Mad Coder/Modder seeks Mad Graphics Artist for Mad Project

[Cyberlazy]

Hi. I am working on a project involving level of detail terrain for fallout new vegas. I have a way to add tens of thousands of instances of under used objects to the game and I have figured out how to do LOD generation.

 

Problem is, Now I need LOD models. It seems the game is not really happy with just copying over existing models and calling them lod models, they need to be in a certain format in the .nif file.

 

Better yet, it would be great if they actually where low poly models so it uses less GPU and everyone can enjoy it.

 

Alas, I am not a graphics artist. So I post today seeking one. I need someone willing to make 10~30 new low detail models of vanilla assets and maybe some of vurts wasteland overhaul models if he gives permission. Low detail as in using new smaller textures and only a few hundred polygons.

 

If this mod is successful, the terrain in fallout should look MUCH more interesting, populated with trees and cactus, Both near and far.

 

What will I be doing? I will be editing the esp files to add thousands of new tree/plant instances, as well as setting existing ones up to be visible when distant.

 

I also am writing a program to enable the LOD texture atlas to be expanded. This is why so many of the LOD objects look so low quality.

 

I have experience editing .nif files and can help with that, but I just can't model.

 

Heres a quick example of what it would look like, except with many more types of trees/cactus/etc.

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/images/2955438-1338181095.jpg

Edited May 29, 2012 by Cyberlazy

[rockygohard18]

Awesome Cyber I know I can't run anything like this the LOD is insane.good luck tho this outta make a lot of people happy.

[Cyberlazy]

Actually, I was amazed I could not notice any FPS change at all, No stuttering either. those LOD trees are very low poly (400~) compared to the 10,000+ poly of a near tree, adding that many objects only increases the generated LOD size by 100% indicating there already is a LOT of lod data (those thousands of large rocks in the distance, Mainly)

 

You can also tune how far LOD items show up independently of near items, if done right you might be able to tune down your graphics settings, get objects appearing further away and get an increase in FPS by displaying less near items.

 

This project is expanding in scope. I think I have figured out a way to make the LOD atlas of fallout even bigger. Although I will need to code a new program.

 

This means no more blurry josha trees, Less pop-up, More far details, Higher resolution textures on LOD objects, All at very low CPU/gpu cost and so far it seems very stable.

 

It seems to me the only reason the LOD system was not extensively used was the limitations of the consoles the game had to be ported to.

 

I am now also looking for texture artists interested in making higher resolution textures for the existing LOD objects.

 

Update: Apon further testing I have found a hard limit of 2megs (Aprox 32k triangles) per lod cell file. This means I will absolutely need LOD models as just copying existing models totaly overloads the engine and causes areas LOD to be droped.

 

Again, I need low quality, low poly models that just look close to existing models. You don't need to be a super detailed modeler, just a dedicated one as I would like to add LOD models for a number of objects (Cars, poles, etc)

 

That said, the average lod cell file is 400k in the game, meaning as it stands fallout only uses 1/5th its LOD engines capacity!

The stand in models shown in the above screen shot are 10k each, hence the game is able to put about 200 of them per 4x4 cell area (I believe thats the limit..)

 

The typical tree is 2000~10000 polys. An lod model is typically around 200 polys meaning that while the above looks impressive, most of those trees only take 1/10th to 1/50th the amount of GPU to display as a close up tree.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Cyberlazy

[Cyberlazy]

Another image for you guys: http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/images/2955438-1338481445.jpg

 

Its the wasteland with more joshua trees. vanilla LOD.

Edited May 31, 2012 by Cyberlazy