AbnRanger

I understand your frustration, and you make some good points. However, I too make requests in order to help refine tools and help make the UI better, and not all of them get addressed. Some do, and some don't. I know why they don't and it is not because they are boring. It is because Andrew and the developers are hard pressed with many requests and bug reports each day. Sometimes, the reason a bug report doesn't get addressed is because Andrew and the developers cannot reproduce the issue on their end. There is one niggly, annoying issue I have had for a few years, and I reported it to Andrew multiple times, but for some strange reason, it only does this on my computer. It is the CTRL + SHIFT menu in the Sculpt Room when in Surface mode. If I hold the keys down, it works only with the first stroke, but not the subsequent strokes. It switches to CTRL only, with subsequent strokes. Andrew doesn't know how to fix it because he cannot get the same behavior on his machine. Regarding features, just because you find certain ones not so helpful to you, personally, that doesn't make them unuseful for many, many others. Your needs and mine are not necessarily everyone else's needs, so we have to keep that in mind. Andrew has seen many requests over the years for the very features you mentioned. There are still tools requested heavily by users in the Autodesk forums, for 3ds Max, that STILL haven't been added and I have seen many people say they have reported the same bugs for years, in the 3ds Max user community. So, 3DCoat is not the only software with some issues or user requests that haven't been fulfilled for a long period of time. People in the ZBrush community have been asking for a major UI overall since the dawn of time. It happens everywhere.

I don't think every artist wants to worry about edgeflow (and the problem of stretched polygons that inherently come with it) on a high poly sculpt, to be perfectly honest. I know I don't. That is the appeal of Voxel Sculpting. It doesn't care about your polygons, so to speak, and that is a good thing, actually. If you really want to keep the topological edgeflow, you can to a large degree as long as you import a base mesh with the desired topology and keep it in Surface mode + no remeshing (ie., no hitting the ENTER key, which basically Dynameshes the object, making the topology very uniform). Just increase the resolution (subdivide) as needed.

I think what Carlos meant was that (based on user feedback/input/requests) development has to prioritize requests, but always working to fix bugs/issues that are reported. Bug reports always have the highest priority, but sometimes we may have to repeat a bug report once in a while, because the developers are so busy

The addition of new tools is never a bad thing, so if anyone complains about that, keep in mind that they are in a very tiny minority. The real issue is having a lot of individual tools, when much of the functionality can often be incorporated into one (this helps de-clutter the UI and make the workflow more efficient). An example of this is Maya's Quad Draw, toolset...a lot of 3DCoat's Retopo tools are combined into one tool, in Maya...by simply using different hotkeys on the fly. This exists somewhat in the POINTS to POLYGONS tool, where a number of tools are stored in CTRL and CTRL + SHIFT menus. This way, a user can invoke the functionality of many tools, on the fly, by using hotkeys and yet still stay in the POINTS to POLYGONS tool. This was why I asked if these menus could be added to the SMART RETOPO toolset, also.

I think the reason the Bake curvature and occlusion were moved to the EDIT menu was because the Paint Tools were moved to the Sculpt workspace, and there is currently no TEXTURES menu in the Sculpt workspace. Andrew tried to place those in a menu that already existed in the Paint and Sculpt Workspaces.

What new UI? There are some improvements planned to come next on the "To Do" list, but I don't recall anyone mentioning a complete UI overhaul.

I can echo what these other members are saying about the need for vertex sliding. It is something I used all the time when modeling in 3ds Max and it is hard to imagine modeling without it. The CTRL (or perhaps SHIFT) key modifier while RMB dragging a vertex, should work with all the Retopo tools that have the RMB vertex movement functionality (QUADS, ADD/SPLIT, POINTS TO POLYGONS, STROKE, SMART RETOPO). It helps the user keep the topological flow intact, but make an adjustment of a vertex position along an existing edge-loop.

This series might help a bit, as it is a typical workflow, importing a model from outside 3DCoat > sculpt > re-use original mesh as the Retopo > setup UV's > bake > some texture painting > export back to main app (in this case, Blender)

Apart from Ghosting, the closest thing I can think of is using the FILL tool in the PAINT section of the Tool Panel, to pick & freeze with one click, the object. Yes, a lock function on the layer would be a bit quicker and easier. Lock Object w Fill Brush - TechSmith Screencast

When I look at the wireframe of the default bust, I might notice the moire pattern in some areas, but when I turn off FLAT SHADE in the Shader settings, it looks smooth as butter. I am sorry that you still seem to have issues with this...but I typically sculpt with a bit higher polycount...especially when I am expecting to see a very smooth surface. Perhaps, with FLAT SHADE turned off in your shader + Surface mode, Sculpt like you normally would, but when you get to the stage where you need a very smooth surface, try to bump the resolution up quite a bit more than 700k. If this and Anti-Bump smoothing doesn't work well enough, then Andrew will need to take a look at the problem.

