01. FAQ (frequently asked questions)

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vam_logo_gr.png Stuff that is asked A LOT!!!


Newbies: Getting started

I'm new at this. How do I...?
@Ghostwalden has many guides made towards beginners:

Do I need a VR headset to use VaM?
No, you can use desktop mode, but you won't be able to use virtual hands to grab and touch things.

Where do I put a VAR file I downloaded from the Hub, Patreon, other place?
VARs are to be placed always in the AddonPackages folder.

The person in the scene is missing hair/clothes/textures/something
You're likely missing some dependencies that the scene calls for. In VaM, open the Hub Browse (button in UI), then "Scan Hub for missing referenced packages" and download what you need.
If you click on a package presented in the Hub Browse it shows also its dependencies and whether you have them or not already.

Some characters, mainly cartoon or game ports, don't use hair but mimic it with a CUA (CustomUnityAsset). See the next question on how you can load it from a preset.

I have a look with a CustomUnityAsset (CUA). Can I save the CUA in a Appearance preset?
No. A CUA can only be saved as part of a scene.
However, there's a plugin called CUAManager that can load CUAs when you load a specific morph used in a Appearance preset, or manually too.
Please read the plugin's description for instructions and range of options.

Is a look preset or appearance preset the same?
No, they're slightly different, but it's common to refer to one as the other when writing. It is advisable to use a appearance preset over the legacy look preset.
Appearance presets are made and loaded from the tab "Appearance presets", while Looks presets are in "Control & Physics 1".
See also the above link in "I'm new at this. How do I...?" question for a video tutorial on how to use Appearance presets.

The penis misses the hole or bends during penetration
This can happen often when you change the appearance of the person atom or are in possession mode and moving a little. A easy way to fix this is to add a plugin to the male atom that takes control of the penis orientation and collision. There's a few in the Hub, here's one:



Broken... pouf... kaput... errors everywhere

Help, VAM crashes or doesn't start properly
Start by running vam_updater.exe and do a check for Core integrity.
If there were no errors, then check if:
  • your VaM folder doesn't have or is not in a special permissions area like Program Files
  • you have the latest version
  • if restarting the PC does any difference
If you can start VaM but there's issues, check the Error log for anything to help you figure out the problem source.
If you can't start VAM, or you can but there are issues and you can't figure out the source, copy vam_updater.exe to a new folder and download VaM. Run this base VaM, but don't add anything to it. If even this doesn't work, create a thread on the forum's Help section.

Citrix Workspace: if you have this installed, VaM and other Unity software won't work.
Unity error log: if you want a txt file with all the errors presented plus others that don't show in the Error Log see Unity's error log in C:\Users\yourUser\Appdata\LocalLow\MeshedVR\VaM\output_log.txt

VaM crashes when I load several scenes or lots of appearances/clothing changes
VAM loves RAM ❤
How much RAM you have and your usage may crash it after a while, especially if you're using it in VR. 32 GB RAM seems to be a good spot for a longer intensive use, 16 GB needs some "hard reset" once in a while, and with 8 GB you're just asking for it. Use the crash time to get some water and clean your headset ☺

The Hub Browser inside VaM doesn't work with Patreon/Mega/other websites
UPDATE: The new VaM version - >1.21 - possibly doesn't have this problem anymore ?

The Hub Browser, as the name implies, is a browser for the Hub resources. It's made from a very old Chromium build and it won't work with many modern websites.
If you want to access other websites you'll need to use your actual web browser.

I need help with my errors in the Error Log




Scene editing

How can I add sounds or music in my scene or have a person talking?
Essentially you want to trigger playing a sound in some type of receiver.
Example trigger for a AudioSource atom:
  • Receiver Atom: Audio Source
  • Receiver: Audio Source
  • Receiver Target: Play (multiple options)
Example trigger for a Person atom:
  • Receiver Atom: Person
  • Receiver: Head Audio
  • Receiver Target: Play (multiple options)
See more about it on this thread:
VaM 1.22: the new built-in lip sync is in the auto-behaviours tab and the audio receiver is the person's head audio.

How can I add speech/thought bubbles?
For the built-in speech/thought bubbles see this thread:
You may also be interested in these plugins:

How can I make the person grab clothing?
To have a person atom grab clothing you need to use the ClothGrabSphere atom. This atom will affect all clothing items within its range (scale) and the clothes must have Sim and Undress (detach) capabilities and activated.
  • Add a ClothGrabSphere overlapping the clothes (fully or partly) you want to grab
  • Once positioned, turn the CGS off and on to grab the clothing item
You can parent link the CGS atom to a hand to mimic animated undressing, and use a trigger to turn it off an on when needed.

How do I switch a female atom to a male atom and vice versa?
The sex is based on the skin of the person atom. You can change it in the Skin Select tab of the person atom:

Can I use female clothes/hair on a male, or vice versa?
Clothing:
Clothes are fitted to a mesh, male or female, so unless you have the original obj clothes to refit them in DAZ and import back in VaM, then no.

Hair:
If they are local files, you just need to copy the contents (or subdirectories) of "Custom\Hair\female" to "Custom\Hair\male.
If they're in a VAR, you'd need to open the VAR with your zip utility and copy the files to your local folder.

