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Dynamic Distant Objects LOD - pre 2.xx

sheson

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sheson Akatosh

sheson

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Dynamic Distant Objects LOD - DynDOLOD

 

Finally I can see my house from here

 

You know the price for my mods: blood, sweat and tears. Oh, and your first born.

If you want to help other authors of quality mods then donate to them directly.

For latest information and instructions see the DynDOLOD 2.18 UPDATE POST

What is this?

DynDOLOD is a set of tools based on TES5Edit and TES5LODGen to automatically create a Skyrim mod based on the load order which adds distant LOD for objects to Skyrim. By combining DynDOLOD with TES5LODGen users can create drastically enhanced traditional static LOD plus tree LOD and the new, optional dynamic distant object LOD in a few 'simple' steps.

DynDOLOD is meant for enthusiast modders who are familiar with using TES5Edit. Enthusiast modders have a general knowledge of computers, folders and files, especially Skyrims 'Data' folders and how to install mods safely with a manager or manually.

To fully expand the visual experience and use the additional features offered by TES5LODGen the DynDOLOD package comes with over 1000 new or updated LOD models for objects that were badly missing from the original game like the Skyhaven Temple or landscape features like roads, smaller rocks and dirt cliffs that simply make the distant landscape look much more natural and alive.

What does it do?

It makes Skyrim look like this

59721-1-1427159829.jpg59721-2-1427159829.jpg59721-1-1427289504.jpg59721-4-1427159830.jpg

59721-1-1427419467.jpg59721-2-1427419467.jpg59721-3-1427419468.jpg59721-4-1427419468.jpg

59721-1-1427465578.jpg59721-2-1427465579.jpg59721-3-1427465579.jpg59721-4-1427465579.jpg

59721-1-1427470182.jpg59721-2-1427470183.jpg59721-3-1427470183.jpg59721-4-1427470183.jpg

59721-1-1427470235.jpg59721-2-1427470235.jpg59721-3-1427470235.jpg59721-4-1427470236.jpg

 

Requirements

SKSE

PapyrusUtil 2.8 or higher

DynDOLOD Resources - Make sure to use DynDOLOD Resources version only with matching or higher DynDOLOD Standalone versions but never with older versions.

Vanilla Skyrim LOD Billboards from TES5LODGen or Indistinguishable Vanilla Tree Billboards. If using tree mods that do not include billboards, check TES5LODGen for ready-to-use tree LOD billboards for some tree mods. For STEP users all billboards are included in STEP Texture Compilation.

Download

Download standalone and resources from Nexus or use Mega links from the update post

There are quickstart instruction in the main folder. Also check the folder called 'docs' for additional information. See the update post for latest installation information and guides.

CC BY-NC-SA

=======================================================================

Updating DynDOLOD

=======================================================================

Read the update posts for each new version for version specific information and update instructions.

Also read the manual how to update an existing save game, watch the video or check DynDOLOD SkyUI MCM.

[spoiler=DynDOLOD-Changelog.txt]

=======================================================================

DynDOLOD - Dynamic Distant Objects LOD - Sheson

=======================================================================

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

Credits

 

TES5Edit Team in general

 

Ehamloptiran and Zilav for TES5LODGen and LODGen for trees

 

Bethesda for the game, models and textures

 

NifTools

 

DynDOLOD includes LOD assets based on models and/or textures from:

 

Holy Cow I fixed Skyrim - Sheson

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sheson
sheson

Dynamic Distant Objects LOD - DynDOLOD   Finally I can see my house from here   You know the price for my mods: blood, sweat and tears. Oh, and your first born. If you want to

sheson
sheson

fBlockLevel0Distance - the distance when LOD8 starts, so everything before that is LOD4 fBlockLevel1Distance - the distance when LOD16 starts everything before that is LOD8 fBlockMaximumDistance - the

MontyMM
MontyMM

Yes, I think you probably did.   I just wanted to say thanks for the great work on the memory patch, and this mod also looks like another major improvment.   I shall make a blood sacrifice of a troll

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sheson Akatosh

sheson

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Posted (edited)
  On 1/22/2016 at 11:44 AM, Kesta said:

I've got an issue with windows glow for dragonsreach lod :

 

 

 

 

 

as you can see, when I'm *really* far away, the window glow is extremely white and bright. It's back to normal as I get closer. Like if the far-grid windows glow mesh was wrong.

