[Bf-funboard] Groups manager proposal

[Alex Fraser]

Hi!

Thanks for writing this proposal. I've been wanting vertex groups for a
while, too.

I like the idea of set arithmetic. So, in the example in your proposal,
the column on the right shows the operands of the current set from top
to bottom? Looks good.

I think it'd be difficult to work complicated operations like %
randomness and 10 degrees into the UI. Maybe it'd be better to add those
to the proportional edit controls somehow? Still, it might be more
powerful to have it in the groups UI. What do you mean by "equation
editor"?

One thing that worries me is that it looks a lot like the layer
selector, which I find hard to use. Having a 2D array of buttons slows
me down, because I have to think more about which slot to assign objects
to. Also, when re-opening a scene after several months, it's difficult
to remember what each layer contains. I wonder if it'd be better to have
a 1-dimensional [scrollable] list? That way we could name the groups,
too. I see that the 2D design allows for access to more groups, but how
often do you need more than 5 or so?

Having the 3D view update the selection on mouse-over is a nice idea. It
reduces the need for named groups a bit. However, it might be dangerous
for really complicated meshes. My computer takes around half a second to
modify the selection in a mesh with 100,000 vertices. If the selection
were to change on mouse-over, it could be quite sluggish. This would be
a shame, because groups would be particularly useful for meshes with
many vertices.

Thanks again,
Alex