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Difference between revisions of "Cave adaptation"

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'''Cave adaptation''' is a mechanic that causes [[Dwarf|dwarves]] who spend too much time underground to grow sick when finally exposed to sunlight. It is controlled by the {{token|CAVE_ADAPT}} [[creature token|token]].
'''Cave adaptation''' is a mechanic that causes [[Dwarf|dwarves]] who spend too much time underground with insufficient exposure to outdoor sunlight to grow sick when finally exposed to it. It is controlled by the {{token|CAVE_ADAPT}} [[creature token|token]].
 
  
Exposure of cave-adapted dwarves to outdoor sunlight can cause two negative [[thought]]s: "irritated by the sun" and "nauseated by the sun". The latter results from more severe cave adaptation and triggers profuse [[vomit]]ing, which can leave an otherwise capable soldier momentarily defenseless. Cave adaptation causes no problems if the affected dwarves simply remain [[Tile attributes|underground]].
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Exposure of cave-adapted dwarves to outdoor sunlight can cause one of two negative [[thought]]s: "irritated by the sun" and "nauseated by the sun". The latter results from more severe cave adaptation and triggers profuse [[vomit]]ing, which can leave an otherwise capable soldier momentarily defenseless. Cave adaptation causes no problems if the affected dwarves simply remain [[Tile attributes|underground]].
  
 
== Prevention and treatment==
 
== Prevention and treatment==
First and foremost, be aware that cave adaptation requires much more effort to fully eradicate than it's worth. Most dwarves can spend their entire lives lurking in the dark with no negative consequences. Cave adaptation is only a major concern for your military dwarves, as they are the only ones who really need to be functioning at full capacity when outside. Menial labor dwarves sent out to build roads or structures can endure the unpleasant aspects of cave adaptation just fine, while dwarves you regularly send out to fish or gather plants will quickly lose their cave adaptation entirely. Also, note that only dwarves suffer from cave adaptation. If this process sounds like too much effort, you might just want to recruit a few non-dwarven [[mercenary|mercenaries]] for outdoor combat.
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First and foremost, be aware that cave adaptation requires much more effort to fully eradicate than it's worth. Most dwarves can spend their entire lives lurking in the dark with no negative consequences. Cave adaptation is only a major concern for your military dwarves, as they are the only ones who really need to be functioning at full capacity when outside. Menial labor dwarves sent out to build roads or structures can endure the unpleasant aspects of cave adaptation just fine, while dwarves you regularly send out to fish or gather plants will never become adapted enough to suffer more than mere irritation. Also, note that only dwarves suffer from cave adaptation. If this process sounds like too much effort, you might just want to recruit a few non-dwarven [[mercenary|mercenaries]] for outdoor combat.
  
Treatment of cave adaptation is accomplished by exposing your dwarves to outdoor sunlight for an extended period of time. Any tile with the {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} trait will suffice, gradually reducing the cave adaptation of any dwarf standing there. This is difficult to cheat - even seemingly-transparent roofs made of [[grate]]s or [[glass]] still cause the tile to be treated as {{DFtext|Inside|6:0}}. What will work is building a retractable drawbridge over wherever you want to be outside, opening the drawbridge, channeling down/removing floors, and then closing the drawbridge, although this is probably a bug, as the drawbridge does not need to be made of glass. The progress of treating severe cave adaptation can be observed through a dwarf's '''Thoughts and Preferences''', as limited exposure to sunlight will first convert severe cave adaptation into mild cave adaptation.
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The only way to be cured of cave adaptation is to suffer its effects - once a dwarf has spent enough time to become adapted, stepping outside and being irritated or nauseated by the sun will instantly cure them. Any tile with the {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} trait will suffice (as long as it isn't raining).
  
It takes a lot of sunlight to undo any serious amount of adaptation; a fully cave-adapted dwarf requires 9 weeks of continuous exposure to be fully cured. As such, you'll need to devise entertaining and well-decorated [[Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area]]s to lure your dwarves to the surface and keep them there. Make sure there are plenty of high-value decorations in place, or the negative thoughts associated with being in sunlight will cause your dwarves a lot of stress. Also, be aware that any such zone is ripe for attack by invaders; make sure there are soldiers nearby, surround the site with high walls, and consider building a retractable [[bridge]] above it so you can quickly block out the outside world as needed.
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Cave adaptation can be ''prevented'' by keeping your dwarves out of {{DFtext|Dark|0:1}} tiles. Every moment spent in the dark slightly increases your dwarves' cave adaptation, but fortunately these tiles can be converted to harmless {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} tiles with nothing more expensive than time, effort, and a large supply of rock [[block]]s. Any tile that has had all its roofing removed becomes an {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} tile, the sort which is useful for treating cave adaptation. Building a roof over these tiles replaces the {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} trait with {{DFtext|Inside|6:0}}, but leaves the {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} trait untouched. These sunlit indoor tiles neither cure nor cause cave adaptation, making them perfect for housing those dwarves who will be heading to the surface often. Once you have a sizable workforce and some well-trained miners, it shouldn't take too long to channel away the top few floors of your fortress and reconstruct them with blocks. Doing this for your entire fortress, however, is almost certainly more work than it's worth. If you have a dedicated squad of soldiers for surface threats and convert their training and living areas to {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} tiles, they should be safe from cave adaptation going forward, especially if you are regularly treating them to wildlife hunts and [[mission]]s abroad.
 
