LOD problem?

[LordHornswoggle]

I seem to be having a problem with objects in the environment. I can see cacti, bushes, trees, grass, buildings, creatures and NPC's that are 1000 yards away, but closer objects (with the exception of creatures and NPC's) won't appear until I'm 10 yards away from them, and then they pop up out of nowhere. I have the graphics set to ultra, so I can't really understand why that happens. I'm running the game on 2x GTX 470 SLi, Core i-7 950, 12GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, I would think that could handle this game readily. Is there any way to fix this problem? I have changed power settings for my cards to max performance for NV, tried the d3d9.dll thing (which incidentally still showed up as GTX 470), tried default and tweaked .ini files, tried low, medium and high graphics settings, tried turning off AA and AF. FPS will drop from 60 to as low as 25 when all of the textures start popping up causing periodic crashes, it doesn't happen in interior cells, and it didn't happen at all in Dead Money.

 

Files: FalloutNV.esm, Ambient Temperature.esm, Dead Money.esm, CaravanPack.esm, Inventory Access.esm, IWS-Core.esm, ELECTRO-CITY - CompletedWorkorders.esm, ELECTRO-CITY - Highways and Byways.esm, DarNifiedUINV.esp, HUD Extended - Ambient Temperature.esp, Portable Tent.esp, UHNV.esp, YangtzeBunkerPlayerHomeV1_5.esp, PerkEveryLevel.esp, NewVegasBounties.esp, IWS-Core-Patrols.esp, IWS-Core_Guards.esp, IWS-Core_Civilians.esp, IWS-AS-HighSpawns.esp, M82.esp, Companion SandboxMod.esp, Bullet Impact Increased LOD.esp, Jump Fall Fixer.esp, Fellout.esp, friendofthenightforfellout.esp, ELECTRO-CITY - Inventory Sorters Compatibility Patch - RegularCATEYEvalue.esp, ELECTRO-CITY - Imaginator.esp, Cannabis.esp, A New Weapon House.esp, Jetpack.esp, The New Bison Steve Hotel.esp

Edited March 13, 2011 by Lord Hornswoggle

[RealmEleven]

I think I may have an idea what the LOD problem might be related to. I noticed the number of mods you are running and, as I am currently developing a mod of my own, I'm painfully aware of the fact that distant LOD doesn't always render the way I would like it to. Some objects in the game cannot be flagged to appear at a distance, and even those that can won't do so until the LOD is regenerated. Unlike Oblivion, in Fallout: New Vegas this is both a complex process in human terms and an extremely time-consuming process for the machine. It would not surprise me if half the modders out there simply can't regenerate LOD because, for many, it isn’t practical to run a computer unattended for the amount of time necessary or buy an extra, dedicated machine that does nothing but mesh decimation. By way of example as to why it is impractical to run computers on the open grid unattended for long periods of time, I can say this: I had to wait six hours before plugging in my computer today, because doing so during an electrical storm is just begging for silicon fries - and there's not a surge arrestor in the world that can filter a nearby direct hit on the grid - that's just plain stubborn physics for you.

 

Having considered this, you may find that deactivating certain mods (one at a time) diminishes the problem, although I'm not entirely convinced that there's nothing wrong with your setup. Seeing as you've committed yourself to the d3d9.dll activity, I'd make sure my virus scanner can get an update and scan the entire system for viruses. You may have to reinstall your virus scanner, in which case I'd recommend rolling back the operating system to a state prior to the virus scanner update failure and start over from there without taking your advice from potential black-hats. In my experience, at least half of the so-called "technical" advice that involves replacing files that normally ship with a package is from black-hats trying to trick you into helping them hack into your system. Moreover, the only time I ever saw the d3d9.dll failure firsthand was on a "honeypot" which, according to AVG, had snagged a hit from a hacker using the Win32/Heur virus. That lends me the nasty paranoid suspicion that the "missing d3d9.dll file" popup is just a ruse on the part of an infected file that cannot get a required dll file into the appropriate location all by itself - and yes, some of the most experienced IT people in the world are totally clueless when it comes to security and websites, so don't be surprised when major companies get hacked. Just consider the number of over-certified ning-nongs who are still writing software that places editable files in application directories instead of the “my documents” or “application data” directories. It is just so last century and yet some of the most "qualified" project managers in the world are letting gorillas in the chimpanzee troop like this slip right past their noses.

 

All in all, a package you download from ATI is always going to be safer than a component you download from “dll-Files” or some such. But at the end of the day, you are the one that has to verify the facts that other people present you with. Don't just take my word for it, or anyone-else's. Consider the fact that you don't know me, and even people you know well and admire can make mistakes – it’s part of being human. Nietsche wrote from bitter experience in Ecce Homo. I think that the rest of us can profit from it.

