Dyndolod causes CTD on loading screen

[nicktheduke]

Hi all.

 

Discussing this over here on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/7av8nu/help_dyndolod_consistent_ctd/

 

Basically, I've created a pretty massive LO with a lot of merges based on SRLE LOTD Req'd guide. I start a new game and everything seems to run fine but as soon as I add Dyndolod.esp, the game crashes on loading screen.

 

I've read the manual. I've got nothing missing when generating. I've got Crash Fixes custom memory block. I've looked at corrupt nifs, which I found a few in Beyond Bruma, but I'm not generating Dyndolod for that worldspace. I've turned on Papyrus and had nothing Dyndolod related when it CTD'd.

 

I've run out of ideas for what I can do to fix this, which is unfortunate since Dyndolod has been in my LO for many years.

 

Any ideas? Please help!

[nicktheduke]

Ok so I re-generated a few times. I went from bottom of worldspace list (where Tamriel is) all the way up. Sometimes it crashes upon return to Helgen Keep, sometimes it doesn't. I tried generating everything (except Bruma) and deleting worldspaces from that, but I assume data is being stored somewhere that links to that worldspace thus it still crashes, which means I've re-generated a bunch.

 

I thought I've narrowed it down to 3 worldspaces: Dimfrost from Wyrmstooth (never had a problem), Deepwood Vale (Organic Factions was added and affects that area), and the Dungeon added by Helgen Reborn. Usually I have never had any problems with Helgen Reborn.

 

However, when not generating those worldspaces, I get a crash re-entering Helgen Keep. I am, however, able to enter Riverwood interiors.

[sheson]

Keep in mind what I mentioned about only keep what results in the problem 100% repeatably and remove everything else. So keep removing worldspaces, mods, data from esp what doesn't change the problem so in the end you have a hopefully small test case that either reveals what we are dealing with here or that you can maybe send to me.

[nicktheduke]

When chipping away at the Dyndolod.esp, should I remove the meshes from each worldspace?

 

Rather, does Dyndolod store extra info in the SKSE about the worldspaces generated?

 

EDIT: Idk why but when I delete 2 specific worldspaces (Deepwood Vale affected by Organic Factions + the dungeon added by Helgen Reborn) the game doesn't crash when re-entering Helgen Keep

Edited November 11, 2017 by nicktheduke

[nicktheduke]

Further testing:

 

If I use Medium settings and delete everything but Tamriel, I can load the game and re-enter Helgen Keep without crash.

 

I am going to try and delete anything mod-related from Dyndolod to see if it crashes. If it crashes after that, I will send you esp

Edited November 12, 2017 by nicktheduke

[nicktheduke]

Generating with Medium and deleting everything mod-related from worldspaces (Wyrmstooth, Darkend, etc) allows me to exit and re-enter Helgen Keep

[nicktheduke]

So I generate Medium. If I delete/don't generate the following worldspaces, the game does not crash on load/re-entering Helgen Keep:

 

+ aaaWereBalokDungeonWorld - Staadomaar Template (Helgen Reborn.esp)

+ BSHeartland - Tamriel (BSHeartland.esm)

+ Dimfrost - Dimfrost (Wyrmstooth.esp)

+ NecroDragontailMountains - Dragontail Mountains (Undeath.esp)

+ WyrmstoothWorld - Wyrmstooth (Wyrmstooth.esp)

+ XJKislandWorld - Phalos (Darkend.esp)

 

I am trying to re-add these and see if I can narrow down, except BSHeartland

 

What's weird... Is that I've generated these before and never had a crash or freeze

[nicktheduke]

Yeah. I can confirm deleting anything mod-related that's not Skyrim or DLC-related from Dyndolod.esp will avoid crash.

 

Any tips? Should I just TES5LODgen the rest? Am I really pushing Skyrim to it's limits?

Edited November 12, 2017 by nicktheduke

[sheson]

I'd rather find the source of the problem and fix it. The best chance to do this is by removing everything else that does not cause a problem and keep only what is causing the problem with a 100% reproducible test case.

 

LOD Meshes/texture is the first thing to hide. I am pretty sure we did that already. They are pre-computed and independent files that just get loaded. There is no extra info for them in any plugins.

 

I mentioned this earlier, you can not "Generate DynDOLOD" (for certain worldspaces) to see if this is about dynamic LOD or not. You can generate a bunch of worldspaces at once, then install output, then run DynDOLOD with different settings for the remaining worldspaces and install that output over the existing one.

 

If you find that not generating a specific worldspace is making a difference, I would test if removing the mod adding that worldspace makes all problems go away at once. Then put that mod back and start removing everything else to see if it is that mod alone or not.

 

However it would be best to only generate one worldspaces and find a 100% reproducible test case in it to test on.

[sheson]

Here is that updated LODObject script with more debug messages I was mentioning earlier. Just replace the existing SHESON_DynDOLOD_LODObject.pex in scripts.

 

Set "debug":"true" in ..skse\plugins\StorageUtilData\DynDOLOD_Worlds.json and the updated script will also print messages when it disables dynamic LOD objects, which - among other things - is one thing that happens when you enter an interior. Same as before, after a crash check papyrus log if Disable messages are the last line printed to log. If not when can at least rule that out.

Edited November 12, 2017 by sheson

[Mator]

It sounds to me like this has to be some kind of resource problem combined with one or more other problems.  NickTheDuke: can you run Skyrim Performance Monitor to see if we can get a look at Skyrim's RAM/VRAM usage?  It sounds to me like some kind of buffer is overflowing, could be Papyrus string count or something else.  I really don't know.  But based on what I've read here I don't think there's a single record or even a single cell which is causing the issue.  We could perhaps show this to be the case if we can get two stable builds which have opposite mods enabled/disabled.  If we can show the game is stable with selection X enabled and Y disabled, and is also stable with X disabled and Y enabled, it will show with certainty that the problem is not in any specific record (or even any specific model).

 

Just my thoughts, anywho.  Sheson is of course the true master of all things DynDOLOD.  :)

[nicktheduke]

Well. I'm back!

 

Been away for a few days haven't been able to play too much with Dyndolod. I am, however, trying to figure this out.

 

I had a game going. Level 5. No big deal if I have to restart. I was playing with Dyndolod but with Tamriel worldspace only. No crashes out of the ordinary :P

 

Opened a save in an interior without Dyndolod activated. Walked outside and back inside. Saved. Re-generated Dyndolod with all worldspaces and your script. 

 

Reloaded game. Crash on loading screen. Try new game. Crash on loading screen.

 

When I open Papyrus, there is nothing SHESON or Dyndolod-related in the log.......................... !*$(&!@

 

I am not honestly not sure what to do. Rebuild the load order and start fresh? I have never seen this happen with Dyndolod...

 

PS. Does it matter that it's # 255 in LO?

[nicktheduke]

And I tried something different.

 

I deleted Tamriel worldspace. The game loads.

 

So:

 

If I have just Tamriel, maaaaaybe a few other worldspaces = No Crash

 

If I have no Tamriel, all worldspaces = No Crash

 

If I have all worldspaces = Crash

[Mator]

Nick just let me know in Discord that DynDOLOD.esp is the 0xFF (255th) ESP in his load order.  I'm 99% certain that's the issue.  Said he's going to try merging some stuff.