Idea - Prevent Stealth Retexturing

[Geep]

Below, I'll be describing what I see as a problem, in the form of a draft bug report. But perhaps there is some compelling reason to keep the existing behavior? So comment.

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Feature request: Prevent stealth retexturing.

When you select a surface with Ctrl-Shift-LMB, you give it a blue dot. If you then paste or apply a new texture (e.g., from the Texture Browser), that new texture appears where expected. But you may have, without realizing it, retextured all other surfaces of any objects you had left selected. Typical problem cases:

1. The blue-dot surface belongs to an object that you left selected. So all surfaces are retextured. If it’s a wall, you may not immediately realize that the far side and edges have changed.
2. The blue-dot surface belong to a primitive component of a multi-part entity, and some other primitive component, perhaps out of sight, is still selected. So you change both the blue-dot surface and all surfaces of that other component.

Discussion:

I would like this to work, at paste time, just like Ctrl-MMB does. Namely, given a particular surface designated, ignore any object selection, and just paste to that surface.

More specifically, if a blue-dot surface exists, paste/apply just to that. If it doesn’t, and an object selection exists, paste to all its surfaces.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Geep
typo

[demagogue]

So a priority rule? Makes sense to me to some extent.

The thing is when you're texturing a lot of surfaces with the same texture at the same time, some brushes you may want to texture the whole brush (select) and some you want to texture only one surface. How about that situation? (...if I understand your proposal and what DR is doing correctly.)

I don't remember this being a problem for me because I instinctively clear all selections in situations like this.

[Geep]

13 hours ago, demagogue said:

So a priority rule? Makes sense to me to some extent.

The thing is when you're texturing a lot of surfaces with the same texture at the same time, some brushes you may want to texture the whole brush (select) and some you want to texture only one surface. How about that situation? (...if I understand your proposal and what DR is doing correctly.)
 

Under the proposal, when you want to texture the whole selected brush, you'd just not have any specific surface anywhere selected with a blue-dot. So you are correct, what you describe would require two separate "apply" passes of texture, as opposed to one currently. That is the trade-off to prevent stealth retexturing.

(I thought about proposing a popup dialog that would ask you what you wanted to do if both a brush and a surface were selected and you tried to apply a texture. Seemed a bit much, tho.)

Quote

I don't remember this being a problem for me because I instinctively clear all selections in situations like this.

Maybe you've been bitten by stealth retexturing in the distant past, and developed the appropriate defense? I'm not so far along that it's instinctive.

[Geep]

To @Destined point, here are some alternative ideas that strive to prevent stealth retexturing while allowing one-pass retexturing. When there is already something selected (i.e., object(s) including primitive(s)) and you try to select the FIRST blue-dot surface...

1) It comes up with a popup dialog, either:

- "Reminder: Clear the existing object selection if you don't intend all those surfaces to be retextured too."

- "Clear the existing object selection before continuing (if you don't intend all those surfaces to be retextured too)?" Yes/No

Additional blue-dot surface selection would not trigger this warning; nor would selecting additional objects while blue-dot surfaces are active.

2) The preexisting selection is quietly auto-cleared. But nothing would prevent selecting additional objects while blue-dot surfaces are active.

3) Trying to set a blue-dot surface when there's a preexisting object selection is quietly ignored. But nothing would prevent selecting additional blue-dots and objects while blue-dots are active.

I don't know, (2) and (3) might be seen as mysterious/perceived-as-bug/aggravating.

[demagogue]

I think a more general statement would be better, since UI shouldn't presume your intention, something like "X surfaces are selected for retexture.", which will have more utility than just a notice, but it's also a notice.

[Geep]

I'd be concerned that giving an actual count of surfaces just adds detail that confuses. (Typical values would be  6 or 7, but could easily be higher.). And the pre-existing surfaces were implicitly selected, not explicitly

How about, refining case (1), this message -

"One or more objects are already selected, ready to completely retexture" [OK]

[Geep]

Bug report (new feature request) now filed

https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=5903