Hi RainyRizzle,
I have 2 requests because I realized these are missing when I'm working on my project.
Feature Request #1: Selection Tool in Make Mesh
Why it is required?: Multiple vertices editing at once
The UX issue bothers me a bit when working on vertices. I think we need to improve user experience in this area.
If I hold down LMB (Left Mouse Button) and drag it, it should turn into a selection tool, just like in Windows. This way, I don't have to right-click and delete vertices one by one. Also, I might want to move them all at once. In the current structure, deleting and moving them all one by one is honestly a pain and takes a lot of time.
Selection Tool preview (from Windows) It should be in Make Mesh part (in AnyPortrait)
Feature Request #2: Copy and Paste vertices into another mesh
Why it is required?: For meshes that have exactly the same shape but different textures on the same character portrait.
Suggestion: It would better if it's work together with Selection Tool. I select all the vertices with selection tool and click on copy button (prefably CTRL+C) and change the mesh in in left panel, and click on paste button (prefably CTRL+V).
USE CASE
It will be an indispensable feature for the 2D character customization screen.
But for now, I will use it to focus on the different outfits of the same character in different places during the day. If you think of it as a Visual Novel game, it will be easier for you to understand.
Note: I want to add something to avoid misunderstanding. I am not talking about changing the clothes in this topic. We can do this by changing the visibility from the Morph Controller. What I want is to recreate the vertex and animation for the same clothes over and over again, which is tiring. Moreover, since I am dealing with dozens of vertices and the current UX is not sufficient (no multiple selection), I have a hard time making each one 100% the same. I want the clothes to behave 100% the same in terms of animation, even if their texture changes.For example, I have a character and our character has different outfit designs in the same portrait. Or let's think of a man, there will be different outfit situations to use this character in the visual novel. He will have a routine t-shirt, he will have pajamas while sleeping, he will have a suit when he goes to work.
Since the animation & photoshop base drawing (outline/siluet shape) of all these outfits will be the same, their vertices will also be the same. Therefore, it is enough for me to adjust the vertices of just one outfit. Later, I will copy & paste the same vertices to the other outfits.
You can see what I mean in many flash games.
(An example image from the internet)
This copy and paste feature should also be in the Morph Controller. Why?
- Let's say I added new outfits in the later stages of the game. The vertices and animations are already ready. All I have to do is paste the transform positions of another outfit into another transform in the Morph Controller keyframe.
I gave an example based on clothing, but I can increase examples. The girl's different hair clips, different hair styles, different hair colors, different body appearance etc.. Thank you in advance!
Hi!
Let us answer your questions regarding editing meshes.
First is a guide to editing meshes.
If you look at the submenu of "Make Mesh", you'll see "Add", "Edit", and "Auto".
Users will basically edit with the "Add" menu selected.
If you select the second submenu, the "Edit" menu, the editing method in the workspace will change to the standard gizmo control method.
You'll be able to edit in the way you want in the "Edit" menu.
You can see a detailed explanation in the following manual.
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_MeshEdit.html
The second answer is about the ability to copy vertices to another mesh.
If you select the "Edit" menu mentioned earlier, you will see the "Copy / Paste" button.
This function allows you to copy vertices to another mesh.
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_CopyVertices.html
Note)
These duplicated vertices are separate from the original vertices with different IDs.
Since only the position is duplicated, they are not subject to the vertex data copy on the modifier.
The third answer is about customization.
The second question probably was written with clothing replacement in mind.
That's why we wrote the Note above in advance.
That is, even if you duplicate vertices, Morph data is not shared between meshes.
(You can select multiple meshes at the same time and modify their Morphs all at once, but that doesn't solve the fundamental problem of this question, so we won't cover it.)
There are many different approaches to swtching costumes.
If the appearance of the clothing images is not too different and they share the same mesh appearence, the "switching textures" is the easiest and most effective.
You just create a mesh that is the base for cosutumes and use a script to swap the textures.
The manual below should help.
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_CharacterCostume.html
If you want to create another texture with the same Atlas structure, the "Secondary Atlas" feature is a little different, but it can be helpful.
The Secondary Atlas is originally intended to create a texture containing Meta Data, but it is also effective in this case.
The following link will guide you through the process of creating a Secondary Atlas Texture.
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_SecondaryAtlas.html
Using the same principle, you can also replace textures using Extra Options.
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_ExtraOption.html
However, if the appearance of the clothes is significantly different, simply replacing the textures will have its limitations.
Also, if the character's clothes are different from the initial plan, you will eventually need to work on the "character body" and "clothes" separately.
In this case, the "Synchronize" function may be helpful.
Although this method does not make the work easier, it helps the project's scalability.
The following manuals cover how to replace clothes using the "Synchronize" function and the issues that arise.
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_SynchronizeWithOthers.html
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_SyncBonesToChangeCostumes.html
https://rainyrizzle.github.io/en/AdvancedManual/AD_SortingOrderInAttachMesh.html
Changing character costumes will vary depending on the project, so it's important to find the method that works for you.
Thank you.