Version: 1.6.34.0
Frequency: Consistently
Severity: High
Bug description: Custom models disappear too quickly even when LODed properly. Depending on their size, they seem do it at a random point below a screensize of 1%, even though the last LOD is below the 1000 vert limit.
Now it seems no much of an issue for most objects since below 1% screensize a single object disappearing wouldn’t be noticeable. But when a lot of these objects are clustered and all of them disappear it becomes really obvious. The best example for this are cars or apron GSE. In this video I have made a few clusters of GSE to better show what I mean. Even when fairly close to the apron everything just disappears. (Again, like mentioned, they are all properly lodded and the last LOD has 400 verts - well below the 1k limit)
The problem really is that, especially for GSE, the threshold of it despawning is so high that LOD popping is extremely obvious in normal flying conditions too. Look at this video for example where I simulate moving along the runway. The models clearly pop on the apron which looks extremely poor.
For cars it is even worse when whole carparks are filled and they just all disappear in plain sight.
I have worked around this by using the old cube trick that was often used to cheat the LOD system. I am not doing it to cheat the system in this case because as you can see I have properly LODed them without the cube anyways, but making the object bigger is the only way to make them not disappear.
The problem just is that this completely defeats the purpose of LODing it to begin with when even if we follow the LOD rules they still disappear regardless.
Please change the threshold to make properly LODed objects not disappear so quickly. I suggest a Screensize of 0.3% or less. But then again I don’t see a reason why they should disappear at all if LODed properly.
Repro steps: Make a small object and cluster it. Then move the camera back until it hits a SS of 1% and see when it disappears.