You probably have this on your roadmap already, but if there are no discussions about it what do you think: Should the playmodes be moved to a separate UI and if the playmodes will be moved on their own respective UI where would you like to access them?
For the implementation: I think it would be a matter of discussion at 1.4 when the stable release of 1.3 is out. For now I see no need as things are working great for 1.3 as they are.
For the location: First I thought it would be best to separate them from the timeline controls but then on the other hand it would be wisest to keep them together. Also at first they would be easier to implement at the side of the timeline controls. They could be popped up from a small arrow but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be visible at all times.
Maybe the final location for me would rather be below the Timeline controls rather than above.