Dynamic Distant Objects LOD - DynDOLOD v2.17

[sheson]

DynDOLOD 2.17 condensed update post - See Full update post for 2.xx update instructions

 

What’s New?

 

This is a simple maintenance update of the standalone patcher to address a bug and updates for a couple mods.

It is recommended to first remove all files and folders from older versions and then install into a new folder that is outside game, program files and mod manager folders.

 

Enderal

 

For specific information about Enderal see DynDOLOD 2.16 update post

 

---

 

Verified working out of the box - included rules

Dawn of Skyrim (Director's Cut) (2.17)

The Observatory (2.17)

 

Verified working out of the box

Distinct Skyrim Landscapes (2.17)

 

Fixes include

Fixed meaningless No WRLD message reported by Nebulous112

Fixed DynDOLOD.exe exception under exceptional circumstances reported by TeflonBilly

 

[spoiler=Changelog DynDOLOD 2.17]DynDOLOD.exe - added an installation check

DynDOLOD.exe - do not report manual non-dynamic LOD references having no Grids when loading existing data

DynDOLOD.exe - added childworldfull file to be able to set parent world copy to full model

DynDOLOD.exe - fixed a case of not assigning enough memory for a thread list

DynDOLOD.exe - show message when building reference info to verify usage of missing models

DynDOLOD.exe - added fasterbase switch to DynDOLOD.ini

TexGen.exe - sync updates with DynDOLOD.exe

TexGen.exe - added more helpful messages for file not found errors

DynDOLOD_Manual.html - updated compatibility information for several mods

 

 

See Full update post for full changelog, fully detailed update instructions and updated compatibility information for Skyrim mods.

 

DynDOLOD 2.16 update post

[Monobloc]

Yeah I'm mixing up thing.

 

Everything was imported in the merge and the form ID didn't change but dyndolod doesn't port DLC2 trees for example, nor all the 0ACQ_HFRTree... (Except HDR_TreeOak for the oaks) so all the swamp deadpines have no lods, do I have to change in the ignore part of the tes5.ini ?

 

TreeSword

Treeyellow

TreeFallForest

TreeSword

TreeReach (Ignored I guess ? )

TreeYellow

DeadPine

DeadScots

DLC2TreePine (Ignored too I assume)

 

are the other parts of treereach/treepine/treeaspen ignored references ?

 

Oddly in old screenshot of mine I had the proper lods.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Monobloc

[Monobloc]

Here how it looked before 3d lod, then with it level 4 there is no tree but level 8 works, but this time there is nothing that should be overwritting records, obviously there are no 3d lods for these trees so dyndolod should be using billboards right ? but nothing here..

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by Monobloc

[sheson]

Yeah I'm mixing up thing.

 

Everything was imported in the merge and the form ID didn't change but dyndolod doesn't port DLC2 trees for example, nor all the 0ACQ_HFRTree... (Except HDR_TreeOak for the oaks) so all the swamp deadpines have no lods, do I have to change in the ignore part of the tes5.ini ?

 

TreeSword

Treeyellow

TreeFallForest

TreeSword

TreeReach (Ignored I guess ? )

TreeYellow

DeadPine

DeadScots

DLC2TreePine (Ignored too I assume)

 

are the other parts of treereach/treepine/treeaspen ignored references ?

 

Oddly in old screenshot of mine I had the proper lods.

Are we talking about billboards or hybrid trees?

 

What do you mean by porting DLC2 trees?

 

DLC2 trees are defined by Dragonborn.esm and no merging of mods is going to change that. Any mod using these trees will get LOD as long as the vanilla billboards are installed.

 

If hybrid trees for a full model tree are installed the tree will get the hybrid LOD as long as the Editor ID and CRC32 of the full model tree are the same. A merge typically does not change that.

 

Ignore= is for base record Editor IDs of references added to child worlds. Adding a name to the ignore list will make sure a reference does not get a copy in the parent world. So for Tamriel this only applies to objects in major cities with load doors.

