Dwarf Fortress Bug Tracker - Dwarf Fortress
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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0007435Dwarf FortressDwarf Mode -- Thoughts and Preferencespublic2014-07-17 19:592018-05-10 16:19
ReporterSteveTheRed 
Assigned ToFootkerchief 
PrioritynormalSeverityminorReproducibilitysometimes
StatusconfirmedResolutionno change required 
PlatformWindowsOS7OS Version64 bit SP 1
Product Version0.40.03 
Target VersionFixed in Version 
Summary0007435: Dwarves overwhelmed by horror at the sight of the refuse stockpile
DescriptionThe stockpile contains, amongst other things, various goblin body parts and the corpse of a stray horse foal, as well as the usual slaughtering leftovers.

A couple of my dwarves have had this issue. Of their personality traits, the first is "Somewhat fearful in the face of imminent danger". The second "has great trouble mastering fear when confronted by danger". So it's probably just those of a nervous disposition, but seriously guys - it's the refuse stockpile! And they're body parts of our enemies. Shouldn't that be the opposite of danger?

From their positions, one of them should only be able to see goblin body parts, not the horse foal corpse, if that's significant.
Steps To Reproduce
Additional Information
Tags0.40.24, Intentional/Expected?
Relationships
related to 0007161needs feedback Dwarfu Morale is screwy across all modes 
related to 0007185confirmed Footkerchief Horrified merchants immediately destroy their wagons, pack their goods and leave the depot 
has duplicate 0008501resolved Footkerchief 'Horrified after seeing ___ die' thoughts prompted by old corpses 
has duplicate 0008895resolved Knight Otu dwarf looks at dead body becomes horified by "seeing ... die" 
has duplicate 0008923resolved Knight Otu Migrants have emotions from witnessing events at the fortress that happened before they arrived 
has duplicate 0010752resolved Loci Dwarf is horrified by a nonexistent corpse 
has duplicate 0006924resolved lethosor Urist McDwarf cancells job: Horrified 
related to 0008813new  Butchered bone stacks from hostile creatures cause "seeing a __'s dead body" thought 
Attached Files
Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2014-07-17 19:59SteveTheRedNew Issue
2014-07-17 20:13TalvienoNote Added: 0026820
2014-07-17 22:49Amena RalikemaNote Added: 0026835
2014-07-18 08:52FootkerchiefNote Added: 0026869
2014-07-18 08:52FootkerchiefStatusnew => resolved
2014-07-18 08:52FootkerchiefResolutionopen => no change required
2014-07-18 08:52FootkerchiefAssigned To => Footkerchief
2014-07-20 06:23SteveTheRedNote Added: 0027007
2014-07-20 06:23SteveTheRedStatusresolved => needs feedback
2014-07-20 06:23SteveTheRedResolutionno change required => reopened
2014-07-20 08:13FootkerchiefNote Added: 0027012
2014-07-20 08:13FootkerchiefStatusneeds feedback => resolved
2014-07-20 08:13FootkerchiefResolutionreopened => no change required
2014-07-20 08:13FootkerchiefNote Edited: 0027012bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0027012#r10071
2014-08-06 08:49FootkerchiefStatusresolved => new
2014-08-06 08:49FootkerchiefRelationship addedrelated to 0007161
2014-08-06 08:49FootkerchiefRelationship addedrelated to 0007185
2014-08-06 10:15KanddakNote Added: 0028467
2014-08-06 11:35cephaloNote Added: 0028475
2014-08-06 13:19KanddakNote Added: 0028483
2014-08-24 07:22FootkerchiefTag Attached: Intentional/Expected?
2014-08-24 07:27FootkerchiefStatusnew => needs feedback
2014-09-04 05:16FootkerchiefNote Added: 0029926
2014-09-05 06:16SteveTheRedNote Added: 0029957
2014-09-05 06:16SteveTheRedStatusneeds feedback => assigned
2014-09-05 07:45FootkerchiefNote Added: 0029959
2014-09-05 07:45FootkerchiefStatusassigned => needs feedback
2014-09-05 23:32SteveTheRedNote Added: 0029981
2014-09-05 23:32SteveTheRedStatusneeds feedback => assigned
2014-09-12 09:50FootkerchiefStatusassigned => needs feedback
2014-09-12 11:45FootkerchiefNote Added: 0030141
2014-09-12 21:09SteveTheRedNote Added: 0030153
2014-09-12 21:09SteveTheRedStatusneeds feedback => assigned
2014-09-12 21:16SteveTheRedNote Added: 0030154
2014-09-12 22:24FootkerchiefStatusassigned => confirmed
2015-01-05 14:26DetrosIssue Monitored: Detros
2015-01-05 14:58FootkerchiefRelationship addedhas duplicate 0008501
2015-01-05 16:44DetrosNote Added: 0031717
2015-01-05 16:47DetrosNote Edited: 0031717bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0031717#r12684
2015-01-05 19:03ptb_ptbNote Added: 0031721
2015-01-19 16:19LurdiakNote Added: 0032008
2015-01-19 16:20LurdiakNote Edited: 0032008bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0032008#r12826
2015-01-19 16:21LurdiakNote Edited: 0032008bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0032008#r12827
2015-01-19 16:22LurdiakTag Attached: 0.40.24
2015-02-10 14:15bigcalmNote Added: 0032206
2015-04-02 02:03Knight OtuRelationship addedhas duplicate 0008895
2015-04-02 03:23QroxNote Added: 0032492
2015-04-20 00:23Knight OtuRelationship addedhas duplicate 0008923
2015-04-20 00:23Knight OtuIssue Monitored: Dr_Hellno
2015-05-03 15:21scifyNote Added: 0032634
2015-05-28 00:46dragoon508Note Added: 0032745
2015-09-12 16:25hyndisNote Added: 0033047
2015-09-14 00:47DetrosNote Added: 0033048
2015-09-14 00:48DetrosNote Edited: 0033048bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0033048#r13299
2015-12-02 17:10FootkerchiefRelationship addedrelated to 0008813
2015-12-08 09:24TalvienoNote Added: 0033632
2015-12-08 09:29OrkelNote Added: 0033634
2018-04-16 17:27HuntthetrollIssue Monitored: Huntthetroll
2018-05-09 12:46LociRelationship addedhas duplicate 0010752
2018-05-09 12:49LociNote Added: 0038313
2018-05-09 19:10ArmokGoBNote Added: 0038314
2018-05-10 16:19KvallNote Added: 0038317
2018-08-04 08:01lethosorRelationship addedhas duplicate 0006924

