[2.0.7] Failed to load mod "space-age": Unexpected character () at __space-age__/migrations/._aquilo-tilesets.json:1

[TryFanGamer]

Failed to load mods: Unexpected character () at __space-age__/migrations/._aquilo-tilesets.json:1

Mods to be disabled:
• space-age (2.0.7)

Screenshot 2024-10-21 at 13.50.26.png (110.94 KiB) Viewed 2400 times

Screenshot 2024-10-21 at 13.50.26

i did verify the files

[Sanqui]

Please post the log file. Are you using the Steam version or standalone DMG?

[TryFanGamer]

0.000 2024-10-21 13:51:21; Factorio 2.0.7 (build 79385, mac-arm64, steam)
0.000 Operating system: OS X 15.0.1
0.000 Initializing Steam API.
0.000 Program arguments: "/Volumes/ADFSpace/MAC/steamapps/common/Factorio/factorio.app/Contents/MacOS/factorio"
0.000 Config path: /Users/adrianf/Library/Application Support/factorio/config/config.ini
0.000 Read data path: /Volumes/ADFSpace/MAC/steamapps/common/Factorio/factorio.app/Contents/data
0.000 Write data path: /Users/adrianf/Library/Application Support/factorio [11049/233752MB]
0.000 Binaries path: /Volumes/ADFSpace/MAC/steamapps/common/Factorio/factorio.app/Contents
0.093 System info: [CPU: arm64, 8 cores, RAM: 8192 MB]
0.096 Display options: [FullScreen: true] [VSync: true] [UIScale: manual-pixels (125.0%)] [Native DPI: false] [Screen: 255] [Special: lmW] [Lang: en]
0.575 Video driver: cocoa
0.575 Available displays: 1
0.576 [0]: 0 - {[0,0], 1710x1107, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ARGB8888, 60Hz, 0x0001(0x01)}
1.773 Initialised OpenGL:[0] Apple M2; driver: 4.1 Metal - 89.3
1.773 [Extensions] s3tc:yes; KHR_debug:NO; ARB_clear_texture:NO, ARB_copy_image:NO, ARB_pipeline_statistics_query:NO, ARB_gl_spirv:NO, ARB_ES2_compatibility:yes
1.773 [Version] 4.1
1.773 Graphics settings preset: very-high
1.773 Dedicated video memory size 5461 MB (detected from Apple M2; VendorID: 0x1027f00)
2.165 Graphics options: [Graphics quality: high] [Video memory usage: all] [DXT: high-quality]
2.165 [Max threads (load/render): 32/8] [Max texture size: 0] [Tex.Stream.: false] [Rotation quality: normal] [Other: STDCWT] [B:0,C:0,S:100]
2.456 [Audio] Driver:coreaudio, Device:Default device, Depth:16, Channels:2, Frequency:44100
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag expansion-shaders = true
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag freezing = true
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag quality = true
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag rail-bridges = true
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag segmented-units = true
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag space-travel = true
2.672 Info ModManager.cpp:434: FeatureFlag spoiling = true
2.686 Loading mod core 0.0.0 (data.lua)
2.728 Loading mod base 2.0.7 (data.lua)
3.150 Loading mod elevated-rails 2.0.7 (data.lua)
3.205 Loading mod quality 2.0.7 (data.lua)
3.241 Loading mod space-age 2.0.7 (data.lua)
4.152 Loading mod base 2.0.7 (data-updates.lua)
4.165 Loading mod quality 2.0.7 (data-updates.lua)
4.186 Loading mod space-age 2.0.7 (data-updates.lua)
4.288 Checksum for core: 649243273
4.288 Checksum of base: 2653731351
4.288 Checksum of elevated-rails: 1891730324
4.288 Checksum of quality: 3715527832
4.288 Checksum of space-age: 3499025889
4.767 Prototype list checksum: 984080119
4.802 Loading sounds...
6.524 Error GlobalContext.cpp:527: Failed to load mod "space-age": Unexpected character () at __space-age__/migrations/._aquilo-tilesets.json:1
6.677 Info PlayerData.cpp:68: Local player-data.json unavailable
6.677 Info PlayerData.cpp:71: Cloud player-data.json available, timestamp 1729511218
6.834 Initial atlas bitmap size is 16384
6.835 Created an atlas bitmap (size 2048x848) [icon, not-compressed, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level]
6.835 Loading 3D bitmaps.
6.869 Texture processor created (2048). GPU accelerated compression Supported: yes, Enabled: yes/yes. Test passed. YCoCgDXT PSNR: 36.09, BC3 PSNR: 33.82
6.870 Parallel sprite loader initialized (threads: 5, bitmaps: 142)
6.962 Sprites loaded
6.975 Generated mipmaps (5) for atlas [0] of size 2048x848
6.975 Custom mipmaps uploaded (116)
6.994 Factorio initialised
6.999 Failed to load mods: Unexpected character () at __space-age__/migrations/._aquilo-tilesets.json:1

