Entity:SetSubMaterial() support for 64 (or more) indexes on CLIENTSIDE only

[DatGuy64]

Description

I've seen this requested many times, but with very little response, it's hard to know whether it is technically possible or not.

Previous concern about the 32 index limit

Rubat previously said that increasing the limit serverside is not possible / not desirable because:

"The reason things like this are not happening is because they have a real impact on memory and network usage for the entire game, even when the extra materials are not in use."

Question

Would it be possible to allow more than 32 submaterial indexes for Entity:SetSubMaterial() on the clientside only?

I understand the concerns about memory and network usage for serverside changes, but I do not know whether those same concerns also apply to a clientside-only increase, or if there is another technical limitation involved ?

Why this is being asked

The 32 index limit made sense a long time ago, but hardware has improved a lot since then.
There have also been requests about this going back years, including some from around 2016, and they are still open without a clear conclusion.

Request

Could this be tested on the network_test branch to evaluate the actual impact on memory/network usage?

If not, could we at least get a definitive answer on whether this is:

• technically impossible,
• rejected by design,
• or simply not planned?

It would be helpful to know why these requests remain open without being closed

[robotboy655]

So, partial duplicate of #697

It would still have a memory impact if done clientside and I kinda don't like the idea of half fixing the issue, but with changes made to network test this may be safer to do now.

Maybe render.MaterialOverrideByIndex can have expanded limit clientside, since it is clientside only to begin with, but idk how widely used that function is compared to the far simpler alternative of Entity:SetSubMaterial