Viewerhelp:Upload Model - Physics

From Second Life Wiki
Revision as of 13:26, 20 July 2011 by Rand Linden (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Help article in progress.


Level of Detail > Physics > Modifiers > Calculate weights & fees > Upload

This tab is the second step in the model upload process.

A model's physics shape defines how it collides with other objects, and is typically simpler than its visual appearance to reduce computational cost. For example, a complex vehicle model might have a square physical box shape. NOTE: Models meant to be used as vehicles must not have a physics cost higher than 32.

After you make selections in this tab, click the Modifiers tab.

Level of Detail   Select this option to automatically generate a physics model based on one of the existing visual levels of detail. Lowest or Low are adequate for most purposes while generally a relatively small physics cost. Options are:
  • Lowest
  • Low
  • Medium
  • High
File   Select this option to upload your own physical model from a .dae file. This allows you the finest degree of control over your model's physics shape. Click Browse to select a file.

Step 1: Analysis

Method   Select a decomposition method for the model. Each method is best suited to a particular type of shape, because it will return the most accurate and least costly results for models of that type:
  • Surface - best for curved, organic shapes, such as an animal body.
  • Solid - best for objects with sharp angles and a clear inside and outside, like buildings.
  • Wrap - best for very complex shapes, such as trees and branches.
Quality   These values determine how much combining and overlap reduction is performed on the hulls at the decomposition stage. High returns the best simplification results, but requires the most time to process. If you experience performance problems during this step, try using the Preview setting first in order to confirm your smoothing and Close Holes results, then switch to High to get the best simplification results.
Smooth   The Smooth value sets the tolerance when the utility tries to merge coplanar triangles. It refers to the angle between adjacent triangles for which merging is permitted. A value of zero allows some angle between triangles, resulting in gently curving surfaces being flattened.

A lower Smooth setting results in a lower physics cost for objects with curved surfaces.

Close Holes (slow)   Attempts to fill any holes in the physical representation of the model in order to fix minor errors in the mesh. However, checking this setting also closes intentional openings in objects and should not be used for models that are meant to be passed through, such as door frames.

Step 2: Simplification

Method   Select a simplification method:
  • Retain %: Select a percentage of the hulls to retain from the original analysis.
  • Detail: Reduces the complexity of the physics model based on the Detail Scale slider.
  • Better Detail: Similar to Detail, but does a better job preserving openings in your model.
Passes   Increasing the number of passes creates results with fewer overlapping hulls and more accurate overall representation of your model's physical shape.
Detail Scale   Reducing this number preserves more fine detail in your model during the simplification process. Larger values result in a decreased physics cost, but lower accuracy in the physics model. For many models, most of the simplification takes place at very low values, between 0.0 and 0.3, after which the physics model is reduced to a single hull.
Preview Spread   Move the Preview Spread slider to explode your view of the hulls that comprise your physical model. On objects with many hulls, this can help you to find and examine hulls that would not otherwise be entirely visible.