How to Generate Grass Cache An infernalryan Skyrim Modding Guide
Overview This guide will provide instructions on how to generate grass precache using No Grass in Objects. If you are using seasons, please see my How to Generate Grass Cache (with Seasons) guide.
This guide applies to ALL versions of Skyrim SSE/AE (Steam and GOG only) and Skyrim VR since as of May 2024, No Grass in Objects is now available for ALL game versions as an SKSE plugin!
Guide Contents:
Preface of what grass precache is and why it is used
Preparation covering all file requirements and initial setup steps required before generating cache
Generating grass precache files with tips on avoiding issues and speeding up the process
Playing the game and ensuring all changes made to allow grass cache generation are restored
Further reading for links to other helpful information
Please consider ENDORSING if you found this guide helpful!
1 Preface Generating grass precache is the process of saving grass model and placement information to a file. This is done with the No Grass in Objects mod (also known as NGIO). This will not only enable the ability to generate and utilize grass LODs, allowing you to view grass at much further distances, but will also give you more consistent grass placement as everything will be loaded from files rather than automatically generated at runtime. The process for doing so is simple, but can be time consuming depending on your system. For newer systems, with a moderately-sized modlist, this can take around 30-60 minutes (possibly less) each time it is run.
It is HIGHLY recommended to use Mod Organizer 2 for this process. Grass precache generation is expected to crash multiple times, and if you are using Vortex (or no Mod Manager at all), you will have to restart this process manually. The plugin created for MO2 will automatically restart until the grass precache generation has completed, which will allow you to perform this semi-AFK, which will save a LOT of time overall.
2 Preparation This section will cover all file requirements and initial setup steps needed before generating grass precache. You only have to perform these steps the first time you generate precache, and can skip them altogether on future operations.
2.1 Required mods The following mods need to be downloaded, installed and enabled prior to starting this process.
No Grass in Objects – All game versions – For 1.5.97 users, this MUST be the new SKSE version of the plugin, not the .net Framework version as it is no longer supported
2.2 Other files This section will cover other files either required or recommended to generate grass cache.
2.2.1 Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for NGIO (Optional) Skip to section 2.2.3 if you are not comfortable using xEdit (SSEEdit), otherwise, proceed. This is an xEdit script that can be used to configure No Grass In Objects to skip any worldspaces that do not have grass in them, which (sometimes drastically) reduces the time required to precache grass. Expand the 'Spoiler' tag for instructions.
Spoiler:
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Download from the FILES tab of the main mod page using the 'MANUAL DOWNLOAD' link. This is not a Mod Manager download, so will download into your web browser downloads folder.
When completed, open this file from your web browser downloads folder (it is a .zip file).
Extract the contents of the file into the /Edit Scripts folder of your xEdit folder. For example, if you installed xEdit into 'C:\Modding\xEdit', extract this to 'C:\Modding\xEdit\Edit Scripts'.
You are done!
2.2.2 Precache Grass plugin (MO2 only) Skip to section 2.3 if you are NOT using MO2, or already have this plugin downloaded and installed, otherwise, proceed. This plugin will allow you to start Skyrim in precache generation mode, and will additionally automatically restart Skyrim to resume the progress when it crashes (which it will). Expand the 'Spoiler' tag for instructions.
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Download the plugin from the main mod page 'FILES' tab – ensure you click the 'MANUAL DOWNLOAD' link (this will not install with your Mod Manager).
Grab 'Grass Generation MO2 Plugin v2' if you are using MO2 version 2.5 and above
Grab 'Grass Generation MO2 Plugin v1.5' if you are using MO2 2.4.4 or below
Grab 'Grass Generation MO2 Plugin v2 VR' if you are using MO2 version 2.5 and above AND VR
When completed, open this file from your web browser downloads folder (it is a .zip file).
Extract the contents of the file into the /plugins folder of your MO2 folder. For example, if you installed MO2 into 'C:\Modding\MO2', extract this to 'C:\Modding\MO2\plugins'.
If done correctly, you should now have a 'GrassPrecacher.py' file inside of /plugins (example: 'C:\Modding\MO2\plugins\GrassPrecacher.py').
Close MO2 if it is open.
(Re-)open MO2.
If you receive an error indicating "no module named PyQt5" (or similar), you have downloaded and installed the wrong plugin for your version of MO2. Re-review the list above.
