SVGLoader Issues with Complex Path Elements

Based on the screenshot and your description, you're experiencing rendering issues with complex SVG path elements when using Three.js SVGLoader. This is a known challenge when dealing with large and complex SVG files.

Potential Causes

The issues you're seeing could be related to several factors:

1. Path Winding Order: SVGLoader may be struggling with the clockwise/counterclockwise orientation of complex paths
2. Triangulation Limitations: The loader has to convert SVG paths to triangulated meshes, which can be problematic for complex shapes
3. Self-intersecting Paths: Complex paths that cross themselves can cause rendering artifacts
4. Memory Constraints: Very large SVGs (20MB+) might exceed processing capabilities

Possible Workarounds

Since you mentioned browsers handle these SVGs correctly, here are some approaches you might try:

1. Pre-process SVGs: Beyond just optimization with SVGO, consider:

   • Breaking complex paths into simpler segments
   • Converting problematic paths to simpler primitives
   • Reducing path precision (fewer decimal places in coordinates)

2. Custom Path Handling:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   // Example of custom path handling
   const loader = new SVGLoader();
   const svgData = loader.parse(svgText);
   
   svgData.paths.forEach(path => {
     // Apply custom processing to complex paths
     if (path.subPaths.length > someThreshold || path.totalPoints > someOtherThreshold) {
       // Custom handling logic here
     }
   });

3. Alternative Rendering Method: For particularly problematic SVGs, consider:

   • Using CSS3DRenderer to embed the actual SVG directly
   • Rendering the SVG to a canvas and using that as a texture

4. Incremental Loading: Split large SVGs into smaller chunks and load them progressively

The SVGLoader is part of Three.js examples rather than core, which means it may have limitations with edge cases. You might need to modify the loader itself for your specific needs or contribute improvements back to the project.