0000797: Animals/pets repeatedly try to find path through pet-locked/"tightly closed" doors, causing lag

(0002104)
Squirrelloid (reporter)
2010-04-08 11:29

This was true in .40d as well. Animals pathfind as dwarves and get surprised when they can't go through tightly closed doors, and just sit there and try to repath repeatedly. Since pathing thinks they can go through the tightly closed door, they keep trying. Processor issue: the animal is continuously calling the pathfinding code.

Quick test: get an animal trapped in a room with 2 doors. Lock one and tightly close the other. Watch the animal move to the tightly closed door and sit there with a '?' flashing. Switch which door is locked and which is tightly closed. Animal moves to the new tightly closed door.

(0010830)
MaDeR Levap (reporter)
2010-07-22 10:31

I suppose this would require separate map of pathable tiles in memory, at least two versions (for animals and for everything else). Funny thought: how would be memory req for having separate path tile map for each living entity? This could allow things like forgetting about part of fortress for this dorf that got hit in head recently. But I do not see this being implemented any time soon.

(0010837)
OzoneGrif (reporter)
2010-07-22 10:41

For gameplay purposes,
tightly closed doors should prevent animals from passing through...

It's pretty much useless right now because your animal will pass along with a dwarf, then get stuck in the room and can't go out until another dwarf comes.

(0010839)
smjjames (reporter)
2010-07-22 10:45

Its a very old issue, I don't know how far back it goes, but certainly before 40D.

(0010856)
eatatree (reporter)
2010-07-22 21:11

This happens to me as of 31.10, and also happened in 40d.

(0016657)
Lav (reporter)
2011-03-27 01:52

Not sure about Dwarf Fortress, but at home my cat is *constantly* trying to path through closed doors, meowing in dismay when he cannot. :-)

Besides, this animal behavior is actually pretty useful in many situations.

(0018977)
TBeholder (reporter)
2011-11-13 05:17

The main performance problem IMHO is that everything tries to path into everywhere. If critters at least occasionally preferred random wandering (a job with a set probabilty to pop up at each new job "?") within their sight, they would still fail, but won't have to recalculate the way around half of the map when they fail.
This doesn't mean they won't occasionaly try to pass closed doors even in wandering mode.

Having dragons beeline to your doors may have some sense (they have heard about you and are overconfident), but for mindless critters like scorpions there aren't great reasons for map-wide clairvoyance.

As to learning critters, a simple compromise is to mark food/danger/potential consorts met during wandering in a set (per critter) number of (decaying/renewable at a set rate) waypoints would need much less memory than a full mental map (even ONE, let alone per critter).

(0024566)
eidako (reporter)
2014-02-25 15:57

Also applies to hatches. I had a hostile giant olm trapped under one that was forbidden and tightly closed. The olm came rushing at it when it was made non-forbidden, but just sat under it and alternated between prone and standing until I set it to allow pets. A cool emergent behavior IMO (nasty creature lurking under a hatch, waiting for a dwarf to come along and open it), but ultimately a bug.

(0028618)
smjjames (reporter)
2014-08-08 14:58

This one might get some attention now since it's a contributor to lag in worldgen forts and mountainhomes.

The pastures help by keeping them from pathing elsewhere, but the bug is still there.

(0031257)
smjjames (reporter)
2014-12-04 11:08

This can also be reproduced in any worldgen fort as the loads of cats rush to one place and get stopped by a door, causing noticeable lag.

(0032715)
Witty (reporter)
2015-05-24 06:44

I can confirm this for .40.24. Some crundle was trying to path through a door set to be tightly closed - and my usual 100 FPS dropped down to 15. The FPS made a complete recovery once I disabled the setting on that door, and the crundles flooded my fort.

(0034316)
Robsoie (reporter)
2016-01-04 16:36

Still happening in 42.04 , saved game :
http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=11607 [^]

On save load, you should be on the 1st cavern level
There's a barrack with a squad of soldiers training there, and a double door leading directly to the cavern.
Both doors have disabled pet passage, so only non-pets can move through.

In front of those doors there is a group of "naked mole dogs".

Unpause the game you will quickly notice that game performance is so bad it's unplayable.
Press q , move the cursor over the double doors and enable pet passage.

Suddenly performance is back at relatively playable, while the naked mole dogs enter the barracks

(0035009)
Knight Otu (manager)
2016-04-13 13:08

lightman posted a 0.42.06 save in 0009689.

