1,287 Commits over 4,383 Days - 0.01cph!
Planters: improved placement guide meshes
- new low-poly guide meshes for large, small and triangle planters - all three were using their full LOD0 mesh as the deploy guide that was missing the soil
now looks and feels way less jarring and much more satisfying
https://files.facepunch.com/pilgrim/2026/August/31_23-29-IvoryMussaurus.mp4
LOD pass on computer station + mixing table decor
- computerstation.FBX re-exported with proper LOD meshes; computerstation.static LODGroup -> RendererLOD, deployed + apartmentcomplex variants updated for the new model
- MixingTable.Decor: glassware/water existed twice - embedded invisible in the table LOD meshes and again as 9 separate LOD0-only renderers on top; re-exported as one clean 3-LOD mesh with the glass material live, 12 renderers -> 1, LODGroup -> MeshLOD
LODGroup/RendererLOD -> MeshLOD conversion pass on vending machines, covered ch47/bradley props and tin can alarm: 129 -> 75 renderers, 23 -> 6 LODGroups, brings them into the LOD grid + occlusion culling
- vendingmachine family x5: RendererLODs collapsed to MeshLODs (55 -> 33 renderers) now can occlusion cull
- covered bradley/ch47 x6: LODGroups converted, wraps stay RendererLOD where materials demand it (66 -> 39 renderers); ch47_covered, ch47_covered_wrap + bradley_covered_wrap FBXs re-exported so LOD material order matches
- tincan.alarm: split into frame + cans MeshLODs so the rattle anim survives (8 -> 2 renderers); worldmodel onto MeshLOD too
9 alpha-less BC7 albedo/em maps -> DXT1, 3 also halved (retro cupboard ems, m16a2_02, loot barrel): saved ~28 MB VRAM, no alpha lost
no visual quality difference
Regenerated MaterialIndex.json - was dated Aug 2021, so Tools/Optimize/Find Material Optimzations had been reporting 5-year-old state. Fresh scan covers 9,055 materials and flags 164 with compression savings (84 unique textures, ~68 MB VRAM potential) for example m16a2 ao on high quality compression = 1.3mb, normal compression with no visual cost = 0.7mb
First pass on the free wins: 15 alpha-less DXT5/BC7 textures -> DXT1, ~13 MB VRAM, no quality cost
- m2bradley mainbody/armor: removed DXT5 standalone override (5.3 MB)
- m16a2 AOs x3, flamethrower AO: HQ -> Normal compression (5.3 MB)
- workbench upgrade AOs x2, apartment door mats AO, crate_2/gib/webbing AOs: HQ -> Normal compression (2.2 MB)
fixed blowpipe world model material order so it can be converted to meshLOD
Animal AO caps: croc/stag/bears/panther/shark/wolf/chicken -> 1024/512, a further 17.5MB VRAM saved
Clothing AO pass: capped 57 maps 2048 -> 512/1024, ~120MB VRAM saved with no visual difference
also hooked up Cocoknight legs/torso AO which was never bound to its materials
Medieval AK gem material tweak: fixed refraction scale 75cm -> 2cm, corundum IOR, proper transmittance - reads as gemstone instead of grey glass
https://files.facepunch.com/pilgrim/2026/August/30_10-00-InsubstantialManta.mp4
Medieval AK worldmodel: baked 6 materials / 3 texture sets down to one 1024 atlas material
6 draws -> 1 per LOD; re-UV'd mesh, rebuilt LOD chain, gems baked opaque
arguably looks better than before for the gems especially as i can't justify 6 materials just for a world model of this scale.