 

Is this a known issue ? Or I failed something in my settings ? This is the first time I've run into this problem as far as I remember :/

 

Just asking if this make you think of something, I don't have the log anymore (lot of stuff in xEdit since the last time I ran dyndolod). 

 

Settings where just the equivalent of the "medium" preset plus "Windows" ticked (but not "high"... could it be the issue ?) if I remember correctly. Btw, it's not the weather, I tested several and all those where the fog allow me to see dragonsreach from this distance have this issue.

 

 

From the DynDOLOD Manual

 

"Basically, the glow shader in Skyrim allows two types of glow: own emit or external emittance. While own emit never changes strength or color of the glow, external emittance glow is controlled via CK settings that can change over time and on other parameters. This can be used to make windows only glow at night and react to sunlight. This behavior is controlled per reference, which means the same mesh can be used for either type, because external emittance takes precedence over the own emit color settings.

 

Static object LOD generated by LODGen.exe 'only' supports own emit. Neverfades and thus the dynamic object LOD of DynDOLOD supports external emittance as well.

[...]

If the [_] High option is not checked the glowing windows are added as static object LOD. Check the [x] High option to add glowing windows as dynamic object LOD if applicable. As explained above, dynamic object LOD windows react to external lighting."

 

Static LOD glow has no external emittance, which makes them use the own emit color set in the mesh. It is usually white. You can try setting a different color in the mesh, but it will always be off at some point depending on day time or weather from the color of external emitance.

 

  On 1/23/2016 at 7:08 AM, andisart said:

I'd kindly like to ask for some help on an issue I can't find a fix for.

 

DynDOLOD seems installed ok and it is working (I see distant LODs and at night the windows lit up). However, trees keep popping up at relatively short distance constantly and also parts of the terrain. It appears to me like it is worse than in vanilla, at least with the trees I don't remember seeing popping up this bad. Also, I discovered one LOD of a building in Riverwood (from ETaC) that disappears briefly when approaching.

 

Demonstration video of issue

(snow pines / mountain side popping in at 0:12, building in distance disappears at 0:15)

The mountain LOD will most likely be just the same LOD as before. Take comparison screenshots.

 

Mods like ETAC add a lot of new objects into certain cell and loading all objects can take longer than the engine anticipates before unloading LOD,

 

See about tree LOD below. Terrain LOD meshes/textures are not changed by DynDOLOD.

 

  On 1/23/2016 at 8:29 AM, GameDuchess said:

So just to clarify, because I've been having some annoying tree & plant popping issues still, if I have SFO, followed by Skyrim Bigger Trees, and Realistic Aspen Trees (patched to SBT), then which of these LODs packages would I want besides the Vanilla package?

 

Realistic Aspen Trees LOD Billboards

SSBT for RAT LOD Billboards

SSBT LOD Billboards

Vurt SFO 2.3 LOD Billboards

 

Tree LOD is done by the built-in TES5LODGen. Check discussion over there about tree mods/billboards.

 

If there is a strong visible difference between LOD trees and the full model trees you could do these things:

- use the tree LOD brightness setting in the advanced options

- verify the correct billboards for full model trees are used, depending on mods and load order

- ask tree mod creator to supply LOD billboards

- create your own LOD billboards by splitting existing tree LOD for a mod or use a tool like Tree LOD billboard creator for xLODGen

Edited by sheson
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archer Thane

archer

Posted
Posted (edited)

Issue with corrupted saves:

The last days I noticed that some of my saves are corrupted, means when I load one of them the game first loads as expected but after a while (30 seconds or so) the game crashes to desktop. Not all are corrupted, it occurs sporadically, sometimes 6 saves are okay, then a bad one is in and sometimes many of them one after another are corrupted.

 

 

I did some research:

When I try to open this corrupt save into savetool.exe (savegame cleaner) the program crases.