(0036766)
a52 (reporter)
2017-10-06 13:30

A single cave crocodile lowered my FPS from about 40 to only 9 because she was trying to get through a tightly closed door. Even killing all other creatures and deleting all items with DFHack didn't make a significant difference to FPS as long as she was still alive.

Save:
http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=13122 [^]

(0037861)
Loci (manager)
2018-03-06 09:33

v0.44.05: Magnani posted a save in 0010602:

http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=13540 [^]

(0038817)
Loci (manager)
2018-09-19 13:19

v0.44.12: aids_spreader posted a save in 0010888:

http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=13998 [^]

(0040308)
Alatun (reporter)
2020-03-03 16:16
edited on: 2020-03-03 16:17

v0.47.03: still has this issue. Ran into this problem several times so far. Because I was not aware of this bug, I thought my save was corrupted and did a restart. Now it happened again: a cave swallow from 1st cavern wanted to go through a door that did now allow pets (to prevent cats go to cavern and kill the cave spiders). Game dropped to 1 FPS on my machine. After making the door pet passable, FPS went back to normal.

(0040534)
bugsubmitter20001 (reporter)
2020-05-09 16:48

v0.47.04: still has this issue. Ran into this problem each time I build an enclosed atom smasher. Vermin will begin to spawn in the smash area. Cat will try to path through the door.

(0040557)
evilmasteryoda (reporter)
2020-05-18 20:21

v0.47.04: Confirmed still a issue. Each time my cygnets hatch from my Giant Swan eggs I go down 20-30fps easily. Each time cave crocodiles or crundles hatch I go to nearly 0FPS. (this is because hatched eggs dont stay in the Pen/pasture. I have a pet locked - impassible door and until I unlock it to become pet passable the FPS tanks.

