feat(Core/Maps): port spawn system/dynamic spawns from TrinityCore by Nyeriah · Pull Request #25206 · azerothcore/azerothcore-wotlk

Nyeriah · 2026-03-24T22:16:21Z

Changes Proposed:

This PR proposes changes to:

Core (units, players, creatures, game systems).
Scripts (bosses, spell scripts, creature scripts).
Database (SAI, creatures, etc).

Ports TrinityCore's spawn group system to AzerothCore, enabling logical grouping of creature and gameobject spawns with per-group control over respawn behavior.

Key changes:

New tables: spawn_group_template (group definitions with flags) and spawn_group (creature/GO membership)
ProcessRespawns(): Non-compatibility mode respawn scheduler in Map::Update() — creatures are fully removed on death and recreated fresh by the scheduler when their timer expires
Compatibility mode: All existing spawns default to group 0 with SPAWNGROUP_FLAG_COMPATIBILITY_MODE, preserving current behavior. A Respawn.ForceCompatibilityMode worldserver config allows forcing all spawns to use legacy behavior regardless of group flags
GM commands: .list respawn (show pending respawns on current map), .respawn all (force-respawn everything on the map), .npc spawngroup / .go spawngroup (show spawn group info)
SAI integration: SMART_ACTION_SPAWN_SPAWNGROUP and SMART_ACTION_DESPAWN_SPAWNGROUP for script-driven spawn group control
Grid loader awareness: Skips non-compat spawns with pending respawn times during grid loading
Reload command: .reload spawn_group to hot-reload group data

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AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, or similar) were used entirely or partially in preparing this pull request. Claude Code (Claude Opus 4.6) was used to assist with porting, adapting, and debugging the implementation.

Issues Addressed:

Closes N/A — this is a new feature port

SOURCE:

The changes have been validated through:

The changes promoted by this pull request come partially or entirely from another project (cherry-pick). Cherry-picks must be committed using the proper --author tag in order to be accepted, thus crediting the original authors, unless otherwise unable to be found

Based on TrinityCore commit 59db2eee by r00ty-tc, adapted for AzerothCore's codebase (different DB access patterns, LoadCreatureFromDB signatures, existing dynamic respawn system, config framework, etc.)

Tests Performed:

This PR has been:

Tested in-game by the author.
Tested in-game by other community members/someone else other than the author/has been live on production servers.
This pull request requires further testing and may have edge cases to be tested.

How to Test the Changes:

This pull request requires further testing. Provide steps to test your changes.

Apply the SQL updates and rebuild the worldserver
Set Respawn.ForceCompatibilityMode = 0 in worldserver.conf to enable the new system
Kill a creature in the open world and observe: the corpse should decay, the creature should be fully removed, then respawn fresh after the respawn timer
Use .list respawn to verify creatures appear in the pending respawn list with correct timers
Use .respawn all to force immediate respawn of all pending creatures/GOs on the map
Verify .npc spawngroup and .go spawngroup show correct group info for targeted spawns
Set Respawn.ForceCompatibilityMode = 1 and verify legacy corpse-stays-on-map behavior is restored

Known Issues and TODO List:

Spawn group data tables (spawn_group_template, spawn_group) ship with only default groups — individual creature/GO assignments to custom groups need to be populated by future DB PRs
Instance/boss spawn group integration (e.g. toggling boss-related spawn groups on encounter state changes) is scaffolded but not yet wired to specific encounters
Edge cases with phasing and cross-grid respawns may need further testing

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Pull request overview

Ports TrinityCore’s spawn group system into AzerothCore to allow grouping spawns (creatures/gameobjects) with per-group activation and respawn behavior, including a non-compatibility respawn scheduler and admin/SAI controls.

