Mayra, this is an issue on PlayStation as well, possibly all platforms. It’s been like that for probably over a year or more. It’s also on both maps. It makes it especially difficult to find them on Exiled Lands since they can drop all over the designated mountainous terrain, rather than a small flat area like Siptah. See the attached screen (brightened for better visual since it was taken on siptah where it’s a bit darker).
Additionally, they don’t appear to drop at all on Single Player/Co-op. Though this is likely an issue with not being persistently online. There should be an indicator that triggers a meteor shower within a few minutes of arriving in the spawn zone.
And yes, the meteor smoke was indeed removed some time back. But they still appear in same places and can still be seen closer up. It is a little more challenging, btu you can find them.
Star metal can only be harvested by a tool that is at least Tier 4 or higher. If you attempt to farm with a tool that is lower than T4 (for example Acheronian or Steel), the node will deplete, but you will not get any resources.
These are the current tool tiers:
As for the smoke, that has been deliberately removed in Chapter 2 of Age of Sorcery across all platforms, it is not a bug.