Verify this is installed correctly by navigating to the 'Tools > Tool Plugins' menu of the main menu bar (or the puzzle icon in the toolbar). You should now see a 'Precache Grass' entry.
You are done!
2.3 Initial setup Before generating grass precache, the following configuration file updates are required.
2.3.1 Generate configuration file for No Grass in Objects Skyrim needs to be launched at least once with NGIO enabled in order to generate the configuration file. Do this if you have not done so already. You only need to load into the main game menu, and quit. The file is located in 'Data/SKSE/plugins/GrassControl.ini' (or 'overwrite/SKSE/plugins/GrassControl.ini' for MO2 users) by default.
2.3.2 Move configuration file for No Grass in Objects (MO2 only) Skip to section 2.3.3 if you are NOT using MO2, or have already moved the NGIO configuration file to the NGIO mod folder, otherwise, proceed. Since it is good practice to keep your overwrite folder clear, we will want to move the configuration file (which generates there by default) to the NGIO mod itself. Expand the 'Spoiler' tag for instructions.
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Right-click the 'Overwrite' entry (it is at the very bottom of the mod list), and select 'Open in Explorer' (alternatively, you can hold CTRL and double-click the mod in the list to open the explorer window).
Navigate to the 'SKSE/Plugins' folder.
Set this window aside for a moment.
Right-click your No Grass in Objects mod in the mod list, and select 'Open in Explorer' (alternatively, you can hold CTRL and double-click the mod in the list to open the explorer window).
Navigate to the 'SKSE/Plugins' folder.
MOVE the 'GrassControl.ini' file from the overwrite folder we set aside to the NGIO mod folder.
Close both folders.
2.3.3 Edit No Grass in Objects settings Next, we need to modify the NGIO configuration file to use cache files. This process is different depending on the Mod Manager chosen. Follow only one of the two options based on your Mod Manager of choice.
2.3.3.1 Option 1: Vortex
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Deploy mods.
Open your game folder by clicking the 'Open…' button in the main application taskbar, and select 'Open Game Folder'.
Open the ' /Data/SKSE/plugins' folder inside.
Open the ' GrassControl.ini' file.
Update the following options in the file:
Use-grass-cache = true
Only-load-from-cache = true
2.3.3.2 Option 2: Mod Organizer 2
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Double-click the No Grass in Objects mod in the mod list
Select the 'INI Files' tab, and ensure the ' SKSE\Plugins\GrassControl.ini' file is selected in the 'Ini Files' list on the left.
Update the following options in the file:
Use-grass-cache = true
Only-load-from-cache = true
Save and close.
2.3.4 Add exception for PrecacheGrass.txt (MO2 with Root Builder only) Skip to section 3 if you are NOT using MO2 AND Root Builder, otherwise, we will need to add an exception to Root Builder for this file so that the auto-restart/resume functionality of the Precache Grass plugin will work properly. Expand the 'Spoiler' tag for instructions.
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Navigate to the 'Tools > Tool Plugins' menu of the main menu bar (or the puzzle icon in the toolbar) and select 'Root Builder > Root Builder' to open the Root Builder settings window.
Under the 'Exclusions' tab, double-click the empty entry at the end to add a new rule for 'PrecacheGrass.txt' and hit 'Enter'.
Close the window.
3 Generating grass precache files The below steps detail the process of generating grass precache files. Similarly to LOD generation, these steps should be performed EVERY TIME you add or remove mods which make world space updates (new buildings, points of interest, city overhauls, etc.) as otherwise the current precache files will either conflict with these mods (floating grass, clipping, etc.) or not include them (no grass whatsoever). You should also do this whenever changing/adding/removing grass mods, etc.. If you are modifying ONLY textures (such as changing to desaturated texture variants for your current grass mod, for example), you don't need to re-run grass precache.
3.1 Disable and/or remove any previously generated cache files We need to be 100% sure that any previously generated cache files are not affecting our ability to regenerate them. Below is a brief list of things to check for, but it is not extensive and may not account for all scenarios.
Disable any mods which currently contain precache files (*.gid, *.cgid) as we do not want to accidentally overwrite these files when the new cache files are generated. This includes pre-generated cache files which can be downloaded from Nexus (not just your own previously-generated files).
Vortex users, 'Deploy Mods' again after disabling.
