[3ds Max Plugin] Radially - pie menu editor for 3ds Max
node
Hello!
I made a plugin for 3ds Max - Radially.
It is a pie menu editor for 3ds max that can handle up to 12 3ds Max actions actions per pie menu. Here is a link to the demonstration video. Radially is still in active development, but its most valuable features are already implemented and I am ready to get some feedback on it.There is more info available on the Gumroad page of the product, so if you are interested - check it out!
Replies
Thank you for your reply! The thing is, you don't need to purchase new license to continue to use Radially, you only need new license in case you want to get new updates, get support for future versions of 3ds Max, etc., after a year of use. You can freely use Radially for the lifetime with only one license, but only with one year of updates.
The only maintenance I guess you will be doing (?) is to compile the plugin for future version of Max and some feature updates that isn't implemented yet within the first year.
By removing the maintenance fee, for us the user will be more confident buying your product since we know it will be compatible with any version of max as long as the product still alive.
just checked your video and from what it shows you will need a graphical (drag&drop) interface for users to create those pies that comes with a quick-test functionality so you can see right away what you are creating. also the ability to store and reload and transfer those pies between installs.
are the pies hierarchical at all? as in can you create links to sub menu's to jump between pies? and can you trigger functionality 'blind' by making a gesture/hotkey+stroke and finishing before the pie pops up? that's a big one with maya, mudbox, wherever these are common.
on screen the pies seem really far apart in your demo. medium size buttons with rather small text and they seem to overlap the command panel, too if you fire them too close to the border.
these should not display outside the viewport or at the very least have some sort of obvious border when they overlay other GUI items. and you'll want to be able to set size and distance from center to your liking.
layout -wise the maya marking menu makes more sense to me: fewer actions prominently displayed in a star pattern and then a block of secondary functions below. personally i'd never configure more than four primary ones so i can fire off 'blind'. if the whole point behind these menus is to hit them quickly for frequently-used functionality then you'll not want 12 icons to pick from.
lastly i don't know if max supports that but other apps allow you to e.g. incorporate sliders, drop-downs and other UI elements into pie menus. would be neat i think.
perhaps check out the blender addon 'pie menu editor' for some inspiration. i have made use of that to create basically a context sensitive screen overlay similar to the maya hotbox where i have context switches and sliders for sculpt brushes, material settings and whatnot - but by default it's for creating pie menus similar to yours.
it's extremely powerful and a reference for what these tools should be able to do IMO.
here's a quick rundown with example screens to flick through - no need to listen to the review as such:
also check out this one, neatly designed. more like what i'm using:
For me personally I divide my custom quad and pie-menu in 2 different way;
Quad menu,- frequent modifier list, custom script that required to bring UI interaction and a toggle state (so I can see whether it's on or off)
Pie menu,- Viewport view (top/ bottom/ etc), viewport shading (shaded/ flat, wires on-off/ etc), align component (align left/ right/ etc) and kinda bonus addition thing I got a pie menu for boolean ops as well.
So the idea is that Quad is for things that required further actions (setting up properties) and Pie is for an instant action once you flick it'll happen right away.
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I do agree about Radially looks too big distant wise from one button to another and 12 menu is kinda too much for action I mentioned above, 8 should be the sweet spot where you can be sure to flick in 8, 45deg directions without having to read the menu text.
"Radially needs an active Internet connection due to license verification mechanisms."
It's just one-time verification or Internet connection needs to be permanent?
Hi! It is a one-time verification at the each start of 3ds Max.
So, if I start 3ds Max without Internet connection, Radially will be unavailable?
Unfortunately, yes.
Actually, I plan to disable license verification on startup in the near future, so if anyone is interested - feel free to follow me on Gumroad for the updates.
Good to hear that!
Looking forward to context-based menus.
And will be good to add option for change pie menus to more compact Maya-style.
Yeah, compact pie menu layout was introduced in 1.1.0 update, I just didn't update the video and the thumbnail...
It looks like this now, menu reduced in size by half overall:
Cool. One more question: is it possible to change pie menu radius to more tight?
Hm, even more tight? Right now this isn't possible, but I'll think of that.
If you need more info, i can send a gif
Cheers
Hi!
If I understand it right, you are trying to click on the menu items on the pie. The plugin doesn't work that way, it just wants you to hover over the item and let go your shortcut key, then it'll execute the action.
My bad, thanks for the help.
Looking forward to context-based menus, and It would be really great to make the circle a bit tighter (or to have an opportunity to set radius manually)
I agree with @Br0ken more tight radius will be more comfortable, less travel distance from center to the button. I prefer MODO's pie menu. If you will provide control for the radius, I'm pretty sure I'll buy it.
I'll see what I can do about that.
Just for everyone to know: you don't need to hover the actual button, you just need to move the cursor a little bit in the direction of desired button. The said travel distance is very low even now, it's just the visual representation that makes it look cumbersome.