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3ds max LOD help

T

thompson_22@hotmail.co.uk

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unitedkingdom
hi there im fluent with 3ds max 9 very well and on 3ds max 7 too. prefer version 9 though for the query. whatis ment by the LOD tool i dont know how to use it i have a model i have created i know i have to give it a LOD but dont know how to do it any suggestions please i have read the sdk for fsx 2 times over it still doesnt make sense to me.:confused:
 
Hi,

The LODAndName tool does not actually make your levels of detail, it is just a tool to help you to work with the different levels more easily.

The Modelling SDK does contain some information about how to work with it. It allows you to quickly switch all parts of a certain LOD on or off, making it easier to work with them.

The process of making the reduced detail parts for your LODs is indeed not described in the SDK, but that is an artistic process, like the modelling itself :).
 
Oh thanks,

So LODAndName can be used also like layers.
But how can I 'group' my objects into a LODs?
 
The LOD tool will do it for you as long as you name the objects properly. Most importantly, link them to a dummy object with the object's name like this
(the first one is a dummy):
_________________
model
model_LOD_100
model_LOD_40
model_LOD_10
_______________
 
As an alternative to linking to a dummy LOD, you could try this method.

This was written for FS2004, and GMAX, but works for FSX and 3DS. The only thing I can think of with FSX is that I don't think that empty LODs work -- I tend to replace them with very basic (single-plane) LODs.

And I do think that LOD names need a three digit number, so a leading zero or two may be required.
 
EssieP I use your way and Verify tool says:
#("This model has only one LOD with too many polygons!")
So I think that I made it, right?

toprob
Thanks for the tutorial I will study it tomorow.
 
It is important within FSX that you use dummy objects strictly for animations , for any visibility conditions use a cube as a control node.
 
EssieP said:
I'd like to use the terminology found in fsxsdk, it's not a matter of taste.
Click to expand...

"root node" is used to identify LOD nodes, and are all located at the "root" of the scene. It is typically a Max/GMax Dummy Object.

"control node" is used to identify an object that is used to -well- control stuff Linked to it as Child objects. Such control is normally visibility under certain conditions. Such nodes may be either Dummy or actual geometric objects.

"animation node" is used to identify an object that is used for animations. As such, these nodes must be actual geometric objects. Note that a specific part itself may serve as an "animation node" if it has child parts Linked to it.

Both "control nodes" and "animation nodes" are Children of a "root node."
 
Re "control node" > Such nodes may be either Dummy or actual geometric objects.

My observations in FS9 to FSX conversions are that one needs to replace or link Dummy's used for visibility with or to geometry or they don’t work.

With my own work i never use dummy objects but apply a completely transparent texture to these nodes so they are not visible in sim , i tried using one vertex once but without success.

Bill Could tell you that i don’t always use an official hierarchy, am a heretic and nonconformist, but he is too nice a fellow, i might say that my comment was not meant to be confrontational or interfere in any way with ones right to be pedantic but was intended it illustrate that at no time do i consider the use of dummy objects wise in FSX, they work for animation nodes, but so do single bone objects and tiny little cubes.

Then to clarify , when using a node of any type it is my contention that geometry is the best choice.
 
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