Hi Galactic Survivalists! Please be aware that you cannot change the content of your Sectors.yaml and/or GalaxyConfig.ecf for a running game. Changes to these files (in the savegame folder) will result in corrupting your savegame. However it is possible to add new playfields into existing solar systems. We will post an instruction how to do so soon Eleon Game Studios
HWS did exactly that, as we always did the last 4 years and suffered from database corruption. A full wipe is the result. A video can be found on my HWS Forum of how it all happened and what we did. Or click here if you want to know more. From experience and first tests, there is still a way but requires database injections - super careful and precise operation. For that the Playfields table in global.db has to be opened. At the end insert the new playfield (no Star) you want to add with the proper ssid, pfid, coordinates etc. Basically the data you have set in your Sectors.yaml. All of this has to be made while the server is offline of course. Note: I did not 100% test it yet. No clue if there are side effects with Teleporters, Registry, Waypoints.
I suspect there are some issues with "player related data" because of the results of a few tests we did... We teleported a bunch of players off of a planet in a star system that was WAY outside the galaxy. After that we moved the star system (Was not part of Galaxy Generation). About half of those accounts could no longer log in at all until the accounts were reset. This Star System included a starter planet. It almost seems like ANY attempt to edit the map (Random gen or Static gen) causes issues with player accounts and related data. Doesnt matter if we add in an orbit, move a star thats not part of galaxy gen, Move an orbit, or correct a planet that has issues. Even the action of wiping a planet sometimes results in any player thats ever visited it becoming bugged. Its NOT 100% of the time either... So im wondering what specifically is in their data thats causing the difference. Have not finished investigating it yet as its so complex. If thats not enough... Sometimes wiping a planet bugs a players registry. Same with moving the orbit. Again, only wiping that players account seems to fix it. I hope this helps a little. I'll post more as I know more. Thank you for the video you posted Rexxus. At least i know im not crazy hahahaha. Sorry to hear you sound so worn down. I feel your pain dude... This has been a rough release on a lot of us with so much changed at once. Im almost afraid to wipe as Ive been through this with a few other developers so im VERY well aware of the issues they had to resolve moving to a database for their game. I have yet to talk to anyone about this... But I need to ask what the likely hood of eleon making DB changes that could impact saves over the next week or two is. I can already see a few flaws in the way the DB is structured that, when populated with a lot of data, would cause a lot of extra calls, And lead to a sudden CPU spike at a tipping point. I can also see that through the course of regular maintenance from bugged playfields and bad user data the database isnt going to hold up well to that... Im not sure thats been addressed.
I notice the solarsystemconfig files aren't kept in the save game folder. What happens if you change those in the scenario folder? Will the changed solarsystemconfigs apply to newly discovered solar systems in a current save game?
I originally posted this because I wanted to tie my old scenario into the alpha 12 world. This method may help you insert the planets and solar systems BEFORE you launch the server. https://empyriononline.com/threads/a12-exp-the-galaxy.92646/page-7#post-399980 For Rexxus and Keith I love you guys servers, and I'm sure you guys are more skilled than I am, but maybe this helps you or someone else. I think you have to generate the random galaxy first, then go in and plant the special planets. Keep the star positions in the galaxy, just change the name of the system to what you want. I did not think about replacing a solar system other than the start system, or after launch, but you may be able to adapt some of this method to your own needs. This method would allow you to start a game and generate the random galaxy. Then you would jump to the place you want to install a solar system, save the game then go into the save file, copy the sector file and change things around and place your own solar system. You would just choose a star that is in mostly the right spot, and replace with your custom. Each solar system generates a Sector file, so you would have to be sure to copy that sector file and keep the star, and its position in the galaxy.
@Keith Hovey We're experiencing the same stuff on Ttanscendence. Rexxus' video helped us understand what was going on and we made several of similar alterations on our save. We've decided not to hold events, wipe or change up our scenario/save until their is some news about the database. The player files get hosed when weird things happen with either the generated stars as they explore; or when we wipe a playfield/alter a playfield/alter the sector yaml. As time has gone on the 1-3 second messages increase in frequency. More players have to be restored from backup. Orbits or planet processes delay or fail to load.
We too have put off editing and changed how we do a few things for now as human error is the one thing guaranteed to happen eventually lol. Its just bad practice to edit a live save with a database involved. Im "Hoping" that maybe eleon just puts in some startup checks that can combat stuff like this BUT im not sure they will even consider it. Some devs do some dont. For now Im working on some scripts to help diagnose database issues before the server starts, and to compare sectors.yaml to the database and just fill in the blanks when required. I dont have a timeline as of yet as Ive been busy chasing down and correcting other issues from the recent patches. Live editing maps is something we all do a LOT of. Its not a good idea to leave this like it currently is.
