ABSTRACT
Although we are several years away from totally realistic 3D worlds running in real-time on our displays, the capacity to achieve that goal increases with each new generation of graphics cards. In this chapter you will gain a deeper understanding of how to leverage the use of LOD, squeeze more performance out of the graphics card, and end up with a better looking virtual environment. Here are the topics we will explore:
• LOD fundamentals for the designer • Designing for LOD optimization on the upload to a virtual world scene
• How mesh geometry and graphic/texture size impact the success of an LOD system • How LOD relates to the physics qualities of an object • How a designer can get creative within the limitations of LOD
At the end of this chapter you will utilize some of the 3D content provided with this book to do your own LOD testing for the virtual environment we are building. We will explore how various LOD settings for physics and for rendering will impact how the content appears and interacts with the player in your gamebased setting.
