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Chunk Load Storm

CPU spikes whenever players explore new areas. Generating fresh terrain on demand is expensive, and several players pushing into ungenerated chunks at once causes stuttering and TPS drops.

What does this error mean?
Loading an already-generated chunk is cheap, but generating a brand-new one is heavy work. A 'chunk load storm' is a burst of new-chunk generation, from exploration or teleports, that overwhelms the server momentarily. 
High chunk load event rate
Most Common Causes
  • Players exploring far into ungenerated terrain.
  • High view/simulation distance multiplying the work.
  • Elytra or fast travel outrunning chunk generation.
  • Teleports into distant unloaded areas.
  • No pre-generated world border.
How To Diagnose
  1. Correlate CPU spikes with players entering new areas.
  2. Check view/simulation distance settings.
  3. Watch chunk generation activity with spark during travel.
  4. Note whether spikes vanish in already-explored regions.
Recommended Fixes
  • Pre-generate the world
    Use Chunky to build out terrain to your world border ahead of time.
  • Lower view distance
    Reduce server view/simulation distance to cut per-player generation load.
  • Set a world border
    Constrain exploration so the world is finite and can be fully pre-generated.
  • Throttle generation
    On Paper, tune max chunk generation/sends per tick to smooth out spikes.
Analyze My Log
Frequently Asked Questions

A lot, pre-built chunks load cheaply, so exploration no longer triggers heavy generation.

8-10 is a common balance, lower it further on weak hardware or busy servers.

Already-generated chunks are inexpensive, only new terrain incurs the costly generation step.