I think I found the culprit. Whatever shader you have selected for the Sculpt Mesh you are working on, go to the thumbnail for that shader > RMB click > choose EDIT PERMANENT SHADER > in the Shader Settings dialog, UNcheck FLAT SHADING. When that is checked, you have viewport smoothing turned off. I don't know why, but I never noticed that before.

Long Pham has some MASSIVE scenes/models almost exclusively Hard Surface modeling/Kitbashing. https://www.artstation.com/long-pham

Have you watched any of Anton Tenitsky's videos? He has a few project series dedicated to working on Hard Surface models and I doubt he has such a jaded opinion about this kind of work in 3DCoat. There are some guys on Artstation that do killer Hard Surface modeling work, also.

Hitting ENTER when a model is in Surface mode, will effectively "Dynamesh" the model and make it evenly spaced. That is what I would have tried, first. As for smoothing, Anti-Bump is like a fine polishing brush, which is available in Surface mode from the SHIFT or CTRL + SHIFT list menus at the top of the UI. SMOOTH ALL in Surface mode should do a good job of smoothing, if you have RELAX checked. If it relaxes some areas you do not want smoothed, you can use the FREEZE brush to brush select those areas, first and then use SMOOTH ALL. It might be good also, to make this issue known to Andrew/Development at support@pilgway.com, so he can take a look at it and try to address this issue. Do you have a mesh, currently, that you could share one single portion, for me to test and see if I can find a better solution? I don't run into this problem much as hitting the ENTER key will usually make the mesh relatively uniform for sculpting

- The Multi-Level Resolution feature has it's purpose and usefulness. Mainly, to make stepping up and down levels faster. With the Proxy system, I was fine with it, but it would take several seconds to decimate each time. - Adding Quad Mesh sculpting to the Sculpt workspace is not going to be the Holy Grail some are making it out to be. You have to always be concerned about topological flow and polygonal stretching, with Quads. It will not be interchangeable with Voxels or Dynamic Subdivision Meshes, already in 3DCoat. For this reason, I am not a big fan of Andrew spending a lot of development time on a feature that had big limitations for ZBrush users...hence the introduction of Dynamesh and Sculptris Pro, to counteract those. I would rather that development time go into improving the Paint Workspace and some UI improvements. - The little spots mentioned can be addressed by hitting the ENTER key...basically Dynameshing the Surface mesh. - Anything I could sculpt in ZBrush with quads, I can sculpt equally well in 3DCoat in triangles/Voxels. I have tested them side by side, model for model, brush for brush (Clay and Clay) and 3DCoat is pretty darn close in my tests. Yes, some things will work a bit better from one app to another, but the bottom line for me is this... if I am paid to sculpt a character or animal to a high detail level, there is nothing I could do in ZBrush that I couldn't also do in 3DCoat, in a similar time frame.

I am simply saying the example you showed was clearly an effort to push the feature beyond its (reasonable) limits, as if that indicates it doesn't work properly. It does work properly, if artists will try to use it correctly. Trying to use uber rapid and thick strokes is not using it correctly and that was discussed in the Tutorial for the feature. Did you watch it? For a long time CONFORM RETOPO MESH was only for a few large scale editing tools like POSE, TRANSFORM and MOVE. Then, many users requested it for Sculpting Brushes, and he tried to accommodate. For your particular example, you could easily make these same thick and very rapid strokes > use Retopo Relax to snap the Retopo mesh to the High Poly sculpt later with very little effort. The bottom line is this...the Sculpt Room uses a different sculpting platform than other sculpting applications, so insisting that it work the same exact way other applications work, makes no sense. Quad Mesh sculpting with SubD levels in 3DCoat will create the same kind of problems you have in ZBrush. It is not the Holy Grail of Sculpting. It has its own problems and limitations. What 3DCoat uses to perform the same task actually works quite well. That is not a "hill to die on." That is my experience, and I am the one who requested CONFORM RETOPO MESH from Andrew, so I know it is indeed very useful.