Notes
(0026820)
Talvieno   
2014-07-17 20:13   
This greatly amuses me, but I agree, it should only be if the corpse is still alive (i.e., not a corpse). This report explains what's been going on in my refuse stockpile, though - nice job figuring it out.
(0026835)
Amena Ralikema   
2014-07-17 22:49   
I think that's intended behavior - squeamish dwarves are horrified by corpses and body parts of sentient creatures. Just make the braver dwarves dump the bodies somewhere the rest won't see them.
(0026869)
Footkerchief   
2014-07-18 08:52   
Yeah, this seems intentional -- it's reasonable to expect players to put their corpse piles out of sight. Please reopen this or PM me on the forums if it has game-breaking consequences.
(0027007)
SteveTheRed   
2014-07-20 06:23   
The refuse stockpile is out of sight - dwarves are being horrified by it when they go to the refuse stockpile to dump other things. So either we need to go through all dwarves and turn off refuse hauling for those of nervous dispositions (that sounds like an enjoyable addition to gameplay :-/ ) or refuse stockpiles could come with special calming notices.

Not sure if that's game breaking or just mind numbing though :-)
(0027012)
Footkerchief   
2014-07-20 08:13   
Seems like a fortress design challenge more than anything else, but feel free to post in the Suggestions or Dwarf Mode Discussion forums.
(0028467)
Kanddak   
2014-08-06 10:15   
As reported by several users elsewhere, merchants in particular seem to be very easily horrified by corpses, particularly of werecreatures.
Also, it can sometimes take quite a while to get corpses picked up and hauled away from where they died, because a dwarf will accept the job, go to fetch the corpse, get horrified and cancel the job, accept the job, go back to the corpse, get horrified again, and so on.
(0028475)
cephalo   
2014-08-06 11:35   
I haven't checked, but do repeated sightings change the traits of a dwarf to be more hardened to such things? I feel like it's my newer dwarfs that have this problem.
(0028483)
Kanddak   
2014-08-06 13:19   
Daonitre reports in 0007161:0028460 that his dwarves became "used to trauma" after seeing a corpse regularly. I'm planning to try putting some corpses in the dining room to harden up my dwarves.
(0029926)
Footkerchief   
2014-09-04 05:16   
Is this still an issue with the latest morale changes?
(0029957)
SteveTheRed   
2014-09-05 06:16   
I had it happen again most recently in 0.40.10 (fresh 0.40.10 world).
(0029959)
Footkerchief   
2014-09-05 07:45   
What about 0.40.11?
(0029981)
SteveTheRed   
2014-09-05 23:32   
I didn't see anything in the 0.40.11 notes about that, and hadn't started on 0.40.11 as DT isn't updated yet. I guess I can give it a go though...
(0030141)
Footkerchief   
2014-09-12 11:45   
0.40.12 included more morale changes -- testing needed.
(0030153)
SteveTheRed   
2014-09-12 21:09   
Bleh. And my 0.40.11 fort just replicated the problem too!

Iden Thobteshkad, Farmer cancels Butcher an Animal: Horrified. x3

The dead wolverine is in the refuse stockpile (which is nicely out of the way), but there are DEAD GOBLINS THERE! Arghhh!

"She is somewhat fearful in the face of imminent danger."

On to 0.40.12, I guess.
(0030154)
SteveTheRed   
2014-09-12 21:16   
Saving that game from 0.40.11 and loading it in 0.40.12 resulted in my butcher heading back to the dining room, reacquiring the task, going back to the refuse stockpile to get the wolverine corpse, and being horrified again by the scary dead goblins.

