Reduced distant feather rendering work
Distance-based feather detail now spends less geometry and shading work on details too small to see.
I continued the character optimization work with the feathered silhouette as the reference. The distant views no longer need the same tiny ribbons and shader detail as a close inspection.
The far feather tier dropped from about 4.92 million triangles to 1.71 million in the geometry audit. Screen-size limits, simpler far shaders and less frequent distant spring updates reduce additional work.
“Distance-based feather detail now spends less geometry and shading work on details too small to see.”
I also measured which feathers contribute visible pixels from several viewing directions and poses. The resulting tier masks omit hidden feathers while retaining the visible outer plumage.
These changes reduce character rendering work; they are not a guarantee of a particular frame rate for the whole environment. I kept the original character and comparison evidence for checking appearance and rollback.