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0001559Dwarf FortressDwarf Mode -- Combatpublic2010-04-26 15:182014-12-27 15:50
nocash 
 
normalminorhave not tried
newopen 
WindowsVista SP 2
0.31.03 
 
0001559: Dwarf wrestles foe until he dies from starvation; squad refuses to help out
The short version is this:
* Send squad out to kill warthogs
* One recruit locks in battle with one of the warthogs
* Recruit and warthog fight until warthog is entirely yellow/red. Recruit never receives a single injury, but dies of starvation/dehydration before he can kill the warthog (he wasn't near-death when I sent the squad out or anything, the fight just took that long).

Meanwhile:
* Other squad members tasked with killing the same warthog would run over to say "hi" and see how things were going, but would never join in the fight. Some civilians would come to haul away pieces of the warthog that were being ripped off.
* Attempting to deactivate the fighter from the military had no effect.
* Recruit (or warthog-infatuated civilian, at this point) eventually became a legendary fighter and grand master wrestler, but still couldn't figure out how to kill the warthog.
* Assigning the fighting recruit/civilian to a burrow and/or setting an alert that restricted access to a burrow would not interrupt the battle.

Afterwards:
* The recruit dies, as stated above. I assign my militia commander to kill the warthog (I figured he'd have better luck, being an axedwarf), but he just runs over to it and never starts fighting. I order the entire squad to do the same, but they all exhibit the same behavior as when they refused to assist their now-dead squadmate.
Unsure. If I discover how to consistently reproduce this, I'll post an update.
This seems like it might be a combination of things, but I'm not sure. Also, There are a lot of issues similar to this one, but I couldn't find one that's quite the same.

When ordering the squad to attack, I used the "select from list" option and used shift-keys to select all warthogs listed there. This could be a key element, or it could be a coincidence.

I use Dwarf Therapist to manage dwarves and have used the dfhacks "clean map" tool to remove errant liquids from my map.

Save available upon request.
No tags attached.
related to 0002290new  Dwarves locked in combat will not stop fighting to drink 
child of 0000481acknowledged Toady One Kill/attack commands/orders don't work 
Issue History
2010-04-26 15:18nocashNew Issue
2010-04-26 15:34FootkerchiefNote Added: 0005193
2010-04-26 15:34FootkerchiefRelationship addedchild of 0000481
2010-04-26 16:01nocashNote Added: 0005197
2012-02-20 18:44FootkerchiefRelationship addedrelated to 0002290
2012-03-12 07:56vomovNote Added: 0021406
2012-03-13 04:46vomovNote Deleted: 0021406
2014-12-27 15:50C27Issue Monitored: C27

Notes
(0005193)
Footkerchief   
2010-04-26 15:34   
0000929 is probably the one this bug is closest to. The save might well be helpful if it demonstrates the soldiers refusing to help their squadmate. http://dffd.wimbli.com/ [^]
(0005197)
nocash   
2010-04-26 16:01   
Save is available here: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=2240 [^]

I was able to break the perma-fight cycle by designating a 1-tile channel beneath the warthog. After this the recruit stops fighting and goes to get some much needed food/water, but the squad still won't attack the warthog (they continue exhibiting the "red rover, red rover, send warthog over" behavior).