InstaLOD's multi-resolution remesher streamlines the optimization of complex objects by performing multiple essential steps in one operation. It retopologizes geometry, unwraps efficient UVs, and bakes details and texture information — resulting in a game-ready asset with the click of a button.
Beyond optimization workflows, the remesher is also an excellent tool for asset creation. By default, the remesh operation combines overlapping submeshes and removes hidden faces, creating solid, watertight meshes. In addition, it also merges materials. This remeshing process can be used to combine kits of assets together to create new, game-ready assets with ease.
This article will guide you through this kit-bash workflow using InstaLOD’s remesher to create a sci-fi control panel using a modular kit of pieces. You can follow along by downloading the kit from Polyverse here.
¶ Importing the Kit
To begin, launch InstaLOD Studio and create a new Profile. Choose Remesh from the New Profile screen and select Create Profile at the bottom.
To import the kit, simply drag the file containing the meshes into InstaLOD Studio’s main window, or go to File > Import Scene... from the main menu.
¶ Interacting with Parts
Once the kit has been imported into InstaLOD Studio, you can now move, rotate, and scale the parts to put together a new asset. To select a part, click on it in the Viewport or select it in the Outliner panel.
¶ Transforming Submeshes
Use the following hotkeys to toggle tools that can manipulate the parts of the kit in the scene:
- W: Move
- E: Rotate
- R: Scale
¶ Duplicating Submeshes
Parts can be duplicated by right-clicking them in the Viewprot or Outliner panel and selecting Duplicate from the contextual menu.
¶ Grouping Submeshes
A selection of parts can be grouped by selecting them and choosing Edit > Group from the main menu. This group can then manipulate all submeshes inside it.
¶ Deleting Submeshes
To delete a mesh, select it in the Outliner panel and press Backspace or Delete.
¶ Importing Additional Pieces
There are two methods for importing additional submeshes into the scene:
- Drag and drop a mesh file from your computer’s file system onto the main InstaLOD Studio window and select
Importfrom the contextual menu. - From the main menu, go to
File>Import Scene...and choose the mesh file containing the parts to import.
¶ Remeshing into a Single Game-Ready Asset
Now that the asset has been assembled, it’s time to remesh it together into a single, watertight mesh with InstaLOD’s Remesh mesh operation.
- Make sure the Remesh mesh operation is selected as the active operation in the
Mesh Operation Settingspanel on the right. - In the
Mesh Operationspanel on the left, clickStart.
That’s it! InstaLOD will combine all of the textures, materials, and objects into a single, watertight mesh with efficient UVs.
Now that we’ve established the basics, let’s dive into a few configuration options that can help achieve the best results for your specific pipelines.
¶ Adjusting the Remesher's Resolution
InstaLOD's remesher lets you choose the level of detail it models out when it generates new topology. The resolution can be set in the Mesh Operation Settings panel under the Surface Construction section.
Increasing the resolution tells InstaLOD to model more detail into the geometry of the reconstruction. A lower resolution simplifies the topology into more general shapes and bakes additional details into the normal map of the processed mesh. Note that the higher the resolution, the higher the performance cost for the remesher to process the asset.
The following example demonstrates the difference beween a low and a higher surface construciton resolution.
¶ Setting the UV Unwrap Strategy
InstaLOD's remesher automatically unwraps the UVs of the generated mesh into an optimized layout. However, depending on your specific needs, you may prefer a different UV layout for certain asset types such as organic or hard surface models.
This is known as the UV Unwrap Strategy, and it can be found in the Mesh Operaiton Settings panel under the UV section. The Auto option naturally defaults to an Organic approach. While this often provides great results, select the desired strategy with the dropdown menu.
To learn more about InstaLOD's UV unwrap strategies, please visit our dedicated article on UV Unwrapping.
¶ Baking Mesh Maps
When remeshing, InstaLOD's bakers transfer high-poly details from the original mesh to the reconstructed mesh. In addition, they can also generate baked mesh maps, such as Ambient Occlusion, Thickness, and Curvature, that enhance asset texturing workflows at the same time.
Configure these bakers in the Texture Output panel, located in a tab next to the Mesh Operation Settings panel on the right. Here you can control baking properties such as texture resolution and which bakers to use when remeshing.
Try enabling the Ambient Occlusion baker and rerunning the remesh operation. InstaLOD will automatically generate contact shadows for your asset—a useful way to save performance when rendering 3D assets in realtime.