feat: Upgrades serialization v4 (Threaded Heap Serialization) (#1947)

### Summary

- `GenericEntityPersistence` is now a type of `GenericPersistence`. This allows developers to serialize both entities and non-entities in the same system. 🎉
- Each `SerializationThreadWorker` now allocates 1MB of heap for serialization _permanently_. If more memory is needed, that thread will double it's memory, not to exceed increments of 64MB.
- Several bugs with serialization introduced with the pure MMF implementation have been fixed.
- `BinaryFileReader` has been added back. 🎉
- Adds `world.useMultithreadedSaves` to allow disabling threaded saves.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Developer Note**
> The split file serialization has been deprecated and is no longer used. We have effectively gone back to the same file writing we had before the pure MMF implementation.

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/Packets/Outgoing/AccountPacketTests.cs

@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ public class AccountPacketTests : IClassFixture<ServerFixture>
         public Serial Serial { get; }
         public void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader) => throw new NotImplementedException();
 
+        public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+        public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+        public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
         public void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer) => throw new NotImplementedException();
 
         public bool Deleted { get; }

Projects/Server/Guild.cs

@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ public abstract class BaseGuild : ISerializable
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster, readOnly: true)]
     public DateTime Created { get; set; } = Core.Now;
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     public abstract void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer);
 
     public abstract void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader);

Projects/Server/IEntity.cs

@@ -115,6 +115,10 @@ public class Entity : IEntity
         Timer.StartTimer(Delete);
     }
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     public void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer)
     {
     }

Projects/Server/Items/Item.cs

@@ -802,6 +802,10 @@ public class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropertyListEnt
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.Counselor)]
     public Serial Serial { get; }
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     public virtual void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer)
     {
         writer.Write(9); // version

Projects/Server/Mobiles/Mobile.cs

@@ -2277,6 +2277,10 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.Counselor)]
     public Serial Serial { get; }
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     public virtual void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer)
     {
         writer.Write(36); // version

Projects/Server/Serialization/AdhocPersistence.cs

@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ public static class AdhocPersistence
     {
         var fullPath = PathUtility.GetFullPath(filePath, Core.BaseDirectory);
         PathUtility.EnsureDirectory(Path.GetDirectoryName(fullPath));
-        ConcurrentQueue<Type> types = [];
+        HashSet<Type> typesSet = [];
-        var writer = new MemoryMapFileWriter(new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create), sizeHint, types);
+        var writer = new MemoryMapFileWriter(new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create), sizeHint, typesSet);
         serializer(writer);
 
         Task.Run(
@@ -67,14 +67,6 @@ public static class AdhocPersistence
                 writer.Dispose();
                 fs.Dispose();
 
-                HashSet<Type> typesSet = [];
-
-                // Dedupe the queue.
-                foreach (var type in types)
-                {
-                    typesSet.Add(type);
-                }
-
                 Persistence.WriteSerializedTypesSnapshot(Path.GetDirectoryName(fullPath), typesSet);
             },
             Core.ClosingTokenSource.Token

Projects/Server/Serialization/BinaryFileReader.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2024 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: BinaryFileReader.cs                                             *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles;
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+using System.Text;
+
+namespace Server;
+
+public sealed unsafe class BinaryFileReader : IDisposable, IGenericReader
+{
+    private readonly bool _usePrefixes;
+    private readonly MemoryMappedFile _mmf;
+    private readonly MemoryMappedViewStream _accessor;
+    private readonly UnmanagedDataReader _reader;
+
+    public BinaryFileReader(string path, bool usePrefixes = true, Encoding encoding = null)
+    {
+        _usePrefixes = usePrefixes;
+        var fi = new FileInfo(path);
+
+        if (fi.Length > 0)
+        {
+            _mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(path, FileMode.Open);
+            _accessor = _mmf.CreateViewStream();
+            byte* ptr = null;
+            _accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.AcquirePointer(ref ptr);
+            _reader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, _accessor.Length, encoding: encoding);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            _reader = new UnmanagedDataReader(null, 0, encoding: encoding);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public long Position => _reader.Position;
+
+    public void Dispose()
+    {
+        _accessor?.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.ReleasePointer();
+        _accessor?.Dispose();
+        _mmf?.Dispose();
+    }
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public string ReadString(bool intern = false) => _usePrefixes ? _reader.ReadString(intern) : _reader.ReadStringRaw(intern);
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public string ReadStringRaw(bool intern = false) => _reader.ReadStringRaw(intern);
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public long ReadLong() => _reader.ReadLong();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public ulong ReadULong() => _reader.ReadULong();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public int ReadInt() => _reader.ReadInt();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public uint ReadUInt() => _reader.ReadUInt();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public short ReadShort() => _reader.ReadShort();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public ushort ReadUShort() => _reader.ReadUShort();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public double ReadDouble() => _reader.ReadDouble();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public float ReadFloat() => _reader.ReadFloat();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public byte ReadByte() => _reader.ReadByte();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public sbyte ReadSByte() => _reader.ReadSByte();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public bool ReadBool() => _reader.ReadBool();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public Serial ReadSerial() => _reader.ReadSerial();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public Type ReadType() => _reader.ReadType();
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public int Read(Span<byte> buffer) => _reader.Read(buffer);
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public long Seek(long offset, SeekOrigin origin) => _reader.Seek(offset, origin);
+}

Projects/Server/Serialization/BufferWriter.cs

@@ -105,13 +105,7 @@ public class BufferWriter : IGenericWriter
         _buffer = newBuffer;
     }
 
-    public virtual void Flush()
+    public virtual void Flush() => Resize(Math.Clamp(_buffer.Length * 2, BufferSize, _buffer.Length + 1024 * 1024 * 64));
-    {
-        // Need to avoid buffer.Length = 2, buffer * 2 is 4, but we need 8 or 16bytes, causing an exception.
-        // The least we need is 16bytes + Index, but we use BufferSize since it should always be big enough for a single
-        // non-dynamic field.
-        Resize(Math.Max(BufferSize, _buffer.Length * 2));
-    }
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
     private void FlushIfNeeded(int amount)

