Dynamic Distant Objects LOD - DynDOLOD 2.21

[sheson]

DynDOLOD 2.19/2.20 / 2.21 condensed update post | Full Update Post | Skyrim Special Edition

 

What’s New?

 

This updates includes minor speed improvements for DynDOLOD.exe and TexGen.exe, 64 bit executables and visual improvements for billboards used as static LOD (higher LOD levels 8/16) if using the ultra tree LOD option. Of course there are also a few updates for a couple mods.

 

See Full update post for 2.xx update instructions

 

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64 bit executables

To avoid confusion, this has nothing to do with Skyrim SE being 64 bit. Just going with the flow. There is no requirement for this right now, but it will work natively with 64 bit managers or if executed directly. 64 bit versions are a tiny bit slower due to a couple reasons, but obviously they will allow for more data to be loaded... in the future... for insanely large load orders. Another long term benefit is, that the 64 bit changes are merged back into xEdit sources.

 

Improvements for billboards used as static LOD

When using the ultra tree option and you ever thought far away trees or trees on the map look too dark or too bright, check out the new Trees on the Map section in docs\trees.ultra\DynDOLOD-Trees.html. The new default settings should already result in better lighting behavior. If not try any of the additional tips from the manual. To update an existing save game, it is enough to just do an update generation with the existing DynDOLOD.esp in the load order. Then no clean save cycle is required. Just a save in an interior before updating.

 

Persistent references

There is a new switch Temporary=0/1 in ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\DynDOLOD_TES5.ini, which instructs the patcher to use less persistent references. This is for users who have so many mods installed and suffer from CTD when clicking new as we discussed recently. The downside is, that by using temporary references more plugins may have to be used as masters and the generated DynDOLOD.esp will be larger, because of additional CELL data that needs to be copied. If you do not have any problems starting the game there should be no reason to use this setting.

 

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Mods Requiring DynDOLOD

Spice of Life - Orc Strongholds - overwrite meshes from DynDOLOD Resources with the ones included in the mod

 

Verified working out of the box - included rules

Wind's Rest Estate - A Whiterun Tundra Home

Ayleid Palace Remastered

 

Verified working out of the box - added/updated meshes and/or textures

Settlements Expanded

Greater Skaal Village

Whiteraven Manor

Tactical Valtheim

Dwemer Manor

JKs Skaal village

Dolmen Ruins - ESO Dark Anchors

Peak Aspens - Billboards included in versions for DynDOLOD/TES5LODGen in optional files

Fantasy Forest Overhaul - Billboards included in versions for DynDOLOD/TES5LODGen in optional files

 

 

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DynDOLOD 2.21 - Download from Mega, Nexus

 

DynDOLOD Resources 2.20 - Download from Mega, Nexus

 

DynDOLOD Patches 2.22 - Download from Mega, Nexus

 

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[spoiler=Changelog DynDOLOD 2.19]DynDOLOD.exe - added xespignore file for XESP markers to ignore instead of the one hardcoded dunCGOutsideClutterMarker from intro scene

DynDOLOD.exe - fixed sometimes not correctly identifying Has Tree LOD flag on base records

DynDOLOD.exe - added settings FlatLODLightingEffect, FlatLODGlowMap and FlatLODLevelLODFlat to DynDOLOD.ini, see docs\trees.ultra\DynDOLOD-Trees.html

DynDOLOD.exe - added a switch Temporary to use less persistent references for overloaded load orders, will result in more plugins required as masters and larger esp

DynDOLOD.exe - added verbose switch for LODGen.exe to DynDOLOD.ini

DynDOLOD.exe - updated reading existing tree LOD to be able to read btt data from BSA

DynDOLOD.exe - some minor performance improvements

DynDOLOD.exe - changed log filename to DynDOLOD_log.txt

DynDOLOD.exe - added a x64 version

TexGen.exe - sync updates with DynDOLOD.exe

TexGen.exe - some minor performance improvements

TexGen.exe - changed log filename to TexGen_log.txt

TexGen.exe - added a x64 version

LODGen.exe - added optional --inputfile path/to/file command line parameter, first parameter just being path/to/file still works too

LODGen.exe - make billboards soft lighting behave more similar to vanilla tree LOD (FlatLODLightingEffect and FlatLODGlowMap)

LODGen.exe - added setting LOD Objects flag for higher LOD levels on billboards (FlatLODLevelLODFlat)

LODGen.exe - added a x64 version

DynDOLOD_Manual.html - updated compatibility information for several mods

DynDOLOD Resources - updated/added meshes for better compatibility with mods

 

 

[spoiler=Changelog DynDOLOD 2.20]

DynDOLOD.exe - fixed a list assignment

TexGen.exe - sync updates with DynDOLOD.exe

DynDOLOD Resources - Papyrus Scripts - fixed a race condition

 

