DynDOLOD 3 for all game versions

This guide details the steps necessary to implement all aspects of LOD generation using the latest tools.
It will show how to generate terrain LOD, stitched textures, meshes, and billboards, and dynamic LOD visuals.
The reader is assumed to be using Mod Organizer 2.

These tools and this guide will work for any game version.

It is possible to accomplish grass caching with newer game versions but the process is quite tedious.
There are several guides available elsewhere detailing the steps to cache grass on newer game versions so we will not be addressing them here.

A note about trees. Ultra tree LOD requires tree LOD billboards generated by TexGen.
It is not generally necessary to include 3rd-party tree billboards.
In fact it is discouraged.

3D tree LOD is performance-heavy. If you have a Masarati machine, go for it.
Read the details here[dyndolod.info].

Otherwise, normal Ultra tree LOD is fairly performance-friendly.

Read the details here[dyndolod.info].

In almost all cases, it is sufficient to check the Tree and HD Tree boxes in TexGen,
and check the Ultra box in DynDOLOD. We will re-visit these options below.

Introduction

This is guide version 1.3. See the changelog for details.

We will be using the following tools and mods:

SSEEdit
xLODGen
TexGen
DynDOLOD

So, first we need to obtain and install those tools.

You may have some of these tools already installed.

Good on you - but please read these notes carefully because the versions and configurations have likely changed since you last installed them.

A note about performance. Each of these implementations have at least some impact on performance. Some more than others. Terrain LOD and TexGen have minimal impact, DynDOLOD can potentially significantly lower your frame rate.

It is critical that you read and understand all of the parameter and INI settings for all of these tools.

Before you begin - make sure your load order is finalized. Ensure your plugins are sorted correctly (I recommend using LOOT for that but there are other options) and all appropriate patches have been applied. While it is not strictly necessary, it is recommended that you disable your Bashed Patch if you have one, and re-enable it after running DynDOLOD.

Obtain and install these modding tools

We will be obtaining some of the tools via the S.T.E.P. web sites.

The forum titles for versions may change so start with the parent topic here[stepmodifications.org].

The versions of the tools we refer to in this guide are the latest stable versions available at the time of this writing. I recommend using the latest version of any of these unless noted otherwise.

It is best, but not required, that the tools be on the same physical drive as the game and mod manager.

Many folks create a "Modding Tools" folder and subfolders in there, one for each tool.
That is the approach we will be taking in this guide.

-- SSEEdit

Download the SSEEdit archive[www.nexusmods.com] from Nexus.

Create a folder for SSEEdit in the Modding Tools folder ("C:\Modding Tools\SSEEdit").
Extract the contents of the SSEEdit archive to the SSEEdit folder.

Configure the SSEEdit executable in the MO2 Gears icon like this:

Binary       C:\Modding Tools\SSEEdit\SSEEdit.exe
Arguments    -sse

-- xLODGen

Get xLODGen from here[stepmodifications.org] (current version as of this writing is Beta-110)

Note that the version (and therefore the forum topic title and URL) may have changed since this writing. However, it is easy to spot "xLODGen - Terrain LOD" in the parent topic[stepmodifications.org] list.

Open the topic and find the download for the current version.

Create a folder in Modding Tools named xLODGen.
("C:\Modding Tools\xLODGen")

Extract the contents of the downloaded 7-Zip xLODGen archive to "C:\Modding Tools\xLODGen".

Now download one of the xLODGen Resource files[www.nexusmods.com] from Nexus.

There are three files from which to choose, select only one.
The differences between them are the amount of terrain area covered (read the mod description).
I chose the most coverage, there is no measurable impact on performance so why not?

Don't extract the file from the archive right now, we'll install it as a mod (temporarily) later.
For now, just save it in C:\Modding Tools\xLODGen

Configure xLODGen in MO2 like this:

Binary       C:\Modding Tools\xLODGen\xLODGenx64.exe
Arguments    -sse -o:"C:\Modding Tools\xLODGen\xLODGen_Output"

-- TexGen and DynDOLOD

Open the S.T.E.P. parent forum link[stepmodifications.org] again and look for the DynDOLOD 3.0 topic.

