Tutorial woes

[Jabberwock]

I have started playing the tutorial, unfortunately, it does not go that well... I got to the point where I find the automated vehicle factory and I was told to equip the defences against the enemy drones. I was also told that with the ammo etc. the base (Offworld Farm) should be safe. Well, it was not - the drones practically obliterated it...

I have decided to go back to my earlier save - imagine my unpleasant surprise when I have realized that the save is not isolated and the newer play have actually borked the previous game... I got tips on the tutorials which I should not have at that time, but finishing them did not trigger the next mission - I have shot down the drone that has appeared after the first prometheum mining, but the vehicle factory is still inaccessible and I have no tutorial prompts at all. Is there any way to restart them?

I know that I can just go on and play further, but having the factory would be nice, moreover some of the tips in the tutorial are quite useful, so I would not like to miss them. Still, I am not very eager to start from zero...

[Luke]

Yes.. two things:

You might be able to manually check the box in your PDA to complete the quest step.

If not, you can use the console:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/383120/discussions/0/2264689848046178438/

[Jabberwock]

Thank you!

The PDA does not have any items any more, so that is not possible.

From the wiki descriptions it seems I have not gone past the chapter one, so I guess it is the beginning anyway. Oh, well, it's just a few hours :)

[Jabberwock]

Correction: when I have listed the chapters with the console commands, it turned out the list is much more granular. The good news was that I was able to reactivate the mission inside the factory. The bad news is that I still cannot get in (at reactivation of the previous mission console says it has been completed twice and nothing happens...). I hope that if I manage to get into the factory, I will be able to complete the following tutorials...

[japp_02]

Originally posted by Luke:

Yes.. two things:

You might be able to manually check the box in your PDA to complete the quest step.

If not, you can use the console:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/383120/discussions/0/2264689848046178438/

Good stuff and link, but: My advices at the end can no longer be done because with the new game version there are TONS of missions and with 'lschaps' the console screen will scroll down without you reading and knowing what the chapter number is :(
I haven't checked wether this has been fixed or changed, I think not...but try it.

Therefore I can only recommend this: Make a backup save with ESC + disk icon before a mission step and reload this if the mission has problems.
When you have finished your session delete these additional saves, they take huge place on your HDD.

Alternatively you can of course simply skip the mission step in the PDA.

[cwsumner]

When you Start a save file, it is now the "Active" file and is immedietly changed. So, to go back to a previous save, first lighlite the previous save and hit the "Copy" button and then rename the copy before Starting it. That will be your new "Active" save. And,the old save is still ok.

The "current" save that was started is also the active database. This has advantages for both Single player and Multi player games because a crash does not loose nearly as much as the ordinary way of saving can.

For example, you have not "saved" for several hours and the power suddenly goes out and you lose everything you have done. Except, in Empyrion you don't lose much at all, it is (mostly) still there when you restart.

[Needleship]

Hi Jabberwock, hi All!
Sorry for the trouble...
- The (unscripted) BA attack will be toned down in the next update, along with a lot of other fixes

- To be more reactive to players, the guided tutorial uses a ton of autostart chapters. Those won't be shown in the PDA until activated by trigger condition.

- There is currently a bug, that when restarting a scenario again in the same EGS session, some PDA data of the autostart chapters is not being reset.
(Still working on a good repro case, it happened to me only during longer playthroughs or at certain steps only. The issue has likely been not yet seen earlier, since other scenarios don't use as much autostarts.)
Not sure if this also happens to reloading a save game.
For starting anew (likely, for any scenario), it is best to close EGS and then restart fresh.
Possibly this could already help with the tutorial save, if it was untouched.

- To jump to a section of the tutorial, you can use the debug chapters. (It will fill up your PDA list though, and you can only choose one chapter to jump to)
Once you reach the planet, activate godmode (Open game console, type 'gm'.)
Do not leave the teleporter box yet. Sink straight under water, under the ground. There will be a structure with a lever in the middle. Flip it. Then open PDA [F1], select a mission part you want to jump to. (You still have to get to that location) Wait for ca. 4 seconds, then all the PDA switches should have settled. Move to the location where the chapter would start normally.

[TwitchyJ]

Originally posted by Needleship:

- There is currently a bug, that when restarting a scenario again in the same EGS session, some PDA data of the autostart chapters is not being reset.
*snip*
The issue has likely been not yet seen earlier, since other scenarios don't use as much autostarts.) [/i]

The devs are well aware that things are not unloading correctly unless you exit to desktop.
Happens between switching saves, switching scenarios, switching servers, or any combo of those.

