Keeping modifiers for ease of modeling, while combining meshes when saving?

Support Modeling
1

I have a few different models where I want to keep their modifiers, such as linked meshes and mirroring, because it makes it much quicker to make changes.
But I need to combine them into one mesh for better performance in Unity3D.

I know I can join and separate meshes with CTRL - J, but that’s a one way command. I can’t even undo it with ctrl -Z.
I could of course join the meshes and save it as a new file. But I have a habit of pressing CTRL - S way too often…

Is there an easy way to handle this?

2

Nope, Learn to work with the blend1,2 etc. files and watch your habits.

But the ctrl-J should be undoable. Do you have global undo checked?

3

Isn’t that the exporter’s job?

When you export from Blender to a target format typically all modifiers are applied, thus a single object. Are you getting some other result?

4

No, modifiers aren’t the problem, but separate objects with modifiers are.
I use the blend files in Unity3D directly without saving to another format. Modifiers are applied but meshes aren’t combined. If I combine them before I save, I still have the problem of not being able to undo it.

@DruBan, thanks, I’ll look into global undo.

5

Do your things and export, just dont save blend file after that. Reload and modify.

6

It’s really a matter of version-control and discipline. For example, as a programmer-geek I use a version-control system (git), and a very carefully maintained diary (in a notebook with a number-two pencil).

Like you, I like modifiers, and I typically keep them in my “authoritative” models for this-or-that. However, from time to time, the results of those modifiers need to “become real.” Okay then, I first save (and check-in) the modifier-based file, then save a copy into another directory. In that other-directory copy, I apply the modifiers to “make it a ‘real boy’” and check that in (on a different so-called ‘branch’). The two files are therefore in-parallel, and one is the master (the “authority”), and the other is a derived product which at all times should be an exact derivative of that authority.

7

Ah, I see now by visiting theUnity link that they have cobbled together an import mechanism that is faulty. Or more importantly does not support the feature that you request. Nowhere on the Unity page does it state that it supports applying modifiers. The only clue given is that they are leveraging the FBX exporter from Blender which can apply modifiers on export. However, that exporter, itself does state that it will not apply modifiers if there is an Armature in the modifier stack (that is handled differently, I suppose).

You may want to ask on the Unity forum about a solution now that you know their importer is broken.

Another alternative might be to actually alter the Blender FBX exporter to go ahead and apply modifiers even if there is an Armature in the stack. That might actually work…

One test you could try would be to make an object without and armature and has modifiers and see if Unity imports correctly.