Setup & Tuning Option Reference
This page documents the normal user-facing controls in RealSweatSystem 1.1.0. Controls marked Base appear when the Sweat Base Module is installed; controls marked Effects require the Sweat Effects Module.
Open the Tuning component
After Setup, expand the avatar in the Hierarchy and select the generated RealSweat object directly under the avatar root. Its Inspector contains RealSweatSystem Tuning.
If the object is missing because the first Setup did not finish, resolve the first Console error and run Setup — Install / Update again. If an installed RealSweat object was deleted manually, do not rerun Setup without checking the Body first; follow manual-deletion recovery.
When changes take effect
| Change | When it takes effect |
|---|---|
| Overall Sweat Amount | Material quality changes immediately. Press Apply to FX to also retune animated wetness, falling drops, and steam. |
| Droplet Size / Pattern Density | The Tess and No Tess surface materials update immediately. Press Apply to FX to also refresh falling-drop and strong-movement-fling scale. |
| 3D Detail Precision | Updates the installed Tess material immediately. |
| Automatic-response, accumulation-curve, retention, effect, and advanced FX values | Press Apply to FX. |
| Body material Shadow Strength | Press Apply to FX, or run Setup again, to copy it. |
| Custom Steam Point values | Press Apply to FX, or run the full Setup. |
| Setup structure, Body Elements, additional targets, 2D/3D particle quality, mirror options, first-person Breath, intensity radial, render order, and installed tessellation support | Run Setup — Install / Update. |
The accumulation graphs preview pending values immediately, but they do not modify generated FX until Apply to FX is pressed.
Setup window option reference
| Control | Module | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar | All | None | Target object with a VRC Avatar Descriptor. |
| Body Mesh | All | Auto-detect | Primary skin-side SkinnedMeshRenderer on a Hierarchy object, scale reference, and default Effects emission surface. This is not an .fbx or Mesh asset from the Project window. Auto-detection evaluates Renderer, mesh, material, and BlendShape evidence and asks for manual selection when ambiguous. |
| Body Elements | Base | Best detected skin Element | Selects one or more Body material/submesh areas to re-render. Verify the displayed material names. |
| Additional Renderer Targets (Experimental) | Base | None | Adds selected Elements from separate SkinnedMeshRenderer targets with independent Rest data, size, density, masks, and draw cost. |
| Automatic render order (Recommended) | Base | On | Sets Primary Body Sweat to 2455. Additional targets use max(2455, source material queue + 1). |
| Manual Sweat Render Queue | Base | 2455 | Appears when automatic ordering is disabled. Set it above the selected Body material. |
| Follow Body Shadow Strength | Base | On | Copies _ShadowStrength from each configured source Element material to its RealSweat material when Setup or Apply to FX runs. Supports lilToon and Poiyomi. |
| Wet Skin Gloss as Sweat Increases | Base | On for new installations | Enables the existing wet-skin gloss response. Updates preserve the installed material state. |
| Full-Quality Body Sweat in Mirrors | Base | Off | Restores droplet density, optics, Light Volumes, and Tess/No Tess quality in mirror cameras at additional GPU cost. |
| Overall Sweat Amount | All | Low amount (Low Load) | Selects the surface calculation budget and matches animated wetness and effect intensity. |
| Auto Mode Sensitivity | All | Balanced | Selects how strongly small body movement starts and builds automatic sweat. |
| Write Defaults Compatibility | All | Auto Detect (Recommended) | Uses all-WD-ON RealSweat states only when every external FX state uses WD ON; otherwise uses the Driver ON / Output OFF compatible split. |
| Install 3D Feature (Tessellation) (High Load) | Base | Off | Off uploads one No Tess material. On includes Tess and No Tess materials and adds the in-game 3D control. |
| 3D Detail Precision | Base + Tess | Simplified | Selects the tessellation precision of the installed 3D material. |
| Tessellation Default On | Base + Tess | Off | Chooses the initial local 3D state after the avatar loads. Only one sweat material is active at a time. |
| Falling Drops | Effects | On | Installs falling body-sweat particles. |
| Enable Floor Stains | Effects | On | Installs wet floor marks made by Falling Drops. |
| Breath Puffs | Effects | On | Installs the breath emitter. |
| Steam | Effects | On | Installs body-steam emitters. |
| 3D Particle Quality (Breath + Falling Drops + Body Steam) (High Load) | Effects | Off | Uses mesh-particle rendering instead of the existing lightweight 2D particles. Changing it requires the full Setup. |
| Water Drop Impact Splash | Effects + 3D particles | On | Adds small upward splashes when 3D Falling Drops collide. |
