GeoLOD — Smart, UV-safe LOD Generator for Blender 4.x

Author: Jacobb
Version: 1.0.0
Blender version: 4.0+
Category: Object
Location: View3D → N-panel → GeoLOD

Description

GeoLOD is a Blender addon for fast creation of Level of Detail (LOD) models with UV-safe topology cleanup.
It performs UV-aware geometry cleanup before reduction, applies a Decimate (Collapse) modifier for triangulated reduction, and automatically adds a Weighted Normals modifier (Keep Sharp off) for consistent shading.
The result is a clean, production-ready collection with organized naming and a LOD_Level custom property.

Features

• Generate 1–10 LODs with a single click.

• Choose exact percentages (e.g., 90,80,65) or Start % + Step % pattern.

• UV-safe cleanup — Limited Dissolve with adjustable angle, Merge by Distance, optional UV seam protection.

• Decimate (Collapse) — triangulated reduction for real-time performance.

• Auto-add Weighted Normals (Keep Sharp = OFF), left unapplied.

• Optional LOD0 (copy of the original object).

• Preserves materials, vertex colors, and UVs where possible.

• Organized structure: BaseName_LODs collection, BaseName_LOD1…N objects, LOD_Level property.

Installation

1. Download the .zip file containing the addon.

2. In Blender, go to Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Install...

3. Select the downloaded .zip and click Install Add-on.

4. Enable GeoLOD (Smart LOD Generator) from the addon list.

5. Access it via N-panel → GeoLOD

Usage

1. Select a mesh object in Object Mode.

2. In the N-panel → GeoLOD section, set:

   • Base Name (optional, defaults to active object name).

   • Collection Suffix (e.g., _LODs).

   • LOD Count (1–10).

   • Percentages or Start % + Step %.

   • Options: Include LOD0, Clear existing collection.

3. (Optional) Enable UV-safe Smart Cleanup and adjust:

   • Dissolve limit (°) – angle threshold for Limited Dissolve.

   • Merge by Distance – merge distance for close vertices.

   • Protect UV seams – prevents UV islands from breaking during cleanup.

4. (Optional) Enable Apply modifiers (Weighted Normals is never applied).

5. Click Generate LODs.

Output

• Collection: BaseName_LODs

• Objects: BaseName_LOD1…LOD{N} (+ optional BaseName_LOD0)

• Custom property: LOD_Level = 0..N

Notes

• Works with mesh objects only.

• Decimate always produces triangulated geometry (quads are not preserved).

• Extreme reductions may distort shape and UVs — keep reasonable percentages for important assets.

• For predictable results with complex modifier stacks (Mirror/Array/Subdiv), either apply them beforehand or let GeoLOD apply all except Weighted Normals.