Hi there,
I’ve been using the UE4 editor for quite some time now, and even though I really like the workflow there are a couple of things that would make working with it a whole lot easier. I’ll start with listing a few things that I consider to be bugs, and then finish off with some suggested improvements.
Bugs:
Bug 1.
Place three static meshes in the scene. Let’s call the A, B and C.
Rotate mesh A with 90 degrees along the Z-axis.
Rotate mesh B with 90 degrees along the Y-axis.
Select the three objects by holding down Ctrl and selecting them in the order C, B and last A.
Set the transform gizmo to local space.
Hold down alt and drag the Y-axis arrow in the transform gizmo to make a copy of the three objects. As soon as you start dragging the transform gizmo will move to a different object in the group, making the whole group move in an undesired direction.
Bug 2.
In the top view (orthographic) you can drag select with RMB+drag, and also add to the selection with Ctrl+RMB+drag.
But you cannot hold Ctrl+RMB+drag to deselect (which should work according to the documentation). This will instead move, scale or rotate the selected objects, depending on which transform mode you are in. If this would work properly, I would be using the orthographic view a whole lot more than I currently do.
Bug 3.
I’m not sure how to reproduce this, but it happens quite regularly. I select an object and move it with a position grid snap value of 1. I grab let’s say the X-arrow in the transform gizmo and start dragging. When I release the mouse button, whatever object that’s below the cursor will be selected instead of the object I was moving. If I hit Ctrl+Z to undo the new selection, it will undo both the new selection and the movement of the object. However, If I manage to position the cursor over the arrow on the transform gizmo that I’m dragging, and release the mouse button there, it won’t select a new object.
Suggested improvements:
Suggestion 1.
In the top view (orthographic) there is a short delay from when you start RMB+drag until the selection box appears, making it more difficult than necessary to select the things you want to select.
Suggestion 2.
I’m not sure how other people use scaling in the editor, but I would suggest that the “Preserve non-uniform scale” setting should be on by default. I’ve had a lot of trouble with this and thought that it was either a bug or just the way the editor was intended to work, so I never even searched for a setting that would fix it.
Suggestion 3.
It would be very useful to be able to select multiple objects, and then be able transform them (move, rotate, scale) either through their individual local axis, as a group with a world-aligned axis, or through the axis of the last selected object (current implementation).
- For example, if I select three objects and choose Local axis then each individual object would move, rotate or scale along its local axis and pivot.
- If I choose World axis, there would be a single world-aligned pivot centered in the middle of the selected objects.
- If I choose Last selected object, it would work as the current implementation.
Suggestion 4.
You can currently make copies of objects by holding alt and moving or rotating the object, but not by scaling. It would be nice to also be able to make copies with scaling.
Suggestion 5.
In the orthographic view, the panning has some kind of slight acceleration to it. It makes working in that view feel a bit floaty and awkward in comparison to the normal 3d view. It’s like with the acceleration of the mouse cursor on MacOS - it’s fine when you get used to it, just like Mac users can get used to mouse cursors on PC. But when you have both accelerated and non-accelerated movement inside the same editor you have to get used to it over and over.
That’s all I have for now. Thanks for making such a great engine!