Import or create LOD levels for a LOD Group

To import or create LODThe Level Of Detail (LOD) technique is an optimization that reduces the number of triangles that Unity has to render for a GameObject when its distance from the Camera increases. More info
See in Glossary levels for a LOD GroupA component to manage level of detail (LOD) for GameObjects. More info
See in Glossary component in a GameObjectThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info
See in Glossary, use one of the following methods:

• Add a LOD Group component, then manually add a renderer to each LOD level.
• Import a model with LOD levels you created in an external 3D modeling application. Unity adds a LOD Group component to the GameObject and configures it automatically.

Import LOD levels

Follow these steps:

1. In your external 3D application, follow the application’s process to create as many LOD meshes as you need.

2. Add the suffix _LODX to the name of each meshThe main graphics primitive of Unity. Meshes make up a large part of your 3D worlds. Unity supports triangulated or Quadrangulated polygon meshes. Nurbs, Nurms, Subdiv surfaces must be converted to polygons. More info
   See in Glossary, where X represents the LOD index. For example, use ExampleMeshName_LOD0 for the most detailed LOD.

   The LOD Group component accepts a maximum of eight LOD levels. Unity uses LOD 0 closest to the cameraA component which creates an image of a particular viewpoint in your scene. The output is either drawn to the screen or captured as a texture. More info
   See in Glossary, so it should be the most detailed LOD level.

3. Export your model as a .fbx file.

4. Import the .fbx file into Unity.

Unity automatically creates a LOD Group component with the appropriate settings.

Manually add a LOD Group component and LOD levels

To manually add a LOD Group component and LOD levels to a GameObject, follow these steps:

1. In the Hierarchy window, create an empty GameObject.
2. Add child GameObjects for the LOD levels you want, each containing the Renderer components for that LOD level.
3. Select the empty GameObject, then in the Inspector window select Add Component, then Rendering > LOD Group.
4. In the LOD Group component, select a LOD level box to open the LOD level settings.
5. In the Renderers panel, select the Add (+) button, then select the Renderer picker (⊙) or drag and drop to add the child GameObject that contains the Renderers for this LOD level.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each LOD level.

To add or delete a LOD levels, right-click on the LOD level boxes.

Configure project-wide LOD settings

To configure LOD settings for all the LOD Groups in your project, use the following settings in the Quality settings window:

• Maximum LOD Level: Exclude meshes above a specified LOD level from your build.
• LOD Bias: Determine whether to favor higher or lower LOD levels at threshold distances.

Additional resources

• LOD Group component reference
• Make LOD transitions smooth in LOD Group
• Importing models.
• Creating LODs in Maya