DynDOLOD 3 - Is This As Good As Trees Get?

[mooit]

I'm using SE 1.6.353.0, with DynDOLOD 3 Alpha 95.

I'm running 1440p with a EVGA FTW Ultra 3080.

I understand the age of Skyrim, and how it seems to appear to me, that some things will never look Next Gen AAA titles, but when it comes to trees, I was really hoping to see much better quality looking distance trees than I am seeing. So I'm not sure if this is as good as it gets, or I'm not doing something correct.

I'm using Myrkvior - The Flora Of Skyrim - Trees SSE

Myrkvior - The Flora Of Skyrim - Trees SSE at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com)

And Myrkvior - TFoS Add-On - 3D Hybrid Trees SSE - DynDOLOD

Myrkvior - TFoS Add-On - 3D Hybrid Trees SSE - DynDOLOD at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com)

I'm attaching screen shots of my xLODGEN, TexGEN, DynDOLOD 3 settings I'm using.

I've also attached two screen shots of how the pine trees looking just standing outside Whiterun.

Is this really as good as the pine trees are going to look in the distance? Hmm

Also, the colors of the pine trees look pretty bleak, also not very 3D looking, and coughing up the $$$ for a 3080, I'm really hoping I can make them look at lot better than this.

Any help/input would be greatly appreciated!

THANKS

These are DynDOLOD 4K settings, previously I used 2K.

Edited June 25, 2022 by mooit

[mooit]

If I'm closer to trees, they certainly look better, but it doesn't take much distance between me and the trees before they don't look good.

I'm at Riverwood, showing how trees look at a closer distance.

Edited June 25, 2022 by mooit

[z929669]

It really depends on the tree LOD models and the lighting used in TexGen/DynDOLOD. The settings you are using are optimal for EVT, but for Myrkvior you may want to play with direct/ambient in TexGen for HD tree and tree brightness in DynDOLOD_SSE.ini. The pines in that mod tend to have brighter tops in LOD. I think the light/heavy snow textures could also be muted if you are running Cathedral Landscapes (the terrain settings you are using are optimized for that). ENB also can help.

[mooit]

11 hours ago, z929669 said:

It really depends on the tree LOD models and the lighting used in TexGen/DynDOLOD. The settings you are using are optimal for EVT, but for Myrkvior you may want to play with direct/ambient in TexGen for HD tree and tree brightness in DynDOLOD_SSE.ini. The pines in that mod tend to have brighter tops in LOD. I think the light/heavy snow textures could also be muted if you are running Cathedral Landscapes (the terrain settings you are using are optimized for that). ENB also can help.

I wasn't having much luck with Cathedral ENBs, so I'm playing now with NAT and Natural View Tamriel.

Natural View Tamriel (NVT) ENB at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com)

So Skyrim SE should have nicer looking trees, then those screen shots I posted in the original post?

I don't know what 'tree brightness; in DynDOLOD_SSE.ini you are referring to? I only know of the Billboard Brightness in the DyDOLOD GUI.

We all know everyone has their own personal preferences, but preferences aside, are there are particular tree mods, considered the best HD looking? I'm was just playing around with Myrkvior, not sure Myrkvior is that great, had some screen door effect issues with it. Before, I was using Enhanced Vanilla Trees, and EVT didn't seem so great either.

For now I'm going to play with 'Skyrim Floral Overhaul', any recommendations on the settings to use for this?

It would really be appreciated, if you, or someone could please post some screen shots, in Whiterun, looking off in the same directions, as the screen shots I posted, so I can actually see some realistic 3D model looking trees, to get an idea, of what they are going to look like.

THANKS

Edited June 26, 2022 by mooit

[mooit]

Here are my TexGen settings I changed, for the grass, tree, hd tree.

I then put the Billboard Brightness on -7 in DynDOLOD.

Here's how the trees look now in the distance in Whiterun, using  'Skyrim Floral Overhaul'. These results look much better.

Maybe this is as good as it gets in the distance?

THANKS

[z929669]

3 hours ago, mooit said:

I wasn't having much luck with Cathedral ENBs, so I'm playing now with NAT and Natural View Tamriel.

Natural View Tamriel (NVT) ENB at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com)

So Skyrim SE should have nicer looking trees, then those screen shots I posted in the original post?

I don't know what 'tree brightness; in DynDOLOD_SSE.ini you are referring to? I only know of the Billboard Brightness in the DyDOLOD GUI.

We all know everyone has their own personal preferences, but preferences aside, are there are particular tree mods, considered the best HD looking? I'm was just playing around with Myrkvior, not sure Myrkvior is that great, had some screen door effect issues with it. Before, I was using Enhanced Vanilla Trees, and EVT didn't seem so great either.

For now I'm going to play with 'Skyrim Floral Overhaul', any recommendations on the settings to use for this?

It would really be appreciated, if you, or someone could please post some screen shots, in Whiterun, looking off in the same directions, as the screen shots I posted, so I can actually see some realistic 3D model looking trees, to get an idea, of what they are going to look like.

