2024 Feature requests wishlist

[Metin Seven]

On 4/27/2023 at 9:54 PM, Elemeno said:

might be an unpopular opinion but the modelling room isn't needed, i would love to see new sculpting tools (modifiers) , one tool could be a lattice tool , so you could either have a shell thats very low poly that you can manipulate and that will manipulate the high poly mesh and have an option of how strong the effect is on the given edge or face etc ...

just 3dcoats sculpt tools are such good modelling tools that traditional poly modelling just doesn't excite me anymore

To be honest I think the same. I almost never use polygon modeling tools anymore, not in other 3D editors as well. If I need a neat polygon topology I simply auto-retopologize.

Lately I'm in love with SDF (Signed Distance Fields) modeling. It offers complete modeling freedom without any concerns about topology / mesh structure. There's realtime blending of forms and (vertex) colors. Once you're done the result can be meshed.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Metin Seven

[rubeos]

10 hours ago, Metin Seven said:

To be honest I think the same. I almost never use polygon modeling tools anymore, not in other 3D editors as well. If I need a neat polygon topology I simply auto-retopologize.

Lately I'm in love with SDF (Signed Distance Fields) modeling. It offers complete modeling freedom without any concerns about topology / mesh structure. There's realtime blending of forms and (vertex) colors. Once you're done the result can be meshed.

 

Sorry, I think SDF still does not offer complete modeling freedom.
Complete freedom means being able to model all existing or fictional objects. All possible shapes.
Keeping in mind the constraint you gave, also very important to me: ''It offers complete modeling freedom without any concerns about topology / mesh structure.'' And the constraint/concept of ''CONCEPT.'' Modeling for artistic and purely visual purposes, and only then possibly other applications of the final model.

In general I classify all possible forms in computer graphics as:
1-organic shapes (the human body)
2- ''flat'' forms: ''hardsurface'' composed of planar surfaces and intersections of primitives. The goes where strong the Boolean's technique. I think it's called solid modeling, for those who chew on engineering programs.
3- curved surfaces: solid shapes composed of curved surfaces, can be modified on the 3 axes, so like patch nurbs or SubD meshes.
4-perhaps there are others

IMHO, 3DCoat is, now, at the top for #1 and #2.
What more could you want than the complete freedom that voxels offer in combination with the other tools? But is not yet possible a new modeling paradigm...that allows for curved surfaces (fairly accurate ones) without all the rules and issues of polygons and nurbs...especially subd's are hell.
Ok, in 3DCoat you have many ways to get soft objects, but if you have to ''copy'' real objects (like a car) you will last a long time or fail at all.

SDFs seem to finally offer a way forward.
But it seems that that at the moment you can't get patch nurbs type shapes.
I think it will be possible in the future. 

More or less the same thing applies to all existing programs: Zbrush, 3dsmax, Maya, Modo, Blender, Mudbox, etc..
When in some of these you can get curved surfaces this happens only because of SubDs. NO there is no alternative.

Moi, Plasticity, Fusion360 and others: MOI is still better than Plasticity for the reasons above. Moi handles curves better. Although things are obviously evolving all the time.
For creating objects with curved surfaces Nurbs programs are the only alternative paradigm to Subd, but of course as you know, they are not easily modified once they are cut...they are good for those who have very precise ideas from the beginning, or/and those who want to copy reality.
Whereas subd are much softer and more malleable but also damn full of topology constraints.
One last thing, 3DCoat has the potential to achieve this before others! good things are already there and others I see beginning to be developed...modeling first! Remember that modeling must live and be fun...since AI exists out there.
Ok, 3DCoat was not born for precision modeling, maybe: but think how nice it would be, if you can make a car you can make everything because it contains every possible shape.

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by rubeos
edit

[Metin Seven]

Thanks for your reply, @rubeos.

My favorite 3D tools at the moment are:

• MagicaCSG for SDF modeling.
• 3D Coat for detailed sculpting.
• Octane in Blender for rendering.

I'm using MagicaCSG mainly for organic character modeling, while many users tend to do hard-surface with it, because it's very suitable for that. It's a new tool, and nowhere as versatile and powerful as 3D Coat, but I really like the accessible UI / UX.

Check the #MagicaCSG hashtag on Twitter for many examples of what is being made with it.

[rubeos]

Thank you @Metin SevenYes I know MagicaCSG and follow the development. But I don't have his Patreon.
There is also Clavicula, I think you know it. I think Clavicula is further behind MagicaSFG.
Joao Desager is developing a new addon that takes advantage of Blender's new sdf nodes.

