Implement Fly mode (possibly in place of zooming, which would become redundant). That is, Right-mouse drag results in unlimited linear motion forward and backward, and panning speed is not affected by one's position. Many non-convex polyhedra — especially toroids, Leonardo-like models, and non-fully-supported stellations — have complex tunnels, canyons, and spikes. It is very informative to be able to get inside them, looking at features sideways or viewing them from the inside looking outward. Without Fly mode, I cannot find a way to get a close-up view from certain viewing angles.
It also would be very helpful to be able to rotate about the Viewpoint itself, that is, the camera, especially when inside the polyhedron. This would include rolling (which is not the same as Left+Right-drag — the manual is incorrect*), yawing (turning sideways), and pitching (tipping forward or backward). When inside a tunnel or canyon, one could have a look around from a fixed vantage point. Together with Fly mode, one could simulate an ant and walk about inside a Stewart Toroid endlessly!
Whether the center of rotation is the camera or the center of symmetry could be toggled by a
keystroke or menu action.
* That operation instead rotates about a line though the origin that is parallel to the viewing axis.
Better Navigation
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robertw
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Re: Better Navigation
It's a good idea, but I probably won't get it done before the next release. Maybe a minor release after that.
I imagine fly mode and rotate-around-camera mode would go together wouldn't they? One toggle would change both?
There's lots of possibilities, like moving mouse controls forward linear forward motion vs move mouse to change acceleration forward, which would be easier sometimes.
Another cool option would be to pick an item (face, edge, vertex) and make all rotation happen around that, and zoom towards it.
Figuring out the best way to wrangle all these possibilities in a coherent way might take some thought.
I imagine fly mode and rotate-around-camera mode would go together wouldn't they? One toggle would change both?
There's lots of possibilities, like moving mouse controls forward linear forward motion vs move mouse to change acceleration forward, which would be easier sometimes.
Another cool option would be to pick an item (face, edge, vertex) and make all rotation happen around that, and zoom towards it.
Figuring out the best way to wrangle all these possibilities in a coherent way might take some thought.
Re: Better Navigation
My thought is that flying would be on all the time, just as zoom is now. It goes together with panning, as it's the same action but on a different axis. Rotate-around-camera would alternate with rotate-around-center (and with rotate-around-selected-element, if you add that).
My first reaction to changing acceleration via mouse movement is that it would be confusing. I don't think I've ever seen that. Controlling it with mouse speed, though, is something already done on some desktop environments.
I left off mentioning zooming/flying to a spot on the screen rather than straight in as I thought it would be more difficult to implement. But it would save a lot of panning.
My first reaction to changing acceleration via mouse movement is that it would be confusing. I don't think I've ever seen that. Controlling it with mouse speed, though, is something already done on some desktop environments.
I left off mentioning zooming/flying to a spot on the screen rather than straight in as I thought it would be more difficult to implement. But it would save a lot of panning.