 

[spoiler=Changelog DynDOLOD 2.21]

DynDOLOD.exe - fixed a case of removing entire worlds when removing empty cells

DynDOLOD.exe - added an installation path check

DynDOLOD_Manual.html - updated compatibility information for several mods

DynDOLOD Patches - added script patches for Caranthir Tower Reborn 2.x

 

 

[spoiler=Changelog DynDOLOD 2.22]

DynDOLOD Patches - fixed a typo in Wizard.txt

 

 

 

 

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

 

DynDOLOD 2.18

[sheson]

The main issue was caused by https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/80987/? which I threw in for fun before Christmas.  There are sooooo many wild edits in it, I can't believe it with the calibre of the team involved!

I see other people reported that problem as well. xEdit also reports additional errors that should be fixed as well. They probably were in a hurry to release before Christmas, which is no excuse for sloppy work though.

 

I suggest to deactivate such mods while generating LOD. Keep a save before adding it, play the mod and once you are done with it, remove it and continue with that old save.

 

Yes, 3D tree LOD is awesome It just needs a lot of RAM. Hopefully Skyrim SE will becomes usable for modding some time this year.

Edited March 10, 2017 by sheson

[darkside]

Caranthir Tower Reborn just updated to version 2.0

Does DynDOLOD patch need to be updated?

Thank you very much for DynDOLOD.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sheson]

Caranthir Tower Reborn just updated to version 2.0

Does DynDOLOD patch need to be updated?

Thank you very much for DynDOLOD.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On first glance the "DynDOLOD Patches - Caranthir Tower Reborn" are not compatible and need to be updated. Everything else should be fine, but I am testing anyways to verify the updated patches.

 

Edit: DynDOLOD Patches 2.21 now also contains scripts for Caranthir Tower Reborn 2.x. Obviously install the patched script version which matches the installed version of Caranthir Tower Reborn. Everything else works as before.

Edited January 21, 2017 by sheson

[kcaz25]

Sheson you are the best. What does it mean when my Open Cities building's windows are flashing as a move towards them? How can I fix this? Your work is amazing! Thanks for continuing it! 

 

 

Thanks!

[sheson]

Sheson you are the best. What does it mean when my Open Cities building's windows are flashing as a move towards them? How can I fix this? Your work is amazing! Thanks for continuing it! 

Thanks!

It probably means something went wrong with the generation. Did you follow the the special 2-pass LOD generation for Open Cities correctly?

[darkside]

I have a general question.

My understanding of LODs and billboards is limited. I followed SRLE Extended LotD guide, but using Vivid Weather ENB instead of Vividian ENB.

 

I run medium DynDOLOD settings.

 

I found that mid range and distant tree matched near/full model tree well in shape and size ,except lighter in colors.

 

Switching is more obvious when color does not match.

Is there a way to fix or alleviate it?

 

Thanks again for DynDOLOD.

Edited January 25, 2017 by darkside

[sheson]

I have a general question.

My understanding of LODs and billboards is limited. I followed SRLE Extended LotD guide, but using Vivid Weather ENB instead of Vividian ENB.

 

I run medium DynDOLOD settings.

 

I found that mid range and distant tree matched near/full model tree well in shape and size ,except lighter in colors.

 

Switching is more obvious when color does not match.

Is there a way to fix or alleviate it?

 

Thanks again for DynDOLOD.

There are full model trees (some have detail fade) in loaded cells and past that is 2D tree LOD.

2D tree LOD has no normals and is only 2 planes that look like an X when viewed from top. So the reaction to lightning is "odd"

 

DynDOLOD uses TES5LODGen/xEdit tree LOD generation. 2D billboards and how weather/ENB affect lighting has been discussed in the past here and at TES5LODGen Nexus.

 

The advanced options allow changing brightness of the tree LOD atlas, which is a basic adjustment for weather/ENB.

If that doesn't help to make them match better, discuss with author who created the billboards or maybe work on them in an image program or create your own.

 

Watch Garmerpoets video, which combines lots of knowledge about billboards and their creation into one video.

