[Bf-committers] A proposal for further 2.5x UI evolution

[Troy Sobotka]

On Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 11:31 AM, Vilem Novak <pildanovak at post.cz> wrote:
> Hello,
>  I put together a proposal for some further possible changes in the 2.5x UI.

I cannot comment on some of the more modelling centric elements, as I
don't have much experience with them to comment. Specifically however,
I found two elements of your discussion interesting:

> "mixed panel order"

Panels need to be adjusted based upon artist workflow and area of
expertise. When you fix panel locations, you are forcing an artistic
workflow without knowing what exactly the given artist is seeking to
achieve. Compositing, modelling, rendering looks, rigging, etc. are
all _radically_ different workflows that will prioritize different
panels over others.

An advanced artists tool such as Blender makes no assumptions about
workflows or artist needs and allows the artists to make these
fundamental adjustments.

> "uneven height of a panel stack"
> is less bad as previous, but still adds a lot to "searching time"

Scanning is something that pertains to a very specific audience
segment, in particular, new and hobby individuals that likely won't be
spending much time with an application. Sacrificing in the name of
this segment is questionable given the nature of the application.

> "not foldable(who
> DOESN'T want to see what he's actually doing?

Here you are making an assumption that you know what the artist is
doing or attempting to do. It is the same sort of small assumption
that leads one reading your sentence to imply an assumed male artist.

Again, not all panels relate to a given workflow or set of tasks.
Being able to customize those panels to suit the workflows is
absolutely mandatory. This is something that the Blender interface
design has taken into account and has delivered.

The changes listed seem to be rooted in a distinct lack of screen real
estate, something that again Blender makes no assumptions about.
Making dubious changes as suggested would intrinsically crippled
Blender's ability to deal with large display workspace formats.

Sincerely,
TJS