Improving Distant Object Visuals (FO4LODGen)

I am not an inexperienced modder, by any means. However, there are some things the majority of modders don't do when modding (and thus little help/guidance). Generating distant object LODs for Fallout 4 is one of those things. It's actually a fairly simple, though somewhat time-consuming automated process. Don't worry, you're not obligated to sit and watch the process complete. The problem is, there's not much clarity in the steps needed to execute.

This guide is SOLELY for completing the process using Mod Organizer 2 (MO2). I have played with Vortex Mod Manager (VMM) for a limited amount of time. Enough time to know, however, that it is definitely not for me. The basics should apply, but I can not offer specific help with respect to using this guide to generate LODs for use with a VMM install.

Once you've read through this, if you're throwing your hands up, check out the NeuraLOD mod on Nexus here:
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/38872?tab=files

The modder has a pregenerated Vanilla LOD set for Commonwealth, NukaWorld, and FarHarbor. A pregenerated set for the Lore Friendly version of Boston Natural Surroundings, and resource files in case you want to generate your own.

Download and install xLODGen.

Link to current version is located here:
https://forum.step-project.com/topic/13451-xlodgen-terrain-lod-beta-for-fnv-fo3-fo4-fo4vr-tes5-sse-tes5vr-enderal/

The file is housed at Mega.nz (safe), which is becoming a more popular repository for publicly shared files. Steam doesn't like the site, but the files are safe. There are quite a few modders off-Nexus using it. I'll provide the direct link, as of 01 Mar 20, but Steam will hide it from users:
https://mega.nz/#!AF5zgAAB!pidCK8y2ZU0HRPsdgi8DtbVeDpAQ5Z0NXvOcqQQsLak

Like xEdit, simply rename the files, replacing the x prefix with FO4.

Install folder is not of the utmost importance, honestly. But I'd keep it clean and make a FO4LODGen folder under you Fallout 4 folder. This is also where I keep Wrye Bash and FO4Edit.

Download and install the improved LODGen resource files

Again, the link to the most current files is located here (browse halfway down first post):
https://forum.step-project.com/topic/12466-fo4lodgen/

The direct link is here:
https://mega.nz/#!BZhlVCAJ!s-GqqbnJlZDvCLPiRw1Wm1EWGqMQCuh4CR8Zzn8POM4

You'll want to download this specifically into your MO2 downloads folder. It's technically a mod. You'll install it down toward the bottom of your load order. The mod contains separate plugins for the base game, all DLCs individually, plus Higher Trees. Once you've installed this as a mod, enable the plugins you want to use.

It is recommended, but not necessary, to keep this mod enabled after the LODs are generated. 7 independent plugins is a big hit to an already full load order. Disabling it post-generation, at worst, causes flickering here and there. I only noticed this once near Corvega, but it was enough to have me re-enable the resources mod. Using the resources alone, without the mod, will definitely cause a LOT of flickering. Don't do this.

Create an executable link in MO2

I am assuming proficiency with MO2 here. Name the Executable whatever you like.

It needs to start in the folder you created for FO4LODGen above.

The executable you want to link is: FO4LODGenx64.exe.

This last part is important, it's where xLODGen will place all of the loose files it creates. In arguments you want to add -o:"driveletter:\foldername"

The folder above does not need to exist, to the best of my recollection. I create it as -o:"D:\Output\" for simplicity.

These are loose files and will not be used in the ultimate mod (yes, we will be creating a mod). Don't worry, it's easy once you know the steps.

Run your FO4LODGen executable within MO2

For simplicity purposes, I'm going to assume you name the executable FO4LODGen. Now is where those long-ish automated processes start to kick in. FO4LODGen will start building resources and, eventually, pop-up the generation dialog. Make sure you select all world spaces for which you want to generate LODs in the left pane. Everything else should be pre-selected for you. There's really no need to mess with this unless you know what you're doing. The exception is the Atlas size. If this is set to 4096x4096, you need to change it to, at least, 8192x4096. I used 8192x8192. The base LOD production will be a pretty drastic improvement over the current Vanilla LODs anyway.

Once you're satisfied, click generate and wait for the process to complete. It doesn't take that long on my machine - only a few minutes - but slower machines with less memory, slow HDDs, and slower processors can take quite a bit longer. I may, however, need to pay more attention. I don't have some advanced prototype quantum CPU. It's been pointed out that even great machines take upwards of half an hour. I just start it going and go do something else. My last memory of actually watching it all happen was just doing Sanctuary Hills, so... YMMV. I've just recently run it again because of some missed textures with a 8192x4096 Atlas, which was too small, and it wasn't finished after 20 minutes. I don't know exactly how long it took to finish however.

Great, I have all of these useless loose files, now what?

Well, they're not useless. You can use them as-is. For example, you could change the FO4LODGen executable to point its output argument to your MO2 Overwrite folder and simply create the mod from there. However, I can virtually guarantee you'll have a ton of flickering in-game.

