Future Pivot feature suggestions (e.g. bendy lines)

[SIFTER]

I'm talking about figures that are so complex to attach that you need a manual for it. Peter DID mention that this feature will be implemented in 4.2, though. Kinda like, selecting all of this http://i.imgur.com/GVWBtlx.png , hit ctrl+c then ctrl+v to another .piv. You just can't assemble all of these again. It took me over 6 hours to work on this. So, it's stupid to redo a 6hour work now, isn't it?

[Coweetie]

that is true. and yes, he mentioned something of copypasting, but I thought he only ment from one frame to another frame in the same piv.

it's stupid to redo a 6hour work now, isn't it?

exactly! I have not THAT massive builot figures, but it sill is annoying to built everything again.
btw, that frame looks mesmerizing.


e. I nearly forgot one other thing:

you already can stretch a segment with ctrl, it would be cool if oyu could stretch all attached segments of one joint with for example ctrl + alt. (just as you can do in stickfigure builder with edit mode, but directly on the stage)

[peterbone]

OK, that's a lot of suggestions. Thanks. I'll try to reply below.

I'd have some suggestions to make animating a little more handy, don't knof if someone already suggested it.

-bigger canvas size (so that if a stickfigure gets outside of it, you can move with the scrollbars left/right/up/down to it) or a zooming feature for the whole canvas.

It sometimes happen to me that I have some figures outside the stage and press ctrl+a and then scale everything bigger(for example). that way I kinda "loose" my figures outside the stage. I have a lot of figures in the file most of the time, scrolling through with the mousewheel is not a good solution,since I don't know which figure i am currently selecting with it. selecting one part of attached segments doesnt help since i cant select the whole figure then, to get it back by for example using "move to center"

-seeing the stickfigure name when selected (maybe somewhere on the bottom? or in a sort of list of figures?) would be helpful for when a figure is outside of the canvas, and also when using lots of little sticks, especially when replacing them in every frame (I do that when I need to edit something in after I made the animation)

I intend to add a status bar at the bottom of the window at some stage, like the figure builder has. It will show information about the frame and selected figure/s. That way you know what figure you have selected. At some stage I may add infinite canvas/zoom, but that will probably be in Pivot 5 or later.

-whole figure is marked when selecting the center joint of a combined figure (when a figure is very big and parts get out of the canvas, but are attached to the figure- or when it has alot attached figures and you have backgroundsticks there too. can be confusing to need to select all the right joints in each frame)

Nice idea. You can draw a selection rectangle around a joined figure, but I know that that may select other figures you don't want to select if you have a complex frame. Maybe Ctrl+click origin handle selects all attached figures.

-ability to change nodes color-would be helpful for multiple stick use)

I don't understand how this would help with multiple figures. But I intend to add the option of changing handle colours in the next version by modifying the ini file, not in the options form.

-lock nodes on stage (so they cant be selected or moved the time it is locked)
would be helpful when certain sticks should stay on place while moving everything else

Do you know about Ctrl+H for turning off unselected handles? Useful when you have many figures.

-A little display maybe for rotation and length information of the selected segment (would be VERY helpful for tinier movements and to get a segment back to original length. that autosnapping you implemented somehow doesnt work all the time, for example when the segment is much longer)

See about the status bar. Tell me more about why snapping doesn't always work?

it maybe would be nice to edit length and rotation directly with numbers (writing in 121° to rotate it from 120 to 121)

I think it would make the interface too complex, but the status bar could let you know what the angle is.

-as often said, the polyfill for 3 or more nodes :D also the copy and paste from one frame to another, which I already saw you implementing.

Probably in Pivot 5. Copy and Paste selected figures is done.

Kind of a preview of one frame, where you see the output without what is around the stage (animating mode:nodes visible, preview mode: no nodes visible, and you cant move something then). the nodes sometimes cover what I need to see. exporting to an image everytime just to see what I have is time intense.

See above about Ctrl+H. If you only see the origin of unselected figures then you'll have a much better idea of what the frame looks like. I'll have a think about this though as it would be easy to do.

I know that you want to keep pivot simple. those are just some suggestions which could make the usage maybe a bit easier for, maybe, experienced pivot users. I find pivot a really great program, and I like the idea of it. adding stuff like the above would simplify the animating itself by reducing the time expenses.
for example:
I need half an hour for making a decent background, but only because I need to "fill" everything with segments when I want to have a color in it. I want to be creative in this program, but having to "fill" stuff like this, breaks it down enormously.. Iyes, I could use sprites, gut I want to move stuff in my backgrounds.)

Not sure what you mean about move stuff in backgrounds.

