ZBrushCentral

Need Help on Optimizing Performance

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi guys,

I’m currently working on a character and Zbrush is starting to slow down. Hoping to receive some tips to speed things up maybe in terms of settings, workflow, Windows configuration, anything. Here are some details:

PC specs (laptop): i7 2.6 GHz, 16gig ram, Zbrush(64bit) is installed on SSD

ZPR file: total of 53mil points at the moment (just the lower body), mostly each subtool is 2-4mil with 1-3 layers

Compact mem: 2048, can’t feel any changes

Any tips or links is greatly appreciated! Thank you! :slight_smile:

#2

  1. What do you mean by “Zbrush is slowing down”? Is stroke performance becoming sluggish, or the file is simply getting slow to manage in terms of saving/loading, etc?

  2. How large is the file (file size?)

  3. Is it a problem with performance globally, or only with specific subtools? Are any of those individual subtools perhaps larger (in poly count) than your system can comfortably handle? Could they be split into smaller subtools?

[Edit] On any problematic subtools, make sure you have not inadvertently activated dynamic subdivision on a high resolution mesh. That will tank your performance every time, and is not always immediately apparent.

#3

Thanks for the response Spyndel!

  1. Sorry for the vague description. It’s the latter. The file is slower to manage. Decimation is hit or miss. It either freezes or it takes almost an hour to precompute. I needed to force shutdown my laptop the last time it froze.

  2. ZPR file is at 1.96gig at the moment.

  3. It’s globally. I double checked each subtools. The highest is 4mil with 4 layers. And none of them were in dynamic subdv.

#4

ZPR file is at 1.96gig at the moment.

Well, that file size is getting up there. There will come a point even with 64 bit, probably different on any given system, where the files will become increasingly unstable or start failing to save altogether.

I’m afraid you may have to institute some file discipline. Eliminate geometry where possible. Start merging objects where possible (use dynamesh to fuse them, zremesher to create a new low poly cage, and projection to recapture any lost detail). Use displacement over actual geometry for certain fine details, where possible.

Also, unless you specifically need to save the extra information a Zproject file does, save things out as a Ztool instead if you’re only working on geometry. Zproject files tend to accumulate a lot of extraneous tools and data you dont need for the tool at hand. If you need a Zproject file, go through the tool list and make sure to delete any extraneous tools there you no longer need.

#5

Been getting similar responses from my friends. I guess my file is just too big now. I will reexamine the file and manually optimize the meshes like you described. At least now I know the limit of my laptop. I was actually desktop user until I started working abroad last year. Still trying to get used to working in a laptop. Oh man the difference is huge! as expected lol

Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I appreciate it greatly! :slight_smile:

#6

You could try separating out your character into separate .ztl files and work on them separately rather than as one large character project. so your legs would be one file, torso another and maybe the head another.

#7

Yup. That’s the first thing I did. Thanks ArsMod!