xLODGen - Terrain LOD beta 130 for FNV, FO3, FO4, FO4VR, TES5, SSE, TES5VR, ENDERAL, ENDERALSE

[sheson]

  On 11/8/2020 at 2:56 PM, SenseiJT92 said:

Yes exactly that - but it only affects how the ENB processes 'detailed shadows' which is a fundamental setting of most ENB presets

 

Without ENB activated there's no 'flickering', and no dark circle - as intended by the enablelandfade=0

 

However, with ENB activated, and detailed shadows, there's the dark circle seen in my photos 

I would like to know which ENB preset you are using, as I can not replicate. Maybe custom ENB effects or other INI settings play into it. Maybe also upload a modwatch or the Skyrim/Prefs INI settings.

 

If the exact circumstance can be identified (and can not be fixed with useful INI settings etc.) it should be reported to Boris so he can look into it.

Edited November 8, 2020 by sheson

[MoodysShuffle]

I had to make an account for this, and I really do hope someone can aid me on this. I have a multitude of questions specifically regarding generating LOD for Fallout: New Vegas. Put simply, I cannot figure out for the life of me how to make it generate a completely proper thing. I've had multiple issues in spite of not messing with the settings too much, and pretty much just using the defaults and an increased atlas size. Despite this, I get missing objects in the distance even on a completely unmodified game, it tells me there are missing normal maps for vanilla objects, and I also get a lot of distant z-fighting. This happens regardless of mod load order, setup, included mods, etc. I also ran into a truly baffling problem where after failing to generate the right LOD, I turned off the package including it and getting into the game with NO LOD mods enabled, it was all broken, missing textures and polygons and everything. I'm really at my wit's end, having been dealing with this on and off for about two weeks now, and I really, really hope somebody can help with this, I am so close to giving up completely.

 

For reference, I'm using Mod Organizer 2, have the output set up correctly, have archive invalidation enabled, pack each output into its own zip and add it to MO, all that. I've tried setting the mod as low down the priority list as I can, I've tried putting the files directly into the game's folder to no avail, and I've tried running the program multiple times into the same output. None of this has solved the issue. I'm specifically getting a lot of missing objects around Vegas itself from a distance, including the Lucky 38 tower, but also Camp McCarran and another building on the Strip. The Lucky 38 may be due to a mod I have, no clue what yet, but the rest vanishes no matter the mod setup.

 

Please, I am begging for help on this.

Edited November 21, 2020 by MoodysShuffle

[KLWaster]

In regards to the bEnableLandFade setting in Skyrim.ini, is there a similar setting for building and object LOD fade? The setting is working well for me for the terrain, but I am also seeing similarly ugly flickering as I approach city exteriors etc. 

[KLWaster]

  On 11/21/2020 at 11:12 PM, MoodysShuffle said:

...I also ran into a truly baffling problem where after failing to generate the right LOD, I turned off the package including it and getting into the game with NO LOD mods enabled, it was all broken, missing textures and polygons and everything....

 

...I've tried putting the files directly into the game's folder... 

I am most definitely not an expert, but based on the above it sounds like you may have over-written or deleted some of the vanilla assets. To make sure that you have the full vanilla file set, I'd start by using the Verify Integrity of Game Files button in Steam (right click on the game in the Steam library, choose Properties, then go to the Local Files tab). 

 

That won't help you with getting improved LODs, but it may at least help you with the missing objects problem. Good luck. 

[sheson]

  On 11/21/2020 at 11:12 PM, MoodysShuffle said:

I had to make an account for this, and I really do hope someone can aid me on this. I have a multitude of questions specifically regarding generating LOD for Fallout: New Vegas. Put simply, I cannot figure out for the life of me how to make it generate a completely proper thing. I've had multiple issues in spite of not messing with the settings too much, and pretty much just using the defaults and an increased atlas size. Despite this, I get missing objects in the distance even on a completely unmodified game, it tells me there are missing normal maps for vanilla objects, and I also get a lot of distant z-fighting. This happens regardless of mod load order, setup, included mods, etc. I also ran into a truly baffling problem where after failing to generate the right LOD, I turned off the package including it and getting into the game with NO LOD mods enabled, it was all broken, missing textures and polygons and everything. I'm really at my wit's end, having been dealing with this on and off for about two weeks now, and I really, really hope somebody can help with this, I am so close to giving up completely.

