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Game Development vocabulary · Rendering, Graphics & Performance

Level of detail

Meaning in game development, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In game development, level of detail means: A technique that swaps a model for simpler versions as it gets farther from the camera, so distant objects use fewer polygons and the game runs faster.

In Turkish: ayrıntı seviyesi, LOD

How it is used

Usually called LOD. Artists make LOD0 (full detail), LOD1, LOD2 and so on, and engines can also generate them automatically. Players notice LOD popping when a model suddenly changes as they move closer.

Example sentences

  1. Each tree has four levels of detail, and the last one is just a flat card.

  2. Adjust the level of detail distances so players don't see the rocks pop.

Common collocations

  • LOD levels
  • LOD popping
  • generate LODs
  • LOD distance
  • polycountThe number of polygons, usually triangles, that make up a 3D model or a whole scene. Fewer polygons are faster to draw but show less detail.
  • optimizationWork that makes a game run faster and use less memory, battery or bandwidth, for example by simplifying models, reducing draw calls or rewriting slow code.
  • open worldA large game world that players can explore freely and in almost any order, instead of moving through a fixed series of levels.
  • draw callA command the CPU sends to the graphics card to draw a group of polygons with one material. Too many draw calls per frame can slow a game down.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Rendering, Graphics & Performance

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