xLODGen - Terrain LOD beta 129 for FNV, FO3, FO4, FO4VR, TES5, SSE, TES5VR, ENDERAL, ENDERALSE

[sheson]

That would be a nice project, but not an easy one, it seems. Would have to be able to overlay two montages, one with xLODGen's textures and another with "better maps with roads" and trace the roads onto the textures. Seems like it could be done with layers in Photoshop but it beats anything I have done so far.

 

Are the texture tiles always the same? I'm wondering if a set of masks could be made from "better maps" with only the roads and a batch that applied to each tile the corresponding mask, something one could run after each terrain lod update.

Yes. the cells that are covered by each file are always the same regardless of the tool used to generate LOD. The map uses LOD level 32, so it is not too many files that need to be worked on.

 

Making layers for reuse would be the way to go. Maybe the original author has those already.

[alt3rn1ty]

I'm now using quality 5,10,10,10 aswell since a few days ago, and for Optimize unseen LOD32 raised it from previous 500 to 800, remarkable difference in detail for the edge of rivers and water bodies, but I do notice a bit of z-fighting has been introduced. Its especially noticable in the swampy area east of Solitude, where the pool edges and land flicker over each other ..

 

.. so I think I just need to try Optimize unseen at 700 next instead of 800, with quality for LOD32 at 15

 

Edit : Optimize Unseen for LOD32 600 is the sweet spot for me, and is still a remarkable difference from 500

Edited April 27, 2018 by alt3rn1ty

[alt3rn1ty]

Sheson where does xLODGen save its settings ?

I have been looking for some form of config file but cant find one anywhere.

 

I want to delete it and revert to defaults again, and then re-setup, just to be sure I am not wildly swinging away from the recommended default texture sizes (which, by now I have completely forgotten what they were to start with)

Edited April 27, 2018 by alt3rn1ty

[recreation]

Doesn't xLODGen generate object-LOD outside of the (walkable) map?

I've generated the object lod there several times with SSELODGen, but xLODGen wont do it.

[sheson]

Doesn't xLODGen generate object-LOD outside of the (walkable) map?

I've generated the object lod there several times with SSELODGen, but xLODGen wont do it.

xLODGen and SSELODGen are the same thing but depending on what you downloaded you may have different versions. The object LOD meshes that are generated should be the same for the same load order and settings as it didn't change in a long time.

[godescalcus]

If I use xLODGen and DynDOLOD, do I still need to run TexGen? In that case, would the best order be TexGen, then xLODGen (terrain only) then DynDOLOD?

[wellden]

If I use xLODGen and DynDOLOD, do I still need to run TexGen? In that case, would the best order be TexGen, then xLODGen (terrain only) then DynDOLOD?

I too was wondering about the order everyone is using. Thanks alt3rn1ty about the tip of 600 for optimize unseen...was using 500 with good results. I am still using texgen with Dyndolod, but only terrain lod with xLodGen (SSE). Would appreciate any advice!

Edited April 28, 2018 by wellden

[sheson]

If I use xLODGen and DynDOLOD, do I still need to run TexGen? In that case, would the best order be TexGen, then xLODGen (terrain only) then DynDOLOD?

 

 

I too was wondering about the order everyone is using. Thanks alt3rn1ty about the tip of 600 for optimize unseen...was using 500 with good results. I am still using texgen with Dyndolod, but only terrain lod with xLodGen (SSE). Would appreciate any advice!

TexGen updates LOD textures for object LOD. So you run it and install its generated textures before running DynDOLOD to generate object (and tree LOD).

 

Generate terrain with xLODGen before or after as it is independent from object and tree LOD. However, if there are mods that make a lot of terrain elevation changes (like some house mods do when they flatten a corner in the mountains) it is better to generate terrain meshes (and textures) before generating object LOD, because object LOD generation uses the terrain LOD meshes to remove unseen triangles from object LOD for optimization.

