Dear Gaea team,
I hope this message finds you well. I recently started using Gaea and wanted to share my experience with the software so far. After watching several YouTube videos on Gaea to Unreal Engine workflows, I decided to give it a try. Two weeks ago, I purchased the professional edition with the goal of creating 8K terrains for UE. These past two weeks have been quite busy as I dedicated my time to learning the software. I read through the website, followed various tutorials, and experimented with different features by creating one terrain using each node at least one time during the creation process (almost all nodes are used in the final result, except when there was some sort of conflict (e.g. Lake and sea).
I must say, I am quite pleased with the results I have achieved using Gaea 1.3.2.7 and UE 5.2.1. The Gaea engine is truly extraordinary - it's fast and handles complex wiring seamlessly. So, kudos to your team for developing such a fantastic tool. Please keep up the good work!
While I appreciate the functionality of the Gaea IDE, I believe there are areas that could benefit from improvement. The current layout and accessibility of certain elements disrupt the creation workflow. As a user with a large screen, I find myself constantly moving my eyes, head, and mouse back and forth across the interface. To address this issue, I have compiled a wishlist of enhancements that I believe would greatly improve productivity and usability:
1. Provide the capability to detach all pins from a node through the context menu and via a shortcut key (e.g., "Z key" similar to World Machine).
2. Allow the wire to be detached from a pin by using CTRL+LMB on the pin.
3. Enable ALT+LMB on a pin to preview the mask, preferably in a contextual transient popup window rather than just under the 2D viewport.
4. Implement a shortcut key to toggle for Show Raw Data and also one for the enhanced view of the 2D viewport. The enhanced view should be enabled by default, as working with masks is crucial, it must manually be turned on most of the time.
5. When using the Transform node, enable setting the X/Y position on the 2D viewport when using the pen also on the 2D viewport. Currently, it only works on the main viewport and is inconveniently positioned far to the left when the 2D viewport is activated.
6. Provide the capability to lock the pen in ON position (e.g. by dbl clicking on the icon) so that elements can be repositioned without needing to reactivate the pen.
7. When using the Microincrements toolbar on a slider, ensure that the toolbar does not disappear until the mouse is moved out of it instead of a timeout. This will prevent frustration when trying to adjust a property by one increment and accidentally clicking on the underlying value bar due to the Microincrements toolbar disappearing.
8. Allow scrolling through the tabs of the graph using the mouse wheel, making it easier to access tabs that are not currently visible on the screen.
9. Introduce a shortcut key to show the New Graph menu.
10. When pasting a copied or duplicating node, ensure that it drops at the mouse location.
11. When multiple nodes are selected for duplication, automatically pre-select all pasted nodes so they can be immediately moved together.
12. Enable copy/paste of nodes between Graphs.
13. Make quick documentation hints available on mouseover of a node or its pins.
14. Add an icon to indicate that a note has been added to a node (e.g., a small post-it in the lower right corner, aligned with other symbols). The note content should be displayed in an info bubble as well as in the actual lower left corner.
15. Allow drawing a group box around nodes using CTRL+G. The group box should have a title, a description text visible inside the group box near the top, and a customizable background color.
16. Implement zooming and panning in the 2D viewport when editing a mask. Also, shift-click should remove the masked area under the cursor (the toggle button at the top is not convenient). CTRL+ Mouse Weel should increase/decrease the selection area of the cursor and the current slider should be wider. The background of the toolbar in the 2D viewport of the mask edit should be darkened (sometimes we can't see some part of it because of the underlying color of the map)
17. Provide a convenient way to build and render the entire project, such as a Final Node or a hotkey (e.g., CTRL+B like most IDEs) to build and render
18. Enable double-clicking on the label name of a portal to navigate to its source. Additionally, pressing Ctrl+Esc should allow users to navigate back to the calling location.
19. Implement the capability to double-click on the label name of a portal to navigate to its destination. If there is a single instance, it should navigate directly. However, if there are multiple possible destinations, display a menu listing all the instances for easy selection.
20. Introduce a small indicator, such as a colored pixel, on a node to indicate the current display mode (e.g., Mask or Terrain). This visual cue will help users quickly identify the active mode.
