[Bf-committers] Really strange...no rendering at all and materials lost in space

[Meino Christian Cramer]

From: Rob Haarsma <phaseIV@zonnet.nl>
Subject: Re: [Bf-committers] Really strange...no rendering at all and materials lost in space
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 23:43:56 +0100

Hi Rob,

 thank you for the fast reply !!! :)



> Meino Christian Cramer wrote:
> 
> >Hi,
> >
> > I am using a blender compiled from CVS as of the time of writing this
> > mail.
> >
> > --
> >
> > First issue:
> >
> > I downloaded some models of the Star-Trek series fro blender.
> >
> > It is possible to show a shading while pressing ZKEY or SHIFT-ZKEY
> > (so the model seems to be ok).
> >  
> >
> I recall we experienced the same problem just before the release, then 
> it turned out that the
> backbuf button in the renderwindow was pressed while no image was specified.
> Originally you'd have seen an error popup at the start of rendering, but 
> with the new ui
> overhaul it got replaced by a printed message in the console window...
> maybe that's the case here?
> 
> > But pressing F12 to start rendering pops up a black preview window
> > and that's it. The CPU-Loadmeter of my desktop does not make any
> > move. Adding lamps over and over does not help. ;)

  Oh oh....shame on me !  :-|


  I added thousends of lamps with billions of megawatts of output
  power (my monitor smells like "Amperes" then....)
  but I forgot the camera !!!!!!

  Sorry...false alarm...
  
  But at this point may be another thing may worth to be evaluated
  for the next release:

  Would it be possible to make blender makeing some simple checks for
  a "reasonable" setup of the scene and report the result (if
  "harmful" ) IN THE GUI OR IN A POPUP....so it may warn the user before
  starting rendering a scene without a camera, lights or objects
  (wrong layer set) or something like that?

  When starting Blender via a desktop menu you will never see any
  console printing...and nowadays beasts like KDE, GNOME are so common
  and even simple windowmanager used to have menus to call
  applications directly...  

  I think that noone else than a command line cowboy will take care of
  console error printing -- especially when there are "normal case"
  printings on the console also....

  Just my two cents...

  (I like the commandline....dont worry ;) ;)

> > --
> >
> > Second issue:
> >
> > From time to time it happens, that the material preview window get
> > lost in space.
> > Then it is no longer possible to preview any material.
> >
> I might be mistaken, but with material preview window you mean the left 
> most panel in the
> material menu ? 

  Jepp!

> At any time you can move the entire material window a 
> little bit to the right
> with the middlemouse button so there's sufficient room to get the 
> preview panel drawn.

  Oh?

  That means: If only one milimeter of the preview is touched by the
  border of the window NOTHING will be drawn ?

  Hmmmmm.... could be the case here.

  If the effect is there again I will check it. Thank you! :)

> Or do you mean something else ?

  Nope ! :O)

> > Workaround:

  (snipped)

> Regards,
> Rob.
> 

I think at least in the documentation these kinds of common user
caused pitfalls must me mentioned.

Better would be, if Blender itsself could check for "being stuck
somewhere" ...

BUT!
Blender is a vast powerful tool which abstracts a LOT of nifty
mathematics, geometrics and much more of "I cannot think of that" up
to level a normal user can handle such thing in a more intuitive way.

When adding checks for error conditions of the "user-kind" (not
blender internal errors!) there is one way we should NOT go.

NO program can imagine or evaluate human creativity. So, if Blender
detects an user-error it must be secured, that the USER can overide
this condition by pressing the button "IGNORE" or "IT IS MY WILL! DO
IT!"

Otherwise we will have a user put under tutelage by her/his own
computer (do you know this ;) like that :


I mark a file

I presse the delete button

+-----------------------+
| DO YOU REALLY WANT TO |
|   DELETE THIS FILE?   |
|                       |
|   YES   NO   CANCEL   |
+-----------------------+

(mouse click on "YES" button)

+--------------------------+
| FILE IS WRITE-PROTECTED! |
|   DELETE THIS FILE?      |
|    OVERRIDE ?            |
|                          |
|   YES   NO   CANCEL      |
+--------------------------+

(mouse click on "YES" button)

And what will happen instead:

The file is COPIED to a folder called "TRASH"....

...and most confusing there may be an error popup sometimes saying

+-----------------------+
| ERROR !               |
| Cannot delete file:   |
| Trash full!           |
|                       |
|   YES   NO   CANCEL   |
+-----------------------+



...sigh...

I dont want to be put under tutelage !

I want to be taken serious by ANY machine.

The machine has to serve me.

I dont want to serve the machine.

Ok...may be slightly off topic and only my opinion...but....

Keep hacking !
Meino