After disabling (where applicable), ensure there is no 'Grass' folder still inside your Skyrim /Data folder (or 'overwrite' folder for MO2 users). If there is, either delete it or convert it to a mod for your given Mod Manager and disable it.
Remove the 'PrecacheGrass.txt' file if it exists in your main Skyrim game folder.
3.2 Run Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for NGIO (Optional) Skip to section 3.3 if you did NOT download the 'Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for No Grass in Objects' file, otherwise, proceed. This script generates a list of valid worldspaces for your current load order which will speed up grass precache generation (sometimes significantly). If you have run this script prior to past grass precache generation, this step can be skipped if there have been no changes to worldspaces since then, otherwise you will want to re-run it again. Expand the 'Spoiler' tag for instructions.
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3.2.1 Run the script
Launch xEdit (SSEEdit).
If using MO2, ensure you have an executable created for this, and launch from there.
If using Vortex, ensure your mods are deployed and open xEdit in whatever manner you prefer (either from the TOOLS section, or from an external file).
Once xEdit opens, load all of your plugins for your normal load order (they should be selected by default).
Once the 'Background Loader: Finished' message appears, right click anywhere in the left pane and select 'Apply Script....'
In the window that appears, in the Script dropdown, select 'List worldspaces with grass' and click 'OK'.
Wait for it to finish processing. This may take a minute or two, depending on how many mods you have.
When the 'Worldspaces with grass' window appears, COPY the text that is inside of this (either CTRL+C or right-click the highlighted text and select 'Copy').
Click OK and exit SSEEdit.
3.2.2 Add worldspaces to No Grass in Objects settings file Next, we need to modify the NGIO configuration file to include the worldspaces we just copied. This is different depending on the Mod Manager chosen. Follow only one of the two options based on your Mod Manager of choice.
3.2.2.1 Option 1: Vortex
Spoiler:
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Deploy mods.
Open your game folder by clicking the 'Open…' button in the main application taskbar, and select 'Open Game Folder'.
Open the ' /Data/SKSE/plugins' folder inside.
Open the ' GrassControl.ini' file.
PASTE your worldspaces copied to the clipboard to the following line:
Only-pregenerate-world-spaces = PASTE_HERE
3.2.2.2 Option 2: Mod Organizer 2
Spoiler:
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Double-click the No Grass in Objects mod in the mod list.
Select the 'INI Files' tab, and ensure the ' SKSE\Plugins\GrassControl.ini' file is selected in the 'Ini Files' list on the left.
PASTE your worldspaces copied to the clipboard to the following line:
Only-pregenerate-world-spaces = PASTE_HERE
Save and close.
3.3 Disable incompatible mods Certain mods have been known to cause crashing during the precaching process. While this is normal (the precaching process will likely crash at least a few times), some mods may prevent the grass precache from completing altogether. I have listed some of these here, however, if you are having persistent issues, please see the Compatibility section of the No Grass in Objects mod page, as well as the posts on that page to review and/or troubleshoot specific compatibility issues. You need to disable any mods listed below (temporarily) and then re-enable them again afterwards.
Some users have reported this causes issues, but I did not personally have any issues which prevented precache generation. Despite having some crashes, the MO2 plugin was able to (auto-)resume generation without issue. If you do experience persistent issues, you may need to disable BEES and all of the mods that rely on it, however, if you have performed a "best of both worlds" downgrade, this will likely include the Skyrim master files. This becomes difficult to make a recommendation as you cannot disable the masters, and reverting them to original versions may cause other issues during precache generation. My only suggestion is to try it without disabling it and hope for the best.
Other mods may recommend that you add their worldspaces to the 'Skip-pregenerate-world-spaces' field within the NGIO configuration file… At the time of writing, this includes EasierRider's Dungeon Pack and The Echoes of the Vale Creation, however, it is also possible that running the xEdit script from earlier will omit these worldspaces already (untested).
IMPORTANT NOTE (From NGIO description page) – If you always crash in exact same cell over and over (can't continue at all) then it means something is very wrong with your mods in that cell. If you go there normally without this mod you would also always crash there. I recommend looking at crash logs to see what mod could be causing an issue for you there. You can also add that worldspace to exceptions list in this grass mod's config, but that means you won't have grass in that whole worldspace (might not matter since you would crash there always anyway).
3.4 Generate files The below section covers all steps required to generate your cache files. There are minor differences depending on the Mod Manager chosen, so Follow only one of the two options based on your Mod Manager of choice.
