Not initializing, No MCM, DynDOLOD.esm, DynDOLOD.esp or Occlusion.esp not found

[Thelonius]

I know this is similar to a post from 2019, but I'm having a very similar issue. I've used DynDOLOD successfully many times before but as of recently updating my 1.5.97 Skyrim SE to 1.6.640, I'm having an issue with DynDOLOD in-game. I followed GamerPoets video step by step multiple times but the issue still persists where I start a new game after running TexGen and DynDOLOD, activating the .esm and .esps in MO2, and when I load an exterior cell, there is no "DynDOLOD successfully initialized" message nor is there any DynDOLOD in MCM. However, the LODs from tree mods and new locations load in correctly.

I've read a couple Reddit posts about this along with the other similar post on this forum related to this issue and can confirm that I have troubleshot and verified the following:

-SKSE 64 v2.2.3 installed for game version 1.6.640

-PapyrusUtil installed

-SKYUI installed

-RaceMenu installed

-SSEEdit shows 2 quests in DynDOLOD.esp

-SHESON_DynDOLOD_Alias.pex, SHESON_DynDOLOD_Quest.pex and SHESON_DynDOLOD_MCM.pex scripts are installed

-Installed correct version of DynDOLOD DLL that corresponds to 1.6.640

-DynDOLOD_Output activated in MO2 along with DynDOLOD.esm, DynDOLOD.esp, and Occlusion.esp

-Mod list order (left side): DynDOLOD Resources SE -> DynDOLOD DLL - Scripts -> DynDOLOD DLL - DLL -> TexGen Output -> DynDOLOD Output

-Verified Generate DynDOLOD in the advanced options was checked

-Waited 20 minutes after new game and still no message appeared

I apologize for the long list, I just wanted to go ahead and throw out everything that I have checked and verified up to this point. I have tried to check the Papyrus log as well, as was mentioned in the other post. However, this has proven to be another issue entirely. I modified the [Papyrus] section of Skyrim.ini to enable logging, but after several times in-game, I still haven't had the logs folder appear in Docs->My Games->Skyrim Special Edition. I was able to check the DynDOLOD.log in Docs->My Games->Skyrim Special Edition->SKSE and it says:

"DynDOLOD Plugin 2.45.0 for Skyrim Script Extender 64 2.2.2 for Skyrim Special Edition 1.6.640.0"

Would I be correct in assuming that switching from SKSE v2.2.3 to 2.2.2 would solve the issue because of this log?

Again, I apologize for the lengthy post, I just want to make it clear that I have tried multiple things to fix this issue and have had no luck at all. Is this something simple that I am overlooking? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if I should provide screenshots Thanks!

[mooit]

Hi Sheson,

Backported Extended ESL Support works, and I contacted the Mod author of  Forest Fragments, because the main file Forest Fragments.esp is 1.7

For some reason these two patch files have 1.71, not sure why they aren't 1.7

1.71    Forest Fragments - Schlitzohr's Oakwood Patch.esp
1.71    Forest Fragments - Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul Patch.esp

THANKS

P.S. I also renamed the header versions in SSEEdit to 1.7 and the games loads and runs ok... Is it ok just to do this?

Edited April 11 by mooit

[KamisantaLolz]

Thanks sheson. Installing BEES did the trick. Although it's very weird that I need it all of a sudden for DynDOLOD to work now as DynDOLOD had always worked correctly without it and I did nothing to the game version or my LO for that matter aside from removing some flora mods. Rebuilt DynDOLOD to only realize that it never initialized in game... Today some .NET Framework update for Win10 dropped. Maybe that's why.

[z929669]

4 hours ago, KamisantaLolz said:

Thanks sheson. Installing BEES did the trick. Although it's very weird that I need it all of a sudden for DynDOLOD to work now as DynDOLOD had always worked correctly without it and I did nothing to the game version or my LO for that matter aside from removing some flora mods. Rebuilt DynDOLOD to only realize that it never initialized in game... Today some .NET Framework update for Win10 dropped. Maybe that's why.

BEES is necessary for game runtime versions 1.5.97-1.6.640 but not for the current version (1.6.1170). It's a hard requirement to have this mod installed if you are using mods with the new plugin format. It has nothing to do with DynDOLOD. See the BEES Nexus Description for more info.

[sheson]

7 hours ago, KamisantaLolz said:

Thanks sheson. Installing BEES did the trick. Although it's very weird that I need it all of a sudden for DynDOLOD to work now as DynDOLOD had always worked correctly without it and I did nothing to the game version or my LO for that matter aside from removing some flora mods. Rebuilt DynDOLOD to only realize that it never initialized in game... Today some .NET Framework update for Win10 dropped. Maybe that's why.

