diff --git a/changes/render3d-small-window.md b/changes/render3d-small-window.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c412dccd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/render3d-small-window.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+bump: patch
+type: feature
+**`r3d_small`: a renderer sized for a small UI window.** Set before `r3d_open`, it gives the frame's
+uniform ring 2 x 4 MB (was 2 x 64), memory blocks of 8 MB with anything over 4 MB on its own (was 64 and
+16) and descriptor pools an eighth of a world's. Maroon Lake's launcher window, which draws a picture and
+text and never becomes the game, went from 817 MB to 446 MB with it and its own trims; the rest is the
+font atlas, the backdrop, Metal's command-buffer storage while it draws, and the program's states.
diff --git a/packages/ludic.render3d/env.ludic b/packages/ludic.render3d/env.ludic
index 046ff6b1..be8e2417 100644
--- a/packages/ludic.render3d/env.ludic
+++ b/packages/ludic.render3d/env.ludic
@@ -587,6 +587,7 @@ export state Render3dState {
   r3d_time: float = 0.0
   r3d_ready: bool = false
   r3d_plate: bool = false
+  r3d_small: bool = false        # set before r3d_open: a small UI window (a launcher) - the ring, the memory blocks and the descriptor pools sized for it
   r3d_sky_path: string = null
   r3d_debug: bool = false
   r3d_debug_shadow: bool = false
diff --git a/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk.ludic b/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk.ludic
index 21d4c5f7..179f6582 100644
--- a/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk.ludic
+++ b/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk.ludic
@@ -340,6 +340,16 @@ function gvk_alloc(render3d_st: mut Render3dState, req: bytes, want: int) -> lon
 const GVK_BLOCK_DEVICE: int = 67108864
 const GVK_BLOCK_HOST: int = 67108864
 const GVK_OWN_OVER: int = 16777216
+# a small window's (r3d_small): a UI's few sheets, not a world's hundreds of textures
+const GVK_BLOCK_SMALL: int = 8388608
+function gvk_block_bytes(render3d_st: Render3dState) -> int {
+  if render3d_st.r3d_small { return GVK_BLOCK_SMALL }
+  return GVK_BLOCK_DEVICE
+}
+function gvk_own_over(render3d_st: Render3dState) -> int {
+  if render3d_st.r3d_small { return GVK_BLOCK_SMALL / 2 }
+  return GVK_OWN_OVER
+}
 
 @alloc_ok("made once per resource and kept for its life (a texture, program, sampler, view, layout or memory block is created when first asked for)")
 function gvk_mem_init(render3d_st: mut Render3dState) -> void {
@@ -414,7 +424,7 @@ function gvk_mem_new(render3d_st: mut Render3dState, req: bytes, want: int, imag
   }
   let mp = render3d_st.gvk_map_slot
   mp[0] = null
-  if size <= GVK_OWN_OVER {
+  if size <= gvk_own_over(render3d_st) {
     var kind = t * 2
     if image { kind += 1 }
     var i = 0
@@ -434,8 +444,8 @@ function gvk_mem_new(render3d_st: mut Render3dState, req: bytes, want: int, imag
       i += 1
     }
     if blk < 0 {
-      var bsize = GVK_BLOCK_DEVICE
-      if host { bsize = GVK_BLOCK_HOST }
+      var bsize = gvk_block_bytes(render3d_st)
+      if host and not render3d_st.r3d_small { bsize = GVK_BLOCK_HOST }
       let mem = gvk_mem_raw(render3d_st, t, bsize, host, mp)
       if mem != 0 {
         # into the record of a block given back, when there is one: a buffer made again every few
diff --git a/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk_draw.ludic b/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk_draw.ludic
index 18fdf054..628c51bf 100644
--- a/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk_draw.ludic
+++ b/packages/ludic.render3d/gpu_vk_draw.ludic
@@ -716,6 +716,11 @@ function gvk_bind_texture(render3d_st: mut Render3dState, p: int, name: string,
 # its descriptor set comes from a pool that is reset with the frame. Both are rewound at
 # gvk_frame_reset.
 const GVK_RING_BYTES: int = 64 * 1024 * 1024
+const GVK_RING_SMALL: int = 4 * 1024 * 1024       # a UI's frame: a few hundred small blocks
+function gvk_ring_bytes(render3d_st: Render3dState) -> int {
+  if render3d_st.r3d_small { return GVK_RING_SMALL }
+  return GVK_RING_BYTES
+}
 
