Common Issues

This page covers frequently encountered problems with sd-dumpsters and their solutions.

Dumpsters Cannot Be Looted (Networking Issue)

Symptom

Players cannot interact with or loot any dumpsters. No target option appears on dumpster props.

Solutions

1. Check if Config.GlobalCooldown is true -- when enabled, the script networks dumpster entities to share cooldowns across all players. If your server has a very high volume of networked entities, the script may fail to network dumpsters.

2. Set Config.GlobalCooldown to false to use per-player cooldowns instead. This removes the networking requirement:

   Config.GlobalCooldown = false

3. Reduce networked entities on your server by auditing other scripts that create networked objects.

TIP

This issue only affects a small number of servers with exceptionally high entity counts. If you cannot identify the source of excess entities, switching to per-player cooldowns is the simplest fix.

Cooldowns Not Working

Symptom

Players can loot the same dumpster repeatedly without waiting, or the cooldown resets unexpectedly.

Solutions

1. Check the cooldown setting in configs/config.lua:

   Config.DumpsterCooldown = 10 -- Minutes (not seconds)

2. Verify oxmysql is running -- player data is stored in the database. If oxmysql is not started before sd-dumpsters, data will not persist.

3. Check ensure order -- sd-dumpsters must start after oxmysql in your server.cfg.

4. Global vs per-player -- if Config.GlobalCooldown is true, cooldowns are shared. If false, each player has their own cooldown timer.

Items Not Appearing in Inventory

Symptom

Players loot a dumpster but receive no items, or items show in the console but not in the inventory.

Solutions

1. Verify items are registered -- all loot table items must exist in your inventory system. Check the Installation guide for item registration.

2. Check loot-to-stash mode:

   Config.LootToStash = false -- false = direct to inventory, true = into a temporary stash

   If set to true, items are placed in a temporary stash that opens after the progress bar. The player must take items from the stash. This requires ox_inventory.

3. Check loot chance -- each level has a DumpsterLootChance percentage. At level 1 this is only 60%, meaning 40% of searches find nothing. This is intentional.

4. Inventory full -- if the player's inventory is full (weight limit), items cannot be added. The notification "You can't carry all of the loot" will display.

5. Check if minigame is enabled and failed -- if Config.Minigame.Dumpsters.Enable is true, the player must pass the skill check before receiving loot. Failing the minigame results in no loot.

Hobo King Not Spawning

Symptom

The Hobo King NPC does not appear at the expected location, or the blip shows but no NPC is present.

Solutions

1. Check if the ped is enabled:

   Config.Ped.Enable = true

2. Verify the ped model -- the default model is "u_m_y_militarybum". Ensure this model is not blocked by your anticheat:

   Config.Ped.Model = "u_m_y_militarybum"

3. Check location coordinates -- verify the spawn locations in Config.Ped.Location are valid and accessible positions. The NPC spawns at a random location from this list each time the script starts:

   Config.Ped.Location = {
       {x = 3.152987, y = -1215.155, z = 25.70303, w = 267.1587}
   }

4. Blip is disabled by default -- Config.Blip.Enable defaults to false. Enable it to show the King's location on the map:

   Config.Blip.Enable = true

5. Interaction distance -- make sure you are within Config.Ped.Interaction.Distance (default 3.0) of the NPC to see the target option.

Locked Dumpsters Not Working

Symptom

Large dumpsters are never locked, or players cannot open locked dumpsters even with a power saw.

Solutions

1. Check if locked dumpsters are enabled:

   Config.LockedDumpster = { Enable = true }

2. Verify the grinder item name matches your inventory:

   Config.Items.Grinder = 'powersaw'

3. Check lock chance per level -- at level 1, the default lock chance is 25%. At level 5, it drops to 5%. The chance is defined in Config.Levels[level].LockChance.

4. Only large dumpsters can be locked -- props in Config.BinProps.Small (trash cans) are never locked. Only props in Config.BinProps.Large (dumpsters/skips) can be locked.

Rat Not Following Player

Symptom

After calling the rat with /CallRat or the export, it does not appear or does not follow.

Solutions

1. Check if the command is enabled:

   Config.RegisterCommandForFollow = true

2. Check if the export is enabled:

   Config.CreateExportForRatFollow = { Enable = true }

3. Verify the player owns a rat -- the notification "You do not own a rat" indicates no rat has been purchased.

4. Rat may be injured or on expedition -- an injured or deployed rat cannot follow. Check the rat menu for status.

5. Distance limit -- if the rat gets too far from the player, it automatically returns home. The notification "Your rat got too far away and has returned home" confirms this.

