Bevel modifier: make "Angle" the default Limit Method

* @-L0Lock- * Do you know whether this a genuine bug? Or is it just that Blender does what it's told to, correctly bevels everything, and thereby just creates so much geometry that the computer runs out of resources?
Regardless, "being less likely to blow up your PC" sure is another argument for making it default.

* @snieb * blender is quite famous for its poor performance especially on large or heavy content.

* @Gorgious * If most people are changing that option, then it's faster for most people to leave it on the option that is used most IMO.

However, I like your idea about setting presets in the preferences.

* @Gorgious * That thought did cross my mind - that None is the more primitive/straightforward option, and therefore could be in some sense easier to understand? I think this is worth addressing, so...

TL;DR:

• Convenience for most users > Brief, productive confusion (~teachable moment?) for newbies
  • Yes, even if customizable defaults would be a thing
• Having defaults that look broken and aren't representative of how the modifier is used in practice is the more common & worse failure mode for newbies.
• Pointing out that Limit Method exists at all by showing it in action is good.

In some obvious sense None is simpler than any other Limit Method - but that does take "beveling" to mean the abstract mathematical operation on a mesh, instead of the intuitive concept most users will have in mind.
When I think "This object need bevels (/chamfers/fillets)" , I don't actually mean "Replace each edge E in mesh M by a set of equidistant parallel edges E₁-Eₙ along an arc perpendicular to the original edge" ; I mean "Do the sandpaper thingy to make the pointy bits look less ouchy." ;)
The intuitively desired outcome is more salient than the simplicity of the algorithm.

Note that as soon as a user has learned that the Bevel modifier can be selective about which edges it applies to, and that the relevant option happens to be called "Limit Method" in Blender, they have completely overcome the problem.
I think it's fine to cause newbies some minor confusion while playing around with Blender/3D to learn it for the first time...

• if this confusion leads them straight to a concrete question that will probably be resolved in <2min (either docs , or even just looking around in the UI) and will teach them a fundamental, crucial thing about an aspect of Blender* (→the Bevel modifier can be selective) ; and
• if it in turn saves the majority of users who are actually using it to work on things hours upon hours of mindless clicking. (Kind of by definition, experienced users will be the ones spending more time using the software and are more affected by UX choices. (And I doubt that this particular case of confusion would turn away any newbie from Blender completely.))

Customizable defaults for modifiers would definitely be cool. However, even then, if basically everyone will end up changing the defaults as soon as they become aware of this issue, the factory defaults are still wrong. (Ofc this is assumption here - again, I can't even think of a single case where I or any tutorial maker wanted Limit Method set to None - so I'd assume it's used less than 5% of the time, and even less for the intended purpose (as opposed to abusing it for glitch art or as a hack))

Also, on the topic of being newbie-friendly, I think the more common problem is this: Some new user doesn't have any real idea how a Bevel modifier works; they just have heard that adding bevels makes models look nicer and is really important for realism, or maybe they're just exploring by clicking around. When they add it to see what it does, and "what it does" by default is "add weird lines everywhere & break shading" on any mesh that contains curved shapes, they'll just assume it's not the tool they wanted (like the dozens of other obscure modifiers), remove it from the modifier stack, and won't consider adding a Bevel modifier again for a long while.
In contrast, if you're thinking "Dang, but I wanted every single edge to be beveled", you probably already understand how beveling works (maybe from using the bevel tool), and you probably also know that in general beveling every single edge in a mesh isn't desired - therefore, you're in a very good spot to understand the purpose of having a Limit Method anyway.

* By defaulting to a Limit Method that actually does anything, you automatically demonstrate to the user that the Bevel modifier can be selective and doesn't have to affect everything - and (unlike Miter, Face Strength, Mark Seams, ... ) using this option is basically always necessary.
We could compare it to the Subdivision Surface modifier defaulting to Catmull-Clark instead of Simple. I myself was confused by it - "Why does it do some weird complicated interpolation thing that smooths out all the hard edges and shrinks the volume?" Because that's the more interesting/powerful option & more common use case - so that is a good thing.

* @simon.p.heggie * Most users are beginners and the number 1 reason why they stay beginners and don't power through and become regular users is the user interface and its inconsistency (from what I've gathered over the years). Users that actually change default settings in the preferences or visit online forums are, like in any other software community, a minority. I see your point though.

* @snieb * This is a really well thought proposition. I agree with you. Altough the modifiers interface could do with more explicit tooltips for the newbies

* @yasharjk * TY! ^w^
Although, about the angle: I feel it makes sense to have it the same as the Auto Smooth and Select Sharp Edges defaults?
(Not saying 30° is necessarily perfect for those either, just that it should be consistent.)

* @yasharjk * Also, I guess the angle is a question of modeling style. I'd assume the lower-poly your models, the higher you want the angle to be? Or why do you prefer 45° in particular?

* @yasharjk * I usually set mine to 60 so I can get lower polycount when I add the subdivision surface modifier. Personally I think between 50 and 55 is a nice sweet-spot for most scenarios.

* @snieb * 30 is too low a value equal or higher than 45 works for me most of the time. For a cylinder with 8 segments 45 is the lowest amount to avoid segment bevel.