As of this writing the latest version is Alpha 169 but that will likely have changed by the time you read this.

As a cautionary step, read the latest entries in the forum topic to get an idea of the stability of the latest version.

If lots of folks are having trouble with the current alpha - wait a day and check back.
Sheson is prolific and very competent, any issues will be addressed essentially immediately.

Ok, create a DynDOLOD folder in C:\Modding Tools

Download the DynDOLOD Standalone 3.0 archive (whatever version) and extract it to the C:\Modding Tools\DynDOLOD folder.

Download the latest DynDOLOD Resources file from the same link.
Don't extract this file, just save it to the C:\Modding Tools\DynDOLOD folder.

Now configure MO2 to be able to execute TexGen and DynDOLOD.
Here are their entries in the Gears icon.

Binary      C:\Modding Tools\DynDOLOD\TexGenx64.exe
Arguments   -sse -o:"C:\Modding Tools\DynDOLOD\TexGen_Output"

Binary      C:\Modding Tools\DynDOLOD\DynDOLODx64.exe
Arguments   -sse -o:"C:\Modding Tools\DynDOLOD\DynDOLOD_Output"

In MO2, select Install Mod (disk icon) and navigate to Modding Tools\DynDOLOD and select the DynDOLOD Resources file we just downloaded and install it as a mod and activate it.

At this point, load order isn't important but to keep things tidy place the resources file mod at the bottom of your load order.

Now is an appropriate time to talk about load order. There is much disagreement about where to place the output of these tools.

I can only say that I place them close to the bottom of the load order. I keep them in their own section.

Please use advice from those you trust, I don't have enough knowledge to make a strong recommendation, I can only report what works for me.

This the bottom of my load order (though it is followed by FISS output mods).

xLODGen Output
DynDOLOD Resources SE
TexGen Output
DynDOLOD Output

Housekeeping

Before we begin in earnest, we need to make sure no leftover files are hanging around that may interfere with this run.

In MO2, if you have any tool output mods from xLODGen, TexGen, or DynDOLOD left over from previous runs, deactivate and remove them.

If you have any old output files in your Modding Tools directories, including the raw textures and meshes and any zip archives, delete them.

INI File Settings

Make sure your SkyrimPrefs.ini has these values:

[TerrainManager]
fTreeLoadDistance=150000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=57344
fBlockLevel1Distance=147456
fBlockMaximumDistance=327680
fSplitDistanceMult=1.0000
bShowLODInEditor=1

Generate Terrain LOD

Install the Terrain LOD Resource file we downloaded earlier as a mod.
In MO2, click on Install Mod (the disk icon) and navigate to the Modding Tools\xLODGen folder.

Select the resource file we downloaded earlier and press OK.

Move the installed mod to the top of the load order, just below the game masters and activate it.

Launch xLODGen from within MO2.

When the Background Loader finishes, right-click in the left pane of xLODGen and Select All.



Make sure only the Terrain LOD box is checked. The Objects LOD, Trees LOD, and Occlusion boxes must not be checked.

In the Terrain LOD box, the dropdown list has an entry for each of the four LOD types.
We will be configuring each of them by selecting one of the LOD types from this list and entering parameters as shown in the below images.

Think of this screen as a series of four "pages". The active page is determined by the dropdown list. All of the settings for all four LOD types are collected and saved when we press the Generate button, and LOD files for all types will be generated.

Please note that these settings work for most game and hardware situations.
If you set xLODGen to use higher settings you may experience terrain texture tearing and other artifacts. Setting these settings to lower quality values will slightly impact visual quality with a negligible impact on performance.

In the Terrain LOD box, set the dropdown list to LOD4 and use these settings:



Set the dropdown list to LOD8 and use these settings:



Set the dropdown list to LOD16 and use these settings:



Set the dropdown list to LOD32 and use these settings:



Press the Generate button to start the process. This will take some time to complete.

