RENDERING BUDGETS
LOD & Visibility Budget Calculator
Estimate visible entities, triangle load, and LOD mix for mobile and desktop scenes.
LEVEL OF DETAIL
Estimate scene visibility
LOD and visibility guide
LOD is a presentation policy: it decides which visual detail is worth paying for at each distance and device capability.
Use the result as a balancing or prototyping starting point, then validate it against your own game data and playtests.
Count the whole frame
Triangles matter, but materials, draw calls, shadows, skinning, transparency, and DOM overlays can dominate. Compare a complete scene budget and keep a cheap icon or impostor path for far entities.
Worked example: 500 scene entities
If 40% of 500 entities are visible, then 200 contribute to the estimated frame. Applying a 10% near, 30% mid, and 60% far mix reveals whether the scene fits a 500,000-triangle target before material, shadow, and animation costs are profiled.
Assumptions and limits
The estimate treats triangle counts and material submissions as simple averages. Culling, batching, shadows, skinning, overdraw, impostors, and engine-specific render paths can materially change the frame cost.
A practical production check
Record the assumptions behind the estimate, test a small and a worst-case scenario, then compare the result with a profiler, playtest, or representative content sample. This turns a one-off number into a repeatable design decision.
Prototype first, tune second
A calculator or generator can expose relationships quickly, but the final values should be checked against player experience, content cadence, and the rest of your economy or combat system.
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace playtesting or profiling?
No. It provides a fast, repeatable baseline so testing starts from informed numbers rather than guesses.
Can I use this for a shipped game?
Yes, as a planning and comparison aid. Confirm critical budgets with measurements from your target hardware, network conditions, or production data.
Does my data leave the browser?
No. These tools run locally in your browser.
Privacy note: LOD and visibility calculations happen in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.