It affects all manner of things.
From map data failing to unload from one save to another, to custom configs failing to unload, to PDA data not unloading, tech tree data not unloading, etc, etc.

Here is one of the earlier bug reports where the devs acknowledged it calling it a "cache issue" (2021 by the way)
https://empyriononline.com/threads/unable-to-get-an-appointment-story-mission-sanctuary.97946/#post-437021
Although it wasn't the issue in that particular report, if you keep reading you will see Hummel-o-War say he will make an internal note on the unloading issue anyways.

There were many more reports where the failure to unload was documented in more detail about what all it affects, but in each one of them it was always treated as unimportant and pushed back.
No matter how many times myself and a few others have tried to get the devs to realize the full scope of the issue it never has gotten the immediate treatment it has deserved.

Good luck.

Edit
Also yes, there were dedicated reports specifically for this bug.
Good luck finding them on the official site though.
They were either removed by the devs or they are too impossible to find due to the site not letting you search common terms often times.

[Needleship]

Originally posted by TwitchyJ:

(...), but in each one of them it was always treated as unimportant and pushed back.
No matter how many times myself and a few others have tried to get the devs to realize the full scope of the issue (...)

Hi TwitchyJ!

- There could be the "litte" problem of getting a _good_ repro case... :(

Most often this is the reason for such frustrating / ancient bugs still lingering.
There is no malice or disregard involved.
The things you cited could be different bugs, at other sections. Or even dependent of hardware. No way to tell easily.


... Even if there is a clear repro, this is most often just the first step. - - If it is embedded in or interacting with lots of other things, it is still hard to pinpoint what it actually causes.

E.g. in this case, if there are a ton of PDA chapters / missions working before, you have to find out exactly which one, when, does trigger it during exit, and then simplify the situation as far as possible.
The more precise the initial report, the higher the chances that this can be found and fixed much faster. But the real search often just starts after an issue is reported...


(For the PDA problem -- it is not just that Rewarded or Activatable states don't reset. They -do-. Usually. But sometimes, ... not ...?

Got a whole list of situations collected in the tutorial, but not yet a clear picture, what connects them. But since it -seems- to cluster at the guided tut, it might be related to autostart chapters, or 'waiting' /'overlapping' chapters in the background?
Have to test much more, sadly, and then build a 'proof-of-bug trigger' short scenario for the actual fixing to start with. ... ... ... )

[Jabberwock]

Update: I have read more about the console commands and managed to restart with the command clearing chapters and i managed to restart the mission and follow the tutorial further. I have then borked it again (by loading the interstellar ship with resources before the tutorial wanted me to) and this time no amount of clearing and restarting helped. But as I understand from the list of missions, this was near the end of the tutorial.

I understand the point about the autosaving, however, I do not think having a 'backup' which can get actively ruined by current saves is confusing at best, especially for new players. Also, it is the same with making the save current - it is not at all obvious that if you load a 'backup', you effectively lose it (i.e. you cannot go back to it again). I understand that is what 'copy' is for, but the difference between backup (i.e. the disc icon in the pause toolbar and the copy command is not clear at all, even with the loading tip).

[`KokoJacK_^]

The game constantly saves. So if you want to keep a save point, you have to backup everytime you load that save.
I'm pretty sure other games like this do the same thing (Minecraft, 7 Days to die...)

[Needleship]

Originally posted by Jabberwock:

. I have then borked it again (by loading the interstellar ship with resources before the tutorial wanted me to) and this time no amount of clearing and restarting helped. But as I understand from the list of missions, this was near the end of the tutorial.

There would be still info how to warp and the importance of docking, but yes, that would be basically it.

Just for clarity - I tried to reproduce this. Could be also fixed in next update, but maybe it is a lack of clarity in the tutorial tasks.
- Was there a marker visible on the lever to open the hangar doors?
- Have you tried entering the vessel, and lifting off?
At that moment, after loading the vessel's tanks, there is no task up, but the tut isn't stuck... or at least it should not be.

[Amrak]

Originally posted by `KokoJacK_^:

The game constantly saves. So if you want to keep a save point, you have to backup everytime you load that save.
I'm pretty sure other games like this do the same thing (Minecraft, 7 Days to die...)

True yes some games are the same. 7D2D you can not create a save at all. The developers did this to prevent save scumming.
@Jabberwock It gets easier to understand/workwith after a couple of uses. Just when you have to/want to go back, once you are back in the game save it.

[japp_02]

To keep a backup game in the same state forever: Make a copy of it in the menu and start with the copy.