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Old 11th April 2013, 03:36 PM   #1
cow148
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Default Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

When I make a model in AC3D it shows it as having two surfaces one on each side in the 3d preview window. But when I export it as .dae for upload to second life as a mesh model it only shows one side meaning depending on the angle you see my mesh from in second life it will be solid on one side and completely transparent on the other. Why is this and how do I fix it?
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Old 12th April 2013, 12:58 PM   #2
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

Welcome to the world of "normals".

Many gaming systems only "display" (or assume) one-sided surfaces, so you must make sure that the displaying face (normal) is turned outward. If you create an object that has normals turned the opposite way, you can easily change it on an object basis or on a surface-by-surface basis. In the Surface menu, you should be able to find "Flip Normal" commands to use to rectify the situation.

AC3D also has a viewport display check box for normals that, when checked, displays a pink line extending away from the normal side, so you can see which way a surface faces. This works well for close-up work, but for a complex high-poly file, it creates a "porcupine" effect that is visually overwhelming.
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Old 12th April 2013, 04:40 PM   #3
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

Yes I was aware of that but I mean I want the object to have two sided surfaces.
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Old 12th April 2013, 06:03 PM   #4
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

Oh! I see now.

Select the surfaces/object and, in the bottom left of the interface, look for the Set Surface type area, specifically the 1S and 2S buttons... click 2S and the object or surface(s) will be 2-sided.... at least in AC3D. I have no idea whether Second Life actually supports 2-sided surfaces (my guess is it does), so I can't guarantee if that will actually WORK in-game.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you may need to control your Hierarchy, which tells Second Life what order to draw/display things in. This will be crucial if, as just one example, your 2-sided objects are "glass" and both need to be transparent, as well as have other objects visible through them. If those transparent items aren't lowest in the heirarchy list, any object below them will not display if between the viewer and that object.

In the Tools Menu, find Hierarchy View and learn how to change the order of objects. Play with it a bit, and get used to how the order can make items appear (and disappear) behind 2-sided objects such as transparent glass. You'll likely also learn that you may need to make glass and transparent objects separate objects (separate from other items they may be in; such as, separate window frame objects from the glass that's in them), so that you can move the glass to the bottom of the heirarchy list.... of course if the glass needs to 'stay with' or 'move with' other objects in the heirarchy, you may have some animation issues to solve.
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Old 24th April 2013, 08:26 AM   #5
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

I'm curious. Did you use the sculpted prim? If you did, try redoing the model using the defaults. Don't use the sculpted one's you import. Save that model as your desired format.
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Old 24th April 2013, 04:22 PM   #6
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

I've tried this with both the imported sculpted prims and the default primitive shapes on the AC3D tool bar both only show one side. Like the cylinder does not have surfaces on both the inside and outside. Its just one or the other.
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Old 24th April 2013, 05:58 PM   #7
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

If you're looking at the object(s) *in AC3D* and have Normals toggled on (3D menu/Normals "checked), do you see pink lines extending from both sides of the surface(s)? If you do, then any of those surfaces ARE two-sided. Whether your game or previewing app can display it is a completely different matter.

Are you previewing in AC3D or in Second Life?
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Old 19th August 2013, 04:36 PM   #8
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

If you want to ADD the other sides of some surfaces, you can select them, then edit->duplicate them, then surface->flip normal, then merge the new object back into the original object.

Of course, for performance reasons, you should only do this for the surfaces that will be visible from the other side.
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Old 19th August 2013, 06:36 PM   #9
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Default Re: Second Life Mesh Only shows 1 sided surfaces

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Baron View Post
If you want to ADD the other sides of some surfaces, you can select them, then edit->duplicate them, then surface->flip normal, then merge the new object back into the original object.

Of course, for performance reasons, you should only do this for the surfaces that will be visible from the other side.
yes I did figure this bit out and I agree for performance reasons its not the best idea.
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