interesting list...care to add to it?

[niklas]

I think that summed it up nice. Especially the Modeler part :)

[JVitale]

And you want us to add to that William?...

I think that list could cover LW version 8, 9, 10, 11 etc etc

:deal:

[EvilE]

Havent found it on the list : update the patches when changing the splines like in max : )

EE

[LNT]

I have a few to add...mainly in modeler

1.Set Tool's Action Axis in othographic viewports
(as it is now we can set any action axis only in Perspective window)

2.Percentual Bevel Inset Option (%)
this is the way we set inset in Bandsaw tool - but it would actually make beveling totally error free and better than in Vertibevel

3.Clone Tool Offset Decay (%)
this could keep the sized clones at fixed distance from each other

4.Reflection Displacement texture channel in Surface Editor

5.Specular/Reflection Flares option

[4dartist]

Often times i work only in persp view cause i like to spin my model, push and pull, etc etc in that view, however i can't push and pull the the center verticies on my character because i need them to stay in the Zaxis, maybe adding a small gizmo so i can drag verticies along a choosen axis w/out having to activate anything like a pluggin or haveing to switch to orthographic views. Maya's seems to work perfect for me, i can work in Persp a long time without haveing to switch panels around jsut to move a vert.

[Cman]

After reading the list your supplied link, it seems to me the real request is "context sensitive menus". When modeling: modeling menus, when animating: animating menus.
With timeline always available.

Reminds me of a compositing app in the sense one can always add, subtract, or animate any parameter of anything at any time.
I agree with JVitale that given the past rate of changes in LW, those requests would more likely be realized in LW9 instead of LW8.

[Cman]

4dartist, hold down control key and your push/pull will be constrained to world axis.

[wgreenlee1]

Originally posted by 4dartist
Often times i work only in persp view cause i like to spin my model, push and pull, etc etc in that view, however i can't push and pull the the center verticies on my character because i need them to stay in the Zaxis, maybe adding a small gizmo so i can drag verticies along a choosen axis w/out having to activate anything like a pluggin or haveing to switch to orthographic views. Maya's seems to work perfect for me, i can work in Persp a long time without haveing to switch panels around jsut to move a vert.

Yeah,Like Wings3D,I like the way you can do a lot of things in the perspective.


THIS WHAT I"M TALKING ABOUT!!!
8.- Fully integrated Aura 2.5 as another included module, so we could have our own "Lightwave Paint", improving it with a new set of brushes such as those found in Z-Brush (or Maya Paint Effects), that would allow to paint grass, plants and similar effects. So we now might have our 4th mode, "Lightwave Paint" having also a Viewport, or several, with the UV maps in our project, so we can texturize them, also any other kind of map like Clip, Displacement, etc...

YEAH BABY,YEAH!!!!

[policarpo]

you can already model in LightWave like you do in Wings 3D for the most part wgreenlee. a few days of using Wings3D has really imporved my modeling flow and speed in LightWave.

[Jaspar]

Still in the early stages of learning, so some of my feature requests might already be in place :shrug: ....

Intelligent highlight/selection, and move(etc.) along normal as in Wings.
Displacement maps in modeler, and along normal as well as axis.
Object properties stored in object file (displacements etc.)
Object layers in layout automatically parented, detection of new layers, and prompt to add to scene.
Skelegons treated as bones, so rigging can be tweaked in modeller.
L-systems.
Save animation in multiple formats without re-rendering, a sort of image viewer for animation (be a good way to try out all those mysterious codecs and quality settings!)
Every parameter enveloped!

I suppose alot of my wish list would go hand in hand with an integrated modeller/layout.

My main wish is for integrated edge tools, something that I assume is on the way. I'm looking forward to that linux renderer as well, should be fast and cheap.

I wonder whether any of our wishes will come true in the next few weeks? :D

[Jaspar]

Oh yeah, and I agree with Proton on the interface being modelled on Flash. Flash is the epitome of perfection in programming! :xtreme:

[Larry_g1s]

I dunno if I read that right, but personally I like Modeler and Layout being seperate. That's just me though...:shrug:

[takkun]

Originally posted by Juggernaut
I dunno if I read that right, but personally I like Modeler and Layout being seperate. That's just me though...:shrug: A lot of people feel the same way-- http://www.lwg3d.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=10317

It's currently 93.55% for keeping Lightwave separate

[Arte]

Originally posted by Jaspar
Oh yeah, and I agree with Proton on the interface being modelled on Flash. Flash is the epitome of perfection in programming! :xtreme:

Then both of you need to relax, smoke if you smoke, have a cup of coffe and think how dangerous what you are saying is:)

Lightwave needs an interface that defines Lightwave. It does not need any other program's interface . The interface must be developed to use Lightwave and Lightwave's workflow period.

