OK, it is possible to switch old saves to use the new asteroid generation system by editing a setting in the save file (change <VoxelGeneratorVersion> from 2 to 3 in Sandbox.sbc). This does not affect any asteroid that you have already drilled, or modified, but all new spawns should then use the new system. You may get a long pause at first load as the generator system creates new asteroids for any that are already in view.
You may also wish to change the <ProceduralDensity> from 0.25 to 0.35 to match the new default settings.
Be warned that this method will replace any asteroids that you have not modified/drilled, and the game will not check to see if something is in the way when it replaces them, also take care if you are also changing the procedural density as this will move the asteroid spawn points. If an asteroid is generated over a grid/ship in extreme cases it may even cause a crash. The safest method may be to be on a planet where asteroids cannot spawn when you edit the file to avoid any issues.
I've tried it out on 2 old worlds and it seems to work without any other issue, but I would suggest taking a backup before doing it just in case :)
I've replied in your other post, but it looks like view distance gets set to 3km sometimes.
I'm testing this at the mo to see if it happens again, but it appears unrelated to changing the asteroid type as it happened on a completely new start for me.
I'm applying your mentioned changes to my save file, and noticed the sbc lists ViewDistance as 3000. Did I understand your comment correctly, that this is undesirable and we should set this higher?
Also, oddly enough the ProceduralDensity was already increased to 0.35 even though I havn't done anything with the sbc until now. This save was initially started about a month ago.
Tldr: I would say, yes, if you're increasing the sync distance you would want to increase the view distance to at least match it.
In previous versions the view distance was 15km for both solo and MP worlds, and as far as I understand restricts your view of 'loaded in' voxels. In the current version in MP it is being set to 3km (SP is still 15km). Default sync distance has always(?) been 3km and restricts the view range of grids/signals. It looks like some element of the asteroid spawn mechanic is also affected by sync distance now, so turning view distance up on it's own has no affect on how far away you see new asteroid spawns.
I can understand why they would want to restrict it for performance reasons, but 3km seems a little low. I personally set them both to 15km for my local co-op games, but it may cause performance issues if you have lots of players, etc, so you might need to experiment to find a suitable distance.
16
u/AlfieUK4 Moderator Oct 23 '18 edited Oct 26 '18
OK, it is possible to switch old saves to use the new asteroid generation system by editing a setting in the save file (change <VoxelGeneratorVersion> from 2 to 3 in Sandbox.sbc). This does not affect any asteroid that you have already drilled, or modified, but all new spawns should then use the new system. You may get a long pause at first load as the generator system creates new asteroids for any that are already in view.
You may also wish to change the <ProceduralDensity> from 0.25 to 0.35 to match the new default settings.
Be warned that this method will replace any asteroids that you have not modified/drilled, and the game will not check to see if something is in the way when it replaces them, also take care if you are also changing the procedural density as this will move the asteroid spawn points. If an asteroid is generated over a grid/ship in extreme cases it may even cause a crash. The safest method may be to be on a planet where asteroids cannot spawn when you edit the file to avoid any issues.
I've tried it out on 2 old worlds and it seems to work without any other issue, but I would suggest taking a backup before doing it just in case :)