Dust sickness

[CRITHP]

Every time there's a dust storm, a significant amount of colinists gain the flaw "dust sickness". There was an event where I could choose to either let those people not work or make them work at the cost of their sanity, so I chose to let them not work thinking they would be able to work again once the dust storm was over, this was not the case (maybe a glitch?).

So after quite a few sols (+- 25) all of these colinists still aren't able to work (even when there isn't a dust storm) and that makes up about 1/3 of my 50 colinists which is severly annoying as they of course still consume resources.

Is anyone else having this issue? Is there any way for me to cure them or revert my decision to allow them not to work?

[Black Ram]

HOW is a MAJOR bug like that NOT FIXED YET?

[SkiRich]

Dont choose Not Work. They can always recover sanity.

[DrKrieger]

Yeah take Work during Dust Storms.
In Late Game its not a Problem anymore cause you can Research "Martianborn Strength"
- Martianborn don't take Sanity damage from disasters.
And Sanity is in Lategame mostly not a Problem ^^

[johan.wittens]

CRITHP の投稿を引用：

Every time there's a dust storm, a significant amount of colinists gain the flaw "dust sickness". There was an event where I could choose to either let those people not work or make them work at the cost of their sanity, so I chose to let them not work thinking they would be able to work again once the dust storm was over, this was not the case (maybe a glitch?).

So after quite a few sols (+- 25) all of these colinists still aren't able to work (even when there isn't a dust storm) and that makes up about 1/3 of my 50 colinists which is severly annoying as they of course still consume resources.

Is anyone else having this issue? Is there any way for me to cure them or revert my decision to allow them not to work?

NOT A BUG

I have the same problem. Tiny colony with 40 colonists. First dust storm hits and event dust sickness occurst for the first time in my plays of surviving mars. The event is really badly worded and i too assumed my colonists would go back to work as soon as the storm is over, and that they would be out only if a new storm occured. So i chose 'not work' as option as well. Now during a second storm, more than half of my colonists is out sick, and my colony is crumbling because of one misinterpreted decision...

I did some research on the matter and found on the paradox forum that this IS NOT A BUG.
You can research a cure but this only becomes available after a set number of colonists become sick, which means if this happens to a tiny or small colony, you're basically f***ed. A small colony will just slowly die and will not be able to reach a big enough size to be able to research the cure... This is really bad game design in my opinion.

Sollutions/suggestions to the developers:
1. Essential: Word this event better so that it is clear your workers will not be able to work ever again until the cure.
2. At least HINT at the fact that there might be a cure.
3. Make the cure research availeable IMMEDIATLY, or after a few sols
OR Make the cure availeable when a certain percentage of colonists has the sickness, not an absolute number.
At least this way you have at least a small chance of overcoming the sickness with a small colony. Now you have no chance if you choose the wrong option.

I now am stuck with a colony of 40 people, 20 of which are sick and unable to work, only one scientist left, food stores dwindling, and no option to do anything about it. So even if somehow i reach enough sick people to research the cure, everyone will proably be dead. I basically wasted 10 hours and lost my game because i choose one badly worded option in one event in the game.

[Bored Peon]

johan.wittens の投稿を引用：

I now am stuck with a colony of 40 people, 20 of which are sick and unable to work, only one scientist left, food stores dwindling, and no option to do anything about it. So even if somehow i reach enough sick people to research the cure, everyone will proably be dead. I basically wasted 10 hours and lost my game because i choose one badly worded option in one event in the game.

Just remember this.

johan.wittens の投稿を引用：

NOT A BUG.

What do you call something that happens that is not working as intended that ends your game?

[ChoGGi]

When something is working as intended than it can't be a bug.
The wording is bad, which I suppose you could argue is a bug of sorts?

There's a planetary anomaly that will rain down meteors, if it hits your base badly then it could be
gameover. Is that a bug too?

Edit: The exact text https://github.com/HaemimontGames/SurvivingMars/blob/master/Data/StoryBit/DustSickness.lua#L20:

The fine Martian dust can be a serious health hazard. We thought that our airlock filters could handle it well enough but this particular Dust Storm got the better of them.

Some colonists have developed the Dust Sickness trait. They will take Health damage during Dust Storms even when inside the dome.

Our medical staff strongly recommends that we discharge those affected with the Dust Sickness from work so they can better manage the ailment.

1. Colonists suffering from the Dust Sickness shouldn’t work.
2. We need everyone to pull their weight. They should continue to work.
3. We can alleviate the symptoms with allergy medication.


