Any way to force only one of each trader per map on random gen maps?

[Hillbilly_Dave]

I'll start by saying that I by no means would want this to be a universally applied change that everyone has to play with because I get that not everyone would want to do this since it would put traders very few and far between on the larger maps but one of the things that bugs me the most about this game, which I really do love overall, is that you can have several of the same trader on a single map. It's convenient, sure, never being super far from a trader, but it breaks immersion when you leave from Rekt's place, drive a km down the road, and run across another, identical Rekt. We can joke that they're twins but I've used the random gen previewer to look around some of the maps I've made and have seen as many 4 of the same trader on a single map, sometimes having two of the same trader at the outskirts of the same city, and that's after the 1.0 update which locked them all into their own, single biomes which arguably makes this issue worse since that means sometimes you leave from Rekt's place, go to the other side of the city, and there he is again.

I haven't seen a setting to prevent this but I'd love to have one so that people like me have the option to limit the traders to one spawn each.

[Serious]

Go to your 7d2d folder:
...\Steam\steamapps\common\7 Days To Die\Data\Config
and open the file rwgmixer.xml
---edit---
Before i forget it, backup this file before you make any change ;-)

Go the the last lines here you see something like:
...
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="forest" max_count="4" min_count="2" partial_name="trader_rekt"/>
...
change the min_count and max_count for all traders to 1:

<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="forest" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_rekt"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="burntforest" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_jen"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="desert" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_bob"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="snow" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_hugh"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="wasteland" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_joel"/>

Note that this does NOT guarantee that there is exactly 1 trader, but maximum 1 trader.
With every map of 6k and bigger and more or less default biom layout it should be almost always working. But for smaller maps it's possible there won't be a town in a biom. Without town no trader, at least on default.

Here you can also set the trader to be random by:
biomeTags="forest,burntforest,desert,snow,wasteland"
Note that it could happen with just one trader each but those random that 2 or more trader spawn close to each other and probably at the same town. So with just 1 trader each i would recommend to stick to the dedicated bioms for each trader.

[DarkFaceGlow]

I’d like just one also. I found Jen just a few skips away from another Jen and it really hurt my soul.

[Desert Rat]

I'm not aware of any setting to do this, but there is a way, if you're comfortable working in the xml. It would require editing the "prefabs.xml" file for the map you're using and removing all trader entries except the ones you want to keep. It's not really an elegant solution, and it leaves an empty space in the map where the traders were supposed to be, but it works. I've used this method to limit traders, and also to remove all traders. Perhaps someone else has a better way.

[Hillbilly_Dave]

Originally posted by Serious:

Go to your 7d2d folder:
...\Steam\steamapps\common\7 Days To Die\Data\Config
and open the file rwgmixer.xml
---edit---
Before i forget it, backup this file before you make any change ;-)

Go the the last lines here you see something like:
...
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="forest" max_count="4" min_count="2" partial_name="trader_rekt"/>
...
change the min_count and max_count for all traders to 1:

<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="forest" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_rekt"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="burntforest" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_jen"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="desert" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_bob"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="snow" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_hugh"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="wasteland" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_joel"/>

Note that this does NOT guarantee that there is exactly 1 trader, but maximum 1 trader.
With every map of 6k and bigger and more or less default biom layout it should be almost always working. But for smaller maps it's possible there won't be a town in a biom. Without town no trader, at least on default.

Here you can also set the trader to be random by:
biomeTags="forest,burntforest,desert,snow,wasteland"
Note that it could happen with just one trader each but those random that 2 or more trader spawn close to each other and probably at the same town. So with just 1 trader each i would recommend to stick to the dedicated bioms for each trader.

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

[CoffeeLover]

Originally posted by Serious:

Go to your 7d2d folder:
...\Steam\steamapps\common\7 Days To Die\Data\Config
and open the file rwgmixer.xml
---edit---
Before i forget it, backup this file before you make any change ;-)

Go the the last lines here you see something like:
...
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="forest" max_count="4" min_count="2" partial_name="trader_rekt"/>
...
change the min_count and max_count for all traders to 1:

<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="forest" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_rekt"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="burntforest" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_jen"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="desert" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_bob"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="snow" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_hugh"/>
<prefab_spawn_adjust bias="20" biomeTags="wasteland" max_count="1" min_count="1" partial_name="trader_joel"/>

Note that this does NOT guarantee that there is exactly 1 trader, but maximum 1 trader.
With every map of 6k and bigger and more or less default biom layout it should be almost always working. But for smaller maps it's possible there won't be a town in a biom. Without town no trader, at least on default.

Here you can also set the trader to be random by:
biomeTags="forest,burntforest,desert,snow,wasteland"
Note that it could happen with just one trader each but those random that 2 or more trader spawn close to each other and probably at the same town. So with just 1 trader each i would recommend to stick to the dedicated bioms for each trader.

