As this isn’t really the intended scope of Nomad, this list is definitely more of a “hey maybe think about these things while making long-term plans for the app”, but:
Nomad’s ease of use, performance, and gorgeous rendering engine make it a really great tool for assembling objects/scenes out of existing models/parts (a.k.a. kitbashing). I know there are some users already doing a lot of this in Nomad, and I think it’s a great way to bring in new users that might be intimidated by sculpting.
The insert mesh tool has been a really great addition for this sort of thing, and I think there are some additional changes that could be really beneficial.
I know some of this has already been requested (and please forgive me if I suggest something that already exists), but I figured I’d include it here with some notes on how it would be useful for kitbashing in particular.
- Object snapping - insert mesh can largely be used as a workaround for this, but being able to set the transform pivot for an object and snap/move it along the surface of another object would be really useful and a bit more streamlined than just inserting a new cloned copy and rotating it as needed.
- Grid snapping - similarly, being able to set the pivot of an object, then snap it to a customizable grid with grid options for all three axes, would be really useful for aligning/placing parts that don’t necessarily need to be snapped to a surface.
- Multiple savable snap/pivot points - this is much more of a “nice to have” to go along with object packs below, but having pre-set snap points that can be easily switched between (rather than having to fiddle with the pivot gizmo) would be really nice.
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Nine-slice scaling (or something with similar results) - This one I’m not sure how to implement, and honestly, I don’t think it’s a huge need, just kind of wishful thinking. If I have a basic “window” part or something, and want to adjust its size, but not necessarily its proportions (say, I want to make the whole thing wider without making the frame wider), doing so in Nomad is a bit tricky.
- I think a “freeze” option might work for this. That is, basically the mask tool, but instead of entirely disabling modifications to specified vertices, frozen vertices would essentially be treated as a single vertex (can be moved/sculpted, but not relative to each other) during sculpt/transform operations. For this to work as a substitute for 9-slice scaling, though, unconnected frozen areas would have to be treated as separate “groups”.
- Really, a freeze tool like this would be useful for a lot of operations in Nomad.
- Quicker access to insertable meshes, including some kind of search/filtering - I know this has been requested. I’m just throwing it in here for completeness. Being able to have an organized/searchable library of objects would be incredible
- Support for some kind of object pack file for easy sharing (or sale) - even if it’s just a glorified ZIP, being able to download a single-file pack of objects for insertion would be amazing. Especially if they can have saved snap points the user can easily select from.
- Bucket fill option for paint (or for masking) - being able to fill an area of one color with another color would allow for easy palette swaps (and would be generally useful for sculpting/painting outside of kitbashing)
- Color adjustments - a tool for adjusting hue/saturation/brightness of existing mesh colors would be generally useful
I also think it would be useful to have a tool to easily make one object parallel with another, but I have no idea how that would work out, given how many faces we’re usually dealing with.
Anyway, sorry for the huge list. Just some things I’ve been considering and wanted to throw out there.
