Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?  (Read 4228 times)

Shazial

  • Bay Watcher
  • *hic*
    • View Profile
Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« on: October 27, 2018, 10:29:35 am »

Urist McCaptain of the Guard led his trusty Helmed Meshes to demand tribute to a human hamlet half a day's travel away. The troops returned triumphant - announcing that annual tribute will be brought upon us every winter. However Urist McCaptain wasn't with them. No problem, some come back slower.

Days pass. Helmed Meshes continue their military life of practice and elf bullying, yet Urist McCaptain hasn't returned.
Days turn to weeks. First of Helmed Meshes turn into Elite Mace Dwarves. Urist McCaptain still hasn't returned.
Weeks turn to Months. Troglodytes and toads and other nasties are being slaughtered by other squads, but Helmed Meshes keeps practising, 'cause Urist McCaptain is still not back.

It's now been over a year. Tributes have been received. Urist McCaptain hasn't returned from fetching tribute from half a day's travel away. The Army cannot be expanded, 'cause he isn't home. He was also the hammerer, so criminals are running rampart and hammerings haven't been dashed out to those who break production mandates. He's not listed in missing people either, 'cause he's just.. travelling. Endlessly. Somewhere, where he cannot be replaced.

As a Fortress Guardian.. I'm not sure why and what to do about it.
Logged
I'm surrounded by lunatics who don't even need a moon.

Dozebôm Lolumzalìs

  • Bay Watcher
  • what even is truth
    • View Profile
    • test
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2018, 09:49:58 pm »

Check to see if Urist McCaptain stayed behind, perhaps? You could see it on the [c]ivilization screen.
Logged
Quote from: King James Programming
...Simplification leaves us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes...
Quote from: Salvané Descocrates
The only difference between me and a fool is that I know that I know only that I think, therefore I am.
Sigtext!

Shazial

  • Bay Watcher
  • *hic*
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2018, 01:56:56 pm »

Check to see if Urist McCaptain stayed behind, perhaps? You could see it on the [c]ivilization screen.

I tried to check it out but I didn't find a mention of him in the civilizations screen (unless I'm reading it wrong). Seeing the civilizations screen info he's not listed as any of the notable people in the Hamlets.

Is it.. possible for a dwarf to get lost while marching somewhere outside..?
Logged
I'm surrounded by lunatics who don't even need a moon.

Shazial

  • Bay Watcher
  • *hic*
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2018, 12:11:39 am »

Using the same thread as it's related to the topic.

While starting my bigger military overhaul project I realized that not only Urist McCaptain never returned actually most of Helmed Meshes never did. Only two squad members came back home - My champion, and Urist McEliteWrestler. The other eight are still marked as travelling three years later.

Which makes me wonder if it's related to another issue I have.. some visitors never leave the map tile. As in they move to the edge to depart and then just.. hang around there. They don't starve, they aren't dying of thirst or seem to have any changes in them.. just.. stand there at the edge of the map.

Is there a known edge bug that prevents squads from returning and visitors departing or have I just ran into something weird?

I'd also like to know, the noob I am, if there are some DFHack commands I can do to fix the situation? I don't trust myself to know enough about file modification or commands to not bork everything up, even though this is my trial and error fort, so it's meant to be messed with to figure stuff out.
Logged
I'm surrounded by lunatics who don't even need a moon.

Saiko Kila

  • Bay Watcher
  • Dwarven alchemist
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2018, 03:06:25 am »

Maybe it is related. Sometimes there is an announcement, that some guys have returned. But they are not your guys - they are often travelling entertainers, usually from another civ, who got glitched. They are marked as friendly, and hang around the point of entry. They will get crazy over time (may take years), and if they are elves, dwarves or humans they can actually die of thirst, but apparently the timer starts only after they got crazy.

Sometimes also bodyguards of visitors don't leave, and are also marked as friendly, not doing anything. They are similar to the entertainers above, except they get glitched after the proper visit, not before, and occasionally they are unglitched on their own (I don't know exactly when, but they disappear).

Another important difference is that you can unglitch the first group manually using dfhack. It's not exactly the return to normal, but they will move on, especially if they are entertainers (rangers or similar may still be stuck, but they can eventually disappear, they will be marked as Travellers, not Artists). Change the flags2/visitor to true, and change the flags3/unk31 to true. Don't do it on stuck bodyguards, because flag unk31 will cause immediate crash of Dwarf Fortress in their case!
Logged

Leonidas

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2018, 09:12:09 pm »

Are these problems with the current version?

Mission dwarves not returning used to be a big problem, and then 44.12 fixed most of it. Even so, I'm still careful to save before a mission, and then not save again until all the dwarves have returned. When a squad returns, the whole squad should return together in a migrant-style chain. I've never seen part of a squad return and then others return later, at least not with raid, pillage and raze missions.
Logged

Shazial

  • Bay Watcher
  • *hic*
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2018, 11:24:29 pm »

Maybe it is related. Sometimes there is an announcement, that some guys have returned. But they are not your guys - they are often travelling entertainers, usually from another civ, who got glitched. They are marked as friendly, and hang around the point of entry. They will get crazy over time (may take years), and if they are elves, dwarves or humans they can actually die of thirst, but apparently the timer starts only after they got crazy.

Sometimes also bodyguards of visitors don't leave, and are also marked as friendly, not doing anything. They are similar to the entertainers above, except they get glitched after the proper visit, not before, and occasionally they are unglitched on their own (I don't know exactly when, but they disappear).

Another important difference is that you can unglitch the first group manually using dfhack. It's not exactly the return to normal, but they will move on, especially if they are entertainers (rangers or similar may still be stuck, but they can eventually disappear, they will be marked as Travellers, not Artists). Change the flags2/visitor to true, and change the flags3/unk31 to true. Don't do it on stuck bodyguards, because flag unk31 will cause immediate crash of Dwarf Fortress in their case!

That's useful to know. I'll have to do a backup save and fiddle with it so I can see if I can at least get rid of the gathering of bards at the edge of the map.

Are these problems with the current version?

Mission dwarves not returning used to be a big problem, and then 44.12 fixed most of it. Even so, I'm still careful to save before a mission, and then not save again until all the dwarves have returned. When a squad returns, the whole squad should return together in a migrant-style chain. I've never seen part of a squad return and then others return later, at least not with raid, pillage and raze missions.

Yeah. I'm playing 44.12 with the Lazy Newb Pack. The other squads and missions came back pretty easy no issue, just this one.. somehow not. Though in other missions as well there's often been a slight delay between the dwarves return (Not years, just like a day or two max).
Logged
I'm surrounded by lunatics who don't even need a moon.

scourge728

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2018, 11:32:12 am »

I have a similar issue, in the whole dwarves stuck traveling thing, although how it occurred is different: After conquering a site, I used a messenger to have them return, and some went back out on the raid before I canceled the order and those dwarves that left never came back... I can't tell if they participate on the next raids, since I've sent them out and they haven't got into a big fight yet, but the missing two never return.

Paralyzoid

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Traveling Dwarf Not Returning?
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2018, 10:56:33 pm »

I had a similar issue. The exact chain of events in mine was:

-I sent a squad of 5 (one was my military commander) on a razing mission
-After the first dwarf disappeared off the screen, a siege arrived.
-I saved the game and re-opened it.
-The rest of the squad left. I locked the front doors.
-Later, with the siege still present, three of the squad returned.

I kept savescumming and getting the same 3 returning units, until one time all 5 returned. So, repeated savescumming to before your squad returns might fix it.
Logged
He felt aroused after seeing the goblin Ramkal Drunkensiege's dead body.