Mods to be disabled:
• space-age (2.0.7)
284.590 Quitting: user-quit.
284.854 Steam API shutdown.
284.934 Goodbye


factorio-previous.log
factorio-current.log

her is the log fils

[TryFanGamer]

Please post the log file. Are you using the Steam version or standalone DMG?

I am using Steam

[vinzenz]

Please post the log file. Are you using the Steam version or standalone DMG?

I am using Steam

Are you able to launch the game when you download it directly from our website? You can use "Sign-in with Steam" to get access to website downloads. https://factorio.com/login

[TryFanGamer]

Yes it works now

[oddman]

I’m also getting this exact issue when launching stand alone on PC. If I go to manage mods and disable Space Age it boots ok.

[beneee]

I'm also running into the same issue after installing the Space Age DLC through Steam. Reinstalling the whole game with Steam also did not work.

Is there any solution in the meantime?

[Loewchen]

If you have this issue post the log.

[Xorimuth]

I'm also running into the same issue after installing the Space Age DLC through Steam. Reinstalling the whole game with Steam also did not work.

Is there any solution in the meantime?

If you read the posts above you'll see that installing factorio standalone will probably work.

I wonder if https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... side-a-tar is related... especially since OP was on macOS, although oddman reported it on (presumably Windows) PC...

[lukfugl]

I have some more data points on this.

I recently started getting this error on MacOS Steam, after having successfully played on MacOS steam many times. After a little head-scratching, I remembered I recently moved my Steam library to a separate volume (an external USB drive). I wondered if it were a corruption due to the move, so I reinstalled Factorio (but still into the new library location) and the problem persisted.

Following the advice of this thread, I then downloaded the standalone Factorio.app. But I again placed it on the external volume, without thinking that would be an issue (my primary volume has been having space issues, which is why I got the USB drive). But launching the standalone app still had the error.

Finally, I considered temporarily trying the standalone app on my primary drive. This worked!

To rule out a Steam contribution in the bug, I reinstalled my Steam copy onto my primary drive. Launching from Steam then also works without the mod error. The bug doesn't appear to be connected to Steam vs. standalone app. I expect those that had the error in Steam but avoided the error with the standalone app had their Steam libraries on external volumes but installed the standalone app on their primary volume.

So this appears to be triggered by having the application installed on an external volume. Probably specifically from the application volume being different from the application support volume (but I haven't confirmed that, as I don't know how to change where the application support data is stored).

For comparison, I'm including logs. All of these are using the standalone app installs.

Successful startup with Space Age on my primary volume:

