Blender 2.5

I just spent a few hours with a pre-release build of the up coming Blender 2.5 and thought I'd share a few thoughts.

First, if you're currently not using Blender because of the UI and are waiting for the release of 2.5 to give it a try, why wait? You can get a pre-release from Graphicall ( http://www.graphicall.org/builds/ ) and start using it today! I'm using an Intel Mac build from last month and it's probably 90% complete and (so far) very stable.

Second, if you're a long time Blender user (as I am) I -highly- recommend you start playing with it now. The UI is so different that it really feels clumbsy to me. I think I will grow to like it, but it's going to take time to adapt to it. It certainly feels and looks sexier than previous versions, which is kinda cool.

And lastly, if you run into issues be sure to let the developers know by reporting a bug. There's a page on the Blender site ( http://www.blender.org/development/report-a-bug/ ) with instructions for bug reporting.

Disclaimer: using Blender 2.5 with Unity at this point may not be entirely feasible. I'm still learning the new UI but so far I haven't found a way to load and run the .FBX export script. So you'd still need Blender 2.49 on your machine in order to use Blender with Unity.

 

Blender 2.5 looks really interesting. The GUI certainly looks much better, but after trying the 2.5 build I realize that will still take some time learning. But then again, what 3D program doesn´t?

Is the Blender 2.5 file format backwards compatible?

More specifically: can you make a model in 2.5, save it, open it in 2.49 and export it to fbx and open it in Unity?

 

I haven't tried this yet, but yes it should be backwards compatible. In fact, all blender versions as far back as I can remember were backwards / forward compatible.

 

No worky. :cry:

 

I just tried a simple scene in 2.5 and it imported into 2.49a OK. I did get a warning message, but the model, light and camera imported fine. Keep in mind, 2.5 is still in an early pre-release state, not even "alpha" or "beta" yet, so there will likely be many missing features. (Like the build I have doesn't have any python scripts, so the .FBX export is missing.)

Even still, I think it's work spending time with just to get a head start on adapting to the new UI. I don't plan on doing any "real" work with 2.5 yet, nor would I recommend it.

BTW, the last I heard 2.5 should be out this October, so things should start wrapping up pretty soon.

 

Same here = worky not!

 

I am itching to try Blender 2.5 as I too couldn't get into the interface. I'm use to industry standards there and how ever much I wanted to get rid of the shackles of the commercial apps and go with Blender I get forced in a manner of speaking to go back to the apps I know. It's just easier.

I like to press ALT - to rotate and get predicted rotation...etc. etc. I don't want to go into that debate but I really am looking forward to try again to adapt to using Blender and see if I can be as productive as my commercial software of choice.

Hell there is an update coming that I don't really want to pay for but will have to ...again.
So I am really hoping I can hop to Blender

I will try the 2.5 Alpha or Beta in October though. I want to give it a fair chance.

 

What stinks like my socks after a long run is that Blender's got this odd thing where the interface is a drawback, but after you learn it, it's very helpful and productive.

I'm sure there will be a middleground for legacy control and all that.
I hope.

Either way, I love it.

 

I will never understand how people can complain about Blender's interface, when there isn't a single 3D content creation app with a good one. I've always found Blender's to be the best of the sickly bunch.

 

Jessy - did you ever get Blender 2.5 to run? Mine still crashes on launch.

 

I just tried again, and I don't know if it's Snow Leopard, a new build, or both, but I got it running!

 

I wouldn't speak for other people but what I will say here I have seen a lot of on threads and it's the reason why they are attempting to change the interface.

If there where no other apps around and you started learning Blender first....you will get to know it and know how to use it.
Fact is that it is not standard on anything basically.

Trying to migrate from ANY commercial, industry standard 3D app to Blender means you literally have to unlearn everything in terms of interface and re-learn it. Whereas with the aforementioned 3D apps it is very easy to get into it and then just learn where the different tools are.
If I would need to I would be able to jump from C4D, to Maya, to Max, Silo, to Wings with only a little bit of effort, whereas to go to Blender it's completely different.

I'm not arguing that IF you learn Blenders weird layout and system that it may or may not be better/faster or what have you, compared to other apps.
What I am saying is that it doesn't use common practices or logically (coming from other standard industry apps)thought out systems. Again this may or may not be a bad thing.

I'm also not saying that the other apps are way better. They just do things similar.
Alt button RM to rotate, LEFT click to select, Start with a Blank Canvas instead of a Cube that I have to delete, and in ortho viewport.
These are just the little things, there are more interface issues which is now being worked on.

I know it's silly things that can be undone in Blender, but it doesn't change the fact that it is a hard to use interface currently. The Blender devs/community obviously agrees and that is why they are re-doing it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Blender. It's powerful and opensource, updates happen awesomely fast and I hope that the 2.5 interface will make the needed change that myself and a plethora of users are aching to have so they can migrate.

