Flying birds not visible from distance - Dyndolod 2.96

[vrnord]

I installed Crows SSE and Seagulls of Skyrim and hope to be able to see them from a distance, but both just become visible when their cells become active.  I removed any LOD file they came with and added separate mesh rules for each of their models: levels 4,8,16 are blank, VWD checked, Far LOD and Reference unchanged (Seagulls has a Dyndolod .ini file with this rule but it didn't automatically load in my Dyndolod rules list).  Clearly I am misunderstanding something though because they still abruptly appear when I am quite near and disappear when their cell is unloaded.

LODGen165=Beyond Skyrim\Mr_Siika\Seagulls\SKY_SeagullCircleCW.nif,,,,Far LOD,Unchanged,1
LODGen166=Beyond Skyrim\Mr_Siika\Seagulls\SKY_SeagullCircleACW.nif,,,,Far LOD,Unchanged,1
LODGen167=Beyond Skyrim\Mr_Siika\Seagulls\SKY_SeagullAnimRight.nif,,,,Far LOD,Unchanged,1
LODGen168=Beyond Skyrim\Mr_Siika\Seagulls\SKY_SeagullAnimLeft.nif,,,,Far LOD,Unchanged,1
LODGen169=Beyond Skyrim\Mr_Siika\Seagulls\SKY_SeagullFlapX.nif,,,,Far LOD,Unchanged,1

Am I using inappropriate rules, or is there another step I have missed to get these to register with Dyndolod?  Thanks!

Edited July 20, 2021 by vrnord

[sheson]

Child world spaces like the walled cities replace the temporary content of CELLs in the parent world that have the same coordinates.
To see an object in the child world in such a replaced CELL a reference needs to be added for it.

This can either be done by adding them in the plugin with CK/xEdit or by creating a patch file for DynDOLOD similar to the Whiterun/Solitude Exterior patches that are applied when DynDOLOD is generating its plugins.

If you are using DynDOLOD 3 alpha, then it might be good enough to just update the rule to
LODGen1=sky_seagull,None,None,None,None,FarLOD,KeepChild,0

[sheson]

If there are no LOD files, VWD should be unchecked, e.g. the  1 at the end should be 0

This could be simplified into one rule in its own file data\DynDOLOD\DynDOLOD_SeagullsofSkyrim.ini

[Skyrim LODGen]
LODGen1=sky_seagull,,,,Far LOD,Replace,0

Using Replace instead of Unchanged makes it so that the animation doesn't restart when switching from LOD to full model.

AFAIK the latest version already includes a DynDOLOD rule file.

[vrnord]

I ran it again (a 3rd time) and it worked!  Thanks!  

Question: is there a setting in Dyndolod to allow these birds to be seen from inside a city (not using open cities)?  For example, there are quite a few circling in the sky over the Windhelm docks but no sign of them from inside the city's child space.  Or would the author have to also place some birds inside the child space to fake that effect?

[vrnord]

got it.  Thanks!