[Bf-funboard] Re: Bf-funboard digest, Vol 1 #31 - 4 msgs

Daniel Barbeau bf-funboard@blender.org
Sun, 6 Jul 2003 21:49:33 +0200


Hello Dan and thanks for your answer!

So do you think a C/C++ API could have a reason to live?
What do the others think?

[about plugins on startup] :

I agree with you that this may take some time to load.
Maybe a panel somewhere in blender where all available=20
plugins are registered and you just have to click on "Start the Plugin" =
and there goes, he!

Two Cases:
---plugins that can affect heavily on the program, like adding new=20
object types and  the way to draw them, the way you can edit them,=20
the panels they need (I'd call such plugins "Wide range plugins"), or =
new editing plugins (cut tools, etc...)
could be loaded this way. You could set an option to load those you want =
on start.
---Texture plugs, sequence plugs, material plugs ("Local plugins") could =
be loaded as they are right now.

Or am I over-complicating the affair ? :-)

[About the export plug which was only an example ;) ]

yeah, new lamp material, lamps... isn't very errrm... ergonomic :) The =
reasons you gave=20
are those why I said that the design wasn't perfect , hehe, great =
spirits :-D.
(maybe some sort of wrapper, which would send to blender's internal only =
what he can eat,=20
and the full stuff to the exporter, whether you choose the one or the =
other... but hey, It's not the point, hehe )

But my point wasn't in designing a new exporter but to show what could =
be expected of such plugins...
--the ability to introduce new data types,=20
--new object types and the way they're draw in the 3D view.
--new panels, new options in existing panels
--/adding a new/ functionnalities to/ replacing the/ renderer (hum... =
well you can discard this one: can be a bit complicated)
--new ways to interact with objects (ex: translation/rotation/scaling =
helpers)

well, make blender completely plugable :)=20

[About Scripts<>Plugins]

I agree with you completely. There are multiple reasons which can make=20
a coder prefer plugins to scripts ro vice-versa, regarding a particular =
project.


[About the hypothetical release date of such a feature]

Well I was thinking it could be for B3 [am I going too fast?], more like =
a marketing strategy.
New Major blender with new major features, revamped GUI (no, not kill =
the actual,=20
but improve it for newbies, and keep it functionnal for advanced users, =
'cause that GUI is really great!).
Modular, attractive and powerful blender :)

If you think it could be done cleanly and efficiently within B2, well... =
why not,=20
but just so much for the marketing strategy :)

Oh, and to your Effect list I would add:
--melt
--fusion (implicit surfaces (like metaballs) for all meshes which could =
then melt together)
--Dynamics!

just going crazy :)

Ciao and thanks for reading!
Dani