SFM Limits?

[Fauna Joy]

I need a little advice. I finally got a really good gaming-grade computer, but there seems to be a problem with Source Filmmaker.

I'm trying to make a video that has a massive cast, but SFM starts to have problems when I reach around 35-40 models in the video no matter what map I try it on.

I thought it was a model limit, but I was told on Steam that there's a model limit of nearly 4,000. So could it be some other kind of limit? Bones, maybe? Because I'm using a few rather complex characters in this, ones that have large, poseable wings in addition to the usual biped skeleton.

I'm certain the problem isn't my computer, it's set up to be able to handle this kind of thing, that's why I got it, so it has to be the program.

[Zappy]

Just so you know, Source FilmMaker is basically a 32-bit game from pre-2010 that has been edited a lot, without being too optimized afterwards. Not to mention that because it's 32-bit, it's limited to around 4 gigabytes of RAM. So if you use, like, 35-40 rather complex characters, you're probably loading in a lot of resources into its RAM, filling it up a lot, which Source FilmMaker of course doesn't appreciate.

[Giggles]

Originally posted by Zappy:

Just so you know, Source FilmMaker is basically a 32-bit game from pre-2010 that has been edited a lot, without being too optimized afterwards. Not to mention that because it's 32-bit, it's limited to around 4 gigabytes of RAM. So if you use, like, 35-40 rather complex characters, you're probably loading in a lot of resources into its RAM, filling it up a lot, which Source FilmMaker of course doesn't appreciate.

This is all true, pretty much, no matter how good your PC may be, SFM isn't going to take advantage of a good PC, and as Zappy said, it's a 32-bit program, meaning it's limited on how much RAM in your system it can use. Man, I wish some people at Valve made it 64-bit, it would make life so much easier in SFM.

[episoder]

what is the exact problem? lagging or crashing or what?

[Zappy]

Originally posted by Giggles #Smithers:

- Man, I wish some people at Valve made it 64-bit, it would make life so much easier in SFM.

Well, Source 2 FilmMaker is 64-bit, and in fact 64-bit only if I'm not wrong. But of course, it doesn't have everything Source 1 FilmMaker has.

[Giggles]

Originally posted by Zappy:

Originally posted by Giggles #Smithers:

- Man, I wish some people at Valve made it 64-bit, it would make life so much easier in SFM.

Well, Source 2 FilmMaker is 64-bit, and in fact 64-bit only if I'm not wrong. But of course, it doesn't have everything Source 1 FilmMaker has.

Oh, I didn't even know this existed, but thanks anyway!

[Fauna Joy]

Originally posted by episoder:

what is the exact problem? lagging or crashing or what?

It CTDs. Sometimes when I try to load a model, sometimes when I'm just looking at models in the selection list.

[Fauna Joy]

Originally posted by Giggles #Smithers:

Originally posted by Zappy:

Just so you know, Source FilmMaker is basically a 32-bit game from pre-2010 that has been edited a lot, without being too optimized afterwards. Not to mention that because it's 32-bit, it's limited to around 4 gigabytes of RAM. So if you use, like, 35-40 rather complex characters, you're probably loading in a lot of resources into its RAM, filling it up a lot, which Source FilmMaker of course doesn't appreciate.

This is all true, pretty much, no matter how good your PC may be, SFM isn't going to take advantage of a good PC, and as Zappy said, it's a 32-bit program, meaning it's limited on how much RAM in your system it can use. Man, I wish some people at Valve made it 64-bit, it would make life so much easier in SFM.

So essentially I'm going to have to limit the number of models I use?

Also, not all of the models are overly complex. The vast majority are the simple bipedal human structure with some hair jiggles added in. All in all, I've been trying to add four, maybe five characters that have complex sets of wings added on.

[Marco Skoll]

Originally posted by Natorni:

Also, not all of the models are overly complex. The vast majority are the simple bipedal human structure with some hair jiggles added in.

The skeleton doesn't mean a lot. The real question is the detail of the mesh and the textures.

32-bit game engines weren't really expected to use 100K poly models with ultra HD textures, but that's a lot of what people are now porting to SFM.

[Fauna Joy]

Originally posted by Marco Skoll:

Originally posted by Natorni:

Also, not all of the models are overly complex. The vast majority are the simple bipedal human structure with some hair jiggles added in.

The skeleton doesn't mean a lot. The real question is the detail of the mesh and the textures.

32-bit game engines weren't really expected to use 100K poly models with ultra HD textures, but that's a lot of what people are now porting to SFM.

I'm not really sure how complex the textures would be considered, I'm not well versed in that sort of thing.