Edited August 18, 2016 by sheson

[Monobloc]

Sorry sheson i'm mixing up things trying to understand the issue

 

 

Simply : with my full billboard output folder : I have enhanced landscapes swamp tree lods ( 1st screen )

 

With my hybrid lods output folder : I don't have enhanced landscapes swamp tree lods (2nd screen) for level 4 lods, but it works for level 8/16 (3rd screen) and on the map even tho they use the same billboard ressources because no hybrid lods for these.

[sheson]

Here how it looked before 3d lod, then with it level 4 there is no tree but level 8 works, but this time there is nothing that should be overwritting records, obviously there are no 3d lods for these trees so dyndolod should be using billboards right ? but nothing here..

When generating with TreeLOD=0 and LOD4 for the matching rule is set to Billboard or Static LOD4 and TreeFullFallBack=0 is set in the ini, then that tree typically should have a billboard in static object LOD if there is no hybrid available.

 

Check the log for messages about billboard fallbacks. Check earlier mesh rules matching the tree

[sheson]

Sorry sheson i'm mixing up things trying to understand the issue

 

 

Simply : with my full billboard output folder : I have enhanced landscapes swamp tree lods ( 1st screen )

 

With my hybrid lods output folder : I don't have enhanced landscapes swamp tree lods (2nd screen) for level 4 lods, but it works for level 8/16 (3rd screen) and on the map even tho they use the same billboard ressources because no hybrid lods for these.

Checked myself and the log didn't say nothing about using billboard fallback for those dead swamp trees. So something needed a fix, test with this DynDOLOD.exe.

Edited August 18, 2016 by sheson

[avrie05]

Hi Sheson, I just spent a day reading through a lot of your documentation ( Thanks for the headache ;-) There's two things I'm absolutely convinced of but not sure how to proceed.

 

1) I'm sure I can fix the terrible flickering on the mountain snow textures in the far distance with one or two well chosen mesh rules, and If I understood it a little better I would probably turn it into a guide for general use.

 

The flickering seems to be yet another variation of static vs. Dynamic LOD "Zfighting" I'd love to get a handle on this for the community. It's the one real drawback to pushing the limits of DynDOLOD. The flicker ruins all the other gains it's so bad (depending on settings of course ... I'm currently running it on high, with near grids on 13 and far grids at default with 512 max tiles)

 

2) I am Absolutely convinced that it's time for you to Chesko, and ThreeTen to compare notes. The only solution moving forward with updating "Real shelter" IMAO is for you to work with them to include Robinsage's Xedit scripts as an optional function of DynDOLOD. So that the scripts can be tweaked to run on the much better dataset you create. I want to take your merged data and Generate a shadow map at noon for all worlds. Then run the Real shelter scripts on a filtered subset of that data.

 

I don't have the skill to pull it off myself (working on it ;-) But as to this being the only reasonable course moving forward for that wonderful mod. I'm positive.

 

I'd be very willing (even grateful) to do the majority of any "dumb grunt work" myself. I have yet to contact Chesko or ThreeTen myself. I would like to hear your opinion of the idea first.

 

BTW ... It's almost the one year anniversary of sacrificing my first born LOL how the time flies.

 

Thanks in advance for thinking about it. Look forward to reading your thoughts.

[sheson]

Hi Sheson, I just spent a day reading through a lot of your documentation ( Thanks for the headache ;-) There's two things I'm absolutely convinced of but not sure how to proceed.

 

1) I'm sure I can fix the terrible flickering on the mountain snow textures in the far distance with one or two well chosen mesh rules, and If I understood it a little better I would probably turn it into a guide for general use.

 

The flickering seems to be yet another variation of static vs. Dynamic LOD "Zfighting" I'd love to get a handle on this for the community. It's the one real drawback to pushing the limits of DynDOLOD. The flicker ruins all the other gains it's so bad (depending on settings of course ... I'm currently running it on high, with near grids on 13 and far grids at default with 512 max tiles)

 

2) I am Absolutely convinced that it's time for you to Chesko, and ThreeTen to compare notes. The only solution moving forward with updating "Real shelter" IMAO is for you to work with them to include Robinsage's Xedit scripts as an optional function of DynDOLOD. So that the scripts can be tweaked to run on the much better dataset you create. I want to take your merged data and Generate a shadow map at noon for all worlds. Then run the Real shelter scripts on a filtered subset of that data.