In system's analysis you design according to the needs of the client, you don't design according to what something else does.

So you look at what you want to do, think of a way it can be done with the simplest workflow and do it.

X

[LNT]

if lightwave interface looked like flash it would no longer be lightwave - but flash

that wouldnt be so bad if macromedia had volumetrics,softbodies etc ...they say it's on their wishlist... right after they integrate Z axis http://www.aoikenso.net/ap/cg/biggrin.gif

Superchicken design hits a lot closer to home :thumbsup:
I like the idea of having the timeline only at the bottom of the interface and moving animation buttons to the side if the side toolbars are kept

[-mindcache-]

I'd actually like to some progression with some of the animation tools in lightwave. (something on the level of Softimage's tools would be nice =b ) LW Deffinatly needs a dope sheet/something like KeyTrak as part of the base application. I'm squeezed for time at the moment to make a good long list of what I would like to see I'll save that for later tonight. I'm sure others out there can add to this.

[Willax]

How about a form of voice recognition, hehe. Then you could say" Model a car, 1967 Chevy" Then import to Layout and Say " Drive car from point A to point B"
Ok maybe that's LW 15
Actually looks like a pretty good list going there.

[Chewey]

Ability to assign audio files to button actions.

zing, boing!!!

[CIM]

- Integrated scripting language(s)
- Scriptable shading networks

[webfox]

Hey, there's nothing to that list. You're guys could bang that stuff out in a couple of late nights with just an extra pot of coffee.

:rolleyes:

It's a pretty cool list. Nice ideas.

Anything that improves character animation and rendering are what I'm looking for.

I've been asking for #58 for a while now. Morphing with displacement maps or with procedural textures.... mmmm

:beer:

[SplineGod]

That wishlist looks more like a long term roadmap.
Most lightwave users dont even use or know how to use the CURRENT set of tools let alone anything close to that list.
My wish list for LW 8 would be this:
Tie everything together better so they dont feel slapped on like motion mixer or motion designer.
I would like expressions to be found in only one place and see Ik all the time. Lets have built in IK/FK blending.
I want expressions to be able to be globally turned on and off and have selection sets. Make it possible so that expressions are not recursive ie you can have an expression on a bone but still manually rotate the bone without it wacking out. Allow expressions to be manually overridden at will or somehow able to be turned on and off or blended via keyframes.
I would like to see so many plugins go away and have a more simplified way to apply things. Plugins should be complimentary to each other and talk to each other.
I would like to see any viewport be configured to show what you want. A viewport could be modeler, the graph editor, spreadsheet etc etc.
The spreadsheet, scene editor and graph editor should be integrated.
I want a unified motion modifer interface so I can make things follow, cycle or whatever when I want them to.
At least integrate Layout and Modeler enough to bypass the hub.
Hardwire them together enough so that its easy to work on very large objects and scenes without the hub bogging down.
Allow at least SOME modeler functions directly in layout.
Streamline where things are at. Dont make me look in 3 different panels to effect shadows.
More to come.... :)

[LNT]

I agree with you on this one Larry...that wishlist seemed to me more like "make everything look like softimage and work like maya" than a list of practical suggestions like the ones you made

I expect lightwave to be more innovative than that,even if it means not having a construction history or fillets,I can definitely live without it...otherwise I'd be in maya camp

still,it's good they've made it

[aurora]

I highly agree with items 3 and 9. I also like SplineGods idea on integration. I personally like the idea of tighter integration. While I like the ability to have 2 separate apps I like Mayas ability to see instant motion/animation results as I go. If there was some way to allow tighter communications yet keep them separate, maybe views ala Maya that would be, in my opinion, a perfect marriage.
The other thing, which I mentioned over in the NEW NewTek forums is a fullly inegrated fluids solution to match and possibly even exceed Mayas.

[proton]

keep the feedback coming....NewTek is listening!

[Captain]

Well, I hope some of they guys at newtek take this list seriously...because its important. LW takes pride in the fact that it offers incredible tools at hobbyist prices. Even the little guy can get Holywood quality out of lightwave. Now if they want to maintain that vision...they need to optomise. A Linux renderbox is cheeper, so a scremernet linux node makes sence. As well as AMD optomisations. In both cases, it offers a cheeper solution for the same High quality solutions...

