Feature wish list - please add you own requests...

[Alan Cooper]

Information Management.

At the moment we have only the bare essential fields of part-name, dimensions, volume, surface area, material and layer.

Important fields which are missing and eagerly requested are:

 

Component;

Group.

 

At the moment there is significant extra work required if we want to output our parts data from more than one component or group to keep the parts in their respective components and/or groups, so we need to output more than one, sometimes many csv files or copy and pastes from the information management.

 

I would also like to be able to generate some custom fields for notes and numbers which would be useful, for our pricing systems for example, but  please, do not want this to mean the above request is delayed while a more involved system is being sorted out, as I expect that groups and components would be simple to add to the fields selection under the existing attributes heading.

[setz]

Components update reshape and editing topology but don't seem to respect booleans while Clones do.

Tech,

Is this accurate?  If so, could booleans be added as a valid edit to existing components?

[Tech]

Hi Setz,

 

Yes, since the result of a Boolean is technically a new object, the component is then ghosted -- but we will see if it is possible to adjust for this in the future.

[3dworks]

* i would love to have an option to show ghosted layers with their dimmed layer color instead of uniform gray.

 

cheers

 

markus

[3dworks]

* resizable components with protected geometry. this one is something i'm looking forward for a long time. basically it would mean that we can protect certain geometry in a component from resizing in order to make for example window or door components more flexible, etc. this would be extremely helpful for all architectural fassades with components which are using the same geometry but different heights for each placement.

 

the LWCAD tool plugin for lightwave shows one solution how this could be handled, in this case for windows and doors:

 

cheers

 

markus

[Alan Cooper]

A 'duplicate' [additional] 3 of the most recent layers and materials which continually update at the top of their palette.

That way we can keep the palettes nice and short, only scrolling down to find a new layer or material less regularly.

Or a separate 'recent' palette, which can be positioned above the other palettes and can have the most recent 3 entries of whatever palettes we choose, I would choose layer, material, line-style, and line-weight.

Some may also like hatch-pattern, view, and custom workplane.

Perhaps there could be a palette manager something like a small version of the tool manager, where settings for 'recently used tools' can already be selected.

[Alan Cooper]

* resizable components with protected geometry. this one is something i'm looking forward for a long time. basically it would mean that we can protect certain geometry in a component from resizing in order to make for example window or door components more flexible, etc. this would be extremely helpful for all architectural fassades with components which are using the same geometry but different heights for each placement.

 

the LWCAD tool plugin for lightwave shows one solution how this could be handled, in this case for windows and doors:

 

cheers

 

markus

 

Markus, some constrained features like in your video would be useful. Quite a long video, I like the bit which starts at about 11.00.

[Alan Cooper]

Clipping plane by vector line so for example a non permanent clipping plane can show some vertical hatched section which stops a little way up, changes to an area of horizontal hatched section and a little further along resumes to upwards hatched section.

 

Clipping plane 2d to be additional to the 3d instead of either/or and that it becomes a 2d group element inside the 3d model which may be moved, edited or deleted. And for this 2d clipping plane to be an easily accessible workplane and snap settings to work directly onto the 2d section on that workplane for the purpose of applying dimensions. It would be nice to do all this and still show a bit of 3d background to visually show some context about what is behind the clipping plane.

 

I realise that some of this may be possible in Layout, but what I have suggested would best be available in the main 3d model.

[pipo]

An option to also  move/scale reference plane underlays interactively .....perhaps with a 'hand' type tool.

The current method is a bit hit and miss 

[Tech]

Hi Pipo,

 

Does using the Edit Reference Plane tool and clicking on the center controller to move the plane (and thus the Underlay) allow you to Pan the Underlay as you would like?

 

 

(And you know the Measure trick to quickly size the Underlay as desired, right?)

 

[pipo]

Z , yes that does the trick....just jumped straight in to new projects from 6.7 so learning on the go.

Please elaborate on the measure trick.

 

While on the subject , how to permanently set the reference grid planes so they extend infinitely (as a permanent preference)

Also the same ...how to set the guide snap to 45 as a permanent preference

 

Do I need to set up a start up file with these options ?