I loaded the corrupt save into PDT Wrapper and zero the papyrus section. Then I loaded the save again and it loads successfully, no CTD anymore. All scripts behave like in a new save but thats okay and was expected.

So this brought me to the conclusion that there is an issue with one or more scripts.

Next I've done is to load the game with a good save, went into an interior cell, save, quit.

Next step was to remove mod after mod and do tests to identify the mod that is responsible for the savegame corruption.

I began to remove the last mod I've installed, DynDOLOD.

So without DynDOLO I loaded the game, saved it, checked it in savetool.exe to get sure it isn't corrupted, quit the game and cleaned the save in savetool.exe. It removed the DynDOLOD scripts as expected.

Then I loaded this edites save, focussed onto a spot on a wall in the interior cells and did 20 saves without moving. All 20 saves are okay!

Then I reinstalled DynDOLOD again and did the same. Now 5 out of 20 saves are corrupted, not to be opened with savetool.exe and CTD after approx. 30 seconds loading in loading screen.

What I have noticed is that a save without DynDOLOD is 19,8 MB in size and with DynDOLOD it is 34MB in size (700+ hours played, character level 50).

Do you have any idea why this happens?

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT 01:

Now I am in regular game again, near Kynesgrove and EVERY save is corrupted.

 

I loaded some of them again in PTD Wrapper and waited a short while. This error message popped up:

2016-01-2316_07_55-.png

Unexpected Token '['. Expected was the Token '='. Line 1872, Position 17.

 

I remembered that I have updated Java runtime to v8 Update 71. Is it possible that this is the culprit?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT 02:

 

As I said before every save is corrupted now. I've downgraded JRE to v8 Update 66 and tried again. Same issue.

 

So I loaded my last good save (exterior) and disabled DynDOLOD. Then I entered an interior cell where I was able to make an unbroken save.

I quit the game, loaded the save without DynDLOD.esp, saved again, loaded the save in savetool.exe and cleaned out every DynDOLOD related script.

 

Then I loaded the cleaned save with DynDOLOD, went outside, activated DynDOLOD in MCM menu and waited until the message popped up that tells me that DynDOLOD has been successfully loaded.

 

I did some saves and it seems the issue is solved. The save is smaller in size now, approx. 25Mb.

 

I will do some more testing, report will follow...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT 03:

Saves are all good now, don't know what happened...

PTD Wrapper.txtFetching info...

Edited by archer
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andisart Watcher

andisart

Posted
Posted
  On 1/23/2016 at 11:04 AM, sheson said:

 

 

The mountain LOD will most likely be just the same LOD as before. Take comparison screenshots.

 

Mods like ETAC add a lot of new objects into certain cell and loading all objects can take longer than the engine anticipates before unloading LOD,

 

See about tree LOD below. Terrain LOD meshes/textures are not changed by DynDOLOD.

 

Thanks for your quick reply. Will investigate the tree LODs in TES5LODGen.

 

About the mountain LOD, what do you mean by that? Do you mean that DyndoLOD wouldnt be changing how this LOD is blended in or how it does pop in?

At this point I still wonder, is it possible to move the distance of when static objects like these but also trees are loaded as their full model other than increase uGridsToLoad? The switch happens too close for me to not break immersion. I don't want to increase uGrids cause of the more scripts, I just want trees and objects to load their full model earlier so I dont notice the pop in.

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sheson Akatosh

sheson

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Posted (edited)
  On 1/23/2016 at 3:37 PM, andisart said:

Thanks for your quick reply. Will investigate the tree LODs in TES5LODGen.

 

About the mountain LOD, what do you mean by that? Do you mean that DyndoLOD wouldnt be changing how this LOD is blended in or how it does pop in?

At this point I still wonder, is it possible to move the distance of when static objects like these but also trees are loaded as their full model other than increase uGridsToLoad? The switch happens too close for me to not break immersion. I don't want to increase uGrids cause of the more scripts, I just want trees and objects to load their full model earlier so I dont notice the pop in.

DynDOLOD adds LOD for objects that didn't have LOD before, it is not changing existing LOD or how the engine works. Generally speaking anyways.

Technically LOD models are shown outside the loaded cells, while full models are shown in the loaded cells, in general.

