Bug #9084: Skip refs without custom data in cell rest/recharge/respawn

CellStore::rest, recharge and respawn iterate over a cell's references
and call methods that go through ensureCustomData(), which allocates
custom data on every ref they touch. Once a ref has custom data its
state gets serialized into the save file, so resting, waiting, or fast
traveling in cells with many untouched refs (typical after cell:getAll
forces them to load) gradually bloats saves with default-initialized
state.

Skip refs that have no custom data: they sit at default dynamic stats,
have no container to recharge, and were not killed or looted, so these
methods would have nothing to do anyway. The container loop in recharge
already had this guard; this makes it consistent across all loops and
adds a small RefData::hasCustomData() helper to keep the predicate
readable.

Author: acuster77

apps/openmw/mwworld/cellstore.cpp

@@ -1160,18 +1160,20 @@ namespace MWWorld
     {
         if (mState == State_Loaded)
         {
+            // Refs with no custom data are at default dynamic stats — there is nothing to restore,
+            // and touching them would force-allocate custom data that then bloats the save file.
             for (MWWorld::LiveCellRef<ESM::Creature>& creature : get<ESM::Creature>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&creature);
-                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0)
+                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0 && ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
                 {
                     MWBase::Environment::get().getMechanicsManager()->restoreDynamicStats(ptr, hours, true);
                 }
             }
             for (MWWorld::LiveCellRef<ESM::NPC>& npc : get<ESM::NPC>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&npc);
-                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0)
+                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0 && ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
                 {
                     MWBase::Environment::get().getMechanicsManager()->restoreDynamicStats(ptr, hours, true);
                 }
@@ -1186,26 +1188,28 @@ namespace MWWorld
 
         if (mState == State_Loaded)
         {
+            // Skip refs that have no custom data — they have no container to recharge,
+            // and getContainerStore() would force-allocate custom data and bloat the save file.
             for (MWWorld::LiveCellRef<ESM::Creature>& creature : get<ESM::Creature>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&creature);
-                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0)
+                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0 && ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
                 {
                     ptr.getClass().getContainerStore(ptr).rechargeItems(duration);
                 }
             }
             for (MWWorld::LiveCellRef<ESM::NPC>& npc : get<ESM::NPC>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&npc);
-                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0)
+                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0 && ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
                 {
                     ptr.getClass().getContainerStore(ptr).rechargeItems(duration);
                 }
             }
             for (MWWorld::LiveCellRef<ESM::Container>& container : get<ESM::Container>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&container);
-                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getRefData().getCustomData() != nullptr && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0
+                if (!ptr.isEmpty() && ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData() && ptr.getCellRef().getCount() > 0
                     && ptr.getClass().getContainerStore(ptr).isResolved())
                 {
                     ptr.getClass().getContainerStore(ptr).rechargeItems(duration);
@@ -1229,27 +1233,35 @@ namespace MWWorld
                      it != get<ESM::Container>().mList.end(); ++it)
                 {
                     Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&*it);
-                    ptr.getClass().respawn(ptr);
+                    if (ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
+                        ptr.getClass().respawn(ptr);
                 }
             }
 
-            // Actors need to respawn here even if they've been moved to another cell
+            // Skip refs with no custom data: they cannot have been killed, looted, or had their inventory
+            // generated, so respawn/clearCorpse have no work to do and would only force-allocate custom
+            // data that then bloats the save file. Actors need to respawn here even if they've been moved
+            // to another cell.
             for (LiveCellRefBase& base : get<ESM::Creature>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&base);
+                if (!ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
+                    continue;
                 clearCorpse(ptr, mStore);
                 ptr.getClass().respawn(ptr);
             }
             for (LiveCellRefBase& base : get<ESM::NPC>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&base);
+                if (!ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
+                    continue;
                 clearCorpse(ptr, mStore);
                 ptr.getClass().respawn(ptr);
             }
             for (LiveCellRefBase& base : get<ESM::CreatureLevList>().mList)
             {
                 Ptr ptr = getCurrentPtr(&base);
-                if (!ptr.mRef->isDeleted())
+                if (!ptr.mRef->isDeleted() && ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
                     ptr.getClass().respawn(ptr);
             }
             for (const auto& [base, _] : mMovedHere)
@@ -1261,7 +1273,7 @@ namespace MWWorld
                     case ESM::CreatureLevList::sRecordId:
                     {
                         MWWorld::Ptr ptr(base, this);
-                        if (ptr.mRef->isDeleted())
+                        if (ptr.mRef->isDeleted() || !ptr.getRefData().hasCustomData())
                             continue;
                         // Remove actors that have been dead a while, but don't belong here and didn't get hit by the
                         // logic above

apps/openmw/mwworld/refdata.cpp

@@ -269,6 +269,11 @@ namespace MWWorld
         return mCustomData.get();
     }
 
+    bool RefData::hasCustomData() const
+    {
+        return mCustomData != nullptr;
+    }
+
     bool RefData::hasChanged() const
     {
         return mChanged || !mAnimationState.empty();

apps/openmw/mwworld/refdata.hpp

@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ namespace MWWorld
 
         const CustomData* getCustomData() const;
 
+        bool hasCustomData() const;
+
         bool activate();
 
         bool onActivate();