Proxy scale problem

[peterbrobie]

i converted an obj of a very detailed tree to vrmesh using ply2mesh. The obj had continuously failed to import into sketchup with simlab obj importer. Now i need to scale the tree down to about 25% of original size. If I scale the proxy, and also scale the definition in sketchup, it still renders at the original size. I've tried opening it in inches, feet, meters, mm, cm and still it's way too big. No matter what I try it appears scaled but renders at the original huge size.

usually in this case I would scale the original geometry, and it would be fine. But since the file is too big to open, I am stuck with just a proxy. Is there any way to scale a vrmesh permanently? There doesn't seem to be any argument in ply2mesh to adjust scale.

help!!

thank you,
pete

[delineator]

I think its a SU issue: when you import your vrmesh, there should be a parent component and then within that a child group. When I tested it out just now, scaling down at the component level and then scaling the definition via SKP definitely messed something up, but just scaling the component down seemed to work (ie no "scale definition). This may or may not apply to vrmeshes, but I know SKP and vray get confused when the parent gets scaled and the children group/components are scaled as well, and usually it will come out all weird sizes. I would try just scaling down the parent component in a clean model and seeing what happens

Another option we use (which may not be possible on your end) is open up gnarly models in 3ds max and then export the vrmesh from there. There are some issues with this method, but seems to work ok for getting the geometry into the scene.

BTW, if you want to link the OBJ, I'd be curious to give it a try. I've never had an import out and out fail on me via fluid's importer (https://www.fluidinteractive.com/pro...fluidimporter/), so I'm curious what that size threshold is

btw2: how did you find the ply2vrmesh tool? I've never actually used it myself, usually default to importer fbx and obj's via fluid importer or straight out of 3ds max to vrmesh as I mentioned above

[Peter.Chaushev]

Currently, it is not possible to change the scaling of a rendered proxy object. No matter how the viewport proxy placeholder is scaled, once the .vrmesh file is loaded for rendering, it will be at 100% its default size.
We have plans for enhancing the V-Ray Proxy export settings and introduce more settings to its UI. I've added scaling support as well. All this should be available in the upcoming feature update.

Kind regards,
Peter

[delineator]

Currently, it is not possible to change the scaling of a rendered proxy object.

Are you saying scaling is not possible? Or it is not possible when done a specific way (ie thru ply2vrmesh)? Attached is a small sampling of our vast vrmesh library, all scaled at the parent component level

[peterbrobie]

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

@Peter - Very helpful information. I look forward to being able to scale proxies natively, as that will certainly help speed up my workflow.

delineator - it sounds like Peter is saying you can't scale the vrmesh file itself. it may appear scaled in sketchup, but the scale of the actual vrmesh doesn't change. in most instances, this is fine as you show. When using Skatter, however, it's helpful to have a vrmesh that is properly scaled at it's base, as Skatter doesn't respect the Sketchup component scale. (you can set a scale override per proxy in Skatter, but it would ultimately be more efficient to have a properly scaled vrmesh)

Regarding the Sketchup import process, I downloaded a trial of Fluid Importer and it worked well. Definitely more robust that SimLab. The tree FBX was 298Mb, it came into Sketchup, but caused 3 other instances of the program to crash in the process... never seen that before. Once the tree was in the scene, it was nearly impossible to interact with it due to how much is slowed down Sketchup. It would probably take hours just to scale the thing properly, not to mention UV-mapped materials didn't come in. I'll try later with an OBJ.

ply2mesh is really the answer in this case for me, as I don't have 3DS Max. (I will eventually try Blender + VRay to export proxies, so maybe that's a solution too). ply2mesh took about a minute to process my huge file, and the proxy came in perfectly with all materials intact and mapped. on preliminary tests, i was even able to swap a generic material with a 2-sided material and retain UV mapping. couldn't ask for better in terms of speed. definitely a solution you should consider, particularly as the proxy UI gets more advanced.

Thanks!
Pete

[delineator]

Yeah, I normally don't have a ton of luck bringing in successfully mapped materials using the fbx version (the exception being those exported from 3ds max), but obj's seem to work well most of the time. I will definitely try out ply2mesh next time I need a chair or tree converted over, thanks for the tip!

[Peter.Chaushev]

Are you saying scaling is not possible? Or it is not possible when done a specific way (ie thru ply2vrmesh)? Attached is a small sampling of our vast vrmesh library, all scaled at the parent component level

Please forgive the inaccuracy of my previous comment! Scaling the component instance itself is possible. Scaling through the proxy plugin is currently not available (but can be made possible in an upcoming update).
If you have trouble working with specific .vrmesh files, could you please share them with us (you can PM me or send an email at support@chaosgroup.com). Files which can be used for testing fringe cases are always appreciated!

Kind regards,
Peter