Hello,
There are parametric aspects already included for Visual Arq within Rhino, without the use of Grasshopper. However, for example, would it be possible to add the ability to control the height of a wall with a Number Slider without having to manually type in the numbers (Ex: 3DS MAX Object Modifiers has something like this)? This could further automate an already automated process. Just food for thought.
Thank you.
Hi @MetDesignLab,
We thought many times about this, but adding sliders to some of the parameters is not as easy as it sounds, because an slider usually requires to define the limits (a minimum and a maximum) of the parameter.
The problem then comes because those limits could be too large (or worst, infinite), so the step change by each pixel could be very large to be useful. For example, the case you propose: wall height min is something near 0 (maybe 50cm, or maybe 10cm, or maybe 1cm…), and max could be 500 meters (a really high skyscraper. So the slider should change between 0 and 500 meters. In a typical screen, the slider will be about 250 pixel wide, so each time you move a single pixel the slider, the parameter will change 2 meters, which is a too large step to be useful. One way to solve this is to let the user specify the limits, but this will mean to enter two values for each parameter, which will complicate the use of the software.
Another problem is that sliders are not precise (it is difficult to set a value), and VisualARQ wants to be precise software.
Then there is another problem related to performance: a user will expect that a change in the slider will be instantly reflected in the object, but some changes take time (from some milliseconds to several seconds or even minutes) to compute. Even on fast changes, modifying the document at each slider change is not a good option, as each time the slider changes a new UNDO record will be generated (which consumes memory).
I know sliders are used in many applications, like RAW editing tools or even in Grasshopper, but I don’t think they are a good solution for VisualARQ.
Enric
