Absolutely! Thank you so much for sharing details, it's always a pleasure to read into what a creator puts into their creations, even the technical aspects.
Ohh Unreal engine. Never change lmao. It was definitely the rocks themselves, because the collisions did not line up with the models themselves, but that's all it is to it at the end of the day. I didn't actually notice the shift in spawn rates when the portal activated, possibly due to the IMMEDIATE rush I make to reach the portal before dying, but it makes sense! Thank you for clarifying.
At the end of the day, this is a GameJam, and bugs and unintentional issues are part of the experience, but there was clearly a lot of skill put into such a small project, and that's awesome! Good fortune to your future endeavours!