A LOD Question

hadotwe

Member
Hi, gents

Question:


I have a main mesh, a annex as mesh and a labelling as mesh.

The Labeling can be turned on or off using script.

All mesh have three LOD levels.


How must the 'config.txt' look like ?

All three are standard .im's - scenery objects.

I'm a bit confused about the different LOD behaviour.

regards hadotwe
 
kuid:86627:100512 uses a mesh table, the recommended method for scenery. The other method is to use an lm.txt file.

Cheerio John
 
kuid:86627:100512 has LOD, but the model only has one "part". Hadotwe's scenery model has 3 separate parts, each with their own set of LOD meshes. So the question is; what should the config for such multi-part models look like?

I searched for existing examples amongst bendorsey's assets because I know he made a lot of multi-part models. Unfortunately (despite huge poly-counts) I don't think he ever did an LOD. So I haven't been able to find an example.

My intuitive guess is that the mesh-table would simply list every mesh, each with its own unique sub-container heading, auto-create 1 and lod-level tags. And of course, an appropriate tag to specify the total number of levels or transitions, depending on which trainz-build the asset has.


.
 
@ D. R.
That's right. That's exactly how I asked.
I will try tomorrow with default-lod0 to lod2 , annex-lod0 to lod2 and interlocking-name-lod0 to lod2.
And the tag "mesh-detail-level-count 9".
Am curious how it behaves with the small script.
The script actually only switches the name of the interlocking on or off-.
Actually I wanted to make the annex turn on and off as well.
The user should decide that too. But unfortunately I can not extend this script myself without knowledge.
Thank you again.
I'll get back to you if it works or not.
Greetings
Herbert
 
And the tag "mesh-detail-level-count 9".


I suspect that this tag should probably have a value of 3 not 9, because it is telling trainz how many different levels of detail there are, not how many meshes.

Normally the number of levels and meshes is the same, because there is only 1 part in the model, but in a multi-part model (or even a 1-part model with nightmode), the numbers of levels and meshes are not always the same.

I'm really not sure what the correct value of mesh-detail-level-count should be if the mesh parts have different numbers of LOD levels. My guess is that it should equal the maximum number of levels in any part.

My brain hurts to think that much, and even more to predict what a script will do, but I will be very interested in your results.



[Admin comment: I think this thread belongs in the Content Creation Support forum, not here in TCCP].


.
 
Last edited:
I usually have my object with a base mesh calling other meshes through attachment points. As the called meshes are lod's I learn to not use LOD on the base mesh to avoid an odd "scaling down" of the attached meshes lods
 
@ Robert


Thanks for Your tip.

At the beginning I had thought about it. But I don't know how to switch an attachment on or off using a script.


Before Your tip I wrote the following without reading Your tip:

I have created three LOD levels for each of the three meshes.

So, the tag "mesh-detail-level-count 9" calls the error : "VE215: Asset has an invalid number of LODs: 9".

I can kind of understand that. I set it down to 3. Now it was accepted. But I can't tell if the LOD levels are displayed
correctly...

The script does not work anymore - however no errors are displayed.

It is probably because in the script as submesh "name" is specified and in the "config.txt" now "name-lod0" , "name-lod1" and
"name-lod2" is entered.

With the script the signal tower name should be able to be switched off, because not every trainzer can/will place it. For historical
reasons the name is written in gothic script like in original in 3D-Letters and has accordingly many polies (939).

Unfortunately I don't know how the script or the config.txt must be changed, that everything works.

The object will probably not be able to be sent to DLS....

Herbert (hadotwe)
 
Last edited:
The LOD for the two objects now works.
Except the LOD for the name.
I now leave the name at 939 polygon and take the warning.
Found that N3V adds up all the polygon lowest LODs - plus the polygons of the lettering. In total 1691.
That's too much !?
But allowing a skeleton with over 14000 polies is okay?


Now I would only need to know with which TextureFormat to send the interlocking to the DLS.


I can upload it with *.tga files - so as always.
Or: I use compressed *.png files this time which work fine for me in TRS22.


What do you think?
Greetings
Herbert
 
The LOD for the two objects now works.
Except the LOD for the name.
I now leave the name at 939 polygon and take the warning.
Found that N3V adds up all the polygon lowest LODs - plus the polygons of the lettering. In total 1691.
That's too much !?
But allowing a skeleton with over 14000 polies is okay?


Now I would only need to know with which TextureFormat to send the interlocking to the DLS.


I can upload it with *.tga files - so as always.
Or: I use compressed *.png files this time which work fine for me in TRS22.


What do you think?
Greetings
Herbert

It depends on the version number you are using for the upload. If TS22 then Trainz converts whatever your images are into it's own internal compressed format.

Cheerio John
 
Back
Top