Since the release of v1.20, a new tool has been made available to Second Lifers – The ARC, or Avatar Rendering Cost. With one relatively simple command, you can find out what your overall impact on the sim is, based on how long it takes the servers to process your appearance and make it show up so people can see it. Basically, how much you make people around you lag.
How Do I See My ARC?
Turn ARC on, press Control-Alt-D (sometimes Control-Alt-Shift-D) to enable the Advanced menu. Then go Rendering -> Info Displays -> Avatar Rendering Cost. A number will appear over your head based on SL’s calculations of your cost to rez. While it’s not 100% accurate, it’s a good way to judge how much lag you’re causing. If your ARC is green, you’re fine. If it’s orange, you’re pushing it. If it’s RED, you’re an evil lag-monkey and should be spanked mercilessly. :D
How can I reduce my ARC?
Well, I’m glad you asked! Reducing your ARC is an excellent way to help improve sim performance, particularly if you’re at a busy location like, say… a hunt or Hair Fair, hint hint. To reduce your ARC, first you have to understand what causes it:
- Prims
- Textures
- Alpha Textures
- Sculpties
- Scripts
- HUDs
Basically, anything attached to you will increase your ARC. Here’s a brief list of what things cost, based on my tests:
- Your basic avatar with skin, shape and eyes – 1 ARC
- A0 (Zhao 2) – Does not affect ARC, but affect server lag. Zhao IIs are very low lag.
- AO (Non-Zhao) – Does not affect ARC, but affect server lag. In short, it’s bad.
- Hair – 200-5000 ARC.
- Clothing (Texture ONLY) – 1 ARC
- Clothing (Basic 1-2 Prim Mini Skirt) – 20-100 ARC
- Clothing (Full Prim Skirt) – 200-3000 ARC (YES, 3000!)
- Clothing (Full Ballgown) – 1500-5000 ARC
- Shoes (Basic Sculptie Pumps) – 100-200 ARC
- Boots (Knee) – 200-900 ARC
- Jewellery (Necklace, Earrings & Bracelet) – 500-1000 ARC
- Weapons (Guns) – 5000-15000 ARC (I’m not kidding, they’re killers!)
- Bling – Does not affect ARC, but affect server lag. In short, it’s bad.
- Sculpties – Basically 20-100 ARC EACH.
- Prims – +10 ARC per prim +1 ARC point per face +1 ARC point per meter of size +4 ARC if bump mapping is applied
- Textures – +5 ARC per unique texture
- Invisible/Shiny/Glowing – +1 ARC per prim.
- Transparency – +4 per face of the prim +4 ARC per animated texture face
- Flexi – +8 ARC per prim.
- A Particle Generator Prim – +16 ARC per point.
These numbers were either taken off the Second Life website, or from my own experiments.
What Does This Mean For Me?
Simply, if you’re going somewhere busy, cut down! If you’re going to Hair Fair, you don’t need a big prim skirt, insanely primmy hair, jewellery, a bunch of HUDs and a particle generator that trails a cloud of lovehearts after you. Take it off. Strip down to basic texture clothing. It is quite possible to have an ARC of 1 without being naked. Hair-wise, mesh is the lowest ARC but failing that try an updo without alpha textures and low prims. ETD and Minnu Model Skins sells hair that has, in my experience, a very low sim cost. Some of their updos cost less than 200 ARC. Or buy a skin with a hairbase, like from Nora Bodyskins. That way you don’t need hair, because you already have it. Use a Zhao II AO – they’re scripted to be extremely low lag, AND the AO itself is free.
So to sum up, the ARC is a nifty way to get a rough idea of how much your avatar costs to rez. While it’s not accurate, it’s a good idea to go by, and if you’re going to an event PLEASE try and keep your ARC below 200. You can still be fabulous without making everyone else lag.
<3 Scarbie!