Projects/Server/Serialization/GenericEntityPersistence.cs

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
  *************************************************************************/
 
 using System;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.IO;
@@ -32,141 +31,115 @@ public interface IGenericEntityPersistence
     public void DeserializeIndexes(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb);
 }
 
-public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistence where T : class, ISerializable
+public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : GenericPersistence, IGenericEntityPersistence where T : class, ISerializable
 {
     private static readonly ILogger logger = LogFactory.GetLogger(typeof(GenericEntityPersistence<T>));
-    private static List<EntitySpan<T>>[] _entities;
 
-    private long _initialIdxSize = 1024 * 256;
+    // Support legacy split file serialization
-    private long _initialBinSize = 1024 * 1024;
+    private static Dictionary<int, List<EntitySpan<T>>> _entities;
-    private readonly string _name;
+
-    private readonly uint _minSerial;
+    private readonly Serial _minSerial;
-    private readonly uint _maxSerial;
+    private readonly Serial _maxSerial;
     private Serial _lastEntitySerial;
     private readonly Dictionary<Serial, T> _pendingAdd = new();
     private readonly Dictionary<Serial, T> _pendingDelete = new();
 
-    private readonly uint[] _entitiesCount = new uint[World.GetThreadWorkerCount()];
-
-    private readonly (MemoryMapFileWriter idxWriter, MemoryMapFileWriter binWriter)[] _writers  =
-        new (MemoryMapFileWriter, MemoryMapFileWriter)[World.GetThreadWorkerCount()];
-
     public Dictionary<Serial, T> EntitiesBySerial { get; } = new();
 
-    public GenericEntityPersistence(string name, int priority, uint minSerial, uint maxSerial) : base(priority)
+    public GenericEntityPersistence(string name, int priority, uint minSerial, uint maxSerial) : this(
+        name,
+        priority,
+        (Serial)minSerial,
+        (Serial)maxSerial
+    )
+    {
+    }
+
+    public GenericEntityPersistence(string name, int priority, Serial minSerial, Serial maxSerial) : base(name, priority)
     {
-        _name = name;
         _minSerial = minSerial;
         _maxSerial = maxSerial;
-        _lastEntitySerial = (Serial)(minSerial - 1);
+        _lastEntitySerial = minSerial - 1;
         typeof(T).RegisterFindEntity(Find);
     }
 
-    public override void Preserialize(string savePath, ConcurrentQueue<Type> types)
+    public override void WriteSnapshot(string savePath, HashSet<Type> typeSet)
     {
-        var path = Path.Combine(savePath, _name);
+        var dir = Path.Combine(savePath, Name);
-        PathUtility.EnsureDirectory(path);
+        PathUtility.EnsureDirectory(dir);
 
-        var threadCount = World.GetThreadWorkerCount();
+        var threads = World._threadWorkers;
-        for (var i = 0; i < threadCount; i++)
+
+        using var binFs = new FileStream(Path.Combine(dir, $"{Name}.bin"), FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None);
+        using var idxFs = new FileStream(Path.Combine(dir, $"{Name}.idx"), FileMode.Create);
+        using var idx = new MemoryMapFileWriter(idxFs, 1024 * 1024, typeSet); // 1MB
+
+        var binPosition = 0L;
+
+        // Support for non-entity generic serialization.
+        if (SerializedLength > 0)
         {
-            var idxPath = Path.Combine(path, $"{_name}_{i}.idx");
+            try
-            var binPath = Path.Combine(path, $"{_name}_{i}.bin");
-
-            _writers[i] = (
-                new MemoryMapFileWriter(new FileStream(idxPath, FileMode.Create), _initialIdxSize, types),
-                new MemoryMapFileWriter(new FileStream(binPath, FileMode.Create), _initialBinSize, types)
-            );
-
-            _writers[i].idxWriter.Write(3); // version
-            _writers[i].idxWriter.Seek(4, SeekOrigin.Current); // Entity count
-
-            _entitiesCount[i] = 0;
-        }
-    }
-
-    public override void Serialize(IGenericSerializable e, int threadIndex)
-    {
-        var (idx, bin) = _writers[threadIndex];
-        var pos = bin.Position;
-
-        var entity = (ISerializable)e;
-
-        entity.Serialize(bin);
-        var length = (uint)(bin.Position - pos);
-
-        var t = entity.GetType();
-        idx.Write(t);
-        idx.Write(entity.Serial);
-        idx.Write(entity.Created.Ticks);
-        idx.Write(pos);
-        idx.Write(length);
-
-        _entitiesCount[threadIndex]++;
-    }
-
-    public override void WriteSnapshot()
-    {
-        var wroteFile = false;
-        string folderPath = null;
-        for (int i = 0; i < _writers.Length; i++)
-        {
-            var (idxWriter, binWriter) = _writers[i];
-
-            var binBytesWritten = binWriter.Position;
-
-            // Write the entity count
-            var pos = idxWriter.Position;
-            idxWriter.Seek(4, SeekOrigin.Begin);
-            idxWriter.Write(_entitiesCount[i]);
-            idxWriter.Seek(pos, SeekOrigin.Begin);
-
-            var idxFs = idxWriter.FileStream;
-            var idxFilePath = idxFs.Name;
-            var binFs = binWriter.FileStream;
-            var binFilePath = binFs.Name;
-
-            if (_initialIdxSize < idxFs.Position)
             {
-                _initialIdxSize = idxFs.Position;
+                binFs.Write(threads[SerializedThread].GetHeap(SerializedPosition, SerializedLength));
+            }
+            catch (Exception error)
+            {
+                logger.Error(
+                    error,
+                    "Error writing entity: (Thread: {Thread} - {Start} {Length})",
+                    SerializedThread,
+                    SerializedPosition,
+                    SerializedLength
+                );
             }
 
