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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0004676Dwarf FortressVegetationpublic2011-05-28 11:352012-03-05 15:53
ReporterQuietust 
Assigned ToFootkerchief 
PrioritynormalSeverityminorReproducibilityhave not tried
StatusresolvedResolutionwon't fix 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product Version0.31.25 
Target VersionFixed in Version 
Summary0004676: Upgraded fort from 0.31.18, no more surface plant growth
DescriptionAt some point after I upgraded a fortress from version 0.31.18, all surface plant growth stopped entirely. I cut down every single tree, gathered every shrub, and built dirt roads to get rid of all the grass, and even after several years had passed, my Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forest embark looks more like a red Sand Desert (albeit with a few full murky pools and a stream).

If necessary, I can post a seasonal backup I made prior to the release of 0.31.19.
Steps To Reproduce
Additional Information
TagsIntentional/Expected?
Relationships
Attached Files
Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2011-05-28 11:35QuietustNew Issue
2011-05-28 12:19Logical2uNote Added: 0017878
2011-05-28 12:19Logical2uTag Attached: AWAITING UPDATE
2011-05-28 12:34QuietustNote Added: 0017879
2011-05-28 12:36QuietustNote Edited: 0017879bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0017879#r6672
2011-05-28 12:36Logical2uNote Added: 0017880
2011-05-28 12:37QuietustNote Added: 0017881
2011-05-28 12:38QuietustNote Edited: 0017879bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0017879#r6673
2011-05-28 13:55Logical2uNote Added: 0017882
2011-05-28 13:58kwielandNote Added: 0017883
2011-05-28 14:15QuietustNote Added: 0017884
2011-05-28 14:32QuietustNote Edited: 0017884bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0017884#r6675
2011-05-28 16:19Logical2uNote Added: 0017886
2011-05-28 19:11QuietustNote Added: 0017888
2011-05-28 19:23QuietustNote Edited: 0017888bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0017888#r6677
2011-05-28 20:20Logical2uNote Added: 0017889
2011-05-28 20:20Logical2uTag Attached: Intentional/Expected?
2011-05-28 21:49jaxad0127Note Added: 0017891
2012-02-19 17:31QuietustNote Added: 0020194
2012-02-19 19:06FootkerchiefNote Added: 0020206
2012-02-19 19:06FootkerchiefStatusnew => resolved
2012-02-19 19:06FootkerchiefResolutionopen => won't fix
2012-02-19 19:06FootkerchiefAssigned To => Footkerchief
2012-03-05 15:53Logical2uTag Detached: AWAITING UPDATE

Notes
(0017878)
Logical2u   
2011-05-28 12:19   
In 31.19 Toady introduced the new grazing mechanics which saw grass and plant growth changed around a lot to accompany that. As such I suspect that the absence of grass is entirely expected in this case.

I'd also hazard that because you so drastically terraformed your biome that it's not going to spawn saplings or shrubs.

It's not clear from your report if the roads are still there.

Tempted to mark this as 'no change required'.
(0017879)
Quietust   
2011-05-28 12:34   
(edited on: 2011-05-28 12:38)
For the record, I did the exact same "cut down every tree, gather every shrub, remove all grass" procedure early in the history of the fortress and everything grew back eventually - I not only have zero grass but also zero shrubs and zero saplings. Were it not for the underground caverns (which seem to have been unaffected by this), all of my woodcutters and herbalists would be permanently unemployed.

Also, dirt roads disappear the instant they are "built", just as they always have.
(0017880)
Logical2u   
2011-05-28 12:36   
Yeah but by 'early in the history of the fortress' I presume you mean 'While still playing 31.18' right?
(0017881)
Quietust   
2011-05-28 12:37   
Yes, and I don't see how that makes this any less of a bug.
(0017882)
Logical2u   
2011-05-28 13:55   
As I said, in 31.19 the grass system was changed. So old maps probably aren't compatible with the new grass.
(0017883)
kwieland   
2011-05-28 13:58   
Are surface plants affected by mining out "nearby" tiles, you know, the 2-tile radius?
(0017884)
Quietust   
2011-05-28 14:15   
(edited on: 2011-05-28 14:32)
They are, but I haven't mined out the soil underneath the locations where trees/shrubs are now failing to grow.

For reference, this is what my fortress used to look like (and still does, minus the lack of surface plants):
http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9932-releasetreaty [^]
(0017886)
Logical2u   
2011-05-28 16:19   
So the grass thing might be expected but I guess you're saying the trees/shrub are a bug? I might guess that trees/shrubs have to grow on grass which would neatly inter-relate all three.
(0017888)
Quietust   
2011-05-28 19:11   
(edited on: 2011-05-28 19:23)
I just wrote a DFHack tool to replenish all of the surface grass in my embark region, and once I ran it I immediately noticed shrubs and saplings appearing - thus, it looks like the lack of plants is a side effect of the lack of grass.
(0017889)
Logical2u   
2011-05-28 20:20   
I wonder if this grass/sapling relationship is part of 31.18, part of the biome, or a regular part of the game. The Wiki indicates that saplings can spawn anywhere, which makes sense to me since you can get cactii for wood in the desert.
(0017891)
jaxad0127   
2011-05-28 21:49   
Deserts have (semi-)grass.
(0020194)
Quietust   
2012-02-19 17:31   
Given that 0.34.01 has broken save compatibility with 0.31.xx, this is no longer an issue.
(0020206)
Footkerchief   
2012-02-19 19:06   
Thanks!