Issue History
Date Modified	Username	Field	Change
2010-04-08 08:35	king doom	New Issue
2010-04-08 10:57	king doom	Tag Attached: pathfinding
2010-04-08 10:57	king doom	Tag Attached: door
2010-04-08 10:57	king doom	Tag Attached: pet
2010-04-08 11:29	Squirrelloid	Note Added: 0002104
2010-07-22 10:31	MaDeR Levap	Note Added: 0010830
2010-07-22 10:41	OzoneGrif	Note Added: 0010837
2010-07-22 10:45	smjjames	Note Added: 0010839
2010-07-22 11:10	Footkerchief	Summary	Doorways marked tightly closed do not count as barriers with regard to animal pathfinding. => Animals/pets repeatedly try to path through "tightly closed" doors, causing lag
2010-07-22 11:10	Footkerchief	Sticky Issue	No => Yes
2010-07-22 21:11	eatatree	Note Added: 0010856
2010-07-22 21:11	eatatree	Issue Monitored: eatatree
2010-07-26 08:27	Kanddak	Tag Attached: leftover from 40d
2010-07-26 11:49	Kanddak	Issue Monitored: Kanddak
2010-11-03 14:06	jwest23	Issue Monitored: jwest23
2010-11-18 18:20	Footkerchief	Relationship added	related to 0001340
2010-11-18 18:20	Footkerchief	Relationship added	related to 0002945
2010-12-14 08:30	Footkerchief	Summary	Animals/pets repeatedly try to path through "tightly closed" doors, causing lag => Animals/pets repeatedly try to find path through pet-locked/"tightly closed" doors, causing lag
2010-12-14 14:24	hyperactiveChipmunk	Issue Monitored: hyperactiveChipmunk
2010-12-14 20:16	Rhenaya	Issue Monitored: Rhenaya
2011-03-27 01:52	Lav	Note Added: 0016657
2011-11-13 05:17	TBeholder	Note Added: 0018977
2014-02-01 10:29	Footkerchief	Relationship added	related to 0005555
2014-02-23 13:08	Footkerchief	Relationship added	related to 0006446
2014-02-25 15:57	eidako	Note Added: 0024566
2014-02-25 15:57	eidako	Tag Attached: hatch
2014-02-27 11:14	Footkerchief	Assigned To	=> Footkerchief
2014-02-27 11:14	Footkerchief	Status	new => acknowledged
2014-08-04 20:30	Dwarfu	Relationship added	has duplicate 0007846
2014-08-08 14:12	Footkerchief	Status	acknowledged => confirmed
2014-08-08 14:12	Footkerchief	Relationship added	has duplicate 0007915
2014-08-08 14:49	Mopsy	Issue Monitored: Mopsy
2014-08-08 14:58	smjjames	Note Added: 0028618
2014-08-08 21:30	4maskwolf	Issue Monitored: 4maskwolf
2014-08-09 05:37	Footkerchief	Relationship added	has duplicate 0007921
2014-08-14 04:09	Steb	Issue Monitored: Steb
2014-09-01 14:12	Footkerchief	Relationship added	related to 0008213
2014-09-13 16:44	Dame de la Licorne	Issue Monitored: Dame de la Licorne
2014-12-04 11:08	smjjames	Note Added: 0031257
2015-04-01 00:07	Dwarfu	Relationship added	has duplicate 0008890
2015-05-24 06:44	Witty	Note Added: 0032715
2015-12-20 20:27	lethosor	Relationship added	has duplicate 0009390
2016-01-04 16:36	Robsoie	Note Added: 0034316
2016-04-13 13:08	Knight Otu	Relationship added	has duplicate 0009689
2016-04-13 13:08	Knight Otu	Note Added: 0035009
2016-11-03 16:33	FantasticDorf	Note Added: 0036029
2016-11-07 07:26	FantasticDorf	Note Edited: 0036029	View Revisions
2017-01-27 07:25	FantasticDorf	Note Deleted: 0036029
2017-01-27 07:51	FantasticDorf	Note Added: 0036226
2017-01-27 10:40	FantasticDorf	Note Edited: 0036226	View Revisions
2017-01-27 10:41	FantasticDorf	Note Edited: 0036226	View Revisions
2017-06-08 19:19	Huntthetroll	Issue Monitored: Huntthetroll
2017-10-06 13:30	a52	Note Added: 0036766
2017-10-19 05:01	FantasticDorf	Note Deleted: 0036226
2018-03-06 09:31	Loci	Relationship added	has duplicate 0010602
2018-03-06 09:33	Loci	Note Added: 0037861
2018-09-19 13:18	Loci	Relationship added	has duplicate 0010888
2018-09-19 13:19	Loci	Note Added: 0038817
2020-02-24 13:55	clanl	Issue Monitored: clanl
2020-03-03 16:16	Alatun	Note Added: 0040308
2020-03-03 16:17	Alatun	Note Edited: 0040308	View Revisions
2020-05-09 16:48	bugsubmitter20001	Note Added: 0040534
2020-05-18 20:21	evilmasteryoda	Note Added: 0040557
2020-10-06 05:22	psychowico	Issue Monitored: psychowico

Notes
(0002104) Squirrelloid (reporter) 2010-04-08 11:29	This was true in .40d as well. Animals pathfind as dwarves and get surprised when they can't go through tightly closed doors, and just sit there and try to repath repeatedly. Since pathing thinks they can go through the tightly closed door, they keep trying. Processor issue: the animal is continuously calling the pathfinding code. Quick test: get an animal trapped in a room with 2 doors. Lock one and tightly close the other. Watch the animal move to the tightly closed door and sit there with a '?' flashing. Switch which door is locked and which is tightly closed. Animal moves to the new tightly closed door.

(0010830) MaDeR Levap (reporter) 2010-07-22 10:31	I suppose this would require separate map of pathable tiles in memory, at least two versions (for animals and for everything else). Funny thought: how would be memory req for having separate path tile map for each living entity? This could allow things like forgetting about part of fortress for this dorf that got hit in head recently. But I do not see this being implemented any time soon.

(0010837) OzoneGrif (reporter) 2010-07-22 10:41	For gameplay purposes, tightly closed doors should prevent animals from passing through... It's pretty much useless right now because your animal will pass along with a dwarf, then get stuck in the room and can't go out until another dwarf comes.

(0010839) smjjames (reporter) 2010-07-22 10:45	Its a very old issue, I don't know how far back it goes, but certainly before 40D.

(0010856) eatatree (reporter) 2010-07-22 21:11	This happens to me as of 31.10, and also happened in 40d.

(0016657) Lav (reporter) 2011-03-27 01:52	Not sure about Dwarf Fortress, but at home my cat is constantly trying to path through closed doors, meowing in dismay when he cannot. :-) Besides, this animal behavior is actually pretty useful in many situations.