-            if (_initialBinSize < binFs.Position)
+            binPosition += SerializedLength;
-            {
-                _initialBinSize = binFs.Position;
-            }
-
-            idxWriter.Dispose();
-            binWriter.Dispose();
-
-            idxFs.Dispose();
-            binFs.Dispose();
-
-            if (binBytesWritten > 1)
-            {
-                wroteFile = true;
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                File.Delete(idxFilePath);
-                File.Delete(binFilePath);
-                folderPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(idxFilePath);
-            }
         }
 
-        if (!wroteFile && folderPath != null)
+        idx.Write(3); // Version
+        idx.Write(EntitiesBySerial.Values.Count);
+
+        foreach (var e in EntitiesBySerial.Values)
         {
-            Directory.Delete(folderPath);
+            var thread = e.SerializedThread;
+            var heapStart = e.SerializedPosition;
+            var heapLength = e.SerializedLength;
+
+            idx.Write(e.GetType());
+            idx.Write(e.Serial);
+            idx.Write(e.Created.Ticks);
+            idx.Write(binPosition);
+            idx.Write(heapLength);
+
+            try
+            {
+                binFs.Write(threads[thread].GetHeap(heapStart, heapLength));
+            }
+            catch (Exception error)
+            {
+                logger.Error(
+                    error,
+                    "Error writing entity: {Entity} (Thread: {Thread} - {Start} {Length})",
+                    e,
+                    thread,
+                    heapStart,
+                    heapLength
+                );
+            }
+
+            binPosition += heapLength;
         }
     }
 
     public override void Serialize()
     {
-        World.ResetRoundRobin();
         foreach (var entity in EntitiesBySerial.Values)
         {
-            World.PushToCache((entity, this));
+            World.PushToCache(entity);
         }
+
+        World.PushToCache(this);
     }
 
     private static ConstructorInfo GetConstructorFor(string typeName, Type t, Type[] constructorTypes)
@@ -205,7 +178,7 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
      */
     private unsafe Dictionary<int, ConstructorInfo> ReadTypes(string savePath)
     {
-        string typesPath = Path.Combine(savePath, _name, $"{_name}.tdb");
+        string typesPath = Path.Combine(savePath, Name, $"{Name}.tdb");
         if (!File.Exists(typesPath))
         {
             return null;
@@ -236,59 +209,57 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
 
     public virtual void DeserializeIndexes(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
     {
-        string indexPath = Path.Combine(savePath, _name, $"{_name}.idx");
+        string indexPath = Path.Combine(savePath, Name, $"{Name}.idx");
+
+        _entities ??= [];
+
+        // Support for legacy MUO Serialization that used split files
         if (!File.Exists(indexPath))
         {
-            TryDeserializeMultithreadIndexes(savePath, typesDb);
+            TryDeserializeSplitFileIndexes(savePath, typesDb);
             return;
         }
 
-        _entities = [InternalDeserializeIndexes(indexPath, typesDb)];
+        InternalDeserializeIndexes(indexPath, typesDb, _entities[0] = []);
     }
 
-    private void TryDeserializeMultithreadIndexes(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
+    private void TryDeserializeSplitFileIndexes(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
     {
         var index = 0;
-        var fileList = new List<string>();
         while (true)
         {
-            var path = Path.Combine(savePath, _name, $"{_name}_{index}.idx");
+            var path = Path.Combine(savePath, Name, $"{Name}_{index}.idx");
             var fi = new FileInfo(path);
             if (!fi.Exists)
             {
                 break;
             }
 
-            if (fi.Length != 0)
+            if (fi.Length == 0)
             {
-                fileList.Add(path);
+                continue;
             }
 
+            InternalDeserializeIndexes(path, typesDb, _entities[index] = []);
             index++;
         }
-
-        _entities = new List<EntitySpan<T>>[fileList.Count];
-        for (var i = 0; i < fileList.Count; i++)
-        {
-            _entities[i] = InternalDeserializeIndexes(fileList[i], typesDb);
-        }
     }
 
-    private unsafe List<EntitySpan<T>> InternalDeserializeIndexes(string filePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
+    private unsafe void InternalDeserializeIndexes(
+        string filePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb, List<EntitySpan<T>> entities
+    )
     {
-        object[] ctorArgs = new object[1];
-        List<EntitySpan<T>> entities = [];
-
         using var mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(filePath, FileMode.Open);
         using var accessor = mmf.CreateViewStream();
 
         byte* ptr = null;
         accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.AcquirePointer(ref ptr);
-        UnmanagedDataReader dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb);
+        var dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length);
 
         var version = dataReader.ReadInt();
 
-        Dictionary<int, ConstructorInfo> ctors = null;
+        Dictionary<int, ConstructorInfo> ctors = [];
+
         if (version < 2)
         {
             ctors = ReadTypes(Path.GetDirectoryName(filePath));
@@ -296,15 +267,16 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
 
         if (typesDb == null && ctors == null)
         {
-            return entities;
+            return;
         }
 
-        int count = dataReader.ReadInt();
-
         var now = DateTime.UtcNow;
+        var ctorArgs = new object[1];
         Type[] ctorArguments = [typeof(Serial)];
 
-        for (int i = 0; i < count; ++i)
+        var count = dataReader.ReadInt();
+
+        for (var i = 0; i < count; ++i)
         {
             ConstructorInfo ctor;
             // Version 2 & 3 with SerializedTypes.db
@@ -331,6 +303,7 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
             {
                 dataReader.ReadLong(); // LastSerialized
             }
+
             var pos = dataReader.ReadLong();
             var length = dataReader.ReadInt();
 