21. Enhance the user interface by enabling the undocking of each section. This capability will allow users to detach and move individual UI sections to desired locations, providing more flexibility and customization options.
22. Provide the ability to open multiple and different property windows simultaneously. Many fine-tuning tasks require adjustments to multiple nodes that work together, and having separate property windows for each node will streamline the workflow.
23. Support multiscreen setups by allowing users to undock UI sections and place them on additional screens. Additionally, provide the option to duplicate the viewport on another screen, enhancing the overall usability for users with multiple displays.
24. Implement a feature to collapse multiple nodes into a single node. While portals are useful, there are instances where a more compact representation is desirable. This collapsed node should automatically create input and output pins that match the incoming and outgoing wiring connections. The ability to expand such nodes should also be available.
25. Adjust sliders to have the value of 100% positioned in the center. Currently, sliders often start at the leftmost position, making it inconvenient for users who frequently use lower values. The same adjustment should be made for the power of the mask node.
26. Introduce the capability to display the post-process stack as a contextual tool pop-up menu when right-clicking on a node. This feature, like the one in MS Word, will provide convenient access to post-process options and streamline the workflow for users.
27. Enable tab navigation to move between editable values under the Property tab. Pressing the tab key should allow users to easily navigate to the next editable value, especially when adjusting paired values like X and Y positions. This enhancement will improve efficiency during value editing.
28. Introduce the ability to pin specific graph tabs for easy access. For example, users can designate certain tabs (e.g., Construction, Post, and Color graphs) as pinned tabs that remain fixed on the left side of the list of tabs. This feature will help users maintain their preferred workflow and quickly switch between important graphs without relying solely on the "Add to favorites" feature.
29. Enable chaining multiple edits of a value in the property panel. Users often need to try out different values to find the optimal setting. When pressing Enter after editing a value, the property field should remain in edit mode, allowing users to directly type a new value without the need to click on the text field each time.
30. Provide the capability in the property panel to write the output of a node marked for export to disk. This functionality is necessary to update and save adjusted masks to disk, ensuring that the changes are reflected in the exported files.
31. Prioritize completing the documentation to provide comprehensive and accurate information. Consider making a Wiki available to encourage community contributions and help from users who are willing to contribute their knowledge and experiences. Address any instances of placeholder text, such as Lorem Ipsum, on the official documentation website to maintain professionalism and provide users with helpful resources.
32. Color code the different types of Pin (height and mask)
Irritating Bugs:
1. Resolve the issue where the Refresh function intermittently fails to work. Users should not have to close and reopen the application to refresh it properly.
2. Address the problem where some nodes appear red without any accompanying error message. Provide clear error messages or indicators to help users identify and resolve issues with nodes.
3. Fix the bug that causes the application to crash when clicking on a tab. Ensure that tab interactions are handled correctly and do not lead to unexpected crashes.
4. Rectify the issue where graphs are not initially visible after opening the application. Users should not have to manually zoom or adjust settings to view their graphs upon launching the application.
5. Improve the auto layout feature to address the reported issues such as nodes overlapping and the tree structure not being followed correctly. The algorithm should be enhanced to provide a more intuitive and accurate layout of nodes, reducing the need for users to manually rearrange their work after unintentional changes.
6. Enhance the undo functionality to undo actions in a single step. For example, when dropping a node while holding shift to connect all pins, undoing the action should revert all the pins' connections with one click, rather than requiring users to click individually on each reconnected pin.
7. Ensure that the folder name in the Build Destination accurately matches the export resolution, particularly when using the [Resolution] parameter. When exporting to Unreal Engine with a resolution of 4033, the folder name should reflect this resolution (4096 in the provided example) to avoid confusion and maintain consistency.
8. Ensure the number at the right of the name of the favorite is called with the same keyboard key.
9. When using a favorite, the related tab should become visible in the tab list (not currently occurring if the project contains a lot of tabs and the target one is not already visible on screen)
10 The Pan setting under the navigation preferences is not effective in the Graph editor (the selected setting only works in the viewport)
Perhaps I should have created one post for every idea and bug, but I wasn't aware of this community before today. Will do it next timeā¦
Hope this help, and keep up the good work!