In Godot 3.5.2, occlusion culling can be an essential tool to optimize the performance of your outdoor scenes. It helps to hide objects that are not visible to the camera, which saves rendering resources. However, you may have a moving object that you want to exclude from the culling process to ensure it’s always visible. In this article, we will explore how to flag a moving object to be excluded from occlusion culling in Godot 3.5.2.
Understanding Occlusion Culling
Occlusion culling is a technique used to improve the performance of 3D scenes by not rendering objects that are hidden from the camera’s view. In Godot, you can enable occlusion culling using the RoomManager node and creating Room and Portal nodes for your scene. These nodes define the areas where occlusion culling should take place and the connections between them.
Excluding an Object from Occlusion Culling
To exclude a moving object from occlusion culling, you need to set its visibility_layer property to a different layer than the one used for occlusion culling. This way, it will not be considered by the culling process, and will always be visible regardless of its position in the scene. Follow these steps:
- Select the moving object in the scene tree.
- In the Inspector, navigate to the
Visibilitysection. - Find the
Visibility Layerproperty and set it to a different layer than the one used for occlusion culling. You can choose any layer from 1 to 20, but make sure it’s not used for any other purpose in your project.
By setting the moving object’s visibility layer to a different value, you effectively exclude it from the occlusion culling process. It will always be visible, even if it’s behind other objects in the scene.
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips to consider when working with occlusion culling in Godot:
- Make sure to test your scene thoroughly to ensure the occlusion culling is working as expected. Pay close attention to the moving object and any other objects that should be culled.
- Remember that occlusion culling can improve performance, but it’s not a magic bullet. You should still optimize your assets, use level of detail (LOD) techniques, and implement other performance-enhancing strategies.
- If you’re using a custom shader for the moving object, make sure it’s compatible with the occlusion culling system in Godot.
In conclusion, excluding a moving object from occlusion culling in Godot 3.5.2 is as simple as changing its visibility layer. This technique allows you to ensure the object is always visible while still benefiting from the performance improvements offered by occlusion culling. With proper testing and optimization, you can create visually impressive and performant outdoor scenes in Godot.