@@ -344,45 +317,39 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
             if (ctor.Invoke(ctorArgs) is T entity)
             {
                 entity.Created = created;
-                entities.Add(new EntitySpan<T>(entity, pos, (int)length));
+                entities.Add(new EntitySpan<T>(entity, pos, length));
                 EntitiesBySerial[serial] = entity;
             }
         }
 
         accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.ReleasePointer();
-        entities.TrimExcess();
 
         if (EntitiesBySerial.Count > 0)
         {
             _lastEntitySerial = EntitiesBySerial.Keys.Max();
         }
-
-        return entities;
     }
 
     public override void Deserialize(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
     {
-        string dataPath = Path.Combine(savePath, _name, $"{_name}.bin");
+        string dataPath = Path.Combine(savePath, Name, $"{Name}.bin");
         var fi = new FileInfo(dataPath);
 
         if (!fi.Exists)
         {
             TryDeserializeMultithread(savePath, typesDb);
         }
-        else
+        else if (fi.Length > 0)
         {
-            if (fi.Length == 0)
-            {
-                return;
-            }
-
             InternalDeserialize(dataPath, 0, typesDb);
         }
 
+        _entities.Clear();
+        _entities.TrimExcess();
         _entities = null;
     }
 
-    private static unsafe void InternalDeserialize(string filePath, int index, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
+    private unsafe void InternalDeserialize(string filePath, int index, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
     {
         using var mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(filePath, FileMode.Open);
         using var accessor = mmf.CreateViewStream();
@@ -390,6 +357,9 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
         byte* ptr = null;
         accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.AcquirePointer(ref ptr);
         UnmanagedDataReader dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb);
+
+        Deserialize(dataReader);
+
         var deleteAllFailures = false;
 
         foreach (var entry in _entities[index])
@@ -460,15 +430,25 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
             return;
         }
 
-        var folderPath = Path.Combine(savePath, _name);
+        var folderPath = Path.Combine(savePath, Name);
 
-        for (var i = 0; i < _entities.Length; i++)
+        foreach (var i in _entities.Keys)
         {
-            var path = Path.Combine(folderPath, $"{_name}_{i}.bin");
+            var path = Path.Combine(folderPath, $"{Name}_{i}.bin");
             InternalDeserialize(path, i, typesDb);
         }
     }
 
+    // Override for non-entity serialization
+    public override void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer)
+    {
+    }
+
+    // Override for non-entity deserialization
+    public override void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader)
+    {
+    }
+
     public override void PostWorldSave()
     {
         ProcessSafetyQueues();
@@ -492,25 +472,26 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
                 );
             }
 #endif
-            var last = _lastEntitySerial;
+            var last = (uint)_lastEntitySerial;
-            var max = (Serial)_maxSerial;
+            var min = (uint)_minSerial;
+            var max = (uint)_maxSerial;
 
-            for (uint i = 0; i < _maxSerial; i++)
+            for (uint i = 0; i < max; i++)
             {
                 last++;
 
                 if (last > max)
                 {
-                    last = (Serial)_minSerial;
+                    last = min;
                 }
 
-                if (FindEntity<T>(last) == null)
+                if (FindEntity<T>((Serial)last) == null)
                 {
-                    return _lastEntitySerial = last;
+                    return _lastEntitySerial = (Serial)last;
                 }
             }
 
-            OutOfMemory($"No serials left to allocate for {_name}");
+            OutOfMemory($"No serials left to allocate for {Name}");
             return Serial.MinusOne;
         }
     }
@@ -530,17 +511,21 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
                     goto case WorldState.Loading;
                 }
             case WorldState.Loading:
+            case WorldState.WritingSave:
                 {
                     if (_pendingDelete.Remove(entity.Serial))
                     {
-                        logger.Warning("Deleted then added {Entity} during {WorldState} state.", entity.GetType().Name, worldState.ToString());
+                        logger.Warning(
+                            "Deleted then added {Entity} during {WorldState} state.",
+                            entity.GetType().Name,
+                            worldState.ToString()
+                        );
                     }
 
                     _pendingAdd[entity.Serial] = entity;
                     break;
                 }
             case WorldState.PendingSave:
-            case WorldState.WritingSave:
             case WorldState.Running:
                 {
                     ref var entityEntry = ref CollectionsMarshal.GetValueRefOrAddDefault(EntitiesBySerial, entity.Serial, out bool exists);
@@ -591,13 +576,13 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
                     goto case WorldState.Loading;
                 }
             case WorldState.Loading:
+            case WorldState.WritingSave:
                 {
                     _pendingAdd.Remove(entity.Serial);
                     _pendingDelete[entity.Serial] = entity;
                     break;
                 }
             case WorldState.PendingSave:
-            case WorldState.WritingSave:
             case WorldState.Running:
                 {
                     EntitiesBySerial.Remove(entity.Serial);
@@ -613,8 +598,6 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
             AddEntity(entity);
         }
 
-        _pendingAdd.Clear();
-
         foreach (var entity in _pendingDelete.Values)
         {
             if (_pendingAdd.ContainsKey(entity.Serial))
@@ -625,10 +608,11 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
             RemoveEntity(entity);
         }
 
+        _pendingAdd.Clear();
         _pendingDelete.Clear();
     }
 
-    private void AppendSafetyLog(string action, ISerializable entity)
+    private static void AppendSafetyLog(string action, ISerializable entity)
     {
         var message =
             $"Warning: Attempted to {{Action}} {{Entity}} during world save.{Environment.NewLine}This action could cause inconsistent state.{Environment.NewLine}It is strongly advised that the offending scripts be corrected.";
@@ -638,7 +622,7 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
         try
         {
             using var op = new StreamWriter("world-save-errors.log", true);
-            op.WriteLine("{0}\t{1}", DateTime.UtcNow, message);
+            op.WriteLine($"{DateTime.UtcNow}\t{message}");
             op.WriteLine(new StackTrace(2).ToString());
             op.WriteLine();
         }
@@ -649,17 +633,9 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
     }
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public T Find(Serial serial) => FindEntity<T>(serial, false, false);
+    public T Find(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted = false) => FindEntity<T>(serial, returnDeleted);
 