https://files.facepunch.com/pilgrim/2026/August/30_09-27-CoralBighornedsheep.mp4
flamethrower world model optimisation
combined the two parts into one mesh per LOD in engine, converted to a MeshLOD
renderers 6 -> 1, highlight draws 2 -> 1, culls at 35m, triangles unchanged
assault rifle world model optimisation
- combined the 4 part FBXs into one model and converted the LOD group to a MeshLOD
- renderers 12 -> 1, highlight draws 4 -> 1, triangles unchanged, culls at 35m
- combined the ak47u's 4 part FBXs and the medieval's rifle+mag into single models
- converted the ak47u, medieval and jungle world models from LOD groups to MeshLODs
- removed the medieval's 23.6k tri LOD0 - its chain is now 13k/5.3k/2.1k
- renderers: ak47u 12 -> 1, medieval 8 -> 1, jungle 3 -> 1; highlight draws all down to 1
boat building station optimisation
its 7 buoys were embedded pre-merge copies of the ocean wreck buoy optimisation i did on changeset
162514 - replaced their 280 seaweed/mussel renderers with the buoy merge's existing combined meshes
combined the remaining seaweed clumps in the station and platform prefabs (6 -> 1 and 5 -> 1) with wind origins baked into UV2
none of the seaweed was ever batching at runtime
renderers 340 -> 65, prefab 1.4mb -> 296kb, seaweed is now 9 draw calls instead of 263!
satellite crash remains optimisation
combined the 32 loose debris pieces into a single mesh with a MeshLOD - shadows now turn off past 25m for these, and it culls at 100m (previously it drew at every distance)
converted the dish from a LODGroup to a RendererLOD with the same switch distances, and zeroed the LOD child offsets so it collapses to a single renderer at runtime
both the dish and debris now register as occludees, so terrain and buildings can occlusion cull them - the LODGroup never could
renderers 44 -> 13, debris draw calls 32 -> 1
slightly improved the quality of the vending machine texture & improved the cable faceting.
Re-implemented the internal shadow box to fake the interior depth but this time merged it to the vending machine geometry, reducing a draw, and also allows me to change the culling mode on the vending machine material from 'off' to 'Back'. This means that the Vending machine no longer renders every triangle twice. This would have also affected the gibs too that inherit the same material.
some additonal settings to carry over
chinook locked crate optimisation
crates + cage combined into one mesh with a single MeshLOD (1/5/15/25, cull 150) chainlink merged into one mesh
renderers 16 > 9
LOD components 11 > 4
objects 48 > 40
draw calls 10 > 4 up close, 3 past 20m
fence tris 1,000 > 10
tris at 25m 4,064 > 1,032
ocean wreck buoys - combined the seaweed and mussels on all three
renderers 128 > 23 across the three
LOD components 115 > 8
gameobjects 153 > 48
prefabs 482kb > 124kb
folding wicker beds B C D E - combined into one mesh each
frame, fabric and pillow all share Folding_Wicker_Bed_A, so each bed combines into one mesh per LOD band with a single MeshLOD - every bed is one object now
renderers 10 > 4 across the four
LOD components 10 > 4
gameobjects 10 > 4
prefabs 44kb > 26kb
tris at 18m 23,336 > 6,200
last lod under the vert cap on all four so they batch
gun display racks - merged weapons and hooks on all three.
each rack was 10-12 renderers with a separate MeshLOD chain each. weapons combined into one mesh per LOD band, hooks into one, one MeshLOD each
LOD components 32 -> 10
gameobjects 44 -> 19
draw calls 35 -> 20
colliders 32 -> 3
last LOD tris 15,282 -> 6,486
cherry picking from wooden box storage optimsation
cherry pick from bed optimisations
cherry pick from large wooden box
cherry pick from mixtable prt2
chery picking from mixing table optimsations
cherry picking from small stash improvements
cherry picking from gutter opts
cherry picking from binbag_pile and card table optimisations
Gutter cornices: combined each into one MeshLOD
renderers 30 > 3
LOD components 30 > 3
Parts cull at different distances (supports 15, caps 35, rail 75), so each state is a mesh of only what's still visible - 802/88/24 tris, matching the originals at every band. Still batches, all states under the vert cap.
time for bed
Abyss barrels: combined the seaweed into one mesh per barrel
Merged the seaweed clumps on both storage skins into a single mesh per LOD, driven by one MeshLOD (0/7, cull 15).
seaweed clumps 107 > 2 meshes
LOD components 109 > 4
renderers 115 > 10
prefab size 518kb > 121kb
Geometry and collision unchanged. Wind is preserved.
optimized poker table variants:
Merged every RendererLOD chain across the four static configs into one combined FBX each, driven by a single MeshLOD (1/10/25, cull 60).
