In this 2020 GDC virtual talk Electronic Arts' Ashton Mason breaks down how the company uses Frostbite to procedurally produce quality level of detail for in-game models.
Mason revealed how, in early 2014, the Frostbite team started developing an in-house LOD technology for quad-based Bioware character models.
Today that tech powers tools used by studios across Electronic Arts, from Battlefield to Plants vs Zombies. Quad-based models are widely used in the industry, and artists devote much care to their topology and edge flow. Yet simplification of quad meshes is less studied in the literature -- and popular LOD tools triangulate meshes and ignore topology.
It was a fascinating look at how an engine like Frostbite is designed and developed, and now you can watch it for free on the official GDC YouTube channel!
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