-    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public R FindEntity<R>(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted = false) where R : class, T
-    public T Find(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted) => FindEntity<T>(serial, returnDeleted, false);
-
-    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public T Find(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted, bool returnPending) => FindEntity<T>(serial, returnDeleted, returnPending);
-
-    public R FindEntity<R>(Serial serial) where R : class, T => FindEntity<R>(serial, false, false);
-
-    public R FindEntity<R>(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted, bool returnPending) where R : class, T
     {
         switch (World.WorldState)
         {
@@ -669,14 +645,14 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
                 }
             case WorldState.Loading:
             case WorldState.Saving:
+            case WorldState.WritingSave:
                 {
-                    if (returnDeleted && returnPending && _pendingDelete.TryGetValue(serial, out var entity))
+                    if (returnDeleted && _pendingDelete.TryGetValue(serial, out var entity))
                     {
                         return entity as R;
                     }
 
-                    if (returnPending && _pendingAdd.TryGetValue(serial, out entity) ||
+                    if (_pendingAdd.TryGetValue(serial, out entity) || EntitiesBySerial.TryGetValue(serial, out entity))
-                        EntitiesBySerial.TryGetValue(serial, out entity))
                     {
                         return entity as R;
                     }
@@ -684,7 +660,6 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : Persistence, IGenericEntityPersistenc
                     return null;
                 }
             case WorldState.PendingSave:
-            case WorldState.WritingSave:
             case WorldState.Running:
                 {
                     return EntitiesBySerial.TryGetValue(serial, out var entity) ? entity as R : null;

Projects/Server/Serialization/GenericPersistence.cs

@@ -14,65 +14,105 @@
  *************************************************************************/
 
 using System;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
+using System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles;
 
 namespace Server;
 
 public abstract class GenericPersistence : Persistence, IGenericSerializable
 {
-    private long _initialSize = 1024 * 1024;
-    private MemoryMapFileWriter _fileToSave;
-
     public string Name { get; }
+    public string SaveFilePath { get; protected set; } // "<Folder>/<System>.bin"
 
-    public GenericPersistence(string name, int priority) : base(priority) => Name = name;
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
 
-    public override void Preserialize(string savePath, ConcurrentQueue<Type> types)
+    public GenericPersistence(string name, int priority) : base(priority)
     {
-        var path = Path.Combine(savePath, Name);
+        Name = name;
-        var filePath = Path.Combine(path, $"{Name}.bin");
+        SaveFilePath = Path.Combine(Name, $"{Name}.bin");
-        PathUtility.EnsureDirectory(path);
-
-        _fileToSave = new MemoryMapFileWriter(new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create), _initialSize, types);
     }
 
     public override void Serialize()
     {
-        World.ResetRoundRobin();
+        World.PushToCache(this);
-        World.PushToCache((this, this));
     }
 
-    public override void WriteSnapshot()
+    public override void WriteSnapshot(string savePath, HashSet<Type> typeSet)
     {
-        string folderPath = null;
+        if (SerializedLength == 0)
-        using (var fs = _fileToSave.FileStream)
         {
-            if (fs.Position > _initialSize)
+            return;
-            {
-                _initialSize = fs.Position;
-            }
-
-            _fileToSave.Dispose();
-            if (_fileToSave.Position == 0)
-            {
-                folderPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(fs.Name);
-            }
         }
 
-        if (folderPath != null)
+        var file = Path.Combine(savePath, SaveFilePath);
-        {
+        var dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(file);
-            Directory.Delete(folderPath);
+        PathUtility.EnsureDirectory(dir);
-        }
+
+        var threads = World._threadWorkers;
+
+        using var binFs = new FileStream(file, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None);
+
+        var thread = SerializedThread;
+        var heapStart = SerializedPosition;
+        var heapLength = SerializedLength;
+
+        binFs.Write(threads[thread].GetHeap(heapStart, heapLength));
     }
 
-    public override void Serialize(IGenericSerializable e, int threadIndex) => Serialize(_fileToSave);
+    public override unsafe void Deserialize(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
+    {
+        // Assume savePath has the Core.BaseDirectory already prepended
+        var dataPath = Path.GetFullPath(SaveFilePath, savePath);
+        var file = new FileInfo(dataPath);
+
+        if (!file.Exists || file.Length <= 0)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var fileLength = file.Length;
+
+        string error;
+
+        try
+        {
+            using var mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(dataPath, FileMode.Open);
+            using var accessor = mmf.CreateViewStream();
+
+            byte* ptr = null;
+            accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.AcquirePointer(ref ptr);
+            var dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb);
+            Deserialize(dataReader);
+
+            error = dataReader.Position != fileLength
+                ? $"Serialized {fileLength} bytes, but {dataReader.Position} bytes deserialized"
+                : null;
+
+            accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.ReleasePointer();
+        }
+        catch (Exception e)
+        {
+            error = e.ToString();
+        }
+
+        if (error != null)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine($"***** Bad deserialize of {file.FullName} *****");
+            Console.WriteLine(error);
+
+            Console.Write("Skip this file and continue? (y/n): ");
+            var y = Console.ReadLine();
+
+            if (!y.InsensitiveEquals("y"))
+            {
+                throw new Exception("Deserialization failed.");
+            }
+        }
+    }
 
     public abstract void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer);
-
-    public override void Deserialize(string savePath, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb) =>
-        AdhocPersistence.Deserialize(Path.Combine(savePath, Name, $"{Name}.bin"), Deserialize);
-
     public abstract void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader);
 }

Projects/Server/Serialization/IGenericSerializable.cs

@@ -17,5 +17,9 @@ namespace Server;
 
 public interface IGenericSerializable
 {
+    byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer);
 }

Projects/Server/Serialization/MemoryMapFileWriter.cs

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Buffers.Binary;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
 using System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles;
 using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ public unsafe class MemoryMapFileWriter : IGenericWriter, IDisposable
 {
     private readonly Encoding _encoding;
 
-    private readonly ConcurrentQueue<Type> _types;
+    private readonly HashSet<Type> _types;
     private readonly FileStream _fileStream;
     private MemoryMappedFile _mmf;
     private MemoryMappedViewAccessor _accessor;
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ public unsafe class MemoryMapFileWriter : IGenericWriter, IDisposable
     private long _position;
     private long _size;
 