 

I don't have the skill to pull it off myself (working on it ;-) But as to this being the only reasonable course moving forward for that wonderful mod. I'm positive.

 

I'd be very willing (even grateful) to do the majority of any "dumb grunt work" myself. I have yet to contact Chesko or ThreeTen myself. I would like to hear your opinion of the idea first.

 

BTW ... It's almost the one year anniversary of sacrificing my first born LOL how the time flies.

 

Thanks in advance for thinking about it. Look forward to reading your thoughts.

1) You can try to find the right references for the mountains cliff/slope model that are crowning the high terrain mountains and set them to full model via mesh rules.

Full models have a bit more volume than their LOD model and might be better at covering the the terrain LOD mesh. However this will not solve that eventually there are cross-sections between objects and terrain LOD that will z-fight. It might be just easier to to create a mod placing more static mountains/rocks to fully cover up the terrain LOD - which enhanced landscape already does to a degree.

 

2) Since I do not use real shelter I do not know if/what needs to be improved data or patcher wise. I was once pondering a while over how to create a terrain shadow map and also some other technical things... but then Skyrim SE got announced. So I am waiting for that to see what technical advances beyond adding an image modifier it brings.

[avrie05]

Thanks so much for the reply, I've been waiting for Se as well. I have a few project on hold waiting on the new creation kit. I'll dig deeper into which models / lods are involved. I might even try switching a test mountain to neverfade just to see if not loading the LOD fixes the problem. I'm not keen on adding the strain to a heavily modded game. But it would be worth the trouble if I can narrow this down.

 

I'll touch base with ThreeTen and find out his feelings on this idea, Robinsage's scripts haven't been updated in over a year, and that was a simple patch. IMO it's almost as important to immersion as DynDOLOD. I don't want to see it slip into obscurity among all the hype moving to 64Bit SE. As I said, I'll take on the project, and do the grunt work, but I might need a little help with the Xedit side of it.

 

Thanks again

Edited August 18, 2016 by avrie05

[zilav]

I actually expect rain occlusion from FO4 to be present in SE, better to wait and see.

[Monobloc]

Your exe fixed the issue sheson, huge huge thanks.

[roxahris]

Hello. I've ran into a strange problem attempting to generate for Enderal. Upon running TexGen from within MO, I got this error. I've triple checked that I have Have MO manage archives disabled, turning it off and on again, restarting MO, deleting the output, and even trying with it activated, but it still errors out. On top of that, when I try and run it outside of MO, I get this error. Would you have any idea what the cause is? 

[sheson]

Hello. I've ran into a strange problem attempting to generate for Enderal. Upon running TexGen from within MO, I got this error. I've triple checked that I have Have MO manage archives disabled, turning it off and on again, restarting MO, deleting the output, and even trying with it activated, but it still errors out. On top of that, when I try and run it outside of MO, I get this error. Would you have any idea what the cause is? 

 

The log shows that archive mangment seems to be on and then produces these errors:

 

[00:00:00.503]  Background Loader: Warning:

[00:00:00.503]  Background Loader: Warning:

[00:00:00.503]  Background Loader: Warning:

[00:00:00.503]  Background Loader: Warning:

 

Though the error looks like it might be trying to read a file from a broken archive.

 

If you edit ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD TexGen.pas in notepad and change line #506 from

 

//MyMessage(slItems[0] + ' to ' + s);

to

MyMessage(slItems[0] + ' to ' + s);

 

It will then print a line for each file it copies, maybe that gives a hint.

 

 

The second log shows that no .esm or esp is loading, so the non-MO setup seems messed up.

Edited August 19, 2016 by sheson

[Monobloc]

Sheson I run dyndolod after a mod update and uh, I have like 7 lodgen.exe processes at the same time, can I limit that ?

[sheson]

Sheson I run dyndolod after a mod update and uh, I have like 7 lodgen.exe processes at the same time, can I limit that ?

Select less worldspaces per update. You can click "restart" once it is finished and do more worldspaces without the need to save, moving output, starting DynDOLOD.exe again.