Skip to content

Engine & runtime

Instancing lab

Same triangles, one draw call or four thousand. Measured here, on your device.

PracticalglTF

What this is

One scene rendered two ways — an InstancedMesh versus one mesh per object — with the frame rate measured live rather than quoted.

The triangle count is identical in both modes. If the frame rate differs, draw-call overhead is the only thing that changed, and because that cost is CPU-side a better GPU will not rescue it. The panel is equally clear about what instancing costs: a fixed count, one material, manual picking, and all-or-nothing culling.

Things worth trying

  • Switch to 'one mesh each' at 2,000 units and watch the frame rate collapse
  • Confirm the triangle count did not change when it did
  • Turn on shadow casting and watch both modes suffer
  • Turn on per-instance colour — one extra buffer, still one draw call

Bring us the product you were told could not be configured.

Tell us the option count, the CAD you already have and the frame budget you need to hit. An engineer reads it and replies with a straight answer — including when the answer is that good photography would serve you better.

We reply to every enquiry within one business day, in your timezone — with a frame budget, not a brochure.