I agree 3DCoat is much more complete, and not comparable when it comes to detail in organic sculpting.
The ''tactile'' experience with the improved brushes and voxel engine is fantastic.
I am an amateur...but when it comes to graphics one of my dreams is to be able to do everything without ever leaving from one software.
Now if I want to make curved surfaces the way I want, I have to use the classic rules, so, even if 3DCoat has a module for polygonal modeling I use Blender, because it's easier for me now.
By the way I am discovering beautiful things in the modeling tab. The combination of brush/keep bounds/smoothCC and sculpt mesh looks promising. I still don't quite understand how it all works. I think it comes close to my crazy idea of having something like polygon meshes always active but with a proxy made of voxels. The rought  idea is to be able to get the benefits from both methods, so the accuracy of the polygons grids, and the freedom of the voxels.

 

 

[Metin Seven]

@rubeos I totally agree! Nothing more to add.

[Sal_GC]

7 hours ago, Gorbatovsky said:

Yes, we will develop parametric modeling. Including solid state.
We will give designers different technologies, including hybrid techniques.

Great to hear about that! For me, this flexibility of combining many hybrid techniques is what makes 3DC so attractive and futureproof. I really like the use of curves in the Modelling Room and knowing parametric modelling will also come to 3DC is great. 

[jammer42777]

Just my two cents, but I see the lathe workflow in the primitives tool to be very fast to work with.

I could see this applied to every other shape and the primitives tool would be game changing for making base meshes fast.

I made this in a couple minutes.

 

Thank you for your time and attention.

 

[cartoonsong]

1. "Trim Smooth Border" brush for creating stone and cliff assets
2. All similar tools are integrated into one so that the UI doesn't feel complicated anymore
3. Avoid tearing voxel faces

 

[blackant Master]

Hi,

About the options for automatically import existing folder for smart materials,
I think it could be nice to have the ability to check or uncheck material layers options.
For example, in my case I simply use it to import all textures for diffuse map, none of the materials will use normal maps, roughness and metal.
As it is already automatically detect that point, it also set the projection to camera which is nice, but I have to open them one by one to set the correction for roughness metal (100 and 0 each time), which can be really long and repetitive.

Also, about the projection material, the thumbnail to display it may be more efficient without the big dot at the center of each visual, because it makes them harder to identify.

[Elemeno]

On 5/2/2023 at 2:03 AM, jammer42777 said:

Just my two cents, but I see the lathe workflow in the primitives tool to be very fast to work with.

I could see this applied to every other shape and the primitives tool would be game changing for making base meshes fast.

I made this in a couple minutes.

 

Thank you for your time and attention.

 

its essentially a radial array , so youll only even get a circular shape

[AbnRanger]

2 hours ago, Elemeno said:

its essentially a radial array , so youll only even get a circular shape

There is a list menu just above the graph to change it from a cylinder to cube, so it can also make nice rectangular columns also, for example.

[jammer42777]

33 minutes ago, AbnRanger said:

There is a list menu just above the graph to change it from a cylinder to cube, so it can also make nice rectangular columns also, for example.

got it  Thank you!!!!

[Elemeno]

16 hours ago, AbnRanger said:

There is a list menu just above the graph to change it from a cylinder to cube, so it can also make nice rectangular columns also, for example.

wait a minute... whaaattt... i honestly didnt know this and im forever making plant pots lol

[Metin Seven]

On 4/29/2023 at 9:24 AM, Metin Seven said:

To be honest I think the same. I almost never use polygon modeling tools anymore, not in other 3D editors as well. If I need a neat polygon topology I simply auto-retopologize.

Lately I'm in love with SDF (Signed Distance Fields) modeling. It offers complete modeling freedom without any concerns about topology / mesh structure. There's realtime blending of forms and (vertex) colors. Once you're done the result can be meshed.

Following up on the SDF developments lately, it would be great if 3D Coat could add some SDF(-like) functionality, such as a blend factor between primitives:

 

More info about SDF (MagicaCSG) can be found here.

[Metin Seven]

4 hours ago, Metin Seven said:

Following up on the SDF developments lately, it would be great if 3D Coat could add some SDF(-like) functionality, such as a blend factor between primitives:

 

More info about SDF (MagicaCSG) can be found here.

I started a separate feature request thread for this, please feel free to join the discussion and add your input:

 

[Sui]

Voxal Hide is so far a brilliant tool, but it takes some guess when I tried to limit how deep it cuts. It would be even greater if there is some ui that shows the depth it cuts, just like you would extrude a face to cut in some other programs, or perhaps simply like other brush tools which the depth is at some degree shown on the cursor.

[rubeos]

Being able to more precisely control the depth of cuts and extrusions would be great. The option to choose 3 points is complicated.
Sometimes I've thought it would be enough to just rotate the view a little bit, and click at a point on the geometry you want the cut to come to, then go back to the plane of view you want to perform the cut on and proceed. Basically it's a quick visual and intuitive approach to the command.
When I try voxel hide I miss a simple command that creates new voxels geometry.
It could be that, with voxel brush activated, by pressing shift+ctrl, for example, you could add geometry, so that two essential functions are merged into one brush.
This function is present in many software when it comes to tools that need to remove/cut/add. If default option is cutting, with a sub-key you can reverse the function.