Code: Select all

   0.000 2025-07-11 16:29:00; Factorio 2.0.55 (build 83138, mac-arm64, full, space-age)
   0.001 Operating system: macOS 14.7.0
   0.001 Program arguments: "/Applications/factorio.app/Contents/MacOS/factorio" 
   0.001 Config path: /Users/lukfugl/Library/Application Support/factorio/config/config.ini
   0.001 Read data path: /Applications/factorio.app/Contents/data
   0.001 Write data path: /Users/lukfugl/Library/Application Support/factorio [64211/233752MB]
   0.001 Binaries path: /Applications/factorio.app/Contents
   0.040 System info: [CPU: arm64, 8 cores, RAM: 24576 MB]
   0.041 Display options: [FullScreen: false] [VSync: true] [UIScale: automatic (100.0%)] [Native DPI: false] [Screen: 255] [Special: lmW] [Lang: en]
   0.321 Video driver: cocoa
   0.321 Available displays: 1
   0.321  [0]: 0 - {[0,0], 2560x1440, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ARGB8888, 60Hz, 0x0003(0x04)}
   0.337 Initialised OpenGL:[0] Apple M3; driver: 4.1 Metal - 88.1
   0.337   [Extensions] s3tc:yes; KHR_debug:NO; ARB_clear_texture:NO, ARB_copy_image:NO, ARB_pipeline_statistics_query:NO, ARB_gl_spirv:NO, ARB_ES2_compatibility:yes
   0.337   [Version] 4.1
   0.337 Graphics settings preset: very-high
   0.337   Dedicated video memory size 16384 MB (detected from Apple M3; VendorID: 0x1027f00)
   0.343 Graphics options: [Graphics quality: high] [Video memory usage: all] [DXT: high-quality]
   0.343                   [Max threads (load/render): 32/8] [Max texture size: 0] [Tex.Stream.: false] [Rotation quality: normal] [Other: STDCWTl] [B:0,C:0,S:100]
   0.466 [Audio] Driver:coreaudio, Device:Default device, Depth:16, Frequency:44100, Channels:2, Interpolation:linear
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag expansion-shaders = true
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag freezing = true
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag quality = true
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag rail-bridges = true
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag segmented-units = true
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag space-travel = true
   0.943 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag spoiling = true
   1.050 Loading mod core 0.0.0 (data.lua)
   1.093 Loading mod base 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.196 Loading mod elevated-rails 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.218 Loading mod quality 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.233 Loading mod space-age 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.461 Loading mod base 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   1.471 Loading mod quality 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   1.485 Loading mod space-age 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   1.536 Checksum for core: 1599024484
   1.536 Checksum of base: 2095342242
   1.536 Checksum of elevated-rails: 755107374
   1.536 Checksum of quality: 3594706471
   1.536 Checksum of space-age: 2561352795
   1.727 Prototype list checksum: 611276394
   1.748 Loading sounds...
   2.090 Info PlayerData.cpp:64: Local player-data.json available, timestamp 1752272711
   2.090 Info PlayerData.cpp:71: Cloud player-data.json unavailable
   2.093 Post-data load graphics options: [Light occlusion: YES]
   2.327 Initial atlas bitmap size is 16384
   2.334 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16384) [none]
   2.343 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16384) [none]
   2.354 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16356) [none]
   2.354 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x15088) [none]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16384) [low-object]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x2528) [low-object]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x14140) [corpse-decay]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x9268) [decal]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x5580) [none]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 1676x79) [not-compressed]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x4256) [mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level]
   2.356 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x3040) [smoke, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16352) [terrain, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-mip-level]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x4944) [terrain, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-mip-level]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x5728) [terrain-effect-map, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-mip-level]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x2608) [mipmap]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 3504x768) [mipmap]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x3152) [mipmap]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x3152) [mipmap]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x3152) [mipmap]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x3872) [icon, not-compressed, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level]
   2.358 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x6120) [alpha-mask]
   2.369 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16380) [shadow, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   2.371 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16372) [shadow, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   2.371 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x3872) [shadow, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   2.371 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x4000) [shadow, mipmap, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   2.371 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x336) [icon-background, not-compressed, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level, ]
   2.371 Loading 3D bitmaps.
   2.382 Texture processor created (4096). GPU accelerated compression Supported: yes, Enabled: yes/yes. Test passed. YCoCgDXT PSNR: 36.09, BC3 PSNR: 33.82
   2.385 Parallel sprite loader initialized (threads: 7, bitmaps: 8380)
  22.088 Sprites loaded
  22.131 Generated mipmaps (4) for atlas [4] of size 16384x16384   
  22.134 Generated mipmaps (4) for atlas [5] of size 4096x2528   
  22.144 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [10] of size 16384x4256   
  22.146 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [11] of size 4096x3040   
  22.166 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [12] of size 16384x16352   
  22.171 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [13] of size 16384x4944   
  22.175 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [14] of size 8192x5728   
  22.219 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [15] of size 8192x2608   
  22.222 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [16] of size 3504x768   
  22.225 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [17] of size 4096x3152   
  22.252 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [18] of size 4096x3152   
  22.255 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [19] of size 4096x3152   
  22.284 Generated mipmaps (5) for atlas [20] of size 8192x3872   
  22.288 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [25] of size 8192x4000   
  22.299 Custom mipmaps uploaded (3444)
  22.308 Video memory usage: 3608.15 MB (Atlases: 3477.85 MB, Textures: 130.30 MB)
  22.387 Factorio initialised

