3D model high on Complexity once uploaded

[DulceDiva]

Hello. Recently started learning about the basics of modeling in Blender & Painting/Baking Textures in Substance Painter. That being said, I made my first pair of shoes and although I only used the  Subdivision Surface modifier on level 1, once I rigged & exported my model, it added 8k to my avatar's complexity. I will include a photo below with the model's info. I don't understand what is causing it, if anyone knows I'd highly appreciate some advice  . Looking at other pairs of shoes made by different designers, their complexity doesn't exceed 2-3k so I believe I should bring down the complexity in order to avoid crashing/lag for customers...

Also getting the message below from Avastar upon exporting. I don't understand what it refers to or how exactly I'm meant to fix it  

          

[Wulfie Reanimator]

Sounds like your shoes are rigged, based on the message from Avastar. You can only have up to 4 bones (the SL skeleton you've rigged the shoes to) affecting any one vertex (the individual points where edges connect to).

When it comes to the Complexity score, don't worry about it too much. It's an outdated statistic and a bad indicator for lag.

You should probably reduce the number of faces (and textures if you can), as well as making sure that the textures don't have transparency information unless they need it. (Edit the object and check the "alpha mode." Set it to "None" or "Masking" instead of "Blending." If the option is greyed out, the texture has no transparency data at all.)

Since you've been modeling with the Subdiv modifier, your model would be a lot more efficient if you took the time to clean up any unnecessary edges from the model. (Like if you have a long straight surface with lots of loops on it (like a heel), dissolve all of the ones in the middle.)

Edited November 9, 2022 by Wulfie Reanimator

[DulceDiva]

1 hour ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

Sounds like your shoes are rigged, based on the message from Avastar. You can only have up to 4 bones (the SL skeleton you've rigged the shoes to) affecting any one vertex (the individual points where edges connect to).

When it comes to the Complexity score, don't worry about it too much. It's an outdated statistic and a bad indicator for lag.

You should probably reduce the number of faces (and textures if you can), as well as making sure that the textures don't have transparency information unless they need it. (Edit the object and check the "alpha mode." Set it to "None" or "Masking" instead of "Blending." If the option is greyed out, the texture has no transparency data at all.)

Since you've been modeling with the Subdiv modifier, your model would be a lot more efficient if you took the time to clean up any unnecessary edges from the model. (Like if you have a long straight surface with lots of loops on it (like a heel), dissolve all of the ones in the middle.)

Thanks for the explanation. I used Avastar Skinning Tab to rig it to the feet, unsure whether that's the right way as I've seen different techniques and this one was the easiest for me. Will try cleaning up some edges and will then provide an update Instead of having 6 UV Maps for it, if I modify my mesh to have 2-3 UV Maps only, would that make a positive difference? 

[Quarrel Kukulcan]

2 hours ago, DulceDiva said:

I don't understand what is causing it, if anyone knows I'd highly appreciate some advice

Like Wulfie said, the biggest contributors to Rendering Complexity are mesh density (especially at the most-commonly-needed LOD) and alpha blending. Every level of subdividing quadruples your triangle count (so, really, try not to use it at all), and if you have at least one face using alpha blending, the complexity of the object will also quadruple. Using normal map textures, using specular map textures, and just plain using several and/or high-res textures also increase complexity, though not as much.

https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Mesh/Rendering_weight

Quote

Also getting the message below from Avastar upon exporting. I don't understand what it refers to or how exactly I'm meant to fix it

In Weight Paint mode, choose Weights -> Limit Total, and set the options to All Deform Groups (or All Groups if you don't have that) and a Limit of 4.

It's odd you have this problem on shoes, though. SL feet have very few bones in them. FYI the left shoe should just be using mFootLeft and/or L_FOOT, mAnkleLeft, and maybe mKneeLeft and/or L_LOWER_LEG if it rides high enough.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Quarrel Kukulcan

[Quarrel Kukulcan]

21 minutes ago, DulceDiva said:

Instead of having 6 UV Maps for it, if I modify my mesh to have 2-3 UV Maps only, would that make a positive difference?

