This is a short tutorial on how to reduce a 3d object using Action3D Reducer.  Action3D Reducer is pretty straightforward to use, but there are some powerful features explained in this tutorial you should be aware of.

Most of the tools you need to reduce a 3d object are found in the progressive  mesh reduction toolbar.

Progressive mesh reduction toolbar

Here is what you must do to reduce a 3d object. First import a 3d object.  Convert this 3d object into a progressive  mesh, and use the slider control to display the desired  level of detail  in the progressive mesh.    Create a snapshot of the progressive mesh at the selected level of details.  Finally,  export the reduced 3d object.

 Importing a 3D object

Just click on the import button to display the Import 3d objects dialog and select the file Bugman_original.3ds from the  Action3D Reducer sample folder (usually  \Program Files\Action3D Reducer  Demo\samples or \Program Files\Action3D Reducer\samples).

Import dialog

  Create a progressive mesh

To create a progressive mesh as a clone of the selected 3d object click on the PMesh button.  Once the progressive mesh is created, click on this button to display the progressive mesh display options.  You can reduce and increase the  level of detail of the progressive mesh in real-time using the slider control.  Select a desired % of triangles/vertices displayed of 13%.

To inspect the bugman, use the arrow keys to move in the 3d world like in a first person shooter game.   Use the up, down, left, and right arrows to move forward,  backward, rotate left, and rotate right in the 3d world displayed in the active  3D view.   To make a 3d view active, click anywhere inside of it. If you  want to move up and down, just click on the up/down camera mode button .  To be able to move again forward and backward with the up and down arrow keys, just click on the Forward/Backward camera mode button.

To pick the bugman just click on it using your mouse. When the bugman is selected, a bounding box enclosing it is displayed, and you can use your mouse to rotate the box.

 Create a retained mode mesh

To create a retained mode mesh as a clone of the selected progressive mesh object click on the RM Mesh button.  The created clone is a snapshot of the progressive mesh at the displayed  level of detail.

 Export a retained mode mesh

To export the selected retained mode object click on the Export button. The retained mode mesh can be saved in a .x or a .3ds file.  This functionality is disabled in the demo version.