Zero Spawns at the Pagoda and Also Other Locations

[Croms_Faithful]

Basic Info:

Platform: PlayStation 5
Issue Type: Other
Game Mode: Single Player
Server Type: Offline Singleplayer
Map: Exiled Lands
Server Name: N/A

---

Bug Description:

@Caroll
This report concerns a perpetually problematic issue which I have been wrestling with in recent times. So what has been happening is that I have been finding that several locations dotted around the map have had no, and by that mean 0 NPCs spawn in. No humanoids, no bests, not even merchants or religion trainers. For example, I have most recently noticed that the Pagoda of Boundless Lusts is utterly uninhabited. No enemy NPCs, even Yakira the Priestess of Derketo is gone. It is just completely deserted. But it is relevant to note that I have been having this issue elsewhere too. For example no NPCs spawn in the entire Volcano biome, with even Vathis the Heirophant and merchants not spawning in. In addition, the shalebacks which would ordinarily patrol not far from my base and get hacked up periodically by my thralls are also gone. This issue seems to be becoming progressively worse over time. A good friend and fellow Asura Barnes suggested that I may have an aphended table, resulting in a cascade error. But if our awesome team would also like to explore the issue further, then I welcome their help and expertise wholeheartedly.

---

Bug Reproduction:

This is a tricky one, I am honestly not sure how to reproduce this. It just happened one day. Travel to the Pagoda and notice that every living creature is now gone. Travel to the Volcano and notice that every living creature is gone. Walk around the perimeter of ones base and notice that all but one living thing is gone. And they were all there as normal the days beforehand. I have really struggled to establish a precipitator to this issue. But just to put it out there; I have only ever had 1 out of the 7 encounters/events work for me to date. I am just adding this incase it is part of a larger spawning issue. I hope that this will be of help. Please feel free to ask me any follow up questions you may have.

[Barnes]

I’ll add my two cromcoins in here:

Because I care, I track the issues that might not apply to me as a predominantly PC player, on behalf of PS players. Therefore I’ve been following Crom’s gradual Single Player Experience degradation. Other players whom I admire and will not bring into the discussion have wiped and started afresh. I sincerely appreciate and honor that behavior, yet I am resolutely in the camp of protecting players’ savegames if possible.

We have taken every effort to make backups and ensure Crom has familiarity with the process, and the reversal of any errors is reassured in him that he can restore from a recently-acquired Cloud backup benefit from PS Plus.

The next parts are due to my testing in PC where I can see the DBs, the Backups and the Recovery “shunts” that are built in the case of a nonexpected game closure. Obviously we can’t access the raw game files on the PS, or one of us would’ve cracked it open.

My assertion is that at some point, and this is a Columbo-like process in many respects, that while playing, his console was unceremoniously switched off due to a power issue. If this happened whilst playing, in certain modes and configurations, f’rinstance … you might cast a block under the terrain that violates an Event. Under normal circumstances, after you close the game and restart it, the miscast block would either be pruned, or you’d be forced to go back to a system-made backup of the .DB.

BUT because the miscast block was placed and you were shut down by a power outage, I believe PS’s autofix system (on reboot) may well have altered your game’s DB. As I’ve said elsewhere, any exogenous alteration of the DB can have long-term and cascade effects on your DB. My assertion is further that a Table or Attribute was prepended or appended.

So back to the now-permanent miscast block (or other involuntary “violation”): Because (in my humble appraisal) the Event System was an all or nothing venture, no Events were spawning for you. NOW, you are getting some, and this is after the all or nothing coding has apparently been squarshed.

What we are now seeing is a gradual depopulation of the world, one camp at a time. As your resident game whisperer, I think they’re connected.

[sestus2009]

I realize this is not related however my wife was having issues with her ps4 1tb unit I got in touch with Sony initialize was recommended did it some one during the night tried to run through a power pole we lost electricity and her ps4 is screwed Game information was being loaded. I think I should get her a battery back up.

[sestus2009]

@Barnes @Croms_Faithful

[Barnes]

I don’t want to be too brand-aware, because any UPS is better than none when it comes to your precious SleekBoxes. However, I have been treated very well by APC through my entire career, and two of my units are now entering 20 years in service. You will need to replace the batteries, but they’re modular and fairly affordable.

If you’re planning to run your PS4 and your TV on the UPS, you should shoot for one that protects 550-600 VA (volt amps).

Our power out here used to be quite poor, and our UPSes would burn through batteries every year. But every single piece of computing equipment on this ranch is on one!

[sestus2009]

Thank you she is going to get a early Christmas present ps5 and a battery backup. I have one in the office that I need to replace battery’s in it may be 30 years old. Thanks again.

[sestus2009]

I meant the unit not battery