Submit Feedback

Safe Zones Allowing Block Damage, and Blocks Disappear on Servers

Mithridates Rex shared this bug ago

Reported

I play on Keen server CA#2, and for two days in a row, I've logged in to discover missing blocks inside a safe zone that is set to have disabled damage, disabled grinding and the works--it is a zone that is controlled only by me. A few weeks ago I reported a similar occurrence to the Keen admins for the public servers, when several blocks on a landing pad had been deleted, so this is now the third time this has happened this month.

I'm beginning to suspect that this is somehow related to the newly occurring phantom damage from thrusters that are either actively firing, or resting directly on top of armour blocks, and it seems to happen at a constant rate regardless of the block type. I know from experimentation that this phantom damage appears to remove components and lower the percentages, but the blocks themselves cannot be welded back up as they're technically intact and all the components are present (nor can you add any of those blocks to a build queue by right-clicking). Non-armour blocks can even become visibly damaged, with solars beginning to spark, while still outputting power. A server restart does restore these blocks to their previous state, HOWEVER, there's one exception: It seems that if a block is at ZERO percent build completion (which should be impossible if it is placed into the world), despite all of its components appearing present when a welder is pointed at it, that block is DELETED following a server restart. As best as I can tell, this only happens if the block is reading at 0%, and if the source of the phantom damage is still present during a restart. That is the only explanation I can discover for this reoccurring problem.

I sincerely hope this problem can be addressed, as it has caused me considerable vexation, and the admins had previously assured me that the damage was not in fact "real". I request that the admins and game developers conduct an exploit test, to guarantee that such block deletions do not result in the deletion of critical blocks like reactors or safe zones.

I have the same bug

Replies (4)

QA KeenSWH ●

Hello Mithridates Rex,

I am sorry to hear you are experiencing this issue. It seems your problem is similar to this one. Unfortunately, I was not able to reproduce the grid disappearing after a server restart. Could you please share further information with me?

Have you taken any other steps before the server restart? Does this issue occur on every single grid or just one? Could you please share the affected grid with me?

You can access your blueprints files by typing %appdata% into your Windows search bar and you will be redirected to the hidden Roaming folder. After that just follow: \Roaming\SpaceEngineers\Blueprints. Select the correct folder where your blueprint is saved (local or cloud), zip the file and attach it here.

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,

Keen Software House: QA Department

Reply URL

Mithridates Rex ●

So far I have only noticed this problem occurring on a single grid, namely the one called Lovell City. I had previously reported a problem also with the display tables on CA#2, on this same grid, showing full-sized blueprints instead of miniature ones. While this base is a local landmark with many grids nearby or attached to it, belonging to many different players, I am the main owner/controlling party of this station, and the other players who live at it are active enough that their grids are not cleaned up by the server.

I have experimented with inflicting phantom damage with a ship, and noted that it resets once I leave the physical area. I also tested to see if a nearby thruster kept in constant contact, and thrusting to cause phantom damage during a server reset, would also force the blocks to be deleted. So far this method has not yielded any result. I still remain convinced that these blocks, located where they are, were deleted due to the proximity of thrusters, despite the grid having an active safe zone that only I can access. Several of the blocks deleted were owned by me, as I had previously replaced them following other deletions.

I have included a copy of the station's present blueprint directly from the server, which may also include the glitched projector/display tables. This is likely a very large blueprint, due to the connected ships and subgrids, as I did not disconnect anything when making it.

Files:

URL

QA KeenSWH ●

Hello Mithridates Rex,

Thank you for the blueprint. However, I have not found any safe zone on the grid. I need to test it with both the grid and the safe zone settings together. Can you please provide me with a blueprint of a grid which is also affected by this issue and contains a safe zone? Can you please also let me know which thrusters were damaging the blocks?

Have you managed to replicate the issue with the same grid?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,

Keen Software House: QA Department

Reply URL

Mithridates Rex ●

The safe zone on that base is a wholly separate grid, I have reattached it as a subgrid, via connector. I hope this works for you, if not I can provide a separate blueprint for the safe zone itself. I have not been able to force the game or the server to delete specific blocks with thruster damage. I did set up an apparatus to experiment, which keeps an active thruster in direct contact with some armour blocks. But so far nothing.

However, this station experiences another glitch as well: It's display tables only project full sized blueprints, and not the miniature ones they are supposed to use. I have reported this issue several times to the admins, and to Keen directly, but so far I've not had any answers. That problem began before the missing blocks, around July 2023, after the server experienced a severe outage that needed fixing.

Files:

URL

QA KeenSWH ●

Hello Mithridates Rex,

Thank you for the blueprint. However, I have still not found any safe zone on the grid. There have been updates which changed the thruster damage issue and that could be the reason why you cannot replicate it anymore.

As for the projectors, the scale has been set to 100%, decreasing the scale brought the blueprints to their smaller versions. Does this setting change work for you as well?

Thank you for letting me know.

Kind regards,

Keen Software House: QA Department

Reply URL

Mithridates Rex ●

The safe zone should have been visible as a subgrid, but since it wasn't I've linked the separate blueprint for the safe zone grid itself. I hope this is helpful, as my base operates the safe zone as a separate entity in-game to prevent hacking and power draining.

I still have not been able to force the deletion of blocks using thrusters. However, I again noticed that if drilling is enabled (but damage is off) blocks will take damage when drills make contact. I'm not sure if this is a separate issue, or if it is connected to the other. While the phantom block damage from the thrusters cannot be welded (as it technically isn't damaged), what happens to the blocks impacted by drills does appear to be very real and can be welded by the player. This is likely not the cause of my problems on CA#2, as I never have drilling enabled, but I didn't know if Keen was also aware of this fact either.

Files:

URL

QA KeenSWH ●

Hello Mithridates Rex,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I reproduced the issue with drilling in a safe zone and I reported it internally.

Since only one bug report is allowed per thread, if you manage to reproduce your initial problem please create another thread. Thank you for understanding.

Kind regards,

Keen Software House: QA Department

Reply URL