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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0005432Dwarf FortressWorld Generation -- Beastspublic2012-02-24 11:322015-12-16 04:44
ReporterNW_Kohaku 
Assigned ToToady One 
PrioritynormalSeveritymajorReproducibilityalways
StatusresolvedResolutionfixed 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product Version0.34.02 
Target VersionFixed in Version0.42.04 
Summary0005432: Vampires become unstoppable in worldgen in cities large enough for temple+sewers - causes depopulation
DescriptionCities almost never seem to be able to hit the "☼" stage of growth, due to cities, after a certain size, having a temple (whose god or goddess then starts cursing the heck out of their followers to make vampires) and a sewer.

Vampires will flee from town to town every 12 years or so after suspicion of a murder, but never get caught, and eventually wind up in a sewer, where they are never caught, killed, or driven out. This is usually the same city where they were cursed in the first place.

While there, they can rack up HUGE kill counts - up to the tens of thousands if they have 600+ years to accrue them. Because all the vampires tend to pool into the city that has the sewers, and because that city is constantly generating MORE vampires because its local fish goddess doesn't stop cursing people, the city winds up with 30 or so vampires in the sewers which get a half-dozen kills apiece (so, 180 kills per year), on top of all the werecritter rampages.

This winds up crashing the populations, and ensuring that any town that rises above a certain population threshold starts to plummet into decline.

Savefile, with adventurer in city that serves as a good example: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=5682 [^]
Steps To ReproduceGenerate a world, and look in legends mode. Third-party legends viewing software helps significantly in tracing relationships.
Additional InformationI believe this may be a possible cause of the bug where towns have so many abandoned shops that no actual people from the population pool live there - http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/mantisbt/view.php?id=5263 [^]
Tags0.34.02, 34.02, Town, towns, vampire
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Attached Files
Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2012-02-24 11:32NW_KohakuNew Issue
2012-02-24 12:12NW_KohakuNote Added: 0020615
2012-02-24 12:47NW_KohakuNote Edited: 0020615bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0020615#r7664
2012-02-24 12:50NW_KohakuTag Attached: 0.34.02
2012-02-24 12:50NW_KohakuTag Attached: 34.02
2012-02-24 12:50NW_KohakuTag Attached: Town
2012-02-24 12:50NW_KohakuTag Attached: towns
2012-02-24 12:50NW_KohakuTag Attached: vampire
2012-03-10 00:34etherflanIssue Monitored: etherflan
2014-07-12 11:58FootkerchiefSummaryVampires become unstoppable in worldgen in cities large enough for temple+sewers - causes population crashes => Vampires become unstoppable in worldgen in cities large enough for temple+sewers - causes depopulation
2015-12-13 14:08thvazIssue Monitored: thvaz
2015-12-15 20:50Toady OneStatusnew => resolved
2015-12-15 20:50Toady OneFixed in Version => Next Version
2015-12-15 20:50Toady OneResolutionopen => fixed
2015-12-15 20:50Toady OneAssigned To => Toady One
2015-12-16 04:44thvazIssue End Monitor: thvaz

Notes
(0020615)
NW_Kohaku   
2012-02-24 12:12   
(edited on: 2012-02-24 12:47)
I also notice routine starvation-related mass die-offs happening in cities that do not have major vampire problems, which also prevents the "☼" cities from occurring.

Cities will go + to * to # slowly but surely, then dramatically crash back to + in just a couple years, and have to work its way back up.

These generally happen to worlds that generate "Golden Age"s around year 70 and stay there throughout the worldgen, and which have few beast rampages, so this implies they managed to kill their weres off.

This really seems to be the defining feature of whether you have a fast or brutal worldgen - whether the weres get killed off early and heroes can establish a foothold or not. Worldgen has a rather Unstable Equillibrium going on... whether that's intended or not, who knows...