I just installed DynDoLod, do I need the following?

[Saladinbobbins]

1. HD Lods Textures SE
2. HD Lods Textures SE 1K V9.3 - DynDOLOD ONLY VERSION
3. HD LODs Textures SE Mesh Fix
4. Skyrim3DTrees and Plants 3dLOD Resources
5. Terrain LOD for Noble Skyrim
6. Dark Version Mrjohnson's HD Tree Lods
7. Tree LOD Lighting

I'm trying to clean up and reduce my plugin count but I'm a bit clueless when it comes to LOD generation. All these pre-date my installing DynDoLod. Just copy the list and strikethrough what I don't need, if you would, please.

[z929669]

2 hours ago, Saladinbobbins said:

1. HD Lods Textures SE
2. HD Lods Textures SE 1K V9.3 - DynDOLOD ONLY VERSION
3. HD LODs Textures SE Mesh Fix
4. Skyrim3DTrees and Plants 3dLOD Resources (only if you are also running Skyrim 3D Trees & Plants)
5. Terrain LOD for Noble Skyrim
6. Dark Version Mrjohnson's HD Tree Lods
7. Tree LOD Lighting

I'm trying to clean up and reduce my plugin count but I'm a bit clueless when it comes to LOD generation. All these pre-date my installing DynDoLod. Just copy the list and strikethrough what I don't need, if you would, please.

Only install the mods you want to use. Also only install 'LOD' assets if they are specifically meshes for DynDOLOD (mostly tree mods, but also some rocks/mountains mods). Do not install "lod billboards" (textures).

Regenerate terrain LOD from scratch using xLODGen

Use the latest DynDOLOD 3 Alpha afterward for object LOD (with TexGen to create LOD textures and tree billboards).

[sheson]

8 hours ago, Saladinbobbins said:

1. HD Lods Textures SE
2. HD Lods Textures SE 1K V9.3 - DynDOLOD ONLY VERSION
3. HD LODs Textures SE Mesh Fix
4. Skyrim3DTrees and Plants 3dLOD Resources
5. Terrain LOD for Noble Skyrim
6. Dark Version Mrjohnson's HD Tree Lods
7. Tree LOD Lighting

I'm trying to clean up and reduce my plugin count but I'm a bit clueless when it comes to LOD generation. All these pre-date my installing DynDoLod. Just copy the list and strikethrough what I don't need, if you would, please.

See this page for requirements and optionals https://dyndolod.info/Downloads

See https://dyndolod.info/Mods, in particular https://dyndolod.info/Mods/Useful-3rd-Party-Mods:
HD LODs Textures SE - install the DynDOLOD version. Overwrite any textures from DynDOLOD Resources SE but not the textures generated by TexGen. Adjust Max tile size on advanced options to match the downloaded resolution or use it to shrink higher resolution back down to lower resolution automatically while the atlas is created. Do not install / remove any tree LOD billboards. Use TexGen to generate all desired billboards.

See https://dyndolod.info/Help/Ultra-Tree-LOD
Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - Install Skyrim3DTrees and Plants 3dLOD Resources. There is no need to rename 3D tree LOD model files. DynDOLOD automatically falls back to the standard object LOD filename convention.

See https://dyndolod.info/Help/Tree-Grass-LOD-Billboards
Do not install 3rd party LOD billboards. Use TexGen to generate them.

See https://dyndolod.info/Generation-Instructions
Typically generate terrain LOD meshes and textures with xLODGen before generating the LOD mod with DynDOLOD , as the terrain LOD meshes are used to optimize object LOD meshes.

See https://dyndolod.info/Help/xLODGen

Read the mods descriptions to learn what they do. If more specific information about a mod is required, then post a link to it in addition to which LOD options and settings you intend to use or the logs if you already generated LOD. https://dyndolod.info/Official-DynDOLOD-Support-Forum#Post-Logs

[Saladinbobbins]

These LODs were installed prior to my making the switch to DynDoLod. So here is another question. Just what have I gained by my installing DynDoLod because I'm not seeing the slightest difference in LOD, or LOD quality. I'm not even seeing the Volcano bloom from Winterhold I'm supposed to. Nothing looks bad, but nothing has improved either. For all intents and purposes my Skyrim looks identical to how it did before installing this. What is this doing that those above lods don't?