 @alloc_ok("start-up: the device, its tables, the programs, the passes and the world's first textures are made once, before play")
 function gvk_frame_init(render3d_st: mut Render3dState) -> bool {
@@ -732,18 +737,18 @@ function gvk_frame_init(render3d_st: mut Render3dState) -> bool {
   if (counts & VK_SAMPLE_COUNT_4_BIT) != 0 { render3d_st.gvk_msaa_max = 4 }
   render3d_st.gvk_ring_buf = gvk_buf_new(render3d_st)
   # one half per frame slot: the cached sets bind this one buffer, and each draw's offset says the half
-  if not gvk_buf_reserve(render3d_st, render3d_st.gvk_ring_buf, GVK_RING_BYTES * 2) { return false }
+  if not gvk_buf_reserve(render3d_st, render3d_st.gvk_ring_buf, gvk_ring_bytes(render3d_st) * 2) { return false }
   let sizes = bytes(VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof * 3)
   Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_type, VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_UNIFORM_BUFFER)
-  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, 32768)
+  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, 32768))
   Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof + VkDescriptorPoolSize_type, VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_COMBINED_IMAGE_SAMPLER)
-  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof + VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, 131072)
+  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof + VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, 131072))
   Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof * 2 + VkDescriptorPoolSize_type, VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_STORAGE_BUFFER)
-  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof * 2 + VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, 16384)
+  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof * 2 + VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, 16384))
   let dpci = bytes(VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_sizeof)
   Vk.zero(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_sizeof)
   Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_sType, VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_POOL_CREATE_INFO)
-  Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_maxSets, 16384)
+  Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_maxSets, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, 16384))
   Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_poolSizeCount, 3)
   Vk.put_ptr(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_pPoolSizes, sizes)
   let out = bytes(8)
@@ -770,8 +775,8 @@ function gvk_frame_reset(render3d_st: mut Render3dState) -> void {
   # draw still in use makes its set again the first time it is drawn
   if render3d_st.gvk_sc_dead >= GVK_SC_DEAD_MAX { gvk_kpool_reset(render3d_st) }
   let slot = render3d_st.gvk_frame_no & 1
-  render3d_st.gvk_ring_off = slot * GVK_RING_BYTES
-  render3d_st.gvk_ring_end = (slot + 1) * GVK_RING_BYTES
+  render3d_st.gvk_ring_off = slot * gvk_ring_bytes(render3d_st)
+  render3d_st.gvk_ring_end = (slot + 1) * gvk_ring_bytes(render3d_st)
   render3d_st.gvk_dpool = render3d_st.gvk_dpools[slot]
   Vk.reset_descriptor_pool(render3d_st.gvk_dev, render3d_st.gvk_dpool, 0)
 }
@@ -795,18 +800,23 @@ function gvk_ring_put(render3d_st: mut Render3dState, blk: pointer, n: int) -> i
 # sampler, so a set is never matched against a texture it no longer describes.
 const GVK_KPOOL_SETS: int = 8192
 const GVK_SC_DEAD_MAX: int = 256          # textures released before the kept sets start over
+# a descriptor pool's counts: a small window's (r3d_small) an eighth of a world's
+function gvk_pool_n(render3d_st: Render3dState, n: int) -> int {
+  if render3d_st.r3d_small { return n / 8 }
+  return n
+}
 
 @alloc_ok("start-up: the device, its tables, the programs, the passes and the world's first textures are made once, before play")
 function gvk_kpool_make(render3d_st: mut Render3dState) -> bool {
   let sizes = bytes(VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof * 2)
   Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_type, VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_UNIFORM_BUFFER_DYNAMIC)
-  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, GVK_KPOOL_SETS * 2)
+  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, GVK_KPOOL_SETS) * 2)
   Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof + VkDescriptorPoolSize_type, VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_COMBINED_IMAGE_SAMPLER)
-  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof + VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, GVK_KPOOL_SETS * 8)
+  Vk.put_i32(sizes, VkDescriptorPoolSize_sizeof + VkDescriptorPoolSize_descriptorCount, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, GVK_KPOOL_SETS) * 8)
   let dpci = bytes(VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_sizeof)
   Vk.zero(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_sizeof)
   Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_sType, VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_POOL_CREATE_INFO)
-  Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_maxSets, GVK_KPOOL_SETS)
+  Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_maxSets, gvk_pool_n(render3d_st, GVK_KPOOL_SETS))
   Vk.put_i32(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_poolSizeCount, 2)
   Vk.put_ptr(dpci, VkDescriptorPoolCreateInfo_pPoolSizes, sizes)
   let out = bytes(8)