Hireables not spawning on owned stations

[dickyb365]

So as the title suggests, I'm having issues with props and hireables not spawning on my owned stations. A couple of weeks ago this wasn't the case and I could recruit from my own stations with an admin module but now nothing is spawning. I'm getting the NPCs in the trader sections and hireables on other stations, just not my own... Can anyone give me an idea as to how I can fix this please?

I have tried reloading the save, restarting the game, lowering graphics, etc. Yes I am using mods but nothing has changed recently which invalidates any of the mods as it was working in 6.20.

Any help would be most appreciated!

[Ketraar]

Can only speculate that your station doesn't have habitation modules. For more we would need a save.

MFG

Ketraar

[dickyb365]

The stations never needed habitation modules before - just an admin building was sufficient... I'm in the throes of building some hab modules on one of them to see if that changes things and if it doesn't, I'll post a save file.

[Alan Phipps]

I can confirm that in my vanilla long-term game, my Defence Stations with Admin but no Hab modules have no apparent redeployable crew, but on my production stations with Hab modules there are plenty around the docks that can be redirected (you don't have to hire them as they already work for you - you just send them to work somewhere else).

[dickyb365]

So previously, my stations with admin modules would cause hireables to walk around the docks, irrespective of habitation modules.

Now, even with Habitation modules, they are not spawning. What is the best way to share a save?

[Alan Phipps]

Is that for your stations with production modules too?

Just upload a vanilla save showing the issue to a reputable public fileshare site (ie involving no spam, malware or pressure to register to download) and post the open public sharing link in a post here.

[dickyb365]

Yes, two weeks ago, my stations that had an admin module had hireables. Now with no changes to mods/updates etc, they don't spawn at either admin module attached stations or those with habitat modules. The oddity is that they are still spawning at NPC stations? It's worth noting as well that none of the props are spawning like they used to either - boxes/planters etc.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to upload a vanilla save file as the game is modded. I appreciate that this would normally incur a "it must be something wrong with one of the mods" response, but as I said, nothing at all has been changed (the most recently updated mod was 23 May).

[CBJ]

I appreciate that this would normally incur a "it must be something wrong with one of the mods" response, but as I said, nothing at all has been changed (the most recently updated mod was 23 May).

The game itself has changed, to 6.20. Any or all of your mods might not be 100% compatible with 6.20, especially if they've not been updated since May. So yes, if it's not one of the things mentioned by Alan, it is most likely something wrong with one of the mods you are using.

[dickyb365]

I appreciate that this would normally incur a "it must be something wrong with one of the mods" response, but as I said, nothing at all has been changed (the most recently updated mod was 23 May).

The game itself has changed, to 6.20. Any or all of your mods might not be 100% compatible with 6.20, especially if they've not been updated since May. So yes, if it's not one of the things mentioned by Alan, it is most likely something wrong with one of the mods you are using.

But why would it all work when I was in the same save two weeks ago (after the most recent update to 6.20) and then not since Wednesday this week?

[Imperial Good]

But why would it all work when I was in the same save two weeks ago (after the most recent update to 6.20) and then not since Wednesday this week?

Maybe the mod took some time to break? Or one of the mods you subscribe to updated and broke?

I can support what people are saying above. In my experience player stations need habitation modules to spawn hireable crew. Been like this since very early days of X4.

[Scoob]

My HQ had an Admin Module and loads of NPCs to hire, as usual. I wanted to add some production to the station, so did that - just Water production. I then added Habitation modules and the NPC's disappeared, no longer spawning on the station when I arrived.

There is a direct correlation between adding Habitat modules and NPC's no longer spawning. I don't know why.

Note: it's rare that I'll have a station with both an Admin Module and Habitat modules. I tend to build Defence Platforms with Admin modules to control a sector - no workforce needed. Production stations that benefit from Workforce don't usually have admin modules.

[Alan Phipps]

@ Scoob: There might be a workforce demand pull operating on production stations. By that I mean when you first add habitation modules, the first thing the production station does is to try to build up enough workforce to increase production efficiency. Maybe during that period of extreme 'pull' there may be no/few spare staff to appear on docks. All I can say is that my vanilla production stations with habs, including those with Admin modules as I often use them as a focal connective core when I start building, all have lots of staff for redirection on their docks.

Maybe if your experiences are different in modded games, it might be worth comparing mods with the OP (maybe by PM) to see if you have anything in common.

[dickyb365]

@ Scoob: There might be a workforce demand pull operating on production stations. By that I mean when you first add habitation modules, the first thing the production station does is to try to build up enough workforce to increase production efficiency. Maybe during that period of extreme 'pull' there may be no/few spare staff to appear on docks. All I can say is that my vanilla production stations with habs, including those with Admin modules as I often use them as a focal connective core when I start building, all have lots of staff for redirection on their docks.

