Uploading Mesh using Sketchup 8 (My Method)

[Sparkle Aftermath]

Hello all, i have been reading up about mesh in Sketchup, how to make them and upload them on to secondlife. however i did read that only Sketchup 7 (Windows Only) can only be used link shown

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Mesh/Exporting_a_mesh_from_SketchUp

So me being me, i thought to myself "Challenge accepted" and begun work on how to get around this (Me being a Mac user as well) and i found a method that worked.

1. Make your model as normal (In this case i did a simple "x" frame)

2. Click File => Export => 3D Model

3. Select the format .dae (Collada) but clicking the format drop box

4. Click the "Options" button and make sure "Triangulate All Faces" is ticked, if so then save

5. Upload it on to second life using a viewer as normal

I have found that this will upload the model just fine, i hope this method works for you as it has done with me

Sparkle Aftermath

[Calamari]

It's been a long time since I last tried to use sketchup for mesh in SL, but would love to be able to do so, if I remember correctly uploading the mesh wasn't the big issue, it was setting faces for individual textures without the mesh object in SL falling apart (each face becomes it's own object.)  The other issue I remember was optimizing the poly count for more complex objects.  Most people were importing from sketchup to bleder or other programs.  Searching the forums and the web I don't see any new post since last year, I all so asked in an inworld sketchup group to see if any one was still trying using sketcheup and go no reply.

[Noskire Mistwalker]

aparently sketchup is alot easier to understand than blender if you want quick autocad capabilities. only problem is the uploading part. the project im working on is a building. first time i uploaded i wound up with a lot of disconnected parts that were very difficult to reposition and some spots i fell through. then for some reason i wound up with one large solid object that i couldn't walkthrough. wasted alot of lindens and now using open sim till i get this problem fixed.

[Coby Foden]

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Noskire Mistwalker wrote:

aparently sketchup is alot easier to understand than blender if you want quick autocad capabilities. only problem is the uploading part. the project im working on is a building. first time i uploaded i wound up with a lot of disconnected parts that were very difficult to reposition and some spots i fell through. then for some reason i wound up with one large solid object that i couldn't walkthrough. wasted alot of lindens and now using open sim till i get this problem fixed.

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I quote what Chosen Few has said about Sketchup models:

 

The under-the-hood structures of models produced in Sketchup tend to be pretty amazingly disastrous.

...

They're just about always chock full of multiple duplicate vertices, extremely odd redundant hierarchical arrangements, UV map nightmares, etc., etc., etc.

...

In all my years in the 3D industry, I've never seen worse models than the ones that come out of Sketchup.

[unquote]

 

This is easily verified by importing Sketchup model to Blender.  There one can see the disastrous way how Sketchup has made the model.  Once as a test I made a kitchen chair in Sketchup, imported it to SL.  Well it looked quite ok there.  Only thing was that it came as many disconnected parts.  I imported it also to Blender and saw there how very bad its mesh structure was.  Nobody would make such horrid mesh in Blender.

Sketchup is easy to use to make simple things.  But the internal mesh structure of Sketchup models always seem to be a big mess when examined with a more cabable polygon modeller.

[Sparkle Aftermath]

I would just like to point out that i am not trying to compare Sketchup with Blender at all, im just running experments on how they are handeld by Second Life. So far, i have not seen anything that has been stated here. So i do not see any problems with Sketchups mesh making capabilities (so far, touch wood) but will experiment more

Sparkle Aftermath

[Coby Foden]

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Sparkle Aftermath wrote:

 

So far, i have not seen anything that has been stated here.

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If you look the Sketchup model in wireframe mode in SL, you certainly will see how badly Sketchup mesh is made.  Naturally you cannot see it in rendered mode.  But even if it looks ok in rendered mode it does not mean that the internal structure of the mesh would be good.  As often there are lots of unneeded vertices in Sketchup models the land impact is bigger than it would be with well made model.

[Sparkle Aftermath]

I have done this and it all seams fine, apart from a small amount of problems (and i so mean tiny). As for the unseen vertices, i don't know what you mean as i have not encounted this, but i'll experiment on.

Sparkle Aftermath

P.S, as a quick note, i have also been testing textiles and they seam ok as well

[Coby Foden]

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Sparkle Aftermath wrote:

I have done this and it all seams fine, apart from a small amount of problems (and i so mean tiny). As for the unseen vertices, i don't know what you mean as i have not encounted this, but i'll experiment on.

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I will give you an example.  I made this simple kitchen chair in Sketchup.  It looks perfectly all right.

I imported this chair to Blender.  It tells the chair has 1153 vertices.

I select all in edit mode and then do "Remove Doubles".

Blender tells: "Removed 855 vertices".

There is left now 298 vertices instead of the original 1153.

The chair looks exactly like before removing those extra 855 vertices.

So those 855 were totally useless extra double vertices.

If this same chair would be modelled with blender it could be made even less than 298 vertices.

This extra double vertices thing is one reason why Skethcup models are bad.  Especially so when importing to SL.

[Sparkle Aftermath]

Nice chair, i was wondering about this as well and tryed it out myself but Blender says 0 vertices where removed (So i was like "ok....") and the mesh still seams fine to me. even uploading it on to SL shows my object it under 200 vertices so i must be doing something right, lol

Sparkle Aftermath

[Coby Foden]

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Sparkle Aftermath wrote:

Nice chair, i was wondering about this as well and tryed it out myself but Blender says 0 vertices where removed (So i was like "ok....") and the mesh still seams fine to me. even uploading it on to SL shows my object it under 200 vertices so i must be doing something right, lol

Sparkle Aftermath

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Hmmm... interesting.  As Sketchup modelling fundamentally goes like: Sketch profile, extrude.  Sketch profile, extrude.  Sketch profile, extrude.  Sketch profile, extrude.  Et cetera.  Thus I cannot understand how there possibly could be a "right" and "wrong" way of modelling in Sketchup, in regard trying to avoid duplicate vertices, as there is no control for vertices in the software.