 

sorry for posting this here , can delete after reply

[Tech]

Hi Pipo,

 

Before jumping into projects, I would highly recommend spending a day or so studying the Migration Guide:

 

http://forums.formz.com/index.php?/topic/19-formz-v7-8-migration-guide-interface-improvements-from-formz-6/

 

This will then save you a day or more on your first project, and you will be much more productive much more quickly.

 

You can use the Edit Reference Plane tool to extend the grid, but you don't want to extend it to infinity as drawing so many lines will become slow and could cause your video card to run out of memory.

 

You can set the Angle field in the Grid Snap to 45 if you like.

 

With the Measure Tool, you can check the Underlay option.  Then measure a portion of the Underlay, enter the desired distance in the Tool Options Palette, click Update, and the Underlay will be scaled to the designated size.

 

(Please start a new thread for off topic questions...)

[Alan Cooper]

I would like an addition in the guides tools - a guide in the shape of aperfect circle of specified size and whose position will respond to snapping, They must be perfect, not segmented. This would be useful when using geometry for creating and positioning.

[Alan Cooper]

Adjust selection.

 

After selecting objects by a rectangular 'rubber-band' corner to corner drag of the mouse, I would like the rectangular boundary to remain after clicking and to be able to adjust it afterwards to alter what has been included or excluded. Sometimes there are too many parts for shift+click to efficiently perform adjustment of the selection, and parts might be close together, requiring a lot of zooming in and out.

 

An even better feature, would be to have an option to rubber-band select by a polyline-like selection, and to be able to create new moveable 'nodes' in the selection-net for maximum control.

[Justin Montoya]

Pretty please...

 

• Bring back the old Texture Maps Controls window where we can preview a rough renderzone representation and create texture groups.  This is vital to a much faster workflow, since the implementation of OpenGL in shaded mode does not tile maps the same as the Renderzone setting.  For example, if I just want to place a single logo on a wall, OpenGL will show it as tiled and repeating, even though it should only show the 1 single instance.  Fixing this would make a huge difference.
   
• Fix where PSD files transparency is showing as black instead of transparent.
   
• Re-linking missing material files doesn't complete and must be manually re-linked every time the files are in different folders.  It should be able to remember more than one folder to look in, and maybe even at the end, give an option on where to combine them all to for future use.  Storing the maps inside the FormZ files does not work well for our application.
   
• Fix automatic guides to allow snap back to Ortho from arbitrary rotation.  This was very easy in versions before 7.  Just turning on Ortho while rotating (shortcut key) would allow it to snap to the world ortho.  
   
• Material palette is missing the text showing the current selected Material name.  It'd be great if it were at the top of the palette instead of the bottom as it was in v6, but as long as it shows, that'd help.
   
• Material Parameters -  Please make it easier to close after inputting changes.  This was done via keyboard stroke "return" in versions before 7.  Clicking on the tiny minimize or close buttons is a real PITA!  Also, upon double clicking a material, to bring up the Material Parameters window, the text name for that window should become 'active', allowing easy renaming without clicking on the text bar.  
   
• Tool to 'Active' inputs -  This is a workflow problem all over the program.  Example- Transform > the Tool Options dialog should automatically allow text input in the X,Y,Z without having to click again.  Whenever you activate a tool that is most commonly then used to input keyboard changes, the fields should become immediately 'active' without the need for more clicking.
   
• Rendering Refresh - Clicking on a new view while in a rendered RenderZone view should automatically refresh the view with RenderZone.  It was always like this before v7.  Otherwise you are adding extra steps for us to always re-activate RenderZone.  
   
• Mapping Tiles number input box is missing - Example, mapping type 'Flat' textures should not just give us the 'Size' option, but should also give us the 'Tiles' number option.  That way we can specify 1:1, 2:1, or whatever without having to know what size that is.  This is one of the many features that was in the old Texture Maps Controls window that has been missing since v6.
   
• Interface issues - Palette snapping.  I can get onboard with the overall interface, but we need to try to minimize the wasted space.  Palettes should all be able to 'dock' and lock together.  This would keep them from drifting apart at relaunch.  Example, the Tool Dock should stay snapped to the Palette Dock.  The Materials Palette should be able to snap to the Palette Dock without being inside of it (which makes it too small to be useful for us).  The Modeling window should be able to be snapped to the Tool Dock.
   
