See high LOD from a greater distance?

dght64

Member
I've noticed that on some of the trains I run (steam locos) the wheels, piston rods, etc. are only animated if you zoom in close. A few notches on the mouse wheel out, and it looks like the loco is magically sliding down the tracks. I'm not even zoomed out that far -- I'm in "train following" camera mode and if I rotate around to the side, I can see the loco + about the first 3 or 4 cars, which isn't much.

I think this is because it's switching to a lower level of detail for performance reasons.

My computer is a quite new high-end gaming system, so it shouldn't have any trouble handling higher LOD from a greater zoom distance. I've already put all the settings to max, but they didn't make any difference -- the wheel still stop spinning if I zoom out.

So, is there a way to make it use the higher LOD from greater distance? Or is this because of something else and I'm misinterpreting it?
 
lm.txt has the lod settings in it so push the numbers up on your system so the change is further out. When a content creator creates they don't know how powerful the machine that will be used is so they can be a bit conservative sometimes.

Cheerio John
 
Where, might I ask, is lm.txt? Is it somewhere in the Program Files / N3V Games / Trainz A New Era folder? I looked around and found driver.lm.txt buried in resources / builtin / base / content / kuid -25 1010, is that it?
 
The LM.TXT files are to be found in the asset. i.e. if you open the asset for edit (in explorer) then you will see it if the asset uses one. It's a plain text file and the various settings are discussed in this WiKi page. The LOD changes are based on a percentage of the screen width.

Level of Detail is a complex issue as there are several systems in place including a new one introduced with TRS19. That one can be used in conjunction with another making it more complex.

What you are seeing is the point where the asset author has decided to disable the animated mesh and replace it with a low poly mesh with inanimate wheels and drivers (steam running gear).

There were some bugs with animation in some early versions of TANE but I thought they were all resolved.
 
Oooohhhhh... so I have to change each asset individually? That presents a couple of issues:

- Many of the assets are payware.
- The lm.txt files I find are scrambled when I open them (a jumble of weird symbols like I opened a file type in the wrong kind of program. And yes, it's a Windows PC and I'm using Notepad to open the files). (is that because they're payware?)

So there isn't a single system-wide setting to extend the LOD range?
 
- Many of the assets are payware.
- The lm.txt files I find are scrambled when I open them (a jumble of weird symbols like I opened a file type in the wrong kind of program. And yes, it's a Windows PC and I'm using Notepad to open the files).
You mostly can't edit payware. That's been the case for a very long time.

If the lm.txt file is scrambled then you might be trying to edit payware, built-in or base assets, or you might be accessing the incorrect lm file.

The distances that are used for LOD depend on several factors, although the asset itself has the greatest effect. If you already have your display settings maxed out then there is nothing additional you can do.
 
There is "Detail update rate" in settings but I don't believe it relevant. You could try.

You might try loading one of those locos in Preview Asset. Preview Asset has the ability to show lower level LOD meshes close up by changing the view distance in the menu. You start Preview Asset by selecting the asset in CM and pressing Ctrl Shift R.

That won't solve your problem but you can determine at what distance, in metres, that the LOD level changes.
 
..
The distances that are used for LOD depend on several factors, although the asset itself has the greatest effect. If you already have your display settings maxed out then there is nothing additional you can do.

I agree, but it begs the question of whether the user should be able to manage LOD change distances through a global control. Currently, LM.TXT LOD is based on screen width but you could add a factor to that.

BTW, I recall trying to match LOD changes in my models to my screen width and couldn't see any correlation at all. It doesn't appear to be linear.
 
I'm with pcas1986 on this matter - it would be great to be able to set - and apply - your preferences at a global level for LOD.
Some of the inaccessible and unmodifiable LOD choices made for built-ins and payware are execrable and poorly suited to users with high-end hardware and high resolution monitors.
We see too often the running gear, bogies, and locomotive details disappearing from locos at relatively close range due to lousy LOD transition settings.
Poor & shimmering delineation of loco/wagon lettering is also a major issue.
 
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