Unity-AutoLOD – Impostors U3850

AutoLOD – Impostors is an easy tool that provides full impostor management, from baking to rendering, with automatic LOD Group setup.
Programmable Render Pipeline (SRP) compatibility
The Unity Programmable Render Pipeline (SRP) is a feature that allows you to control rendering through C# scripts. SRP is the underlying technology that supports the Universal Rendering Pipeline (URP) and the High Definition Rendering Pipeline (HDRP).
Unity version
Built-in rendering pipeline
Universal Rendering Pipeline (URP)
High Definition Rendering Pipeline (HDRP)
2020.3.34f1
compatible
compatible
Not compatible
Additional compatibility information
AutoLOD – Impostors is not fully compatible with HDRP, but it is still possible to bake any compatible object in a URP project and use it in HDRP using the HDRP Toolkit. Only the baking part is not supported.

describe
⚠️ AutoLOD – Impostors is only supported by the Built-in and the Universal Render Pipelines. Baking on HDRP is currently NOT supported. If you want to use this asset on HDRP, you will have to bake impostors using a URP project and then use the HDRP Toolkit⚠️

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What is an impostor?
An impostor is a billboard that displays an image of a 3D object. The image will update and change according to the viewing angle in order to fake a 3D effect and save on performance.

When should I use it?
Impostors are mainly used to render static objects far off in the distance in order to optimize the scene.

You could also use them to get a unique art style with a 3D “snapping” effect.

Can any object in my scene be replaced with an impostor?
Technically, any object with a mesh renderer attached can be replaced with an impostor. However, they should mainly be used to replace static meshes in the far distance. At closer range, the difference will be noticeable as a simple quad doesn’t intersect the same way with surrounding objects in the same way as the original mesh. Also, impostors are baked in orthographic view which means that the perspective will be wrong at closer ranges.

Are impostors compatible with the LODGroup component?
Yes. You also don’t have to mess with geometry alignment, the tool has an option to set the LODs for you.

How long does it take to bake an imposter?
Depending on your hardware and the baking settings, it may take up to 30 seconds.

Can I build on any platform?
The impostors shader is based on Unity high-level surface shader so you should be able to build on any platform.

Are there any required dependencies?
No. This is a standalone package.

If you need help, or you want to show off you work, you can join the Discord server

Asset demo scene uses Ultimate Stylized Nature Pack under CC0 License; see Third-Party Notices.txt file in package for details.

technical details
related keywords
Legacy
URP
LOD
baked
optimization
Imposter
impostor
Drawcall
GPU
draw calls
billboard