This simple patch forces all ships and objects to use their highest quality models and textures at any distance.
Description
'LOD' stands for Level Of Detail. As the camera moves away from a ship Cataclysm will switch out its model for a lower detail one to improve performance. The transition is jarring, especially at higher resolutions. Modern PCs are more than capable of handling Cataclysm's simple models so this isn't necessary any more for most players.
It's a really easy mod that's been done many times before but it's surprisingly hard to find these days. If you look for information about how to do it yourself you'll just get links to long-gone forum threads. Even if you manage to track down a mod that diables LOD switching, it will mixed with other changes you might not want. I spent way too long figuring this out for my own use and am releasing it so that others don't have to go through the same thing.
Installation
Place the folders in the Cataclysm install directory (the folder where cataclysm.exe is).
Don't want it applied across the board? Each .lod file controls the LOD for an individual ship or object so it's easy to pick and choose which ships you'd like to have always looking their best. The file names are mostly self explanatory and they're organised in folders by faction (sect = Somtaaw, p1 = Turanic, and the rest are obvious).
Warning
Loading old saves after installation can cause crashes. Don't start using this halfway through the campaign!
Tested only on the GOG version as I wasn't able to get the original CD version to run. Let me know if there are any issues with that.
DIY
Here's how you can replicate this mod.
You will need a program to extract Cataclysm's .big files (e.g. WinBigw), a program to automate find-and-replace edits to many text files (e.g. Notepad++), and the file cataclysm.big which is in your Cataclysm install directory.
1) Prepare an empty folder to work in
2) Using WinBigw, extract cataclysm.big to your folder
3) Delete everything in the folder except for files with the .lod extension and the folders containing them
4) Using Notepad++, press Ctrl+Shift+F to bring up "Find in Files" and set the directory to your working folder
5) Replace all instances of "LOD1" with "LOD0"
6) Replace all instances of "LOD2" with "LOD0"
7) Replace all instances of "LOD3" with "LOD0"
8) Replace all instances of "LOD4" with "LOD0"
Thanks for making this mod! I was going to make it myself for my next playthrough but lo and behold you've already done it!