Successful startup without Space Age on my external volume:

Code: Select all

   0.000 2025-07-11 16:40:34; Factorio 2.0.55 (build 83138, mac-arm64, full, space-age)
   0.002 Operating system: macOS 14.7.0
   0.002 Program arguments: "/Volumes/Extreme SSD/factorio.app/Contents/MacOS/factorio" 
   0.002 Config path: /Users/lukfugl/Library/Application Support/factorio/config/config.ini
   0.002 Read data path: /Volumes/Extreme SSD/factorio.app/Contents/data
   0.002 Write data path: /Users/lukfugl/Library/Application Support/factorio [64233/233752MB]
   0.002 Binaries path: /Volumes/Extreme SSD/factorio.app/Contents
   0.052 System info: [CPU: arm64, 8 cores, RAM: 24576 MB]
   0.053 Display options: [FullScreen: false] [VSync: true] [UIScale: automatic (100.0%)] [Native DPI: false] [Screen: 255] [Special: lmW] [Lang: en]
   0.338 Video driver: cocoa
   0.338 Available displays: 1
   0.338  [0]: 0 - {[0,0], 2560x1440, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ARGB8888, 60Hz, 0x0003(0x04)}
   0.353 Initialised OpenGL:[0] Apple M3; driver: 4.1 Metal - 88.1
   0.353   [Extensions] s3tc:yes; KHR_debug:NO; ARB_clear_texture:NO, ARB_copy_image:NO, ARB_pipeline_statistics_query:NO, ARB_gl_spirv:NO, ARB_ES2_compatibility:yes
   0.353   [Version] 4.1
   0.353 Graphics settings preset: very-high
   0.353   Dedicated video memory size 16384 MB (detected from Apple M3; VendorID: 0x1027f00)
   0.357 Graphics options: [Graphics quality: high] [Video memory usage: all] [DXT: high-quality]
   0.357                   [Max threads (load/render): 32/8] [Max texture size: 0] [Tex.Stream.: false] [Rotation quality: normal] [Other: STDCWTl] [B:0,C:0,S:100]
   0.497 [Audio] Driver:coreaudio, Device:Default device, Depth:16, Frequency:44100, Channels:2, Interpolation:linear
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag expansion-shaders = false
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag freezing = false
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag quality = true
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag rail-bridges = true
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag segmented-units = false
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag space-travel = false
   0.934 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag spoiling = false
   1.046 Loading mod core 0.0.0 (data.lua)
   1.076 Loading mod base 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.208 Loading mod elevated-rails 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.232 Loading mod quality 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.252 Loading mod base 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   1.282 Loading mod quality 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   1.315 Checksum for core: 1599024484
   1.315 Checksum of base: 2095342242
   1.315 Checksum of elevated-rails: 755107374
   1.315 Checksum of quality: 3594706471
   1.402 Prototype list checksum: 1382754840
   1.415 Loading sounds...
   1.562 Info PlayerData.cpp:64: Local player-data.json available, timestamp 1752272966
   1.562 Info PlayerData.cpp:71: Cloud player-data.json unavailable
   1.566 Post-data load graphics options: [Light occlusion: no]
   1.708 Crop bitmaps.
   1.709 Parallel sprite loader initialized (threads: 8, bitmaps: 3)
   1.772 Initial atlas bitmap size is 16384
   1.784 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16384) [none]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16384) [none]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x5600) [none]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x9184) [low-object]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x12096) [corpse-decay]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x4884) [decal]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x6000) [mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level]
   1.792 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x1632) [smoke, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification]
   1.793 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x6288) [terrain, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-mip-level]
   1.793 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x2544) [terrain-effect-map, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-mip-level]
   1.793 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x3088) [mipmap]
   1.793 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x2592) [icon, not-compressed, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level]
   1.793 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x5168) [alpha-mask]
   1.802 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x16376) [shadow, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   1.802 Created an atlas bitmap (size 16384x5328) [shadow, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   1.802 Created an atlas bitmap (size 8192x2336) [shadow, mipmap, linear-magnification, alpha-mask]
   1.802 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x176) [icon-background, not-compressed, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level, ]
   1.802 Loading 3D bitmaps.
   1.809 Texture processor created (4096). GPU accelerated compression Supported: yes, Enabled: yes/yes. Test passed. YCoCgDXT PSNR: 36.09, BC3 PSNR: 33.82
   1.811 Parallel sprite loader initialized (threads: 7, bitmaps: 4888)
  13.185 Sprites loaded
  13.209 Generated mipmaps (4) for atlas [3] of size 16384x9184   
  13.216 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [6] of size 8192x6000   
  13.219 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [7] of size 4096x1632   
  13.227 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [8] of size 16384x6288   
  13.229 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [9] of size 8192x2544   
  13.259 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [10] of size 4096x3088   
  13.280 Generated mipmaps (5) for atlas [11] of size 8192x2592   
  13.284 Generated mipmaps (3) for atlas [15] of size 8192x2336   
  13.291 Custom mipmaps uploaded (2410)
  13.301 Video memory usage: 1862.52 MB (Atlases: 1850.97 MB, Textures: 11.54 MB)
  13.436 Factorio initialised

