AI Culler
2026 · Mod · Personal project
A two-part Arma 3 performance mod for large milsim operations: the server stops simulating AI nobody can see or reach, and each player stops drawing AI hidden behind terrain and buildings.
What it does
Large Arma 3 operations push a server hard: with 60 or more players and high AI counts, it spends its time simulating units nobody is near, and past about 150 units that causes periodic frame spikes. AI Culler caps how many AI are simulated at once, deciding by distance, players' line of sight, Zeus overrides and whether the AI are fighting each other.
On each player's machine, a second part stops drawing AI hidden behind buildings and hills, with a cheap terrain check first and a geometry check second, inside a fixed budget. Mission makers can protect units from culling in the editor, and Zeus gets status and settings panels.
Highlights
- Server-side classification in chunks of 25 units, spread over time so the server thread never blocks
- Client-side occlusion that sweeps 200 AI in about 0.8 seconds and adds no server load
- Works alongside CBA_A3, ACE3, ZEN, LAMBS Danger and headless clients
- Released on the Steam Workshop, with a documented API for mission makers
Built with
Assisted by Claude