DynDOLOD 3.00 Alpha 180

[heheloveer]

I wrote a DynDOLOD 3 tutorial (sort of, not my proudest work) some time ago on a Chinese forum. Some Chinese players have been asking questions about DynDOLOD in that thread and I try my best to answer them. Yesterday someone encountered a strange visual glitch with lod trees which looked like this:

According to them, these strange black blocks would turn to normal lod trees when seen up close with tfc, but at a distance they would look like this. This only happened to snow pines, not other trees, apparently. They also claimed they ran DynDOLOD several times (with changed load order) and that was the first time they ever saw this. I'm not sure what could have caused this, so I figured I should ask here. The link to the logs: https://anonfiles.com/A0e1zfl1zd/Logs_0415_rar

[sheson]

32 minutes ago, heheloveer said:

I wrote a DynDOLOD 3 tutorial (sort of, not my proudest work) some time ago on a Chinese forum. Some Chinese players have been asking questions about DynDOLOD in that thread and I try my best to answer them. Yesterday someone encountered a strange visual glitch with lod trees which looked like this:

According to them, these strange black blocks would turn to normal lod trees when seen up close with tfc, but at a distance they would look like this. This only happened to snow pines, not other trees, apparently. They also claimed they ran DynDOLOD several times (with changed load order) and that was the first time they ever saw this. I'm not sure what could have caused this, so I figured I should ask here. The link to the logs: https://anonfiles.com/A0e1zfl1zd/Logs_0415_rar

Looks like 3rd party billboard texture that does not have an alpha channel. Log shows that there are third party billboards installed. TexGen output should overwrite anything else.

https://dyndolod.info/Official-DynDOLOD-Support-Forum#In-Game Screenshots
...
When making screenshots of things in the game, open console and click the object in question to show its reference form ID.
Use Mfg Console or More Informative Console to show additional information when opening the console and clicking an object.
If making screenshots of the LOD area, also make screenshots of the close-up object as explained above.

The base record form ID is part of the billboard filename. Check TexGen log if it generated a billboard for it.

Could also be the trunk billboard for a 3D tree LOD model. Then look up the base record form id in DynDOLOD_SSE_Object_Report.txt ro see what 3D tree LOD model was used. Then check if/why TexGen did not generate that trunk billboard texture.

[heheloveer]

22 minutes ago, sheson said:

Looks like 3rd party billboard texture that does not have an alpha channel. Log shows that there are third party billboards installed. TexGen output should overwrite anything else.

https://dyndolod.info/Official-DynDOLOD-Support-Forum#In-Game Screenshots
...
When making screenshots of things in the game, open console and click the object in question to show its reference form ID.
Use Mfg Console or More Informative Console to show additional information when opening the console and clicking an object.
If making screenshots of the LOD area, also make screenshots of the close-up object as explained above.

The base record form ID is part of the billboard filename. Check TexGen log if it generated a billboard for it.

Well, I did tell them to remove all 3rd party billboards and to overwrite everything with TexGen output, though I'm not sure how much they listened. They said they didn't install the billboards provided on S3D Trees' page but I just found out the 3D lod resources on that page also contain billboards (with wrong file paths) for some unfathomable reason. In any case I just told them to find the form ID of that tree type and check it against the TexGen logs, though I'm not sure when they will reply.

In the meantime I want to ask, if 3rd party billboards are typically overwritten by TexGen output, in what cases would the 3rd party billboards be used by DynDOLOD?

[sheson]

42 minutes ago, heheloveer said:

Well, I did tell them to remove all 3rd party billboards and to overwrite everything with TexGen output, though I'm not sure how much they listened. They said they didn't install the billboards provided on S3D Trees' page but I just found out the 3D lod resources on that page also contain billboards (with wrong file paths) for some unfathomable reason. In any case I just told them to find the form ID of that tree type and check it against the TexGen logs, though I'm not sure when they will reply.

In the meantime I want to ask, if 3rd party billboards are typically overwritten by TexGen output, in what cases would the 3rd party billboards be used by DynDOLOD?

