lod0? lod1? lod2? lod3?

**Varian** · June 30, 2009, 08:38 PM

hey, im new to modelling, and i think im getting the hang of it. but i have a newbie question (i know wut the lod0, lod1, etc. is);

are the models different?? and if so, how?

plz reply for i am modelling humans for Warcraft:total war

heres a link to the thread
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=273449

**wilddog** · July 01, 2009, 01:24 AM

The models are essentially reducing in complexity (ie look at normal person at lod 0 v lod3 and most of the detail in the model disappears but when you view from anything other than close in you don't normally see enough difference to really notice it. You don't need to have them all you can just use lod0 if you want all models to have the same high detail. Dependent on how far out you view before they switch to a sprite it could cause some lag problems (mostly tied to sieges or large armies).

If you have one high lod and one low lod you can pretty much decide where the chanegover is (and it probably isn't very noticable anyway) and even extend the use of the lod's to delay the use of the sprites to much longer viewing distances).

**Varian** · July 01, 2009, 08:22 AM

so say i have a paladin_lod0.mesh can i just copy it and paste to make paladin_lod1.mesh?

**Triumvere** · July 01, 2009, 09:12 AM

You can if you want. But, you don't need to: if you want to use one model for all levels of detail, you can. Have one line for the model in the MDB and set the viewing range to 6400.

**Varian** · July 01, 2009, 09:16 AM

ah ok thx for that

**Bwian** · July 01, 2009, 09:57 AM

Personally, I ALWAYS make low detail lods for all my units. I am a firm believer in making sure that these things are done, as they really do lighten the load on a PC. Current trends mean the pro's do it still...so I do to.

Yes...you can make just one lod...and some modders do ... but I like to play with maximum numbers of units on a map, and test my mods so they work like that. Not doing the low detail lods is ( IMHO ) lazy.

**wilddog** · July 01, 2009, 11:23 AM

Yes I agree with Bwian I tend to make the different level lods (unless its for a leader as there is little real savings then) and of course you can extend the range out further if you wish to prevent the sprite coming in to early. For soem parts of the model I'llc arry them trhoguh to the lower lods thoguh rather than create reduced versions of them (ie mostly the body I reduce but the equipment I standardise across the lods.

I also figured out it was generally a waste of time creating lots of sprites. I pretty much settled on using one infantry and one cavalry. If you use mixed colours they don't tend to work too well.

**Varian** · July 02, 2009, 08:35 AM

thx guys, i have expanded my knowlegde of modelling and i also got my motivation back

**sumskilz** · July 12, 2009, 02:12 AM

Originally Posted by Triumvere

You can if you want. But, you don't need to: if you want to use one model for all levels of detail, you can. Have one line for the model in the MDB and set the viewing range to 6400.

This works better than multiple lod0s which can cause units to switch attachments as you zoom in and out.

**wilddog** · July 12, 2009, 04:22 AM

This works better than multiple lod0s which can cause units to switch attachments as you zoom in and out.

Only if you make a mistake with the attachments within each lod which is fairly easy to check and prevent.

**sumskilz** · July 12, 2009, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by wilddog

Only if you make a mistake with the attachments within each lod which is fairly easy to check and prevent.

I don't think it could be an attachments mistake when it was four copies of the exact same lod0 file. I know what you're talking about with multiple lods, but if you're going to use only one lod it's better to just have the one at 6400.

**makanyane** · July 12, 2009, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by sumskilz

I don't think it could be an attachments mistake when it was four copies of the exact same lod0 file. I know what you're talking about with multiple lods, but if you're going to use only one lod it's better to just have the one at 6400.

well yes, if the lods are the same thing & same size there is no point coding the model db as if it had multiple lods

we've got some quite major bits of unit (cloaks and shields) assigned to attachments textures and haven't noticed any switching (except when we've had errors in naming groups on the lower lods) - I have thought previously though that the switch between lod0 and 1 does make some subtle difference to how shadows and alpha's areas are rendered though... (?)

having a lod0 that goes a bit further out (you don't need to go a lot further before its hard to see difference) and reduced complexity lods, that go from there to further than vanilla sprite distance, seems like a good compromise for graphics v performance

**Musculus Maximus** · July 13, 2009, 11:24 AM

what is the simplest way to convert my lod0 to lod1 (whith less polygons)? i am using milkshape.

**wilddog** · July 13, 2009, 02:33 PM

Basically you need to replace some components of the model with something with less pixels. It depends how much redesign you've done. Normally the simplest things are the bodies; which if you look you'll also see that's essentially what CA did.