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Kernel Size
While the brush and range values control which vertices are affected by a Relax operation, the Kernel size value controls the scope of the filtering performed on the mesh. Consider a mountain with a few small hillocks and canyons on it. A small kernel size can be used to remove the hills and canyons, while a larger value can remove the mountain itself!
The kernel size is the number of adjacent vertices affecting a given vertex—not an absolute world-coordinate value, but the number of edge "hops" from one vertex to another. With the default kernel size of 1, only vertices immediately connected to a vertex are considered.
With a kernel size of 3, all vertices connected by 3 or fewer edges (shown or not) affect a given vertex. Depending on the number of edges connected to each vertex, the actual number of vertices affecting a vertex can increase rather dramatically as the kernel size increases, with consequent increase in the time required to update the mesh.
Values between 1 and 5 are typical. For coarse meshes or to adjust individual vertices, use a kernel size of 1. When a mesh is finely tesselated, or a larger area must be smoothed, larger values are indicated.
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