 
For your military, a cheap and sloppy solution is to simply send them outdoors a lot. Attacking the local wildlife is a low-risk exercise that gives your soldiers valuable military training alongside their cave adaptation treatment. Unfortunately, this is not an automated process; letting your dwarves return to the darkness will gradually reestablish their adaptation, and micromanaging your dwarves that much quickly becomes annoying. If you can prevent the reestablishment of cave adaptation, however, the process is much more effective. An alternative strategy is to simply station your dwarves outside for part of the year, using the [[Scheduling]] screen.
 
 
 
Cave adaptation can be ''prevented'' by keeping your dwarves out of {{DFtext|Dark|0:1}} tiles as much as possible. Every moment spent in the dark slightly increases your dwarves' cave adaptation, eradicating the benefits of your surface garden parties, but fortunately these tiles can be converted to harmless {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} tiles with nothing more expensive than time, effort, and a large supply of rock [[block]]s. Any tile that has had all its roofing removed becomes an {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} tile, the sort which is useful for treating cave adaptation. Building a roof over these tiles replaces the {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} trait with {{DFtext|Inside|6:0}}, but leaves the {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} trait untouched. These sunlit indoor tiles neither cure nor cause cave adaptation, making them perfect for housing those dwarves who will be heading to the surface often. Once you have a sizable workforce and some well-trained miners, it shouldn't take too long to channel away the top few floors of your fortress and reconstruct them with blocks. Doing this for your entire fortress, however, is almost certainly more work than it's worth. If you have a dedicated squad of soldiers for surface threats and convert their training and living areas to {{DFtext|Light|6:1}} tiles, they should be safe from cave adaptation going forward, especially if you are regularly treating them to wildlife hunts and [[mission]]s abroad.
 
  
 
=== Cave adaptation mechanics ===
 
=== Cave adaptation mechanics ===
 
* If a dwarf is in a {{DFtext|Dark|0:1}} tile, cave adaptation increases by 1 every [[Time|tick]] to a maximum of 800,000 (403,200 ticks is one year, so the maximum is just short of 2 years).
 
* If a dwarf is in a {{DFtext|Dark|0:1}} tile, cave adaptation increases by 1 every [[Time|tick]] to a maximum of 800,000 (403,200 ticks is one year, so the maximum is just short of 2 years).
* If a dwarf is in an {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} tile while the sun is out (i.e. not [[Weather|raining or snowing]]), there is a 1/1000 chance of the following happening every tick:
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* If a dwarf is in an {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} tile while the sun is out (i.e. not [[Weather|raining or snowing]]) and their adaptation is at least 403,200 (1 year), there is a 1/1000 chance of the following happening every tick:
** If cave adaptation is between 403,200 and 604,800 (between 1 and 1.5 years), the dwarf will become dizzy and experience minor pain and fatigue. They will also receive the unhappy thought "was irritated by the sun recently".
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** If cave adaptation is between 403,200 and 604,800 (between 1 and 1.5 years), the dwarf will become dizzy and experience minor pain and fatigue. They will also receive the unhappy thought "was irritated by the sun recently", and their cave adaptation will be reduced to zero.
** If cave adaptation is at 604,800 or higher (1.5 years), the dwarf will experience [[Symptom#Nausea|nausea]], [[Symptom#Dizziness|dizziness]], [[Symptom#Pain|pain]], and fatigue. They will start vomiting profusely and will also receive the unhappy thought "was nauseated by the sun recently".
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** If cave adaptation is at 604,800 or higher (1.5 years), the dwarf will experience [[Symptom#Nausea|nausea]], [[Symptom#Dizziness|dizziness]], [[Symptom#Pain|pain]], and fatigue. They will start vomiting profusely and will also receive the unhappy thought "was nauseated by the sun recently", and their cave adaptation will be reduced to zero.
** Otherwise, nothing bad happens.
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** Otherwise, nothing happens.
* If a dwarf is in an {{DFtext|Outside|3:1}} tile ''regardless'' of weather, cave adaptation then decreases by 10 every tick.
 
** As of version 0.47.05, however, it instead decreases all the way to '''zero''', meaning that there is only a miniscule chance of ''any'' creature ever suffering negative effects{{bug|11901}}.
 
