DynDOLOD 3.00 Alpha 182

[RockGodOne]

Is it normal that the MCM for DynDOLOD says the .esp and the .esm are version 2.45 when I'm actually using version 3.0 alpha 30?

I'm also not getting any grass LOD to show up. I've never once got the NGIO mod to work anyway tho. It generates several hundred MBs of grass files and I have them activated in MO2 but nothing ever shows up in game. I thought running DynDOLOD 3.0 would fix that but it didn't. I changed the grass=0 to grass=1 in the DynDOLOD_SSE.ini file and I made sure Grass was checked in TexGen.

Where can I start troubleshooting this?

[sheson]

3 hours ago, RockGodOne said:

Is it normal that the MCM for DynDOLOD says the .esp and the .esm are version 2.45 when I'm actually using version 3.0 alpha 30?

I'm also not getting any grass LOD to show up. I've never once got the NGIO mod to work anyway tho. It generates several hundred MBs of grass files and I have them activated in MO2 but nothing ever shows up in game. I thought running DynDOLOD 3.0 would fix that but it didn't. I changed the grass=0 to grass=1 in the DynDOLOD_SSE.ini file and I made sure Grass was checked in TexGen.

Where can I start troubleshooting this?

2.45 is the "API version" of the scripts and their data files. It didn't need to change in a long time.

You need to ask questions about third party mods on their appropriate forum/discord etc. I suggest to be a bit more descriptive than using the term "not working". 

You can start troubleshooting grass LOD generation by reading Troubleshooting on the second post. Obviously it requires a "working" No Grass In Objects setup.

[ikonomov]

I have been studying those needles for quite some time, as you can imagine 🙂 and I think I might have another explanation for the bright highlights.  I noticed that even when the trees are still in their full model, not in Static LOD4, the highlights start to become progressively stronger the further I move away from them.  I wonder if the problem might not be from the limited shader at LOD4, but from the texture of those branches.  I wish I can test it, but I wonder if the textures have lower resolution if the brightness effect can be minimized.  I'm attaching a picture that sort of shows this idea, I've exaggerated it a bit to make it more clear.

I don't know if this would be something that can be easily done during texgen and dyndolod generation, to generate lower resolution textures for the Ultra trees, and then have the Static LOD4 trees use them, but I thought it might be something else worth exploring.

Edited February 25, 2021 by ikonomov

[sheson]

33 minutes ago, ikonomov said:

I have been studying those needles for quite some time, as you can imagine 🙂 and I think I might have another explanation for the bright highlights.  I noticed that even when the trees are still in their full model, not in Static LOD4, the highlights start to become progressively stronger the further I move away from them.  I wonder if the problem might not be from the limited shader at LOD4, but from the texture of those branches.  I wish I can test it, but I wonder if the textures have lower resolution if the brightness effect can be minimized.  I'm attaching a picture that sort of shows this idea, I've exaggerated it a bit to make it more clear.

I don't know if this would be something that can be easily done during texgen and dyndolod generation, to generate lower resolution textures for the Ultra trees, and then have the Static LOD4 trees use them, but I thought it might be something else worth exploring.

If you believe  there is something that can be done with textures in order to adjust LOD for your personal preference ,  first create them with whatever means you have at your disposal (e.g. edit the texture atlas in an image program) to see if any ideas have the desired result in the game.

[ikonomov]

59 minutes ago, sheson said:

If you believe  there is something that can be done with textures in order to adjust LOD for your personal preference ,  first create them with whatever means you have at your disposal (e.g. edit the texture atlas in an image program) to see if any ideas have the desired result in the game.

I was thinking of a way to test it, but I'm not sure how I can easily make the mesh use lower resolution texture atlas.  I thought about "simulating" lower res image by downsizing and then upsizing the texture file, but I don't think this will give an accurate representation.  Assuming there is some merit in this idea, would this even be possible to do in DynDOLOD?  Have the Static LOD4 meshes use lower resolution texture files?