MO2, right window, data tab, any files in textures\terrain\lodgen\ other than from TexGen Output should be removed.

For any case there are 3rd party billboards for which TexGen does not automatically create billboards. Like shrubs, bushes, objects bounds too small etc.

[heheloveer]

5 hours ago, sheson said:

MO2, right window, data tab, any files in textures\terrain\lodgen\ other than from TexGen Output should be removed.

For any case there are 3rd party billboards for which TexGen does not automatically create billboards. Like shrubs, bushes, objects bounds too small etc.

It's been a long time since I last used that feature of MO2 and it's indeed useful in this case, thanks for the reminders.

I just had a conversation with that user and it seems TexGen did generate that particular billboard, though it most likely overwrote the 3rd party billboard which has a wrong file path. Not sure how this affected things. They seemed to have some trouble understanding not everything included in a zip file named "3D tree lod resources" is a 3D tree lod resource, but now hopefully they have already deleted those pesky 3rd party billboards (and nothing else) and is running TexGen/DynDOLOD anew. If the problem still persists, I'll ask them to check the object report and see if there's anything useful there.

[yxzhang]

I'm getting a lot of LOD which won't go away in Whiterun Exteriors.

Can you please help me figure out what might be wrong?

Spoiler

 

After setting uLargeRefLODGridSize to 5 and disabling reference fix in MCM, the draw bridge LOD becomes funny. Others stay the same.

I get it consistently by:

Alternate start -> Riverwood inn -> run to Whiterun -> find a lot of LOD on top of the models

The affected models are very consistent across new character and DynDOLOD regeneration

 

Things I've tried:

I confirmed DynDOLOD_SSE.ini had always been Expert=1 and Level32=1

Turned down the fBlockLevel0Distance setting in SkyrimPref.ini

Set uLargeRefLODGridSize to 5 and deselected reference fix in DynDOLOD MCM

        The LODs along the river unloads properly, but others still have the issues.

 

I know it's DynDOLOD related because disabling the DynDOLOD output folder in MO2 solves the problem. 

 

Log file Upload files for free - Logs.zip - ufile.io

Bug report file https://ufile.io/5az7qzs0

 

 

 

[sheson]

9 hours ago, yxzhang said:

I'm getting a lot of LOD which won't go away in Whiterun Exteriors.

Can you please help me figure out what might be wrong?

  Hide contents

 

After setting uLargeRefLODGridSize to 5 and disabling reference fix in MCM, the draw bridge LOD becomes funny. Others stay the same.

I get it consistently by:

Alternate start -> Riverwood inn -> run to Whiterun -> find a lot of LOD on top of the models

The affected models are very consistent across new character and DynDOLOD regeneration

 

Things I've tried:

I confirmed DynDOLOD_SSE.ini had always been Expert=1 and Level32=1

Turned down the fBlockLevel0Distance setting in SkyrimPref.ini

Set uLargeRefLODGridSize to 5 and deselected reference fix in DynDOLOD MCM

        The LODs along the river unloads properly, but others still have the issues.

 

I know it's DynDOLOD related because disabling the DynDOLOD output folder in MO2 solves the problem. 

 

Log file Upload files for free - Logs.zip - ufile.io

Bug report file https://ufile.io/5az7qzs0

Verify this is object LOD that goes away by typing tll in console.
Set uLockedObjectMapLOD=16 in all INIs that set it to 32, including A Clear Map of Skyrim.ini

If that does not change anything, test if it also happens without  Season Of Skyrims switching LOD files.

[heheloveer]

17 hours ago, heheloveer said:

It's been a long time since I last used that feature of MO2 and it's indeed useful in this case, thanks for the reminders.

