Developer Meeting Notes

General Forums Blender Development Discussion
2201

Great! Finally!

2202

Any chance we could have support for drag and drop of multiple images and drag and drop of image sequences in the video sequencer too? Adrian Stephens did this patch https://developer.blender.org/D12159 but it seems abandoned …
he has a patch to drag and drop non-blend files abandoned too https://developer.blender.org/D12098

8 Likes
2204

Those would be nice… but I guess there’s nothing we can do…
The tracker is full of dead patches… :frowning_with_open_mouth:

4 Likes
2205

9nd May 2022

Notes for weekly communication of ongoing projects and modules.

Announcements

Modules & Projects

New Features and Changes

Sculpt/Paint

  • Color attributes
    • Add color attribute create to canvas selector (commit ) (Ethan Hall)
    • Add initial fill color option (commit ) (Ethan Hall)
    • Switch viewport shading for color tools in solid mode (commit ) (Ramil Roosileht)

Python API

  • Add a built-in shader called 3D_IMAGE, and expose to the python API (commit ) (Shashank Shekhar)
  • Add utilities for getting ID references (commit ) (Demeter Dzadik)
  • Add documentation about Image/ImBuf to python/RNA API (commit ) (Bastien Montagne)
  • Update documentation about updating BMesh normals (commit ) (Jon Denning)

Virtual Reality

  • Expose the OpenXR user paths in the event data for XR events (commit ) (Shashank Shekhar)

Curves

  • Support converting legacy curves to new curves object (commit ) (Jacques Lucke)
  • Support symmetry in curves sculpting brushes (commit ) (Jacques Lucke)
  • Use copied original data for invalid NURBS curves (commit ) (Hans Goudey)
  • Various small UI tweaks for curves and sculpt mode (commit , commit , commit , commit , commit , commit ) (Dalai Felinto, Jacques Lucke)
  • Display various curves sculpt settings in tools panels (commit , commit) (Jacques Lucke)
  • Use old Add > Curve menu for new curves object (commit ) ()w
  • Control number of control points in new curves (commit ) (Jacques Lucke)
  • Add second experimental option for new curves tools (commit ) (Jacques Lucke)
  • Performance improvements
    • Optimize filling all curves with a single type (commit ) (Hans Goudey)

USD

  • Add volume/VDB export (commit ) (Piotr Makal)

User Interface

  • Add Gizmos toggle to image editor (commit ) (Juanfran Matheu)
  • Performance improvements
    • Faster JPEG Thumbnails (commit ) (Harley Acheson)
  • NLA
    • Improve visibility of action & active channel (commit) (Nate Rupsis)
  • Windows
    • Add support for precision touchpad gestures (commit ) (Andrii Symkin)
    • Use dark mode title bar color (commit ) (Harley Acheson)
  • Sort Force Field enums alphabetically (commit ) (Pablo Vazquez)
  • Add proper icons for nodegroups in the outliner (commit ) (Philipp Oeser)

Cycles

  • Performance improvements
    • Add support for parallel compilation of OptiX module (commit ) (Patrick Mours)

Modifiers

  • Merge UVs when applying modifiers (commit ) (Campbell Barton)
  • Allow surface deform when target mesh increases number of vertices (commit ) (Sergey Sharybin)

Nodes

  • Add general Combine/Separate Color nodes to all node tree types (commit ) (Hallam Roberts)

Geometry Nodes

  • Add input for vertex creases to the subdivision node (commit ) (Kévin Dietrich)
  • Performance improvements
    • Improve performance of mesh to points node (commit ) (Hans Goudey)

Grease Pencil

  • Line art
    • Performance improvements
      • Significantly improve performance of loading object meshes (commit , commit ) (Yiming Wu)
  • Apply layer transforms to visible frames (commit ) (Yann Lanthony)
  • New Noise modifier random in Keyframes only (commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)
  • New Sculpt Auto masking options (commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)

Miscellaneous

  • Performance improvements
    • Speed up resizing the 3D view in some cases by making instance data persistent (commit ) (Jeroen Bakker)
  • Transform
    • Use a threshold for UV snapping (commit ) (Germano Cavalcante)
  • Alembic
    • Enable operator presets when exporting (commit) (Ethan Hall)
  • EEVEE Rewrite
    • Implement nodetree support with every geometry types (commit ) (Clément Foucault)

Weekly Reports

Summary
12 Likes
2206

It’s hard to grasp the sheer effort that goes in to this project. Many thanks!
One more thank would be warranted if someone could increase the character limit for material names from 63 to something much higher!

4 Likes
2207

Notes for weekly communication of ongoing projects and modules.

Modules & Projects

Geometry Nodes

  • Blog post about the design process for the new Geometry Nodes icon.

New Features and Changes

Grease Pencil

  • Line art:
    • Improve smooth tolerance behavior (commit ) (YimingWu)

Color Management

  • Various improvements and fixes for image saving (commit ) (Brecht Van Lommel)

User Interface

  • Icons
    • Add a Geometry Nodes icon (commit ) (Dalai Felinto)
    • Tweak sculpting trim icons (commit ) (Dalai Felinto)
  • Outliner
    • Remove two advanced tools that didn’t make sense for the outliner (commit , commit ) (Bastien Montagne)
  • Small tweaks to UI layouts and text (commit , commit ) (Pablo Vazquez, Antonio Vazquez)

Curves

  • Sculpt mode
    • Add operator to convert hair particle system to new curves (commit ) (Jacques Lucke)
    • Add option to interpolate point count in the add brush (commit ) (Hans Goudey)
    • Adjust tool header and property editor UI layouts (commit ) (Hans Goudey)
  • Add disabled message for add empty hair operator (commit) (Hans Goudey)

