Or, in 2.8 terms, they are here:
Come to think of it, I think we should probably put Orientation and Pivot next to each other, rather than on either side of Snap and Proportional Editing/Falloff.
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I think there is either a language barrier or we are looking at ‘action centers’ as two different things, one a generic term and the other an a named component in Modo that has a certain design element to it. Either way I don’t want to talk in circles.
2.8 is a massive improvement and the developers did a phenomenal job so far.
The action centers, aren’t they just a pivot point + an orientation rolled into one?
The general functionality of the action centers should be covered by the 3D Cursor, the Orientation and the Pivot Point features in Blender. It doesn’t work exactly the same, but covers the same things.
I think there’s some problems with the 3dcursor in the latest build. It’s very inconsistent and it won’t auto-transform newly added objects to its rotation.
- When using left-click select, ctrl+rmb will always align the cursor to the view, even if “Geometry” is selected in the active tools settings. The only way to get it to align to Geometry is to select the cursor active tool and actively use it. Is that expected?
- Newly added objects are not transformed to the cursor orientation, even if transform orientation is set to “Cursor”. If this actually requires more steps, it doesn’t count, that would be just as troublesome as not having a cursor with orientation to begin with.
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The orientation if new objects should follow the orientation, yes. That’s the idea with the Add Primitive tools mentioned earlier. Officially it’s still a target for 2.80, but we’ll see if it makes it in. It might depend on how long it takes to get bugs down to a manageable level.
For the most part yes, it also includes the relocation by clicking anywhere that the 3D cursor also has. Perhaps not the best analogy, but its a tad like the difference between a car with automatic drive and manual drive. Blender has the extra pedal and requires a lot of shifting to get around, where as Modo’s action centers do a lot of the work for you. One requires less “parts” to juggle around to get the same effect.
All the snapping, the cursor placement, the axis type…ect its all rolled into one “smart feature”. For example, if I select “element” from the action center list, no matter where I click (even with a selection), it will automatically snap to the element I click on while inheriting its axis, be it face, edge, vert. Not a lot of set up required.
I wonder if Blender can eventually adopt a similar approach, with the 3D cursor attached to the actual transform widget at all times (unless told to do otherwise), while also letting the transform widget be relocatable in the same way the 3D cursor is. This can allow Blender to create a set of presets from a selection menu that essentially defines the behavior, thus achieving the same ease of use of Modo. In fact it would make it better than Modo’s simply due to the fact the user can detach the 3D cursor at any point to leave it in a specific spot for use later.
Really what the appeal boils down to is automation/ease of use.
The same design approach went into the Modo’s bevel tool, which also covers inset and extrude, thus simplifying the process while only using one hotkey. This is legacy Luxology stuff though, they seemed to have lost that mindset once Foundry took over.
Food for thought.
Wait, “Primates”? - Is this the origin of Suzanne the monkey?
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Haha…I meant to say primitives, but that’s a pretty hilarious mistake to make.
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[I wanted to reply only with the emoji, but a post has to be at least 10 characters]
Based on my own Modo experience and the statements made by some of the users, it seemed logical to make an addon for the action centers Here I came up with a plan, so I developed a paid addon that tries to mimick Modo’s own action centers as much as possible.
There is naturally room for improvement.
Feel free to give it a go.
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Very cool! Bought it to support your effort, even though I’m using 2.8. 
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Hey thanks, it took many hours to iron out the workflow and make it streamlined! I will naturally make a 2.8 version, it is free upgrade for sure. You can also try to use in 2.8, it might work 
I did not try it myself.
I am just waiting 2.8 API to stabilize more so I can focus on them, sucks to keep updating code and dealing with rereleases.
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Yeah, sorry. Make sure you subscribe to its own thread so you can get updates, however I probably will email the buyers when I have a solid 2.8 version
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Well when i started writing it is was as a joke, but halfway through I started to wonder if that really was where the idea came from…
Hello everyone!
Just thought I’d say hello. Over at the Foundry forums I go by my real name Martin Öberg but I’ve used Obizzz there before as well.
I’ve had my eye on Blender for a couple of years but never gave it any serious effort. Now with 2.8 coming up it started to look really interesting so I’ve started to dabble a bit with the beta and I like what I see so far.
If it will replace Modo or just be something I use to complement it remains to be seen.
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Its good that you are doing this, though I feel like this kind of “smart behavior” should be part of Blender by default, part of its official design, it is still a good show of initiative.
If I was to give some friendly feedback, it would be to remove the modo themed naming, as its just a smart workflow that shouldn’t be tied to the impression that its only for former Modo users or those curious about Modo. In a way, this may even result in many non modo users not giving it a shot, or even have blender developers run with the smart workflow internally. Something like “Control Deck” or “Baction, B.A.C.” (Blender Action Center) would be better served. You can include its inspired by, or is built upon the idea of Modo Action Centers.
Cheers!
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Thanks for the feedback.
As of now it is “Modo-Me”. However once it is somewhat feature complete (in a few iterations+2.8 version), it will move onto its own add-on. I have other workflows that will be integrated into it.
In the end it will be more like smart pivots+axis with more options, maybe a modal add-on which works on its own so that for instance clicking to position the pivot and dragging to rotate can work together (with the same button)
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pws over there.
As a hobbyist and modo user since 300, I own modo and mari licenses up to V12. I run a small tech company, developing a bunch of realtime software - hardware engines, so I have to stay mostly at customers locations these days. I’m not able to run modo on my notebook / desktop replacement, due to problems with that license system, groundhog dayed nearly every start.
Instead of renewing these bundles or other adobegated software any longer, I have decided to support blender via their fund instead.
Cheers,
Peter
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Your timing to jump ships is perfect. 2.8 should get you covered. Even 2.79 gives most of what Modo/Mari offers, especially given that you considered yourself a hobbist. Mari is a high end application, really, probably %90 cg market does not need to use or own it.
Unfortunately the software licences are built on the premise of punishing the paid users, which is so counter productive, Why would you punish those who pay for your service? Well, they just cant find a better model.
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