 

For reference, I'm using Mod Organizer 2, have the output set up correctly, have archive invalidation enabled, pack each output into its own zip and add it to MO, all that. I've tried setting the mod as low down the priority list as I can, I've tried putting the files directly into the game's folder to no avail, and I've tried running the program multiple times into the same output. None of this has solved the issue. I'm specifically getting a lot of missing objects around Vegas itself from a distance, including the Lucky 38 tower, but also Camp McCarran and another building on the Strip. The Lucky 38 may be due to a mod I have, no clue what yet, but the rest vanishes no matter the mod setup.

 

Please, I am begging for help on this.

If xLODGen generates meshes and texture with the -o command line into a dedicated output folder that is outside of any game and modding folders and then those meshes and textures (or any mod files) are installed as a mod in MO2 and then removed, none of that can not affect anything permanently in the game or load order. If installing and removing meshes and textures would have a lasting effect on the game or load order, it would be a problem with the mod manager. 

 

However, the game braking like you describe is consistent with the meshes and folders being generated into game or any mod folders, like when the -o command is not set.

 

Carefully check the log for all warning and error messages, especially messages about textures not on atlas or too many vertices/triangles. The messages about missing normal map for tree LOD billboards are expected.

 

Make sure nothing, including the game, mod manager, tools and xLODGen are not installed in protected Windows folders like Program Files or are blocked by antivir etc.

  On 11/22/2020 at 2:50 AM, KLWaster said:

In regards to the bEnableLandFade setting in Skyrim.ini, is there a similar setting for building and object LOD fade? The setting is working well for me for the terrain, but I am also seeing similarly ugly flickering as I approach city exteriors etc. 

The game has to first load in all objects (with LOD) of a cell, before it can disable the LOD for them. In that brief time both show. That behavior itself can not be changed. There is a stipple fade setting, but changing it only makes things worse for trees, as the tree LOD unloads too early, while the tree fades in, so there is a brief disappearance.

[MoodysShuffle]

Hi again! I actually did find something of a solution, though I'm sure it's highly unintended and really hacky. I'm still not sure why the vanilla meshes got broken the way they did, I verified the integrity of the cache and it didn't change anything, and I double checked the internal files and could not find any remaining LOD files. Generating a new LOD file did fix them. In the end, what I had to do was generate an LOD file with ONLY my location mods loaded, and that ended up making a mostly perfect LOD with several of the issues I described fixed. I then loaded that LOD file with my main mod setup in MO, and it did not cause any major issues yet. Maybe my load order is just messing with it? I'm not sure. Definitely something in my load order removing the Lucky 38. There are still a couple of missing pieces (Lucky 38 and Camp McCarran were restored, but a building in New Vegas, and another structure further away vanished). I haven't gotten a single error line about vertices or atlas during my time with this version of the generator, except for the time I generated LOD with the Nexus version's resources loaded just to see what would happen (that thing NEVER gave me anything usable even on a completely, thoroughly unmodified game. I still have no idea why.). I am experiencing a lot more z-fighting with various LOD overlapping each other, but I have yet to look into that at all because I was just happy to get the LOD itself functioning mostly right after two weeks of fighting it.

[Patrick]

Hi all, just a small problem with flickering mountains...I have two mods to compare the problem, one done by someone else, one mine. On the first mod, LOD mountains nicely fade in when approached, on my mod they flicker in, the transition between lod and the actual model is abrupt and takes about 2 seconds. Anything I can look at? Known culprits? I'm on LE.

