When pipelines stop moving

Recognize the reported symptom

Issue #294 describes Super Mario Odyssey stopping during Preparing pipelines on Mac, with build main@4639c51. This is a community issue report, not a confirmed universal defect or a fix verified by this site. A similar screen on another commit may have a different cause.

Before changing anything

Record the game version, project commit, machine, operating system and the displayed progress. Keep the log from that attempt. A still progress indicator does not by itself tell you whether work is ongoing; do not invent a fixed timeout from this report.

Work through the checks

1. Compare your game and build with issue #294. Read the latest comments and issue status at the source.
2. Check whether the log is still advancing or repeats an error. Record the last relevant lines without sharing private paths or keys.
3. Back up save/ and pso_user.tsv before replacing a build or applying any cache-related suggestion.
4. If trying a community workaround, change one item at a time and note the original value so you can reverse it.
5. After a new attempt, check whether the title opens and whether your existing save is present; keep the old backup until confirmed.

Checkpoint and failure handling

Do not treat a comment-level workaround as an upstream guarantee. If your setup differs, report the difference alongside the commit and symptom. Use the upstream issue for current resolution status. Avoid repeated reinstalls without a backup; a build change and a data-container change can otherwise become impossible to distinguish.

Separate slow preparation from a repeatable stop

Observation	Useful evidence	Next action
Progress or log lines keep changing	Two observations and their times	Keep observing; this report supplies no universal wait limit
The same progress point repeats after a controlled retry	Last relevant log lines and exact build	Compare the original issue and record what changed
A new build behaves differently	Both revisions and the same game version	Keep the results separate rather than declaring every build fixed
The game opens but progress is missing	Save location and app target	Stop cache experiments and check the backup route

The upstream project has several graphics-preparation stages. A familiar word on screen does not by itself prove that your case is issue #294. Avoid using a phone’s behavior to explain this particular Mac report.

Keep a reversible experiment note

For each attempt, write the revision, input version, changed option, displayed stage and last log activity. Keep the original setting so it can be restored. A change that reaches a menu still needs a separate save and gameplay check; it is not proof of long-term stability.

Mac app logs and data locations are in the save and log guide. If you used the developer host instead, follow the locations printed for that build; do not silently substitute the Finder app’s data path. Return to Mac build targets if the output type is unclear.