[z929669]

2 hours ago, Saladinbobbins said:

These LODs were installed prior to my making the switch to DynDoLod. So here is another question. Just what have I gained by my installing DynDoLod because I'm not seeing the slightest difference in LOD, or LOD quality. I'm not even seeing the Volcano bloom from Winterhold I'm supposed to. Nothing looks bad, but nothing has improved either. For all intents and purposes my Skyrim looks identical to how it did before installing this. What is this doing that those above lods don't?

You were or possibly are still using pregenerated LOD that most definitely doesn't correspond to your specific mod list. It would be hard to tell unless you test transitions from full to LOD all over the place. You should see objects popping into view out of nowhere and other objects popping out of LOD to nothing as an area loads. This is the hallmark problem of pregenerated LOD. If you have *.bto, *.btr, and/or *.btt files in your data (simple to find in MO data tab using the filter) and no enabled DynDOLOD or xLODGen output mods, then you have pregenerated LOD. MO will show which mods provide these in the Data tab. Uninstall those mods and reinstall them again without options to include pregenerated LOD.

To really see the difference of proper LOD vs vanilla LOD, create a pure vanilla profile IN MO with vanilla INIs and load the game. Then run xLODGen then DynDOLOD on the vanilla game.

There's a huge difference with no pop in/out.

[Saladinbobbins]

1 hour ago, z929669 said:

You were or possibly are still using pregenerated LOD that most definitely doesn't correspond to your specific mod list. It would be hard to tell unless you test transitions from full to LOD all over the place. You should see objects popping into view out of nowhere and other objects popping out of LOD to nothing as an area loads. This is the hallmark problem of pregenerated LOD. If you have *.bto, *.btr, and/or *.btt files in your data (simple to find in MO data tab using the filter) and no enabled DynDOLOD or xLODGen output mods, then you have pregenerated LOD. MO will show which mods provide these in the Data tab. Uninstall those mods and reinstall them again without options to include pregenerated LOD.

To really see the difference of proper LOD vs vanilla LOD, create a pure vanilla profile IN MO with vanilla INIs and load the game. Then run xLODGen then DynDOLOD on the vanilla game.

There's a huge difference with no pop in/out.

Thank you. I didn't understand half of that but thank you. I want to get this right so please bear in mind that my knowledge of modding is moderate, but my knowledge of LODs is hovering just above imbecilic. 

What I'm trying to achieve is the best looking Skyrim I can run on my rig, and to do that I'm using mostly this guide: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/55526?tab=description&BH=0#

On LODs it says the following:

[quote]Q: How are LOD's being handled? Are you using DyndoLOD or SSELODGEN?
A: All the LODS are downloaded from the MOD pages provided lods directly.   For some reason this works surprisingly well already out of the box, so I am already really happy with the end result, and no extra tool is needed anymore for LOD generation.  Not sure if SSELodgen or DynDOLOD makes it any better, but feel free to try.  (if not, just deselect/delete the Dyndolod generated LODS)[/quote]

So that's where I got my lods from, the mod pages themselves. However, every other guide says use DynDoLod so I went through the rigmarole of installing this which took a long time and I don't see the slightest difference in quality, so what I'm asking in as respectful way I can, is why did I bother? The other issue I have is I can no longer run the game without those lods activated, the game quits the moment the main menu loads. I'm also getting LODs in some places where I previously got assets, such as here in this screenshot: 

That building is on the same grid, those trees are right behind that building. Even if it isn't on the same grid, it's assuredly not far enough away to need lods, and I'm sure I was getting assets before installing this? This is the kind of thing that's confusing me. Nothing has improved for me and in some areas has got worse. If you can take the time to help me understand I would appreciate it. 

[Saladinbobbins]

Since I can't edit the post, I have another question. Does DynDoLod add mountains, and increase draw distance? 

[z929669]

4 hours ago, Saladinbobbins said:

Thank you. I didn't understand half of that but thank you. I want to get this right so please bear in mind that my knowledge of modding is moderate, but my knowledge of LODs is hovering just above imbecilic. 