6. Anticheat interference -- some anticheat systems block client-side ped creation. Whitelist the rat ped model in your anticheat configuration.

Rat Stuck as Injured

Symptom

The rat shows as injured but the recovery timer does not count down or never completes.

Solutions

1. Wait the full recovery time -- default is 600 seconds (10 minutes). Check the rat menu for the remaining time display.

2. Quick Recovery perk -- if the Quick Recovery perk is invested, the timer should be shorter. At level 3, recovery is 30% faster (420 seconds instead of 600).

3. Database sync issue -- verify the rat's injury state in the database. A corrupted entry can cause it to stay injured. Contact an admin to reset the rat state if needed.

Recycler Not Processing

Symptom

Items are inserted but the recycling process does not start, or the timer does not count down.

Solutions

1. Check if recycling is enabled:

   Config.Recycling.Enable = true

2. Verify items are inserted -- use the "View Inserted Items" option to confirm items are in the recycler before starting.

3. Check for finished products -- if a previous cycle's products have not been collected, you cannot start a new cycle. Collect or discard old materials first.

4. Recycler at capacity -- if Config.Recycling.RestrictAmount.Enable is true and Amount is reached, the recycler will not accept more items. Default cap is 50 items.

5. Shared recycler conflict -- if Config.Recycling.Shared is true, another player may have started a cycle or have uncollected materials at that recycler.

6. Check interaction method -- ensure only one interaction method is enabled per location (enablePed, enableProp, or enableBoxZone).

Minigame Not Triggering

Symptom

Searching dumpsters or camps does not show a minigame/skill check.

Solutions

1. Check if minigames are enabled for dumpsters:

   Config.Minigame.Dumpsters.Enable = true

   Note: Camps do not have an Enable toggle -- the minigame always runs for camps if configured.

2. Verify the minigame resource is running -- if Config.Minigame.Dumpsters.Minigame is set to 'lib.skillCheck', ensure ox_lib is started. If using ps-ui, SN-Hacking, etc., ensure that resource is running.

3. Check arguments match the selected minigame -- the Args table must contain a matching key for your chosen minigame:

   Minigame = 'lib.skillCheck',
   Args = {
       ['lib.skillCheck'] = {
           {'easy', 'medium', {areaSize = 40, speedMultiplier = 1.2}},
           {'w', 'a', 's', 'd'}
       }
   }

Needle Prick / Hobo Attack Not Triggering

Symptom

Random events never occur during looting.

Solutions

1. Check if events are enabled:

   Config.Events.NeedlePrick.Enable = true
   Config.Events.HoboAttack.Enable = true

2. Check per-level chance values -- the chance is defined per level in Config.Levels, not in Config.Events:

   Config.Levels[1].NeedlePrickChance = 25  -- 25% at level 1
   Config.Levels[1].HoboAttackChance = 15   -- 15% at level 1

3. Cooldown blocking events -- both events have their own cooldowns (Config.Events.NeedlePrick.Cooldown and Config.Events.HoboAttack.Cooldown, both default 600 seconds). If an event triggered recently, it will not trigger again until the cooldown expires.

4. Low sample size -- at 15-25% chance, it is normal to loot many times without an event. The randomness is working as intended.

TIP

To test events during development, temporarily increase the chance values in Config.Levels to 100 and set the cooldowns to 0.

Locale / Translation Issues

Symptom

Text appears in the wrong language or shows raw locale keys like hobo.king_title.

Solutions

1. Set the correct locale at the top of configs/config.lua:

   Locale.LoadLocale('en') -- Options: 'en', 'es', 'de', 'fr', 'ar'

2. Check locale files -- ensure the JSON file for your chosen language exists in the locales/ directory (e.g., locales/en.json).

3. Missing translation keys -- if you see raw keys, the translation file is missing that entry. Add it manually to the locale JSON file or switch to a fully supported locale.

4. Locale keys use dot notation -- the JSON structure is flattened. A key like "hobo.king_title" maps to locales/en.json -> hobo -> king_title.

Target System Not Working

Symptom

No interaction options appear on dumpsters, trash cans, the Hobo King, or other interactable objects.

Solutions

1. Verify a target resource is running -- the script checks for qb-target, qtarget, or ox_target in that order. At least one must be started.

2. Fallback to TextUI -- if no target resource is found, the script falls back to a built-in TextUI system using [E] key prompts. This happens automatically but may behave differently from target-based interaction.

3. Check ox_target compatibility -- if using ox_target, the script maps it internally to the qtarget API. Ensure your ox_target version supports the qtarget export compatibility layer.

4. Ensure the target resource starts before sd-dumpsters in your server.cfg.