Though the "output to different render engines" seems nice, I'm not to excited about it. LW's Renderer Is amazing and Quick to boot. That also might require newtek to devulge some info about there software they would rather keep under there hats for "quality" Reasons (no basterds can steal it ;))

-Captain

[CIM]

Newtek needs to fix the current flaws and weaknesses, not just slap in some features that other programs have because it's "cool". I doubt many of the ppl. asking for alot of these features have even used them, rather they are just asking for it for the "I want it because they have it" thing.

When Lightwave is unified and stable, then Newtek could go about adding the "candy" features.

[xtrm3d]

i want lw to cook me a fresh cup of coffe every morning...
and then the staff at newtek should programe lightwave to give me a true thai massage every 6 hour of work...


humm..ok ok ok ...

ok i go back to work...

[Hellbring]

I totaly agree with what Splinegod is saying. Yes new bells in whistles would be nice but Id rather have what is in the program right now fixed up and streamlined. Mostly the AMD optimization and the linux screamernet interest me.
If any new toys are added they should look at ones that are already built and see if they can intergrate them totaly with LW. So far it seems like edgetool, keytrack and ACS4 would be good canidates for this. However if ACS4 was sucked into lightwave I would hate to loose the quick and personal service of Lukasz. And if something like edgetool was absorbed it would be nice if it was tweaked so that it was able to work in symmetry mode.

[Nonproductive]

Well, maybe I can add to the list from the "Brand New to Lightwave" perspective. Essentially - I could sum up my suggestions in one word - "Consistancy."

The biggest hurdles for me while learning LW are:

1) Settings scattered all over the place. Similar to Splinegod's request - It's confusing as heck to have to hunt down 2 or 3 or 4 panels to set something. This is the number one issue for me. Even if there were just "buttons" to open the appropriate panels from *each* related panel. So, for example, open render settings and have buttons for the global illumination panel, camera properties panel, etc... At least that way you can open one panel and then reach the others without 15 clicks.

2) Better integration of the plugins that ship with the core app as "features."

3) A material preview render in modeler. I try to get my basic material down in modeler and a way to preview it with a basic light setup would be nice. I won't even go into how confused I was the first 10 times I changed materials in Layout - saved my scene - and then found the materials gone when I reloaded the scene later. I finalize my materials in layout, but they are saved with the object - which isn't saved with the scene? :brain freeze:

4) I'm not so much opposed to having two seperate apps - just keep "like tasks" in one app or the other. Bones for example...

5) A "Talent" button...I seem to be missing that "feature."

[RPG2006]

New to this area, but would like to see the whole process of skelegons/morphmaps/IK etc integrated into either Layout or modeler, rather than presently shared between the two.

Possibly more work, but preferrably in modeler with reatltime subdivision nurbs. Would be nice to be able to save the fully IKd model with all the bells and whistles as a .lwo ready to go.

Oh and likewise, the Thai massage option.

RPG

[Chewey]

Lightwave loads way too quickly. Maybe slow it down so a user definable splash screen and audio file can pop up and play.

Also a button that just triggers a "woo woo" sound.

:p

[SplineGod]

Originally posted by CIM
Newtek needs to fix the current flaws and weaknesses, not just slap in some features that other programs have because it's "cool". I doubt many of the ppl. asking for alot of these features have even used them, rather they are just asking for it for the "I want it because they have it" thing.

