Front facing direction in Maya = neg Z?

[YMangolds]

Out of curiosity, why does CDT create new vehicles so that their "front" is facing down the negative Z axis in maya? I know other things, like directional lights, also face down neg Z, but I thought it would be more practicle to be able to switch to the front viewport and be looking at the front of the vehicle instead of the rear.

[Micael Belin]

Hello Yuris,

It is true that we always use negative Z as our forward direction. The reason why is that the cameras are directed in the negative Z and we want to keep consistency between all tools. I understand that it might seem strange having to see the rear of the model in the front viewport. However it's actually not that strange. You are not viewing the object itself, you are viewing in the direction you are moving.