3.4.1 Option 1: Vortex
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3.4.1.1 Launch the game to generate files
Deploy mods.
Open your game folder by clicking the 'Open…' button in the main application taskbar, and select 'Open Game Folder'.
Create a new empty text file in this folder called ' PrecacheGrass.txt'.
Start the game normally, when you reach the main menu it will automatically start to pre-generate all grass.
NOTE – During this process, the screen may display flickering or flashing lights which may not be suitable for individuals with photosensitive epilepsy or other light sensitivity conditions. It is recommended for these individuals to walk away from the computer during this process.
You will know grass precache has started after a few seconds when you see this message:
Feel free to open the console with the tilde (~) key by default to view the progress.
This process is expected to crash Skyrim several times. When this happens you will need to MANUALLY start it again to resume (there is no automatic restart function like with the MO2 plugin).
You will know you are resuming where you left off when you see the "Resuming grass cache generation" message.
Once completed, the following message will be displayed (NOTE – this may be minimized along with your Skyrim game):
Grass generation is now done.
3.4.1.2 Add this mod to Vortex
Go back to your Skyrim /Data folder.
You will want to add the ' Grass' folder to a new .zip file (or .7z, .rar, etc). Call this file ' Grass Cache' (or .7z, .rar, etc.).
Once the .zip file is created, you can now DELETE the ' Grass' folder (we no longer need it)
Drag the ' Grass Cache.zip' file into the 'Drop File(s)' section of Vortex, which is found at the bottom of the 'Mods' tab. NOTE – This may take several minutes to fully import as the file size for this mod and number of files is quite large.
Once done it should automatically enable itself. Keep it ENABLED.
You can now DELETE the original ' Grass Cache.zip' file you created (it is just taking up space).
It is also recommended to DELETE the .zip file maintained by Vortex as it too is not required and is needlessly taking up space. To do this navigate to ' %appdata%\Vortex\downloads\skyrimse' (without quotes – you can paste this in an explorer window, the Windows Win+R Run dialog, or the start menu search bar) and delete the file.
You can now close the folder(s) you opened before.
Skip to section 4 when done.
3.4.2 Option 2: Mod Organizer 2
Spoiler:
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3.4.2.1 Launch the game to generate files
Launch the 'Precache Grass' plugin by navigating to the 'Tools > Tool Plugins' menu of the main menu bar (or the puzzle icon in the toolbar).
Click 'Yes' on the message that pops up to begin grass cache generation.
NOTE – During this process, the screen may display flickering or flashing lights which may not be suitable for individuals with photosensitive epilepsy or other light sensitivity conditions. It is recommended for these individuals to walk away from the computer during this process.
This will launch the game. After a few seconds the following message should appear:
Feel free to open the console with the tilde (~) key by default to view the progress.
This process is expected to crash Skyrim several times, but the MO2 plugin will restart this process automatically. You will know it has done so when you see the "Resuming grass cache generation" message.
Once completed, the following message will be displayed (NOTE – this may be minimized along with your Skyrim game):
Grass generation is now done.
3.3.2.2 Add this mod to MO2
From the MO2 'list options' menu (the "wrench" icon at the top right of the mod list window within MO2), select 'Create empty mod'.
Enter a name for this grass cache (e.g., ' Grass Cache') and press 'OK'.
Right-click your mod (it is at the very bottom of the mod list), and select 'Open in Explorer' (alternatively, you can hold CTRL and double-click the mod in the list to open the explorer window).
From the ' overwrite' folder we set aside in the previous section, MOVE the ' Grass' folder into your new mod folder.
When finished, select MO2 to ensure it is the active window and hit the 'F5' button on your keyboard. This will refresh the application and now reflect the files we changed outside of MO2.
ENABLE your grass cache 'mod'.
You can now close the folder(s) you opened before.
4 Playing the game With grass precache generation now complete, there are only a couple of steps required to restore normal functionality to the game and ensure the cache files are loaded.
Ensure your grass cache 'mod' you just created is enabled.
Re-enable any/all mods which you had to disable prior to generating grass cache.
Vortex users, 'Deploy Mods' again after performing the above.