This is why I rolled back to A21. I started a new game and my first trader was Rekt. The next forest town had Jen, and the third forest trader I found is Hugh. THIS makes more sense than being biome locked. The plus is I don't have to play with xml files.

A21 brought magazines and dew collectors. I can live with those. What I hate, hate, hate about 1.0 is the traders locked to biomes, the fact that I can't random gen a map without ALL the biomes, the dire wolves in 0 skull POIs, the nerfs to rewards, the rarity of armor pocket mods, and I'm sure I'm forgetting more changes. I'm ambivalent about the new armor.

TL;DR
I hate 1.0 and will not play it.

(edit: typo)

[CatPerson]

Originally posted by Serious:

But for smaller maps it's possible there won't be a town in a biom. Without town no trader, at least on default.

I think you can solve this by changing the below line in rwgmixer.xml from false to true.

	<township name="roadside">
		<property name="spawn_trader" value="false"/>
	</township>

(small example image): https://crimsonkeep.com/wallpapers/data/media/132/7DtD-B1-0-017.jpg

Although to be honest, I don't recall if I started seeing Traders occasionally by their lonesome on the small road hubs only after I changed that, or if it was happening even on default. I would assume/guess only after, but I just don't remember, lol.

At any rate, it still doesn't guarantee a biome that spawns with no "town" at all will always still end up with a roadsie trader within. It's random/odds seem kind of low, might have to generate several maps before you see it, but it is one way for it to happen. I have several maps from b309 and b333 that are like that. EDIT: I think they still need the main roads to exist - eg, a wildernes POI only map might not spawn them, since last I recall such wouldn't spawn the red line roads much/at all.

[Serious]

@CatPerson, yes that's the line, but from my own testing the roadside trader only spawns if you have no town in this biom.
If you want a roadside trader you have to remove e.g. forest biom from all towns, and even then you still need a street trough forest biom. So yes, it's possible to spawn roadside trader, but it needs a bit testing and fine adjusting.
I currently play on a 10k map with no forest towns and there are still just 2 roadside trader, and there would be enough space for more^^

[CatPerson]

Originally posted by Serious:

@CatPerson, yes that's the line, but from my own testing the roadside trader only spawns if you have no town in this biom.

No, I've seen a roadside exist in biome with cities, but it is extremely rare.
https://crimsonkeep.com/wallpapers/data/media/132/7DtD-B1-0-018.jpg

I would guess there is some kind of "weight/bias" consideration that massively leans towards spawning at towns/cities, and the odds of roadside + attached to cities together is just really really really small. I would have no idea how to alter that, it may not be possible with .xml.

My original post was mostly referencing tiny maps and how sometimes a city won't spawn in a biome with those -thus adding roadside might help out re: trader quest progression since a Trader would have another chance to spawn even if a town didn't.

I currently play on a 10k map with no forest towns and there are still just 2 roadside trader, and there would be enough space for more^^

I don't think the game cares if there's visibly "room/space." There's likely hidden parameters re: distance between each roadside Trader, as well as % chance of one even spawning with roadside vs. roadside with no trader. The odds are just very small/unpredictable with seemingly no (xml) method to try and force it to occur with high frequency. Edit: I have gotten 3 roadside in one biome plenty of times, but never tried for much higher.

I sometimes (like in that above linked image) allow Old West towns to spawn in biomes I don't want to have any of the usual towns/cities, but shrink them to 1 tile only, and add the trader/gateway/true parameter to them. Thus I get more Traders into a non-city biome in that fashion.

If one wanted it more extreme than that, one could also temp. delete all but one of the oldWest POI's from the Prefabs file folder (can copy them back later if you want) so that 1 OW tile would only be able to spawn the one POI - like some weird single wilderness POI but w/trader attached. >.> But that's a lot of extra steps.

I'm not sure if "oldwest" creates those main red road lines for the roadside-traders - if one wanted zero big cities at all, I mean - I haven't made an all wildernessPOI+tiny old-west map to check that.

[CatPerson]

Originally posted by CatPerson:

If one wanted it more extreme than that, one could also temp. delete all but one of the oldWest POI's from the Prefabs file folder (can copy them back later if you want) so that 1 OW tile would only be able to spawn the one POI - like some weird single wilderness POI but w/trader attached. >.> But that's a lot of extra steps.

Just to follow up for maybe the .001% of anyone who might care, deleting all old west POI and remnant old west POI's does work. You can't leave a single one tho, because it will copy-pasta itself all over the 1 tile (10 oldwestbookstores say). The only one that didn't copy itself (only 1 copy in the tile) seems to be the old west church, so you could leave that one.

Anyway you end up with an empty tile of space blocked by the usual Roadside POI's like a gas station, weigh station, rest stop etc. It's not super pretty but it works if one wants no town/city biomes but (more) Traders in them.

https://crimsonkeep.com/wallpapers/data/media/132/7DtD-B1-0-019.jpg