Not recommendable. You've come this far, right? Why not just finish the job? Right? Right.

So, first we need a blank plugin file (.esp). We could go through the trouble of creating one in FO4Edit. Not too difficult. But there's an easier way. Luckily, there's already a mod for this on Nexus. I would, in fact, suggest saving this separately as it can be very handy to have a blank .esp on hand. For example, if you wanted to pack all of your loose texture replacers into a single .esp/.ba2 mod.

Empty Dummy Plugin
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/33484

Download with MO2 as you would any mod, but do not install yet.

Now you need to make a decision. What are you going to call your mod? My preference is MyLODs, but you can name it what you like. I'll use MyLODs from here on out. Rename the mod's 7-zip file to MyLODs.7z. Browse into the file and rename the .esp file to MyLODs.esp. You can use spaces for the archive file name, but you should try not to do this with the .esp file name.

Pack those loose files, of course

You have the Bethesda Creation Kit, right? No? Okay, go get it. It seems silly, because we only need a single utility, really, Archive2. Where that is for you, I have no idea. For me, it's under:
/Bethesda.net Launcher\games\Tools\Archive2\Archive2.exe

Find it. Run it. Select File>New and choose General in Format and Default in Compression if they're not already chosen.

Remember that output folder we created for FO4LODGen? Okay. Browse there.

Drag and drop the entire meshes folder onto Archive2. There may be a delay as this processes. When complete, click File>Save As. Where you save it at this point is not important, but the naming is. Remember the location, though. Name the file MyLODs - Main.ba2 making sure to include the single space on either side of the dash.

Now, click File>New again, same options. Drag and drop the entire textures folder onto Archive2. Again, there may be some delay as this processes. When complete, click File>Save As and name this file MyLODs - Textures.ba2 with the spaces still being important.

Whew. Don't worry, we're almost done.

Finish and install the mod

Browse to MyLODs.7z again, which should still be in your MO2 downloads folder at this point, and open it. Drag and drop MyLODs - Main.ba2 and MyLODs - Textures.ba2 into the 7-Zip archive. You should now have three files in there, including MyLODs.esp.

That's it! You're done! Wasn't that bad, was it?

Install the mod in MO2. Loot. Create Merged Patch. Create Bashed Patch. LOOT again. Unless you make changes to the Vanilla Worldspace (and can get billboards/resources for those changes), you'll never need to do this again. Just keep your MyLODs mod.

Aftermath

There are a lot of ways to accomplish this. I tried to keep it as simple as possible for someone who knows almost nothing about modding. You could just as easily write the Archive2 output .ba2's to the overwrite after installing the (hopefully) renamed Dummy mod and just add them.

The mod name doesn't need to match the file naming. But, the file naming itself is important.

To recap, you should have a three file mod of any name with the following filenames where %name% is the variable mod naming convention you've chosen:

%name%.esp
%name% - Main.ba2
%name% - Textures.ba2

And one final note: if you only partially select only some of the world spaces for FO4LODGen, don't think that you can go back and do the rest over the same loose files you initially created. It will hose. Righteously. As soon as it hits one it already did, things will go screwy and the in-game results will be either torn, blocky, or partial textures and meshes, gray blobs, missing LODs or any combination thereof. Don't save the original scratch, it's useless after you've packed the files into archives.

[SaiyanBroly]

When you are creating the texture BA2, shouldn't you use DDS instead of General in the Archive tool settings?

[SaiyanBroly]

All right, much appreciated.

[kdodds]

It should come before, Bashed Patch is always last.

[SaiyanBroly]

Last question.

Everything went well, thanks to your instructions, (haven't tested in game yet) but i wonder where i need to position the MyLODs.esp compared to the Bashed Patch from Wrye Bash.

Above or below?

[SaiyanBroly]

Thanks! Have yourself a nice day.

[kdodds]

Good luck

[SaiyanBroly]

Thanks for the warning, i 'll keep that in mind.

Just as an addendum, i forgot to add that the next gen update should be taken out of the equation here because i am doing this for the GOG version of Fallout 4 which hasn't been affected by it.

Don't know if this will make things easier or harder, haha.

[kdodds]

A forest you say? Like the Boston Mod? You really have to play around with it because the LODs can very easily exceed your GPUs capabilities. For example, for some reason when I was playing with this, if I went over the top, I'd wind up with really funky, partial radio towers. If you find that happens, just dial it down a bit. Again, it's mostly trial and error what works for you and your mods. Also keep in mind this has not been tested at all since well prior to the most recent update.

[SaiyanBroly]

Great guide, going to use it once i get to the generating LOD part of my load order build.

If you do not mind me asking? Are there any special steps i need to take if i have a mod affecting the landscape like "A Forest"?

[Cheese XL]

On the "Drag and drop the entire meshes folder onto Archive2." part, I can't do this. When I try there's a red crossed out circle in the program. I am using the Archive2 version from Steam's download of the Creation Kit, not sure if it's been updated or I'm doing something wrong