5 Further reading See below for links to other helpful information.
5.1 Other Guides See my guides page on Nexus for other helpful Skyrim modding guides.
5.2 Changelog See below for changes made to this document.
Version 1.17.6 (06/06/2024)
Updated steps to enable grass cache 'mods' after generating (rather than leaving them disabled). This was a holdover from my seasonal grass cache guide and I had forgotten to update it (thanks @aldfrid for noticing)
Version 1.17.2 (06/02/2024)
Added spoiler tags for optional sections
Version 1.16 (06/02/2024)
Initial release
Please leave a comment with any issues or suggestions!
Guide updates required: Below are some items that will require guide updates. I am listing them here for reference and will remove them when the guide is updated.
Recalculating Grass Bounds (e.g., 'Recalc Bounds' in Creation Kit)
This will be an optional step for advanced users and/or users experiencing issues generating grass precache. This essentially recalculates each grass object's bounding box to ensure it accurately reflects the size and shape of its mesh(es). This helps prevent issues like grass floating around and/or clipping through objects where it shouldn't appear, which can occur when grass meshes are changed and are different sizes than those defined within the plugin file.
NOTE - This step is not always necessary. If you don't have any issues generating grass cache, and don't see any visible issues with the grass precache in your game, you should be fine to skip this step.
Please let me know in comments below if there are any other updates that are required.
Great tutorial! At first, when I was generating the cache, it kept crashing at a specific location. I went to investigate the area and found it was a cave I couldn’t access — it turned out DynDOLOD was causing problems, and possibly another mod like No Grass in Cave. I finally managed to generate the cache after removing DynDOLOD and the No Grass in Cave mod. It was such a relief to successfully generate the cache for the first time. Thank you so much!!!
Grass cache wont run all, it just launches the game. i press command but i dont see anything the grass tool loading. i can even play it. i tried letting it run, nothing happens but when i quit the game, i get a pop up from mo that precache hasnt completed
Had this happen to me. Did you download the grass control.ini from the Nexus page and install it like a regular mod? If so, open your overwrite and look in the SKSE folder to see if there is another grass control.ini in there. If there is, delete it.
What skyrim game version are you running? If 1.5.97, are you using the updated version of the mod which requires SKSE? Older versions required the .net framework which is no longer required and just wanting to make sure this is not the reason for your issues.
I was facing the same exact issue. I noticed that the grasscontrol.ini we edited via mo2 as per the guide is located in mods/No Grass In Objects; meanwhile, there is another grasscontrol.ini inside overwrite/skse/plugins. the latter is what the grass cache gen is actually referencing. i replaced the ini inside plugins with the edited one from mods folder, and then the generator worked as intended. re-did the process and didn't face the issue, must've done something wrong 1st time around.
I use Vortex. I was following other guides, but they always are made by people who use MO2. They were also great guides, but I could not find any information that would explicitly say that Vortex users should also install the grass cache as a mod and delete the grass directory in the Data folder.
Your guide clarified that and it was immensely helpful.
Is Grass Cache Helper NG actuated need? I just finalized my load order so i could do xGenLOD,TexGEN,DynDOLOD, I dont really want to have redo those. Is it ok if i just put that mod under NGIO with out have to redo xGenLOD,TexGEN,DynDOLOD?
I followed your guide but skipped Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for NGIO (Optional) as I am fine with it taken littler longer
Add exception for PrecacheGrass.txt (MO2 with Root Builder only) I use Mo2 but dont have or even know what root builder is.
I then Ran Precache grass. the proccess does complete but I can open the consoles with ~ which in game with ~ but not on the loadscreen
Prior to this I was just doing precache grass and dumping in the Grass Cache mod I made. and as far as I am aware it worked
Is Grass Cache Helper NG actually needed? Short answer: No. Long answer: Among other things, Grass Cache Helper NG prevents bugs during the grass precache process and also helps with some runtime behaviors. It is only 100% required if using Seasons of Skyrim and generating grass for all seasons, but provides other benefits to non-seasons users as well, thus it is recommended in this guide.
If you don't know what Root Builder is, then you are not using it, so that step is not required (follow the Skip condition)
Regarding the console, are you saying this did NOT work during generation, but the process still completed correctly?
Your comment is not clear as to whether you are experiencing issues - can you clarify?
ya I am very bad at explaining thing so bare with me.
Start with easy thing ~ "works" to open the consoles but only if I hit ~ before notice pops up which leave notice about the grass caching up, if I try to do after i closed the notice it dont open, this might have to do with how game is being open and or display settings it setup as non steam app that opens steam that opens skse threw mo2. Kind moot though.