I just had a conversation with that user and it seems TexGen did generate that particular billboard, though it most likely overwrote the 3rd party billboard which has a wrong file path. Not sure how this affected things. They seemed to have some trouble understanding not everything included in a zip file named "3D tree lod resources" is a 3D tree lod resource, but now hopefully they have already deleted those pesky 3rd party billboards (and nothing else) and is running TexGen/DynDOLOD anew. If the problem still persists, I'll ask them to check the object report and see if there's anything useful there.

Welp, it seems the user deleted the 3rd party billboards and got rid of the wrong path file errors but the problem persisted. They were frustrated and decided to switch to HLT, which has full DynDOLOD 3 support thanks to z929669. This time they encountered no such problem and thus the case is closed. We'll never get to know where exactly did the problem lie, but I guess it can't be helped.

[yxzhang]

7 hours ago, sheson said:

Verify this is object LOD that goes away by typing tll in console.
Set uLockedObjectMapLOD=16 in all INIs that set it to 32, including A Clear Map of Skyrim.ini

If that does not change anything, test if it also happens without  Season Of Skyrims switching LOD files.

I've already used tll to confirm. This is a LOD problem. 

Just tried setting uLockedObjectMapLOD=16 in all *.ini file inside MO2 folder, including Skyrim.ini, SkyrimCustom.ini, A Clear Map of Skyrim.ini. No difference

 

Turning off Seasons of Skyrim SKSE works. Thanks!

 

I then turned "Seasons of Skyrim SKSE" back on and tried to find the culprit in Data/Seasons.

        Removing Seasonal Landscapes_{WIN SUM SPR AUT}.ini solves the problem.

 

I'm sharing my seasons file here

https://ufile.io/3mkhbpyn

 

Should I keep bothering you about this problem, or go ask the author of Seasonal Landscapes instead?

[sheson]

19 minutes ago, yxzhang said:

I've already used tll to confirm. This is a LOD problem. 

Just tried setting uLockedObjectMapLOD=16 in all *.ini file inside MO2 folder, including Skyrim.ini, SkyrimCustom.ini, A Clear Map of Skyrim.ini. No difference

 

Turning off Seasons of Skyrim SKSE works. Thanks!

 

I then turned "Seasons of Skyrim SKSE" back on and tried to find the culprit in Data/Seasons.

        Removing Seasonal Landscapes_{WIN SUM SPR AUT}.ini solves the problem.

 

I'm sharing my seasons file here

https://ufile.io/3mkhbpyn

 

Should I keep bothering you about this problem, or go ask the author of Seasonal Landscapes instead?

Looks like an in-game issue related to switching things that you should ask po3 about.

Make sure you have the latest version of po3's tweaks as well. Check the po3_SeasonsOfSkyrim.log log for hints.

[yxzhang]

Thanks a lot Sheson. 

[TomForStep]

I have an issue with grass LOD (see also linked movie file below): the grass LOD in the distance is almost black, when getting nearer, the grass LOD seems to disappear and when getting even nearer, the "real" grass appears. At least that's what it looks to me.

I use Folkvangr Complex grass with pre-cached grass and DynDOLOD 3 Alpha 122.

What am I doing wrong? Any settings I should change in TexGen and/or DynDOLOD?

https://we.tl/t-nywyYOftdA

[sheson]

54 minutes ago, TomForStep said:

I have an issue with grass LOD (see also linked movie file below): the grass LOD in the distance is almost black, when getting nearer, the grass LOD seems to disappear and when getting even nearer, the "real" grass appears. At least that's what it looks to me.

I use Folkvangr Complex grass with pre-cached grass and DynDOLOD 3 Alpha 122.

What am I doing wrong? Any settings I should change in TexGen and/or DynDOLOD?

https://we.tl/t-nywyYOftdA

Read the first post which log and debug log to upload when making posts.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD
Using the grass cache made by somebody else for a different load order for grass LOD generation only but not in game, means that grass LOD and full grass are not going to match.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD#Settings
In case the grass LOD brightness or color seems off (it might depend on weathers or ENB settings), try different Direct/Ambient settings for grass LOD billboards in TexGen. In addition or alternatively change the GrassBrightnessTop*/ComplexGrassBrightnessTop* and GrassBrightnessBottom*/ComplexGrassBrightnessBottom* settings in ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\DynDOLOD_SSE.ini - those settings help if the color tone is off. Especially the image based lighting effect from ENB has a big impact on the brightness and color tone of the grass LOD. Additional complex grass lighting and time of day settings will obviously not apply to object LOD, as they are separate meshes and shaders. Do not use them so full grass and grass LOD match better for all weathers/times.

