Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Blender 3.x roadmap

code.blender.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 119 posts

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#41

Post by rogual »

I love Blender, but have been stuck on version 2.7 due to what I can only describe as some sort of icon dyslexia.

For 2.8, all the Blender icons were replaced with monochromatic ones. This is a very popular trend and a lot of programs are replacing their icons in this way, so it's obviously fine for most people, and I realize this is probably a niche accessibility need I have.

But, to use the new icons, I find I have to check each one every time to find the one I want. Instant recognition is no longer possible. For me, this extra cognitive load makes it difficult to use Blender for more than a few minutes at a time.

Blender is a fantastic product and one of the best examples of what open-source can be, but I for one will be appreciating it from afar, and remaining on 2.7 until there is a way to get more usable icons.

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#42

Post by mrspeaker »

xvilka wrote: post #36

I wish they would extract their GUI layer as some framework. It's so good that would be perfect for many programs.

That sounds like a great idea, but I'm not sure how "framework-able" a great UI it is.

I was wondering how you might apply a Blender GUI layer to GIMP (I tolerate GIMP, but I love Blender). I imagine the issues run deeper than just the surface level UI? It would be a great experiment though!

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#43

Post by myrealusername »

doctoboggan wrote: post #23
fallat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using lost-PLA casting?

The rings are printed in wax and then a plaster mould is made using the wax. The gold or silver is cast using the plaster mould. I don’t do any of it myself, I have a casting partner who can do it for me. You can also find online services like shapeways to do it as well but they charge a lot mire than the real casting houses. Some casting houses I’ve worked with were the back ends to shapeways themselves.

Could you provide the names of some of the casting houses? I've only used Shapeways for some personal projects, but would love to have some more options. Nice shop, BTW.

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#44

Post by uxcolumbo »

rogual wrote: post #41

I love Blender, but have been stuck on version 2.7 due to what I can only describe as some sort of icon dyslexia. For 2.8, all the Blender icons were replaced with monochromatic ones. This is a very popular trend and a lot of programs are replacing their icons in this way, so it's obviously fine for most people, and I realize this is probably a niche accessibility need I have. But, to use the new icons, I find I have…

So there is no way to mod the tool bars so you can show the old icons?

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#45

Post by scotty79 »

andrepd wrote: post #5

> The general guideline will be to keep Blender functionally compatible with 2.8x and later. Existing workflows or usability habits shouldn’t be broken without good reasons – with general agreement and clearly communicated in advance. Oh boy. How I wish so much that other software developers would follow this principle... It seems nearly every software I use and rely on has to change its appearance and interface ever…

I wish they didn't. A lot of very popular software is stuck with counter-intuitive interfaces that pose huge entry barrier for anyone approaching them. Only for the people who learned 20 year old idiosyncrasies to feel at home.

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#46

Post by tux3 »

onion2k wrote: post #21
thepete2 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right. I'm so annoyed by firefox changing its interface every once in a while instead of coming up with a good one that they can actually keep stable for years...

If Linux kernel devs had just written v5.14 first they wouldn't have needed to bother with any of the previous 90 or so releases. The fools!

The linux kernel does not break its users, save rare exceptions (security fallout).

I've rarely seen a program maintain two UIs forever when they feel like refreshing their looks

Not that I mind UI change, but I think the comparison misses the point: if it's good enough, for some people UI breaks just cost more than they gain in the redesign. So it's not about reaching perfection. It's about finding a UI only just solid enough that it can stop breaking.

I don't necessarily agree personally, but I can understand that point of view.

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#47

Post by DonHopkins »

thepete2 wrote: post #11
andrepd wrote: post #5

> The general guideline will be to keep Blender functionally compatible with 2.8x and later. Existing workflows or usability habits shouldn’t be broken without good reasons – with general agreement and clearly communicated in advance. Oh boy. How I wish so much that other software developers would follow this principle... It seems nearly every software I use and rely on has to change its appearance and interface ever…

You're right. I'm so annoyed by firefox changing its interface every once in a while instead of coming up with a good one that they can actually keep stable for years...

Blender has had built-in well-supported full-featured pie menus for a long time, but Firefox still doesn't, and it's nowhere on the roadmap.

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#48

Post by moron4hire »

rogual wrote: post #41

I love Blender, but have been stuck on version 2.7 due to what I can only describe as some sort of icon dyslexia. For 2.8, all the Blender icons were replaced with monochromatic ones. This is a very popular trend and a lot of programs are replacing their icons in this way, so it's obviously fine for most people, and I realize this is probably a niche accessibility need I have. But, to use the new icons, I find I have…

There were some significant reorganizations from 2.7 -> 2.8, 2.8 -> 2.9, and again from 2.9 -> 3.0. It's upsetting to see this much churn over this short of a time for Blender.

Blender has always been very keyboard driven, but I don't use it often enough to have most of the shortcuts memorized. Even those seem to have changed, though. I'm sure there is a setting in the preferences to restore the old shortcuts, but it doesn't really feel like an appropriate thing to do with such a complex piece of software.

I know Blender has a "reputation" for being difficult to use. It used to be earned, over a decade ago, and it was indeed an impediment to getting new users. I felt like--as even just a casual user--Blender had hit a good sweet spot of organized, predictable, and powerful. It's just the very nature of 3D modelling to be complex, and it feels like most complaints about its interface these days are just from completely new people who don't understand this.

That seems to be one of the dangers of Free Software. Having no monetary barrier to entry, you get a LOT more first-time users. Without the sunk cost of having spent several thousand dollars on 3DS Max or similar, they don't have an emotional incentive to stick through the learning curve yet.

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#49

Post by moron4hire »

danuker wrote: post #16
doctoboggan wrote: post #8

Blender is such an amazing tool. I have a side business where I create 3d printed jewelry with my customer's fingerprints on it in gold and silver ( https://lulimjewelry.com ) and I use Blender on the backend for all of the jewelry creation. I run blender headless in a docker container on google cloud run. When needed I invoke it with an image and have a blender script "engrave" that image on the jewelry and output a…

> my customer's fingerprints And you get to build a database for any state agencies that might be interested in buying (or taking)!

As opposed to the database the state agencies already have because they take your fingerprints when you get ID?

Re: Blender 3.x roadmap

#50

Post by ckdarby »

rogual wrote: post #41

I love Blender, but have been stuck on version 2.7 due to what I can only describe as some sort of icon dyslexia. For 2.8, all the Blender icons were replaced with monochromatic ones. This is a very popular trend and a lot of programs are replacing their icons in this way, so it's obviously fine for most people, and I realize this is probably a niche accessibility need I have. But, to use the new icons, I find I have…

You could look at using a streamdeck to avoid using the icons altogether.
Post reply on HN