-    public MemoryMapFileWriter(FileStream fileStream, long initialSize, ConcurrentQueue<Type> types = null)
+    public MemoryMapFileWriter(FileStream fileStream, long initialSize, HashSet<Type> types = null)
     {
         _types = types;
         _fileStream = fileStream;
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ public unsafe class MemoryMapFileWriter : IGenericWriter, IDisposable
         {
             Write((byte)0x2); // xxHash3 64bit
             Write(AssemblyHandler.GetTypeHash(type));
-            _types.Enqueue(type);
+            _types.Add(type);
         }
     }
 

Projects/Server/Serialization/Persistence.cs

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
  *************************************************************************/
 
 using System;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
 using System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles;
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@ public abstract class Persistence
         }
     }
 
-    private unsafe static Dictionary<ulong, string> LoadTypes(string path)
+    private static unsafe Dictionary<ulong, string> LoadTypes(string path)
     {
         var db = new Dictionary<ulong, string>();
 
@@ -85,32 +84,31 @@ public abstract class Persistence
     }
 
     // Note: This is strictly on a background thread
-    internal static void PreSerializeAll(string path, ConcurrentQueue<Type> types)
+    internal static void WriteSnapshotAll(string path, HashSet<Type> typeSet)
     {
         foreach (var p in _registry)
         {
-            p.Preserialize(path, types);
+            p.WriteSnapshot(path, typeSet);
         }
+
+        WriteSerializedTypesSnapshot(path, typeSet);
     }
 
-    private static readonly HashSet<Type> _typesSet = [];
+    public static void WriteSerializedTypesSnapshot(string path, HashSet<Type> types)
-
-    // Note: This is strictly on a background thread
-    internal static void WriteSnapshotAll(string path, ConcurrentQueue<Type> types)
     {
-        foreach (var p in _registry)
+        string typesPath = Path.Combine(path, "SerializedTypes.db");
-        {
+        using var fs = new FileStream(typesPath, FileMode.Create);
-            p.WriteSnapshot();
+        using var writer = new MemoryMapFileWriter(fs, 1024 * 1024 * 4);
-        }
+
+        writer.Write(0); // version
+        writer.Write(types.Count);
 
-        // Dedupe the queue.
         foreach (var type in types)
         {
-            _typesSet.Add(type);
+            var fullName = type.FullName;
+            writer.Write(HashUtility.ComputeHash64(fullName));
+            writer.WriteStringRaw(fullName);
         }
-
-        WriteSerializedTypesSnapshot(path, _typesSet);
-        _typesSet.Clear();
     }
 
     internal static void SerializeAll()
@@ -137,32 +135,8 @@ public abstract class Persistence
         }
     }
 
-    public static void WriteSerializedTypesSnapshot(string path, HashSet<Type> types)
-    {
-        string typesPath = Path.Combine(path, "SerializedTypes.db");
-        using var fs = new FileStream(typesPath, FileMode.Create);
-        using var writer = new MemoryMapFileWriter(fs, 1024 * 1024 * 4);
-
-        writer.Write(0); // version
-        writer.Write(types.Count);
-
-        foreach (var type in types)
-        {
-            var fullName = type.FullName;
-            writer.Write(HashUtility.ComputeHash64(fullName));
-            writer.WriteStringRaw(fullName);
-        }
-    }
-
-    // Open file streams, MMFs, prepare data structures
     // Note: This should only be run on a background thread
-    public abstract void Preserialize(string savePath, ConcurrentQueue<Type> types);
+    public abstract void WriteSnapshot(string savePath, HashSet<Type> typeSet);
-
-    // Note: This should only be run on a background thread
-    public abstract void Serialize(IGenericSerializable e, int threadIndex);
-
-    // Note: This should only be run on a background thread
-    public abstract void WriteSnapshot();
 
     public abstract void Serialize();
 

Projects/Server/Serialization/SerializationExtensions.cs

@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ namespace Server;
 
 public static class SerializationExtensions
 {
-    private static readonly Dictionary<Type, Func<Serial, bool, bool, ISerializable>> _directFinderTable = new();
+    private static readonly Dictionary<Type, Func<Serial, bool, ISerializable>> _directFinderTable = new();
-    private static readonly Dictionary<Type, Func<Serial, bool, bool, ISerializable>> _searchTable = new();
+    private static readonly Dictionary<Type, Func<Serial, bool, ISerializable>> _searchTable = new();
 
-    public static void RegisterFindEntity(this Type type, Func<Serial, bool, bool, ISerializable> func)
+    public static void RegisterFindEntity(this Type type, Func<Serial, bool, ISerializable> func)
     {
         _searchTable[type] = func;
     }
@@ -47,12 +47,12 @@ public static class SerializationExtensions
 
         if (typeof(IEntity).IsAssignableFrom(typeT))
         {
-            return World.FindEntity<IEntity>(serial, returnPending: false) as T;
+            return World.FindEntity<IEntity>(serial) as T;
         }
 
         if (_directFinderTable.TryGetValue(typeT, out var finder))
         {
-            return finder(serial, false, false) as T;
+            return finder(serial, false) as T;
         }
 
         Type type = null;
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ public static class SerializationExtensions
 
         finder = _searchTable[type];
         _directFinderTable[type] = finder;
-        return finder(serial, false, false) as T;
+        return finder(serial, false) as T;
     }
 
