POI INS Files

zztong

Hunter
I'm not sure where to ask this since it isn't specific to game modification and it doesn't seem like a request for support. It's more like a request for information.

Background: I've had this nagging error that is harmless, but it bugs my users, so I'm trying to deal with it.

2025-12-19T14:10:29 80.038 ERR PrefabInsideDataFile Load C:/Users/zzton/AppData/Roaming/7DaysToDie/Mods/ZZTong-Prefabs/Prefabs/Traders/trader_joelx.ins, expected data len 15300. Probably outdated ins file, please re-save to fix. Read error:
2025-12-19T14:10:29 80.042 EXC buffer is too small
at PooledBinaryReader.Read (System.Byte[] _buffer, System.Int32 _index, System.Int32 _count) [0x00056] in <2535b88e54944baa8d45436662eca413>:0
at PrefabInsideDataFile.Read (System.IO.BinaryReader _br) [0x00047] in <2535b88e54944baa8d45436662eca413>:0
at PrefabInsideDataFile.Load (System.String _filename, Vector3i _size) [0x0002b] in <2535b88e54944baa8d45436662eca413>:0

And so I follow the advice... "Probably outdated ins file, please re-save to fix."

So I open it up in the Prefab Editor, the save it. Sure enough, the error goes away ... and so does the INS file.

It doesn't seem to hurt anything if there is no INS file, which begs a series of questions:

What does the INS file do?
Why doesn't something crash without it?
Why doesn't the Prefab Editor regenerate it?
If it isn't needed, why is TFP still shipping those files?
Will I pay a price later if I remove all the INS files from my modlet to save size? (They are about 10M of 500M unzipped, so around a 2% savings.)
 
I asked programming and the INS file might be something for culling the interiors of POIs that might no longer be needed. Could potentially go away in the near future.
 
I asked programming and the INS file might be something for culling the interiors of POIs that might no longer be needed. Could potentially go away in the near future.

I don't really understand "culling the interiors of POIs." I keep thinking of "culling a herd." This must have something to do with graphics? I think I've heard of culling in graphics before... maybe?

Thanks for asking them, by the way.
 
I don't really understand "culling the interiors of POIs." I keep thinking of "culling a herd." This must have something to do with graphics? I think I've heard of culling in graphics before... maybe?

Thanks for asking them, by the way.
My guess is it relates to not rendering things in interiors that aren't visible from the player's perspective. So a basic example might be the floor behind a couch that you can't see from where you're standing. That might not be an example that applies in this game, of course. So the INS file may give information that lets that happen. Without it, I'd assume it means you won't improve performance by culling, which may not be a big deal if that process doesn't help in a noticeable way.
 
My guess is it relates to not rendering things in interiors that aren't visible from the player's perspective. So a basic example might be the floor behind a couch that you can't see from where you're standing. That might not be an example that applies in this game, of course. So the INS file may give information that lets that happen. Without it, I'd assume it means you won't improve performance by culling, which may not be a big deal if that process doesn't help in a noticeable way.
This is what I assume as well. We are probably doing it a different way now so the INS file is the old way is my assumption.
 
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