# Mipmaps explained for FiveM texture artists

> What mipmaps are and why GTA 5 textures need them: sharper distance rendering, less shimmer, better streaming, the memory cost and how to generate them.

Source: https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-mipmaps-explained · FAM Tools · published 2026-09-11 · updated 2026-09-11 · about 7 min

**Short answer.** Mipmaps are smaller versions of a texture stored in the same DDS. They cost one third more memory but make distant surfaces look stable, reduce GPU work and let the game stream a low-resolution version first. Always export DDS textures with a full mip chain (`texconv -m 0`, or “generate mip maps” in Paint.NET/GIMP).

## Key points

- Each mip level is half the size of the previous one.
- A full chain costs +33% memory — and is worth it.
- No mipmaps = shimmering at distance and worse streaming.
- Generate them at export: `texconv -m 0` or your editor’s DDS option.

A mipmap chain is a set of pre-shrunk copies of a texture: 1024, 512, 256, and so on down to a few pixels. The game uses the small copies when an object is far away. Textures without them shimmer, sparkle and stream badly — and some tools quietly drop them on export.

## What the chain looks like

| Level | Size (from 1024) | Share of memory |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 0 | 1024 × 1024 | 75% |
| 1 | 512 × 512 | 18.8% |
| 2 | 256 × 256 | 4.7% |
| 3 | 128 × 128 | 1.2% |
| 4+ | 64 … 4 | < 0.4% |

The whole chain adds about one third to the base level, because each level is a quarter of the one before.

## Why they matter

- **No shimmer**: without mips, a distant surface samples random texels each frame and sparkles.
- **Performance**: small mips read less memory for far objects.
- **Streaming**: the game can show a low mip first while the full texture loads.

## Generating mipmaps

*texconv*

```bat
texconv -f BC7_UNORM -m 0 -y -o out texture.png
```

- Paint.NET: Save as DDS → tick “Generate Mip Maps”.
- GIMP: Export as DDS → Mipmaps: “Generate mipmaps”.
- CodeWalker/OpenIV importers keep the mips that are in the DDS — they do not add missing ones.

## Spotting missing mipmaps

Walk away from the weapon or prop: if fine details turn into noisy sparkles instead of softening, the mips are missing. In CodeWalker’s texture viewer, the mip count is shown per texture. Formats and sizes: [DDS formats](https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-dds-texture-formats-dxt-bc7) and [texture resolution](https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-weapon-texture-resolution).

## Questions

### Do FiveM textures need mipmaps?

Yes. Without them, textures shimmer at distance and stream less efficiently.

### How much memory do mipmaps add?

About one third of the base texture.

### How do I add mipmaps to a DDS?

Re-export from the source with mipmap generation on — for example `texconv -m 0` or Paint.NET’s “Generate Mip Maps”.

### Why does my texture sparkle when far away?

It most likely has no mipmaps.

## Related

- https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-dds-texture-formats-dxt-bc7
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-weapon-texture-resolution
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/codewalker-ytd-editing
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/ytd-texture-dictionary