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»» forums  subject: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it? 214 replies on 15 pages. most recent reply: 25-Jun-07 01:01 by jackman6

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ed »» models »» homepage Re: The Sodashop   posted: 30-May-02 06:29   »»  > who made the first dozen models? ...me. little did I imagine way back then how far they'd be surpassed when models started arriving in the zoo!

Lectvay »» models »» homepage Re: The Sodashop   posted: 30-May-02 06:40   »»  But they are classics. Those twelve provide a good variety and will always be a wonderful introduction to new sodaconstructors.

Lectvay »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 30-May-02 07:16   »»  I have a suggestion which will probably sound strange... But I'll do my best to explain. If my observations are correct, masses are six pixels tall and wide. This means that when a spring is drawn from a mass, the spring is off-center from the mass, because the mass has no real center. For example, if a spring is drawn horizontally from a mass, the spring connects with the mass lower than the half way point. Furthermore, if my observations are correct, the constructing area is 651x422 pixels. Which means that right now it is impossible to place a mass in the horizontal center, because masses have an even number of pixels. What I propose is this: 1. Masses be 5x5 pixels or some other odd number, instead of 6x6. 2. The dimensions of the constructing space be an odd number of pixels in both length and width. (This would create a single pixel as the center of the field, and, assuming masses had odd number dimensions, would allow a mass to be placed in the exact center, both vertically and horizontally.) This may sound extremely obsessive and picky, but my recent sodaconstructor work has involved very precise geometry and symmetry, and I have actually found these issues to be very important to me. I would appreciate any comments or thoughts on this, Ed. And let me know if my explaination wasn't clear in any way. Thanks.

ed »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 30-May-02 09:29   »»  > 1. Masses be 5x5 pixels or some other odd number, mm, I totally agree, when it comes to screen design odd numbers of pixels are our friends! I really appreciate your attention to detail and will bear this in mind when rebuilding sodaconstructor in preparation for sodarace. It is worth noting that the appearance that the lines don't pass through the mass' centre is merely an ailiasing artefact as the line is rounded to the nearest pixel to be drawn, internally its mathematical representation and dynamic effect do pass exactly throught the mass' centre. On the dimension of the constructing space, it's looking likely that the dimension will be variable, so you may be able to choose whatever size and shape you need. Watch this space for further developments.

Lectvay »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 30-May-02 21:16   »»  This is great to hear! Thanks.

Coaldiamond »» models Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 31-May-02 02:09   »»  Ed, I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this before, but I may have an simple solution to the demand for a snap-to grid. I'm not sure if you are very familiar with Adobe Photoshop, but this powerfull art program allows artists to turn a snap to grid on and off, so that the grid does clutter up the workspace. However, this option pales in comparison to Photoshop's gridline maker. In the margins surrounding the user's work, there are two little arrows, one along the x-axis, the other on the y. By clicking and draggign these arrows up or along the side of the margins, a thin vertical or horizontal line is made in the artwork. This guideline attracts the mouse cursor when it is near, and the cursor sticks to the guideline despite the small deviations that a hand usually produces. The cursor is also prone to stick to intersections of guidlines. In Photoshop, these guidelines can be removed by dragging the line back into the margin, and any number of guidelines can be created from the little arrows mentioned above. This system, I believe, is superior to the snap-to grid because these movable guidelines allow more freedom to the artist and less clutter within the work in progress.

Lectvay »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 31-May-02 07:46   »»  I thought of a couple little bugs I've noticed. 1. Masses can be created partway off the screen if you move your cursor to the very edge and then click. But masses can't be moved or dragged that far. When a mass which is partly off the screen is moved in any way, it "snaps" back into the field. I assume that masses are meant to exist only completely within the constructing space. 2. When a model has the property of "manual" mode (as opposed to forward, reverse, or auto-reverse), and is saved with that property set, and then loaded, sometimes it seems to load with "auto-reverse" displayed instead of "manual." It functions, however, as if it were in manual mode. This happened with one of my models, but I couldn't recreate the bug with a quick test I just made.

ed »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 31-May-02 09:31   »»  > This system, I believe, is superior to the snap-to > grid because these movable guidelines allow more > freedom to the artist and less clutter within the > work in progress. This is ever such a good idea, I'm suprised none of us [myself included] thought of it sooner. I could even imagine taking moveable guidlines one step further and enabling any freely drawn line to be a snap-to-guideline, then you could build non rectangular scaffolds to construct particular model geometries at the intersections of non-perpendicular guidlines [this scaffold itself could be drawn with the previously suggested snap to grid option for further presicion]. This is the kind of functionality you'll find in any CAD [computer aided design] package. The big challenge will be to see if we can implement something this powerful and general without making the interface simply to big and complicated. I don't know yet if it will be possible, but it's a very tempting idea non the less.

guest: null Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 31-May-02 10:39   »»  How about this, different levels of interfaces, backwardly compatable though. so a beginner uses level one interface, then on clicking a button we add level two complexity, and finally a level three for the advanced. Incremental build up

LastToKnow0 »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 03-Jun-02 07:34   »»  I like the File button interface, but there are a couple of improvements I think it would be nice to see: Create URL button. A button to push so that a selected creation's URL is copied to the clipboard, so I can paste it into IM's or other messages? E-mail is kind of clunky. Folders. I't'd be nice if I could store temporary creations somewhere different than my finalized creations. Opera compatability? I don't know if its just my setup or what, but I when I try to do anything in opera that requires contacting the server, the applet seems unable to connect, and times out. IE makes me feel...dirty. Public folders. Instead of looking at someone's links one by one, it would be nice to type in their name and have a list of models that they've made public. I'd rather see some of the changes to the constuctor like copy/paste, "bones", grids, and such, but if you're looking for stuff to tinker with, these are a few suggestions.

Lectvay »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 03-Jun-02 21:16   »»  A small thing: If you place a muscle with maximum "relative amplitude", by dragging it as far to the right as possible, and then save and load the model, that muscle ends up one pixel to the left of where it was placed.

guest: CD Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 04-Jun-02 02:13   »»  I keep certain svaed files with names like interim, temp, and workinprogress to keep models that I'm working on. I constantly save over old models that were once under construction with whatever I'm currently working on.

evill_monkey_one »» models Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 04-Jun-02 19:28   »»  I just started messing around with this... and first off it's great. Way too frigging addicting though... =) One problem is the way the "clear all" selection works. It's WAY to easy to slip from "delete" to "clear all"... mebbe you can put some kind of confirmation in? I've allready had to rebiuld one of my creations twice... Another thing is some kind of "snap" to an angle relative to the background. that's kinda unclear... but basically, as in some art and design programs, holding the shift key will force the spring to a certain orientation, like horizontal or vertical, or some regular angle relative to horizontal (45, 60, etc...). I like a bunch of the other suggestions so far... adding more power/complexity with "bones" and variables for each object, optimizing the delete command, and especially a downloadable version. Playing with sodaplay on a laptop during some trip would COMPLETELY beat solitaire for the umpteenth time. Ed

LaForge »» models »» homepage Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 04-Jun-02 19:38   »»  how about templates you can load and you can build on to them like motors

sodaboy9000000 »» models Re: the sodaconstructor interface: how would you improve it?   posted: 04-Jun-02 20:34   »»  Ed, I have sent you my doodle of the "new interface". Anyone else who wants it, ask for it, or give me some input on my ideas (like what's wrong, or what's missing). Ed, hope to hear from you soon.

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