(0018977) TBeholder (reporter) 2011-11-13 05:17	The main performance problem IMHO is that everything tries to path into everywhere. If critters at least occasionally preferred random wandering (a job with a set probabilty to pop up at each new job "?") within their sight, they would still fail, but won't have to recalculate the way around half of the map when they fail. This doesn't mean they won't occasionaly try to pass closed doors even in wandering mode. Having dragons beeline to your doors may have some sense (they have heard about you and are overconfident), but for mindless critters like scorpions there aren't great reasons for map-wide clairvoyance. As to learning critters, a simple compromise is to mark food/danger/potential consorts met during wandering in a set (per critter) number of (decaying/renewable at a set rate) waypoints would need much less memory than a full mental map (even ONE, let alone per critter).

(0024566) eidako (reporter) 2014-02-25 15:57	Also applies to hatches. I had a hostile giant olm trapped under one that was forbidden and tightly closed. The olm came rushing at it when it was made non-forbidden, but just sat under it and alternated between prone and standing until I set it to allow pets. A cool emergent behavior IMO (nasty creature lurking under a hatch, waiting for a dwarf to come along and open it), but ultimately a bug.

(0028618) smjjames (reporter) 2014-08-08 14:58	This one might get some attention now since it's a contributor to lag in worldgen forts and mountainhomes. The pastures help by keeping them from pathing elsewhere, but the bug is still there.

(0031257) smjjames (reporter) 2014-12-04 11:08	This can also be reproduced in any worldgen fort as the loads of cats rush to one place and get stopped by a door, causing noticeable lag.

(0032715) Witty (reporter) 2015-05-24 06:44	I can confirm this for .40.24. Some crundle was trying to path through a door set to be tightly closed - and my usual 100 FPS dropped down to 15. The FPS made a complete recovery once I disabled the setting on that door, and the crundles flooded my fort.

(0034316) Robsoie (reporter) 2016-01-04 16:36	Still happening in 42.04 , saved game : http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=11607 [^] On save load, you should be on the 1st cavern level There's a barrack with a squad of soldiers training there, and a double door leading directly to the cavern. Both doors have disabled pet passage, so only non-pets can move through. In front of those doors there is a group of "naked mole dogs". Unpause the game you will quickly notice that game performance is so bad it's unplayable. Press q , move the cursor over the double doors and enable pet passage. Suddenly performance is back at relatively playable, while the naked mole dogs enter the barracks

(0035009) Knight Otu (manager) 2016-04-13 13:08	lightman posted a 0.42.06 save in 0009689.

(0036766) a52 (reporter) 2017-10-06 13:30	A single cave crocodile lowered my FPS from about 40 to only 9 because she was trying to get through a tightly closed door. Even killing all other creatures and deleting all items with DFHack didn't make a significant difference to FPS as long as she was still alive. Save: http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=13122 [^]

(0037861) Loci (manager) 2018-03-06 09:33	v0.44.05: Magnani posted a save in 0010602: http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=13540 [^]

(0038817) Loci (manager) 2018-09-19 13:19	v0.44.12: aids_spreader posted a save in 0010888: http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=13998 [^]

(0040308) Alatun (reporter) 2020-03-03 16:16 edited on: 2020-03-03 16:17	v0.47.03: still has this issue. Ran into this problem several times so far. Because I was not aware of this bug, I thought my save was corrupted and did a restart. Now it happened again: a cave swallow from 1st cavern wanted to go through a door that did now allow pets (to prevent cats go to cavern and kill the cave spiders). Game dropped to 1 FPS on my machine. After making the door pet passable, FPS went back to normal.

(0040534) bugsubmitter20001 (reporter) 2020-05-09 16:48	v0.47.04: still has this issue. Ran into this problem each time I build an enclosed atom smasher. Vermin will begin to spawn in the smash area. Cat will try to path through the door.

(0040557) evilmasteryoda (reporter) 2020-05-18 20:21	v0.47.04: Confirmed still a issue. Each time my cygnets hatch from my Giant Swan eggs I go down 20-30fps easily. Each time cave crocodiles or crundles hatch I go to nearly 0FPS. (this is because hatched eggs dont stay in the Pen/pasture. I have a pet locked - impassible door and until I unlock it to become pet passable the FPS tanks.