 

Check the folder options/trees.ultra in the DynDOLOD archive, Also search back in this thread for using full models instead of LOD models in Static LOD4 area for selected objects like certain mountain meshes.

Edited by sheson
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snares Citizen

snares

Posted
Posted (edited)
Just a bit of kind of related feedback FYI:

 

I had troubles with one specific kind of stuttering, which only happened in third person (playing first person was stutter free) and only when crossing cell borders (as indicated by the yellow lines drawn by the TB console command). The stutters were up to half a second long freezes that made the game semi unplayable.

 

Turns out that [Terrainmanager] settings were to blame. I got these from a gamerpoets video, which claimed them to be graphically superior (which is true) without reducing FPS too much (which is also true) but which neglected to report on them introducing heavy stuttering like described above. Those settings were basically all Ultra settings x2:

 

fBlockLevel0Distance=70000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=150000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=500000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=3.0000

fTreeLoadDistance=150000.0000

 

Playing on Ultra settings, i can still recognise a bit of stuttering, since i now know what to look for, but it is barely noticeable. Strangely, the DynDOLOD settings, medium or high, with or without dynamic LOD, have barely any impact on this.

Edited by snares
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Pheyne Noble

Pheyne

Posted
Posted (edited)

After I start the DynDOLOD Worlds script, I get this in TES5Edit. Is this ok or is something wrong? I am using Vanilla, SFO and Realistic Aspen Trees billboards (in this order) and the installation follows the SR:LE guide.
DS4cMWm.png

Edited by Pheyne
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sheson Akatosh

sheson

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Posted
  On 1/25/2016 at 8:56 AM, snares said:

Just a bit of kind of related feedback FYI:

 

I had troubles with one specific kind of stuttering, which only happened in third person (playing first person was stutter free) and only when crossing cell borders (as indicated by the yellow lines drawn by the TB console command). The stutters were up to half a second long freezes that made the game semi unplayable.

 

Turns out that [Terrainmanager] settings were to blame. I got these from a gamerpoets video, which claimed them to be graphically superior (which is true) without reducing FPS too much (which is also true) but which neglected to report on them introducing heavy stuttering like described above. Those settings were basically all Ultra settings x2:

 

fBlockLevel0Distance=70000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=150000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=500000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=3.0000

fTreeLoadDistance=150000.0000

 

Playing on Ultra settings, i can still recognise a bit of stuttering, since i now know what to look for, but it is barely noticeable. Strangely, the DynDOLOD settings, medium or high, with or without dynamic LOD, have barely any impact on this.

See my post on Microstuttering in 3rd person running/horseback riding on good rig

 

  On 1/25/2016 at 1:42 PM, Pheyne said:

After I start the DynDOLOD Worlds script, I get this in TES5Edit. Is this ok or is something wrong? I am using Vanilla, SFO and Realistic Aspen Trees billboards (in this order) and the installation follows the SR:LE guide.

See the FAQ

Q: Tree LOD / TES5Edit\TES5Edit_log.txt: and similar

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snares Citizen

snares

Posted
Posted
  On 1/25/2016 at 3:43 PM, sheson said:

Thank you! That was exactly the issue and i didnt realize it was allready known. I went with the hybrid trees option and set the tree distance in the ini to 0. Had to remove SFO 2.3 for that and took exactly a 1 FPS hit as a result, as it went from 56 to 55 in my usual test spot. The only stutter left is when the game loads bigger amounts of assets, like several NPC or a fort.

 

Strangely, that test place had a FPS difference of about 6 depending on which direction i looked to, which is now gone. Overall, the FPS feels more even now, with less bumps depending on view direction. Might be placebo though, as i did only test this in the one place.

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sheson Akatosh

sheson

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Posted
  On 1/26/2016 at 1:31 AM, GameDuchess said:

Would you suggest running Real Shelter in TES5Edit BEFORE or AFTER DYNDOLOD, or does it make any difference?

It should not matter.

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david88m Watcher

david88m

Posted
Posted
Thanks for this mod.

I'm having a little problem.

I added a mod to my LoadOrder and I decided to regenerate the lod.

I disabled dyndolod by MCM.

