As interactive 3D environments are being implemented within our community, examining their efficiency and gathering insights into user's perspectives becomes increasingly important. This study aimed to address two research questions: “Does the level of detail in an interactive 3D landscape model lead to differences in participants' performance on a memory recall test?” and “What are participants' preferences, interests, and subjective understanding of the 3D model?”. The term LOD was used to standardise guidelines for the different levels of detail in the two models compared. A total of 30 participants took part in the experiment, completing tasks in the interactive 3D landscape environment containing a 3D model (LOD1 or LOD2), followed by a memory recall test. The analysis utilised Independent samples t-tests and correlation analysis. Additionally, participants provided feedback on their preferences, interest, and subjective understanding, which were analysed using thematic analysis and Chi-squared tests. The study found no statistically significant difference in memory recall between the groups according to an independent samples t-test. Chi-squared tests revealed that participants in both groups expressed a similar understanding of the models. Thematic analysis revealed that comments on the model were similar regarding interest. Participants in both groups preferred the more detailed model when presented with both images; some were motivated by the fact that it enhanced their understanding. Future research could compare more considerable differences in detail levels (LOD1 vs LOD3 ) and use different approaches to gather insights into participants' memory recall, preferences, or other aspects of interest.