When Lightwave is unified and stable, then Newtek could go about adding the "candy" features.
I totally agree with this. Ive spent a few weeks in the past doing many of the Newtek Seminars. Lets say that average group was 20 people. Most of these 20 have been using Lightwave for at least a year. There werent that many newbies.
Out of that 20 maybe 5 had ever used or touched Saslite, Motion mixer, Particles and Hypervoxels, bandsaw, bandglue, expressions/motion modifers, weight maps, skelegons, vertex paint, UVmaps, vertex maps and so on.
In some groups most of the users had NEVER touched, used or even heard of most of the tools I mentioned. Most of the people we taught had never touched these tools or even knew they existed.
Most of the these people also do no frequent or know about the various forums. Most of them are not aware that there are online resources available and that Newtek has many tutorials online.
I also agree that many times features are requested because software X has it but when added to Lightwave is rarely used or is not implemented as well as should be.
I dont think its possible to fully integrate Modeler and Layout for LW8. When I say integrate I mean to keep the best things we like about modeler in terms of tools, techniques and workflow but get rid of the bad things that come as a result of them being separate apps. I want Lightwave to keep the ease and feel that it has now. I think the two parts can be integrated without losing what we like. I dont think its possible to do that with LW 8 though.
That being the case I would just like them integrated enough so that we dont need the hub for certain things. I want to see them hardwired in some ways so that jumping back and forth or updating between modeler and layout doesnt bog, lock up or crash the application.
I would also like to see certain modeler functions in layout and certain layout functiions in modeler. Manipulating points, weight maps and bones between both apps would be nice. I would like to see Viper work in modeler. I would like to see some kind of rendering in modeler even if its really layout doing it but somehow sending the render to a window in modeler. I would like to see Lights work in modeler but updates in layout automatically. I would like to see a scrub bar in modeler and have a mode where I can scrub thru an animation and see the defomations on a character. From there I could then tweak the mesh and save the tweaks as an endomorph automatically or have it update in layout automatically via a deform plugin. This way I could at least fix deformation issues while animating.
One thing that would be nice is to simply allow me to make any viewport in layout be a mirror of a viewport in modeler. Modeler would still be running in the background but simply having a viewport redirected somehow to one of layouts viewports.
This would allow full integration to happen later but give us a taste of it now and fix the most glaring workflow issues.

[Cman]

Great idea on the window thing!
That would be very cool to have.

I also agree with your previous list concerning integration between apps, and between the app and plugins.

Not to mention some of those surfacing and interface presentations users have made over the past few months.
Those should be carefully debated within NT for adaptation.

[JacquesD]

Originally posted by Chewey
Lightwave loads way too quickly. Maybe slow it down so a user definable splash screen and audio file can pop up and play.

Also a button that just triggers a "woo woo" sound.

:p


:) :applause: ;)

[Limbus]

Scince I am pretty new to Lightwave I cant say much about all the advanced features. But anyway, here are my suggestions for the next version:

- I really would like one app. The idea with a button switching the menu is good.

- tie everything togehter and make it more logical, e.g. I would like one dialog where I can edit all settings which are important for rendering. Right now I have to open at least 3.

- I want to be able to render every viewport, not just the camera one.

- everything should be animatable.

- I dont like online help in acrobat format. A context sensitive help (if im in the camera propertys and press F1 I ge the help section for that dialog) would really help newbies.

- And last but not least: keep the original Lightwave speed and style. No Icons please.

Limbus

[rickycox]

WOW COOL I LOVE LISTS :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[-mindcache-]

Originally posted by CIM
- Integrated scripting language(s)
- Scriptable shading networks

oh god yes I'd love to see lscript reworked to some extent to have more functionality and better memory handeling. I'd especially love to see the scriptable shading networks and node-based shader composition/design(or at least the option of it if users still want to go the simple route).

[paul k.]

I really hope new tek is listening. I love Lightwave but I agree that having a seperate interface has it's advantages and I am a proponent of having both modeler and layout. But we need to resolve a lot of the draw backs. Mainly being able to update skelegons in layout after adjusting them in modeler without having to start the whole rig over again. Also I would love, love, love, to have that ability to turn off key frames. In order to be able to adjust the position of my character or easily adjust timing issues. On top of that I would also like a true X Sheet, not a dope sheet. The difference being I want the true 2D animation X sheet for timing everything including audio beets, and dialog. Also the ability to say hit Shift+Return and have it set a key type of my specification ie... Linear, Hermite, etc. First Post.....Thanks for the time!

[Arte]

Originally posted by CIM
Newtek needs to fix the current flaws and weaknesses, not just slap in some features that other programs have because it's "cool". I doubt many of the ppl. asking for alot of these features have even used them, rather they are just asking for it for the "I want it because they have it" thing.

When Lightwave is unified and stable, then Newtek could go about adding the "candy" features.

It's worse than you say CIM, because as you and Larry pointed out, in a manner that was a bit gentle imo. One hell of a lot of Lightwavers and other 3D app users have no real idea what the applications they are using can and cannot do, so the effect X app can pull off may have been in Lightwave or whatever for years.

Fire and smoke are brilliant examples of this. I saw a brilliant argument on a list (think it was Newteks) on the merits of steamer and how one can no longer create wispy smoke without it using Hypervoxels. Or creating clouds is difficult with Sky tacer...

