Complex Scenes in 3D Max results in strange juddering.

[Whisky-Delta]

Hello

I have been using a Space navigator for a few years now, and even got my skeptical boss using and loving it. Great little tool.

Now to the problem at hand. I am currently working on a high detail, high poly model in 3D Max 2010 and I am experiencing brief instances where when I try moving my perspective view with my space navigator I get this strange juddering, which lasts a few seconds then goes away and my viewport frame rate steadies out. This issue gets worse and worse, and interval lasts longer and longer the more polys and objects I have in the scene at any one time. At first I thought this was my computer just coping with the amount of data in the scene, and during this juddering, the computer was just throwing things into memory.

This juddering occurs when I first try and move my camera, I experience a few seconds of stop, start juddering of the viewport, then after a while it settles down and the camera continues to move smoothly. If I stop moving the viewport, then move again, it happens again, juddering commences, then stops and I can smoothly pan and orbit my model. If however I resort back to ALT and middle button, no matter how much I try and force this issue, it doesn’t happen. When using ALT and middle button i don’t experience juddering and my viewport frame rate remains constant.

So at this point i conclude that whenever you try and first move the viewport using the space navigator, a process in the background to do with the space navigator causes this juddering. Then once that process is completed, things settle down. As soon as you stop moving your view, and start again this process must have to start all over again. Now obliviously due to the amount of polys in my scene and number of objects my graphics card, processor and RAM have a lot to contend with, however i am making this thread as if this juddering does not occur when using normal ALT and middle button then maybe it could be fixed with a bit of optimization?

Hope i am clear and have made sense,

Regards

Whisky

[Bryan]

Dear Whisky-Delta,

It would be helpful for troubleshooting if you could provide some further system information.

In the 3Dconnexion Control Panel, what release version do you find listed in the About item under the Help Menu?

What graphics card are you using?
What drivers are you using for the graphics card?
What version, service packs do you have for 3D Max 2010?
What processor?
What ram?
About what number of objects, polygons, file size do you find brings this on juddering?
Do you have security software that may be checking ports?

Thanks,
Bryan

[Whisky-Delta]

Dear Whisky-Delta,
What graphics card are you using?
What drivers are you using for the graphics card?
What version, service packs do you have for 3D Max 2010?
What processor?
What ram?
About what number of objects, polygons, file size do you find brings this on juddering?
Do you have security software that may be checking ports?

EVGA Nvidia 260 216 core
190.38
No service packs installed
Q6600 2.4 Quadcore
4gig 800mhz (Dell XPS 420)

Currently my model has in total 935,598 polys and 1,802,750 tris, but i have sperated my model into manageble layers. I have been unhiding each layer, gradualy adding to the number of objects and polys in the scene. I have found i can get up to 87 objects, 247,288 polys viewable in the scene and as long as i dont select an object to orbit my viewpoint about, i get no juddering. If i then select 1 of any of the 87 objects, so i begin orbiting that selected object this juddering happens. if i select more and more objects of the 87 objects this juddering issue worsens. If i then select all of the 87 objects, despite the number of polys not increasing, this juddering issue never goes away, as soon as i deselct the objects all is well. If however i select all objcts in the scene, and resort to ALT + middle button paning there is no porblem what so ever and my frame rate is mooth and constant.

If i then unhide all of the 205 objects which make up my 23 meg file, unhide all 935,598 polys, do a select all and attempt to pan around my viewport using the space navigator, my view just wont move. In the same circumstances, but using ALT + middle button i can pan around no problem, albeit with a reduced frame rate. It is also worth noting if i unhide all 205 objects and 935,598 polys, but DONT select any of the objects in the scene, i experiece no juddering.

Could this have something to do with the 3DxWare trying to determine what origin the camera should pivot about? If you dont select an object it will pivot about the origin of the workspace, when you select an object it wil pivot about its pivot point. If you select a number of objects it will therefore have to work out an average pivot point. This would explain the reduced performance the more objects you select, but does not account as to why uisng simply ALT + middle button does not result in such circumstances.

Hope i have provided usefull infomration.