As explained in How LOD works, LOD meshes and textures and consequently the DynDOLOD and Occlusion patch plugins are a snap shot of the load order at generation time. If the load order changes, the LOD patch may become outdated and might need to be updated. This is simply how the engine and modding the game works, regardless which tools were used to generate the LOD patch or patch plugins in general.
New DynDOLOD Version / Generate from Scratch
Always use the latest versions. See Downloads.
There is no requirement to generate LOD again just because the DynDOLOD Standalone or DynDOLOD Resources was updated. It depends on the nature of the updates, if generating new LOD is desired. Check the Changelog.
1. Before Updating
- Make a clean save.
If the changelog lists updates to the papyrus scripts for PapyrusUtil or DynDOLOD DLL, a clean save is also required before removing the old DynDOLOD Resources or DynDOLOD DLL scripts and installing the new versions.
2. Update DynDOLOD Installation
Skip this step if the DynDOLOD installation if there are no updates and to just generate a new LOD patch from scratch.
- Rename the DynDOLOD Standalone folder, for example from C:\Modding\DynDOLOD to C:\Modding\DynDOLOD.old
- Unpack the new DynDOLOD Standalone using the same original installation path. Make sure that it is empty and does not contain any old files. See Installation Instructions.
- If desired, copy the contents of the folder that contains the settings of the last generation and the custom presets ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\Presets\, for example from C:\Modding\DynDOLOD.old\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\Presets\ to C:\Modding\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\Presets\
- If desired, reapply any customized INI settings. Open the old and new ..\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\[DynDOLOD|TexGen]_[GAME MODE].ini in notepad++ to compare to make sure to not accidentally remove any new INI Settings. If the Changelog does not mention any new or changed INI settings, the old INI can typically just be copied in case any settings were customized.
- Install any new version of DynDOLOD Resources, replace the old version.
- Install any new version of DynDOLOD DLL as required, replace the old version.
- Install any new version of DynDOLOD Patches as required, replace the old versions.
Always install DynDOLOD Standalone into a new or empty folder. Always replace old DynDOLOD Resources.
Typically do not use DynDOLOD Resources that have a higher version with output made with a lower DynDOLOD Standalone version. The DynDOLOD Standalone version should match or be higher than the used DynDOLOD Resources version.
3. Update the TexGen and DynDOLOD Output
If updating of the TexGen output or DynDOLOD output is desired for a new DynDOLOD version, typically generate and update from scratch:
- Remove or backup old TexGen output, old DynDOLOD output
- Run TexGen and install its output as explained on the generation instructions.
- Run DynDOLOD and install its output as explained on the generation instructions.
In case any of the updating instructions below are unsuccessful, also generate from scratch.
New or Updated Mods or Plugins
If new mods or plugins are added or updated to the load order, it might be possible to update the existing TexGen output or DynDOLOD output without having to do the entire generation from scratch.
There is no hard requirement to generate LOD again just because a new mod is installed or an existing mod is updated. Update or generate LOD from scratch in case visual issues or problems are noticed.
If a plugin is added or updated it is possible that there are new conflicts which require solving. This can either be manual conflict resolution or updating or generating LOD from scratch.
- In case a new mod only updates textures or tree full models (and grass full models in case grass LOD is used) relevant to LOD, remove old TexGen output, then use TexGen to generate new output and install it as usual. Start DynDOLOD in expert mode, select all or only the affected worldspaces and click the Rebuild Atlas button to update the atlas textures. Then install the DynDOLOD output, overwriting the existing DynDOLOD output.
- In case a new mod only updates object LOD models or full models used for object LOD (including ultra tree LOD), use the Execute LODGen button of the expert mode to generate the new object LOD. Then install the DynDOLOD output, overwriting the existing DynDOLOD output.
- In case a new mod contains a plugin that adds new objects to a worldspace or a new worldspace, start DynDOLOD with the existing DynDOLOD output in the load order. The existing DynDOLOD plugins need to load after any other plugins of the same type (e.g. DynDOLOD.esm after the highest priority ESM, DynDOLOD.esp with the highest priority possible). In case Occlusion.esp exists, it needs to load after DynDOLOD.esp. Select the worldspaces affected by the plugin and generate LOD as usual. Then install the DynDOLOD output, overwriting the existing DynDOLOD output. This might not carry forward all changes made to existing worldspace or cell records made by new plugins. In that case resolve conflicts by manually forwarding conflicting records or consider generating from scratch.
Removed Mods or Plugins
DynDOLOD generates a LOD patch for the current load order and like any other patch, the LOD patch also only works and looks correctly for the load order it was generated for. Only mods or plugins that are not part of the LOD patch can truly be removed without having to generate a new LOD patch. Unfortunately it is not always that obvious why or how a mod or plugin interacts with the LOD patch.
DynDOLOD and the Occlusion plugins contain data from other plugins, even if the source plugins for those records are not always masters in the DynDOLOD or Occlusion plugin. If in doubt or if there are any visual issues, generate DynDOLOD and Occlusion from scratch for the new load order.
If a removed plugin is a master in a DynDOLOD plugin and Occlusion.esp, generate from scratch as explained above.
If a removed plugin is a master in Occlusion.esp only or not a master in any of the plugins, follow the instructions to update existing DynDOLOD plugins and Occlusion.esp in the new mods or plugins section above.
Changed Priority of Mods or Plugins
Note that especially tree LOD easily breaks visually if the plugin load order priority changes. In case of stuck tree LOD in active exterior cells, follow the instructions to update existing DynDOLOD plugins and Occlusion.esp in the new mods or plugins section above, but only check to generate tree LOD for a quick update. Install the DynDOLOD output, overwriting the existing DynDOLOD output.
If the load order priority of mods or plugins changes and there are visual discrepancies afterwards, follow the instructions to update existing DynDOLOD plugins and Occlusion.esp in the new mods or plugins section above.