Changes:

Added spawn group template/member loading in ObjectMgr, plus map-level spawn/despawn toggling and a periodic Map::ProcessRespawns() scheduler.
Added GM/admin commands for listing pending respawns, forcing respawns, reloading spawn group tables, and spawning/despawning groups.
Added config toggles for forcing legacy respawn behavior and (documented) escort NPC dynamic respawn behavior, plus initial SQL tables.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 27 out of 27 changed files in this pull request and generated 12 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_reload.cpp	Adds `.reload spawn_group` command to hot-reload spawn group data
src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_npc.cpp	Adds `.npc spawngroup` / `.npc despawngroup` commands
src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_misc.cpp	Extends respawn-all logic to also clear non-compat pending respawns
src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_list.cpp	Adds `.list respawns` to show pending creature/GO respawn timers
src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_gobject.cpp	Adds `.go spawngroup` / `.go despawngroup` commands
src/server/game/World/WorldConfig.h	Adds new config keys for spawn/respawn behavior
src/server/game/World/WorldConfig.cpp	Registers new config values
src/server/game/World/World.cpp	Loads spawn group templates and members during server startup
src/server/game/Maps/SpawnData.h	Adds compatibility flag, per-spawn `spawnId`, and `mapId` changes for group templates
src/server/game/Maps/Map.h	Adds spawn group APIs, respawn processing, and respawn-time accessors
src/server/game/Maps/Map.cpp	Implements group activation, spawn/despawn, and periodic respawn processing
src/server/game/Grids/GridObjectLoader.cpp	Skips loading spawns whose spawn group is inactive
src/server/game/Globals/ObjectMgr.h	Adds spawn group load APIs and group-to-spawn lookup storage
src/server/game/Globals/ObjectMgr.cpp	Implements spawn group template/member DB loading and bookkeeping
src/server/game/Entities/GameObject/GameObject.h	Tracks per-GO compatibility mode flag
src/server/game/Entities/GameObject/GameObject.cpp	Sets GO compatibility mode from spawn group flags/config
src/server/game/Entities/Creature/Creature.h	Tracks per-creature compatibility mode flag
src/server/game/Entities/Creature/Creature.cpp	Changes corpse removal/respawn behavior for non-compat mode and sets compatibility mode on load
src/server/game/AI/SmartScripts/SmartScriptMgr.h	Adds params struct for spawn group SAI actions
src/server/game/AI/SmartScripts/SmartScriptMgr.cpp	Enables SAI validation/param sizing for spawn group actions
src/server/game/AI/SmartScripts/SmartScript.cpp	Implements SAI actions to spawn/despawn spawn groups
src/server/game/AI/ScriptedAI/ScriptedEscortAI.h	Marks escort AI as escort NPC via new virtual
src/server/game/AI/CreatureAI.h	Adds virtual `IsEscortNPC()` hook
src/server/database/Database/Implementation/WorldDatabase.h	Adds prepared statement id for deleting spawn group members
src/server/database/Database/Implementation/WorldDatabase.cpp	Prepares `DELETE FROM spawn_group ...` statement
src/server/apps/worldserver/worldserver.conf.dist	Documents/configures new respawn toggles
data/sql/updates/pending_db_world/rev_spawn_group_tables.sql	Adds initial `spawn_group_template` and `spawn_group` tables with defaults

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_misc.cpp:1

PR description says .respawn all 'force-respawn everything on the map', but this implementation only clears respawn times for the player's current grid ID (and the phase-1 visit is limited to activation range). If the intended behavior is truly 'entire map', remove the grid filter and iterate all respawn times / loaded grids accordingly; otherwise, clarify the command behavior in the PR description/help text.

/*

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src/server/game/Maps/Map.cpp

src/server/game/Globals/ObjectMgr.cpp

data/sql/updates/pending_db_world/rev_spawn_group_tables.sql

src/server/scripts/Commands/cs_npc.cpp

src/server/game/Maps/Map.cpp

src/server/game/Grids/GridObjectLoader.cpp

src/server/game/Maps/Map.h

TheSCREWEDSoftware · 2026-03-24T22:27:40Z

Would close this #23824 ? or TC implementation is not the same as cmangos?

Currently this issue would be by this implemantion (not the pr itself) if the above is the same for TC and Cmangos

#22095 (comment)

Nyeriah · 2026-03-24T22:32:21Z

Would close this #23824 ? or TC implementation is not the same as cmangos?

