Frequently Asked Questions #

Here is the list of frequently asked questions about Avatar Optimizer. If you have some other questions, please feel free to ask on the GitHub Discussions or on Fediverse (Misskey / Mastodon). I’m usually use Japanese, but you can ask me with English.

The behavior or appearance of the avatar is changed when using AAO Trace and Optimize component #

If the behavior or appearance of the avatar is changed when using AAO Trace and Optimize component, it is always a bug unless you depend on bugs in other components of Avatar Optimizer.

Please report it on GitHub Issues, Fediverse (Misskey / Mastodon), Twitter, etc.

Mesh is invisible even though it is in the field of view #

This problem is often due to forgetting to specify the Root Bone of the Skinned Mesh Renderer.

AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component does not automatically set the Root Bone, so you need to manually set the Root Bone of the Merged Mesh¹.

If you are using Modular Avatar, you can add MA Mesh Settings component to the root of the avatar to set the Root Bone and Bounds for the whole avatar.

The brightness of the meshes merged with AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component is different from other meshes #

This problem is often due to forgetting to specify the Anchor Override of the merged meshes.
AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component does not automatically set the Anchor Override, so you need to manually set the Anchor Override of the Merged Mesh¹.

If you are using Modular Avatar, you can add MA Mesh Settings component to the root of the avatar to set the Anchor Override for the whole avatar.

Material property animations conflict when using AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component #

This problem is a known bug and is currently expected to conflicts.

When merging meshes with animated material propeeries, be careful not to conflict. If there is a conflict, a warning will be displayed, so please check the warning.

Issue of this problem: #340

Material slot animations conflict when using AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component #

AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component will merge material slots using the same material of the merge target meshes by default. This will also merge animated material slots.

If you have some material slots which will be replaced differently with animation, you should un-check Merge of Merge Materials of AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component.

BlendShape animations conflict when using AAO Merge Skinned Mesh component #

This problem is a known bug and is currently expected to conflicts.

When merging meshes with animated BlendShapes, be careful not to conflict. If there is a conflict, a warning will be displayed, so please check the warning.

Issue of this problem: #568

PhysBones / Contact Receivers that are used in the OSC-based gimmick are not working #

The AAO Trace and Optimize component is carefully designed to not change the behavior of the avatar. However, for technical reasons, the AAO Trace and Optimize component cannot detect some PhysBone / Contact Receiver components are used in the OSC-based gimmick or not.

Some modern avatars have their own gimmicks based on PhysBone / Contact Receiver components, so those components will be forgotten to remove in most cases. Therefore, AAO Trace and Optimize will assume that such components are not for OSC-based gimmick, and remove them if they are not used for other ways.

Of course, this assumption is not always the case, so if you are using PhysBone / Contact Receiver components for the OSC-based gimmick without Animator or Expressions, please configure your avatar to detect them as used in the avatar.
AAO Trace and Optimize will not remove them if they are used in the Animator in the avatar. So, by adding parameters used in the OSC-based gimmick to the parameter list of Animator Controller or Expression Parameters, such components will not be removed.

In addition, for future discussion, if your OSC-based gimmick is removed by AAO Trace and Optimize, could you let us know the name of parameter used in the OSC-based gimmicks? I may implement list of parameters likely to be used by OSC and keeping components for those parameters, or other ways to prevent removing them in the future. Please feel free to contact on the GitHub issue below, Fediverse (Misskey / Mastodon) or Twitter.

Issue of this problem: #1090

I cannot upload the avatar because of pre-build hard limit check #

Avatar Optimizer and some other non-destructive avatar modification tools may make your avatar not exceed the hard limit of VRChat. However, the upload button on the VRCSDK Control Panel will be disabled if the hard limit is exceeded with on-scene Avatar. You may use the following methods to skip pre-build hard limit check. Please note that those methods will not skip the post-build hard limit check.

• Manual bake avatar before uploading the avatar.

  You can use NDM Framework/Manual bake avatar on the context menu of the Avatar GameObject to apply non-destructive tools before uploading the avatar. This will clone your avatar and apply non-destructive tools to the cloned avatar, so your original avatar will not be modified.

• Use Upload without pre-check by Sayamame-beans.

  Upload without pre-check is a tool that allows you to upload the avatar without pre-build hard limit check.

• Use VRCQuestTools by kurotu.

  VRCQuestTools is a tool to easily convert your avatar to Android / Quest compatible avatar.
  As a part of the tool, VQT Avatar Builder allows you to upload the avatar without pre-build hard limit check for Android build.

I want to support the development of Avatar Optimizer #

If you want to support the development of Avatar Optimizer, feedback on GitHub Discussions, bug reports, feature requests, etc. on GitHub Issues, and pull requests are welcome.

Issues with good first issue are relatively easy to implement. It is recommended for your first pull request. Also, issues with help wanted are ones that lack developers or information. Your participation in discussions and development would be appreciated.

I also accept financial support on GitHub Sponsors and Booth.