• And one of the absolute BIGGEST problems is that the World Axis - X, Y, Z - Should be able to be LOCKED.  We NEED for Z to ALWAYS represent HEIGHT.  No matter how an object is rotated, X, Y, Z need to remain constant to the World Axis, not to the original object.  This is incredibly frustrating when scaling an object that has been rotated, and you expect X,Y, and Z to be constant, but you have to try and figure out which is now the real X, Y, Z.  I think v.6 had an option in the "Prompts" window for "Absolute/Relative" that may have done this previously, but I'm not sure.  For that we always had the checkbox 'unchecked' for "A", with the remaining 'W', 'C', and 'T' checked.  

[jonmoore]

Nice focused list of workflow stuff Justin. All seem pretty reasonable to me.

[Alan Cooper]

Reply to Justin Montoya

Especially concur with wasted space and palette snapping in the interface.

About the last point: Emphasis on world axis being ABLE to be locked, the choice needs to be there.

[Alan Cooper]

Clipping plane requests:

• An option to make a permanent ADDITIONAL 2d section from the clipping plane tool without losing the rest of the model.

 

• Clipping planes which are isolated to exist only within a group or component. Everything else around it would be normal.

 

Relating to the above, as a further development perhaps later on, the group or component which contains the clipping plane could have an optional internal coordinate system so it could optionally retain the clipping plane position within its own micro environment even if the group or component is moved.....Micro-environments for groups, there's a thought

[nano]

Probably for v9 now...

but anyway...

 

Love to see a lattice tool that could be applied to a curved surface or mesh.

 

Love to see an extension to surface edge or line rendering where it generates a frame or tube along a designated shape edge in all rendering methods. So you could eg. have a transparency map on the surface and have a frame appear around it's edge without having to build that separately.

 

Love to see a basic procedural branching tool for creating simple plants or vines - maybe with a simple leaf function (like the scatter tools)- which could then be used for further modelling purposes. e.g. organic forms like fungal hyphae, blood vessels, roots etc.

- would also be great to have one that could attach some vines to a surface like the scatter so you could quickly represent a vine covering part of a wall for example.

 

Just to make it faster  - Like to see a night sky option in render zone background with a partial moon and city sky glow dome.

 

[R2D2]

Proper snapping of camera, eye and target - is this back with 8.5 ?

 

And with Justin on this one, being requested for a long time:

• And one of the absolute BIGGEST problems is that the World Axis - X, Y, Z - Should be able to be LOCKED.  We NEED for Z to ALWAYS represent HEIGHT.  No matter how an object is rotated, X, Y, Z need to remain constant to the World Axis, not to the original object.  This is incredibly frustrating when scaling an object that has been rotated, and you expect X,Y, and Z to be constant, but you have to try and figure out which is now the real X, Y, Z.  I think v.6 had an option in the "Prompts" window for "Absolute/Relative" that may have done this previously, but I'm not sure.  For that we always had the checkbox 'unchecked' for "A", with the remaining 'W', 'C', and 'T' checked.  

[kim]

Upgrade the Decal Tool to match the  intuitive nature of the edit texture tool.  

[jonmoore]

SVG support: import and export.

 

It's time to move on from Adobe Illustrator v8 as the vector file of choice in 3d packages.  

 

And on the subject of vector formats, the ability to load snappable vector formats into billboards too would be rather snazzy too...

[AHTOH]

Layout:

Option to make different content frame shape (e. g. circle, star, triangle whatever). As it was at pre 7 versions.

[jonmoore]

Another example of a live boolean preview technology, this time via a $79 Lighwave plugin. And 3d Coat are just about to launch a similar tech too.

More probably something for V9 but yes pretty please, with a cherry on top...

 

[Alan Cooper]

Looks great, and good for it to be a pay-more-for plugin, as we want FormZ to remain basically affordable.

 

Slightly off-topic:

Some similarities are happening there to the feedback one would get if sculpting with physical tools, enhanced in some ways, like a whole profile shape being manipulated at once rather than just where a tool blade touches, but also within the limitations of control through a keyboard and 2 dimensional screen. Makes you wonder what design tools will be like in 20 years time! Digitally responsive clay and physical tools with almost magic wand like powers perhaps, to change its shape, colour, texture and information-holding. No harm in dreaming sometimes, we are already catching up with science fiction in some ways.