LOD-what is it

[Guest Mark Hazeldine]

I'm in no way an expert on mesh and i keep reading about LOD. But what the bloomin' heck is it? Am i right in thinking it stands for Level Of Detail? What effect does it have? Is it just for mesh or other types of scenery as well? how does one control it?Thanks, Mark

[Guest]

May be nobody is answering, because all think, You have to reed "Microsoft Terrain SDK" first. Then You would know what LOD is.Take care Pit

[Guest Mark Hazeldine]

You mean i've got to read some microsoft docs?!You think that'll help?!Is it actually understandable? If so, i'll go and try it out.Thanks, Mark

[Guest]

He Mark,not some--- The Terrain SDK.have a look to my page. www.petercie.de and vote my TOP100 pleasePit

[Guest sgreenwood]

Hello Mark,You are correct in assuming that LOD stands for Level of Detail. The LOD is used to specify the horizontal spacing of the elevation data points in a mesh file. (And, by extension, the size and location of the area involved. This is the primary concern for scenery development.)Mesh and scenery information are converted to MSFS format using tools in the Microsoft Terrain Software Developer's Kit (SDK). The Resample program, the first stage in the conversion process, requires a text file (.inf) with information about both the source and final data: filenames, coordinates, distance between elevation data points,... LOD is one of these required parameters. Microsoft uses it's own grid system, and allows LOD values of 0 to 15, representing allowed horizontal spacing values. These range from 1.2 to 39136.2 meters (for example, LOD 10 = 38.2 meters).Source elevation data is available in a wide range of resolutions; common values are 1000m, 90m, 30m, 10m. It is best if the developer chooses a final LOD that approximates the resolution of the source data - e.g. 30m source -> LOD 10 -> 38.2m final. The conversion process cannot create data more accurate than the original, and can introduce features that do not exist in the original! You can get a bit more information about LOD and terrain mesh quality at my website. (Still working on the site - I'll provide a link to the SDK this afternoon.)more infoStevewww.fs-traveler.com

[Guest Mark Hazeldine]

Thanks for all your help. The LAF stuff looks great.