[sheson]

20 minutes ago, ikonomov said:

I was thinking of a way to test it, but I'm not sure how I can easily make the mesh use lower resolution texture atlas.  I thought about "simulating" lower res image by downsizing and then upsizing the texture file, but I don't think this will give an accurate representation.  Assuming there is some merit in this idea, would this even be possible to do in DynDOLOD?  Have the Static LOD4 meshes use lower resolution texture files?

You can always edit the 3D LOD model NIF with NifSkope for example to use different textures. Then generate LOD again.

[ikonomov]

33 minutes ago, sheson said:

You can always edit the 3D LOD model NIF with NifSkope for example to use different textures. Then generate LOD again.

Yes, but the new textures must still be the same dimensions, no?

Edit: Nevermind, forgot .nif files do that automatically.  Testing...

Edited February 25, 2021 by ikonomov

[RockGodOne]

7 hours ago, sheson said:

2.45 is the "API version" of the scripts and their data files. It didn't need to change in a long time.

You need to ask questions about third party mods on their appropriate forum/discord etc. I suggest to be a bit more descriptive than using the term "not working". 

You can start troubleshooting grass LOD generation by reading Troubleshooting on the second post. Obviously it requires a "working" No Grass In Objects setup.

Idk how else to describe it. It's not working at all. I use Veydosbrom but I've also tried 3 other grass mods and ran the NGIO pre-cacher. It runs for an hour or 2 and I check on it from time to time and I see the % of each world completed. It completes, I put the almost 1GB of files in the MO2 Overwrite folder into a new empty mod called "Grass Cache" and activate it. I load up my save and there isn't a single change. Hell, I don't even get crash logs in my .NetScript Framework folder, even tho the pre-cache thing crashed half a dozen or so times during the process. It doesn't work at all. I've tried 7 or 8 different times over the last few months and have never once got it to pre-cache my grass.

[sheson]

9 hours ago, RockGodOne said:

Idk how else to describe it. It's not working at all. I use Veydosbrom but I've also tried 3 other grass mods and ran the NGIO pre-cacher. It runs for an hour or 2 and I check on it from time to time and I see the % of each world completed. It completes, I put the almost 1GB of files in the MO2 Overwrite folder into a new empty mod called "Grass Cache" and activate it. I load up my save and there isn't a single change. Hell, I don't even get crash logs in my .NetScript Framework folder, even tho the pre-cache thing crashed half a dozen or so times during the process. It doesn't work at all. I've tried 7 or 8 different times over the last few months and have never once got it to pre-cache my grass.

The grass cache does not change how the grass looks in the game.

Read descriptions of 3rd party mods to and ask questions about 3rd party mods on their appropriate forum, discord or wherever support for the 3rd party mod is provided.

[Wolfpack49]

1 hour ago, RockGodOne said:

Idk how else to describe it. It's not working at all. I use Veydosbrom but I've also tried 3 other grass mods and ran the NGIO pre-cacher. It runs for an hour or 2 and I check on it from time to time and I see the % of each world completed. It completes, I put the almost 1GB of files in the MO2 Overwrite folder into a new empty mod called "Grass Cache" and activate it. I load up my save and there isn't a single change. Hell, I don't even get crash logs in my .NetScript Framework folder, even tho the pre-cache thing crashed half a dozen or so times during the process. It doesn't work at all. I've tried 7 or 8 different times over the last few months and have never once got it to pre-cache my grass.

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/9282393-no-grass-in-object/page-76#entry90410143

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/9282393-no-grass-in-object/page-77#entry90429523

Edited February 25, 2021 by Wolfpack49

[ikonomov]

Nope, the bright highlights are still there.  I tested at 512x256 and 256x128 textures sizes for that tree.  A notable observation was that I hardly saw any difference in detail of those Static LOD4 trees on my monitor at 1440p at original texture size vs 1/4 and 1/8 size.  It got me thinking, maybe there could be a setting to generate smaller textures for those trees.  This way we can have some control over the brightness of those Static LOD4 tree textures, the same way we currently have it for the billboards.  This will also make it easier to have the same control for all kinds of trees and all parts of the trees.  As a bonus maybe even squeeze a few extra frames.