Having, lets say, 50 frames done and editing a new figure in takes me about 5 to 8 times longer just because I have to reposition the figure again all the time. (but as I said, it seems you already make copypaste. : D )

I need to search for the right stick too long (in my opinion) when it happened to be outside the canvas. it happens to me when accidently resizing all figures. (once deselected- not intentionally- they're kind of lost outside.)

Selecting all joints of one stick with attached segments is in my opinion just annoying when i want to resize the whole figure.

Can you not drag a selection rectangle around the figure? As I said above I may add the ability to select all attached figures.

When I have border sticks (for decoration at the borders of the stage for example) which I dont want to resize, I need to deselect them everytime / only select those I want to resize. its no big deal, until there are more than ~30 sticks in the stage (counting in the attached segments too, because you have to select all of them separately)

Again, can you not drag a selection rectangle to select all figures inside the border figures?

I hope I could give you some good ideas with this. And I hope you don't think too complicated about them, those Ideas are just suggestions to make animating in pivot more attractive and handy.

Thanks a lot. I've written several ideas down so I won't forget them.

you can copy and paste a frame from one piv to another, therefore you have the figure. you cant combine it though with previous frames (which I think peter is implementing, at least from one frame to another in one piv by now)
but if it is a figure with attached segments you still have to built it new in your previous frames, if you meant this...

Copy and paste is now done and you can copy and paste between piv files like you can with copy and paste frames. You can select a group of joined figures and they will stay joined once they're pasted.

you already can stretch a segment with ctrl, it would be cool if oyu could stretch all attached segments of one joint with for example ctrl + alt. (just as you can do in stickfigure builder with edit mode, but directly on the stage)

Yes, this was suggested before. I'll write it down again. It won't be ctrl+alt though because that's now used in 4.2 for rotating a figure without scaling.

[tuna]

could there be a keyboard shortcut for being able to scale multiple figures up or down (like alt+drag) but the size of the figures stay the same? so the space between the figures are increased in the same way as alt drag, but the actual size of the figures stays the same. this would be very useful for things like particles if you want them to spread out, but not get bigger.

likewise, it would be useful to be able to select multiple figures and change the size of all the figures at once, without them scaling in the amount of space between them (in other words, they change size, but they don't move position)

[peterbone]

could there be a keyboard shortcut for being able to scale multiple figures up or down (like alt+drag) but the size of the figures stay the same? so the space between the figures are increased in the same way as alt drag, but the actual size of the figures stays the same. this would be very useful for things like particles if you want them to spread out, but not get bigger.

likewise, it would be useful to be able to select multiple figures and change the size of all the figures at once, without them scaling in the amount of space between them (in other words, they change size, but they don't move position)

Yeah, I see. Seems like a good idea, but I'll need to think about what keyboard shortcuts to use as they're getting quite complex. Alt+Shift now scales the selection without rotation, so you could potentially hold Alt+Shift+Z for separating multiple figures or Alt+Shift+X for scaling without separation. I'm not even sure that all keyboards can cope with that many keys down at once.

[Ussay]

^ Why not Alt+ a specific letter? like Alt+R for rotating or something like that?

[peterbone]

^ Why not Alt+ a specific letter? like Alt+R for rotating or something like that?

Remember that you're dragging the mouse while holding the keys with the other hand. So I thought it would be better to use keys near the Alt key. Also, I can't think of specific letter keys that relate to what Tuna was describing.

A bit of an update. I've been taking Wednesdays off to work on Pivot. Unfortunately this is my last one because I've almost run out of leave from my full time job. I have got quite a bit done of 4.2 and I'll continue at the weekends. I hope to have a beta version out within a couple of months. Copy and Paste figures is done (with basic testing). Better controls for rotating selected figures (Alt+Ctrl for rotation only, Alt+Shift for scale only). Today I got SVG image export working with backgrounds and sprites. See the example attached. My body was dismembered a few times before I got it right!

[SIFTER]

Yes! This is exactly what we need. Thanks so much. Do I understand from this that super sample 4 will also anti-alias the sprites just like in the svg file in the next update?

[peterbone]

Yes! This is exactly what we need. Thanks so much. Do I understand from this that super sample 4 will also anti-alias the sprites just like in the svg file in the next update?

That's currently the case with Pivot 4.1. Super-sampling 4 works by drawing everything 4 times as big (including sprites) and then reducing back down by averaging blocks of pixels to give anti-aliasing. However, you will only see an anti-aliasing effect with sprites if the sprite image that you loaded is larger than the size in the animation so that it can draw it larger without it becoming very pixelated. It can't make up information to draw a high res image from a low res one. So, if you want anti-aliased sprites you should load sprite images that are larger than the size they'll be in the animation. I hope that makes sense.

