Automated LOD Tool

An automation script for Autodesk 3ds Max that rapidly generates Levels of Detail (LODs) for game assets using the ProOptimizer modifier.

Overview

Creating LODs manually is tedious. This tool takes your high-poly mesh and automatically generates three lower-resolution variants, maintaining the original naming convention for easy integration into game engines like Unreal or Unity.

Features

• One-Click Generation: Select objects and run the script to generate all LODs instantly.
• Standardized Reduction:
  • LOD1: 50% vertex count.
  • LOD2: 25% vertex count.
  • LOD3: 10% vertex count.
• Non-Destructive: Clones the original object, leaving your source mesh untouched.
• Stack Collapse: Automatically collapses the modifier stack on generated LODs for clean geometry.

Prerequisites

• Autodesk 3ds Max (Requires pymxs support).

Usage

1. Open 3ds Max.
2. Select one or more mesh objects.
3. Run the script Scripts/AutoLod.py (Scripting > Run Script...).
4. The tool will create new objects in the scene:
   • ObjectName_LOD1
   • ObjectName_LOD2
   • ObjectName_LOD3

Script Reference

Scripts/AutoLod.py

The automation logic.

• create_lods(): The main entry point.
• LOD Logic: Defines a dictionary of levels ({1: 50.0, 2: 25.0, 3: 10.0}).
• ProOptimizer: Applies the ProOptimizer modifier to clones of the selected mesh, sets the vertex percentage, calculates the reduction, and collapses the stack to bake the changes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details. Copyright (c) 2026 ARGUS