Actually my wrong doing and such, we discussed the bridge tool on two different threads and I just happened to reply on that in here as well, which then isn´t so odd when it goes off talking about splines in general.
1 Like
Since when is LW free? When did LW get NURBS tools? (Do you mean LW CAD?)
It comes down to one simple thing, curves/splines in LW is limited to ony the catmull rom type and is hard to control. You have a very limited Bezier type but it is destructive and can only be edited once. Blenders curves is better (more controllable) and non-destructive so much better suited for spline modelling. Easy spline only adds automatic patching of the spline cage, no new spline types.
I have never stated anywere that lightwave would be free…where did you get that assertment from, I stated that some spline tools was free…you must have misunderstood that posting in such case, whichever post you refered to, a bit odd, since both you and I have been using lw for years and we are well aware of the cost…so why would I state lw being free?
As for curves, if you use px bezier, you can save those out, once reloading, you can continue to adjust bezier handles, change from arch to smooth, change from line to curve, change to belt, change to tube etc.
You go in to setup and use save path and load path, it is not as direct accessable as the non destructive curves in blender, but it´s working to go in there again and edit the bezier handles…so in that way it can be edited again, but not the same as picking already made spline up and edit.
Px bezier is free, but he has stopped working on the plugins.
As for what I like with native spline draw…(not bezier) is that you just click and place draw it, which I think is a bit different than how you start in blender…unless using grease pencil.
Edit…yes…lw cad for nurbs…which I mentioned a bit earlier …and I had that in mind when mentioneing new nurbs and probably missed the lw (cad) word.
“We are really not talking about spline modeling ala lightwave or lw cads new smart mesh or nurbs, it´s just a spline control curve that needs to be added in blender bridge tool. Quite different from spline modeling overall.”
But agreed for the non destructive curves in blender, which I like, and especially loadin svg paths, but there is still something with the initial draw of a spline that I prefer in Lightwave, or I may have missed a key function in how to draw splines in blender.
1 Like
If there is any option to just start click add points and curves to trace or lay out a profile as we do in Lightwave …without having to extend the curve, that would be nice to know?
Edit…uh, new improvements in blender allows for that…good to know, silly I missed that.
But it must be added a curve or point first, which you don´t have to do in Lightwave…so a draw tool that doesn´t need any intial previous added curve tool.
Click on the draw tool and draw …not add point or curve then choose draw spline.
1 Like
Glad to see they dropped some naming conventions, like add lamp, as any kind of light source, lamp isn´t representative, and they now adapted the common standard, add light.
As for Empty VS Null, don´t know why they are so in to going against common standards there, which other 3d software uses another naming template for that than “null”?
1 Like
There is also Bsurfaces. Introduced originally as an add-on back around 2.5 ish. I think it later made it to official release.
Yeah, I am aware of a lot of tools for blender, but does that addon allow for direct draw as I mentioned, or is it just another goodie working a different way?
1 Like
Check the vid🙂
Sorry…have to do that I guess, I am not looking at all tools presented all the time, would take too much time, but obviously you know how it behaves.
after checking vid…No…that I already had installed, and it doesn´t work the way I mentioned, you have to add a vert before you can start drawing…I mentioned that is not what I wanted, I want to start to draw a spline immediately not having to add a curve or vert then start drawing, so b-surfaces doesn´t not accomplish this.
In lightwave you click on spline draw and start adding points that makes up the spline, isn´t there really something similar in blender without having to add another element to get going?
Yes. I was responding specifically to the draw part. But I guess you will have to check it out. It does a lot of cool stuff. Like being able to simply draw out patch guides by hand and have it fill in the grid.
Retopo flow uses this as well. Snapped to a surface.
Oh…I know how cool it is otherwise, it´s not that…it´s just about the actual workflow of starting a spline, not all the other goodies…I am aware of some of those anyway.
Yes…I got retopoflow installed as well, I wouldn´t retopo in lightwave but blender for sure.
Basicly, the workflow in blender could be improved to work faster and easier when starting to do splines, had it worked as in Lightwave when starting a spline, and of course…maintaining all the other superior features in blender which Lightwave don´t have.
To much of the addons for more basic stuff is inactivated in the default releases I think.
If not the extra mesh tools is activated, adding a simple vertex was not possible in blender, that took me a while to grasp, and irritated me for a while…a simple point.
1 Like
I’m not saying it can’t be improved, but you have to remember that modeler is like edit mode in blender. You can only be in edit mode if you have an object to edit and that’s why you need to create an object before you can draw the spline. In Lw layout you need to create a null before adding modeler commands.
1 Like
Ok. But that is not possible. The reason is because you have to first have to have an object. I think some things you have to accept will never work like LightWave. It is a basic technical thing. Now the vert is added when you add the object. You have to add an object. But as far as I know if you are already in an object you can use it. It has been a while.
In Modeler you are already in edit mode and already in the object. In Blender you have to make an object. That is never going to change.
I’m not sure all 3d apps call it ”Null”, I think both Maya and 3ds uses other names like empty, locator, dummy, helper etc. Unity used empty as well. No big deal.
This sounds like a really bad workflow. Who would want to work like that?
So …that´s why we have a split app 
I do not compare blender modeling in edit mode in scene with Layout modeling at all, nor animated features.
I don´t recognize what you say about Lightwave modeler to be accurate? and that it is like it would be like in blender edit mode…if it was, we shouldn´t be able to draw a spline directly in modeler either.
Layout modeling commands is however more accurately to match edit mode in blender.
Imagine…advantages of a split app…I feel it is faster to start going with drawing splines in Lightwave…and this kind of prooves it.
1 Like
How would it be a bad workflow? it gives you advantages over the native spline drawing tools in Lightwave, have you tested it?
As for who would like to work like that, depends what you want to do, what´s wrong with saving out preset paths that you could use, arch window templates, welding templates, and other stuff, then just load in and tweak.
It has it weaknesses …but I wouldn´t call it bad workflow.
If I need to save the curve and reload it to be able to tweak it, it is bad. If that is not the case then I misunderstood your explantion of the tool.