[Coweetie]

I intend to add a status bar at the bottom of the window at some stage, like the figure builder has. It will show information about the frame and selected figure/s. That way you know what figure you have selected. At some stage I may add infinite canvas/zoom, but that will probably be in Pivot 5 or later.

That is great! :D that deals with a big part of my suggestions, like figure information. and will be very useful for sure!

Nice idea. You can draw a selection rectangle around a joined figure, but I know that that may select other figures you don't want to select if you have a complex frame. Maybe Ctrl+click origin handle selects all attached figures.

You can select a group of joined figures and they will stay joined once they're pasted.

Yes, that is exactly what I wanted to say. That keyboard shortcut would be awesome!

-ability to change nodes color-would be helpful for multiple stick use)

I don't understand how this would help with multiple figures. But I intend to add the option of changing handle colours in the next version by modifying the ini file, not in the options form.

It was a small idea to deal with many nodes, just like kind of "locking" the unused nodes in a current frame. It's not that neccessary, but having different colors for sticks, when on a small place, could maybe save some time fiddling around to find the right figure. :)

Do you know about Ctrl+H for turning off unselected handles? Useful when you have many figures.

I honestly didn't know about it
I tried it out, this appears to work with "normal" figures (no attached segments), but somehow not on attached segments? Or.. I don't know exactly..
CTRL+H


Normal view

What I would like to suggest is a complete preview without any joints visible,
and a possibility to "lock" other figures (or hiding the nodes, like your ctrl+h feature but with all joints of a figure)

Tell me more about why snapping doesn't always work?

I might have been wrong there sorry - I tried it again on the same segment where I thought it wouldn't work, and simply figured out that I thought it would be shorter. sorry about that.

Probably in Pivot 5.

this is really, really, really great! I'll joyfully look forward to it!

Copy and Paste selected figures is done.

so awesome to hear! I'm so grateful for this!

I want to move stuff in my backgrounds.)

Not sure what you mean about move stuff in backgrounds.

I meant that I like to move a part of a tree, for example, instead having a static picture of a tree as background alone. That anyways was just an example for the mass of time that is used to "fill" one thing with a color by adding lots of segments. :)
The rest I wrote below the suggestions just should have been examples to describe it better.

Thank you alot for taking the time to read through all of it, and thank you alot for taking some ideas of it.

[.Mono.]

How about an "add Text"-feature, like the one used in Photoshop/Flash, where you can simply click anywhere to create a Textbox and write in it. I don't know, if that's to "unpivoty", but personally I think creating sentences with countless lines is too much work. Of course you can always use sprites or edit the gif afterwards with flash or something, but just implementing it into pivot would be great.

[peterbone]

I tried it out, this appears to work with "normal" figures (no attached segments), but somehow not on attached segments? Or.. I don't know exactly..
CTRL+H

Yes, this feature doesn't work on Joined figures because then there'd be no way to select them if unselected. This is all mentioned here under 'show unselected'.
http://pivotanimator.net/help/options.htm

I'll think about the frame preview option. Thanks again for your suggestions.

[Coweetie]

I see. Well, that Manual you have is very detailed, but very very big, that is probably why people don't read it (like me, sorry)
Pivot always was a start-and-go-program to me.
thanks again.

and as mono said, a text feature might be helpful too. din't know if it would make it too big then. @mono, as you said yourself, it works with sprites too :D

[peterbone]

I see. Well, that Manual you have is very detailed, but very very big, that is probably why people don't read it (like me, sorry)
Pivot always was a start-and-go-program to me.
thanks again.

and as mono said, a text feature might be helpful too. din't know if it would make it too big then. @mono, as you said yourself, it works with sprites too :D

I'd disagree about the help file being big. It's much smaller than the help files of some other software. It takes about 15-20 minutes to read through the whole thing, which compared to the time it takes to make a good animation is well worth the time even if you only learn a few useful things.

Yes, I may add text in Pivot 5.

[.Mono.]

I see. Well, that Manual you have is very detailed, but very very big, that is probably why people don't read it (like me, sorry)
Pivot always was a start-and-go-program to me.
thanks again.

and as mono said, a text feature might be helpful too. din't know if it would make it too big then. @mono, as you said yourself, it works with sprites too :D

I'd disagree about the help file being big. It's much smaller than the help files of some other software. It takes about 15-20 minutes to read through the whole thing, which compared to the time it takes to make a good animation is well worth the time even if you only learn a few useful things.

Yes, I may add text in Pivot 5.

I agree with Peter. The help file is held rather compact and I didn't have any motivational problems reading it.(And I'm quite the lazy guy.)