[0.16.51] Error loading old save: "Unknown entity light-smoke"

[Zian]

I tried to load an old game. The "Map version" in the Load game screen says "0.14.21-0". The game was likely created on an even older version of Factorio and then upgraded.

I expected the game to load but I got the following error instead:
Unknown entity light-smoke (Maybe you loaded alpha save from demo)

Attempt to use different prototype to traverse save of already removed entity called "light-smoke" failed. There is no other prototype of the same type (smoke) to be used to load the entity.

The problem always happens.

I already tried uninstalling an old version of Factorio and installing the latest demo version.

I have never used a non-demo version so it seems unlikely that I've run an "alpha save".

[Rseding91]

Thanks for the report however I can't reproduce the problem. When I load the save file in 0.16.51 it works perfectly.

Are you sure you didn't disable "base" mod by mistake?

[Zian]

Are you sure you didn't disable "base" mod by mistake?

How do I verify that I did not do that?

I've never worked with Factorio mods before.

[posila]

Base mod doesn't seem to be disabled (the game would not start without base mod or mod that's replacing it)

But checksum of the base mod is not what it should be, so your game files might be corrupted. Uninstall the game, delete entire C:\Program Files\Factorio folder to make sure no game files stay there, and make fresh install of 0.16.51.

DO NOT delete anything in %APPDATA%\Factorio, as that is where your save files are, so you don't want to delete that.

[Gec]

I am able to reproduce the issue the original poster encountered on 0.16.51-0 with my own save.

Setup:
Factorio Demo installation
Factorio full version installation [steam]

What did I do?
Open Factorio through the windows start menu (this runs the demo version in my case). Navigate to saves, select the save and click "load".

What happened?
Received popup window: "unknown entity solar-panel (maybe you loaded alpha save from demo)

What did you expect to happen instead?
I expected the game to load the save or point out that I am stupid for trying to load a full save from the demo installation.
The error message is technically correct, but it might be phrased more end-user-friendly ("You are currently running the Factorio DEMO and are trying to load from the FULL version. Please start the full version of Factorio to load this save.")
Additionally a "DEMO" stamp in the corner would help to distinguish both versions visually.

Resolution:
Run the full version of Factorio through Steam.