Issue with importing mesh - render errors

[Miguelito Shilova]

Every now and then I will bring in a .dae to SL that when I turn on 'Generate Normals' to smooth out the surfaces, I get these 'added bits' that blow out some of the faces at odd angles. Here's what I'm seeing.

This is my latest model (a catamaran hull) as it is supposed to look in SL (I am using Wings3D as my modeling program) ...



I launch SL and go to Upload Model. Here are the LOD settings and if you look at the preview, the model looks nice and clean ...



I turn on 'Generate Normals' and I get the blowout (on the 'starboard' side, fore and aft of the center connector - see the two blowouts?) ...



As far as physics go, I have it to the lowest setting which gives me two triangles - maybe this has something to do with it, but I doubt it - just thought I'd mention it.

Has anyone run across this before? If so, do you know what causes it? Is there a solution to fixing it? If I don't use the Generate Normals setting, the pontoons of the model look more like the Hindenburg, with flat, faceted sections and I don't want that.

As always, I appreciate the forum's help.

-- Mig

[Chic Aeon]

Not sure I have your answer but maybe some things to think about.

From long (long) ago I remember that folks advised NEVER to use "generate normals" in the uploader as they do not do well at all. Hence I have never used that feature -LOL.

 

IN BLENDER it looks like you need to turn on smooth shading and then use an edge split modifier.    So perhaps your program has something like that. OR add some more geometry to get the look you want.  

 

Sorry. That's all I got .   Hopefully someone who uses that program can be of more help.

[arton Rotaru]

I haven't seen something like this as well. Since I also never use that option. But I guess Wings does not export the normals, or the SL importer does not read them from the exported collada file?

It makes me wonder though, how you got this far in the import window with a mesh name which contains spaces, like "Hull 102 Test"? If I try to load a mesh with spaces in the name, I get a dae parsing error right away.

[Miguelito Shilova]

Not sure how I was able to avoid the import error with spaces, but I guess I got lucky.

I decided to delete the center connector and the piece that ran forward of that (the part that was parallel to the pontoons), and apparently that 'heavy handed' approach solved the problem. I used prim replacements for them, and with that change the rest of the hull came in fine: