What does Proxy Plus Do?

It automates proxy creation and management to improve viewport performance.

Generate Proxy Rig Mesh

Deforming meshes (especially more than one) drastically slow down the viewport. To solve this, teams often make proxy rigs. The original deforming mesh is broken up into pieces. Each piece then follows its bone directly instead of deforming to it. This is much faster in the viewport.

Don't worry, these proxies are only visible in the viewport - the render will still render your full-fidelity character.

As for performance? Here's an example.

With a target of 120 fps playback with Eevee on in Blender 4.0, Blender hit 58-82fps. With the proxy, it stabilizes close to 120fps. The instability shown is likely due to bottlenecks from Eevee playback and being screen recorded.

Generate Decimated Proxy

For non-rigged meshes (or if you just want only one proxy object), this operator simply applies a decimate modifier to a proxy copy of selected objects. Again, these proxies are only visible in the viewport - the render only uses your full-fidelity character.

Toggle Proxy

Want to toggle between your proxy and high quality meshes? Instead of searching in the outliner, this operator allows switching between the proxy and full-fidelity meshes generated above!

See the documentation tab on its naming convention. Then you can utilize it with your own custom proxies.

Adaptive Proxy Mode

Instead of making separate proxy objects, Proxy Plus can automatically reduce subdivisions for existing deselected objects!

When enabled, currently selected meshes objects are set to full fidelity, while deselected objects are "proxy-ified":

• viewport levels for subdivision and multiresolution modifiers for deselected objects are lowered, selected objects increase subdivisions to match render level
  
• viewport display for deselected objects is optionally set to a less distracting mode like wireframe or bounds (inspired by the Inactive Shading add-on, credits to them: blenderartists.org/t/shading-for-inactive-objects-in-viewport-wireframe/1206498), selected objects are set to default textured mode
  

Meshes that act as booleans to other objects are ignored.

Changelog

• July update (0.4.14)  - fixed importing issue in 4.2 when reloading add-ons, minor optimization for optimize vertex groups operator
  
• June update (0.4.13) - compatible as a Blender 4.2 extension! Fixed some default values.
  
• May update (0.4.12) - new increment parameter for proxy rig (see docs for details) and several bugfixes
  
• April update (0.4.9) - fix error raised upon unregistering/disabling add-on
  
• Easter update (0.4.8) - disable modifiers by type in Adaptive Proxy mode! See documentation for more information.
  
• Saint Patrick's Day update (0.4.7)
  
  • Adaptive Proxy mode: Fixed error with boolean meshes
    
  • Decimate mesh operator: Updated redo UI to show full method name
  • Proxy rig operator: minor optimizations/refactors
  • Proxy rig operator: now puts armature back to previous pose position (rest or pose) instead of always pose
  • Proxy rig operator: Fixed use case when a proxy mesh has zero vertices or faces
• March update (0.4.3) - changed menu name from "Proxy" to "Proxy Plus", added menu to object context menu, updated poll checks for operators, updated descriptions and error messages, fixed add-on reloading for development.
  
• Original release (0.4.2)