It's time again for the Dev Diary...I keep neglecting this beautiful thread!
After long last I finally looked into layer modes again and figure out my stupidity with "multiply". I accidentally inverse multiplied the alpha as well, which was the root of all evil. On top of that I totally ignored that in the actual merge process, which is shockingly near irresponsible and shameful.
But here we go...it's all good now...almost at least.
The next big thing are different merge methods as well as more blending modes, of course. While I am at that I should finally hook up a scroll bar to the layers, even though layers are really not the strong suit of Verve thus far.
In reality that's not too shocking, because who has layers on an actual oil painting or the likes. That's the challenge there to come up with an elegant way of combining the digital privileges to traditional expectations. But I shall think of various solutions or options for that matter.
All that reminds me of the big mask matter, which I should eventually tackle as well. Verve sits on things I know by heart, aka fluids and shaders (by now), but has its head way up in the universe of things I've never done before. That's the curse and the beauty of it. All I can ask you for is to bare with me, bring some patience and forgive my frequent updates.
The virus killer madness may never end, although it seems like many have come to cope with it somehow. Maybe at some point I will try to figure out how to make a common installer, even if that might be a silly inflation of the file size, but at such small sizes that probably won't matter anyway. I'm just silly that way!
I'm having some joy in making the forum a bit nicer, too, which is yet another hat I'm wearing. I don't mind it at all, but I'm a little worried about the long run, because I would feel a lot safer, if a webmaster other than myself would eventually make sure this thing keeps running, if I run out of steam or should focus more on the development of Verve in the time I have for it. When I look at Roberto on CGSociety's Daily Sketch Forum, I'm in awe at his consistency, even if it does seem to overwhelm him every now and then. His dedication is exemplary, really. Kudos and my admiration!
Maybe at some point I will make a "todo" list, just to get an overview of all the things I'm doing and seek praise and adoration for my unstoppable commitment ...eh... or seek punishment for my insane dedication whilst hurling myself into a bared, hopeless confusion... one of those things.
Hmmm, yeah, let's do that:
The interface- a proper font
- floating interface sections, normed for easy customization, collapse/expand, labels, resizing (oh god!)
- activation logic for overlapping interface elements
- all remaining gadget types: pop up menu, sliders, mini sliders, numeric entry, selectors, generic areas for text, images or the likes
- various specialized gadgets (color pallet, light control, brush preview, brush alpha editing/preview...loads of things)
- potentially replacing all windows standards for file IO and such... *potentially!
The Canvas- canvas texture logic for brush-paint-canvas interaction
- canvas creation or selection
- layer to canvas logic...as it would be silly, if any layer above another would only see the canvas and not the paint below, for example
- fluid on canvas interaction (which crosses over into the "todo" for the fluids.)
The Fluids- proper dispersion
- proper absorption
- recognition of underlying irregularities, aka canvas and paint buildup
- more elegant mixing and drying behaviors, recognizing the state of the materials (how dry is the existing paint) onto which one paints.
The Guides- various different types of grids and guides
- snapping to guides
- editing display properties of them (color, blending, fading...)
- organizing them for saving/loading individual guides or a bundle of them
- label guides ...oh dear, so much stuff
- crazy extra guides that will remain a surprise!
Oh crap, this is a lot of stuff!
But we have time, don't we!
I don't even want to know right now what all of you will add to that list, haha, but in all fairness, the above is just from the top of my head...so...wait, what on earth is fair about that?