V 13.07

 V13.07

Maya Curve Color Tool:

• Introduced a new tool similar to the Guide Color tool, specifically for Maya curves.
• Functionality to set curves to display "on top," allowing curves to be transparent behind geometry.
• Option to modify curve width for improved visibility in the Maya viewport.
• Retained familiar layer controls from other Groomer's Tools.
• Functionality to randomize curve color values.
• Introduced a separate layer management system, independent from Maya’s display layers.
• Ability to isolate selected curves or layers while keeping all other scene elements visible.

Hair Tube Builder:
- Main UI:

• Added a Normalize function.
• Added a Lattice function.
• Enhanced copy/paste functionality to allow multiple pasting options.
• Added layer isolation functionality (via middle mouse click on layers) and an Isolate button for selected strands or layers.
• Added a Smoothing button to preview subdivision on selected tube strands.
• Added a Geometry Toolbox button for selecting the tube’s geometry from selected strands. Users can unlock geometry to adjust UVs if necessary.
• Added a Shader Toggle to switch between Maya's default shaders (Lambert, Blinn, Phong, Surface). This toggle applies globally to all strands.
• Merged the strand extraction buttons and layer removal buttons  into a single button with a popup menu.
• Improvement: Duplicated curves from existing Strand Builder strands can now be cleaned up via the menu (Clean Selected Curves) for reuse in strand creation.
• Experimental: Hair Tube Builder scenes from V13.06 can be updated via the menu (Update V13.06 scene).

- Strand Editor UI:

• Added Presets functions
• Added Offset X, Offset Z, and Offset Rotation parameters to enable more complex shapes.
• Added 4 UV mapping options (None, Strip, Grid, Unfold), located within the editor.
• Exposed the Sampling Accuracy slider to address tip pinching issues, located under Advanced Controls.
• Added the ability to reset sliders to default by middle mouse-clicking on the slider label. For the Scale Ramp and Twist Ramp, use the 'R' button next to the ramp to reset.
• Added options to Add, Remove, and Clear crease points.
• Users can now set keyframes for most strand attributes.
• Improvement: Edge loop points can now be added or removed with more intuitive control by clicking and dragging on the root or tip curve, or using Ctrl + Click to remove points.
• Improvement: Crease points can now be added, removed, or cleared from either the root or tip profile curve.
• Improvement: Users can collapse the shaping window for a more streamlined UI.
• Improvement: A warning is displayed when selecting a custom curve that is not enclosed (periodic).

- General Updates:

• Improvement: Strand curve color visibility is enhanced, with slight randomization for better contrast against strand geometry.
• Improvement: The Hair Tube Builder UI now correctly displays existing layers when opening a different scene.
• Improvement: Reduced warning messages during tube strand creation and layer additions.
• Improvement: Hair Tube Builder layers are now separated from Maya’s Layer Editor, improving scene organization.
• Improvement: UI and curve color updates.
• Fix: Resolved curve display thickness issues on duplicated strands.
• Fix: Resolved layout issue where Aim Curve Controls disappeared when Crease Controls were collapsed.
• Fix: Mirroring now properly takes the existing rotation value into account.

- Known Issues:

• Mirroring strands or pasting attributes may cause strands to reverse their normals.

Curve To Proxy Tools:

• Improvement: Added a warning to ensure proper use of component tags.
• Fix: Resolved an issue where deleting geometry via right-clicking layers caused Maya to crash.

- Curve To Twist:

• Fix: Resolved a bug causing Maya to crash after using this tool and saving a file.

Interactive Curve Tools:

• Added an option to set a Base Mesh. When a geometry is set, the Sculpt, Add, Draw, and Move tools will reference this geometry, preventing misinterpretation from other scene geometries.
• Improvement: Added a command to remove temporary radius curve residue (Sculpt, Cut, Extend) left in the scene when switching tools (e.g., from sculpting to selection or transform tools).

- Sculpt Curve Tool:

• Added the ability to auto-snap the root to the defined base mesh. Hold Shift + LMB to sculpt, and the root will snap to the closest point on the base mesh when the mouse is released (with the lock root function temporarily disabled).
• Improvement: Minimization of curve extension in small steps when Lock Length is enabled.
• Improvement: Pivot points will now automatically reset to the curve's root when moved.
• Improvement: Curves will remain locked during drag operations but will automatically unlock when switching tools or re-entering a tool.

- Extend Curve Tool:

• Exposed all three extension methods: Linear, Circular, and Extrapolate.

Curve Snap Tool:

• Fix: Point snap now ignores geometries in invisible display layers.
• Improvement: Simplified point snapping process—once the Point Snap tool is activated, pressing G will repeat the snap action for subsequent curves without needing to click repeatedly.

Curve Rebuild Tool:

• The CVs Rebuild function now provides immediate feedback while dragging the sliders. The Rebuild Distance slider now dynamically adjusts its minimum and maximum values based on tagged curves.