How To Improve The BI --> Cycles And The BI + Cycles Workflow

Support Basics & Interface
1

Please post any ideas on how to improve the workflow between BI and Cycles.

One frequent point of frustration is you can’t start with BI materials and then just click on Cycles and have it render there. It is also a point of confusion for people just casually trying out Cycles. So do we need a better notification system in Blender guiding users so they don’t get so easily confused?

So please post some thoughts here and then maybe we can start a thread on specific ways of improving the workflow of using both on the same project.

2

I think the easy way is to make the materials engine specific. If a project begins adding materials in cycles or BI then just make the other engine grayed out in the engine selection. That way those that can’t seem to keep from wondering into the wrong engine don’t loose any work and those of us that think cycles is the only way to blend can exists without affecting the lay.

3

Add this page probably - http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.6/Manual/Render/

One can take advantage of BI and Cycles materials being side by side in node editor.

4

This isn’t about how to use BI and Cycles this is how to improve it, so people don’t loose their work when roaming into the wrong area.

5

How about a single interface for materials, no matter which render engine they’re headed for? Now THAT would keep everyone from getting lost and would also eliminate replicating materials for both.