January 21, 2011, 10:00:52 pm
The out of memory message came while placing people in the scene. Then again while trying to reload the scene after crash. After three or so messages, a file finally loaded but some of the meshes had been deleted (one specific material). I do agree that collada is the best method to import models into Lumion but only because the materials are much better maintained.
For example, when importing an FBX version of a model the file size is 54,558 KB, but the meshes of differing materials are often combined or will not allow the application of any material at all. Maybe this has more to do with Autodesk shared materials vs. Standard materials. The same model imported as a collada has a file size of 256,748 KB and I rarely have material problems.
Obviously for stability purposes, I'd rather use the smaller model. Would OpenCollada plug-in reduce the file size compared to the Autodesk Collada export? Or maybe using standard materials on an FBX would work. I'm just using max as an intermediary for Revit conversion, so I'm not an experienced user. Any hope of improving assignments of mental ray materials?