Edited April 28, 2018 by sheson

[wellden]

 

 

 

TexGen updates LOD textures for object LOD. So you run it and install its generated textures before running DynDOLOD to generate object (and tree LOD).

 

Generate terrain with xLODGen before or after as it is independent from object and tree LOD. However, if there are mods that make a lot of terrain elevation changes (like some house mods do when they flatten a corner in the mountains) it is better to generate terrain meshes (and textures) before generating object LOD, because object LOD generation uses the terrain LOD meshes to remove unseen triangles from object LOD for optimization.

Thank you sheson for the clarification. This is the order I have been using (I got lucky) I thought Texgen was still needed for objects. Many thanks for the amazing work you put in for the community

[godescalcus]

Great, thanks!

[El_Rizzo]

@Sheson

 

Is there a changelog somewhere that lists the changes you made with each update for xLODGen? Would be helpful to know if running it again is advisable when a new version is out or if it isn't necessary due to what has changed.

 

Offtopic, but due to zlib's limited decompression throughput (less than SATA HDD speeds and way less than PCIe SSD) you'd better go for decompressed archives if you are looking for speed and reduced stuttering. The only exception is Skyrim Special Edition where they use lz4 instead of zlib.

 

Is Fallout 4 also using lz4 or is it also still using zlib and decompressed archives are therefore recommended? I'm asking because I have a PCIe SSD with Fallout 4 + Mods installed on it and I'm currently using compressed BA2s for all my textures.

Edited April 29, 2018 by El_Rizzo

[sheson]

@Sheson

 

Is there a changelog somewhere that lists the changes you made with each update for xLODGen? Would be helpful to know if running it again is advisable when a new version is out or if it isn't necessary due to what has changed.

 

 

Is Fallout 4 also using lz4 or is it also still using zlib and decompressed archives are therefore recommended? I'm asking because I have a PCIe SSD with Fallout 4 + Mods installed on it and I'm currently using compressed BA2s for all my textures.

The new versions are bugfixes based on feedback or updates carried forwarded from xEdit - VR support for example. Unless you notice errors with LOD - like missing pieces etc - there is nothing you need to do. If there are new features that change how LOD looks to the better I make posts about them and add the info to the first post.

[El_Rizzo]

Alright, good to know, thanks for the quick reply! :)

[recreation]

xLODGen and SSELODGen are the same thing but depending on what you downloaded you may have different versions. The object LOD meshes that are generated should be the same for the same load order and settings as it didn't change in a long time.

Okay then it must be something else. I tried SSELODGen this time with a specific chunk (Tamriel -35,-44) AND your SSE-Terrain-Tamriel.esp active for the first time. It's still not generating anything there.

Again, screens too big:

https://mega.nz/#F!Y1hAFCCA!kvC55_IqGYdetoMVJjnX7w

 

There is no new mod installed since I generated my last working object LOD, but maybe one of the updates lately broke something... I'll try to generate with ck64 next, just to see what happens.

[sheson]

Okay then it must be something else. I tried SSELODGen this time with a specific chunk (Tamriel -35,-44) AND your SSE-Terrain-Tamriel.esp active for the first time. It's still not generating anything there.

Again, screens too big:

https://mega.nz/#F!Y1hAFCCA!kvC55_IqGYdetoMVJjnX7w

 

There is no new mod installed since I generated my last working object LOD, but maybe one of the updates lately broke something... I'll try to generate with ck64 next, just to see what happens.

 

There is no "quad" (BTR file) with the coordinates -35, -44.

 

You need to enter SW cell coordinates that matches the "stride" (steps) of the LOD level based on its origin -96,-96 for Tamriel as defined by the lodsettings file.

 

LOD 4 would be -36, -44

LOD 8 would be -40, -40

LOD 16 would be -48, -48

LOD 32 would be -64, -64

 

Just check the existing files for the coordinates that can be used.

Edited April 29, 2018 by sheson