 

So getting back on topic: Assuming everything checks out, I'd run a thorough disc scan, if you haven't already. It can take a few hours but the bad sector you miss today is guaranteed to crash your operating system within 6 months - and by "crash", I mean failure to start, not just involuntary termination. Then you have to go through all this again, and I have to say that I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. So far, what I’ve suggested probably won't fix the specific problem, but it will keep an entire horde of nasty side issues from complicating what comes next. When you are chasing software/configuration bugs, you can't afford to be wondering if there are hardware problems or whether a virus is at work. That's why I think it best to chase off the bad disk sectors and viruses first (AVG is my personal favourite when it comes to anti-virus programs), and then, when you see a behavioural deviation in the program, you can say for certain that it is either the program or the program’s configuration.

 

Experience has dictated to me that, when adding mods to any game, it has to be done in tiny, baby steps. It just isn't practical to dump everything together et voila! It all works. That only happens in the movies (where everyone concerned has never seen a computer in real life) and on rare military grade (e.g. Honeywell) computers - not on the kind of x86/x64 rubbish which has been "Holier than Thou" since its inception. And, by “Holier than Thou” I mean hole-ier than a sniper who’s been spotted.

 

I think that it's best to start with a clean game installation and back up the game directory of your clean installation once you get it completely up to date via Steam and it is working with a fresh new character (not one of your savegames because this probably won't work without all the mods running). I think it better to have your backups burned to DVD so you can overwrite the game directory in a timely manner every time something you add screws up the game. From here you can begin to add and test the mods you want one at a time. I'm hammering this one at a time approach because it has saved me a lot of headaches and what it has allowed me to do with mods was well worth the investment of my own time. It is also worth backing up to DVD every time you get something new working properly with everything else because I'd bet the time you put into this is worth a lot more that the cost of a couple dozen blank DVDs.

 

I suggest that you start with the mods that are most important to you and test each mod for the things you expect from the game. It might be a good idea to make a checklist and check it off every time you test. Consult your checklist to make sure that you do not add anything new until you are 100% satisfied with the behaviour of the game (subject to the limitations of what isn't added yet). This way, you'll find out where the problems are creeping in - and this gives you a much better chance of finally reaching your objective. Not all mods play nicely together (even some of the ones that can be re-ordered to co-operate by the Fallout Mod Manager) and some mods are simply not as documented. If you find any like that (i.e. disappointingly or suspiciously contrary to documentation in any major area), get rid of them quickly because, believe me when I say that, you do not need the headaches that come with any form of misinformation.

 

Getting to one of the other problems you mention, those FPS losses look suspiciously mod-related; specifically, like something that has moved or inserted objects without subsequently updating the nav-mesh. An issue that doesn't appear in the documentation for the GECK is the fact that if a modder is unable to add an object to a cell without corrupting the file and subsequently chooses add the object to a more tolerant cell and move the object using a script during gameplay - the only stable destinations available for such moves are in nav-mesh shadows (i.e. "holes" in the nav-mesh where actors aren't supposed to go) so that you don't get covered edges interfering with actor navigation "AI". This kind of interference from nav-mesh partially obscured by introduced or moved static objects is not only notorious, but can be overlooked just as easily by old hands as by those of us who are still monkeying our way up the steep learning curve that comes with the territory. Sometimes modders also just plonk objects in and forget to check the nav-mesh. I can think of at least one and he is presently writing this reply! I’ve heard it said that such modders should be fired. I’d support that notion but for the rather small detail that modders don’t get paid to make mods, so it boils down to people donating their time in the context of whatever “good cause” happens to make their dogs bark. Can you see just how complicated this can make things?

 

Upgrading your computer or reinstalling the operating system is a very big job and it never gets done properly in just one day. Try not to demolish your computer with a super-sledge-hammer before you fix it, and don't let the demands of the infernal machine deprive you of meals or sleep. I can say from my own bitter experience that it doesn't help you find out what is going on if you don't simply walk away occasionally and deliberately focus on something else - like the flavours in a nice tasty espresso or some sautéd tomatoes and capsicums. What can I say? Good luck!

 

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Tim

RealmEleven

[LordHornswoggle]

Only thing I can think it is is mod-related. I scan every file I download, I run a full scan every few days, I've run chkdsk, defrag after every mod install. My comp is less than 2 months old, home-built, all of my drivers and virus defs are up to date. The d3d9.dll was just a test. I never have this problem with Oblivion or Fallout 3, and I have way more mods installed for those two games than I've ever had on New Vegas. I'll start deactivating mods to see if I can get the problem fixed.

[RealmEleven]

Please, watch your back. Based on the, ahh, "tone" of the online chatter I've been monitoring in some of the security-related forums, this quarter seems to be a particularly risky time to be online. There are far too many identified threats where the remedy is not consistent from provider to provider. That means there is something going on that the security folk don't fully understand and that is never good news.

 

I'm glad to hear you're doing a full scan of your computer every few days. At the moment, that's a very good idea.

 

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Tim

RealmEleven