Failed startup with Space Age on my external volume:

Code: Select all

   0.001 2025-07-11 16:39:28; Factorio 2.0.55 (build 83138, mac-arm64, full, space-age)
   0.003 Operating system: macOS 14.7.0
   0.003 Program arguments: "/Volumes/Extreme SSD/factorio.app/Contents/MacOS/factorio" 
   0.003 Config path: /Users/lukfugl/Library/Application Support/factorio/config/config.ini
   0.003 Read data path: /Volumes/Extreme SSD/factorio.app/Contents/data
   0.003 Write data path: /Users/lukfugl/Library/Application Support/factorio [64237/233752MB]
   0.003 Binaries path: /Volumes/Extreme SSD/factorio.app/Contents
   0.077 System info: [CPU: arm64, 8 cores, RAM: 24576 MB]
   0.080 Display options: [FullScreen: false] [VSync: true] [UIScale: automatic (100.0%)] [Native DPI: false] [Screen: 255] [Special: lmW] [Lang: en]
   0.367 Video driver: cocoa
   0.367 Available displays: 1
   0.367  [0]: 0 - {[0,0], 2560x1440, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ARGB8888, 60Hz, 0x0003(0x04)}
   0.386 Initialised OpenGL:[0] Apple M3; driver: 4.1 Metal - 88.1
   0.386   [Extensions] s3tc:yes; KHR_debug:NO; ARB_clear_texture:NO, ARB_copy_image:NO, ARB_pipeline_statistics_query:NO, ARB_gl_spirv:NO, ARB_ES2_compatibility:yes
   0.386   [Version] 4.1
   0.386 Graphics settings preset: very-high
   0.386   Dedicated video memory size 16384 MB (detected from Apple M3; VendorID: 0x1027f00)
   0.396 Graphics options: [Graphics quality: high] [Video memory usage: all] [DXT: high-quality]
   0.396                   [Max threads (load/render): 32/8] [Max texture size: 0] [Tex.Stream.: false] [Rotation quality: normal] [Other: STDCWTl] [B:0,C:0,S:100]
   0.548 [Audio] Driver:coreaudio, Device:Default device, Depth:16, Frequency:44100, Channels:2, Interpolation:linear
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag expansion-shaders = true
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag freezing = true
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag quality = true
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag rail-bridges = true
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag segmented-units = true
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag space-travel = true
   1.044 Info ModManager.cpp:444: FeatureFlag spoiling = true
   1.175 Loading mod core 0.0.0 (data.lua)
   1.229 Loading mod base 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.440 Loading mod elevated-rails 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.488 Loading mod quality 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   1.522 Loading mod space-age 2.0.55 (data.lua)
   2.292 Loading mod base 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   2.304 Loading mod quality 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   2.342 Loading mod space-age 2.0.55 (data-updates.lua)
   2.399 Checksum for core: 1599024484
   2.399 Checksum of base: 2095342242
   2.399 Checksum of elevated-rails: 755107374
   2.399 Checksum of quality: 3594706471
   2.399 Checksum of space-age: 2561352795
   2.633 Prototype list checksum: 611276394
   2.655 Loading sounds...
   3.962 Error GlobalContext.cpp:538: Failed to load mod "space-age": Unexpected character () at __space-age__/migrations/._aquilo-tilesets.json:1
   4.074 Info PlayerData.cpp:64: Local player-data.json available, timestamp 1752272966
   4.074 Info PlayerData.cpp:71: Cloud player-data.json unavailable
   4.083 Post-data load graphics options: [Light occlusion: YES]
   4.155 Initial atlas bitmap size is 16384
   4.155 Created an atlas bitmap (size 4096x496) [icon, not-compressed, mipmap, linear-minification, linear-magnification, linear-mip-level]
   4.155 Loading 3D bitmaps.
   4.172 Texture processor created (4096). GPU accelerated compression Supported: yes, Enabled: yes/yes. Test passed. YCoCgDXT PSNR: 36.09, BC3 PSNR: 33.82
   4.172 Parallel sprite loader initialized (threads: 7, bitmaps: 145)
   4.212 Sprites loaded
   4.230 Generated mipmaps (5) for atlas [0] of size 4096x496   
   4.230 Custom mipmaps uploaded (116)
   4.236 Video memory usage: 10.32 MB (Atlases: 10.32 MB, Textures: 0.00 MB)
   4.243 Factorio initialised
   4.246 Failed to load mods: Unexpected character () at __space-age__/migrations/._aquilo-tilesets.json:1

