Some visualisation issues with SubD + some suggestions

I have just started using subd and I am notice a couple of visualisation issues.

Firstly I have to say that I really appreciate this new development, and I think potentially it could help me do the things I was up now doing with Maya without having to actually use a different software (and with the accuracy of Rhino). As a reference, although nowadays Maya utilises mostly meshes, I think that should be the modelling reference to aim to (and improve!).

So one preliminary comment is that the _SubDDisplayToggle is a bit annoying because it works on all the subd in the document, while it would be better to select the visualisation of all the subd selected leaving the ones which are unselected visualised as they are. More than a toggle there should also be a way to select multiple object and say someting like _SubDCrunchy vs _SubDSmooth. An additional

Secondly it would be interesting if the “Crease” could offer not only a hard edge / smooth edge, but if the “hardness” could be regulated so to have also all intermediate result between uncreased and creased.

Generally “insert node” is a bit deceiving because is actually “insert an edge”. Again following Maya as a standard it would be good if the commands could be “insert node” (if it makes sense to insert just a node in a subd) “insert an edge” by clicking on the two extremes, insert an edgeloop (but by clicking on the perpendicular edge the loop has to intersect).

An “extrude” subd face would be very helpful (basically pushing out the faces selected and automatically creating the “sides”). If multiple faces are selected it would be interesting to have the option to extrude all of them joined together or individually.

There does not appear to be a way to remove an edge?

Lastly it would be great if faces and edges of the subd could be selected and moved/scaled (I don’t think this is possible at the moment, is it?)

In terms of issues:

  • I see that when I move a node or perform some operation or try to select an edge the software jumps often jump showing for a second a different visualisation, which is a bit annoying (smooth to crunchy and the opposite)
  • Similarly, if I am in the “crunchy” view if I select an edge to crease I visualise as selected the “soft” one.
  • Sometimes when I try to insert an edge loop, even in a scenario that would seem pretty standard, the loop is interrupted at an edge with no apparent reason


Hope this helps!

Hello - thanks for the feedback. Using the Gumball extrusion handle on selected faces does what I think you are asking there, is that correct?

(Ctrl-Shift) sub-object selection and Delete does that. Is that what you mean?

This works now, with (Ctrl-Shift) sub-object selection.

-Pascal

Thanks Pascal, I didn’t get (this very fundamental part) of selecting sub elements with ctrl+shift. Deleting scaling and moving components works great, extruding not as I would expect though.

See image below if I select that face I can extrude it only vertically and when I do it the result is not quite as I expected (no solid sides). What I mean by extruding not only vertically is that if I had a face on the xy plane quad I would like to do some sort of what we get with the inset but being able to decide how much insetting it in each direction. Eventually I could move the face up.

image

Hello - any chance you can post, or send me, that object?

-Pascal

Unfortunately I went back a few steps and by deleting some edges on the other side the error does not appear anymore (and I have lost that configuration), I will let you know if I encounter it again.

Regarding the scaling not only with the perpendicular handle see below on the left the effect I would like to achieve (as I said a sort of an inset but without having to use the command, just with the handles). While on the right I have extruded two faces which shares an edge and automatically the subd result is joined. It would be nice if there was also the option of having the two extrusion disjointed (e.g. image you want to create a pattern made up of small truncated pyramids by selecting all the faces of a surface without having to do this one by one)



Actually here it is, it happened again. File attached.

It seems it has to do with the edge being creased?

Also why do edge vertices have to be selected when creasing and selecting the edges is not enough?


SubD extrusion error.3dm (283.1 KB)

Hello- thanks, I see this here as well.
https://mcneel.myjetbrains.com/youtrack/issue/RH-56671

For Crease you can select edges, or vertices, or both… See how that works? Selecting a vertex is the same as selecting all the converging edges there.

-Pascal

RH-56671 is fixed in the latest WIP