Is there a reliable way to prevent AI escaping prisoner cages?

[Duskmare]

I keep getting prisoners but because I have my base automated they keep escaping unnoticed when I've got it running at 3x speed. Is there any way to improve the lock difficulty on the cages or something? Do AI even have to pick the locks on their cages or do they just magically escape on a random chance?

[Shidan]

AI cannot escape your cages on their own, it's simply not a mechanic that exists in the game.

What can happen is they despawn if you leave the area unloaded. The game will remove them like any other NPC squad. You must keep characters around them at all times to prevent it.

Alternatively, you do have to feed prisoners. They will starve fairly quickly if ignored, which will kill them off and then despawn their bodies eventually.

Or you've got some other free NPCs around your base that like to liberate prisoners. A few groups do that, and if you're not paying attention I could see even a single character being able to liberate large amounts of prisoners.

[Duskmare]

Originally posted by Shidan:

AI cannot escape your cages on their own, it's simply not a mechanic that exists in the game.

What can happen is they despawn if you leave the area unloaded. The game will remove them like any other NPC squad. You must keep characters around them at all times to prevent it.

Alternatively, you do have to feed prisoners. They will starve fairly quickly if ignored, which will kill them off and then despawn their bodies eventually.

Or you've got some other free NPCs around your base that like to liberate prisoners. A few groups do that, and if you're not paying attention I could see even a single character being able to liberate large amounts of prisoners.

Then I have no idea what happened because I didn't leave the area and I only capture them recently so they didn't die from starvation. I also hadn't reloaded since I captured them.

The guy was a paladin so I guess if there was one or two of his buddies still alive they might have freed him. Surprising that no-one would intercept them though. I've got a bunch of people on engineering duty and the cage was inside a locked building. (They also weren't on passive.) So as they attacked the door to get inside people should have swarmed them...

[Shidan]

I mean, it's also not impossible you have a mod adding some AI to break out. They don't do it in vanilla, but it's possible to set up.

Also could be a despawn? Haven't seen it happen in years personally, but I have seen a prisoner get despawned right in front of my eyes. Happened because his squad wandered off and despawned, but it took him with it instead of separating him to his own squad.

[Duskmare]

Originally posted by Shidan:

I mean, it's also not impossible you have a mod adding some AI to break out. They don't do it in vanilla, but it's possible to set up.

Also could be a despawn? Haven't seen it happen in years personally, but I have seen a prisoner get despawned right in front of my eyes. Happened because his squad wandered off and despawned, but it took him with it instead of separating him to his own squad.

Might have been that second one. I've only got like 2 mods installed and they're added items, so nothing that should impact AI.
Unless 'unloading' an area counts as leaving a building? You know, when it goes all black inside and unloads the interior. I had people outside but didn't have people inside.

[Cheet4h]

There also seem to be some characters who like breaking others out.
Before I closed my gates unless anyone was entering/leaving, the White Brow ~something~ people (based in the north of the swamp) liked to stroll into my base straight to my prisoner cells and free everyone. Not sure which other factions do this.

[Shidan]

Originally posted by Cheet4h:

There also seem to be some characters who like breaking others out.
Before I closed my gates unless anyone was entering/leaving, the White Brow ~something~ people (based in the north of the swamp) liked to stroll into my base straight to my prisoner cells and free everyone. Not sure which other factions do this.

Of note, that's a mod group, not vanilla. So their behavior may not be indicative of normal behavior.

[Cheet4h]

Originally posted by Shidan:

Originally posted by Cheet4h:

There also seem to be some characters who like breaking others out.
Before I closed my gates unless anyone was entering/leaving, the White Brow ~something~ people (based in the north of the swamp) liked to stroll into my base straight to my prisoner cells and free everyone. Not sure which other factions do this.

Of note, that's a mod group, not vanilla. So their behavior may not be indicative of normal behavior.

Huh, didn't know that. I wasn't very active in that region in my vanilla runs.