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Walt1

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5 Posts

LOD Manager Crashes Without Message

Posted 17-Oct-2002 9:22 AM

I'll start by apologizing for opening a new topic when one already exists, but with a Subject that probably will not attract readers because it's vague ("BLOOD COOKINGLY PAINFUL PROBLEM").

I've got an engine model nearing completion, and all of a sudden LOD Manager dies without message during the hierarchy build phase and crashes gmax along with it.

LOD Manager started behaving this way after I cloned a bunch of sub-objects for a total of twelve sub-objects. It successfully built the hierarchy for the single object, but subsequently failed on another run after the clone.

The model is complex -- approaching 15K polygons. But I don't think this is the problem: I deleted a bunch of objects, getting the count down to a couple of K polygons, but maintaining the cloned objects mentioned above. LOD fails even then.

Again, I mention that LOD dies during the hierarchy build, not even getting to the .s export.

I am using a few grouped objects, for what that's worth.

Can anyone suggest things I can poke at?

Walt1

New Poster

5 Posts

LOD Manager Crashes Without Message

Posted 18-Oct-2002 7:45 AM

I managed to find a work-around for my problem. I combined objects with identical textures, reducing the total object count. Then the LOD Manager hierarchy trace phase succeeded (as well as the .s export phase).

I must have been still close to whatever limit is making itself known because, this morning attempting to add two more objects, it failed again -- but this time during the .s export phase -- and with a generic application failure kind of message. (Not worth hardly doodly.)

Again, I worked around the problem by combining additional objects with identical textures.

It's becoming clear that there is some kind of MSTS Gamepack object count limit making itself known. Just for perspective, before my most recent failure, I had 66 objects (counting the two that I was trying to add). I know, I know. That's a lot of objects. But while developing a model, why should I bind its structure? At least until I get a handle on what the gamepack limits are.

Walt

Mark1616

Poster

15 Posts

LOD Manager Crashes Without Message

Posted 18-Oct-2002 8:05 AM

Hi!
Did you clone as reference, instance or just normally? I experienced crashes in the first case, but everything works fine with only normal cloning. Of course this is too bad because reference cloning is a superb feature.

You mentioned that you "combined" objects. How do you do it? I learned only to "attach" one to another so far.

Cheers!
Mark

Walt1

New Poster

5 Posts

LOD Manager Crashes Without Message

Posted 28-Oct-2002 2:30 PM

I ended up COPYing everything as opposed to INSTANCE when I got the idea that the .s export was expanding everything anyway. (I can't recall what the evidence is, and I'd appreciate it if someone would straighten me out if I've gone astray.) I have not used REFERENCE.

Forgive me for getting sloppy by using COMBINE. I used ATTACH. I found GROUP to be useless.

I've finished my model -- 24 objects (16K+ polygons) and at that level the LOD manager behaves itself. (I had 40+ objects when I started experience LOD manager failures.)

[ October 28, 2002, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: Walt ]

rowland2

New Poster

4 Posts

RE: LOD Manager Crashes Without Message

Posted 23-May-2007 3:48 PM

I recently had the same problem.....finally, in reviewing the train sim game pack instructions I found buried in the middle the note that LOD'S are limited to 64 objects. Then I found in the GMax reference that of the various ways of combining things, only "attach" actually replaces the objects attached with one object. If you look in the list of objects all the attached objects have disappeared except the first object to which all the others selected after pushing the attach button.


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