Some of my feature requests

[system]

I’m a huge fan of ZBrush. I had tried it years ago, but couldn’t really do much with it (confused by the interface etc). Tried it again recently, and gave the entire manual a full read through, and am hugely impressed and sold.

Some things still bother me, though, and I feel they really take away from an otherwise amazing program. So, here’s my suggestions. I totally respect other people’s preferences, and that the interface and ways have been established for a long time… so, as always, I suggest that these changes would be made OPTIONAL to the user, so that people used to or preferring the current ways can keep it so.

-Have the ZBrush window respect the Windows toolbar (not cover it up). I read that I’m not the only one asking for this.

-Have the ZBrush window minimize and restore (like other Windows apps) when the ZBrush bar in the Windows toolbar is clicked

-Allow the keyboard shortcuts to be redefined/changed by the user… PLEASE!!!

-Have the option to hold down a certain shortcut key, and have the left, middle and right mouse button (+ mouse drag) move/rotate/scale the tool. Ex. Middle mouse button held down and mouse dragged = Rotate

-An option to have menus/windows stay open until the user CLICKS outside of it (rather than just closing when the pointer goes off it)

-Option to scroll side trays with mouse wheel when pointer is over the tray

Just allowing the user to create his own keyboard shortcuts would allow me to make a workflow that I am more comfortable with, and would address a lot of the frustration I have with the interface.

Again, I would suggest that these be OPTIONAL, as not to upset those users who are either used to or prefer the current methods. I find things like the current ‘hold down ALT, drag the mouse, let go of ALT while still holding down the mouse button’ just to scale, is a bit cumbersome. A more conventional ‘hold a button, and drag the mouse’ approach would be so much more welcome.

I hope you can address some of these things. Please relocate this post if it’s not in the appropriate area. I couldn’t find an official ‘Requested Features’ thread…

Cheers!

[beta_channel]

You can set your own keys. ctrl+alt+lmb then set the key you’d like for the function.

And I believe right mouse button navigation should help you. Still not like working in a traditional 3D modeler though.

[system]

Hi, Beta_Channel. Thanks for the reply.

Ya, I remember trying that CTRL+ALT+LMB thing, but there was some aspect that was still lacking (from what I remember from back then). Certainly does work, now that I try it again. I think maybe it was because it (I’m assuming) can’t be applied to some of the more global keyboard shortcuts or something… I’ll have to play around with it again, since, ya, it seems to work.

I think what I am ‘struggling’ with most is some of the more unconventional and touchy controls… like for zooming a tool (Hold down ALT, click and drag mouse, let go of mouse while still holding ALT… that kind of thing, where I’m thinking 'Why not just hold down a key and drag the mouse, instead of this?)

Granted, part of the frustration too comes when you are jumping from one program to another, each having different keystrokes. For example, jumping back and forth between XSI and ZBrush can cause a lot of ‘oops’.

I find myself frequently doing things like holding down the space bar and dragging the mouse to scroll (from using Adobe apps), or holding down the S key and dragging the mouse while holding down one of the mouse buttons (from XSI). It’s a situation I’m sure others find when, for example, using more than one 3D program (although, in many cases there, there are keyboard mappings available to match those of the other 3D apps).

It’s a delicate line between familiarity and whining, I understand. But, again, by giving the user choice, everyone is happy (hopefully!)… Those who are used to the programs ways for years don’t get annoyed by a sudden change to make those going in (and who are used to some OTHER programs ways) familiar and happy.

I totally get the ‘ALT does the inverse of the tool’ thing, and that’s fine and great. I have been finding though that it SEEMS like some of the other conventions (CTRL and SHIFT for example) are less consistant… and I find myself sometimes confused as to what the combos are. That might just be me confused, and there IS some consistant aspect of those modifiers… So, that’s something I have to look into further.

But, ya, I’m kind of puzzled why there isn’t more of the ‘hold a key and drag the mouse’ kind of interface to many of the commands (as opposed to odd combos of modifiers and ‘hold this, move, then let go of this one thing and keep holding the other’ type of way. Keep in mind, as whiney as this sounds, I think the other aspects of this program are brilliant… This is one of the first programs I’ve seen which actually DOES live up to its claim that it is there to make life easier. The paintwork, exporting of maps, UV editing… all surprisingly intuitive, simple and they work! Plus, the whole paint to sculpt workflow is mindbogglingly more intuitive and faster than the old ‘move points’ method! The time/effort savings is staggering to me! But, I hear that I’m not the only one ‘disappointed’ that many of the interface methods are unconventional… and the whole ‘covering up the taskbar’ thing.

Yep, I’m sure after using it for a long while, I’ll get used to the control methods… but the problem is that in that time frame, I’m also going back to other apps (XSI, Adobe, etc… so, there will be that continuing conflict of ‘learning/unlearning’. I guess part of it too is that some of the seemingly odd control schemes seem unneccessary, and I’m puzzled why they do things certain ways. For me, the XSI ‘S’ key + one of 3 mouse buttons control for move/scale/rotate is very efficient and convenient.

( BTW, ya, I write a lot… )

[beta_channel]

i totally get your frustration with the navigation. i struggled for a while as well. it may help to understand where zbrush is coming from. it was supposed to be a 2d application at first. it was also made to assume you only had one mouse button…or pen. so all of the navigation needed to work with just LMB or a combo of alt ctrl and shift. working on a small tablet this is extremely important and i couldnt get around without it when working on my cintique or asus slate. desnt run zbrush so well…but it handles sculptris okay.

i should mention this, though i pause to do so because the default navigation is actually great. to help with your though…
jyou can set up a custom menu, place only the navigation buttons inside of it you can then bind that menu to a keynand have it pop upnover your cursor which will give you move scale and rotate. spacebar already has this inside of it. while not quite the same as xsi or any other application it does get you closer. i find alot of my students lsike to work this way as the hotkey navigation takes a while to get used to. granted, just like in any other application without a lot of hotkeys you are just hindering yourself.

i get what youre saying though. i just thinking having to work like in maya or xsi navigation would suck with a pen…and it does IMO. i’ll take modo or max navigation any day because moving your finger on a pen that much just sucks.

final note. in any application once you rebind keys to try to match another application’s navigation you lose a lot of functionality inside of the tool you’re using…eh, my 2 cents…but i totally agree that having the option would be nice.

[system]

Interesting…

Ya, I’m using an Intous4 tablet, myself, and jumping between XSI and ZBrush.

I’ll have to look into all of that. Some of the command routines are just a bit too touchy or tricky. I figured that their navigation was based on an evolution, which is totally understandable. But, ya, as always, making it customizable, and letting the user set it up as they please seems to the way to go.

Well, I’m still quite new to ZBrush. Although I had it LONG ago, I only recently started working with it again. Got quite far in teaching myself it, and am very comfortable doing complex face sculpts, as well as paintwork and things like that. So, there’s definitely time for me to get used to it. But, I’m still putting the feature requests out there for the developers to consider…