[EDIT: Please note that the tip below is related to PC and does not reflect current content on Console - Clare]
All Stranded deep land creatures spawn at precise spawn locations at minute 0 pass 169 hours(7 days and 1 extra hour) since last killed by the player.
This pseudo-code snippet I come up with seems to run at all times all day long every hour during the game. The spawning rules are:
DO EACH AND EVERY hour pass at EXACTLY AND PRECISELY minute 00 of each hour on the watch:
{
-IF creature no longer exists on the island then
- - IF 169 hours(or more) have passed since creature was killed then
- - - IF player not around creature spawn location then
- - - -spawn creature
}
For example if you killed a creature on day 10 at 14:32 the next spawn will be on day 17 at precisely 16:00 on the clock. Let’s do the math WHY that is: At day 17 at time 14:00 (when a check occurs) 167 hours and something will have passed since kill, then at next check at hour15:00 168 hours and something will have passed, thus making a complete week since death. Then at the next check at 16:00 on day 17, 169 hours would have passed since creature death. Precisely 169 hours were completed back at 15:32 on day 17, obviously, BUT THE CHECK ONLY OCCURS AT 16:00 (see the pseudocode above), thus making exactly 7 days and 1 extra hour when it will next spawn provided if the player is away from spawn location at least 10.25 palm fronds laid on a straight line on the ground leaf tip to petiole. Therefore it is imperative to understand if player is inside the spawn area, the creature spawn will be delayed for the next hour at minute 0 and it will be continuously postponed until the player exists the spawn area which is a perfect circle with the radius given above.
As of version 0.72.01 spawning has nothing to do with day-night cycle nor how lit the spawn location is, nor if the player has the spawn location in FOV(field of view). The creature seems to spawn a few meters above the ground and then fall down.
How to determine exact precise spawning location:
Obviously the player must diligently note the exact time of the specific creature death. Save the game 2 or 3 hours in advance of next awaited spawn. When you are assaulted by the hog for example (out of nowhere) look at watch and mark the hour. It should be close to minute 0 (unless the hog spawn location is far and it took a while to engage you). Reload. Gain some elevation, either by standing on something very tall, or build foundation&stairs and climb on top of the island cliffs(if any). As the designated hour approaches, look towards the general creature spawn area 2 or 3 minutes BEFORE the hour pass. You should see the creature spawn at minute 0 or 1 falling from above. Use binoculars, zoom in at maximum at creature feet to capture as much ground features as possible. Quickly press Print Screen key on your keyboard before the creature wanders off. Alt-Tab the game(game must run in borderless window) and open MS paint and press paste(CTRL+V). Save the picture, reload the game which will put you 2 or 3 hours prior of spawn, stick vertical spears into the ground where creature’s feet supposed to be by referring back to the picture taken, especially at the ground features when carefully&deviously fencing the spawn location.
The cheapest fencing I could find around the hog and giant crab spawn location is using 4 container shelves laid on a square (12 planks and thus 12 logs). The shelfs don’t need to be very close to each other. If creature escapes, reload and place the shelfs closer to each other. Only 3 container shelves required for snakes and boar (triangle footprint). If someone finds a cheaper alternative than 12 or 9 logs to fence the creature spawn locations, I would love to know. Farming plots don’t seem to work.
We can finally enjoy and rest peacefully on the island!
Next mission is to light up the whole island by saving the game near a virgin container before opening, and reloading the game, so the contents will be randomized until patience rewards us with a lantern. (it can take up to 20 reloads for one). It’s up to you, and your dedication and love for the game if you think it’s worth it or not. This is not a cheat. This is an exploit. It’s a huge colossal difference (philosophically, psychologically and technically since exploits use built in functions or aiding, while cheating does not). Developer console is not a way to exploit the game because it’s like a creative mode for the game, while without it is survival mode. For the developers is quite extremely easy to patch all these up by using a predetermined fixed loot table for all containers/cabinets based on map seed and randomizing creature spawn location all around the island. This will completely nerf creature farming and the item exploit by game reloading. So do all these now, before the developers find out and patch all these up!!! The time is now! Hurry!
Please someone share this on the steam community forum!