aka The
> Unfold tool is far inferior in function and usage, the new nodal base editor
> for Maya is far inferior in it's presentation and use-ability, the ICE clone
> is in a very early state of presentation and not a system worth considering
> taking the time to learn vs ICE or Houdini, the Hypergraph is far inferior
> extremely dated and totally cumbersome by comparison, as well both the
> Attribute editor and Outline are far far far inferior in usage after a very
> thorough examination and comparison etc., etc., etc.)
>
> Aka. Just installing Maya, and assigning loop split, point weld, extrude and
> all of my other basic modelling functions to memorable hotkeys, isn't
> cutting it and is slowly driving me mad since I am really trying to take
> this full jump seriously. Even the familiar F8 command to exit component
> mode and return to object mode still, after 15+ years, sometimes
> inexplicably requires to be pressed twice because it doesn't work properly
> the first time, and other such oddities and confounding workflow
> complications (component selection memory for example)....
>
> Please someone advise me!!! For the time being I am going back to Softimage
> full time for modeling, uv, rigging and animation and relying on exporting
> (cleaning/completing the results as needed in another package (like Maya)
> and then sending to game or external render). This isn't a long term
> solution as it will continue to decay and depreciate over the years moving
> forward, especially as new tools and functions are released for other
> packages and accessories (in particular brand new functions/tools that would
> be best used in your primary package, aka. Softimage), however, I don't have
> a choice unless I continue to allow Maya or it's present day alternatives to
> drive me completely bonkers. A serious solution is required, please advise.
