Mod and their impact on the game

After the Valey dlc update i was wondering how mod interact with the base game and disturb it,even corrupt original files.
Also when you take a look at the game log file i had one mod who showed some error otherwise nothing who could indicate it was related directly to mod, but still the game had some stutter and half the usual framerate.
The only thing who showed up in the log was a communication loss with the graphic adaptater but still it was related to steam workshop mod anyway.
Is their a consol who can show more in depth what is hapening live,like you have in Ets2 or Ats for example to help you out.

last edited by Raphael

Really the only things that might ever need cleared cache wise are the contents of the MeshCache and TextureCache folder. I say might because I believe the whole "clear the cache" solution works on placebo effect...for the most part. I have problems with missing textures occasionally(white tires etc.). And they always fix themselves eventually. Which usually requires at least closing and reopening the game. And is what gives the placebo effect from "clearing the cache". You closed the game, which is the 1st step in solving the problem, to "clear the cache". You then reopen the game, the 2nd step in solving the problem, and suddenly the problem is solved. You then attribute the cause falsely to "clearing the cache". I'm not saying it always works like that. But for the most part I believe it does. By that I mean that textures and meshes somehow deleting themselves or becoming corrupt isn't very likely to ever actually happen(not saying it's impossible, just very unlikely is all). What NEVER works is using the RELOAD or UPDATE features of the Dev Tools(they have other uses though for sure).

Anyway, back to my main point. Unless you're wanting to reset things to default that you've changed from within the game settings, there's no reason to delete the JoystickControls folder or the UserSettings.stse file. Unless you want to reset all your progress in the game there's no reason to delete the Userprofile.stu file. Unless you want to reset all your progress on maps/levels, there's no reason to delete the UserSaves folder. If you want to default the Config.xml you can delete it, edit it, or just copy and paste the one from C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SpinTires MudRunner . There are no reasons, that I know of, to delete the ShaderCache.sdc file. It's a static file that never changes. The only reason it's there is to serve as a backup for the one in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SpinTires MudRunner(apparently, since it's an exact copy of it).

So...like I said. If you really think "clearing the cache" is what "needs" to be done, by all means do so. If you're doing it just to resolve some kind of texture or mesh issues, you only need to delete the TextureCache and MeshCache folders(or the contents thereof). And, IMO, it's typically a waste of time to do so. The fault actually lies in the game engine(again IMO). Or how else would simply closing and reopening the game, and NOT "clearing the cache", fix the problem?

BTW, I've never had a mesh issue present itself. Not sure why that is, when texture issues are so common(for me at least).

@joridiculous said in Mod and their impact on the game:

@mudhappy Pretty darn effective 'placebo' when even the dev(s) say you should clear the appdata folder if you have abnormalities in the game.

texture and mesh cache only need clearing when you use custom objects .. if you have never loaded a map with custom objects then you wont need to touch the cache ... if they wanted to be effective why have they not implented a clear cache/folder within the game or a seperate tool for the game .. if the devs knew this needed doing why not on this update did they not bring it .. ???

last edited by A Former User

This is not at all meant to be insulting or condescending, but do you guys know how the cache works and what it's for?

@mexican_420 said in Mod and their impact on the game:

This is not at all meant to be insulting or condescending, but do you guys know how the cache works and what it's for?

It works like any other kind of "cache". To hold frequently used data for quicker access. So what it's for, in this instance, is to speed up the process of loading textures and meshes when you start a map/level that contains textures and/or meshes not found in the TextureCache.zip and MeshCache.zip folders. So if the textures and meshes needed to render the map/level are already in their respective cache folders, they will be pre-loaded when the map/level is loaded. Instead of being added to those caches after the map/level is loaded. Which is why you get the choppiness in frame rate after you load a new map/level that contains textures and/or meshes not found in the TextureCache.zip and MeshCache.zip folders.

EDIT: It also applies to any other kind of texture or mesh too. Not just map objects. As in vehicle textures and meshes.

TL;DR Yes. I know exactly how it works and what it's for.

All I have to say further on the matter is this. Until I run into an issue with textures or meshes that can't be fixed by closing and opening the game, I'm not going to bother clearing any kind of cache. So far that hasn't happened. In fact, on the couple of occasions when I did clear the cache, 50% of the time it didn't even work to fix anything. The other 50% I can't prove wasn't the placebo effect I've spoken of. But I can't prove it was either. Since I can't remember if the textures that were missing were even in the TextureCache folder to begin with. If they weren't, then there's NO POSSIBILITY that clearing something that wasn't even there to begin with would do anything.

last edited by MudHappy

@MudHappy
Perfect. I only ask because I've personally had cases where making modifications to files for WIP mod trucks seem to not be applied, and I always chalked it up to the game engine, in all it's glory and with all of it's flaws, loading cached versions (for the sake of expedience?) instead of the freshly modified file, but clearing the cache did the trick to resolve it each time. Damn this game is quirky... 😕

@MudHappy
What i tried to do following the update was removing both shadercache.sdc from both location which didn't help at all.
After that i suppressed meshcache folder and valley dlc then did a file check in steam didn't work.
I finally unsuscribe from all mod then it worked but was a bit surpised the game didn't log anything about the mod but, just showed up the fact that the game was losing connection with the adaptater( gpu).

Also a few days back i tried to look back on old discussion on the forum from the original spintires since he had a lot information about modding and other interesting topic but now seems down wich is understandable.
We need that forum to grow in knowledge 🙂