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Dense meshes are common in 3D printing, especially sculpted armor and props. Automatic level of detail (LOD) reduces the geometry drawn in the viewport when a mesh appears smaller onscreen. You can inspect the working mesh at full detail when you zoom in. LOD runs automatically in builds that include this feature. You do not need to run the Decimate tool to create display levels.

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Which meshes get LOD?

A working mesh with more than 100,000 triangles qualifies. Armorsmith creates two separate display versions:
  • A version targeting 100,000 triangles.
  • A version targeting 25,000 triangles.
A mesh with exactly 100,000 triangles or fewer keeps its working detail. For example, a 1,000,000-triangle mesh can have its original working geometry plus 100,000- and 25,000-triangle display versions. Both reduced versions are generated directly from the working mesh.
The triangle counts are targets. Protecting topology, material boundaries, texture seams, and sharp edges can limit how far a mesh can be reduced. A display version may remain above its target.

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When does each level appear?

Each viewport chooses a level from the mesh’s apparent size in that view. Armorsmith measures the larger dimension of the mesh’s projected bounds in pixels. The 25,000-triangle version comes into play when the mesh takes up little space onscreen. As you zoom in, Armorsmith switches to the 100,000-triangle version and then full working detail. These boundaries have a small overlap, called hysteresis, to prevent repeated switching as you zoom near a threshold. Selection also works in orthographic views. Two views of the same mesh can display different levels.

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What happens while you edit?

Armorsmith prepares display levels in the background after the geometry has been unchanged for about 300 milliseconds. Large meshes can take longer to finish processing. Posing, Free Form Deformation (FFD), bone changes, and other geometry edits invalidate old display levels. Running Decimate or undoing it also refreshes the LOD cache. Armorsmith falls back to full working detail while replacement levels are being prepared. If a reduced level cannot be generated, Armorsmith uses a finer available level or the working mesh. Material changes are applied to cached display levels too. Wireframe shows the working mesh so you can inspect its actual topology.

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Does LOD change printing or export?

LOD changes viewport rendering. Selecting geometry, editing, unfolding patterns, saving, printing, and exporting continue to use the working geometry. Viewing a million-triangle working mesh through its 25,000-triangle display version does not turn its export into a 25,000-triangle mesh.

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How is this different from Decimate?

The Decimate tool intentionally changes the working mesh. Its result can therefore affect editing, unfolding, and export. Automatic LOD creates temporary display copies. Armorsmith chooses its working geometry in this order:
  1. Your Decimate result, if one exists.
  2. The evaluated mesh with its pose or FFD applied, if one exists.
  3. The original loaded mesh.
LOD follows whichever working mesh is active. Changing the original pose or FFD after decimation does not silently regenerate your Decimate result.
Use automatic LOD to reduce viewport drawing work on dense models. Importing, mesh edits, unfolding, and export still depend on the complexity of the working mesh.
For mouse controls and zoom shortcuts, see Navigate the Costume viewport.