I hope that I helped you understand it a little better.

 

I re-downloaded and got it working too.

 

That's rather a matter of personal preference. I talked to quite a few people who all have their own opinion on which kind of interface is the best. In the end it all comes down to what they are creating most of the time, it seems. I found that (from the people around me) most generalists I apparently prefer 3DS Max. Video and animation guys seem to be more of the Maya user types.
The casual users and Mac guys often prefer Cinema (but that's also the case because it's the tool of trade at my university).

I taught video game art during one week (with Unity ^^) last semester and had a little Blender part in there. The problems didn't seem to be more severe than a short introduction to Max on another occasion. IF you have someone who can explain why something works the way it does, that is. The thing that throws people off Blender indeed is more because so far it
a) ... didn't give you visual feedback on all items (typing armatures by name etc.). This sometimes was a little abstract.
b) ... has a kinda mediocre documentation. Some parts are explained very extensive - others are more for the trial-and-error type of users.
c) ... has a bad image. Sadly.

It's nothing that can't be overcome if you try. Most don't want to try if the get the faster or more-tailored-towards-their-needs interface somewhere else.

Blender certainly is very cool. It even became my favorite Polymodeler even though I own C4D R11. I can understand that some quirks can throw people off. You forget about them once you get used to them. But yu'll have to know first.
I certainly wouldn't call it one of the best out there but it does have the same amount of highs and lows as many commercial apps have. True that.

Never underestimate personal taste, though. And the habit of liking the interface you mastered first best.

 

Every time I see Blender I get excited, but then I run it and just get really annoyed.

Believe me when I say I really want to like it. A free app with so many great features. It is only let down by its user interface and interaction mechanisms.

I've just tried 2.5 (admittedly briefly) and it doesn't appear to be different in the areas that make it annoying.

My main frustration is that where any 3D modelling/animation application uses a select-action model (where the default thing that happens when you click or drag in the the scene is that you select objects to act on after), Blender immediately starts moving whatever object is selected around with minimal provocation. Of course, I could spend more time learning the obscure UI of blender (I've done this a long time ago, but it still annoyed me).

I like an application like Maya (and most others too) because things work as you expect (select with left mouse click or drag or else a list) and you don't have to take your eyes off the screen to do alter your view. You just hit a key (alt for example) and a mouse button and you're modifying the viewport. Release the single modifier key and you're back in select land.

In fact, the Unity editor works like this too. There's a good reason every application works this way. Or at least the good reason is that every other app you use does it this way.

I guess I like being able to jump into an app and do the fundamentals easily and intuitively. I'll save my learning time for specific funky features.

In designing and developing software and also using digital art tools, I think there are other ways to save time/improve efficiency than reinventing user interface interaction on the assumption that people want to save a mouse click when it comes to moving objects around.

Hmmm...I think I've had this bottled up inside for a number of years now

 

I'd like to point out that the 3DVIA website will take any blender model you upload to your free account and convert it to DAE and 3DXML formats automatically.

It work with almost any 3D File format, and you get to use their in-browser 3D web player to view and show off your models. You can even embed the web player on your own website

Give it a try.

 

Is there a way to get the fbx exporter from 2.5 working with Unity? Or should I just stick with 2.49 until 2.5 is released?

 

As someone who isn't a modeller and really only needs it for basic stuff to complement Unity work - discovering frame starts and stops, importing, modifying and exporting etc I have to say that Blender 2.5 appears much, much less frightening than 2.49.

Its amazing what a tweak on the interface can do. Its just a shame that all the training videos created over the years are now going to need rerecording.

I think your best waiting for the 2.5 release

 

As a long time blender user (and very new unity user), i can fill you in, i hope. Backwards compatability from blender 2.5 to Blender 2.49 works for objects such as lights, cameras, mesh, materials.

However, this is not the case for particle systems and animation data (due to a re-coding of animation data and a overhaul of particle systems.)

Blender 2.49 files will open in Blender 2.5 with no problems... as far as my experience goes.

Havok

You can do this in blender. Middle-mouse button [MMB] is rotate view, CTRL+MMB is zoom, and SHIFT+MMB is pan view. I find this convenient because you can still right click to select without having to move your fingers

 

Thanks for the clarification and welcome to the Unity community!

 

pleasure, and thankyou

also, regarding selection of multiple items, it can be a pain but simply press b for box select and left click drag to select multiple items/vertices/faces/edges/etc.

 

I just wanted to change the key shortcuts for when I model: havening to do ALT+CTRL+G/S/R for the tools kinda slows down my bear paw of a hand.

 

You can also use G/S/R + /X/Y/Z
to modify a selected object, and to switch the views you could use num0-num9.
Right Blender is a hart to learn, but if you know the most important things, you will be 10 times faster as with other modelers.

 

modo

 

LightWave