Blender 2.5 is out!

[Mikachu]

... well, at least in its 'alpha 0' version.

I just downloaded it, and my first impression is that it seems much more user friendly than previous iterations (even if I was starting to get used to its 'special' UI).

What do you think about it?

[Kojack]

Yay! (Runs off to download, even if it's just the first alpha)

[jacmoe]

It's great.
Hope it's possible to install it side-by-side with 2.49a - it's going to be a pain in the rear to get my scripts updated to Python 3.1.

[Klaim]

Ah you've been fast! I was reading the feature page : http://www.blender.org/development/rele ... ender-250/

That's seem very interesting

[jacmoe]

I really, really like the new Blender!
Very slick - just the way it should be.

[DanielSefton]

I've always been a fanboy of the original Blender interface, but the new interface is really nice. I guess it will encourage more new users to Blender who were afraid to learn the old style.

<rant>
- What happened to ze transform gestures?!
- What's with the 4 "View Numpad" buttons in View with no description of what they are? Edit: But I do like the interpolated view switching, makes it easier when switching between front and side views.
- The all-access Space keyboard shortcut menu is gone?!
- Bezier bevel objects are offset from the bezier curve?
</rant>

Looks like this will take a while to get used to.

[jacmoe]

I miss the SPACE menu too.
Liked that you could just use mouse/keyboard.

[jacmoe]

Ah, I get it!

http://www.blenderguru.com/whered-that-button-go/

'Add Object' is now Shift+A instead of Space.

And a survival video:
http://totallyblended.com/New/?p=722

The only thing I don't like is the splash screen - but if that's what it takes to win over some younger users, I can live with that.

[DanielSefton]

http://www.blenderguru.com/whered-that-button-go/
http://totallyblended.com/New/?p=722

Nice

[Vectrex]

Just remember that half the point of 2.5 (or is it 2.6? ;( ) is that you don't HAVE to do it the 'blender way'. The keys are totally customisable and I for one IMMEDIATELY set left mouse to select

[Kojack]

I found from the command search menu the (trying to remember the exact name...) "duplicate frame into new window" command. I selected it, and ended up with 2 blender windows (I put one on each monitor, maximised). I had different camera views on each. That's pretty cool.

BIG disappointment so far though, no support for my Space Navigator. The previous 3D Connexion blender plugin doesn't work (does nothing in blender 32 bit, crashes blender 64 bit).

Is there any way to stop the damn camera from rolling? This is the only 3d app I've ever used where the camera doesn't have a fixed yaw axis when using the mouse to look around.

[jacmoe]

Alright, thanks for raising the issue: I figured out how to fix it.
Set Orbit Style to Turntable instead of Trackball in Preferences - Input.

[Vectrex]

Is there any way to stop the damn camera from rolling?

Thank christ someone else thinks that's completely pointless and annoying

[jacmoe]

I am very happy that I finally solved it: Turntable Orbit style instead of Trackball Orbit style.
Thanks Kojack!

Turntable works if you're not askew already. If you are, level yourself (numpad 5), and try again.

[Kojack]

Ah, yep, that works (turntable mode stops the camera from rolling). That's one of my major complaints gone.
Now if I can just get my Navigator working, I might actually start learning blender again.

[jacmoe]

Now would be a good time - all tutorials out there would helplessly out of date.

[Kojack]

Don't you mean: "Now would be the worst time - all tutorials out there would helplessly out of date."?

The thought of trying to learn blender without up to date docs or tuts is scary.

[spacegaier]

Don't you mean: "Now would be the worst time - all tutorials out there would helplessly out of date."?

Guess that was a joke ... See the smiley at the end of his post

[xadhoom]

Very nice links jacmoe!
I found the turntable option by the video explanation: Yes I really hate rolling the camera, too!
One think I still don´t understand: Is it possible to actually deselect all objects while being in translate mode? It often happens that I move the object along the screen plane accidently because I clicked into the screen (not the object). Funny thing: The same happens to the guy in the video, too!

xad

[dermont]

I think it's fantastic, the blender developers have done a great job and I really like the fact that the GUI is now fully customisable via python.
Once Python-Ogre is python3 compliant it should be much easier to create a usable open source Ogre scene editor, something that Ogre is sadly lacking at the moment, via Blender/Python-Ogre.

[akem321]

Looks great,
the new BPY API will not be backward compatible,
current Ogre exporter script will break again :/

[lonewolff]

Awesome, I'm downloading now

I have always been a fan of Blender. So, I am very interested in seeing how the new one has turned out