Distant scenery looks like a checker board

[autodctr]

Maybe I am not doing correctly or I am expecting too much, but distant rock textures look like a checker board from a distance. When you get closer to them, they magically morph into what you would like them to look like. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal?

 

[1611mac]

This is "LOD" - Level Of Detail. To reduce graphics demands on the computer (graphic card), items are made with different "levels of detail." The closer you get the more detail is rendered (drawn.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_detail_(computer_graphics)

And from the Wiki: https://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Level_of_Detail

When far enough away you won't see some items at all. This is the "Draw Distance."

 

[autodctr]

So, pretty much you are telling me that it is normal and to live with it? I can do that. Just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something simple. Thanks!

 

[JAGG]

The surface can't be covered by one big texture, it is technically impossible, that is why squared size limited texture is used repeatedly on all the area instead. If that texture is not seamless enough (which is rather difficult to make for vegetation or rocks for example), checkerboard effect might appear...

 

[1611mac]

So, pretty much you are telling me that it is normal and to live with it? I can do that. Just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something simple. Thanks!

Have you played with graphic settings? Maybe you can improve it a bit through settings. Keep the in game settings of "scenery detail" "tree detail" high (Video settings) then if you need to bump them down do so first with settings on the launch panel. And just experiement with different settings.

You could also provide a screen shot and see if others are seeing what you are seeing... just for a sanity check.

 

[autodctr]

I AM NOT INSANE!!!!! I asked the voice in my head and he agrees!

This is a rock texture that I see the checkerboard. At about 6 bases away, it is just light brown. Getting to about 3-4 bases away, the checker board appears where the light brown used to be. Getting 2-3 bases away, the texture appears how I want it to look. So, I will just live with it. Not a big deal, but if there was a way to fix it, I would do it.

 

[JCitron]

I AM NOT INSANE!!!!! I asked the voice in my head and he agrees!

This is a rock texture that I see the checkerboard. At about 6 bases away, it is just light brown. Getting to about 3-4 bases away, the checker board appears where the light brown used to be. Getting 2-3 bases away, the texture appears how I want it to look. So, I will just live with it. Not a big deal, but if there was a way to fix it, I would do it.

With textures, it has to do with how they're made and what scale is used to place them. If this isn't a seamless texture, then you're going to get the carpet effect of small squares covered with the texture. This same affect can occur with seamless textures as well if the texture was placed down with a very small scale. I noticed that this occurs when a texture is used to cover a blank baseboard. The user has to be aware of this and ensure that the scale is set high enough so that there are fewer breaks in the texture coverage, and that the right textures is used.

 

[autodctr]

I have tried making the texture squares larger and smaller, rotating them individually. and even mixing different textures. Always ends up the same, so I guess that is "normal" and I will just live with it. Thanks for all the replies!