So it looks like it's still there in 0.40.12, at least in old saves. I'll start a new fort in 0.40.12 now...
(0031717)
Detros   
2015-01-05 16:44   
(edited on: 2015-01-05 16:47)
Still in 40.23. Save: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=10386 [^]

The corpse of cyclops is scaring my dwarves whenever they meet it on dump site or in refuse stockpile. They are "horrified after seeing the cyclops "<NAME>" die". I have also already got several "too horrified" job cancellations but can't show them directly in this save because of 0001430.

See also the 4th miner, Cog Nicatkesmal: he joined my fort recently but that cyclops is now nearly a year dead.
(0031721)
ptb_ptb   
2015-01-05 19:03   
I would say that the message "Horrified after seeing ___ die" is incorrect, in that they have not seen ___ die, they have just seen his/its corpse. I would think the shock of seeing someone bleed out in front of you is a bit different to passing a sun bleached skeleton for the twentieth time.
(0032008)
Lurdiak   
2015-01-19 16:19   
(edited on: 2015-01-19 16:21)
I've also experienced this in 40.24, there's no way it's intended behavior. It's as traumatic to the dwarves to see a goblin or monster die than it is to see a fellow dwarf. The fact that it still triggers if they see an old rotting corpse is further proof that it's a bug.
(0032206)
bigcalm   
2015-02-10 14:15   
I'm currently experiencing in 40.24 ; The practical upshot of sieges is that no matter how well the fight goes, dwarves end up incredibly stressed by all the bodies lying around. Because refuse dumping is one of the lowest priority jobs, it means that the dwarves spend all their time hauling off the goblinite to the various stockpiles, all the while getting continually horrified by the same corpses hundreds of times.

This could be fixed in a different way however, make positive influences more positive. If I sequester a "stressed" dwarf with 200k stress with nothing to disturb them (no job ; their own legendary furniture, dining room, statue room, range of lavish meals and range of booze, other stressed companions) - I can expect maybe a ~40k drop in stress over an entire year. So right now for the most jittery dwarves, a single siege is enough to push them such that they will take 5 years to become unstressed.
(0032492)
Qrox   
2015-04-02 03:23   
I can confirm this happening in 40.24 too. Also, in the dwarfs' descriptions there are a lot of "horrified" spams. They should be better merged into something like "horrified after seeing <number> goblin corpses". Also, I think stress level should not be linear to the number of corpses they see. There's really no big difference between seeing 100 or 150 corpses than it is between seeing 1 or 51 corpses. (Logarithm perhaps? Beat me if it is already non-linear)
(0032634)
scify   
2015-05-03 15:21   
Still seeing this even after the corpse and parts have been destroyed by a lava cleanse, whenever some of my dwarves wander by the square in the refuse pile where it used to be.
(0032745)
dragoon508   
2015-05-28 00:46   
Having the same issue here as well, My dwarves have been freaking out at the sight of a single tooth of a goblin I killed. That must be one scary tooth.
(0033047)
hyndis   
2015-09-12 16:25   
Still happening in 40.24, and its bad. It makes a fortress nearly unplayable.

Its not even corpses that cause this problem. Bones cause this problem. Even teeth.

A macedwarf smashes out the teeth of a goblin. Even after disposing of the goblin corpse, the teeth still somehow terrify my dwarves into throwing endless tantrums.

The duration of the negative thought from seeing a corpse is way, way, way, way too long. Maybe it should be a season or two. The duration of these negative thoughts is so long that I don't recall ever seeing these negative thoughts go away.

I'm unable to un-stress my dwarves. Even after atom smashing every last bit of refuse, eating masterwork roasts and masterwork booze in a royal dining hall and partying around an artifact well they're still endlessly throwing tantrums.

DFTherapist even records their stress levels going up. Their stress isn't going down, its going up. Even in this paradise stress is going up.
(0033048)
Detros   
2015-09-14 00:47   
(edited on: 2015-09-14 00:48)
This even-tooth-counts-as-corpse-if-it's-owner-is-dead behaviour is well known in DF. See devlog at http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/ [^] on 2014-02-17, for example.
(0033632)
Talvieno   
2015-12-08 09:24   
Can confirm that this still happens. http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=11421 [^] as a new save where the queen has seen all animal deaths since the conception of the fortress.
(0033634)
Orkel   
2015-12-08 09:29   
Yep also happening to me.
(0038313)
Loci   
2018-05-09 12:49   
v0.44.10: From the devlog: "Separated thoughts for seeing somebody die and finding the body".

Viewing remains (including lost teeth) now causes a "seeing a __'s dead body" thought instead.

Some amount of horror upon viewing a collection of sentient remains is very likely intended.
(0038314)
ArmokGoB   
2018-05-09 19:10   
@Loci
Right now I believe the game gives every body part the same weight as a corpse. So seeing a pile of teeth is just as horrifying as seeing a pile of corpses.
(0038317)
Kvall   
2018-05-10 16:19   
Gob is correct in assuming that, and I think Toady predicted an overcorrection in weighting so a tweak of the numbers is likely to follow soon enough.