| Body Steam in Mirrors | Effects | Low on new installs | Full / Low / Hidden. Updates preserve the old appearance as Full. |
| Show My Breath in First Person | Effects | Off | Uses MA Visible Head Accessory; requires a valid Head bone and compatible Modular Avatar. |
| Install Steam & Breath Intensity Radial (+8 bits) | Effects | Off | Adds a saved synchronized Float. 0% = 0.1× opacity, 50% = current appearance at 1.0×, 100% = 1.5×. This changes opacity only and does not reduce particle or performance cost. |
| Steam Locations | Effects | Chest, shoulders, armpits, thighs on; crotch and feet off | Chooses which body-steam emitters Setup creates. |
| Custom Steam Points | Effects | None | Adds Steam to selected Transforms with size, rate, spread, direction, and mirrored-pair controls. |
Before writing assets, Setup checks all planned parameters against Avatar Expression Parameters and other Modular Avatar declarations, including prefixes and remaps. A name collision stops Setup. A projected total above 256 bits produces a warning before continuing.
Write Defaults Compatibility
- Auto Detect (Recommended): Uses WD ON for every RealSweat state only when every external FX state uses WD ON. WD OFF, mixed, or unknown setups use the WD OFF-compatible structure.
- WD ON Compatibility: Forces every RealSweat state to WD ON. Use it only when an avatar or MMD environment is known to require an all-WD-ON FX controller.
- WD OFF Compatibility: Keeps the v1.0.1 Driver ON / Output OFF split for WD OFF or mixed avatars.
Overall Sweat Amount
- Low amount (Lightweight): smallest droplet calculation budget. A faint pattern-join line may appear on some body areas or viewing angles.
- Low amount (Low Load): default; keeps the low-load target while hiding the common Lightweight join line.
- Standard amount (Medium Load): more visible sweat and a larger calculation budget.
Test close-up views and mirrors before upload. Sweat amount, pattern density, screen coverage, and tessellation can compound GPU load.
Tessellation choices
| 3D Detail Precision | Tess factor | Intended use | Relative load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified — General Play | 2.5 | Normal play | Lowest Tess option |
| Balanced — Close-up Viewing | 4 | Close viewing | Higher |
| Precise — Photo Capture | 7 | Still images | Highest |
Installing tessellation does not make both variants render together on one target. The menu switches every Tess-enabled sweat slot between Tess and No Tess. Disabling Droplet Depth (Tessellation / High Load) uses the true No Tess shader, so hull/domain tessellation work is not performed.
For multiple configured targets, every target renders only its selected Tess or No Tess variant, but separate Body Elements and Renderers still add separate sweat draws. The in-game Droplet Depth toggle switches every Tess-enabled sweat slot together.
Experimental target safety
RealSweatSystem Tuning shows the generated material/slot status of installed additional targets.
- Use Manage Targets... to open Setup with the current target list loaded.
- Use Open Setup to Repair... when a target is marked Repair Required.
- To remove a target, remove it with
-in Setup and run the full Setup. - Do not disable a target by deleting, clearing, moving, replacing, or merging its generated material or Renderer slot. Damage is not silently skipped; it blocks the avatar build until the target is repaired or removed.
Tuning option reference
Automatic Accumulation Response
| Control | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity Preset | Balanced | Balanced follows movement strength. Sensitive reaches full response sooner and reacts more to small motion. Selecting a preset resets its response threshold, saturation point, rise/decay reference, and smoothing values. |
| Build Speed Multiplier | 1.0 | Multiplies the preset's overall automatic build speed. Range 0.25–4.0. |
| Horizontal Motion Sensitivity | 1.0 | Left/right and forward/back response. Range 0.95–1.10. |
| Vertical Motion Sensitivity | 1.2 | Up/down response. Range 0.90–1.30; 1.2 is recommended for small-travel bouncing and squats. |
| Preview Direction | Mixed | Changes only the graph preview. All directions remain active in game. |
| Movement Response | Folded | Shows the current threshold, saturation, smoothing, and directional response. It is a preview only. |
| Accumulation Profile | Uniform | Shapes build speed across the current Sweat % without adding a synced parameter or runtime layer. |
| Detailed Values | Folded | For an enabled curve, edits the five multipliers at 0/25/50/75/100%. Range 0.1–2.0. |
| Accumulation Graphs | Folded | Shows the profile and an estimated timeline to 95% under steady movement. Actual PhysBone input depends on the avatar and animation. |
Accumulation profiles:
- Uniform: the same multiplier at every Sweat %; new installations start here.