     public static List<T> ReadEntityList<T>(

Projects/Server/Serialization/SerializationThreadWorker.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2024 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: SerializationThreadWorker.cs                                    *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Concurrent;
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+using System.Threading;
+
+namespace Server;
+
+public class SerializationThreadWorker
+{
+    private const int MinHeapSize = 1024 * 1024; // 1MB
+    private readonly int _index;
+    private readonly Thread _thread;
+    private readonly AutoResetEvent _startEvent; // Main thread tells the thread to start working
+    private readonly AutoResetEvent _stopEvent; // Main thread waits for the worker finish draining
+    private bool _pause;
+    private bool _exit;
+    private byte[] _heap;
+
+    private readonly ConcurrentQueue<IGenericSerializable> _entities;
+
+    public SerializationThreadWorker(int index)
+    {
+        _index = index;
+        _startEvent = new AutoResetEvent(false);
+        _stopEvent = new AutoResetEvent(false);
+        _entities = new ConcurrentQueue<IGenericSerializable>();
+        _thread = new Thread(Execute);
+        _thread.Start(this);
+    }
+
+    public void Wake()
+    {
+        _startEvent.Set();
+    }
+
+    public void Sleep()
+    {
+        Volatile.Write(ref _pause, true);
+        _stopEvent.WaitOne();
+    }
+
+    public void Exit()
+    {
+        _exit = true;
+        Wake();
+        Sleep();
+    }
+
+    public void AllocateHeap() => _heap ??= GC.AllocateUninitializedArray<byte>(MinHeapSize); // 1MB
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public void Push(IGenericSerializable entity) => _entities.Enqueue(entity);
+
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    public ReadOnlySpan<byte> GetHeap(int start, int length) => _heap.AsSpan(start, length);
+
+    private static void Execute(object obj)
+    {
+        var worker = (SerializationThreadWorker)obj;
+        var threadIndex = (byte)worker._index;
+
+        var queue = worker._entities;
+        var serializedTypes = World.SerializedTypes;
+
+        while (worker._startEvent.WaitOne())
+        {
+            var writer = new BufferWriter(worker._heap, true, serializedTypes);
+
+            while (true)
+            {
+                var pauseRequested = Volatile.Read(ref worker._pause);
+                if (queue.TryDequeue(out var e))
+                {
+                    e.SerializedThread = threadIndex;
+                    var start = e.SerializedPosition = (int)writer.Position;
+                    e.Serialize(writer);
+                    e.SerializedLength = (int)(writer.Position - start);
+                }
+                else if (pauseRequested) // Break when finished
+                {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+
+            worker._heap = writer.Buffer;
+
+            writer.Close();
+
+            worker._stopEvent.Set(); // Allow the main thread to continue now that we are finished
+            worker._pause = false;
+
+            if (Core.Closing || worker._exit)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/World/World.cs

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ public static class World
     private static readonly GenericEntityPersistence<BaseGuild> _guildPersistence = new("Guilds", 3, 1, 0x7FFFFFFF);
 
     private static int _threadId;
-    private static readonly SerializationThreadWorker[] _threadWorkers = new SerializationThreadWorker[Math.Max(Environment.ProcessorCount - 1, 1)];
+    internal static SerializationThreadWorker[] _threadWorkers;
     private static readonly ManualResetEvent _diskWriteHandle = new(true);
     private static readonly ConcurrentQueue<Item> _decayQueue = new();
 
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ public static class World
     public static Dictionary<Serial, Mobile> Mobiles => _mobilePersistence.EntitiesBySerial;
     public static Dictionary<Serial, BaseGuild> Guilds => _guildPersistence.EntitiesBySerial;
 
+    public static bool UseMultiThreadedSaves { get; private set; }
     public static string SavePath { get; private set; }
     public static WorldState WorldState { get; private set; }
     public static bool Saving => WorldState == WorldState.Saving;
@@ -101,13 +102,12 @@ public static class World
 
         var savePath = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("world.savePath", "Saves");
         SavePath = PathUtility.GetFullPath(savePath);
+
+        UseMultiThreadedSaves = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("world.useMultithreadedSaves", true);
     }
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public static void WaitForWriteCompletion()
+    public static void WaitForWriteCompletion() => _diskWriteHandle.WaitOne();
-    {
-        _diskWriteHandle.WaitOne();
-    }
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
     private static void EnqueueForDecay(Item item)
@@ -207,6 +207,9 @@ public static class World
         );
 
         // Create the serialization threads.
+        var threadCount = UseMultiThreadedSaves ? Math.Max(Environment.ProcessorCount - 1, 1) : 1;
+        _threadWorkers = new SerializationThreadWorker[threadCount];
+
         for (var i = 0; i < _threadWorkers.Length; i++)
         {
             _threadWorkers[i] = new SerializationThreadWorker(i);
@@ -267,17 +270,26 @@ public static class World
             return;
         }
 
+        WaitForWriteCompletion(); // Blocks Save until current disk flush is done.
+        _diskWriteHandle.Reset();
+
         WorldState = WorldState.PendingSave;
         ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(Preserialize);
     }
 
-    internal static void Preserialize(object state)
+    private static void Preserialize(object state)
     {
         var tempPath = PathUtility.EnsureRandomPath(_tempSavePath);
 
         try
         {
-            Persistence.PreSerializeAll(tempPath, SerializedTypes);
+            // Allocate the heaps for the GC
+            foreach (var worker in _threadWorkers)
+            {
+                worker.AllocateHeap();
+            }
+
+            WakeSerializationThreads();
             Core.RequestSnapshot(tempPath);
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
@@ -296,9 +308,7 @@ public static class World
             return;
         }
 
-        WaitForWriteCompletion(); // Blocks Save until current disk flush is done.
+        NetState.FlushAll();
-
-        _diskWriteHandle.Reset();
 
         WorldState = WorldState.Saving;
 
@@ -314,7 +324,6 @@ public static class World
         {
             _serializationStart = Core.Now;
 
-            WakeSerializationThreads();
             Persistence.SerializeAll();
             PauseSerializationThreads();
             EventSink.InvokeWorldSave();
@@ -324,9 +333,8 @@ public static class World
             exception = ex;
         }
 
-        WorldState = WorldState.PendingSave;
+        WorldState = WorldState.WritingSave;
         ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(WriteFiles, snapshotPath);
-        Persistence.PostWorldSaveAll(); // Process safety queues
         watch.Stop();
 
         if (exception == null)
@@ -345,6 +353,8 @@ public static class World
         }
     }
 