Mods to be disabled:
• space-age (2.0.55)

[eugenekay]

Long-shot question: What Filesystem Type is your “Extreme SSD” formatted with? Is it Apple HFS+, or something different?

The syntax of the Error makes me wonder if Factorio is genuinely opening the right ZIP file containing the mod data, or if it is some cross-platform weirdness.

[Nidan]

The filesystem type is likely irrelevant. Also, the space-age mod doesn't come as a .zip, instead the unpacked version can be found in "<factorio-root>/data/space-age".
Considering there's a file named "data/space-age/migrations/aquilo-tilesets.json" in my install and "." as the first character in a filename means "hidden file" for Unix-like operating systems, the "._aquilo-tilesets.json" file is probably just residue of some editor or other tool. (The error then is just a consequence of factorio trying to read all .json and .lua files in a mod's "migration" directory, as documented in the API docs.)

[eugenekay]

The filesystem type is likely irrelevant.

Considering there's a file named "data/space-age/migrations/aquilo-tilesets.json" in my install and "." as the first character in a filename means "hidden file" for Unix-like operating systems, the "._aquilo-tilesets.json" file is probably just residue of some editor or other tool.

Yes, that is exactly why I asked about the Filesystem type - that filename should not exist, yet the Log shows that the Game is trying to load it.

._ is the Prefix used by AppleDouble extensions in OS X to store Metadata on non-UNIX filesystems. I do not have any Macs to test it myself, but I have seen similar craziness with SMB/NFS-mounted datastores at Work.

While not strictly a Factorio bug because these are created by the OS itself, this will probably happen anytime that you intall Factorio to an exFAT or other non-HFS device. The easiest "fix" is probably to just ignore these files at Runtime. They can be identified from the characteristic naming, as well as a leading magic value.

[lukfugl]

Eugene: Good thoughts. Looks like the drive is formatted as ExFAT. So not Apple native.

Nidan: That was my guess as well, and there is that actual json file you mention. But the __space-age__ and ._aquilo-tilesets.json parts of the failing path have me confused. They don't exist in my install that I can find, just the "real" aquilo-tilesets.json.

I'm hoping the theory that the weird filename is a result of the filesystem might pan out. But I don't know enough about filesystems or the Factorio internals to pull on that thread.

I've moved enough other stuff onto that drive that I'm hesitant to reformat just on a hunch at this point. I'll see if I can find another thumbdrive or something that I can test with the Factorio install being the only thing on the drive, then I can change formats between tests. But I don't know if I have one available.

[lukfugl]

Ok, I was able to track down another external drive I was free to experiment with.

I was first able to replicate the issue by formatting the drive as ExFAT, installing the standalone Factorio.app, and getting the JSON errror.

I then formatted to HFS+ ("Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" in Disk Utility), re-install, and I can successfully launch Factorio from that drive with Space Age enabled.

To close the loop, I installed via Steam into a library on that external drive, and successfully launched Factorio with Space Age enabled.

Hopefully we can get that tweaked to support ExFAT without needing to reformat drives, but it's nice to know what's going on and a workaround.

Thanks @eugenekay!