How did we create smoke and fire, clouds, water (I still can't believe that you can buy a shader for water) and a zillion other effects before XSI and C4D and Maya appeared with their funky features to teach us how to do them and for Newtek to adopt their wizadry... Or how did we morph in the early versions of Lightwave if we did not have Morph targets, Or texturing with UV maps...

Fancy plugins or features aren't the answer to a new version of Lightwave, just as Cim and Larry are saying. The answers to most problems are bugfixing, streamlining and amending the pipeline so that plugins are integrated in an object manner meaning everything has access to everything.

The main issue though is *knowing* what you want to do, and being able to think of a quick solution that will provide results. Don't complain that X feature isn't there, make sure the reason X isn't there isn't because it can't be done quicker in another manner...

X

[CIM]

Basically, Newtek has painted itself into a corner--much like other companies have done with their software. Newtek's only real option now is to totally re-write Lightwave from the ground up or atleast re-write like 80% of it.

How much longer can Newtek get away with just dumping 3rd-party plugins into Lightwave, not even attempting to integrate them? Not long at all!

[ThirdEye]

I don't see this great necessity to transform Lightwave in something else, it's already a really good program CIM, why would you convert that "cheetah" in a "sloth"? ;)

[RPG2006]

What's with the digs at other lightwave users and branding the vast majority of them as a bunch of dullards(my words)? A bit judgemental, don't you think?

I can appreciate that, yes, these comments are backed up with sound ideas and experience regarding the direction of LW, but at the same time these comments are alienating to anyone not in, or apparently trying to get into, a select club of LW users.

Surely an idea is just an idea, that's all, you can take it in if it's a good one, dismiss it if it isn't. They shouldn't be limited just to the select few.

At the moment the certain air of clicky intimidation that seems to be around, says if you ain't sure that you know it all, then shut up!

A tad narrowminded and unfriendly in my opinion.

[CIM]

Where did I say that Newtek should rewrite Lightwave to be Max or Maya? You must be seeing things, flaming vagina man.

[ThirdEye]

You confuse a flaming eye with a vagina and i am the one who sees things? ;)

[Arte]

Originally posted by mrbean
What's with the digs at other lightwave users and branding the vast majority of them as a bunch of dullards(my words)? A bit judgemental, don't you think?

I can appreciate that, yes, these comments are backed up with sound ideas and experience regarding the direction of LW, but at the same time these comments are alienating to anyone not in, or apparently trying to get into, a select club of LW users.

Surely an idea is just an idea, that's all, you can take it in if it's a good one, dismiss it if it isn't. They shouldn't be limited just to the select few.

At the moment the certain air of clicky intimidation that seems to be around, says if you ain't sure that you know it all, then shut up!

A tad narrowminded and unfriendly in my opinion.

Hi there mrbrean.

I haven't branded anyone a dullard:)

But I suppose you are right, and I could be accused of saying that although that is anything but my intention. I guess I was a little intimidating too. Sorry folks.

On the other hand, a person should be responsible for what they are saying too. If someone lacks the patience to research their statements, they should be prepared to take the flack for them too:)

What I am trying to say and I hope this is clearer this time around is that
if or any other person requests a feature, it might not be a bad idea to ask or investigate whether a feature is there or even needed:) The number of people here with the exprience and willingness to help people out is amazing.

As for creating an elite Lw club, I would like to think my posts offfering advice to people on this forum suggest I stand for the opposite.

Thanks for making a good point and a nice wake up call mrbean.

X

[leigh]

Dear NewTek,

My wishlist for LW :) :

- I wish that the light incidence gradients could use more than one light per gradient. Perhaps in a similar way to the BDRF shader, where you just select the lights you want to affect it. You see, the day I started using gradients, well, my life changed. They are just so amazing! It would be so cool to just expand on them a little more, in ways like this.

- It would be cool if the displacement blending mode in the texture editor wouldn't affect every single layer above it. I would love it if you could select the layers you wanted it to affect from a drop-down list or something like that.

- On a similar note, it would be REALLY excellent if you could do the same with layers set up with alpha blending. I often wish that I could use a single layer as an alpha for a couple of layers, not just the preceding one. Once again, it would be most excellent if you could select from a list which layers you wanted the layer to act as an alpha for.

- I wish that there were more animatable parameters in the procedurals. In Max, all procs have a "phase" setting that you can use to animate the actual fractal motion. Very cool, and rather useful.

