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Game Editing => IMVU Creator Community => Topic started by: kat on September 19, 2015, 07:11:57 AM

Title: [IMVU] How tall are IMVU Avatars?
Post by: kat on September 19, 2015, 07:11:57 AM
Exactly how tall or how height are IMVU avatars?

The short answer is...
IMVU avatars are 1150.0 metres tall in 3DS Max. Yes they are THAT big!

The long answer is...
Depending on the file used, the units set up or imported, or even the version of 3DS Max, the actual height of IMVU avatars may vary. Using the standard Rigged Avatar (https://www.imvu.com/creators/education_center.php?tutorial_id=2225389) example file open in 3DS Max , the entire model typically registers as standing at "1150.0m" in height from the baseline (centre of the 'root' node) to the top of bald head. So whilst IMVU did use "Metric" units of measurement in 3DS Max when building their characters, they didn't appear to pay much attention to subsequent sizing being representative of the real world (which is why this question is often asked). In other words, rather than using "Metric" or "Meter" units as a rule, avatars and various resources should be used to guide the content creation process to ensure best or proper fit.



IMVU Avatar size in other applications
This does of course present an issue for non-Max users as the unit of measurement present in the available *.max files can't be used, or are difficult to use, with confidence to work out relative scale in their respective application of choice; in Blender for example converting an IMVU file generally means using a View properties scaling of "100" ("View » Properties » Display » Scale = 100.00", or press "N" then "Display » ... etc."), which provides a simple baseline to work with (and grid-snap level). Larger values can be used as needed depending on the size of the Scene being made however.

Similar adjustments likely need to be made in SketchUp, Maya and other non-Max 3D applications, again not because they use different units of measurement or scale per se, rather because IMVU avatars are so physically big and bear no relation to any real-world workable sense of size or scale so they scale imported or necessary may mean the applications defaults being far too small.



IMVU Avatar height in Unity
With the availability of IMVUnity (https://developer.imvu.com/) IMVU is opening up certain aspect of the platform to development. In relation to this the avatar is scaled to fit Unitys default "Metric" and "Meter" unit of measurement. This essentially means the default avatar stands slightly taller than 2 metres (approximately 2.25m) - in comparison this would make a standard doorway approximately 3 Unity 'units' tall, or a typical seat between 0.5 (half) to 0.75 (three-quarter) metres in height.

For Blender specifically, both it and Unity treat the default unit of scale the same way so a 1 x 2.25 x 1 block representing the avatar imported into Blender (from Unity) is similarly 1 x 2.25 x 1 UNIT in size, requiring it be up-scaled by a value of "512" so it's height is roughly equal the aforementioned "1150" units height of the standard avatar open in Blender ("511.111" for "1150" units as "512" actually equals "1152" units in height). But again, as IMVU scales content relative to Unity build items as would normally be done for IMVU not Unity (unless making content to load specifically into Unity in which case observe the normal Blender » Unity scaling).




Additional Resources
- Getting started with Blender for IMVU (https://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/imvu/getting-started.php)
- Make IMVU furniture rooms in Blender (https://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/imvu/make-rooms.php)
- Make furniture in Blender (https://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/imvu/make-furniture.php)
- Make Hair in for IMVU (Workshop membership required (https://www.katsbits.com/smforum/index.php?topic=502.0))
- Make a tail accessory (https://www.katsbits.com/smforum/index.php?topic=546.0)