+    private static readonly HashSet<Type> _typesSet = [];
+
     private static void WriteFiles(object state)
     {
         var snapshotPath = (string)state;
@@ -352,7 +362,16 @@ public static class World
         {
             var watch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
             logger.Information("Writing world save snapshot");
-            Persistence.WriteSnapshotAll(snapshotPath, SerializedTypes);
+
+            // Dedupe the types
+            while (SerializedTypes.TryDequeue(out var type))
+            {
+                _typesSet.Add(type);
+            }
+
+            Persistence.WriteSnapshotAll(snapshotPath, _typesSet);
+
+            _typesSet.Clear();
 
             try
             {
@@ -380,7 +399,13 @@ public static class World
         SerializedTypes.Clear();
 
         _diskWriteHandle.Set();
+        Core.LoopContext.Post(FinishWorldSave);
+    }
+
+    private static void FinishWorldSave()
+    {
         WorldState = WorldState.Running;
+        Persistence.PostWorldSaveAll(); // Process decay and safety queues
     }
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
@@ -408,9 +433,9 @@ public static class World
     internal static void ResetRoundRobin() => _threadId = 0;
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    internal static void PushToCache((IGenericSerializable e, Persistence p) ep)
+    internal static void PushToCache(IGenericSerializable e)
     {
-        _threadWorkers[_threadId++].Push(ep);
+        _threadWorkers[_threadId++].Push(e);
         if (_threadId == _threadWorkers.Length)
         {
             _threadId = 0;
@@ -474,20 +499,20 @@ public static class World
 
     // Legacy: Only used for retrieving Items and Mobiles.
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public static IEntity FindEntity(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted = false, bool returnPending = false) =>
+    public static IEntity FindEntity(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted = false) =>
-        FindEntity<IEntity>(serial, returnDeleted, returnPending);
+        FindEntity<IEntity>(serial, returnDeleted);
 
     // Legacy: Only used for retrieving Items and Mobiles.
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public static T FindEntity<T>(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted = false, bool returnPending = false)
+    public static T FindEntity<T>(Serial serial, bool returnDeleted = false)
         where T : class, IEntity
     {
         if (serial.IsItem)
         {
-            return _itemPersistence.Find(serial, returnDeleted, returnPending) as T;
+            return _itemPersistence.Find(serial, returnDeleted) as T;
         }
 
-        return _mobilePersistence.Find(serial, returnDeleted, returnPending) as T;
+        return _mobilePersistence.Find(serial, returnDeleted) as T;
     }
 
     private class ItemPersistence : GenericEntityPersistence<Item>
@@ -520,7 +545,7 @@ public static class World
                     EnqueueForDecay(item);
                 }
 
-                PushToCache((item, this));
+                PushToCache(item);
             }
         }
 
@@ -551,78 +576,4 @@ public static class World
             }
         }
     }
-
-    private class SerializationThreadWorker
-    {
-        private readonly int _index;
-        private readonly Thread _thread;
-        private readonly AutoResetEvent _startEvent; // Main thread tells the thread to start working
-        private readonly AutoResetEvent _stopEvent; // Main thread waits for the worker finish draining
-        private bool _pause;
-        private bool _exit;
-        private readonly ConcurrentQueue<(IGenericSerializable, Persistence)> _entities;
-
-        public SerializationThreadWorker(int index)
-        {
-            _index = index;
-            _startEvent = new AutoResetEvent(false);
-            _stopEvent = new AutoResetEvent(false);
-            _entities = new ConcurrentQueue<(IGenericSerializable, Persistence)>();
-            _thread = new Thread(Execute);
-            _thread.Start(this);
-        }
-
-        public void Wake()
-        {
-            _startEvent.Set();
-        }
-
-        public void Sleep()
-        {
-            Volatile.Write(ref _pause, true);
-            _stopEvent.WaitOne();
-        }
-
-        public void Exit()
-        {
-            _exit = true;
-            Wake();
-            Sleep();
-        }
-
-        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-        public void Push((IGenericSerializable e, Persistence p) ep) => _entities.Enqueue(ep);
-
-        private static void Execute(object obj)
-        {
-            SerializationThreadWorker worker = (SerializationThreadWorker)obj;
-
-            var reader = worker._entities;
-
-            while (worker._startEvent.WaitOne())
-            {
-                while (true)
-                {
-                    bool pauseRequested = Volatile.Read(ref worker._pause);
-                    if (reader.TryDequeue(out var ep))
-                    {
-                        var (e, p) = ep;
-                        p.Serialize(e, worker._index);
-                    }
-                    else if (pauseRequested) // Break when finished
-                    {
-                        break;
-                    }
-                }
-
-                worker._stopEvent.Set(); // Allow the main thread to continue now that we are finished
-                worker._pause = false;
-
-                if (Core.Closing || worker._exit)
-                {
-                    return;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
 }

Projects/UOContent/Accounting/Account.cs

@@ -284,6 +284,10 @@ public partial class Account : IAccount, IComparable<Account>
 
     public Serial Serial { get; set; }
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     [AfterDeserialization(false)]
     private void AfterDeserialization()
     {

Projects/UOContent/Engines/Bulk Orders/Books/BaseBOBEntry.cs

@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ public abstract partial class BaseBOBEntry : IBOBEntry
 
     public Serial Serial { get; }
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     public bool Deleted { get; private set; }
 
     public BaseBOBEntry()

Projects/UOContent/Engines/Ethics/Core/EthicsEntity.cs

@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ public partial class EthicsEntity : ISerializable
 
     public Serial Serial { get; }
 
+    public byte SerializedThread { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedPosition { get; set; }
+    public int SerializedLength { get; set; }
+
     public bool Deleted { get; private set; }
 
     public void Delete()

Projects/UOContent/Gumps/AdminGump.cs

@@ -3968,7 +3968,14 @@ namespace Server.Gumps
                 InvokeCommand("Save");
             }
 
-            Core.Kill(restart);
+            // Kill the server on a different thread otherwise we will dead lock
+            ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(
+                _ =>
+                {
+                    World.WaitForWriteCompletion();
+                    Core.Kill(restart);
+                }
+            );
         }
 
         private void InvokeCommand(string c)