While testing I also decided to really push it to see what those triangles are doing to reflect so much light, so I did one test setting the textures to 32x16 😄  The result was pretty interesting, some very abstract and artistic looking pine trees, but also quite revealing and I think I finally saw what is going on.  It turns out when light hits those triangles at a certain angle they are able to reflect quite a lot of light, and in those particular trees at that particular time of the day it just so happens that this effect gets pretty strong.  We already knew this, but now I saw it very clearly.

Edited February 26, 2021 by ikonomov

[ikonomov]

Actually that was 1/16th and 1/64th the size.  Maybe 256x128 was too far, I think a little detail was lost downsizing it that much, but certainly at 512x256 there was no perceivable difference.  Even at 1/2 both dimensions at 1024x512 would be 1/4 the reduction in texture size, which means no loss in quality because of re-compression.  And most importantly, giving us the freedom to edit the highlights or the overall brightness of those files!

Edit: Testing...

Edited February 26, 2021 by ikonomov

[KunigundeH]

Encountering a reproducible CTD when approaching the mine-entrance of Kynesgrove with Dyndolod 3.0 Alpha 30 (High Rules, Ultra-Trees, Myrkvior). Tested with existing saves and new games  before and after regenerating all Lod (TexGen and Dyndolod). Stable when Dyndolod not present in the Loadorder.

Papyrus-Log writes reproducably  last before crashing: 

Quote

[02/26/2021 - 03:24:38AM] ERROR: Unable to call IsDisabled - no native object bound to the script object, or object is of incorrect type
stack:
    [ (8F09D3AD)].ObjectReference.IsDisabled() - "<native>" Line ?
    [ (9700ABC7)].SHESON_DynDOLOD_LODObject.OnActivate() - "SHESON_DynDOLOD_LODObject.psc" Line 77
 

Log-files of the latest Dyndolod- and TexGen-Runs together with screenshots of the location (incl MCM showing coordinates):

Dyndolod-Logs on Google-Drive

Any help appreciated.

On a side-note to sheson: Thank you for creating Dyndolod and supporting it the way you do. To me Dyndolod is the single-most game-changing mod(/tool) ever created for Skyrim. Terrific work.

Edited February 26, 2021 by KunigundeH

[ikonomov]

31 minutes ago, KunigundeH said:

On a side-note to sheson: Thank you for creating Dyndolod and supporting it the way you do. To me Dyndolod is the single-most game-changing mod(/tool) ever created for Skyrim. Terrific work.

I agree.  I think you've put it as accurate as it can be said.  I keep writing and then deleting gratitude sentences, as they feel inadequate.

Thank you

[ikonomov]

My math skills are totally out today.  1024x512 (1/16), 512x256 (1/64), 256x128 (1/256).  I did some testing changing the branch texture of that tree and the brightness of the highlights.  The result wasn't as effective as I had hoped.  I really thought the brighter colors in that texture had a lot to do with it, but it turned out not so much.  I should have manually changed some of those vertices and called it a day.  Looking for the "ultimate" solution turned out to be more elusive than I had thought.  Still, a bit of lower global brightness really makes a noticeable difference, enough to the point of making those highlights not being obvious.  Having a brightness control I think would really help with the transition between the full models and Static LOD4.  Normally the game applies a certain level of brightness fog at that distance, which results in a jump in brightness, but with a bit of finer adjustment to some of the objects it can be made slightly more subtle.  Hopefully this reduction in size and a brightness adjustment can be implemented.  If not, oh well...

Will start playing and report something useful if I find.

Thank you sheson for all your help and making this monumental project that I simply can't wrap my mind around how you've made it.

Edited February 26, 2021 by ikonomov