Currently this issue would be by this implemantion (not the pr itself) if the above is the same for TC and Cmangos

#22095 (comment)

No, completely different stuff

killerwife · 2026-03-29T09:04:56Z

Just gonna put a dump here, since you are porting the (now known to be wrong) TC spawn group system:

This is leaked wowedit picture of spawn groups. (the name means a very specific thing on B end)

Spawning or not spawning is governed by these:

https://wowdev.wiki/DB/WorldStateExpression

https://gist.github.com/killerwife/20a822b785944dcb10cffc4018b5f48d here is a list of "leaked" ones couple years back

Relevant to the topic from https://wowdev.wiki/EnumeratedString:

JoinSummonersSpawnGroup = 9,

enum Unknown_867 => linkage is meant to be fully replaced by spawn group behaviour

An event for spawn group exists for scripting:

OnSpawnGroupDeath or something similar, essentially when last member dies it triggers (used all over vanilla and tbc for example)

Use this information as you wish, not saying my implementation is strictly correct from official standpoint, but unlike TC one it does incorporate these leaks.

Nyeriah · 2026-03-29T14:31:49Z

Thanks for sharing! I don't plan to stray too far from the TC implementation but hopefully someone else can pick it up later

TheSCREWEDSoftware · 2026-03-29T18:38:05Z

data/sql/updates/pending_db_world/rev_spawn_group_tables.sql

+-- Insert default spawn groups
+DELETE FROM `spawn_group_template` WHERE `groupId` IN (0, 1);
+INSERT INTO `spawn_group_template` (`groupId`, `groupName`, `groupFlags`) VALUES
+(0, 'Default Group', 0x01),    -- SYSTEM (dynamic respawn by default)


Shouldn't this be numeric values 1 and 3 even if it's a flag?

…ty queue Port TrinityCore's spawn group system to AzerothCore, enabling dynamic respawn management for creatures and gameobjects. Adds pool-aware ProcessRespawns() that delegates pooled spawns to PoolMgr, a time-ordered priority queue (based on TC commit 59db2eee by r00ty-tc) for O(1) idle cost, .pool info/.pool lookup debug commands, spawn/despawn group commands, and .list respawns. Prevents .respawn all from creating duplicate pool spawns. Includes full localization for all 8 supported locales and SQL migrations. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 24, 2026 22:16

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 24, 2026

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Nyeriah changed the title ~~feat(Core/Maps): port spawn group system from TrinityCore~~ feat(Core/Maps): port object life cycle system/dynamic spawns from TrinityCore Mar 24, 2026

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Nyeriah March 24, 2026 22:33 View session

github-actions bot added DB related to the SQL database CORE Related to the core Script Refers to C++ Scripts for the Core file-cpp Used to trigger the matrix build labels Mar 24, 2026

Nyeriah added Ready to be Reviewed Waiting to be Tested labels Mar 25, 2026

Rorschach91 added the Requires WIKI Update Wiki sources will need to be updated after merging this PR. label Mar 26, 2026

Nyeriah force-pushed the dynspawns branch from 9c6c9ec to 0247179 Compare March 28, 2026 22:53

Nyeriah changed the title ~~feat(Core/Maps): port object life cycle system/dynamic spawns from TrinityCore~~ feat(Core/Maps): port spawn system/dynamic spawns from TrinityCore Mar 29, 2026

TheSCREWEDSoftware reviewed Mar 29, 2026

View reviewed changes

Nyeriah force-pushed the dynspawns branch from 4a53366 to 7856a0d Compare March 29, 2026 22:06

Merge branch 'master' into dynspawns

0c26aed

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feat(Core/Maps): port spawn system/dynamic spawns from TrinityCore#25206

feat(Core/Maps): port spawn system/dynamic spawns from TrinityCore#25206
Nyeriah wants to merge 2 commits intoazerothcore:masterfrom
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Nyeriah commented Mar 24, 2026

Changes Proposed:

Key changes:

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Issues Addressed:

SOURCE:

Tests Performed:

How to Test the Changes:

Known Issues and TODO List:

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