My lod doesn't work ingame

#1 If it works in the model viewer it should work in the engine as well.. So that's where the problem is, most likely.. In the engine.. Some obscure setting maybe.

#2 Ruben, would you enclose the URL inside [url][/url] tags? It's easier for us to get the file.

#3 Come on guys.... any of you had this before? I mean its showing just fine in the showtool, but doesn't do a thing ingame. What is (or could be) causing this behavior?

#4 I've noticed the same thing with the LODs I have created. They work fine in the show tool but they do not work when they are in the game. Has anyone found out why?

#5 Do they work fine in the showtool when you have it autoselect LOD?

#6 It is showing in the show tool??

Are you sure that your LOD isn't just so well-done that it isn't noticable at the size at which it switches?

#7 No... what happens is it works in the show tool and not ingame.

Now, today we tested something. We exported the models from the bravetree tree pack, and we noticed something strange. The dts that comes with the pack works ingame and in the showtool. The one we export only works in the showtool. So, I think the problem is the max exporter itself. It's a max 5 exporter. Is there an official version of this tool somewhere out there? I wasn't able to find any. If it really is the Max 5 exporter screwing up, then how come no one noticed it? No one using LOD?

#8 Would it be possible to get a copy of the DTS?

#9 The lod works in the showtool when i use the slider
but i doesnt with "auto detail using distance"

here can u find the file users.pandora.be/rubbish/tree.rar

i use max5.1 with the max4 max2dts
also tested with max5_2dts, same problem

#10 What I have found is that the Auto Detail indicates that the LOD change has occured but the distance the change occurs at is so far away, that I and others can not see the change.

#11 What pixel sizes are you doing LOD at? (I'll take a look when I get max re-installed in a bit)

#12 The art I have done for testing purpose is
600, 500, 400, 300, 2

Each of the objects are a different shape and color to allow for easy viewing.

#13 Interesting range there...

#14

Quote:
The detail level markers indicate to the exporter what detail is to be drawn at a given distance. The number corresponds to the pixel size in the game engine at which the shape will draw with these meshes.

E.g., if you have markers named 'detail2' and 'detail36', then when the size is 36 or greater the shape would be drawn with the highest detail level. When the size is between 2 and 36 it would be drawn with the lower detail level ending with the number 2, and when the size was less than 2 nothing would draw.

I'm guessing in-game you are seeing mostly the 2 shape? For a model to be 300 pixel's big you'd have to be pretty close. At some resolutions you might not even see a 600 pixel shape...

#15 The only shape I'm seeing is at res 600. It does not go to the other LODs. When I use the detail controls and manually swithc them, the appear correctly. It seems that the distance the LOD is suppose to appear at is not working in the auto mode or ingame for us.

The res, I used was for the purpose of seeing if the LODs would work. The actual LODs are set at a much lower res.

(note: Ruben David's model is not the one I'm referring to. He seems to be having the same issue)

#16 But the LODs show up if you use the detail controls... hmm. weirder and weirder. Are you using an unmodified build of Torque? What version?

#17 I dont know what version we use (my friend told me it was a "head" version, 2 months old, or something)
but the lod works ingame for the trees i didn't export myself
the lod of the models i exported myself only work in the showtool with the slider
i tried the max5 and max4 exporter(using max5.1), same result

pixel size 400 is a tree
pixel size 200 is a sphere
i only see the 400 lod


is there anyone who can export my model the right way and tell me how he did it
maybe there is something wrong with my model, but i dont think so because we couldnt export the trees from the treepack either

#18 Could someone just download Ruben's file and take a look at how its setup and what is wrong. I mean I keep on hearing about the same problem from lots of people. Or they are all making the same mistake, or there's something wrong with the exporter.

#19 Quick question.. have you tried the unmessdts utility?

#20 I'm having a similar issue .. the items in my game are set with detail levels _35 and _65 and they auto-select the lower LOD (the one designed for distance) when in-game. I'm going to try an experiment and change the numbers to 2 and 35.

Result: Yup, that works - AND it also makes the env map make it all chromey and shiney from a decent distance. :)

Hmm.. how odd, works for the chalice, but not the key - the chalice is bigger. Maybe they have to be tailored a bit? I'll look into it

Hm, if I set the key's meshes to 16 and 3, it's better.. but I'm gonna run out of numbers.. why are they so different tho.. the objects are about the same size..

At 1 and 10 it's about livable.. but I still have no idea why it is like this.

Additional Data: in the showtool, I just discovered the "set by distance" ticker, and I try it. Both items work, and here are the results I get:

Chalice:
size 19 to 10, distances 17 to 33 it is detail level:0, detail size: 10
at size 10 and lower, distance 34 it becomes detail level 1, detail size: 1

Key:
size 23-10, distance 14-34, detail level is 0, detail size: 10
sizes 10 < , distance 34 +, detail level is 1, detail size: 1

I dunno if that helps