I went to an interior and saved.

Deactivated the .esp.

Reloaded the game, waited 10 days and saved again.

Lod regenerated, and loaded the game.

When I go outside I get this error:

"DynDOLOD_Tamriel.json does not belong to this DynDOLOD.esp"

 

If I start a new game I have no problems.

 

Is there a way to make it work without starting from the beginning Skyrim?

 

Thanks and sorry for my English.

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sheson Akatosh

sheson

Posted
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Posted (edited)
  On 1/26/2016 at 1:05 PM, david88m said:

Thanks for this mod.

I'm having a little problem.

I added a mod to my LoadOrder and I decided to regenerate the lod.

I disabled dyndolod by MCM.

I went to an interior and saved.

Deactivated the .esp.

Reloaded the game, waited 10 days and saved again.

Lod regenerated, and loaded the game.

When I go outside I get this error:

"DynDOLOD_Tamriel.json does not belong to this DynDOLOD.esp"

 

If I start a new game I have no problems.

 

Is there a way to make it work without starting from the beginning Skyrim?

 

Thanks and sorry for my English.

Make sure to use the latest papyrus scripts from the update post. Check the MCM Information if there still is a message about files not belonging to each other.

 

 

  On 1/26/2016 at 1:48 PM, archer said:

Sheson, just a question regarding my report: Do you thin Java update has caused this or was it just '**** Happens'?

But Edit3 said all is OK?

 

Sorry I have no idea about PDT Wrapper and if it even needs Java or what version.

Remember how SkyProc was confused once USKP had more records of a certain type than anticipated?

 

Since DynDOLOD is just simple objects and straight script data, the only way I could imagine problems if there is more items/data than current memory limits (heap memory for example) can handle. AFAIK all numbers in TESV.exe are 32 bit, thus allowing millions of items - only memory limits should be the defining factor.

 

If there is any weirdness apart from heap memory I would look at dll plugins as they handle data and/or memory directly. Dangerous plugins like Stable UgridsToLoad or SafetyLoad.

Also keep PapyrusUtil or NetImmerse Override updated as older version had data troubles as you can read in the changelogs.

Edited by sheson
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andisart Watcher

andisart

Posted
Posted
  On 1/23/2016 at 11:30 PM, sheson said:

DynDOLOD adds LOD for objects that didn't have LOD before, it is not changing existing LOD or how the engine works. Generally speaking anyways.

Technically LOD models are shown outside the loaded cells, while full models are shown in the loaded cells, in general.

 

Check the folder options/trees.ultra in the DynDOLOD archive, Also search back in this thread for using full models instead of LOD models in Static LOD4 area for selected objects like certain mountain meshes.

Ok, so first of all I have to say I have now played with DynDOLOD ingame for several hours and I am in total bliss! The amount of detail this mod method gives is stunning and what I always wished for for this game. It should have always been like that from the start I think, only now does the beauty of the world of Skyrim fully shine. It actually makes you realize what an achievment in game world design it is (and on a side note: it makes Skyrim feel smaller cause now I can see everything, but it doesnt matter). So I have to commend you on your achievment with this massive improvment of a mod and the service you bring to the whole community with it and also with your continued support here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

Looooooook how pretty Solitude at dusk:

1949881-1453792134.jpg

 

And now with DynDOLOD I can make pretty wallpapers like this:

fe40a13.jpg

 

So where can I drop my firstborn? ;-)

(actually that's my fist ever Skyrim wallpaper and you're the first to see, so does that count? lol)

 

Back to the tree LODs, for now I semi-fixed it by creating my own LODs from custom made billboards (extracted from Nifskope) with LODGen, learned something new there. Plus playing with uGridsToLoad on 7 (only possible with new mod setup with less mods on my setup). I understand now more the way trees work in the game (quite complex). But one thing is still unclear: is there no way to tell the game to fade or blend the transition between full model and LOD tree? It is the sudden switch that makes it so noticeable for me.

 

The concept with the 3D static trees is intriguing. And you say performance hit is less than expected, so I might give it a shot. Only not sure about how to go about creating 3D static trees when using SFO + Skyrim Bigger Trees?

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