Blog Post 13: Optimization Challenges, Reducing Trees and Textures
As our environment grew more detailed, performance issues on the Oculus Quest 2 began surfacing. Joel noticed significant frame drops during certain sections filled with heavy asset density, particularly areas where I had placed abundant foliage and ruins.
To address this, we initiated a thorough optimization review. Joel and I identified major "hotspots" causing performance hits: too many dynamic trees, overly detailed stone props, and several 2K texture materials that exceeded optimal limits.
The solution required a multi-pronged approach. First, I reduced tree counts significantly, focusing on essential visual storytelling rather than background fillers. Secondly, I re-imported several textures, compressing them to 1K resolution without noticeable visual loss in VR. Kamal also helped by providing simplified Level of Detail (LOD) versions of heavy assets.
It was difficult seeing some rich areas lose complexity, but performance was non-negotiable. In VR, frame stability directly affects user comfort; low frame rates can easily cause motion sickness, an experience we wanted to avoid at all costs.
This phase taught us an important production lesson: great environments must balance beauty and technical feasibility. Artistic ambition must always respect platform limitations, especially in VR projects.