Yes process does complete and did before with and with out the below plug is has multiple crash usual ( 1-3) with with disable autoparallax and True hud - hud addition which where only plugins i had that was on that list, actual think it crash more with the disable so i will leave them on for next time.
Plugin (Grass Cache Helper NG ) is being used atm. which is main question. Seeing Grass Cache Helper NG was added to modlist (Grass Cache Helper NG under NGIO plugin). Do I need to redo my xGenLod, TexGen, DyndoLOD? cause they state dont do any of that till after modlist order is finalized. the Grass Cache mod that had all the grass files where already in the modlist when I did xGenLod, TexGen, DyndoLOD, so far everything seem to working fine with xGenLod, TexGen, DyndoLOD with me just added
To help answer your main question, if the only thing that changed with your grass precache was that you enabled Grass Cache Helper NG (GCH-NG) and re-ran it, then short answer: no. If you changed other things (added/removed landscape mods/etc.), you'll probably want to rerun all tools again, yes.
Long(ish) answer: One of GCH-NG's main benefits is preventing bugs that may be present when generating grass precache with NGIO alone. If, during your last NGIO-only grass precache generation cycle, some grass did not generate correctly due to those bugs, you'd likely have missing grass in some areas as a result, which would be present in your DynDOLOD output. For example, if a worldspace hadn't finished loading before NGIO tried to process it during precaching, those files would be blank, and thus, grass LOD for that worldspace would also be blank (or missing some grass at least) -- GCH-NG can prevent these types of bugs from occurring by ensuring everything loads before grass precache starts, etc. All that said, your existing grass LOD should work fine. Don't worry about regenerating unless you notice missing grass in LOD that is present when you get close to it. Even then, if it is bearable, no need to take the time to regenerate.
Hope this helps. Also, FWIW, if you only ever wanted to re-do grass LOD, you'd only have to run TexGen/DynDOLOD - xLODGen is for terrain textures only.
When you create the empty mod, you will see this message, but after moving the files into it and refreshing the app (via the 'F5' key), the message should go away. If it does not, ensure your *.cgid files are inside of a .\grass folder inside of your new mod's folder.
Thanks for the guide also! I have a question about grass pop-ins. As you can see here in the images, I have still quite sudden grass pop-ins after generating grass cache: https://imgur.com/a/68voh2S I was using these settings from the mod page:
Overwrite-grass-distance = 6000Overwrites grass drawing distance! Set the drawing distance for grass here. Set this negative if you don't want this mod to overwrite distance setting. Overwrite-grass-fade-range = 3000Overwrites how long the grass fades out! Set the distance here. It should usually be at least about half of Distance or the fade out of grass will be too sudden. Set this negative if you don't want this mod to overwrite fade setting.
So my question is: is there a way to make those pop-ins at least less sudden or less noticeable? I guess completely removed they could be only by increasing the grass distance much higher and also creating grass Dyndolod? I think for using grass LODs from Dyndolod my system is too weak, (GPU 3050) and I`m getting at the moment an average fps of 40 which is OK for me. I used Texgen and Dyndolod, but have since also changed my grass mod from Freaks Floral Fields to Northern Grass for more FPS and didn't re-run those Programs. In case this could be also a reason for this. Thanks!
LOD is the answer. Increasing the draw distance for grass natively is far more resource intensive than grass billboards that are used with DynDOLOD.
The grass mod you use also matters. Freaks is a pretty performance heavy grass mod. Using a different mod may also increase performance, as indicated by swapping to Northern Grass.
So I'm planning to use Freaks with Seasons of Skyrim as I have the PC to run it. If I choose grass billboards, will that support seasons? I'm assuming all I'll have to do in DyndoLOD is go to advanced and tick all the seasons for it to work properly, right?
88 comments
Below are some items that will require guide updates. I am listing them here for reference and will remove them when the guide is updated.
Recalculating Grass Bounds (e.g., 'Recalc Bounds' in Creation Kit)
Please let me know in comments below if there are any other updates that are required.
im using m02 and is stuck at 3.4.2
What i see when i press command is : Registering functions started. Registering finished in 00030seconds
I was facing the same exact issue.
re-did the process and didn't face the issue, must've done something wrong 1st time around.I noticed that the grasscontrol.ini we edited via mo2 as per the guide is located in mods/No Grass In Objects; meanwhile, there is another grasscontrol.ini inside overwrite/skse/plugins. the latter is what the grass cache gen is actually referencing. i replaced the ini inside plugins with the edited one from mods folder, and then the generator worked as intended.