When it is done, you will see a completion message in the log window:

[04:05] LOD generation complete

Close the log window with the X button at the top right, also closing xLODGen.

Now open an Explorer window and navigate to Modding Tools\xLODGen.

Your xLODGen_Output folder should now be populated with meshes and textures.

Right-click on the xLODGen_Output folder and compress the folder to a zip archive.

The exact mechanism for creating an archive varies from OS version to OS version and also depends on what compression tool you use. In any case, you should end up with an archive named "xLODGen_Output" with an appropriate file extension for your compression tool.

I use 7-Zip so my archive is named "xLODGen_Output.7z".

Now select Install Mod (the disk icon) in MO2 and install "xLODGen_Output.7z" as a mod and activate it.

Place it close to the bottom of your load order - it will be the first of the output mods in the order.

The guidelines for TexGen and DynDOLOD have changed with regard to the terrain resources. Remove this mod after running xLODGen and before running TexGen or DynDOLOD.

DynDOLOD will throw an error message if this file is in the load order when DynDOLOD is started.

Cached Grass

If you wish to add cached grass files (*.cgid) to your build, see this link for vital information:

https://stepmodifications.org/wiki/SkyrimSE:Grass_LOD_Guide

One note about the process... when it starts, a notification window will appear with an OK button.
Don't press it. In fact, don't interact with the game GUI at all until the process is complete.

You can press the tilde (~) key to invoke the console and monitor the progress there.

The game will crash probably several times during the build. This is normal, and the game will restart automatically. Again, don't touch the game until everything is done.

This takes quite a while, so be patient.

The resulting cache (.cgid) files will be placed in a "grass" folder in MO2's Overwrite folder.

Open Overwrite in a File Explorer window.
Open the No Grass In Objects mod in a File Explorer window.
Move the "grass" folder from Overwrite to NGIO.

Ignore the NetFramework entries in Overwrite, just delete them.

Generate TexGen

From the DynDOLOD help and info page:

TexGen is a tool which updates a select list of object LOD textures and tree/grass LOD billboards which are then used by DynDOLOD to create the final texture atlasses used by object LOD and tree LOD in the game.

The first time TexGen is started, some settings like the Base size, Units per pixel and the Max texture size are adjusted to the current game resolution as determined by the Prefs, Custom or Display Tweaks INI.

Once the Start button is clicked, the current settings are saved as a preset to ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\Presets\DynDOLOD_[GAME MODE]_TexGen_Default.ini for the next time TexGen is started.

That means we should have to pay close attention to these settings only once, they will be loaded again for the next run.

These are the settings I use. The tool authors strongly caution against using higher-than-recommended settings. That will significantly impact performance with no appreciable influence on graphic quality.

If you have generated grass cache files, check the Grass check box, otherwise leave it unchecked.

Use the setting corresponding to rendered game resolution:
1080p = HD, 1440p = QHD, 2160p = 4k

HD


QHD


4K


Start the generation. When it is complete, there will be a TexGen_Output folder in the DynDOLOD folder. Use the same compression and installation methods we used to install the Terrain Output mod to install the TexGen_Output as a mod. Activate it and move it to the appropriate place in the load order.

Generate DynDOLOD

Launch DynDOLOD from MO2. The first window to appear will be the Wizard.



Press the Advanced button to open the Advanced Mode



Right-click in the Worldspaces window and Select All.

Press the High button in the upper right.

Scroll the mesh rules window to the very bottom. The last two lines should be the tree rule and the root (/) rule.

Double-click the line with the tree rule and change the LOD Level 8 and LOD Level 32 rules as shown:



Press OK to save and close the tree rule window.

Double-click on the root (/) rule window and change the LOD Level 32 rule as shown:



Press OK to save and close the root rule window.

Note the new options for FarGrid and NearGrid references. If you are using the Large Reference Workaround (recommended), your options should match these.

Check the Grass LOD button if you have generated .cgid files with the grass cache function.

Once those rules are updated, your DynDOLOD window and parameters should look like this:



Carefully match all of the parameters to those shown.