Maybe if your experiences are different in modded games, it might be worth comparing mods with the OP (maybe by PM) to see if you have anything in common.

So like @Scoob, initially I only had an admin module on the station (but there were solar panels as it was supporting the majority of my factories in the area). When I initially asked the question, there was no-one spawning at all - normally a save/load cycle works to fix this. It didn't and I checked on graphics drivers, an update was available that had been released the day after I asked the question. Still no fix.

Now that I have habitat modules on the station, the habitats are at about 90% capacity and I am starting to see some coming back. Not sure what caused the initial issue but it does correlate with what others have said, just not something that I have experienced before.

[Scoob]

@ Scoob: There might be a workforce demand pull operating on production stations. By that I mean when you first add habitation modules, the first thing the production station does is to try to build up enough workforce to increase production efficiency. Maybe during that period of extreme 'pull' there may be no/few spare staff to appear on docks. All I can say is that my vanilla production stations with habs, including those with Admin modules as I often use them as a focal connective core when I start building, all have lots of staff for redirection on their docks.

Maybe if your experiences are different in modded games, it might be worth comparing mods with the OP (maybe by PM) to see if you have anything in common.

Interesting point. If the crew are gainfully employed, then having none wandering around of course makes perfect sense. However, once a Station is up to the required Workforce max, will we still see no free-roaming Crew? Do we need to have Extra crew for this?

The point remains though... The Admin Module adds free-roaming Crew to a station. They have no jobs. Workforce ONLY uses the Workforce values. So, I might clearly see a dozen free-roaming Crew on my station, yet Workforce is zero = they ain't workers. Once a habitat is built though, free-roaming crew vanish. There's no job for them, where are they?

I will test with the HQ what happens if I let workforce fill the entire habitat, rather than for recruitment to stop once it hits the required level. This might provide more information.

[Harpya]

Apologies to revive and old thread, but I have exactly the same problem:

Old vanilla save, several hundred hours in.

Before, any (defense) station with an admin module used to have NPCs walking around that I could talk to and send to my ships and stations.

Now, the stations are empty of roaming NPCs. Also, decorations like flower pods are missing. Only factories with workforce have the occasional NPC, "working" the docks. But no more groups of chatting NPCs like before.

I last played in May 2023, came back this month. So it must have been an update in between.

Reloading/moving to different sections / waiting does not help.

Many thanks for any ideas!

[CBJ]

The OP's problem was potentially caused by mods, which most likely makes it an issue for the mods' authors to solve. If you would like us to try and help work out what the problem might be in your case, you will need to provide us with some information to work with. Please start with the information requested in the very first thread at the top of this forum, including whether or not your game is modified.

[Harpya]

Thank you for getting back to me.

Here are the required infos:
Game is strict vanilla: no mods,
V 6.20, English.
All DLCs.
Young gun gamestart, several hundred hours into the game.

The Diaxdiag is from the laptop I am currently using. My main PC is much faster, but the problem is the same on both machines.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eGglun ... sp=sharing

The included savefile has the player at a Defense Platform where the problem occurs:
Before 6.20 NPCs would walk around that I could send to work somewhere else. This was the case on all stations with Admin Center. Now, all these are empty of people. I did not change anything else. I just came back after a 10 month break and found it as is. No reloading, relocation etc. helps. Also, on luxury docks, decorations are missing.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UyGg4f ... sp=sharing

Many thanks for any ideas.

Should I put this in a new thread?

Edit, PS:
Another bug(?) in my save is that Xenon do not build up their stations. They place Defence Platforms, but never go past the 15 percent hull. I leave them space, even cleared a whole sector from my factories Hewars Twin II, so they can come back. but they only send ships, without building up their stations.

[Alan Phipps]

@ Harpya: Hello. It is a very bad idea to put different issues than the thread title one into the same Tech Sp thread as the right devs will not see the added ones. One type of issue topic per thread is the rule for here.

That said, the Xenon invisible station/outpost build site is a common occurrence, perhaps linked to their overall station cap, where the station module sits near-invisible at 15% hull and may or may not have any resources in the associated build storage. Sometimes it is a lack of Xenon supply ships/miners (or their safe access to the build site) to deliver all 3 essential Xenon building resources of Ore, Silicon and Energy Cells. See here. Still, let's not discuss that further here or we'll derail the thread.

[Harpya]

Thank you, yes. My bad, sorry, got carried away. I will stick to the NPC issue in here, and will start a new thread regarding the Xenon.