- Natural (Recommended): slightly faster early build and gradually slower high-Sweat build.
- Fast Start: strongly emphasizes the beginning.
- Late Acceleration: starts slowly and becomes faster later.
- Custom: enables direct editing of the five points.
The supplied profiles keep the estimated time to 95% nearly equal; the visible progression and final 5% can differ. Sensitivity, build-speed multiplier, directional sensitivity, and the accumulation profile all affect Auto Mode together.
Surface and general controls
| Control | Module | Default | Meaning / load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Sweat Amount | All | Low amount (Low Load) | Same three presets as Setup. Material quality updates immediately; generated FX require Apply to FX. Medium to high GPU impact. |
| Droplet Size | Base | 1.35 | Size of droplets attached to the body. Range 0.5–2.0; low direct cost, but larger coverage can make the effect more visible. |
| Pattern Density | Base | 24 | Higher values make cells smaller and denser. Range 4–64; use moderate values for crowded or close-up scenes. |
| Tessellation Default On | Base + Tess | Off | Initial local 3D state. This does not add a second draw. |
| 3D Detail Precision | Base + Tess | Simplified | Changes the active Tess material precision; GPU cost rises sharply with precision. |
| Follow Body Shadow Strength | Base | On | Copies rather than continuously links the Body value. Press Apply to FX after changing the Body material. |
| Full-Quality Body Sweat in Mirrors | Base | Off | Setup-time structural option; restores the full surface path in mirror cameras. |
| Retention Time Multiplier | All | 1.0 | Multiplies dry-off duration. Higher values keep sweat visible longer. Range 0.5–2.0. |
Effect Toggles
This section appears only with the Effects Module.
| Control | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Falling Drops | On | Enables falling body droplets. |
| Bloom Sparkle | On | Adds a restrained HDR highlight to falling drops. Bloom appears only in worlds that enable bloom. |
| Enable Floor Stains | On | Enables wet marks from falling drops. Falling Drops must be active to create them. |
| Breath Puffs | On | Enables the breath emitter. |
| Steam | On | Enables body steam. |
| Steam Locations | Chest, shoulders, armpits, thighs on | Enables the installed emitters. Crotch and feet are off by default. If a location was not created by Setup, re-run Setup before expecting the toggle to add it. |
Custom Steam Points are edited in the Setup/Tuning Custom Steam section. Up to four custom emitter slots can be active, a mirrored pair uses two, and twelve combined built-in/custom emitters is the hard limit. A combined rate weight over 4.0 is normalized proportionally.
Advanced FX Tuning
Advanced controls modify generated animation or particle assets and require Apply to FX. Use Restore Category Defaults to reset only one group.
