[Bf-committers] Blender in da news!

[Robert Wenzlaff]

At 01:54 PM 11/23/04, you wrote:
>With the addition of transform gizmos ( to allow easy world / local axis 
>movement of objects in perspective ...
>...snip...
>I'd like to see it in 0 keypresses, and done visually ( it's hard to 
>forget how to use an intuitive onscreen gizmo ).
>
>Hehe, I won't discuss... It's the general direction the world is going.
>Companies save 2 weeks teaching their staff how to use software, and lose
>4 years because of the inefficient work their employers do because they
>use Gizmos all the time instead of having learned 40 keypresses once and
>for all ;-)
>
>Off-topic, so I'll keep quiet :-)

Well, ideally you want both.  The trick is to get the gizmos to stay out of 
your way while you work.  Blender should be fast, easy to learn, and a 
dessert topping.

I also like the speed of Blender's workflow philosophy (I learned to love 
it from AutoCad R12 which has a very similar workflow - R13 stinks on ice).

That said,  I have spent plenty of time unproductive time looking for the 
key combo for that rare option I use once every six months.  Even the key 
charts don't help if you can't remember _exactly_ what the function is 
called.  An icon based gizmo can at least have a (somewhat) descriptive 
shape (I'm trying to imagine how you would express "make duplis real" in 
8x8 pixels)  and as a back up, a one sentence description in its help balloon.

But they should also do their best to stay out of the power users' 
way.  (This includes being a sole substitute for a keypress.)

If we want to impress upon others the value of Blender's workflow 
philosophy, we should actively invite users of other apps into 
#blenderchat's speed modeling contests.  Two hands _are_ better than one.

Robert Wenzlaff