What I'm trying to achieve is the best looking Skyrim I can run on my rig, and to do that I'm using mostly this guide: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/55526?tab=description&BH=0#

On LODs it says the following:

[quote]Q: How are LOD's being handled? Are you using DyndoLOD or SSELODGEN?
A: All the LODS are downloaded from the MOD pages provided lods directly.   For some reason this works surprisingly well already out of the box, so I am already really happy with the end result, and no extra tool is needed anymore for LOD generation.  Not sure if SSELodgen or DynDOLOD makes it any better, but feel free to try.  (if not, just deselect/delete the Dyndolod generated LODS)[/quote]

So that's where I got my lods from, the mod pages themselves. However, every other guide says use DynDoLod so I went through the rigmarole of installing this which took a long time and I don't see the slightest difference in quality, so what I'm asking in as respectful way I can, is why did I bother? The other issue I have is I can no longer run the game without those lods activated, the game quits the moment the main menu loads. I'm also getting LODs in some places where I previously got assets, such as here in this screenshot: 

That building is on the same grid, those trees are right behind that building. Even if it isn't on the same grid, it's assuredly not far enough away to need lods, and I'm sure I was getting assets before installing this? This is the kind of thing that's confusing me. Nothing has improved for me and in some areas has got worse. If you can take the time to help me understand I would appreciate it. 

Full understanding of how LOD works requires reading (and comprehending) the DynDOLOD documentation, where everything is explained very thoroughly. Many of the concepts require good understanding of how the game(s) itself works. Most of us that have been modding and writing about modding for over a decade don't fully understand a good proportion of how all LOD works in the games xLODGen/DynDOLOD support. I'll wager there's relatively few people in the world that understand it all completely. I guess I should speak for myself though ... I'm STILL learning (and forgetting at least half of what I learn).

That said, this is one reason why you'll find many modding and modding tool guides of highly variable quality and accuracy. Most of them have varying degrees of misinformation or are outdated with obsolete or flat-out incorrect instructions/recommendations/explanations. A minority of them are reliable in all/most respects. The guides you will find on this site (in the top nav) are well maintained and relevant (but still NOT perfect at any given time). We maintain them specifically with the goal to teach people the basics in as simple a way as we can. This includes how to generate all terrain and object LOD for our mod lists (where possible).

The guide you referenced seems to be trying to accomplish the same by also providing pregenerated LOD in a pre-defined Wabbajack method (also see Nexus Collections). I cannot speak to it's quality, but I can tell you for certain that if you are not using all of the mods it recommends, if any of those mods have recently been significantly updated/changed, or if you add other mods on top of it, you will almost certainly have some 'broken' LOD and likely other issues.

As I tell most beginning modders, I recommend following one of our guides from start to finish carefully and completely. Then come back here and ask questions about how LOD works for specific issues you encounter. By then, you will have absorbed the basics and will likewise be better positioned to ask pointed questions and understand the answers. Otherwise, use a Wabbajack/Collection that is well curated/maintained and strictly adhere to its instructions if you don't want to fuss with details and the time commitment required for a guided, manual build (as your finding, even these all-in-one solutions most often require similar time commitment and troubleshooting).

Beyond these basic points, I will yield to sheson with respect to your questions about how his LOD solutions work in Skyrim.

[Saladinbobbins]

Fascinating...

So about that Technical support I asked for? Here's some details that might help:

Northern shores of Solitude: Draw distance drastically increased. Castle Volkahir  looks much sharper in the distance now, tree LODs along the shore are a substantial improvement.

Around Fort Amol, standing on the Whiterun side of the bridge, trees on the other side of the Fort are LODs. It takes less than ten seconds to reach those trees, that's how close we're talking. Those should not be lods, those assets should be loaded in, which is what was happening before and isn't happening anywhere else I've been since installing (I haven't been all over Skyrim yet though). See screenshot.

Northern Whiterun plains: From the northern side of the northern bridge on the crossroads of bridges (next to Honningbrew Meadery), start walking towards Loreius Farm, by the time you get to the Northern tip of Whiterun, parallel to Dragonsreach, terrain begins pops into life (the transition point between grass and snow). It was doing this before, this was the reason I installed DynDoLOD, I wanted to eliminate that.