No logs were uploaded.

If you check the list of plugins reported in the DynDOLOD log, you will most likely see that at least one plugin in the list other than the DynDOLOD plugins is version 1.71 instead of 1.7. Version 1.71 was introduced with runtime 1.6.1130. To use plugins of version 1.71 in older runtimes, Backported Extended ESL Support is required.

[sheson]

9 hours ago, mooit said:

Hi Sheson,

Backported Extended ESL Support works, and I contacted the Mod author of  Forest Fragments, because the main file Forest Fragments.esp is 1.7

For some reason these two patch files have 1.71, not sure why they aren't 1.7

1.71    Forest Fragments - Schlitzohr's Oakwood Patch.esp
1.71    Forest Fragments - Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul Patch.esp

THANKS

P.S. I also renamed the header versions in SSEEdit to 1.7 and the games loads and runs ok... Is it ok just to do this?

Having to ask if changing the version is OK, is a hint to simply not do it and to just use Backported Extended ESL Support instead.
You have to guarantee that there are no records with a form id less than xx000800

[gath88]

I can't seem to get my game to recognize that DynDOLOD is installed and running. I'm running Skyrim AE Steam version 1.6.640, and DynDOLOD version 2.45, Scripts v2.82.9, and Resources v3.00.

I've seen other places online that having different versions of the different DynDOLOD files can cause this issue... But I don't see older versions of the Scripts or Resources files available for download anywhere.

Does anyone have a link to where I can download them?

 

[gath88]

Okay, here goes.

Modwat.ch

Papyrus.0.logDynDOLOD.log

Please let me know if I need to upload anything else!

[gath88]

11 hours ago, sheson said:

The papyrus log reports: DynDOLOD.esp not found or too high in the load order
This message should have shown in the game, too.

Yes.

11 hours ago, sheson said:

Make sure DynDOLOD.esp is at load order ID 0xFD or lower. Load order ID 0xFE is reserved for light plugins only. 0xFF is for save data.
See https://dyndolod.info/Messages/Plugin-Limit

Also sort DynDOLOD.esm to be the last master plugin to load just before the first non-ESM.
Also sort Occlusion.esp to load after DynDOLOD.esp.

How do I change a plug-in from FE or FF to FD? I'm not familiar with that function in MO2.

The DynDOLOD.esm plug-in has been moved to be the last .esm before my .esp plug-ins start (excluding CC content, which is locked from changes).

I moved the Occlusion.esp plug-in to be after DynDOLOD.esp.

Edit:

Since making these changes, my save is now crashing every time I try to load it.

crash-2024-05-15-17-11-11.log

 

Edited May 15 by gath88

[gath88]

4 hours ago, sheson said:

https://dyndolod.info/Messages/Plugin-Limit
Disable, merge or in case of Skyrim Special Edition convert full plugins to light plugins if possible to reduce the number of full plugins.

The game will start with too many plugins without any error messages and it might even work for a while before crashing or exhibiting severe errors.

The crash log shows that DynDOLOD.esp is still at 0xFE, which is reserved for light plugins. A record in DynDOLOD.esp is being replaced by a record from an other light plugin also loading at 0xFE, causing an unresolved form ID error in the game, which causes the reported CTD.

Fix the load order having too many full plugins.

But I don't have too many full plug-ins? I'm at exactly 255. Turning the DynDOLOD.esp plug-in off drops that down to 254. I just checked.

Why would it be counted as an .esl in the mod index if its still being, simultaneously, counted as a .esp by MO2?

I've already "eslified" pretty much everything I can. How much more below 255 am I going to have to get to make this work??

Edit:

Looking more closely, it appears that Occulsion.esp is an .esl. I'm guessing Eslifier did this a while back and I missed it. Would changing this back to a .esp help things (assuming I dropped another full plug-in to keep below 255, ofc)?

Edited May 15 by gath88

[gath88]

Like... Yeah, seriously. This doesn't make any damn sense. 

I'm trying to re-generate my DynDOLOD now (to fix the Occ being .esl issue), and it's telling me "too many full modules."

Freaking, HOW??? After turning a few things off, MO2 says I'm down to 250 .esps and .esms now. That IS below the limit. It should be WELL BELOW what DynDOLOD needs to generate, because - last time I checked - DynDOLOD only generates 3 plug-ins.

Where is the disconnect here???

Does DynDOLOD not recognize what Eslifier does, or something?

Edited May 16 by gath88

[z929669]

40 minutes ago, gath88 said:

Like... Yeah, seriously. This doesn't make any damn sense. 

I'm trying to re-generate my DynDOLOD now (to fix the Occ being .esl issue), and it's telling me "too many full modules."

