3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator issues in latest Blender vs. Tweet

[justavisitor]

Hi,
I just upgraded from Octane 2-4 and from Blender 2.76 to the latest stable Octane version.

In Blender, my SpaceNavigator can no longer move up/down or from side to side. Everything else works as expected.

All settings are the same as in the previous Blender.

I don't know if it's a generic Blender issue, or if it's specific to Octane Blender. I'm guessing the former, so I'm just posting this to hear if anyone has similar problems?

EDIT: SpaceNavigator *does* move if I press SHIFT while using the device. So I probably need to change a setting so that the device no longer needs SHIFT.

However, if I go to Blender/Preferences/Input/ED View/Move View/NDOF and remove the tick from SHIFT, the SpaceNavigator almost stops working and the only way to make it work again is pressing 'Restore.'

[justavisitor]

The issue is not related to the Octane Blender version, but to Blender 2.79 itself.

The problem is solved in Blender 2.8, but that doesn't help much...

I'll download previous Blender versions and post here again when I find one where 3Dconnexion works.

[justavisitor]

Okay, I tried versions back to 2.78b -- and that still didn't work.

So, I think I'll wait for 2.8...

[justavisitor]

...if anyone is in the same situation, you can solve it by buying a used version of 3Dconnexion's original SpacePilot.

They're around $50-150 on eBay, and they work with Blender 2.79.

[linograndiotoy]

Hi!

I've been trying my SpaceNavigator and found no issues using it in Blender 2.79.

Talking about this model:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/3DConnexion-3D ... B000LB7G00

[justavisitor]

Hi,
Thank you very much -- that's very interesting!

Does that mean pan and tilt work, too?

Can I ask you what your settings are?

In my version, I can only move side-to-side and up/down if I press SHIFT while moving the SpaceNavigator. So it would make sense to remove the tick from SHIFT in the NDOF settings shown in the attached image. But that doesn't make any difference.

I've tried all settings, including the ones that worked in Blender 2.76, but nothing works...

I've also installed all non-Octane versions between 2.78 and 2.79 and none of them work. 2.8 works, though.

[linograndiotoy]

Try changing the options in the menu that opens when you press the Left button on the 3D Connection.

For maximum freedom you should set the Orbit Style to Free and Trackball. I hope it helps!

[pegot]

For what it's worth I have the same old model Space Navigator I got over 10 or 15 years ago and have barely ever used! I never did get the hang of it. That was when I used a Mac exclusively. But about two months ago I decided to give the old girl another whirl on the PC - to see if the experience was any better. Not really. It was still a bit frustrating in Blender. I can't recall what specifically didn't work right but do remember coming across several URL's discussing workarounds and other issues. The device did not work at all with Substance Painter so I removed the drivers (a rather involved process that required emailing their tech support by the way).

[justavisitor]

Try changing the options in the menu that opens when you press the Left button on the 3D Connection.

Thank you for your reply!

I think this depends entirely on what the user wants ...

I can understand that this setting works for you, so that's great -- but if I were to choose that, I'd be totally dizzy

The settings that work for me (except pan/tilt in 2.78-2.79) are those I posted earlier in this thread.

[justavisitor]

For what it's worth I have the same old model Space Navigator I got over 10 or 15 years ago and have barely ever used! I never did get the hang of it. That was when I used a Mac exclusively. But about two months ago I decided to give the old girl another whirl on the PC - to see if the experience was any better. Not really. It was still a bit frustrating in Blender. I can't recall what specifically didn't work right but do remember coming across several URL's discussing workarounds and other issues. The device did not work at all with Substance Painter so I removed the drivers (a rather involved process that required emailing their tech support by the way).

Unfortunately for you, you probably tried SpaceNavigator with a Blender version between 2.78-2.79 which don't work. 2.76 works perfectly, and so does 2.8.

And I can assure you that the device works wonders -- if you find the settings that are right for you. But that really, really takes time. And until you suddenly find those settings, the entire experience can be very unpleasant with a lot of extremely erratic mouse behaviour.

But when it works, it's literally like a dream: You can fly intuitively and effortlessly through any scene and around any object in a very satisfying game-kind-of-way. It's particularly useful if you want to create realistic camera movements.