Make sure full grass renders to the edge of the active cells if NGIO is not used. Have a look at Grass Cache Fixes.
If full grass texture have bad mipmaps that were made without alpha-to-coverage it becomes more transparent the further away the texture are. To create better mipmaps for a full texture you can use Texconv -keepcoverage number. See https://github.com/Microsoft/DirectXTex/wiki/Texconv

[TomForStep]

43 minutes ago, sheson said:

Read the first post which log and debug log to upload when making posts.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD
Using the grass cache made by somebody else for a different load order for grass LOD generation only but not in game, means that grass LOD and full grass are not going to match.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD#Settings
In case the grass LOD brightness or color seems off (it might depend on weathers or ENB settings), try different Direct/Ambient settings for grass LOD billboards in TexGen. In addition or alternatively change the GrassBrightnessTop*/ComplexGrassBrightnessTop* and GrassBrightnessBottom*/ComplexGrassBrightnessBottom* settings in ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\DynDOLOD_SSE.ini - those settings help if the color tone is off. Especially the image based lighting effect from ENB has a big impact on the brightness and color tone of the grass LOD. Additional complex grass lighting and time of day settings will obviously not apply to object LOD, as they are separate meshes and shaders. Do not use them so full grass and grass LOD match better for all weathers/times.

Make sure full grass renders to the edge of the active cells if NGIO is not used. Have a look at Grass Cache Fixes.
If full grass texture have bad mipmaps that were made without alpha-to-coverage it becomes more transparent the further away the texture are. To create better mipmaps for a full texture you can use Texconv -keepcoverage number. See https://github.com/Microsoft/DirectXTex/wiki/Texconv

Thank you. That's very valuable information! Much appreciated!

[heheloveer]

10 hours ago, sheson said:

Read the first post which log and debug log to upload when making posts.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD
Using the grass cache made by somebody else for a different load order for grass LOD generation only but not in game, means that grass LOD and full grass are not going to match.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD#Settings
In case the grass LOD brightness or color seems off (it might depend on weathers or ENB settings), try different Direct/Ambient settings for grass LOD billboards in TexGen. In addition or alternatively change the GrassBrightnessTop*/ComplexGrassBrightnessTop* and GrassBrightnessBottom*/ComplexGrassBrightnessBottom* settings in ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\DynDOLOD_SSE.ini - those settings help if the color tone is off. Especially the image based lighting effect from ENB has a big impact on the brightness and color tone of the grass LOD. Additional complex grass lighting and time of day settings will obviously not apply to object LOD, as they are separate meshes and shaders. Do not use them so full grass and grass LOD match better for all weathers/times.

Make sure full grass renders to the edge of the active cells if NGIO is not used. Have a look at Grass Cache Fixes.
If full grass texture have bad mipmaps that were made without alpha-to-coverage it becomes more transparent the further away the texture are. To create better mipmaps for a full texture you can use Texconv -keepcoverage number. See https://github.com/Microsoft/DirectXTex/wiki/Texconv

This is quite an essential tip, honestly. I've always noticed that in my game distant full grass tend to fade quite a lot and the shorter grass types can straight-up disappear. I haven't thought much of it until I saw this post. I used the Texconv included in DynDOLOD and experimented a bit. As of now I tried setting the number to 0.5 and 0.2, and sure enough, the full grass at a distance looked much fuller, though they also seem to be "sharper", which I don't like that much.  I don't know much about textures but as I understand it, the higher the number, the more lush the distant grass will look. So is there a general recommendation about how much one should set this value?