Automatic Response
| Control | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Response Threshold | Balanced 0.04; Sensitive 0.015 | Motion level where automatic build starts. |
| Saturation Point | Balanced 0.35; Sensitive 0.18 | Motion level where the rise rate reaches full response. |
| Smoothing | Balanced 0.12; Sensitive 0.16 | Higher values respond faster; lower values feel heavier. |
| Sweat Accumulation Resistance (%) | 100% | Gradually resists high-Sweat buildup while preserving full-strength motion. 0% restores the legacy response. |
| Movement Resume Delay | 1 s | Delay after locomotion or jumping stops before pendulum motion can raise sweat again. |
| Drop Recovery Time | 3 s | How quickly falling-drop activity settles after movement stops. |
| Exertion Recovery Time | 9 s | Recovery of the intermediate exertion stage used by body heat, not breath-puff visibility. |
| Body Heat Recovery Time | 30 s | Recovery of the body-steam cadence modifier. |
| Pendulum Bone | Hips | Motion sensor attachment. Chest, head, and hands are available; head/hands can overreact, especially with Sensitive. |
Effects Module advanced groups
| Group | User-facing controls | Category defaults |
|---|---|---|
| Falling Drops | Rate, fall speed, lifetime, size, and length multipliers; Strong Movement Fling; fling threshold, chance, cooldown, and burst min/max | Multipliers 1.0; fling on; threshold/chance 0.55; cooldown 3.5 s; burst 2–5 |
| Floor Stains | Lifetime, size, opacity, center-drying contrast, pooling chance | Multipliers 1.0; contrast 0.75; pooling 0 |
| Steam | Start threshold; density, rise speed, lifetime, size, spread, opacity | Threshold 30%; multipliers 1.0 |
| Breath Puffs | Start threshold; mouth gate; mouth parameter and threshold; amount, speed, lifetime, size, spread, opacity, cycle speed | Threshold 25%; gate Auto; parameter v2/JawOpen; mouth threshold 0.2; multipliers 1.0 |
| Performance Limits | Drop, stain, steam, and breath maximum-particle limits | Drop 64, stain 80, steam 24 per emitter, breath 48 |
Breath Mouth Gate options:
- Always: breath is not gated by mouth movement.
- Viseme (lipsync): uses VRChat viseme lip sync.
- Custom Parameter (VRCFT): uses the selected float parameter and mouth-open threshold.
- Auto (active VRCFT, Viseme fallback): prefers a changing VRCFT
JawOpenfloat, then falls back to Viseme after eight seconds without an open/close change.
Sweat material maps
These are material controls, not fields on the Tuning component. Open the generated RealSweat material Inspector.
| Control | Location | Purpose | Important settings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spawn Mask (White = Spawn) | Basic > Spawn Mask | White allows droplets, black prevents them, and gray gives partial coverage. Use it to keep sweat off unwanted UV areas. | Uses UV0 and the red channel. |
| Body Surface Display Mask | Body Surface Display Mask | Hides the complete final surface result, including droplets, trails, film, sheen, refraction, darkening, and Tess displacement. It does not hide Falling Drops particles. | Uses UV0; select R/G/B/A, inversion, strength, tiling, and offset. Import grayscale data with sRGB Off. Default strength 0 preserves the existing appearance. |
| Flow Guide Map (Optional) | Flow & Trails > Flow Guide Map (Optional) | Steers flowing droplets and trails with an artist-authored UV0 tangent direction. | RG data texture; neutral is (0.5, 0.5) gray. Turn sRGB Off and Generate Mip Maps On. Strength 0 keeps world-gravity flow and avoids the guide-map sample; 0.35–0.65 is a useful starting range. |
| Body Normal Map (Fold / Sheen Only) | Advanced > Body Normal — Wet Look Only | Changes wet highlights and fold pooling. | It does not steer droplets or trails. Use Flow Guide Map for direction. |
Remote Low Load and mirrors
Remote Low Load is an avatar-menu control, not a Tuning Inspector field. It is installed in both configurations:
- With tessellation support, other viewers use the No Tess material and its built-in Lite path.
- Without tessellation support, the same No Tess material switches to its built-in Lite path.
- It does not use a separate “Performance material,” and it does not lower the owner's local view.
Mirror cameras automatically use a lower-cost optical path. Some close-range optical details are intentionally simplified in mirrors. Structural mirror choices are selected in Setup rather than changed by Apply to FX.
Setup adds optional mirror controls:
- Full-Quality Body Sweat in Mirrors restores full surface density, optics, Light Volumes, and Tess/No Tess quality. It is off by default.
- Body Steam in Mirrors offers Full, Low, and Hidden. In 2D mode, Low skips blur and weakens mirror presentation without reducing particle count. In 3D mode, Low currently has the same appearance and cost as Full.
- VRC Light Volumes is an in-game Reduce Load toggle and defaults to on.
Combined GPU load
High sweat amount, high pattern density, close-up screen coverage, mirrors, and tessellation can compound GPU load. Change one major setting at a time and test the uploaded avatar.
What to read next
- Compare load-saving choices in Performance Guide.
- Check render-order and material requirements in Compatibility.
- If a value appears to do nothing, see Troubleshooting.