A Start Line, one of the props in ModNation Racers.
Props are objects you place in ModNation Racers Tracks. Props range from buildings and trees, to animated animals and objects, to direction lights and decorations, to gameplay objects, traps, and ramps, and to Boost Pads and Item Pods.
You can only place a limited amount of props in a track, determined by your Track Budget. For some types of props like ramps and Item Pods, you can only place a limited amount of these props. You can only place up to three hundred animated props.
Due to the limited processing power, if there are too many props on a track the props that are further away from the camera will shrink to nothing, and then enlarge to the normal size when the camera is close enough. In ModNation Racers for the PlayStation Portable, smaller props such as trees and rocks will merely vanish when moving far away from them and will reappear when moving close to them.
Prop Popping Workarounds[]
You can work around this by placing props in spots to block off the view of the popping props, so that you can see them only when it is visible. Just make sure that the lower Levels of Detail that props use when seen far away does not create gaps that you can see through.
You can also use Terrain to block off visibility of hidden props, as the Terrain's level of detail is different from props, and the Terrain does not pop in or out like props.
Level of Detail[]
In the PS3 version and ModNation Racers: Road Trip, the Props have varying levels of detail, the full detail when you are close up to the Prop, and a second, significantly less detailed version when you are farther away.