[sheson]

  On 12/7/2020 at 9:59 AM, Patrick said:

Hi all, just a small problem with flickering mountains...I have two mods to compare the problem, one done by someone else, one mine. On the first mod, LOD mountains nicely fade in when approached, on my mod they flicker in, the transition between lod and the actual model is abrupt and takes about 2 seconds. Anything I can look at? Known culprits? I'm on LE.

No concrete information.

 

xLODGen generates LOD meshes and textures with the installed assets. It does not change how the engine loads or unloads LOD. 

 

In case of object LOD, the engine always loads full models before disabling LOD. No INI settings or LOD meshes or textures can change that.

Edited December 7, 2020 by sheson

[Dammal19]

xLODGen for Skyrim SE is very inconsistent for me, sometimes when I create terrain LOD and load a save i get instant CTD once loading is done. Then I delete all terrain output and redo xLODGen, and the new textures and meshes work fine and cause no crashes. Sorry for the vague problem description, but any idea what might be causing this? It seems to create faulty meshes or textures occasionally. I am well aware that this might be on my end, but I don't see why it happens. I run xLODGen through MO2, the output goes into a dedicated output folder outside of Data.

Edited December 12, 2020 by Dammal19

[sheson]

  On 12/12/2020 at 11:18 AM, Dammal19 said:

xLODGen for Skyrim SE is very inconsistent for me, sometimes when I create terrain LOD and load a save i get instant CTD once loading is done. Then I delete all terrain output and redo xLODGen, and the new textures and meshes work fine and cause no crashes. Sorry for the vague problem description, but any idea what might be causing this? It seems to create faulty meshes or textures occasionally. I am well aware that this might be on my end, but I don't see why it happens. I run xLODGen through MO2, the output goes into a dedicated output folder outside of Data.

How do you know that the CTD is caused by meshes or textures generated by xLODGen?

 

Problems with meshes or textures are typically 100% repeatable. If the game works with the meshes and texture, then the generated meshes and textures are fine.

 

xLODGen does not create faulty meshes or textures occasionally. If it did, this thread would be full of reports.

 

Do proper troubleshooting. Find the cause of the crash in the log from .NetFramework. Problems with meshes/texture are typically very obvious in the log.

[Dammal19]

  On 12/12/2020 at 12:23 PM, sheson said:

How do you know that the CTD is caused by meshes or textures generated by xLODGen?

 

Because I did nothing else than redoing terrain LOD before the crash. Loaded twice and instant CTD, unchecked xLODGen output, loaded fine again. I am very well aware that this is most likely on my end, because of the reason you brought up (this thread would be full of reports).

 

I am on a more or less minimal load order, I am creating a landscape+Grass overhaul for SSE, that's why I am very frequently recreating terrain LOD right now, to obtain LOD colors suiting the grass for all the regions. Most of the time xLODGen works fine and I can load my safe, but every couple of times the output seems to contain something causing CTD. I am really bad at interpreting crash logs but think its a texture (Textures\Terrain\Tamriel\Tamriel.8.56.16.DDS), according to this log...!?

 

 https://textuploader.com/1ebbp (crash log)

 

I should keep track of the xLODGen log and see which output makes it crash the next time. If i remember correctly, there is a an error now and then in the log saying "failed loading DDS [...]". Maybe this is related. The error is not in every xLODGen log, it is often completly free of errors. All I was wondering is how this can sometimes occur, sometimes not..? :( Is it possibly third-party software from me, like anti-virus, crap-ware, etc., that might interfere with your program? Maybe you have an idea since I have no clue how things work. I already added xLODGen to anti-virus exception. I do not wan't to upload crashing terrain LOD once the mod is done, and if it is just one LOD4 texture on an akward occasion, I would have a hard time validating its safe. I would have to run up and down whole Skyrim map :D

 

I appreciate your time to respond to single user issues, and thanks for all your hard work! 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Dammal19

[Dammal19]

Right now, I found the error in my last log: look here please https://ibb.co/T2bVctj

 

It just occurs once in the whole log. Can this be the culprit? What does it mean?

