> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.sollumz.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.sollumz.org/documentation/maps/lod-lights.md).
# LOD Lights
LOD lights are represented as a mesh with only vertices, where each vertex represents a light. Attributes are used to store per-light settings.
"Bake LOD Lights" operator collects the lights of all entities in the map group and generates the `lodlights`/`distlodlights` YMAPs automatically, categorized by size, partitioned, and with streaming extents already computed.
| Tier | YMAP | What it draws |
| ---------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **LOD lights** (`lodlights`) | child map | Full light: direction, falloff, cone, corona |
| **Distant LOD lights** (`distlodlights`) | parent map | Position + RGBI only — the specks of light you see across the bay |
Sollumz generates **both**, in matched pairs, from the lights already present on your entities. You do not place LOD lights by hand; you bake them.
{% hint style="info" %}
The bake reads the lights stored in the entity's asset metadata. Entities whose archetype info is missing are skipped and reported in the console.
{% endhint %}
#### Selecting which entities contribute
| Setting | Default | What it does |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **LOD Levels** | `HD` | Only entities at these LOD levels contribute lights. Multi-select. Leave on `HD` unless your lit props live on LOD/SLOD tiers. |
| **Priority Levels** | `REQUIRED` | Only entities at these priority levels contribute. Multi-select. |
| **Skip Pattern** | `prop_dock_bouy` | Case-insensitive **regular expression**, matched against the linked **object name**. Any match excludes that entity's lights entirely. |
| **'Is Streetlight' Pattern** | `street[_]?light` | Case-insensitive **regular expression**, matched against the linked object name. A match sets the streetlight flag (bit 24) on that entity's lights. |
To skip or call several prefixes, alternate them: `prop_dock_bouy|prop_beachflag|my_test_`.
{% hint style="info" %}
The streetlight flag matters at export: distant LOD lights are sorted **streetlights first**, and the count is written into the `distlodlights` header. The game uses it to switch streetlights as a group with the day/night cycle.
{% endhint %}
#### Category assignment
Every collected light is sorted into **Small**, **Medium** or **Large**, which decides which YMAP pair it lands in and how far away it stays visible.
The rules, in the order they are applied:
1. **Skipped** — the light has a non-zero *Light Fade Distance*. It is dropped entirely.
2. **Small** — `falloff ≥ Min Falloff (Small)` **or** `intensity ≥ Min Intensity (Small)`.
3. **Medium** — `falloff ≥ Min Falloff (Medium)` **and** `intensity ≥ Min Intensity (Medium)`, **or** the light has the *Force Medium LOD Light* flag.
4. **Large** — the light has the *Far LOD Light* flag.
Each rule overwrites the previous one, so Large wins over Medium, which wins over Small.
Setting
Default
Notes
Small Min Thresholds — Falloff
0.00
At the default of 0/0 every non-skipped light qualifies as at least Small.
Small Min Thresholds — Intensity
0.00
Medium Min Thresholds — Falloff
10.00
Medium Min Thresholds — Intensity
1.00
{% hint style="warning" %}
**Large is not threshold-driven.** There is no Large threshold in the panel because a light only becomes Large if its source light carries the *Far LOD Light* flag. Set that flag on the lights you want visible across the map (large signage, radio masts, stadium floodlights) — no bake setting will promote them for you.
Likewise *Force Medium LOD Light* on the source light overrides the Medium thresholds.
{% endhint %}
---
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