Enhanced Landscapes mod, Barren Marsh option. The entire marsh is covered in LODs. No assets, which is as it should be, just ugly, flat, 2D, low res monstrosities that look like they're straight out of Daggerfall.

There's four simple examples of the inconsistencies I'm getting. I asked about draw distance because Castle Volkahir looks significantly shaper than it did, and on the approach up the mountain, on the road to Riften, I'm seeing Mountains in the distance in the direction of the Hot Springs, mountains that I've never noticed before and don't appear to be the kind you can travel to and climb. I don't know whether this is a result of my ENB or this mod, so I'm trying to determine precisely what this mod changes. Is it just tree lods or more?

 

[sheson]

On 6/21/2023 at 5:36 PM, Saladinbobbins said:

These LODs were installed prior to my making the switch to DynDoLod. So here is another question. Just what have I gained by my installing DynDoLod because I'm not seeing the slightest difference in LOD, or LOD quality. I'm not even seeing the Volcano bloom from Winterhold I'm supposed to. Nothing looks bad, but nothing has improved either. For all intents and purposes my Skyrim looks identical to how it did before installing this. What is this doing that those above lods don't?

The list of mods you posted are mods that contain assets used for LOD Generation and also mods that seem to only contain pre-generated LOD.

Pre-generated LOD is typically generated with xLODGen/DynDOLOD, so if it matches and works correctly, it should often be comparable.

Pre-generated LOD only looks and works correctly for the load order it was generated for. Mixing pre-generated LOD for the same worldspace from different mods typically does not work.

To see the Red Mountain plume from Tamriel depends on if you have mod that adds it and not on LOD generation. Understanding this difference why that is might be helpful, so in case ask for more detailed explanation if required.

[sheson]

On 6/21/2023 at 10:36 PM, Saladinbobbins said:

What I'm trying to achieve is the best looking Skyrim I can run on my rig, and to do that I'm using mostly this guide: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/55526?tab=description&BH=0#

On LODs it says the following:

[quote]Q: How are LOD's being handled? Are you using DyndoLOD or SSELODGEN?
A: All the LODS are downloaded from the MOD pages provided lods directly.   For some reason this works surprisingly well already out of the box, so I am already really happy with the end result, and no extra tool is needed anymore for LOD generation.  Not sure if SSELodgen or DynDOLOD makes it any better, but feel free to try.  (if not, just deselect/delete the Dyndolod generated LODS)[/quote]

So that's where I got my lods from, the mod pages themselves. However, every other guide says use DynDoLod so I went through the rigmarole of installing this which took a long time and I don't see the slightest difference in quality, so what I'm asking in as respectful way I can, is why did I bother?

If you want to achieve the best looking Skyrim, then you should follow a proper modding guide written by author(s) that actually understand and explain how to generate LOD for the current load order. Guides that do not generate LOD for their load order are either do not care or are clueless about the issues.

The reason you don't "see" a difference in quality is that you do not know what to look for, or as already mentioned, it may be primarily about consistency/matching with the entire load order properly everywhere.

On 6/21/2023 at 10:36 PM, Saladinbobbins said:

The other issue I have is I can no longer run the game without those lods activated, the game quits the moment the main menu loads. I'm also getting LODs in some places where I previously got assets, such as here in this screenshot: 

That building is on the same grid, those trees are right behind that building. Even if it isn't on the same grid, it's assuredly not far enough away to need lods, and I'm sure I was getting assets before installing this? This is the kind of thing that's confusing me. Nothing has improved for me and in some areas has got worse. If you can take the time to help me understand I would appreciate it. 

It is unclear what "those lods" refers to.

If there are problems with the LOD patch you generated, make a proper problem report as explained at https://dyndolod.info/Official-DynDOLOD-Support-Forum

You might also want to read https://dyndolod.info/How-LOD-Works as a starting point if you are interested in learning/understanding things better.

xLODGen/DynDOLOD do not change how the game works, where LOD starts (generally, large reference bugs workarounds can change that on specfic occasion) or the max render distance. They generate LOD for the current load order. In case of TexGen and DynDOLOD with new and improved LOD assets.