Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Involved development of the OpenMW construction set.
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aesylwinn
Posts: 243
Joined: 14 Dec 2015, 20:30

Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Post by aesylwinn »

I can't find a feature request that matches this. I'm not missing it, am I?

Anyway, I was wondering about the controls for editing the pathgrid. Here's what I was thinking:

Code: Select all

pathgrid points selected using middle mouse button

if nothing selected
    primary button: add pathgrid point
    secondary button: do nothing

if something selected
    primary button: move selected pathgrid point to location obtained from mouse pick
    secondary button: connect edge to clicked on point
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Zini
Posts: 5538
Joined: 06 Aug 2011, 15:16

Re: Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Post by Zini »

It seems there isn't an issue for pathgrid editing yet. Feel free to create one.

We should stay consistent between editing modes as much as possible. Therefore object editing should serve as a guideline here.

We do not need a sub-mode button for pathgrids. But we do need a selection button (ideally sharing as much of the implementation with the object editing selection button as possible). For the select menu I would imagine these items:

- Select all nodes
- Clear selection
- Select all edges between selected nodes
- Delete selection
- Delete selected edges

In-scene selection should be done via the selection buttons (p-select, s-select) in the same way as object selection. context-select needs to be considered too, but depending on the input scheme it may not make much sense. In this case we may have no other option than to drop it.

Having the editing function depending on what is selected is more cumbersome than it needs to be. I haven't given it much thought yet. But how about this?

- p-edit drag of selected nodes moves all selected nodes (nodes can not be moved between cells)
- p-edit click on nothing adds node
- s-edit drag from a node to another node creates an edge (edges between nodes in different cells are not allowed)
- s-edit click on a node creates edges to all selected nodes, then clears the selection and makes the clicked node the new selection (this will allow for rapid creation of pathgrid routes)

And of course all that would have to be described in the pathgrid edit mode button tooltip.
aesylwinn
Posts: 243
Joined: 14 Dec 2015, 20:30

Re: Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Post by aesylwinn »

Having the editing function depending on what is selected is more cumbersome than it needs to be.
It can be cumbersome if overdone, but at times useful.

For the most part, that sounds pretty good and consistent, but I think there would be a couple useful modifications. I'm using your outline as the base.

- If there is only one node selected, p-edit drag moves that node to the intersection with the mouse and terrain/referencable. I can't think of a case where you wouldn't want the point on top of the terrain/referencable. This would make positioning the nodes faster. This would be the only control dependent on what is selected, so it shouldn't complicate the controls too much.

- p-edit click on terrain/referenceable adds a node at that cell location. Clicking on nothing does nothing.

Regarding the addition of nodes, should this also automatically create a pathgrid object if needed?
Also, it might be problematic if the user thinks they are adding nodes to one cell and finds that they don't connect, but perhaps a note in the tooltip is all that is needed.
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Zini
Posts: 5538
Joined: 06 Aug 2011, 15:16

Re: Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Post by Zini »

- If there is only one node selected, p-edit drag moves that node to the intersection with the mouse and terrain/referencable. I can't think of a case where you wouldn't want the point on top of the terrain/referencable. This would make positioning the nodes faster. This would be the only control dependent on what is selected, so it shouldn't complicate the controls too much.
Automatically adjusting node position sounds problematic. Example: Instance floating above ground. Node should go under instance. Also, the user may want to place nodes before placing instances or adjusting the terrain. We shouldn't try to dictate the workflow.
Eventually we will have a drop down feature (drop selection to the ground), but that is a) a separate feature and b) not specific to the pathgrid nodes
- p-edit click on terrain/referenceable adds a node at that cell location. Clicking on nothing does nothing.
I am okay with using terrain and instance locations to determine the position along the view axis. But clicking on nothing should still place a node (in a reasonable default distance). Same argumentation as above.
Regarding the addition of nodes, should this also automatically create a pathgrid object if needed?
Yes. If there is no pathgrid record, then there can be no pathgrid nodes.
Also, it might be problematic if the user thinks they are adding nodes to one cell and finds that they don't connect, but perhaps a note in the tooltip is all that is needed.
Not sure what you mean with that.
aesylwinn
Posts: 243
Joined: 14 Dec 2015, 20:30

Re: Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Post by aesylwinn »

Not sure what you mean with that.
What I meant was that a newer user may not understands why they cannot connect nodes that are in separate cells.
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Zini
Posts: 5538
Joined: 06 Aug 2011, 15:16

Re: Edit pathgrid in scene editor

Post by Zini »

There are many things about MW that won't be obvious to a new user who has not familiarised himself with the particularities of this engine and the associated file format/data structures. We will generally cover this with tutorials. But in this case I am okay with a short mentioning in the respective tooltip.
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