Hi Dank-a-licious
Thanks for sharing that video and confirming those details. That is an impressive sized raft! It’s possible it could be one of the main contributors to saving lag. In the past I remember players having slower save times after crafting a large number of items. I’m not sure if clearing the island in one session would have the same effect, but it is possible.
The more loose items that are piled together on an island, the higher the lag can spike. I’ve seen a few reports lately that even after players reduce items to crates they still experience lag on the same island. It may be worth trying to leave the island and sail to a new one and save there, this will unload the island you’re on and might help. Make sure to wait a few minutes when you arrive to ensure the game has caught up with your raft size before saving as there’s an issue that can cause rafts to vanish - [Known Issue] Rafts/Gyro Vanishing
If you manage to get to another island and save, it may be worth clearing the cache of the console too to see if that helps (shutting down and unplugging for 2 minutes before rebooting).
Or, before stripping an island, try breaking down island bits and storing them rather than gathering in piles and then storing if you didn’t use that method before. It may also be worth trying to do the island in chunks rather than all at once.
As you’re on PS4, it is possible to make a backup of your save externally and you may wish to do this so you can revert to an older save if need be.
Thank you for also highlighting the rain not covering the screen in third person, I’ll pass this onto the team too.