Can you post a screenshot of your model? To reset the normals of your mesh it should be easy, just select the edit normals modifier, press 1 on your keyboard (assuming you're not using a different hotkey for selecting the normals) and click the reset button.
I feel like that will vary a lot depending on the situation. Sometimes I find myself thinking a certain operation would be a lot easier if I just hardened an edge selection, whereas some other times making a face selection would be preferable.
Nice video. The little lock icon at the top-right of the Inspector is a godsend when you're selecting other stuff, btw. Should save you having to re-select your mesh each time you want to throw a new normal map on it.
Are you noticing the area around the lasso? One side of the lasso selection should have a black shadow coming off of it, that's the side that's removed. The order you draw the selection determines what side the shadow is on(top to bottom vs. bottom to top, etc.)
Unity will end up making game objects for everything you export to FBX and it'll just create empty ones for stuff that's controllers or rigging helpers. I'd just export the mesh itself and the bones that it's weighted to. Just select 'em and Export Selected.
I think maya 2011 was the last version with FBIK and is now fully replaced by HIK. You can try to bake down your animation on the skeleton the select the hips right click on translate z and x in the Channel Box and press "mute selected".
It allows you to select split vertex separately, like selecting independent vertex normals, or UVs in the 3D view, can also be used to apply different vertex colours to one vertex (but there are usually easier ways to go about this)... I never use it. :)
Nope. But you can select backfacing UVs, select overlapping UVs, show edge distortion, etc. http://docs.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/13/ENU/Autodesk%203ds%20Max%202011%20Help/index.html?url=./files/WSf742dab04106313366400bf6112a1cea097-7eb9.htm,topicNumber=d0e90729
Running the script even once made it almost the same as what my issue was with the relative transform thingy. I basically want to select a couple of Vertices.. scale that down by x amount. Select another group of vertices and scale that group with the same amount.
as you are folllow that tutorial you'll get to 'Select the plane called 'Side' and apply the material, also click the checkered square to 'Show map in Viewport':' instead of just turning it on, hold it down and select the second option then turn it on. thats what improves the quality