Hi all. Been a lurker here for a while getting assistance from people with similar past issues but have encountered a lasting problem with my files and projects that I have yet to see on any online forums. I have a feeling it is related to my inexperience and inefficiency with the software rather than it being Cinema's fault.
I do product and lifestyle renderings for an office seating company. I usually take low-res CAD models and produce better quality models in Cinema4D to then use in detailed environments to be rendered using Corona for Cinema4D R23.11
I have an issue where I often have to use models from past render projects. I typically delete anything from the source project file that I don't need, save a copy of that trimmed down scene, and merge it into my main project.
For some reason, I cannot reduce the file size of previous scenes I have worked on to just get the geometry I want. Even if I just want a single chair model from a past project scene (without exporting that object as another filetype so I can preserve any C4D modifiers I have used such as Symmetry of Subdivision Surface), deleting everything but the object in question does not reduce the file size and said file size carries over into my main project. This has resulted in my main project file going from 50MBs to 1.7GBs, takes up to 15 minutes to load, occupies around 50 GBs of RAM (I have 128GBs), and I can BARELY move around my viewport.
I have tried a number of things to make sure that the geometry isn't the source of the issue. My polycount for the few models I have in my scene is just under 2 million and I have used low subdivision modifiers and instances wherever I can. I have tried to merge the entire project into a new untitled project but the result is the same. I have also tried to save out any of the models as alternate filetypes so that I could try to reimport the scene as an FBX or OBJ but the program just freezes at 0% processed when I try to do this. I suspect that the issue is related to a rookie mistake on my part.
If anyone thinks that they can help me determine the cause of this issue, it would not only greatly assist me in saving my current project but also help inform me of what I have been doing wrong with future projects like this one! If the solution is not simple to determine and I need to provide more information or files, please let me know right away
--Carl