EngineSetModelLODDistance: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:46, 2 February 2025

This function sets a custom LOD distance for any object / model ID. This is the distance at which objects of that model ID are switched to their LOD model, or (if there is no LOD model) become invisible.

Notes: The actual draw distance used is modified by the draw distance slider in the settings 'Video' tab of the MTA client.

When the 'Video' tab draw distance slider is 0%, the engineSetModelLODDistance setting approximately matches the draw distance used.

e.g. engineSetModelLODDistance(1337,100) will mean model 1337 will be visible up to a distance of 100 units.

When the 'Video' tab draw distance slider is 100%, the engineSetModelLODDistance setting is approximately doubled before use.

e.g. engineSetModelLODDistance(1337,100) will mean model 1337 will be visible up to a distance of 200 units.

However, there is a general draw distance limit of 300 units. So engineSetModelLODDistance(1337,400) will mean model 1337 will be visible up to a distance of 300 units no matter what the 'Video' tab says.

Therefore, unless it's really important, engineSetModelLODDistance should not be set to anything greater than 170.
170 will still give the maximum draw distance (of 300 units) on clients that have a 'Video' tab draw distance setting of 100%, and it will help reduce lag for players who chose a lower draw distance in their settings.

Note for low LOD objects:

The limit is 300 units, but the actual draw distance used is 5 times the setting value. Also, they ignore the 'Video' tab draw distance slider. So a setting of 200 will mean a low LOD element will always have a draw distance of 1000 units.

Note for low LOD buildings:

The distance must be set greater than 300 for a low LOD building in order to work correctly. Otherwise, the low LOD will always be visible. The actual draw distance is NOT 5 times the setting value.

Syntax

bool engineSetModelLODDistance ( int model, float distance [, bool extendedLod = false ] )

OOP Syntax Help! I don't understand this!

Method: Engine.setModelLODDistance(...)

Required Arguments

model: The model / object ID number you want to change the LOD distance of.
distance: New LOD distance value in San Andreas units.

Optional Arguments

NOTE: When using optional arguments, you might need to supply all arguments before the one you wish to use. For more information on optional arguments, see optional arguments.

ADDED/UPDATED IN VERSION 1.6.0 r22676:

extendedLod: Allows to set a greater distance than the current 325 units.

Returns

Returns true if the function executed succesfully, false otherwise.

Example

-- Cause massive lag by maxing out draw distance of all objects

local objectsTable = getElementsByType("object")

for i = 1, #objectsTable do
	local objectElement = objectsTable[i]
	local objectModel = getElementModel(objectElement)

	engineSetModelLODDistance(objectModel, 300) -- Set maximum draw distance
end

This example will, besides replacing with custom map objects, also set the LOD distance accordingly, a necessary step (otherwise the object could seem to fail loading and only show up 1 feet away)

function replaceObjects()

	local col1 = engineLoadCOL("map1.col")
	local col2 = engineLoadCOL("map2.col")

	local txd = engineLoadTXD("map.txd")
	engineImportTXD(txd, 2357)
	engineImportTXD(txd, 2290)

	local dff1 = engineLoadDFF("map1.dff")
	local dff2 = engineLoadDFF("map2.dff")

	engineReplaceCOL(col1, 2357)
	engineReplaceCOL(col2, 2290)
	engineReplaceModel(dff1, 2357)
	engineReplaceModel(dff2, 2290)

	engineSetModelLODDistance(2357, 2000)
	engineSetModelLODDistance(2290, 2000)
end

This example shows how to use LOD's with buildings

function createMyPiramid()
    local pos = Vector3(0, 0, 3)
    local rot = Vector3(0, 0, 0)
    
    local modelHi = 8395  -- This model has a lot of polygons
    local modelLow = 8701 -- This model is optimized for drawing at a long distance

    -- Always call this function if you don't like default draw distance
    -- or you allocated the model with using engineRequestModel
    engineSetModelLODDistance(modelHi, 100, true)
    engineSetModelLODDistance(modelLow, 500, true)

    local lod = createBuilding(modelLow, pos, rot)
    local building = createBuilding(modelHi, pos, rot)

    setLowLODElement(building,lod)
end