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From: Bill K. <nb...@so...> - 2023-12-30 22:17:02
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Hi again and happy new year! I've updated Tux Paint to offer a new "complexity" (aka "expertise level") setting, which allows Magic tool plugins to respond differently based on the user's setting: novice, beginner, or advanced (the default). Tools can behave differently, or disappear completely, based on this. The simplest example of this is an update I made to the "Clone" (sheep) tool. In 'novice' mode, it's not available at all. I decided that the method of using it, and what exactly it's doing to your picture, are a little confusing -- compared to, for example, painting a rainbow or smuding your picture, which are straightforward, and their effects are obvious. The motivation for this feature was my new 1-, 2-, and 3-point perspective tools; see my previous post, a snippet of which is here: On Mon, Dec 25, 2023 at 12:09:51PM -0800, Bill Kendrick wrote: > > Happy holidays! ICYMI, I've recently added three pairs of new > Magic tools that allow you to draw diagrams using 1-, 2-, and > 3-point perspective, and to adjust the vanishing point(s) for > those three drawing tools. <snip> These three tools actually appear as pairs of tools: one to draw (e.g., "2-Point Draw"), and one to adjust the vanishing point(s) (e.g., "2-Point Select"). Similar to the "Clone" tool, I decided the vanishing point drawing tools, as whole, are probably too complex for some users, so they will not be available in "novice" mode. In "advanced" mode, they appear as they were originally designed. Six tools appear, three to draw, and three to adjust their respective vanishing point(s). In "beginner" mode, ONLY the drawing tools will appear. The vanishing points are fixed, and cannot be edited. Beyond that, though, a fourth drawing tool is made available: another 3-point perspective, but with an alternative set of hard-coded vanishing points. The default vanishing points were set up for drawing from the perspective of looking up from the below; the additional tool has alternative vanishing points, for looking down from above. (Think: looking up at the Eiffel Tower, versus looking down from on top of it.) The command-line and configuration option is called "complexity", and accepts the argument "advanced" (default; useful to override if a system-level config. has set something lower), "beginner", and "novice". I currently cannot think of a reason to add further granularity. I also haven't yet put much thought into other tools that may benefit from offering different behavior in "beginner" or "novice" modes, but I'm open to suggestions! The man page, bash tab completion, OPTIONS docs, Tux Paint Config. (and its own docs), and the various Magic tool doc pages for the affected tools have all been updated to reflect these changes. Thanks as always for everyone's help with the project, and here's to a healthy and prosperous 2024! -bill! |
