The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
Basic LOD Guide
Digital Combat Simulator
Written by Zach/ Luckybob9
In Collaboration with The Fighter Collection and Eagle Dynamics
Mandatory Requirements:
3D Studio Max 2008, 2010, 2011, or 2012 (64bit): [Link]
3D Studio Max Plugins from Eagle Dynamics: [Link]
Background Information:
What is a LOD? A LOD means ‘Level of Detail’ and is used in games to ease the stress off the system
resources when an object is far away. Since there is no point to having a highly detailed model render in
the distance when the detail cannot be seen, the best thing to do is to create a few version of your
model with different polygon counts. Using this guide, the game will know when to automatically switch
LOD’s to achieve optimal performance.
LOD’s are all created within the same 3DS Max file and I find it easiest to link your LOD’s to a dummy to
make it easier to move and control. Below are my four LOD’s for the Hardened Aircraft Shelter. I have
labeled them 0-3, with 0 being the most detailed
The important part that makes this all work is the naming scheme of all the dummies and the link
between them. I have my dummies named as “HAS_LOD0, HAS_LOD1, HAS_LOD2, and HAS_LOD3” and
the corresponding LOD mesh is linked to it.
Page | 1
The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
In case you forgot how to link objects, click the link button in the top left. Then select all the mesh you
want, and drag it to the dummy.
Page | 2
The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
Once you have all your LOD models linked to their corresponding dummy, move all the dummys to the
0,0,0 axis. They should be stacked on top of each other since this is where you want them to show up in
the game.
Then create a new dummy, and set it to the middle axis. Size does not matter, but I made it the smallest
so I could easily recognize it. This last dummy is going to be the master that will have the parameters for
the game engine to understand. Once you have the new master dummy created, link all your other
dummys do it.
Page | 3
The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
You can verify you did this properly by opening up the “Schematic View” and checking the link.
Page | 4
The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
Next, rename the master dummy to “lod_root”. Then right click on the master dummy, and click “object
properties”. Click the “User Defined” tab, and enter the following information but change it to match
your model:
TYPE="lod_root";
HAS_LOD0=vec2(0.0,500.0);
HAS_LOD1=vec2(500.0,2500.0);
HAS_LOD2=vec2(2500.0,6500.0);
HAS_LOD3=vec2(6500.0,65000.0);
These are the variables that the game engine will read. Each line begins with the level of LOD linked
which is why the naming scheme is important. For your model, rename “HAS_LOD0” to what you used.
The last part is the value at which it will be displayed in distance Meters. In this example, I have LOD0,
(most detailed), displaying from 0 to 500 meters. Then it switches to LOD1, (second most detailed),
which will be displayed from 500 to 2500 meters.
Once you have your desired values, export your model as normal and the LOD’s should start shifting at
the declared distance. You can test your setup to verify everything works before using your final values
by using very small numbers and opening them in Model Viewer to observe the shift as you move the
camera back.
Page | 5
The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
A commonly asked question is how much reduction should take place between each LOD. There is not a
set amount nor can anyone really advise you without seeing your model since it will be different for
every model. In this case, I broke my model down into two categories; overall shape and detail.
Naturally the overall shape is the biggest concern but the detail pieces can be removed so let us dissect
what I did.
The polygon count is as follows:
LOD0 – 1704
LOD1 – 780
LOD2 – 568
LOD3 – 334
In my first reduction I chose to remove the inside ridges, the inside workbenches, the wheels, and the
inset on the front doors. At 500 meters, this detail is not needed nor will you be able to see inside the
model at 500 meters.
For the next LOD, I remove more of the front, and reduced the amount of segments of the shell.
For the final LOD, I removed even more of the door, the side door, and the back vent.
Page | 6
The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics
Page | 7