Note that these settings work well for mid-to-high end machines.
It suits my laptop quite well but your mileage may vary.

Review the S.T.E.P help files for more info on DynDOLOD settings and you may find those work better for your needs if you experience stuttering or slowdown in your game.

Press the OK button to begin generating dynamic LOD. This will take a while.

Once DynDOLOD is finished a completion window appears. Press the Save & Exit button.

As we've done previously, create a compressed archive from the output folder DynDOLOD_Output and install it as a mod in MO2.

This will also install several plugins in the left pane of MO2. As a precaution (it shouldn't be necessary) right-click in the plugins window and Enable All plugins.

A note about the experimental Large Reference Bug Workaround mechanism. I don't plan to add instructions in this guide for implementing the workaround but if you wish to try it, please refer to Sheson's notes and guidelines on the issue here:

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Advanced-Mode#Upgrade-NearGrid-Large-References-to-FarGrid
https://dyndolod.info/Help/Mod-Configuration-Menu#Large-References-Fix
https://dyndolod.info/Help/Large-References
https://dyndolod.info/Help/Large-Reference-Bugs-Workarounds

Finishing up

One final step - remove that terrain resource mod we installed early in this guide.

Then sort your plugins with LOOT.

The processes are now all complete. You may start the game.

If you use Alternate Start - Live Another Life (recommended) then go ahead and configure your MCM and select a starting location.

If that location is an interior space, go outside.

Watch for a "DynDOLOD successfuly initialized" message in the upper left of the game window.

If you miss it or you think it didn't happen, check DynDOLOD in the MCM.

Go to a vista point and enjoy the view.

Have fun!

If something goes wrong

If any of these steps fail, it will need to be restarted but do the cleanup first. Make sure there are no leftover files from previous runs for the particular step that failed, and try it again.

If it still consistently fails, please do ask for help.
There are plenty of helpful individuals in the Steam forums and the S.T.E.P. forums.

ToDo List

Plans for future revisions or versions of this guide.

• A version that includes instructions for Vortex.

Changelog

1.0 - 04-24-22 - Add changelog and versioning.
1.1 - 04-24-22 - Add text detailing optional DynDOLOD settings.
1.2 - 04-15-23 - Revise guidelines for terrain resources and add notes about large reference bug workaround.
1.3 - 04-28-24 - Extensive revision detailing changes in the tools and configuration.

[Mephitic]

@ghawk802 - If I understand correctly, I think the answer is that it does matter. I haven't tried simply placing the texture and mesh folders in the mod manager. It might work, but then again it might not.

[ghawk802]

Does it matter if I have have the tuxture and meshes going into the xloggen output folder instead of a .zip fille

[Mephitic]

Thank you very much for your kind words Corinze.

The guide is in need of an update. The core is all good but the appearance of the tools has been updated and a few of the more esoteric choices need some explanation. I'll get to it this week,

[Corinze]

Meph it does get said enough, but your guide is a life and time saver. Thank You again for sharing your knowledge with us.

[Mephitic]

Very glad to hear it Rad1at!0nz and thank you. The guide is in need of update but I am happy it helped you. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Rad1at!0nz]

Finally got xLODGen to properly work from your guide, excellent!

[davidtbutler]

Deactivate your anti virus softwear before running these mods as you will get all sorts of vilations appearing, reactivate when complete

[Panopheles]

Wow. I didn't expect a reply. Thanks!

[Mephitic]

I'm sorry Panopheles but I'm not familiar with that mod - and in any case I wouldn't be able to help because the billboards are generated by TexGen or are included in the mod. Check the mod's description pages to see if there are billboards or instructions. Also read the DynDOLOD forums and the docs in the DynDOLOD distribution for more info on using 3D tree LODs. I have not addressed those in this guide because of the performance impact.

[Panopheles]

Hi, thanks for this guide. I'm prolly late to the party, but can I ask if you have a LOD guide for Nature of the Wilds? I'm using this guide to the letter, and I'm just not happy with my tree LODs in-game. They're 3D but the popins are still egregious.