World Save Not Loading After Update
Tags: save, update, corruption, troubleshooting
If a world loads before an update but fails after, treat it as a compatibility or corruption issue.
Immediate safety steps
- Back up the entire save folder before trying any fixes.
- Copy
serverconfig.xml and any mod folders for reference.
- Disable auto-updates if you need to roll back a version.
Try a version rollback
- Use the Steam beta branch to match the old server version.
- Load the world and create a fresh backup.
- Follow the save migration guide before updating again.
Going from V2.6 stable to the V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer" experimental branch (Steam beta branch latest_experimental) is a major version step, not a routine patch. Saves do not load backward across the branch, so a world opened on V3.0 will not reload on a V2.6 server. Keep a pre-flip backup before opting in, and confirm the client and server are on the same branch - a mismatch shows up as an invalid version error, covered in Version Mismatch.
Repair corrupted regions
- Check logs for a specific region file error.
- Delete the referenced
.7rg region file to regenerate it.
- Warn players that changes in that region will be lost.
When to start fresh
- If the core world data fails to load, a new world is faster than repeated repairs.
- Import prefabs or POIs manually if you need to preserve builds.
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