3Dstapeling

3Dstapeling is a rendering and data organization technique used to represent three-dimensional content as a sequence of discrete layers, or stacks, along a chosen axis. Each layer contains the geometry, materials, textures, or voxel data that intersect the corresponding depth range, allowing the scene to be loaded and processed in smaller units. The approach supports streaming and level-of-detail by adjusting the number and thickness of layers, enabling efficient memory usage for large or open-world scenes.

During preparation, a 3D scene is partitioned into evenly spaced slices. A layer index is assigned to primitives, voxels, or samples. At runtime, the rendering pipeline only fetches layers within the camera frustum, performs per-layer culling, and then composites the visible layers. This can improve cache locality and reduce draw calls, especially in voxelized or highly occluded environments. Delta layers can be used to update parts of the scene without rebuilding the entire stack.

Advantages include reduced memory footprint, faster streaming, improved occlusion handling, and compatibility with voxel-based data. Limitations include preprocessing cost, possible inefficiency for thin or highly non-planar geometry, and a need for specialized shaders to composite layers properly. Performance depends on layer thickness and data layout, as well as the hardware and software pipeline used to process the stacked data.

3Dstapeling has found use in scientific visualization, volumetric rendering, and large-scale game environments where streaming and culling are critical. It relates to concepts such as voxel stacks, tiled or sliced geometry, and layered rendering, and is implemented in various research prototypes and engine plugins.