- The displacement mapping options should be included in the surface editor. And they should be able to function independent of axis settings. At the moment, you always have to select an axis along which to displace, even when using UV co-ords. It would be cool if the displacement was always perpendicular to the face normals, without having to use Normal Displacement. And the reason why I think they should be in the surface editor is because firstly that would enable you to use them within Modeler, and secondly because they are, technically, a surface attribute (even though it also affects geometry).

- Special Buffers needs to be a bit simplified. They are a great tool, but not all that user friendly, and the manual also doesn't have a lot of stuff to say about them.

- There should be a specular colour setting. Colour Highlights is cool, but it would also be cool to be able to have some kind of mapping possibilities for specular colour, just as the other attributes all have. How cool would it be to use gradients and such in specular colour? You could get some really awesome effects!

- This isn't a surface editor thing, but a image filter thing - options like Corona and that should be able to work with values exceeding 100%. At the moment, they regard anything over 100% as the same. Since Lightwave does support things like HDRI, then it should stand to reason that other facets of the program should be able to deal with out-of-range values too. I often find that I need to set threshold values for filters like Corona to values higher than 100%, but at the moment it can't be done!

- Well, there is a way to do this in Lightwave already, but a cool feature in Max is the ability that procedural textures can mix images together. Of course, you can do this in LW by just placing two images with a procedural over the one as an alpha channel, but the way that Max can do it is rather cool too.

- Dare I even suggest Sub Surface Scattering? ;)

- Okay, I know this is quite a major thing, so it's unlikely that you would be able to implement it anytime in the near future, even if you wanted to, but it would be really cool if you could select different shading models for different surfaces. At the moment, to my knowledge, LW only has Phong shading, and it would be cool to have a few options. Some shading models are better for some things than others.

- Ah, speaking of shading, brings me to shaders. I often wish that I could isolate the effect of a shader onto one surface channel only, or to a specific selection of channels, even though that does kinda defeat the purpose of shaders. For instance, it would be so cool if you could, for examples sake, apply the SuperCell Shader to only the bump of diffuse channel. You know what I mean?

- I wish the Surface Baker could bake independent channels. At the moment, it can easily be set up to bake the colour channel, but to bake a spec or bump, or whatever, channel, it's a bit of a mission to set up. It would be cool if, within the Surface Baker, you could have options like Bake Colour, Bake Bump, Bake Specular, etc. I often find that I have a very cool setup of procedurals and image maps, and I like to bake them to a single image map for each channel to save on memory. Like I said, doing this for the colour is very straightforward, but not for the others! Because with the others, you need to then dump them all into the colour channel, and you often need to tweak them a lot because they don't behave the right way...

These are my texturing/surfacing wishes, obviously :D

[ThirdEye]

Leigh wrote:

- There should be a specular colour setting. Colour Highlights is cool, but it would also be cool to be able to have some kind of mapping possibilities for specular colour, just as the other attributes all have. How cool would it be to use gradients and such in specular colour? You could get some really awesome effects!


Let me understand... isn't it possible in Lw to map the specular color channel? :surprised

[CIM]

A procedural shading language would be cool--similar to Renderman or Mental Ray maybe. :-)

[leigh]

ThirdEye, you can set the specular colour more-or-less, but you can't map it.

[RPG2006]

Arte

Have read your reply and maybe my post, in hindsight, was being a little overly defensive, just a vibe I was picking up on in this particular thread. ie a fear of being shot down in flames after hitting submit.

Re: the use of 'Dullards' that was my wording, and as you have stated was not what you implied. I can appreciate that.

'The number of people here with the experience and willingness to help people out is amazing.'

I couldn't agree more, Arte, absolutely second to none, and certainly greatly appeciated.

RPG

ps. My apologies to the peeps for going of on a tangent to the initial purpose of this thread.



:)

[CIM]

Taron created a script to let you add color to the specular channel through gradients, I think. I'm not sure what happened to the thing, though.

[ThirdEye]

Originally posted by Leigh
You can set the colour more-or-less, but you can't map it.


So where do u put your specular maps then? :shrug:

[leigh]

Originally posted by ThirdEye_01
So where do u put your specular maps then? :shrug:

You put those in the Specular channel. Specularity and specular colour are different.

[leigh]

Originally posted by CIM
Taron created a script to let you add color to the specular channel through gradients, I think. I'm not sure what happened to the thing, though.