Did you get a chance to watch this video? The objective when using it (CONFORM RETOPO MESH), is not to see if or how quickly you can break it, but to use it properly, as it was designed. You know ahead of time that 3DCoat has to perform a secondary calculation, at the end of each brush stroke (snapping of the Retopo mesh to the High Poly Sculpt Mesh). Let's not forget that ZBrush's Subdivision workflow, as well as its Sculpt Layers, has its limits, too. I can make a similar video, trying to quickly break it also, but what would that prove? Some ZB tools will not work with it's Subdivision levels either. Dynamesh and Sculptris Pro are 2 of them. The fact that the Retopo Mesh is kept separate (ready for baking) is NOT a problem. It's actually a BIG asset, because that means you can use whatever tools you need to in the Sculpt Room without worrying. Conform Retopo mesh is not a Silver Bullet or Magic Pill, but in my opinion it provides much more flexibility for the artist and assurance that they can use their original low poly UV mapped mesh in the end (for a baking target) and have it conformed to virtually all sculpting edits made...regardless of whether I switch to Voxel mode, or sculpt with dynamic subdivision. You can absolutely forget about trying to do that with ZBrush's Quad-based Subdivision levels workflow.

To fill inside a curve, RMB click the Curve and choose FILL INSIDE PROJECTION. Yes, I agree. The Pose tool needs better gradient options, such as EXPAND, CONTRACT, SHARPEN and the SMOOTH SELECTION seems to be very minimal in intensity, much of the time.

My understanding is sometime in the 1st Quarter of this year, but that could possibly change for some unexpected reason. The main objective, feature-wise, is to do what can be done (within reason) to improve the UI between now and then, and the GPU brush engine is also a goal for 2023. I think it is supposed to already be functional, but there are a number of issues the developer has to address before it is stable enough to add in a major release. Some of us regular contributors have already submitted a list of UI suggestions/requests, but if anyone else wants to add their own ideas/requests, feel free to post them here on the forum. If possible try to show some examples, so we can all show Andrew specifically what we would like to see. During the V3 beta cycle, the UI was undergoing major changes and some of us provided mockups made in Photoshop, to help show Andrew what we were suggesting. This can help a lot. One can also add links to videos for references...for example, if someone wants layer masks to work a certain way, like they are done in an app like Substance Painter, then please provide a link and time mark in the video where this feature is visible. However, I should mention that large structural changes...like a complete UI overhaul, or even merging of Paint and Retopo Meshes (a request I have made a few times before), is not a realistic (3DC 2023) feature request, at this point. So, it would be most helpful to request things that can be reasonably accomplished within the next 2-3 months. Also, 3DCoat's UI layout, in general and especially in the Paint Workspace, was designed to be very similar to Photoshop's for the sake of familiarity and shortened learning curve for new users. With that in mind, Andrew will probably not be open to making a major deviation from this overall structure, but there is still much room for improvement within this general PS layout. One of those is a request I made to him to make the Activity Bar in 3DCoat work like the Panel Bar (inside the main right column) in PS, so it is more familiar to new users and works more efficiently than it currently does.

These 2 are a few newer series. Anton Tenitsky's Channel has a great deal of content if the ones on 3DCoat Official Channel is not sufficient for you. https://www.youtube.com/@AntonTenitsky/playlists

In general, the new features you see added in this current cycle, are what will be considered NEW in the 2023 version. That is because everything added after a major release is considered PUBLIC BETA, and the featuresets get refinements/improvements, fixes, etc. A good example of this is the Smart Retopo toolset. A lot of work has gone into improving it, just in the past two builds, and more is currently underway. Once these features are polished, then they are ready for the main release. There will be some more feature additions to be sure, and hopefully the GPU brush engine for the Paint Workspace will be ready for prime time, when 3DC 2023 is released. There are also some UI/UX improvements planned also.

I have asked for this before as well. Please send this request to support@pilgway.com so development knows I am not the only user who asked for it.

I think all that did was make the default draw mode for the LINE selection mode in the Pose tool, a BRUSH draw mode. The real solution, to prevent such confusion and frustration in the future, is to have Andrew disable non-brush draw modes in the E-Panel, when the Pose selection is anything but PAINT.

Still, the only mode that should be available for the Pose Selection modes, aside from the PAINT selection, is the BRUSH modes. Otherwise it creates too much confusion for new users, like it did in this case.

Okay. That helps us see what is happening. In the LINE selection mode, the freeform lasso draw mode (in the E-panel...accessible just above the tool panel or when hitting the E key) does not work. I asked Andrew before, to grey out any draw modes that are not usable with certain Pose selection modes. He was reluctant to do this, and I don't remember why. At any rate, you can just hit the E-key and choose one of the first 4 brush draw modes, when you are using any selection mode other than PAINT....and it should work as you would expect it to.