[Bf-gamedev] UI; Improvements and Customization

Wed Oct 9 01:04:14 CEST 2013

After having a conversation with Albartus on Steam, I realize some of my
idea exists in Blender, and that I need to describe how my idea differs and
is beneficial.

Blender currently contains a panel layout option. This is a good portion of
what I was suggesting. It allows users to toggle between different
workflows and creates decent customization.

The next step of the feature would be adding save out and load in of
layouts and organization options. Save out and load in inbuilt with the
layout function would make sharing layouts easily done within the program.
If I were to innovate a change in my layout, I could then simply save the
desired layout and share over google chat with a coworker. It encourages
mod'ability between users. With this ability to share comes the need for
organization, as the number of layouts might bloat. Folder groupings could
allow shared traits to be consolidated for ease of finding. If those
folders could be toggled open and close, it reduces clutter. Folders may
also allow saving out groups of layouts for fast deployment or portability
of users between machines.

The second step, now that you allow saving and loading as well as grouping
of layouts, is to allow those layouts to also load interface options. Since
we have the option now to have multiple layouts grouped and organized in an
uncluttered and manageable way, you can now allow for more schemes and
thereby more freedom with those schemes. Allowing users to also load preset
interface options, like hotkeys, would allow individuals the freedom to
figure out their own workflow that works best for their task. In a more
practical application, as an employer, I could tailor the control system of
my custom layouts to make teaching new employees Blender easier. For
instance, I could tailor a texture layout that is reminiscent to photoshop
users, and I could tailor an animation environment that's reminiscent to a
maya user.

Step three is adopting true mod'ability in the UI. This UI layout loading
not only loads panel layout and interface presets but then also custom
panels with their own scripts. This way, someone with adequate scripting
knowledge could build their own user interface. They could create a
toolbar, dedicate panels to certain tasks or whatever innovation they feel
is needed. This would, for instance, allow an individual to repackage
features in a streamlined fashion. Someone could create a sculpting UI,
putting the tools most pertinent to the task in a dedicated bar with a
dedicated window to brush presets. It might also open up innovation, like
autoriggers built into the scheme. Tools programming could be democratized
and shared, and Blender devs could use it as test beds for other
innovations, too.

These features would not supplant existing UI, but be an additive system
that works with classic Blender. If someone wants a classic feature in one
of these custom UIs, they need only drag out a division and populate it
with the classic tools they desire. If they do not like the hotkey scheme,
they can set them back to default and resave the layout. It allows classic
power users to keep the program as they like, but then gives enthusiasts
and production companies the ability to tailor the program to their needs
in a share'able way. (Be a mighty nice feature for Steam Workshop..)

Albartus did voice a concern about creating varying control schemes. If
people do not use a common key set, could confusion hinder adoption? I
cannot answer that, but I ask an opposing question. Wouldn't opening the UI
to share'able modding create further user enthusiasm for the program? I
believe the potential for innovation is more powerful than the concern of
uniformity, and I know if this feature existed, at least some of us indies
would adopt the program and pool together to get the most out of the
feature.

On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Jan Albartus <albartus at home.nl> wrote:

>  PPS. with "UIs, like Model & Texture, Animation & Rigging, Compositing &
> FX" you mean something else than the 'Default, 3D View Full, Animation,
> Compositing, Game Logic, Motion Tracking, Scripting, UV Editing and Video
> Editing' screen lay-outs blender already provides using the drop-down?
>
>
> On 2013-10-08 19:23, Colin Knueppel wrote:
>
> Thanks PLyczkowski and Brecht,
> And Thanks PLycskowski for the complement on NS2. I'm primarily anim, but
> I can keep my ear out with Cory, our art director.
>
>  For UI,
> I've been trying to be very active in the discussion, and I've been honing
> what I hope is a persuasive and compassionate argument for UI refinement
> that can both leave the program intact for existing users as well as
> improve learnability and customization. I have come to discuss it here as
> well, due to someone linking this as another way to bring about some
> change.
>
>
> http://www.blendernation.com/2013/10/06/developer-meeting-notes-october-6-2013/
>  Here is the latest revision of my argument in the comments.
> It has been refined after some discussion with a Blender Institute
> representative. His concerns were that a lot of the UI discussion was
> directed at making Blender a clone of other programs. Upon reflection, I
> don't believe the hotkeys are necessary, and it is kind of disrespectful to
> ask Blender to just adopt other program keys, when we all struggled to
> learn Maya, Max and ZBrushes funky keys. I have instead shifted my focus
> upon a feature I described here before, a prominent task oriented UI
> loading menu option. Below that, I then describe concerns that I believe
> should be kept in mind while designing features, or redesigning, in Blender
> that would probably also address Blender's learning curve for new users.
>
>  I don't wish to belabor this too much, but the UI element alone would be
> a hundred times better than Maya's beloved shelves system, and it would
> allow studios like Unknown Worlds, perhaps Wolfire Games and other indie
> studios to pool resources and design friendlier environments for new hires,
> speed particular tasks or maybe even innovate new features. It takes
> pressure off the core group about conforming to other programs, too.
>
>  As for the second point, I consider usability really a concern that we
> all should have as we age. The perspectives I put forth are perhaps
> extreme, but should be considered while designing a program. They are also
> representative of the many shades of difficulties that exist across the
> user base of any program. I think we all can identify people in our lives
> that aren't senile but have difficulty keeping on track, and are especially
> burdened by disorganization that requires searching. We probably all know
> people that don't have trouble reading but navigate almost primarily by
> landmarks. These sort of problems are what I consider the bigger issue to
> Blender's usability.
>
>  These two items would make great strides towards addressing core
> difficulties of learning Blender.
>
>
> On Sun, Oct 6, 2013 at 6:34 AM, Brecht Van Lommel <
> brechtvanlommel at pandora.be> wrote:
>
>>  Hi,
>>
>>  On Sun, Oct 6, 2013 at 10:40 AM, Paweł Łyczkowski <
>> pawellyczkowski at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> @Colin @Aubrey
>>>
>>> Hey
>>>
>>> An UI refresh is planned for the 2.7x series, and the commutity has been
>>> very active recently in proposing what the refresh could consist of (you
>>> can see the biggest thread about it here -
>>> http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?298932-Blender-UI-Mockups-and-Ideas-Requested
>>> ).
>>>
>>
>>  To be clear, there is a lot of activity around this topic from users,
>> but as far as I know, no developers have announced any big plans to refresh
>> the UI.
>>
>>  Ton mentioned something about refreshing the default settings in the
>> roadmap, but that's not the same thing.
>>
>> http://code.blender.org/index.php/2013/06/blender-roadmap-2-7-2-8-and-beyond/
>>
>>  Maybe with all the activity there is a good change that developers will
>> get interested in working on this topic, but I wouldn't say that it is
>> actually planned yet.
>>
>>  Brecht.
>>
>>
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