Save 3D model as...

[Kristen]

My GSM objects are huge....why?

I have made detailed 3D models of 4 different buildings which I wish to place in a site model at different heights and angles. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to create a GSM object of each building and just place them out in the site model.

To make the GSM objects as little as possible, i turned off the internal layers so that I basically just have a shell of the building left.
2 objects were about 700 Kb, one was 4,5 Mb and and one was 22 Mb. The model for the largest one is only 5 Mb....why is the GSM object so huge?

A collegue said save them with editable binary data. I deleted my objects, and tried to save them all again. the 4,5 Mb became 10 and the 22 Mb file became 12 Mb. I tried to resave the latter yet again and it became 14 Mb.

Why do I get different results every time and how do I make them small files (preferably under 2 Mb)? Maybe I should be using another method entirely?

[Anonymous]

The variations in file size of the building objects is no doubt due to differences in how the buildings are modeled. Highly complex geometry saved as binary GDL can greatly exceed the file size of the editable scripts, but the reverse can also be true depending on the types of elements used etc.

I have always saved building objects as binary simply because I have no interest in editing such a massive script and the binary will generate in 3D a bit quicker since the geometry is already calculated. The only exception would be to find and replace material settings within the script, such as to place multiple instances with different colors.

I wouldn't worry about the file sizes unless there is some kind of problem.

[Anonymous]

>The variations in file size of the building objects is no doubt due to differences in how the buildings are modeled.

Some of us have a doubt, as posted here a while ago:

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=69797#69797

We think that gsm is not as good as 3ds or other object file types,
as far as size is concerned.

Bob

[TomWaltz]

jdk wrote:
>The variations in file size of the building objects is no doubt due to differences in how the buildings are modeled.

Some of us have a doubt, as posted here a while ago:

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=69797#69797

We think that gsm is not as good as 3ds or other object file types,
as far as size is concerned.

Bob

And what are you basing this opinion on? Matthew's point was about a file created inside Archicad, not imported from 3DS.

Your other post is comparing an imported 3DS to an object created inside Archicad. It seems logical to assume these two might act differently, since Archicad elements have a direct counterpart in GDL. 3DS can create many shapes that Archicad could not, so would probably require a lot more coding to approximate, resulting in a larger GSM from a 3DS conversion.

In this case, I cannot say for sure. It might require a MOD file posted to take a look at for a better assist. Are there a lot of meshes or profiled walls in the file? Personally, i've usually seem pretty small GSM files since more complex models usually reference others for windows, doors, etc.

[Anonymous]

jdk wrote:
Some of us have a doubt, as posted here a while ago...We think that gsm is not as good as 3ds or other object file types,
as far as size is concerned.

I have no doubts, as I am intimately familiar with the differences between procedural scripts and binary gsm. This has nothing to do with 3DS which I do find very useful to transfer between programs. This is about saving entire buildings as parts to be used within another ArchiCAD file.

Since 3DS is not native to ArchiCAD and GSM is not native to anything else, any relative inferiority or superiority is purely academic and of no present practical consequence.

[owen]

I can understand Bobs frustration and i think he has some very valid concerns which i share ... i would have (tried to) put them a little more diplomatically though. Unfortunately as this is the only real place where there is any discussion of Archicad these frustrations often get directed at the wrong people (i.e each other instead of Graphisoft). As many have said it would be good if Graphisoft took a more participatory role on these forums. I think they do pay attention to what is going on, but from what we can see we really don't know. Get on here and discuss things with your clients directly.

anyway

Matthew wrote:
I wouldn't worry about the file sizes unless there is some kind of problem.

so back to the original topic ... 3DS>GSM conversion is far too inefficient. I have just run into this in a big way with a series of complex 3D curved canopy structures modeled in Cinema4D. This was imported into Archicad via Maxonform. AFAIK essentially the same process as 3DS Import, with some extra GDL to show floor plan cut heights. It also seems to acheive slightly smaller GSM's than straight 3DS Import, but not by much.

Attached is an image of the combined 5 canopies in GDL as created by Maxonform. I cannot post even one of them here as they are each 7-8Mb GSM's which will not compress enough. PM me if you would like me to email one (1.8Mb).

It is unworkably slow IMO. Anything involving these objects takes 10-15mins (open file, open object settings dialog, change object setting, etc). Take a look at my machine specs (its not much better running on XP partition either). Working with them in C4D is a breeze.

If Maxonform/C4D is going to be Graphisofts solution to Archicad's modeling shortfalls for the foreseeable future they need to do something to improve AC's handeling of what can be created in C4D.

Even our local reseller has asked me why i am using Maxonform as they think it has issues. My answer was if there was an alternative i would be using it ...

[Anonymous]

owen wrote:
so back to the original topic ...

The original topic has NOTHING to do with 3DS. If you wish to discuss this create a topic about it. I think there is much to be learned from the comparative values of different file formats but this was not the point. Do you think that it is better to save a building model as 3DS to reimport to ArchiCAD for conversion to a GSM file than to simply save the GSM directly?

[Electric Flute]

Well, the original question was:

"My GSM objects are huge....why?"

So it is inevitable the comparison between gsm objects with others file formats like 3DS. Comparasions and competition dictate the progress, and all we want is an even better AC.

Complex GSM objects are huge and so heavy in the 3D window that they are almost insane.
If we want to communicate with the rest of the world Graphisoft does need to pay attention to this shortcoming.
I'm sure they can make a better job.