Too BIG MAYA FILE SIZE !

Kirito1397

I recently started using MAYA and am new to it with my knowledge limited to only the modeling part. I created a scene using basic modeling but the problem is that file size is to big for objects modeled.
The scene represents a Class room which should of fairly low size as compared to whopping 92 MB !! in size.
Key points:
1. Every object was modeled separately and then imported into a single file, so final file was created after importing of         7- to - 8 objects,
2. I first imported all the required objects(mouse,keyboard,C.P.U ,etc) to form a table setup and then exported this file         into a new file for modeling final classroom scene.
3. There was an error once in opening the scene file where shader got deleted or corrupted and I had to manually add         shader to objects.
Here I am providing too files and I think probably both have same problem, so if download size is a issue you can choose file with low size (Table Setup) but I am looking for a solution for the big file (Classroom).
Files are given here:
Classroom (Size 92 MB) :https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M8dYaCwPeMldXJolqEOBLGYgHKtQnWWn/view?usp=sharing
Table Setup (Size 12 MB): https://drive.google.com/file/d/11RBe5Wvyfsojw9a-hH9lBrTh7JUEyMOr/view?usp=sharing

METHODS TRIED BUT NOT WORKING :
1. Optimize scene file - No significant change in file size (i.e. in KBs) .
2. Exporting and importing objects .

Please provide a solution for this problem, your help is much appreciated .

TheGabmeister

Kirito1397 said:

whopping 92 MB !! in size.

This isn't that big of a size. I think it's normal to deal with files that reach 200 MB to 500 MB especially when you are baking normals maps since you have high-poly meshes that increase the file size.

If you really want want to decrease the file size, use instanced objects instead of unique duplicates. I tried it on your 92 MB file, and I reduced the file size to 15 MB.

Kirito1397

Wow! Thanks man
But could you clarify my following doubts :
1. Were there any other errors that could cause increase in file size.
2. I don't know the concept of baking normals map, so could you explain what are these and how to avoid these while modeling.
3. Is there any way to change unique duplicates to instances or did you deleted unique duplicates first and then replaced them with instances.

Also it will be helpful if you could send the corrected file as I will be able review my mistakes.
Thanks in advance!

oglu

Files we have to deal with are around 3gb + a lot of other 3gb files referenced in. All data around 400gb and thats a small project compared to other studios.

Why do you think your file is to big? 

TheGabmeister

Kirito1397 said:

Wow! Thanks man
But could you clarify my following doubts :
1. Were there any other errors that could cause increase in file size.
2. I don't know the concept of baking normals map, so could you explain what are these and how to avoid these while modeling.
3. Is there any way to change unique duplicates to instances or did you deleted unique duplicates first and then replaced them with instances.

1. I didn't see any anything else. There are probably other ways to reduce the file size that are beyond my knowledge.

2. Check out the Polycount Wiki and look for Texture Baking.

3. Yup, I just deleted the existing duplicates and replaced them with instances. Not sure if there's a more efficient way of doing this.

Kirito1397

Thanks for your helpi.

Mark Dygert

If they're just static objects that aren't skinned make sure you delete the history if you don't need it. If you do need it you should create a copy of your object, freeze transforms and delete history before placing it in the final scene that way each object is represented only by the data that it needs not all of the steps and tweaks it took to build that object.

You probably want to set up a separate scene that contains the final layout, you might want to reference several batches of files so you can go work on them in isolation and not have to worry about all of the other data in the scene. If you cut up your scene wisely you will be able to load/unload large chunks of it which should help with performance.

Keep in mind that edits to referenced files will bloat the scene as well, it keeps track of each edit in a giant list (File > Reference Editor > File > List Reference Edits) so it is better to go back to the original file, make your changes and then go back to the final scene where the changes are just pulled in automatically.

It can help to parent objects to locators and use the locators to position the object in the scene. That way you can make sweeping changes to the meshes that might screw with their pivot and you won't lose it's actual location and orientation in the final scene.

File > Optimize Scene Size 
You might have a lot useless data just sitting around that isn't needed. I've had 500mb files shrink down to 150mb.

Lastly, know that Maya's viewport is kind of crappy at handling large amount of objects and polygons. If you use references you can unload large chunks of the scene and improve performance. So think about how you It might be better to switch to something like a game engine. Unreal is a great tool for laying out scenes and adding animations, plus it looks great, is responsive and Sequencer is pretty cool. You should check it out.