We learned that some mod creators have discovered loopholes and used hacks to exceed the limits for models.
The limits are needed to provide fast loading and the smooth online experience that LFS is known for. They are defined and enforced in the editor to maintain high frame rates and minimise glitches when people leave the pits or when their car is damaged.
These limits are now checked by our online system when a mod is uploaded and it will be blocked from online use if the limits are exceeded or there is an invisible LOD as described below.
New checks:
1) One notable loophole was that the local editor did not check all configurations before allowing the model to be exported. Some people submitted mods with a lot missing in the main configuration, to allow them to include excessive detail in other configurations.
To check this before submitting a mod with multiple configurations:
- Enter the modeller from the vehicle editor
- Click the configuration buttons below the layer switches
- If a configuration exceeds the limit you will see a red number of "tris" or "pts"
2) Another method used to bypass the limits was a hack for spoke objects in which a model with much greater than allowed size is placed into the veh file using external software.
The rim editor was improved a lot in version 0.7E, allowing much more flexibility in the rim design. Mod creators should become familiar with it because in most cases you can use the rim editor as intended (for rims) and use the spoke model as intended (for spokes). But some rim designs may be better suited to being part of the spoke object. A new triangle limit of 4240 has been set, which is shared between the rim object and the spoke object. This is supported in the new Editor Patch and there is a new video about creating realistic rims in the LFS Editor.
3) Another mistake was often made by some mod creators, who submitted mods with nothing at all in LOD2. It causes cars to have no shadow and to disappear in the middle distance. There is no need for this. It is acceptable for an unfinished mod to only have 2 levels of detail. This is explained in the thread about Invisible LOD2.
Current limits:
LOD1: 65536 (points or triangles, including all subobjects)
Middle LOD (if there is one): 8192 triangles / 12288 points
Total for rim object and spoke object combined: 4240 triangles
NOTE about limits:
The limits are very high and are not targets to aim for.
Higher triangle counts are bad for performance and load times.
LOD1 65536 is really too much and can cause various types of slowdown.
LOD2 8192 is really far too much - a sensible number would be around 1000.
Editor update:
A new editor has been released to help with limits and wheel editing: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106792
The limits are needed to provide fast loading and the smooth online experience that LFS is known for. They are defined and enforced in the editor to maintain high frame rates and minimise glitches when people leave the pits or when their car is damaged.
These limits are now checked by our online system when a mod is uploaded and it will be blocked from online use if the limits are exceeded or there is an invisible LOD as described below.
New checks:
1) One notable loophole was that the local editor did not check all configurations before allowing the model to be exported. Some people submitted mods with a lot missing in the main configuration, to allow them to include excessive detail in other configurations.
To check this before submitting a mod with multiple configurations:
- Enter the modeller from the vehicle editor
- Click the configuration buttons below the layer switches
- If a configuration exceeds the limit you will see a red number of "tris" or "pts"
2) Another method used to bypass the limits was a hack for spoke objects in which a model with much greater than allowed size is placed into the veh file using external software.
The rim editor was improved a lot in version 0.7E, allowing much more flexibility in the rim design. Mod creators should become familiar with it because in most cases you can use the rim editor as intended (for rims) and use the spoke model as intended (for spokes). But some rim designs may be better suited to being part of the spoke object. A new triangle limit of 4240 has been set, which is shared between the rim object and the spoke object. This is supported in the new Editor Patch and there is a new video about creating realistic rims in the LFS Editor.
3) Another mistake was often made by some mod creators, who submitted mods with nothing at all in LOD2. It causes cars to have no shadow and to disappear in the middle distance. There is no need for this. It is acceptable for an unfinished mod to only have 2 levels of detail. This is explained in the thread about Invisible LOD2.
Current limits:
LOD1: 65536 (points or triangles, including all subobjects)
Middle LOD (if there is one): 8192 triangles / 12288 points
Total for rim object and spoke object combined: 4240 triangles
NOTE about limits:
The limits are very high and are not targets to aim for.
Higher triangle counts are bad for performance and load times.
LOD1 65536 is really too much and can cause various types of slowdown.
LOD2 8192 is really far too much - a sensible number would be around 1000.
Editor update:
A new editor has been released to help with limits and wheel editing: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106792