Can someone with Ymap/prop experience help me?

Foxunitone

Hello all. Im still working towards my train DLC release. I have decided it would be nice to have some of my trains parked on the side rails. I converted some trains to .mesh map objects and some I built specifically to only be parked map objects. I have created what will be an optional DLC thats only purpose is to spawn these prop models. I created the YTYP file, Ymap files, _minifest file, and of course the YDR model files. The game loads and the models appear when you are in the area. But there are some issues I really cannot yet figure out.

There is a 'shadow' of the model that appears to be blowing with the wind on the model itself. Like if you look in the sky above the model you would expect to see another floating there casting a shadow. Someone said this may be a material setting affected by wind that must be adjust in 3ds max using GIMS EVO. Anyone know where those material setting would be? I dont see those options in GIMS material or the native Mat editor.
The models are disappearing WAY to soon. The default train props can still be seen LONG after mine disappear. I understand there are LOD settings, but Im not sure how to set these for map objects.
I can hang out near the parked trains for hours just fine. But if I go to the point where they start disappearing and appearing, the game almost always crashes to desktop with no error or box whatsoever. I know its something I am doing wrong, but I am searching and searching and not finding ANYTHING on this.

For the rest of my DLC, all is fine. The moving trains all work fine, LODs and COL is all fine, and no crashing. Its ONLY the 'simple' static models that are making me regret my ideas lol.

Foxunitone

If anyone is curious about this, I have figured out a few of these things so I will share that here.

Was caused because I was exporting the model with skeleton included from ZM3. From what I now know, skeleton is only checked during export for peds, vehicles and weapons usually. The settings for the materials in GIMS I was searching for is in the GIMS material editer under options and then the expansion boxes for material options.
Can be solved by assigning LOD and a distance in the user defined options while the mesh is selected in ZM3. If not it appears the default value is 10000.

I still have not figured out the crashing issue. Im not even sure right now that its the model and not my first attempts at a Ymap being wrong. I tried with no collision and that made no difference. I also tried with a different model and the results are the same. So I am either doing something wrong with the .mesh in ZM3, or I am doing something wrong with the setup of the props DLC (codewalker/ytyp/ymap/_manifest).

Any thoughts or advice would still be greatly appreciated....