Thanks for telling me CIM, I'll check that out! Hopefully I will be able to find it...

[Chewey]

The Taron plugin is called Hotspotter.

[Freak]

A general tidy up is all that is required.....

Surface Editor: (Bring all 5.6's features back)
Multiple Surface Preview Windows - (i.e LW 5.6) 6 of em....
A Flush Button to remove unwanted/unused surfaces
Texture Velocity (Not needed, but it would be nice)

Viper actually needs to work, more often and more accurately
It should work interactively, like Worley's G2, or INO's Jetstream FX. And i should not have to press update every frame.

Better Real Time feedback, OGL 2.0 or Direct X 9 Support, for Nvidia GFX cards, programmable shaders etc.

User Interface. XML or totally customized interface, why let NT rearrange panels, when users should be able to do it.
Let me change the Font colour in LW to white, so i can use black BG's More KB shortcuts, and more customizable.

The option of a Dual 2nd Toolbar on the right hand side,
which can be hidden of course, i'd prefer the 2nd toolbar, instead of flicking through lots of tabs at the top.

KB shortcuts, so i may flick between tabs, layers and objects quickly, at the moment they can't be assigned a Key command.
Arrggghhhhh

Expand Presets everywhere, Displacement Maps, Lights, Motion Designer, etc.... Make Presets, Shaders, and Plugins groupable,
and you should be able to order them in alphabetical order.
(Better organization)

Opacity Settings for BG options eg. Texture Environment, Image World.....

Modeler:
A new selection mode, I should be able to select poly's
and then move their points in point mode. (while the poly selection is still active)

[leigh]

Originally posted by Chewey
The Taron plugin is called Hotspotter.

Thanks Chewey, I think I may actually have that somewhere!

[Arte]

Originally posted by Captain
Well, I hope some of they guys at newtek take this list seriously...because its important. LW takes pride in the fact that it offers incredible tools at hobbyist prices. Even the little guy can get Holywood quality out of lightwave. Now if they want to maintain that vision...they need to optomise. A Linux renderbox is cheeper, so a scremernet linux node makes sence. As well as AMD optomisations. In both cases, it offers a cheeper solution for the same High quality solutions...

Though the "output to different render engines" seems nice, I'm not to excited about it. LW's Renderer Is amazing and Quick to boot. That also might require newtek to devulge some info about there software they would rather keep under there hats for "quality" Reasons (no basterds can steal it ;))

-Captain

Thankfully now I have a 2400XP here, I know now AMD optimisation is a myth.

It's the P4 that needs optimisation, not just for Lightwave but just to damned work! The XP kicks ass. Smooth, consistent, and so damned quick. Mine does lose on *some* scenes against a 3GHz monster but no where near what sites like Tom's hardware claim. I need to get hold of a Xeon system now to find out if that is hype too.

X

[MrWyatt]

at this moment, fixing the darn spreadsheet and preventing system crashes would be nice. additions will come later, now I have to do some extra work, because the last crash corrupted my scene file.
:cry:

[carnera]

id like to see

- a setup/figur-mode for bones
(including bone/ik mirroring) ... skelegons and bones back´n´forth communications

- cloth-simulation with wrinkle-calculation and initial-pose for further calculations

- some modeling tools should be animatable

- mhhh..maybe symmetry modeling on x, y and z


bye andras
http://www.mba-studios.de

[LNT]

speaking of MD,
MotionDesigner should be expanded to cover Hard Body dynamics too

[shivacola]

I worked with lightwave3d ages ago , there was v6 , and I
dreamed that MetaNurbs with bezier controllers will be great.
:airguitar

[carnera]

yes...MD should support riggid body dynamics too

bye andras
http://www.mba-studios.de

[oxygen_77]

how about the ability to pause a render, render something else, and then go back to the scene and resume the render. Also it would be nice to be able to open more than one scene at a time.

[Jimstein]

1. “Cull backface off” option

2. “Lock transform axis” (xyz) by separate buttons or some gizmo… like in XSI… will give more control than one ctrl+ button that often give the wrong axis.

3. Better support for more key short cuts… “Way is backspace and “Ctrl+h” the same key short cut?”

4. Better options to handle backdrops (background images) in modeler. I want to flip the image horizontally. And I want to translate rotate and scale the background in the viewport and not like now with scrollbars!

5. Do something about the messy skeleton/skelegon system. It is slow and is the only problem I see by separating Layout and Modeler.

