Feedback on "Solid/OpenGL/Workbench Mode" Render Settings

[Jorge_Vasquez]

I really like the idea of the “Solid/OpenGL/Workbench Mode” being a faster and more efficient way to work for users that are not as involved in the final look; mostly Modelers,in some cases Animators and maybe people doing simulations, and such.

I also feel being able to render it out in that mode is awesome. One thing I’ve noticed though, in the blender2.8 branch builds is that the Render settings for this mode are being added to the Rendering tab in the Properties Panel, which at first might seem logical, but upon reflection, I think, it creates more problems than it solves by keeping things “consistent”. What do I mean by that?, Well, firstly It creates a disconnect between what you seen in the Viewport and what you get in the render, and there’s no way of previewing the settings currently selected in the Render settings, the only way to see the result is by rendering the image.
And secondly, and I think even more important, it’s duplicating settings that in my opinion are not justified to live in two places.

Wouldn’t it be easier and simpler to understand to have the “Solid/OpenGL/Workbench Mode” just render out an image with the exact same settings selected in the Shading and Overlay popovers (Making the output way more predictable, and flexible, because it would also be super nice to be able to include overlays in an OpenGL render, for instance for rendering out models with wireframes to showcase their topology better.), and letting the Render tab in the Properties (when in OpenGL mode) just host the OpenGL render Settings that now awkwardly live only in the Render >> OpenGL Render Options menu; like the Antialiasing options , Alpha modes, etc.

Let me know what you guys think.

[brecht]

The render settings can be previewed in the viewport by selecting the Rendered display mode, similar to Eevee and Cycles. The idea is for these to be part of the scene, so that they can act as more persistent settings for previsualization of modelling/animation/simulation.

If you enable Solid display mode you can change the settings per 3D viewport to get work done, without affecting what happens when you press F12.

The antialiasing settings are already in the Film tab. We’ll probably remove the OpenGL Render operators and settings from the global Render menu entirely, since you can do the same from each 3D viewport View menu.

[Jorge_Vasquez]

Thanks for taking the time to ask for feedback, and also to respond and clear any misunderstandings.

Blockquote
The render settings can be previewed in the viewport by selecting the Rendered display mode, similar to Eevee and Cycles. The idea is for these to be part of the scene, so that they can act as more persistent settings for previsualization of modelling/animation/simulation.

That makes sense.

Blockquote
The antialiasing settings are already in the Film tab. We’ll probably remove the OpenGL Render operators and settings from the global Render menu entirely, since you can do the same from each 3D viewport View menu.

Ah ! I didn’t see them in the Film tab. Perfect, and I agree that to make it clearer it would make sense to remove the oprions for the Render menu.

Is it posible for render settings to have an option to include the overlays in the render output? Maybe just all or none, mimicking whatever settings are active in the popover, if adding all the granular controls the popover has to the render settings seems redundant.

[pablovazquez]

Good points. We discussed the removal of these operators from the menu with Brecht a few days ago so with this reminder I went ahead and made a few changes in the Render menu.

• Move Display Mode closer to the View Render/Animation since they are related.
• Move Lock Interface last, since it’s its own kind of setting.
• Split the more obscure Render Audio and add ellipsis since it spawns a file browser.
• Shorter labels and icons only for Render actions.

[Jorge_Vasquez]

Great !

Getting rid of more redundant stuff, and also it looks way more concise.