If two clients write to the same cache folder at the same time or lock its files, one of them can’t load NPC models or textures.
Why Two clients write the cache and patch files in the same install folder at the same time → Effect Loading fails because a file lock failed or a half-written file was read → On screen A name tag with no character model, or a transparent NPC
Right after login or maintenance, While moving or changing zones
Owner
Primary owner Game team (Client development)
Game team action items
Use a separate cache folder per client, retry when a file lock fails, show at least a default model when loading fails.
On the graph
Outliers only · Asset loading failures per client
Where to look
On the player’s PC, Process Monitor filtered to the game install and cache folder paths, showing the file open and write results of both game processes. With client logs, asset loading failures and the file open error code (ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION)
Confirmed if
Opening the missing model’s file ended in a sharing violation or lock failure while the other client was writing that file. It goes away with only one client running or with separate install and cache folders
Ruled out if
The same model is missing even with only one client running: file corruption or a client version/data mismatch. Files open fine but nothing is drawn: memory/VRAM shortage
Check with
The player’s own environment
Sources
Creating and Opening FilesMicrosoft A file opened without a sharing mode can’t be opened by another process, which gets ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION
Process MonitorMicrosoft Records file system, registry, and process activity in real time and can filter on any field, such as path