6. In opposite to several “kids“ here I like that Lightwave have kept modeler and layout apart. It keeps each program easy to manage and customize.

7. I like the plug-in philosophy Lightwave use. Baking in too much stuff into the core of Lightwave will make it as unstable as any other 3d application. “Have you kids ever used 3Dstudio max? “

8. The code api has to become more open and easy to use for us programmers. Hopefully will Phyton be incorporated into Lightwave 8. That should be the easy way to make magic in a similar fashion as you can do in Maya.

[Limbus]

- Id like to see a renderer that can use the power of a Highend 3D card for a speed up.

Limbus

[saajjj]

not inviting flame but..

hmm.. after reading through the wishlist seems like if most of them came true LW would be a Softimage|XSI clone.

[SplineGod]

Originally posted by carnera
id like to see

- a setup/figur-mode for bones
(including bone/ik mirroring) ... skelegons and bones back´n´forth communications

- cloth-simulation with wrinkle-calculation and initial-pose for further calculations

- some modeling tools should be animatable

- mhhh..maybe symmetry modeling on x, y and z


bye andras
http://www.mba-studios.de
Skelegons should go away so its all done in layout.
Check out something Ive been beta testing:
http://www.irrationalnumber.com

[saajjj]

i'd like to be able to move/rotate/bevel/smoothshift and do other modify/multiply/construct etc operations on multiple polygons in their own space, so i think i'm asking for another mode like 'action center - personal space'. since action center - selection works with all the selections averaged center.

If anybody knows of a FREE plugin which allows me to do this.. please yell :D

I don't know if this already exists but i'd like to be able to match a polygons/objects rotation/scaling/center to another polygons/objects

okay i know there is the aligner that does centers.. :D

how about being able to move objects with reference to others?


cheers

[Tstokes]

I have not read through all the post in this thread so maybe someone has asked for it but I would love to be able to zoom in and out with my scroll wheel and right click to rotate in the perspective view and right ckick to pan in an orthogonal view. Most 3D engineering design tools work this way and think it would be nice to have the option.


Thanks

Tom Stokes


:)

[schmu_20mol]

well just a silly unuseful one....

what about polys with more than 4 points beeing sub patched? well i know this is actually not an issue someone really needs....it's just a physolocigal one to me....i ever ever get pissed off when i have to create a 3p-poly somewhere - i'm the pendantic guy who wants to have a straight 4p-poly mesh and if not possible at least no 3p-polys in it...well yeah i admit i can't stand 3p-polys.... and yes those 4p+-polys are splitted inside the proggie to 'smaller' ones....it's just some freaky idea ;)

[saajjj]

After working on xsi for a year and being in LW for 2 weeks i would've loved layout/modeler to be one, it's a hassle to go back n forth to see render previews (yes i like to see renders before finishing the model)

Did i mention interactive renders? ala XSI (sorry but i love it so..) you just draw a rectangle over the area and voila..

I haven't been able to figure this out but i have a feeling that layout has only one undo?!?!? pleaaseee.. we're human, need more levels to correct mistakes .. reminds me of macromedia director heh.


Cheers

[mbaldwin]

Larry posted:

Skelegons should go away so its all done in layout.


The set of bone tools you're beta testing look impressive--can't wait to try them out! But I'd also like to cast a vote for full bone functionality in a Modeling environment. I keep thinking of the work Bay Raitt did with Marai(see his reptile head-thing: http://cube.phlatt.net/home/spiraloid/movies/movies.html), where bone development was carried out at the same time modeling was explored. Where deformations could also help the modeling process--how cool would that be.

-m.

[SplineGod]

You dont have bones in modeler but the next best thing is to assign weight maps while modeling. I can use all the normal modify tools and set them to effect weight maps only. It almost like having bones in modeler since all the weight falloffs work.

[scotttygett]

My "fix" for the multiple location issue of shadows and such would be asterisks, lots and lots of asterisks. It's not too terrible an idea.

My "fix" for a lot of the other issues would be better education, for obvious reasons.

A possible "fix" for the single interface look, building on Splinegod's suggestion, might be to have a camera-based window with a hot key to dump a render behind it. I love 3D, so I could use the camera to cross my eyes while modelling.

Though it's probably a problem of my not knowing how, some sort of placemarkers/nulls in layout (See, I answered my own question again!! -- use a point!) so I could draw a falloff ball in the same place twice... Can I snap a controller to a point?

ttfn

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