Benefit of working with layers in SU
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As the title says, just wondering what do i gain by working in layers.
As of right now i've always used a single layer to build my models (nothing complicated) but lately during down time i decided to be ambitious and started modeling a fake city ("New City" i call it, a Metropolis like city) here are some of the questions i have:
- Would working in layers add to the file size?
- While working on the model, if i use a separate layer for every city block, would turning off all but the single layer im working on make for easier (i.e less hang time) work flow?
My pc is kinda old, bought in '05, has a 2.8ghz AMD Athlon and 512 of RAM, been meaning to add RAM for a long time now but have put it off so i guess if i add 1 or 2 gigs of RAM it might make things easier; also consider that sometimes I import .3ds figure models that avg about 3.5 mb each onto my SU model (which i use mainly to build "sets" for my comic book illustration purposes).
As far as this "New City" project of mine (im on my work pc so i cant show any pics now) is it wise (regardless of my current or future set up) to build a whole city on one single SU file or do you guys think it's best to keep it simple and maybe just work on a few blocks per file?
Also, another thing i never do is make components of the models i make. Like this New City, everything is built on top of a single flat plane, all the city blocks and buildings (still havent added windows, lights, cars to populate the model) come from one flat square source.
Right now the city is like a couple square miles big.
Anyway, i appreciate any help and tips you guys can offer me. Thnx.
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For this project i think you would definitely benefit from using layers. As you mentioned in point 2, layers will let you hide parts of the model very quickly, in turn this will greatly improve the speed at which you can move around in the file.
As for a city building workflow, i think the best way to do it would be to have one master file where you block out the whole city. If you then make each building a component, right click it->save as. You can then work on the building in a separate file. When youve finished the building, go back in to the master plan, right click the building you were working on->reload.
Oh, and with regards to a file size increase when using layers, there is probably a marginal increase, nothing to worry about though, and certainly not enough to outweigh the benefits of using layers.
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More or less what Remus says. All the "tricky part" will come when you are in themiddleof it anyway. Some advice:
- always model on Layer 0 and keep all"primitive" geometry - both undgrouped and what's inside the groups/components - on this layer
- onlymove whole groups/components on other layers
- don't even change the active layer (the round radio buttons) other than layer 0 - just play with the visibility (the square checkboxes) of the layers
- DO use components for anything that will be present more than one instance in the model (THIS will save you filesize and time when editing them)
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Use the V7 for a more speedy Move / Rotation...best management of big file size!
Don't forget to regulate the automatic save!
A small time like all 5 minutes can stop for a long time and is very painful if the file is very big!
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Here are a few reasons you may want to use components even for objects that don't appear more than once.
- you can save the component off to external file to archive various versions or progress models.
- keep high and low polygon versions of components depending on what you need at the time
- have multiple people work on model at same time (in separate components) or just for yourself, can work on individual components outside of the main file.
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That's an eyeopening statement: to model everything in Layer 0...I've never used that layer except for dwg imports and prefer to build models in their named layer and use the "color by layer" feature to make sure everything is placed correctly. If I need to texture and color later, I turn that preference off and "paint the town"
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If you don't model on Layer 0 (and leave all primitives there), you will likely to end up with geometry scattered all over different layers. Now imagine you have primitives on one layer maybe even grouped with other primitives on another layer and you want to put your group on a third layer. Soon you will end up with a big mess.
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See this link, http://sites.google.com/site/3dbasecamp2008/all-sessions-2008/working-with-large-models, 3d basecamp presentation re large models
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Gaeius,
Interesting re layer 0...
I have a possibility of doing a model for a 180,000SF sports medicine facility with three floors. The client only wants the interiors so that donors can see what they might contribute to.
On prob I have with scene transistions is that they go through walls..,is there a camera path setting? Or do I need to make many smaller scene variations to control the path?
Tx S
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Camera path settings and animation? There's a whole "chapter" for this in the Ruby Library Depot but also see this topic with some interesting ideas that may be useful.
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erick. A thought on your original post. Even if your windows are 2D flat squares make them coponents. That way you will be able to edit an entire buildings windows (or any other repetivly used geometry) by changing only one. Also, you can use simply constructed components as placemarkers for more elaboratly modeled versions. You can reload the fancy version when they are needed. This will save your CPU for zoom/pan/orbit while modeling the rest of your city.
Always always always model on layer0. Move only entire groups to a diferent layer. If you come from AutoCad forget everything you know about layers.
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