 

 

Alternatively use ultra tree option if memory usage and hardware allow it. It doesn't have to use 3D hybrids, it can also be used to replace vanilla 2D tree LOD with 2D static LOD using the same billboards with the option to set the normals. See docs\trees.ultra\DynDOLOD-Trees.html

Edited January 25, 2017 by sheson

[Mekronid]

Hi. Patches 2.21 has a typo on line 26 of wizard.txt:

 

-----> "Caranthir Tower Reborn 1.x","\nCaranthir Tower Reborn 1.x patches a couple papyrus scripts so the conceal/reveal spells switch the LOD of the tower accordingly.\n\nCLICK NEXT TO CONTINUE THE INSTALLATION","FOMod\\images\\CTR.jpg"\,

[sheson]

Hi. Patches 2.21 has a typo on line 26 of wizard.txt:

 

-----> "Caranthir Tower Reborn 1.x","\nCaranthir Tower Reborn 1.x patches a couple papyrus scripts so the conceal/reveal spells switch the LOD of the tower accordingly.\n\nCLICK NEXT TO CONTINUE THE INSTALLATION","FOMod\\images\\CTR.jpg"\,

Thanks, fixed in DynDOLOD Patches 2.22 Edited January 27, 2017 by sheson

[VilainPetitCanard]

Sheson, is there anything known about an interference between the STEP Z-fighting tweaks (https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Z-Fighting) and DynDOLOD ultra trees? Because I had a lot of memory-related CTDs with the tweaks and ultra trees enabled together, and when I reset the inis to BethINI ultra settings, they're gone! Do you have any explanation for this bug? This certainly needs to be tested a little bit more, but I think it's something worth sharing in your manual if it can be confirmed!

Edited January 27, 2017 by VilainPetitCanard

[sheson]

Sheson, is there anything known about an interference between the STEP Z-fighting tweaks (https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Z-Fighting) and DynDOLOD ultra trees? Because I had a lot of memory-related CTDs with the tweaks and ultra trees enabled together, and when I reset the inis to BethINI ultra settings, they're gone! Do you have any explanation for this bug? This certainly needs to be tested a little bit more, but I think it's something worth sharing in your manual if it can be confirmed!

Raising certain INI settings makes the engine use more memory, that is not a bug. More detailed LOD requires more memory, which is not a bug either. Trying to use more memory than is technically possible results in problems.

 

Typically 32 bit programs running on consumer Windows OS can not use more than ~3.2GB total. Default heap or OSAllocators (not quite sure actually) maxes out around 1250MB. Since there are lot of other things that also need memory.

Edited January 27, 2017 by sheson

[VilainPetitCanard]

Raising certain INI settings makes the engine use more memory, that is not a bug. More detailed LOD requires more memory, which is not a bug either. Trying to use more memory than is technically possible results in problems.

 

Typically 32 bit programs running on consumer Windows OS can not use more than ~3.2GB total. Default heap or OSAllocators (not quite sure actually) maxes out around 1250MB. Since there are lot of other things that also need memory.

I didn't want to imply that there is a bug in DynDOLOD ;) So these tweaks seem to have a massive impact on the heap memory, because even when I minimize the maximum tile size in the advanced mode, they still lead to CTDs. Whitout the tweaks, I can max out the tile size without problems.

[sheson]

I didn't want to imply that there is a bug in DynDOLOD ;) So these tweaks seem to have a massive impact on the heap memory, because even when I minimize the maximum tile size in the advanced mode, they still lead to CTDs. Whitout the tweaks, I can max out the tile size without problems.

The tiles size is for the texture atlas. I won't help with default heap memory usage. With ENBoost it just going to save a bit of VRAM.

 

Large LOD *bto together with higher INI settings values for anything draw distance related, like the LOD levels, is going to consume memory rather quickly.

 

The vanilla static LOD is about 260MB. With high and ultra tree LODs all BTO files can easily be more than 2GB. Thankfully they are not all loaded at once, but it is on edge what is possible.

Edited January 28, 2017 by sheson

[dunc001]

Just thought I'd drop by and let you know that I have now succeeded in breaking the persistent limit even with Temporary=1 😎

 

I am getting round it by deactivating two mods which add new worldspaces (Dreamborne Isle and Darkend). With them disabled I can generate DynDOLOD and play away to my heart's content. With them included in DynDOLOD the instant crash on new game is back. I wasn't intending this build to be another monster but, well, you know! I'm actually quite proud of my accomplishment 😂

 

I must stress I am not posting because I am asking for any help with this, only because I figured you may be interested.

Edited February 24, 2017 by dunc001

[sheson]

Just thought I'd drop by and let you know that I have now succeeded in breaking the persistent limit even with Temporary=1

 

I am getting round it by deactivating two mods which add new worldspaces (Dreamborne Isle and Darkend). With them disabled I can generate DynDOLOD and play away to my heart's content. With them included in DynDOLOD the instant crash on new game is back. I wasn't intending this build to be another monster but, well, you know! I'm actually quite proud of my accomplishment

 

I must stress I am not posting because I am asking for any help with this, only because I figured you may be interested.

Both those mods add new worldspaces right? But they also must add a couple thngs to Tamriel, which is probably what puts it over the edge. I wonder if this still happens with Skyrim SE. I guess we will find soon enough (within a year) if that is the case.