THANKS

Sounds like an issue on your side. Myrkvior looks pretty good, but the LOD trees can be less that ideal unless you get the TexGen and DynDOLOD settings just right.

Not sure what you mean about EVT, but it looks fantastic on my setup using the settings posted in the Step guide (the ones you had been using). We use the Lush version with default textures, but all of the LOD look good if you pick the right textures for that one (there are many texture options, ans some may require tweaks to lighting in TexGen/DynDOLOD). This is why we use that mod in Step.  HLT also looks really good.

1 hour ago, mooit said:

Here are my TexGen settings I changed, for the grass, tree, hd tree.

I then put the Billboard Brightness on -7 in DynDOLOD.

Here's how the trees look now in the distance in Whiterun, using  'Skyrim Floral Overhaul'. These results look much better.

Maybe this is as good as it gets in the distance?

THANKS

Those SFO LOD trees are not billboards in LOD4. They are probably Level0. So the billboard brightness settings don't impact these.

The ones in your second image in LOD8 look like billboards, and too dark IMO. I also think you need to raise TreeMSAlphaThreshold=144 in TexGen_SSE.ini to make those billboards look less blotchy.

[mooit]

Oh, I forgot to ask, in the second screen shot I posted above, the trees out in the further distance, behind the castle, and out in the mountains, if I use in LODGen LOD32 will those be more visible realistic looking?

LOD32 means to have the farthest view?

These are my DyDOLOD 3 settings, not sure how to use/adjust the best distance view?

THANKS

Edited June 26, 2022 by mooit

[z929669]

48 minutes ago, mooit said:

Oh, I forgot to ask, in the second screen shot I posted above, the trees out in the further distance, behind the castle, and out in the mountains, if I use LOD32 will those be more visible realistic looking?

LOD32 means to have the farthest view?

THANKS

LOD32 affects the map, so you will only see LOD16 in the distance aside from the map. If you follow the Step guide with respect to all of the DynDOLOD mods and BethINI, you will have great looking LOD. I recommend setting up a new MO instance for this. Follow Step 1 through Step 3 carefully. Then install the mods you want, but I recommend installing them all. It will take a while, but you will see how good the game can look.

[mooit]

I have read over all of the DynDOLOD & BethINI sections under this URL;

Step Skyrim Special Edition Guide (stepmodifications.org)

I have BethINI on Ultra settings and I probably have the game looking as good as it's going to get on a 3080.

I'm only lost as far as trying to understand if I can get the trees to look ever better, further out in the distance as I was asking?

Ok, so LOD32 is only for the Map, and LOD16 is the furthest to see in game?

But, in that screen shot I posted, asking about the trees behind the castle and in the mountains, can those look better, that far out?

THANKS

[z929669]

41 minutes ago, mooit said:

I have read over all of the DynDOLOD & BethINI sections under this URL;

Step Skyrim Special Edition Guide (stepmodifications.org)

I have BethINI on Ultra settings and I probably have the game looking as good as it's going to get on a 3080.

I'm only lost as far as trying to understand if I can get the trees to look ever better, further out in the distance as I was asking?

Ok, so LOD32 is only for the Map, and LOD16 is the furthest to see in game?

But, in that screen shot I posted, asking about the trees behind the castle and in the mountains, can those look better, that far out?

THANKS

The best quality tree mesh rule is Level0 for LOD4-LOD16, but it will kill you performance no matter what you have. Try Level0/1/2 for LOD4/8/16 for practical best possible results.

[mooit]

Ok on the settings...

I greatly appreciate your help, and I'd really appreciate it, when you get some free time, if you can take a screen shot, looking in the same direction as this one, so I can see how the far off distance/trees look for you?

I've put a red box around all the trees out in the mountains, I'd love to see how yours look?

THANKS

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by mooit

[mooit]

I changed my settings as you recommended, this looks correct for Level0/1/2 for LOD4/8/16?

THANKS

[z929669]

EVT Lush

With ENB >> without ENB

LOD4/Level0, LOD8/Billboard4, LOD16/Billboard1

Yes, you have them right.

 

 

[mooit]

Ok on the settings...

Woo, time until it's zipped up, 49 mins. on a Ryzen 5 5600X LOL

9.96GB

THANKS

P.S. Ok time to go test...

Edited June 26, 2022 by mooit

[mooit]

Oh my gosh, Level0/1/2 for LOD4/8/16 chokes a 3080...

LOD4/Level0, LOD8/Billboard4, LOD16/Billboard1 is what I was using, where the trees out in the distance on the mountains, I put the red boxes around, don't look so great.

So between these two setups, is there anything in the middle that might make a difference?

THANKS

P.S. After making this reply, I changed my settings to;

LOD4/Level0, LOD8/Billboard4, LOD16/Level3

These settings now appear to be slightly better at greater distance, the trees looking out in the mountains at Whiterun appear more visible.

Here's the pic with the red boxes I posted before. ( I know this pic is a bit more hazy, but the trees do look slightly better now.

 

LOD16/Level3 is better distance than LOD16/Billboard1?

Edited June 26, 2022 by mooit