Size of drawing

[Onink]

Are marionette objects very space consuming?
My standard template is about 110MB, but I adjusted some of my marionette objects and now it is 170 MB.
How can I reduce the size of my drawings?

[Mirko Guhr]

Hello @Onink,

 

it all depends on the code (number of nodes, etc.). This might not help you much right now, so I’ll try to elaborate a bit.

 

Use libraries:

For example, add .vwx files as favorites in your resource manager (be careful with Marionette symbols (styles) and test the import).

This way, you only need to import the necessary elements into your file. Essential elements like styles for title blocks can, of course, remain in the template.

I assume you don’t always use all 170 MB of objects, etc.

 

Now, optimizing and distributing the code (nodes/wrapper/script) is also a major factor.

A small example:

You have some Marionette objects, e.g., furniture. You can change and evaluate these parametrically. Each of these Marionette objects contains the complete code.

When you place the objects, you can for example, write the data to databases and evaluate them with a click on any object.

Solution:

It would be much more efficient and resource-saving if the individual objects only contained information about themselves and a global script evaluated the objects and wrote the data. This way, the global node share is much smaller and the file is generally more performant.

 

Experience:

One of my clients has a library of furniture. Pure hybrid symbols, no Marionette. This file is 900 MB, which is stored as a favorite library for users. The template for a new file is 15 MB. About 10 Marionette symbols are stored here (TV, door, table + chair, etc.). Users take what they need from the library to keep the file size small.

 

Final speech:

The normal data clutter that accumulates in a file while working (inserting textures, changing resources and not deleting the old ones, etc.) is unavoidable.

Therefore, I am a fan of keeping the template as small as possible. Of course, at the end of the project, you can clean up the file with a click on “Clean Up” in the menu 😉.

 

To help you more specifically, you would need to make a video, send a file, provide a download link, or PM.

 

Good luck and best regards

[Onink]

Hello @Zuzzla,

Thanks for your reaction.

It came to mind that I need to clean up my file and put more in a library drawing.
I allready use this.
But I haven't given me some time to do so.
So I need to work on that in the near future.

But i found out that when I altered a Marionette object by adding 10 nodes the file size increased by more then 8 MB.
I thought that was quite much.

I will try to simplify my objects, but I can't have my Marionette objects in de library.
Because they seem to miss some connections and fail when I place them.
And I use various different symbols in my Marionette objects which I can't subtract from the library.

If I make these symbols subscripted from the library, are they not in my drawing? Size wise?
I have some subscripted, but most are really in my drawing. 

[Mirko Guhr]

@Onink

It really depends on what kind of 10 nodes they are and what they do. I can hardly imagine that adding 10 int-nodes would increase the file size so much.

But if you add 10 record fields that each collect all the data and then filter it, that can definitely happen.

Also, the file size increases the more of these objects you place in your drawing. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle.

In my mentioned 15 MB template, there is a Marionette menu script that alone has over 2,500 nodes.

With the other menu scripts and Marionette symbols, the template contains well over 5,000 nodes.

I also have a door in this template and just took a look. The door is from 2017 and could use a bit of love. Anyway, this door consists of 254 nodes and uses 5.2 MB of the 15 MB when it is in the resource manager. It should be noted that this door has 36 normal symbols attached to it, which are used to define the door.

For each door inserted into the drawing, depending on what and how much I adjust the door, I end up with about 200-300 KB.

Just a few numbers for you to consider. The numbers also show that a fraction of the nodes make up a third of the file size, presumably.

Because if I remove the normal symbols not used by Marionette from the file and only 14 out of 36 symbols remain, the file size also drops from 6.5 MB to 3.4 MB (I had placed doors in the drawing).
 

Marionette Structure:

For example, what is absolutely fatal is that the Marionette object pulls a pool of values, e.g., through an “obj by crit” node, and then the actual object is somehow filtered out to define the color. This would mean that each inserted object checks all objects each time it is executed. This should be avoided 😄.

I know about the Marionette from the library. I fully agree with you that it usually leads to problems when the Marionette objects are imported.

 

Linked Objects:

Yes, linked objects from the library reduce the file size. However, I only recommend this in a single or small user environment. From a certain file size, it is also advisable to store it on an SSD. In larger networks with home office, etc., this works less well in my experience.

 

Document Settings:

What also really hits hard is if your document saves the display of viewports in the settings and you may have pre-rendered “old” viewports or defined views. This can make sense if you render a lot. But I think this point doesn’t apply?

 

Import Resource to Folder Node: 

LINK

i wrote this node yesterday for another topic, and while I’m writing this response, it occurs to me, hmmm, this could be something useful.

With this node, you could set up the networks so that they only import the resource when it’s necessary and with other Nodes you can delete the old resource.

However, I haven’t tested it yet. This thought just came to me as I was finishing up here. The more I think about it, the more it seems like it could really work, lol.

And could potentially reduce the file size immensely. Performance should not be overlooked here.

 

I can only offer to send me 1, 2, 3 symbols. Possibly from different categories, if you divide them that way. Maybe I’ll notice something that has a big impact without “much” effort. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees and are so in the flow.

Feel free to send the +10 nodes = explosion object you mentioned 😉.

[Onink]

Hello Mirko,
 

Thanks again for your extensive explanation.

I'm sorry for not responding any sooner, but I have a lot going on right now, workwise.
As soon as I have some time I will try to fix my drawings.

 

I also need to take them up to VW 2023 as I'm still in VW2021. 
That might allready be 'outdated' but it works for me and I don't need any more...

 

[Mirko Guhr]

All good. There are more important things 🙂.

As long as it works, there is no need for action.

 

Good luck 👍