Quick question about creating LOD's for the ground mesh

Development Asset Creation
1

I get how LOD’s work on normal meshes when they go out of range, but what about a large custom made land mesh?

I’m about to get started working on the floor piece of land for my game, but I’m not sure how I should go about doing the LOD’s for something this large.
I was thinking about cutting it into four pieces, but perhaps unreal has something a bit more proactive than that.

To give perspective, Here’s the blockout with the blue lines representing where I was going to cut it.

It’ll be sculpted and retopo’d when finished, but I figure I should have a better understanding of how LOD’s work before starting.

2

Size of your mesh does not really affect the way you would approach LOD creation. Reducing triangle count and if possible material count is a priority. For this kind of modular floor I personally see absolutely no reason to divide it anyhow. Few things you should keep in mind:

  • If your triangle count is low and the mesh is not re-used many times, you can skip doing LOD model.
  • For modular wall/floor section, take care not to alter seam silhouette.
  • Aim to reduce triangle count at least by 50% between each LOD step.