The merger between Enscape and Chaos will undoubtedly (and hopefully) result in some unification, integration, and streamlining of the V-Ray and/or Enscape interfaces. I would like to be proactive in asking that the new company not fall into the same "me too" mentality with regard to oversimplification of the user interface that is so common these days. The current interfaces of both pieces of software are not perfect, but they are pretty good.
For some reason, more and more UI designers seem to harbor a delusion that hiding tools make software easier to use. Perhaps they are afraid that too many visible icons will frighten away noobs, or maybe they are just looking to create a portfolio piece for themselves, without any regard to functionality. A "kiosk-type" interface is great for, say, kiosks, but it simply does not belong on a piece of software that is going to be used daily or weekly.
When you have to search for where a tool is hidden, it makes the software harder and more inefficient to use, not easier. Even when you know where that tool is, if you have to drill down into a nested menu to use it, it makes the software harder and more inefficient to use, not easier. I don't care how "clean" the interface is, requiring four of five clicks to activate a command is less efficient that one click. Why is this so hard for interface designers to understand?
The absolute best current example of bad interface design is Twinmotion. Not only are pretty much all of their tools hidden, they don't even use the space for a bigger viewing window! At the bottom is a huge, mostly blank band with a couple of icons on it. It simply could not be worse, and I hope that Enscape never even gets close to going in this direction.
I am very much in favor of a clean, well-organized interface, but not one that is oversimplified to the point where it becomes inefficient. I hope that Chaos/Enscape will choose to continue to buck this trend.
