Long list of suggestion and gripes

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9e7c2utr
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Joined:Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:12 am
Long list of suggestion and gripes

Post by 9e7c2utr » Tue Mar 07, 2017 9:34 am

Let me start with appreciation how this can be a very good software.
And possibly my main in the future. But right now, it's still lacking.

There is a Goldilocks zone between SAI and CLIP where you get all of functionality, performance, small footprint. And Paintstorm is almost within the zone... almost. While SAI excel in performance and its extremely tiny footprint, it lacks functionality. CLIP on the other hand have superb functionality but horribly bloated and cluttered.

(The two examples are what actually works for me in production flow. Open canvas, Krita, Gimp, and other stuffs are joke. Sure there are people using that but if you start tinker with it too much, it breaks. Which is never a case for SAI.)

Now let's get down to what I want to see in Paintstorm.
(I rather use the bloated CLIP right now because of performance issue. I can only list few things I already tested. I am happy to pay 60 usd for something that got all 3 of the core necessities above. Feature-rich, Fast, Small)

UI
  • Remove interface animation / transition
    Or option to disable it, there is no practical use whatsoever and rather distracting.
  • A better way to define min / max value of brush
    Not ONE-SLIDER-FIT-ALL. Numeric input is a big help.
  • Top menu bar mouse action
    Click once and hover to open other menu like normal Windows explorer or PS and not having to click again to change menu.
  • Top menu context visual
    Gradient background... and that corner... really? I don't know that is appealing to the demographic.
  • Sharper UI text
    Windows Clear-type text, sub-pixel contrast or whatever that's sharper than it is now.
  • Grid snap on custom UI panel
    Who wouldn't love that?
System
  • Portable feature
    Option to have all settings file contained within installed folder (with exception to cache). CLIP spray both core files, user preference files all over the system disk. Please don't be like them. SAI1 can be stored on USB drive and carry around, ready to deploy with as low as 2 system files manually replace (in %appdata%).
  • Human-readable settings file
    This is not necessary as long as I know what files do exactly what.
Function
  • Swap color with transparent
    Available in SAI and CLIP. To use current brush temporary as eraser that works with paint, mask, selection brush.

    I didn't see eraser mode... scratch that.
  • Plug-ins for non-essential features
    Not hard-coded something in but put it in optional download and ability to enable / disable them to optimize performance.
  • Double-tap shortcut
    Those fancy shortcut like detailed simulation or 3d software please :)
  • Layer management
    Someone already suggested this.
  • Panel resize snapping
    Someone already suggested this.
Performance
  • ** A way to cure periodically frame-drop / stutter
    Probably only my machine. I see no unusual spike in resource consumption.
  • Clean download
    An optional version that comes with no brush preset, gradient preset, tool preset or anything that user can create on their own. It's tedious to remove what I will never use to organize my workspace.
Considering how slow SAI2 development is (Like 5 years already?), The unorthodox nature of CLIP, and those open-source people acting like their software are so awesome... I rather put my hope in Paintstorm. Right now the only thing I have trouble with is the stuttering that shows up every 30 seconds or so. I want to get it out of the way so I can test everything smoothly. The 30 launches trial will probably run out even before I know what the problem is, so... is there a key for review purpose or something like that??

edit: update a few items
Last edited by 9e7c2utr on Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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support
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Re: Long list of suggestion and gripes

Post by support » Thu Mar 09, 2017 2:24 pm

Thank you for suggestions. I've saved several new.
What about main thing - performance, the next release will be with new GPU engine. Also, UI will be changed too (now without start animation :) )
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vezinho
Posts:42
Joined:Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:51 am

Re: Long list of suggestion and gripes

Post by vezinho » Thu Mar 09, 2017 3:41 pm

support wrote:Thank you for suggestions. I've saved several new.
What about main thing - performance, the next release will be with new GPU engine. Also, UI will be changed too (now without start animation :) )
Great news !!! You ROCK !!
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EpicReator
Posts:12
Joined:Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:18 pm

Re: Long list of suggestion and gripes

Post by EpicReator » Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:13 am

Sounds perfect :o You guys do a good job, until now every update has made paintstorm more awesome :D and i can't wait to see what the future brings us. Performance is an important thing to finish now :shock: because it will make photoshop useless or not so necessary anymore.
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