- RendererLOD chains: 34 > 4 MeshLOD
- LOD components: 226 > 192
- renderers: 321 > 212
- GameObjects: 143 fewer
- LOD0 submesh draws: 49 > 14
- prefab size : 508kb > 122kb
Also cleared a dead LODGroup from _cardtable_base
optimised binbag pile - 41 renderers down to 1. There are 14 of these around the apartment complex alone.
it was a pile of 34 nested binbag prefabs plus 6 ground_junk, each carrying its own mesh lod and renderer batch, sat under a parent that had its own mesh lod on top. all 41 drew at once at close range
draw calls 41 > 1, mesh lod components 41 > 1 rendererlod, gameobjects 41 > 3
collision 34 mesh colliders -> 1 i dont t
optimised wooden storage box - LOD0 now under the batching vertex cap with no changes to skins
LOD0 999 verts, was 1,391 so it never batched inside 10m
the whole chain LOD0-3 now batches, around 30 to a draw call per band
optimised small stash and gave it a world model
removed the fraying geometry that carried a second material on LOD0/LOD1 tht was never displayed anyway.
submeshes LOD0/LOD1 2 > 1 now both draw in one call instead of two
converted to MeshLOD - also removed a duplicate Model component that had been sat on the root since 2019
new small_stash.worldmodel so you can see what you're dropping instead of burlap sack. LOD0 is cheaper than burlap sack.
Updated MissionStash, DynamicMissionStash and LogStash which embeded the same meshes and still had the old 2-slot material array against a now 1-submesh mesh.
converted those to MeshLOD as well
three more asset optimsations that were over the vertex cap
AshtrayB1_LOD0 1028 > 983 verts
matrix_display_tools_LOD1 1019 > 998 verts
emptybarrel_LOD1 1164 > 876 verts
ashtray now batches on its whole chain (LOD0-2)
tools display and empty barrel batch from LOD1 down
optimised bed - LOD1 now under the batching vertex cap
LOD1 998 verts, was over 1000 so it never batched
now batches 30 to a draw call in the LOD1 band
also fixed lod issue where the fold in the bed cover would disappear on LOD1 and reappear on LOD2
optimised large wooden box
LOD0 999 verts, was over 1000 previously so it never batched at close range
it can now batch around 30 to a draw call inside the 0-10m LOD0 band
tris LOD0 1,552 > 1,346, LOD1 474 > 366, LOD2 100 > 84
Mixing table LOD optimisation
Merged Glass01-08 + Water into the Table_LOD0/1/2 glass submesh
draw calls 10 > 2, FBX meshes 12 > 3, LOD components 10 > 1
much more simplified.
also fixed opacity on the water in the bucket being completely transparent for years
optimisations to the mixing table - need to figure one thing out first
attempt to optimise the three planters. noticed that they have 3 materials on last lod so baked small, large and triangle last LOD down to one 512 albedo and one material
soil now culls at 40m and hands off to the bake
also fixed 12 monument/static prefabs still on the pre-bake material arrays -will need checking over
lod2 draw calls 3 -> 1 per planter
https://files.facepunch.com/pilgrim/2026/August/26_17-21-OilyUrson.mp4
made windmill_main and lift_shaft_top gibs ReadWrite enabled
removed mesh collider from HAB armour frame and replaced with box colliders so it can work properly
merge from texture optimisations
ao rreduction & optimisation pass on some structure assets
they were shipping 2k ao textures, now resized but visually no difference.
11 ao maps touched, 9 were shipping at 2k
vram 25.3MB -> 2.2MB
some more tweaks to textures that don't need to ship 2k
vram 12.0MB -> 1.0MB