Freaking, HOW??? After turning a few things off, MO2 says I'm down to 250 .esps and .esms now. That IS below the limit. It should be WELL BELOW what DynDOLOD needs to generate, because - last time I checked - DynDOLOD only generates 3 plug-ins.

Where is the disconnect here???

Does DynDOLOD not recognize what Eslifier does, or something?

I believe 253 is the effective max (probably including the DynDOLOD-related plugins). I forget what is reserved for the 254th.

MO2 shows you the mods that don't count toward the limit. You cannot judge by the file type.

Sort by Flags and count them to be sure.

Use mouse hover to see the icon definitions.

[gath88]

1 hour ago, z929669 said:

I believe 253 is the effective max (probably including the DynDOLOD-related plugins). I forget what is reserved for the 254th.

MO2 shows you the mods that don't count toward the limit. You cannot judge by the file type.

Sort by Flags and count them to be sure.

Use mouse hover to see the icon definitions.

Okay. That sucks, but it's definitely good to know. 

249 seems to be the "sweet spot" for getting DynDOLOD generation to actually run. Good thing too. There really isn't much else I can turn off without completely destroying my load order.

We'll see where things wind up once I actually get everything recreated, I guess. lol

Edited May 16 by gath88

[gath88]

Alright, cool. Everything seems to be running properly now. Thanks for the help!

[sheson]

7 hours ago, gath88 said:

But I don't have too many full plug-ins? I'm at exactly 255. Turning the DynDOLOD.esp plug-in off drops that down to 254. I just checked.

Why would it be counted as an .esl in the mod index if its still being, simultaneously, counted as a .esp by MO2?

I've already "eslified" pretty much everything I can. How much more below 255 am I going to have to get to make this work??

Edit:

Looking more closely, it appears that Occulsion.esp is an .esl. I'm guessing Eslifier did this a while back and I missed it. Would changing this back to a .esp help things (assuming I dropped another full plug-in to keep below 255, ofc)?

The crash log shows [FE] DynDOLOD.esp

That is one full plugin too many.

https://dyndolod.info/Messages/Plugin-Limit
Skyrim Special Edition, Skyrim Anniversary Edition and Enderal SE have a total limit of 254 (0x00 to 0xFD) full plugins (ESM + ESP) and 4096 light plugins (ESL), which use 0xFE as the load order form ID.

Since Occlusion.esp only contains overwrites it is always flagged a light plugin by xLODGen/DynDOLOD.

5 hours ago, z929669 said:

I believe 253 is the effective max (probably including the DynDOLOD-related plugins). I forget what is reserved for the 254th.

MO2 shows you the mods that don't count toward the limit. You cannot judge by the file type.

Sort by Flags and count them to be sure.

Use mouse hover to see the icon definitions.

0x00 to 0xFF is 256 plugin slots.

0x00 to 0x0FD is 254 slots
0xFE is the 255th slot
0xFF is the 256th slot.

https://dyndolod.info/Messages/Plugin-Limit
The game engine uses the first byte (the load order form ID) of the 4 byte form ID to determine the plugin load order. A byte goes from 0 to 256, 0x00 to 0xFF hexadecimal. The game uses the load order form ID 0xFF for save game and temporary data. Skyrim Special Edition, Skyrim Anniversary Edition and Enderal SE have a total limit of 254 (0x00 to 0xFD) full plugins (ESM + ESP) and 4096 light plugins (ESL), which use 0xFE as the load order form ID.
Mod managers like MO2 (hover over the number of total active plugins top right on the Plugins tab) or Vortex (top right on the Plugins tab) can show the total number of ESM+ESP and ESL plugins.

4 hours ago, gath88 said:

Okay. That sucks, but it's definitely good to know. 

249 seems to be the "sweet spot" for getting DynDOLOD generation to actually run. Good thing too. There really isn't much else I can turn off without completely destroying my load order.

We'll see where things wind up once I actually get everything recreated, I guess. lol

The sweet spot is 254 total full plugins. DynDOLOD.esm and DynDOLOD.esp require two slots, so 252 when starting DynDOLOD the first time to generate the plugins. Total full plugins means all ESM+ESP as explained. That includes all full game plugins, starting with Skyrim.esm at load order ID 0x00, Update.esm at 0x01 etc.

[z929669]

11 hours ago, gath88 said:

Okay. That sucks, but it's definitely good to know. 

249 seems to be the "sweet spot" for getting DynDOLOD generation to actually run. Good thing too. There really isn't much else I can turn off without completely destroying my load order.

We'll see where things wind up once I actually get everything recreated, I guess. lol

Yeah, I was close-ish, but that only works with horseshoes and hand grenades. Always best to reference the doc as sheson points out.