Import/Export

  • OBJ Import:
    • Improve file parsing performance on windows (commit ) (Aras Pranckevicius)

Cycles

  • Enable inlining on Apple Silicon for 1.1x speedup (commit ) (Michael Jones)

Miscellaneous

  • UDIM: Add support for packing inside .blend files (commit ) (Jesse Yurkovich)
  • Mesh: Add Auto Smooth option to Shade Smooth operator (commit ) (Pablo Vazquez)
  • Performance improvements
    • 3D Viewport: Improve performance with many small instances by about 10% by avoiding TBB in some cases (commit ) (Hans Goudey)
    • Screw Modifier: avoid unnecessary normal calculation (commit ) (Campbell Barton)

Weekly Reports

Summary
12 Likes
2208

Notes for weekly communication of ongoing projects and modules.

Welcomes

Announcements

Modules & Projects

New Features and Changes

Geometry Nodes

  • Rename string to curves max width input (commit ) (Erik Abrahamsson)

User Interface

  • Rename Hue/Saturation node to Hue Saturation Value in shaders and textures (commit ) (Daniel Salazar)
  • Outliner
    • Revert removal of the “Remap data-block usages” operation (commit ) (Bastien Montagne)
  • Performance improvements
    • Significantly reduce memory usage and improve speed of EXR thumbnails (commit ) (Harley Acheson)

Curves

  • Use only current brush location for delete brush (commit ) (Hans Goudey)
  • Support pressure in sculpt brushes (commit ) (Hans Goudey)

Library Overrides

  • Add option to Hierarchy Creation to get all data user-editable by default. (commit ) (Bastien Montagne)
  • Performance improvements

Video Sequence Editor

  • Remove still frame offsets (commit ) (Richard Antalik)
  • Delete Strip and Scene Data in one step (commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)
  • Add new Scene and Strip (commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)
  • New Change Scene option in Change menu (commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)
  • Display sound sample rate and channels (commit ) (Marcos Perez)

Grease Pencil

  • Avoid Automerge with Closed strokes (commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)
  • Small UI tweaks (commit , commit ) (Antonio Vazquez)
  • Line Art
    • Use array instead of lists for edges pending occusion query (commit) (Yiming Wu)
    • Prioritize connecting chains from the same contour loop (commit) (Yiming Wu)

EEVEE-Next

  • Display error instead of crashing on unsupported hardware (commit ) (Clément Foucault)
  • Add Velocity module for motion blur (commit ) (Clément Foucault)

Subdivision

  • Support interpolating orco coordinates in subdivision surfaces (commit , commit ) (Brecht Van Lommel, Kévin Dietrich)

Sculpt/Paint

  • 3D texturing: Support undo (commit ) (Jeroen Bakker)

Python API

  • Make Image.save and Image.save_render more consistent with operator (commit ) (Brecht Van Lommel)
  • Warn that the bgl module is deprecated in the docs (commit ) (Brecht Van Lommel)

Weekly Reports

Summary
10 Likes
2209

Nice to see the UV editor getting a dedicated dev. Has anyone seen any newish info/details/plans for this?

9 Likes
2210

No idea what are the plans, but apparently he already started. ヾ(•ω•`)o

https://developer.blender.org/p/chrisbblend/

4 Likes
2211

https://developer.blender.org/D14945

image
image827×347 17.1 KB

Yum! :lips:

9 Likes
2212

Judging by changes its not UV redo/overhaul, but rather continue working on, but there are already few nice patches.
like that one above or :

obraz
obraz1026×1188 149 KB

7 Likes
2213

Also, I really, really hope we get to see more rotation, scaling, and distribution tools (rotate edge selection especially). Would be so nice if I could retire this add-on.

image
image1222×1073 93.8 KB

1 Like
2214

Man I hope we FINALLY get horizontal and vertical unwrap constraints. One of the most needed features in the UV editor for trim sheet UVing and character art toady. I can’t imagine it being super difficult to make - same Unwrap tool just with an X or Y axis only option.

2 Likes
2215

Huh, only 4 projects?
If i counted correctly that’s 3rd worst accepted project count. obraz

Well, better 4 than 0. Good luck guys! I hope that at least one will be finished and could go in.

1 Like
2216

yeah i was kinda disappointed too, just 4 duh?? :unamused:

2217

Well, at least the projects contain improved text workflow and many lights sampling. That should count for something! :partying_face:

3 Likes
2218

The UV work may actually be the most important thing on the list depending on your workflow (since Blender is currently establishing the bottom as far as active DCC apps. go).

Not a lot of projects, but good ones, even the dynamics system is getting a little love.

5 Likes
2219

UV mapping has needed a complete overhaul for some time. I remember when I first jumped on board during 2.80 Alpha and was absolutely dismayed by how primitive UV mapping was compared to Maya.

Once I had a few add-ons installed and fixed some keybinds I got used to it, but this to me is just as crucial as having an overhauled retopology workflow. It’s the only two areas which I think Maya is completely dominating Blender in. They are the only two things I actually do inside of Maya (besides rigging and animation, hehe) while at school since Blender can do the rest a lot better when creating art assets for games.

2 Likes
2220

I think Blender could literally be the reason why standalone unwrapping apps. (like Unwrap 3D) are still relevant, so it is good the patches are coming in now (which in terms of summer projects are usually a good sign).

2 Likes
2221

One of my pet hates is how you can’t rotate coordinates and have it work with simple builtin image based box projection. Only object rotation is correctly used, meaning every “direction” of an object have to be its own object. Think box mapping a wooden object consisting of parts going in different direction wrt wood grain.