I use Vortex. I was following other guides, but they always are made by people who use MO2. They were also great guides, but I could not find any information that would explicitly say that Vortex users should also install the grass cache as a mod and delete the grass directory in the Data folder.
Your guide clarified that and it was immensely helpful.
Thanks man!
I followed your guide but skipped
Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for NGIO (Optional) as I am fine with it taken littler longer
Add exception for PrecacheGrass.txt (MO2 with Root Builder only) I use Mo2 but dont have or even know what root builder is.
I then Ran Precache grass. the proccess does complete but I can open the consoles with ~ which in game with ~ but not on the loadscreen
Prior to this I was just doing precache grass and dumping in the Grass Cache mod I made. and as far as I am aware it worked
Your comment is not clear as to whether you are experiencing issues - can you clarify?
Start with easy thing ~ "works" to open the consoles but only if I hit ~ before notice pops up which leave notice about the grass caching up, if I try to do after i closed the notice it dont open, this might have to do with how game is being open and or display settings it setup as non steam app that opens steam that opens skse threw mo2. Kind moot though.
Yes process does complete and did before with and with out the below plug is has multiple crash usual ( 1-3) with with disable autoparallax and True hud - hud addition which where only plugins i had that was on that list, actual think it crash more with the disable so i will leave them on for next time.
Plugin (Grass Cache Helper NG ) is being used atm. which is main question. Seeing Grass Cache Helper NG was added to modlist (Grass Cache Helper NG under NGIO plugin). Do I need to redo my xGenLod, TexGen, DyndoLOD? cause they state dont do any of that till after modlist order is finalized. the Grass Cache mod that had all the grass files where already in the modlist when I did xGenLod, TexGen, DyndoLOD, so far everything seem to working fine with xGenLod, TexGen, DyndoLOD with me just added
Hope this explains what I was asking better
To help answer your main question, if the only thing that changed with your grass precache was that you enabled Grass Cache Helper NG (GCH-NG) and re-ran it, then short answer: no. If you changed other things (added/removed landscape mods/etc.), you'll probably want to rerun all tools again, yes.
Long(ish) answer: One of GCH-NG's main benefits is preventing bugs that may be present when generating grass precache with NGIO alone. If, during your last NGIO-only grass precache generation cycle, some grass did not generate correctly due to those bugs, you'd likely have missing grass in some areas as a result, which would be present in your DynDOLOD output. For example, if a worldspace hadn't finished loading before NGIO tried to process it during precaching, those files would be blank, and thus, grass LOD for that worldspace would also be blank (or missing some grass at least) -- GCH-NG can prevent these types of bugs from occurring by ensuring everything loads before grass precache starts, etc. All that said, your existing grass LOD should work fine. Don't worry about regenerating unless you notice missing grass in LOD that is present when you get close to it. Even then, if it is bearable, no need to take the time to regenerate.
Hope this helps. Also, FWIW, if you only ever wanted to re-do grass LOD, you'd only have to run TexGen/DynDOLOD - xLODGen is for terrain textures only.
sorry i jumped 2.22
I was using these settings from the mod page:
Overwrite-grass-distance = 6000Overwrites grass drawing distance! Set the drawing distance for grass here. Set this negative if you don't want this mod to overwrite distance setting.
Overwrite-grass-fade-range = 3000Overwrites how long the grass fades out! Set the distance here. It should usually be at least about half of Distance or the fade out of grass will be too sudden. Set this negative if you don't want this mod to overwrite fade setting.
So my question is: is there a way to make those pop-ins at least less sudden or less noticeable? I guess completely removed they could be only by increasing the grass distance much higher and also creating grass Dyndolod? I think for using grass LODs from Dyndolod my system is too weak, (GPU 3050) and I`m getting at the moment an average fps of 40 which is OK for me.
I used Texgen and Dyndolod, but have since also changed my grass mod from Freaks Floral Fields to Northern Grass for more FPS and didn't re-run those Programs.
In case this could be also a reason for this.
Thanks!
The grass mod you use also matters. Freaks is a pretty performance heavy grass mod. Using a different mod may also increase performance, as indicated by swapping to Northern Grass.