Generating LODs

The Decimate tab of the LOD Editor: how many levels, how aggressive, what to preserve — and the table that shows the result.

On this page

Presets
LOD levels and the LOD table
Fine-tuning
Apply mask layers, Generate, Export

Presets

A preset is a named snapshot of the LOD levels (how many, and each level's target) and of the fine-tuning options. Mobile (100, 50, 25, 10 %), PC (100, 50, 25 %) and VR Quest (100, 40, 15, 5 %) are built in. Picking a preset fills the LOD levels and the options; with Auto-generate on, the levels are built right away. Custom means the current settings are not a saved preset. LODinize starts there, with five levels that each keep 50 % of the previous one.

Button	What it does
Save as new preset	Asks for a name (the first free "My Preset N" is suggested) and saves the current levels and options under it.
Save preset	Updates the selected preset with the current settings. With a built-in preset selected it saves a new preset instead, so the built-in ones never change.
Remove preset	Deletes the selected preset of your own (built-in presets cannot be removed). The settings stay as they are; the list then shows Custom.

A * after the preset's name means the panel no longer matches the saved preset, for example after you changed a level. Saving the preset removes it. Presets are shared by all your projects; a project stores its levels too, so it opens with the same levels on another PC.

Save as New Preset dialog — Save as new preset: keep the suggested name or type your own.

LOD levels and the LOD table

LOD Levels box with five generated levels — The LOD Levels box after Generate LODs, LOD 4 selected.

LOD count dropdown — LOD count: 2 to 8 levels (LOD 0 is the original).

Control	What it does
LOD count	How many levels, 2 to 8. The existing levels keep their geometry: fewer levels drop the coarsest ones, more levels are added at the end of the series.
Each level keeps	5 to 95 %. Every level keeps this share of the previous level's triangles, so 50 % gives 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 %. Changing it refills every target in the table.
LOD n triangles (slider and box)	The target of the level selected in the table. Drag the slider, or type an exact value from 0.1 to 99.9 % and press `Enter`. The table stays sorted: a level that passes a neighbour moves to its new place, and the selection moves with it.
Auto-generate	On: a changed level is rebuilt in the background as soon as you release the slider, press `Enter` or pause for a moment; only the changed levels are rebuilt. Off: changed levels wait for Generate LODs.

Column	Meaning
Level	LOD 0 is the original mesh; higher numbers are coarser. LOD n * marks a level that was rebuilt after Refine with animation, so it is not refined (see below).
Target%	Share of the original triangle count aimed for.
Triangles	Triangles actually produced. ~ in front of the number marks an estimate (target × original triangles): the level is not generated yet, or its target changed since.
Simplification error	The geometric error reported by the simplifier for that level (lower is closer to the original); - while the level is not generated. It is measured on the static mesh; the animated error is shown in the deviation timeline.

Selecting a row shows that level in the LOD viewport and recomputes the deviation timeline for it. It also chooses which level Refine with animation optimises for.

A level dragged from 12.5 to 29 percent, not generated yet — Auto-generate off: LOD 3 was dragged from 12.5 to 29 % and became LOD 2. It shows an estimate until Generate LODs; the preset shows *.

LOD 3 marked with a star after Refine — After Refine with animation, LOD 3 was changed to 20 %: it was rebuilt without refinement, so it is marked LOD 3 *.

Fine-tuning

Expand Fine-tuning for the simplifier's options and weights. Hover a control in the application for its tooltip.

The pane starts collapsed: the defaults suit most characters. Most options here stop the simplifier from removing certain edges, so every extra one leaves it fewer choices and can make the deeper LODs look worse. Turn them on one at a time and compare the result.

Option	Purpose
Skin-weight prior	Take the skinning weights into account when deciding what to simplify, so deforming areas keep their structure.
Preserve UV seams	Keep edges along UV seams. A seam-fix method can be chosen: None, Lock all seams, Auto (detect + re-decimate), UV repair.
Preserve materials	Keep boundaries between materials.
Preserve bone-boundary edges	Keep edges where the dominant bone influence changes.
Triangle regularity	Prefer well-shaped triangles over long thin ones.
Avoid fins	Reject simplification steps that fold a thin feature into a dark "fin". Protects thin parts (e.g. wings, membranes) but may keep deep LODs slightly denser.
Force to triangle count	Hit the requested triangle count exactly, ignoring the quality ceiling. Off: gentle LODs keep a quality ceiling that is relaxed only where needed.
Quality Weights: Tri / Skin / UV weight	Relative importance of triangle shape, skinning and UV preservation.

Apply mask layers, Generate, Export

Apply mask layers: use the masks painted in the Paint tab (protect, importance, remove). See Selection & mask painting.
Generate LODs: builds every level from the original mesh, using the targets in the table, then computes the deviation timeline for the selected level. The status line and progress bar below show what is running; the red button cancels. While it runs, the LOD levels cannot be edited.
Export (button next to Generate): the same as File > Export LODs. It refuses while a level is changed but not generated yet, so the file always matches the table.

Generated LODs for the walking character — A new project after Generate LODs: the table, the LOD next to the original, and the error curves of the walk.

Generate replaces the LOD set. A refined LOD set is replaced by a plain one when you generate again, so if the maximum error jumps up after Generate, check whether the previous set had been refined. Changing one level after refining rebuilds only that level, without refinement (LOD n *); run Refine with animation again if it matters.