It's really ambiguous what you mean by "6 UV Maps", so the answer is "it depends".

Using fewer materials will lower Complexity a little (and actually make it faster to render in ways that Complexity doesn't take into consideration).

Breaking your UV map into fewer islands won't matter.

You can't actually import properly if your object has a different Blender UV map data structure for each material. SL doesn't support that.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Quarrel Kukulcan

[DulceDiva]

17 minutes ago, Quarrel Kukulcan said:

Like Wulfie said, the biggest contributors to Rendering Complexity are mesh density (especially at the most-commonly-needed LOD) and alpha blending. Every level of subdividing quadruples your triangle count (so, really, try not to use it at all), and if you have at least one face using alpha blending, the complexity of the object will also quadruple. Using normal map textures, using specular map textures, and just plain using several and/or high-res textures also increase complexity, though not as much.

https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Mesh/Rendering_weight

In Weight Paint mode, choose Weights -> Limit Total, and set the options to All Deform Groups (or All Groups if you don't have that) and a Limit of 4.

It's odd you have this problem on shoes, though. SL feet have very few bones in them. FYI the left shoe should just be using mFootLeft and/or L_FOOT, mAnkleLeft, and maybe mKneeLeft and/or L_LOWER_LEG if it rides high enough.

Thank you for the advice and explanation on how to solve the weights issue. Is there a way of using something like a tool/setting/modifier to make my mesh look nice and smooth without having too many triangles? Apart from Subdividing of course (sadly it's the only technique I've learnt to so far )

[Quarrel Kukulcan]

Generally, smoother curves need more triangles. That's just the way it is, so you need some more. The issue with creating that extra density using a Subdivision modifier is that you'll affect the entire mesh. For the most efficient results you'll need to work in Edit Mode in just the problem areas, doing things like subdividing individual edges or adding edge loops.

[DulceDiva]

10 minutes ago, Quarrel Kukulcan said:

Generally, smoother curves need more triangles. That's just the way it is, so you need some more. The issue with creating that extra density using a Subdivision modifier is that you'll affect the entire mesh. For the most efficient results you'll need to work in Edit Mode in just the problem areas, doing things like subdividing individual edges or adding edge loops.

Ooh, I see! Didn't think of doing that. Will try that as well!

As for the textures - what is best? 1024x1024 or 512x512? In terms of quality, I always thought that the 2nd size I mentioned made textures look quite blurry (noticed when buying full perms and creating textures for them). In terms of efficiency, I believe higher resolution texture could cause crashes or lag.

[Quarrel Kukulcan]

1 hour ago, DulceDiva said:

As for the textures - what is best?

The smallest that gives you the quality you want. It's good that you tried 512x512, but if that or 512x1024 look blurry, then you'll have to either go higher, spread your UV map over more available space (if you're making your own mesh and you have room -- this isn't an option for store-bought full perm mesh), or settle for blurry.

EDIT: A repeated seamless texture is another option if the texturable surface is aligned right.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Quarrel Kukulcan

[DulceDiva]

@Quarrel KukulcanThanks for all the advice, will try to find the best option for me.

[DulceDiva]

On 11/9/2022 at 9:27 PM, Quarrel Kukulcan said:

In Weight Paint mode, choose Weights -> Limit Total, and set the options to All Deform Groups (or All Groups if you don't have that) and a Limit of 4.

It's odd you have this problem on shoes, though. SL feet have very few bones in them. FYI the left shoe should just be using mFootLeft and/or L_FOOT, mAnkleLeft, and maybe mKneeLeft and/or L_LOWER_LEG if it rides high enough.

I'm using dev kits for mesh bodies. Feet come as 'High', 'Low', 'Ballet', 'Mid' etc. depending on their height.I'm using that to rig my model as there is no left/right foot as a separate selection. I guess it make things a bit easier this way? Unsure since I'm a newbie to 3D mesh creation