  
 
== Bugs ==
 
== Bugs ==
 
* As of version 0.47.05, negative effects of cave adaptation are effectively nonexistent, only happening with a 1/1000 chance when a dwarf steps into the sun after having spent at least a year ''continuously'' underground.{{bug|11901}}
 
 
* Babies might be born cave adapted.{{bug|8431}}{{verify|there's two saves on the issue report that could be checked}}
 
* Babies might be born cave adapted.{{bug|8431}}{{verify|there's two saves on the issue report that could be checked}}
  

Latest revision as of 19:09, 25 April 2024

This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

Cave adaptation is a mechanic that causes dwarves who spend too much time underground to grow sick when finally exposed to sunlight. It is controlled by the [CAVE_ADAPT] token.

Exposure of cave-adapted dwarves to outdoor sunlight can cause one of two negative thoughts: "irritated by the sun" and "nauseated by the sun". The latter results from more severe cave adaptation and triggers profuse vomiting, which can leave an otherwise capable soldier momentarily defenseless. Cave adaptation causes no problems if the affected dwarves simply remain underground.

Prevention and treatment[edit]

First and foremost, be aware that cave adaptation requires much more effort to fully eradicate than it's worth. Most dwarves can spend their entire lives lurking in the dark with no negative consequences. Cave adaptation is only a major concern for your military dwarves, as they are the only ones who really need to be functioning at full capacity when outside. Menial labor dwarves sent out to build roads or structures can endure the unpleasant aspects of cave adaptation just fine, while dwarves you regularly send out to fish or gather plants will never become adapted enough to suffer more than mere irritation. Also, note that only dwarves suffer from cave adaptation. If this process sounds like too much effort, you might just want to recruit a few non-dwarven mercenaries for outdoor combat.

The only way to be cured of cave adaptation is to suffer its effects - once a dwarf has spent enough time to become adapted, stepping outside and being irritated or nauseated by the sun will instantly cure them. Any tile with the Outside trait will suffice (as long as it isn't raining).

Cave adaptation can be prevented by keeping your dwarves out of Dark tiles. Every moment spent in the dark slightly increases your dwarves' cave adaptation, but fortunately these tiles can be converted to harmless Light tiles with nothing more expensive than time, effort, and a large supply of rock blocks. Any tile that has had all its roofing removed becomes an Outside Light tile, the sort which is useful for treating cave adaptation. Building a roof over these tiles replaces the Outside trait with Inside, but leaves the Light trait untouched. These sunlit indoor tiles neither cure nor cause cave adaptation, making them perfect for housing those dwarves who will be heading to the surface often. Once you have a sizable workforce and some well-trained miners, it shouldn't take too long to channel away the top few floors of your fortress and reconstruct them with blocks. Doing this for your entire fortress, however, is almost certainly more work than it's worth. If you have a dedicated squad of soldiers for surface threats and convert their training and living areas to Light tiles, they should be safe from cave adaptation going forward, especially if you are regularly treating them to wildlife hunts and missions abroad.

Cave adaptation mechanics[edit]

  • If a dwarf is in a Dark tile, cave adaptation increases by 1 every tick to a maximum of 800,000 (403,200 ticks is one year, so the maximum is just short of 2 years).
  • If a dwarf is in an Outside tile while the sun is out (i.e. not raining or snowing) and their adaptation is at least 403,200 (1 year), there is a 1/1000 chance of the following happening every tick:
    • If cave adaptation is between 403,200 and 604,800 (between 1 and 1.5 years), the dwarf will become dizzy and experience minor pain and fatigue. They will also receive the unhappy thought "was irritated by the sun recently", and their cave adaptation will be reduced to zero.
    • If cave adaptation is at 604,800 or higher (1.5 years), the dwarf will experience nausea, dizziness, pain, and fatigue. They will start vomiting profusely and will also receive the unhappy thought "was nauseated by the sun recently", and their cave adaptation will be reduced to zero.
    • Otherwise, nothing happens.

Bugs[edit]

Explanation[edit]

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A scientific explanation of cave adaptation by Deus Machina.

Underground has low levels of light and very little air circulation.

Dwarves develop low-light vision (plump helmets are packed with beta carotene!) and their facial follicles become sensitive to the motions that a breeze produces against their beards, which allows them to tell where tunnels turn.

As they go deeper, their eyes become less relied upon, and they adapt further to rely on their whisker-based follication.

These eventually become so sensitive that, should a dwarf venture outside, the wind is the equivalent of multicolored and varying strobe lights. This is as aggravating to a dwarf's follication as a Pink Floyd show seen while sober is to our sight, up to the point of causing nausea.

While some have proposed beard shaving as a method of treating hyperfollication, these people are believed to be elf spies, and drafted to cavern exploring instead.