Hi all,
I saw this thread and wanted to add my opinion. As a long time TVPaint user, these little changes to the software are things that I find really frustrating and trip me up. I understand the need to help students and new users get into the software quicker and ease the learning curve of the software. The more people who use it the better for everyone! But changing the behaviour of TVPaint to match that of Photoshop is not a good road to go down. I think there are better ways to do this and I think identifying the strengths of the TVPaint software and making sure new users understand those will help ease them into the a new and "different" environment.
In my opinion, it is understanding the role the RMB plays all throughout TVPaint. I think this should be documented more in all the help materials and tutorials. I was surprised how many people didn't know about the RMB and how it can be used with virtually every tool in TVPaint, here is the link to that discussion:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5621&start=15
This recent change to the selection tool is a good example of why I think it would better to really understand RMB. As it used to be, you could make a selection and continue adding to that selection with no keyboard shortcut. Then to deselect use the same tool with the RMB. It is a simple solution and is consistent with how all of the other tools can be used TVPaint, it is a very consistent and powerful behaviour throughout the entire software. It requires one button to use the selection tool as both select and deselect. In photoshop you need the shift button to add to the selection or the option button to deselect. That is two different keys. It is more complicated in PS. I don't think TVPaint should try and move away from its core strength to make it more comfortable for students.
If we want to help students further, TVPaint could come with a few different shortcut sets that new users could choose from. Have it ship with a shortcut set that mimics Photoshop (as much as possible) or another that has shortcuts similar to Flash/Animate for adding and removing keyframes. This way students can feel more at ease with the shortcuts and how to find tools while allowing them time to ease into the differences that TVPaint has. These solutions will help and lets the user decide what they want while keeping the core of the software working consistently. It is a way to keep students and long time users happy.
Of course things need to change and long time users have to adjust too. But I think a good rule of thumb is if a change will impact how a tools work with RMB then it should be a users choice to change it.
Anyway, I don't mean to ruffle feathers I just think change management is difficult at the best of times and I just wanted to add my two cents in case it may be helpful.