 

EDIT: I looked through the output and tamriel.4.-36.-48 is just missing from it. So that means thats another issue? I doubt missing texture could cause crash. I deleted the ouput that last made me crash unfortunately, next time i can see through all the textures and try to find if there is one that could cause a crash, by not having power of 2 pixels or something like that... as far as the btr files are concerned, i have no clue how to trouble shoot those unfortunately

Edited December 12, 2020 by Dammal19

[sheson]

  On 12/12/2020 at 1:22 PM, Dammal19 said:

Right now, I found the error in my last log: look here please https://ibb.co/T2bVctj

 

It just occurs once in the whole log. Can this be the culprit? What does it mean?

 

EDIT: I looked through the output and tamriel.4.-36.-48 is just missing from it. So that means thats another issue? I doubt missing texture could cause crash. I deleted the ouput that last made me crash unfortunately, next time i can see through all the textures and try to find if there is one that could cause a crash, by not having power of 2 pixels or something like that... as far as the btr files are concerned, i have no clue how to trouble shoot those unfortunately

Instead of posting screenshots of text, post the text to paste bin or upload logs to a file service.

 

The FAIL loading means, that the file dds file was not loaded by Texconv and thus not converted to the DXT1 compression format. If the file existed it would simply be still fully uncompressed R8G8B8.

 

If the file is missing and there was no error about saving it, then something like 3rd party antivir, crapware deleted it in the meantime.

 

Typically uncomprrsed R8G8B8 textures or missing textures do not cause CTD.

 

Unless you somehow tricked xLODGen to not use the texture resolution set in its options, it cannot possibly generate non power of 2 textures.

 

Why do you believe the meshes or textures are causing CTD? CTD caused by invalid meshes or texture are typically so reproducible that it can be narrowed down to single files with a binary search, or better yet by simply looking at the crash log.

Edited December 12, 2020 by sheson

[Dammal19]

No problem, I was just taking a shot if other users possibly had a similar issue in the past.

  On 12/12/2020 at 2:10 PM, sheson said:

 

 

Why do you believe the meshes or textures are causing CTD? CTD caused by invalid meshes or texture are typically so reproducible that it can be narrowed down to single files with a binary search, or better yet by simply looking at the crash log.

As i said, because it only crashed once they were loaded, otherwise not. But you are right, I will try to narrow it down to the root with binary search the next time it occurs. I can post the result anyways once I figured it out, even if it is most likely on my end. Maybe it is helpful for you or others.

 

Regarding looking at the crash log (from NetScript Framework I assume), I am really bad at interpreting these, I know Skyrim very well from extensive modding, but I am more of a user in the end. Is there any way / guide on how to reliably interpret those?

 

Thank you!

[sheson]

  On 12/12/2020 at 2:22 PM, Dammal19 said:

No problem, I was just taking a shot if other users possibly had a similar issue in the past.

As i said, because it only crashed once they were loaded, otherwise not. But you are right, I will try to narrow it down to the root with binary search the next time it occurs. I can post the result anyways once I figured it out, even if it is most likely on my end. Maybe it is helpful for you or others.

 

Regarding looking at the crash log (from NetScript Framework I assume), I am really bad at interpreting these, I know Skyrim very well from extensive modding, but I am more of a user in the end. Is there any way / guide on how to reliably interpret those?

 

Thank you!

If you narrowed it down to a single file you can alays upload it for me to check what is wrong with it and what might have caused it.

 

To interpret crash logs programming experience and knowledge about the game data and assets is required. The relevant object and stacks and other will either hint strongly at NIFs bs mentioned NIF blocks, names etc if not outright naming the NIF or texture somewhere earlier when it was loaded. Just upload it as well.