Clothes for a male or Futa go through the body
Male atoms have a lot less colliders than female atoms, and Futas are male atoms with some female morphs used. Some clothing, especially in the chest and legs, can go through the body when simulated because there's too few colliders to push on it.
There's a plugin called Suplementary colliders that adds invisible capsule atoms, creating an area of collision for the clothes in the male/futa. Mind you that the atom list will increase considerably with the new capsule items.

Nipples come through the clothing, how do I fix that?
Well-made clothes will limit this, but if it's not enough you still have options to try:
  • Reducing the nipples morphs
  • Increasing the thicness and/or surface offset of the clothing item
  • Using the Nipple Clipping Reducer script

How do I move more than one atom at a time?
Add a subscene or a empty atom and parent to it the atoms you want to move.
Tip: A subscene atom is preferable when moving person atoms because by default it freezes physics when moving. Make sure to unfreeze physics when positioning the persons next to a surface to prevent collision issues.

Can I copy an animation from a scene to another scene?
Yes, but it depends on how it's made and what else could break. You can have animations made in several ways, and each has its own possibilities and difficulties. And besides the animation there's other factors to consider like buttons with triggers, audio, clothing, CUA, etc. You should be already familiarised with basic scene making, especially the used method on the scene you want, to attempt this.

How can I merge morphs?
Check out this plugin:

Can I "unmerge" merged morphs?
The simple answer is no.
However, if you know what morphs were used and their values you could potentially reverse it, but chances are you don't.

The UI and letters are too small. Can I zoom and offset the main UI?
VaM 1.21 shows on top the path when you hover the texture. If you're not on 1.21, you can use the 3 dots menu of the deskop UI bar (grey) where you can zoom in and offset the UI.



VAR packaging

How do I make a VAR?
There's a nice guide for you:

And if you want to be a pro at VAR packaging and common pitfalls:

More about VARs:

Why does my VAR have so many dependencies?
ZRSX made a guide to help you avoid this VAR packaging common pitfall:



Performance

How can I get more FPS in a scene?
Uffff... this is a complicated question with many factors involved.
A fast way to boost FPS, a must for those with less performant machines, is to use the plugin GiveMeFPS:

To know more what impacts the most CPUs and GPUs and squeeze everything that you can from your machine and VAM content, here's a guide on improving FPS:
And check out this thread from MacGruber about benchmark testing and results:

My FPS are so low that the scene animations stutter and/or are in slow motion
Once you go below 18 FPS (more or less) things can get a bit weird. Your hardware and settings will have a huge impact on how well scenes run, but also how the scene was built is important. Here are some factors that have a substantial impact on your FPS:
  • Number of person atoms and enabled soft body physics
  • Hair settings and sim clothing
  • Light sources and shadows
  • Large and demanding environments
  • Amount of stuff in the scene
  • Concurrent animations with physics calculations
See the question above - "How can I get more FPS in a scene?" - for more options on what you can do to improve your VAM experience.

There's a big FPS drop when the model is very close

If I reduce my FOV do I get better performance?
the "FOV gives you better performances" thing is because you have a proper frustrum culling on games, which is not the case of VaM
hazmhox



Licenses & Copyright, Import & Export

What do the CC and PC licenses mean?

Can I share a screenshot of my paid content using a resource that has a NC (non commercial) in the CC license?
NC content can't be used in any way to promote paid content, unless you get the creators permission. If you DO get their permission, please mention it in your post so us moderators don't waste our time investigating it.
quote from DJ

I am allowed to share a ported purchased asset from DAZ or other stores?
Check out this thread:

Would adding music constitute a possible copyright violation?

Is there a thread with a list of people that do commissions?
The problem is that it's illegal to make a model of a real person without their consent. If we had such a thread, it would be full of "Hey, I have some pictures of a girl from my class, who can make me a model of her" type posts, which is illegal, creepy, and a very bad look for Vam.
No doubt Vam users are commissioning all kinds of things from each other. People are gonna do what they're gonna do. But there's never going to be a channel or thread on any official Vam site that facilitates this.
quote from DJ

Is there a way to export clothing items from VaM to DAZ or Blender?
No there isn't. Vam only imports the data it needs, so a vam clothing item doesn't include all the information required for a Daz clothing item.
quote from DJ
 
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What ares these and how to you get rid of them??
 

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Those are capsules from a older version of a plugin from Urukyay - supplementary colliders or something like that - to compensate for the reduced number of colliders in male person atoms.
To remove them you may need to do that manually.
 
Hello @atani One question, my english is very bad so I need a little help; in the sex scene the THRUST what exactly is? The speed and the depth of the penetration? I still tryng to increase the speed of the penetration but i cannot acomplish because i'm confusing between the controls.
Thank you.
 
Hello @atani One question, my english is very bad so I need a little help; in the sex scene the THRUST what exactly is? The speed and the depth of the penetration? I still tryng to increase the speed of the penetration but i cannot acomplish because i'm confusing between the controls.
Thank you.
If the question is for a specific scene, please ask in the discussion area of that scene as it depends on what the creator did.
 
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