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by rubeos

[Elemeno]

6 hours ago, Sui said:

Voxal Hide is so far a brilliant tool, but it takes some guess when I tried to limit how deep it cuts. It would be even greater if there is some ui that shows the depth it cuts, just like you would extrude a face to cut in some other programs, or perhaps simply like other brush tools which the depth is at some degree shown on the cursor.

or a tool that you set wher you want cut and then a secondary option after that allows you to choose the depth real time using mouse movements

[jammer42777]

6 hours ago, Sui said:

Voxal Hide is so far a brilliant tool, but it takes some guess when I tried to limit how deep it cuts. It would be even greater if there is some ui that shows the depth it cuts, just like you would extrude a face to cut in some other programs, or perhaps simply like other brush tools which the depth is at some degree shown on the cursor.

Like this?
 

[jammer42777]

I've really been through it as far as trying to get the blender applink working.

Is it possible to have a Brows button in edit > preferences >inout (tab)

tell 3dcoat where to look for fbx files and textures?

Also is it possible to get feedback on our requests?  just to let us know that we are being heard by the devs.

Thank you.   

--Joshua

[Elemeno]

2 hours ago, jammer42777 said:

Like this?
 

yea exactly like that , is that hardops or boxcutter?

Edited June 10, 2023 by Elemeno

[AbnRanger]

6 hours ago, rubeos said:

Being able to more precisely control the depth of cuts and extrusions would be great. The option to choose 3 points is complicated.
Sometimes I've thought it would be enough to just rotate the view a little bit, and click at a point on the geometry you want the cut to come to, then go back to the plane of view you want to perform the cut on and proceed. Basically it's a quick visual and intuitive approach to the command.
When I try voxel hide I miss a simple command that creates new voxels geometry.
It could be that, with voxel brush activated, by pressing shift+ctrl, for example, you could add geometry, so that two essential functions are merged into one brush.
This function is present in many software when it comes to tools that need to remove/cut/add. If default option is cutting, with a sub-key you can reverse the function.

 

If there is an "On Plane" option in the tool, you can use that to visually walk the cutting plane away or towards the camera using the "+" or "-" key (Num pad) 

 

[AbnRanger]

On a side note, regarding the current Python scripting integration in 3DCoat, I wonder if ChatGPT could be used to help users create their own scripts in 3DCoat?

 

[jammer42777]

5 hours ago, Elemeno said:

yea exactly like that , is that hardops or boxcutter?

yes,   I do like blender but I like having to retopo later more.  and voxels

[zf3d]

I hope 3dcoat can be implemented. I have a model that can be imported into 3dcoat for carving, while maintaining its original UV and texture configuration. This will ensure non-destructive work. Currently, I see that only the topology room can maintain UV, carving room, UV and texture destruction, so I am very helpless and unable to complete the details and modifications of the current UV model similar to Zbrush

[Elemeno]

44 minutes ago, zf3d said:

I hope 3dcoat can be implemented. I have a model that can be imported into 3dcoat for carving, while maintaining its original UV and texture configuration. This will ensure non-destructive work. Currently, I see that only the topology room can maintain UV, carving room, UV and texture destruction, so I am very helpless and unable to complete the details and modifications of the current UV model similar to Zbrush

3dcoat uses voxels ... you wont be able to keep your uvs... the topology is constantly changing but thats not a bad thing... thats what makes 3DC amazing

[jammer42777]

4 hours ago, zf3d said:

I hope 3dcoat can be implemented. I have a model that can be imported into 3dcoat for carving, while maintaining its original UV and texture configuration. This will ensure non-destructive work. Currently, I see that only the topology room can maintain UV, carving room, UV and texture destruction, so I am very helpless and unable to complete the details and modifications of the current UV model similar to Zbrush

3dcoat is amazing for it's UVs  if you need to use zbrush I would send in an unwrapped mesh,  retopo it, THEN UV it in 3dcoat.  just a thought.

[Elemeno]

3 hours ago, jammer42777 said:

3dcoat is amazing for it's UVs  if you need to use zbrush I would send in an unwrapped mesh,  retopo it, THEN UV it in 3dcoat.  just a thought.

so unwrap,retopo then unwrap? your workflow might need looking into my friend .....

[jammer42777]

3 hours ago, Elemeno said:

so unwrap,retopo then unwrap? your workflow might need looking into my friend .....

only retopo and then unwrap,  by carve do you mean boolean opperations?

 

[jammer42777]

On 6/10/2023 at 11:17 AM, AbnRanger said:

If there is an "On Plane" option in the tool, you can use that to visually walk the cutting plane away or towards the camera using the "+" or "-" key (Num pad) 

Thank you for trying  In my specific use case that didn't work  but I ended up using the primitives tool and subtract in this case