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THIS RELEASE IS FOR VERSION 2.79(official) and higher. Not the bevel build yet however, I do look forward to it and recommend trying it.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the release of Hard Ops 093 Neptunium.

This version is a small update with a few enhancements to catch users up to 2.79. With 2.8 around the corner we are looking to the future of what Hard Ops could become. Even while working full time on historical re-enactments Hard Ops still plays an integral role in my life even if its less robots and more cannons for the time being. So without further ado lets get into the update.

Gumroad customers can log into their account on the site and access the sales page in order to get the update. The latest file is always at the top.

BlenderMarket customers just have to log in and it should be under My Account.

 

Installation –

This guide has always been the recommended method. Using install from file can be risky so it is not recommended.

After installation simply enable it in preferences (ctrl +alt + u).

And with no error you are good to go.

Whats New? –

Cut In Operator –

This operator is similar to the boolean subtract option except that it cuts and is done. Currently there is not transition to wire on the cut in mode but this may be expanded in the future.

To properly show this I will duplicate my default cube and change the shading to wire. Otherwise in solid it can’t be shown well.

And with both selected I will just use the Q menu option for cut in that is in the two-object boolean submenu.

This option will also csharp if present after the operation as shown above.

This was created with intention on allowing for csharp objects to be cut into each other as well so there is additional depth that goes beyond the usual boolean operation.

In the above example you might be able to notice that the bevel from the csharp didn’t get cut into the object and was allowed to translate as a marked sharp to the prime object. This comes in handy for operations requiring fitting of objects. I recommend testing it out to find if it can fit in your workflow.

Cut In Expanded –

I use cut in as a way to also deal with shape cutters quickly. Below I have added a few more examples.

So here I’ll set things up.

And basically using this wire cylinder I can quickly snap and cut to quickly get holes on the shape.

 

Adaptive Bevel Width –

This one was added by Machin3 at the last moment for this release who also happened to have updated Decal Machine to version 1.4 allowing for decals to be exported everywhere which is always exciting to hear.

This tool is best shown visually.

This is bwidth by default. There is also a help option that can be brought up with H on all modals.

Pressing A will enable adaptive bevel width.

I suspect this tool will work good for workflows involving using the bevel for blocking and scale. I am not rolling the mouse in the above example. It is adjusting the segments according to the width dynamically. I plan to do video content explaining it in depth as well however I believe this gives an idea of what to expect.

Material Helper Glitch –

This one was personal but quite annoying.

In the Hard Ops 8/9 material helper if you assigned a new material, it would not be selected like the default blender material panel.

Expected and typical behaviors is a stickler of mine so it with great pleasure that proxe has managed to solve it.

Proxe has been a major part of this release as has AR and Machine. It’s the teamwork that keeps it going.

 

Clean Mesh Update –

Clean mesh was something that I felt had more of a future than the initial implementation. Clean mesh did it’s job well but it showed no mercy.

In this quick example I’ll make something simple.

So at the top of it I added some geo just for kicks.

Here is the default behavior of clean mesh. Which also only worked in object mode which made it limited but sometimes useful.

Having all your geometry dissolved isn’t the best outcome so with tweaks it now has flexibility that has optimized it for hard surface needs of the 21st century modeller.

Since my ssharpen is marking seams on top of sharps + bweight. I can select regions in edit mode with L.

Even making this gif impressed me. Proxe as really created a very smart and versataile mesh cleaner that can work from edit mode now. This is something worth experimenting with and the options for mesh visible and selected you can find a way to clean up specific areas for additional booling.

If you aren’t familial with the ctrl + ~ helper it is a favorite of mine for fullscreen working. The mesh clean options are there for setting prior to tool usage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relink –

Relink has been floating around for a minute without a proper way to introduce it or integrate it’s workflow to the one we have used up until now. But in short. Group Mirroring. But not even group just group… based?

In the above example I used automirror to split it quickly but using relink as a mirror is different than using a mirror modifier. This is due to the other side now being a group instance so no clipping or merge like youre used to with mirror. I have been using this on larger projects to share large group pro assets like arms and boots. This also works on meshes. This is something I recommend testing for yourself but if you use group pro this will come in handy. Just don’t ever edit the group instance. Sounds silly but I did it once. Never again…

This tool is hard to explain in use however it is for the larger of workflows. I sometimes have to lie in my viewport to keep the navigation fluid. Larger objects can turn a PC into a beeping mess.

Final Notes –

Fun Fact everytime we try to make “HOPS mode” a new tool is made. It just can’t happen. Because of that I feel the helper is the next best thing to keeping my UI less workflow moving forward. I do hope everyone tries that Bevel build I mentioned at the beginning. I hope that someday that will also integrate with our work but it would be a cycles only thing so more limiting in that regard. You know me I’m cycles for life but evee is on the horizon. I would love a realtime experience.

So back to HOPS mode. It didn’t work again haha so now we are working on this upcoming thing that HOPS customers will be hearing about first once it’s stable.

So hopefully soon on that. There’s also an easter egg in HOPS that is unfinished and possibly dangerous so I won’t get into that but as of this posting

Hard Ops 0093: Neptunium is live.

So until next time. That is all.

support: masterxeon1001@gmail.com

Also BoxCutter. Updates soon.

 

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