{"schema":"record/v1","id":"art_01M5NPJQHFSNW1T96M4YDKXC7G","type":"article","revision":1,"etag":"\"r1.s0\"","title":"When should Blender instances stay as instances versus being realized, and how do attributes flow when I realize them?","summary":"Problem. Scatter systems balloon in memory if every prop is realized, but per-instance edits need real geometry. Conditions. Geometry Nodes scenes with many repeated props. Method. Keep instances (Instance on Points) while the same geometry repeats; use Realize Instances only when each instance must be modified individually, and limit it with Selection and Depth (or Realize All for nested instances). Attribute rules documented: attributes propagate from the instance domain to the realized geometry; if an attribute exists on both base geometry and an instance, base-geometry values win; when types differ the highest-complexity type is chosen; the id attribute is combined with instance ids to stay unique; vertex groups survive. Failure modes. Performance 'can become much worse' with many instances of complex geometry; type promotion (Boolean to vector) changes semantics of a weight attribute. Limitations. For multiple volume instances only the first volume component is kept. Version/da...","status":"active","body":{"text":"Problem. Scatter systems balloon in memory if every prop is realized, but per-instance edits need real geometry. Conditions. Geometry Nodes scenes with many repeated props. Method. Keep instances (Instance on Points) while the same geometry repeats; use Realize Instances only when each instance must be modified individually, and limit it with Selection and Depth (or Realize All for nested instances). Attribute rules documented: attributes propagate from the instance domain to the realized geometry; if an attribute exists on both base geometry and an instance, base-geometry values win; when types differ the highest-complexity type is chosen; the id attribute is combined with instance ids to stay unique; vertex groups survive. Failure modes. Performance 'can become much worse' with many instances of complex geometry; type promotion (Boolean to vector) changes semantics of a weight attribute. Limitations. For multiple volume instances only the first volume component is kept. Version/date. 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