I see what could be a bug in https://github.com/HaemimontGames/SurvivingMars/blob/master/Data/StoryBit/DustSickness_Cure.lua

*snipped*

Prerequisites = {
	PlaceObj('CheckObjectCount', {
		'Label', "Colonist",
		'Filters', {
			PlaceObj('HasTrait', {
				'Trait', "DustSickness",
			}),
		},
		'Condition', ">=",
		'Amount', 30,
	}),
},

I don't know it'll ever kick in if you have less than 30 colonists, posted a msg on the paradox bug thread: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/surviving-mars-dust-sickness-never-works-again.1141893/

[Bored Peon]

ChoGGi の投稿を引用：

I don't know it'll ever kick in if you have less than 30 colonists

You mean less than 30 infected colonists? I suck at reading code, but that looks like it wants 30 infected colonists before the cure is offered.

Which means to survive to that point would require a population of about 100 or so.

ChoGGi の投稿を引用：

There's a planetary anomaly that will rain down meteors, if it hits your base badly then it could be
gameover. Is that a bug too?

Not quite the same since you have a large chance it will miss. It is also not a strung out event that takes hours of play to slowly kill your colony.

[BGR]

Most of the so called bugs are just misunderstood features. There are very few bugs in SM and none of the ones that I have noticed are game breaking.

[johan.wittens]

Yep the wording isn't great and this is what mislead me:

"Some colonists have developed the Dust Sickness trait. They will take Health damage during Dust Storms even when inside the dome."

This implies colonists will be sick during dust storms, not permanently. I get what they mean, colonists with the trait lose health during storms, but it doesn't say they will not be able to work permanently...

"Our medical staff strongly recommends that we discharge those affected with the Dust Sickness from work so they can better manage the ailment.

1. Colonists suffering from the Dust Sickness shouldn’t work."

This combined with the first sentence implies that they won't be able to work, but it will only be in effect during dust storms and not permanently. I get that that is not what it says if you read it word for word carefully, but you can interpret it differently. A simple rewording could make this much, much clearer.
Something in the way of: "Colonists suffering from the Dust Sickness shouldn’t work anymore until we can find a cure for this illness somehow"

"I don't know it'll ever kick in if you have less than 30 colonists"

I got the sickness in my colony during the first dust storm in my game when i had only 12 colonists. I now filled up my dome with 48 colonists, suffered trough two more storms, and slightly over 20 of them are now out sick. I have spent at least a dozen or two sols with the sickness in my colony, and no option for a cure has been offered yet. So i doubt it will ever kick in if you have less than 30 colonists.

Oh and it also is NOT SAID AT ALL that more colonists will keep getting sick every time there is a new dust storm. The message says there was something particular about THIS dust storm, not that from now on EVERY dust storm will make more and more colonists sick. This is also what ruined my game. I had only two sick in the first storm so i though i could easily cope by bringing in more colonists after the storm. But then during the second storm all of a sudden more and more colonists got sick which ruined my game. You are not warned about this at all when the event first hits...

I'm going to try and solve my conundrum by building a second dome, bringing in more colonists to keep things going, and then hope i can research the cure as soon as i reach 30 sick... But it won't be easy as my colony already has barely any food left, only one researcher, and all the applicants that are left are seriously flawed (most have 2 flaws) and i usually avoid bringing flawed applicants to my colony...

It is quite annoying that a silly event like this, with a silly choice can have such serious game breaking consequences.

A meteor storm can be annoying, but at least the damage it does can be repaired immediatly if you have enough resources. All you need is metals and concrete to get life support going again. With the sickness you don't even have an option to solve the problem if you have less than 30 sick apparently. Quite a difference. As is said, it would be way better if they had put a percentage on it rather than an absolute number. They should offer the cure if 10 or 20% of you colonists get sick. At least then no matter the size of your colony, you have a chance of curing it.
In reality, why wouldn't you and your sponsor immediatly start researching a cure if your colonist get very sick? Especially if over half are sick?? This would definetely be an emergency situation (as it is in my colony) yet no-one thinks to research a cure? Um... that's kind of dumb...

[johan.wittens]

Bored Peon の投稿を引用：

johan.wittens の投稿を引用：

I now am stuck with a colony of 40 people, 20 of which are sick and unable to work, only one scientist left, food stores dwindling, and no option to do anything about it. So even if somehow i reach enough sick people to research the cure, everyone will proably be dead. I basically wasted 10 hours and lost my game because i choose one badly worded option in one event in the game.

Just remember this.

johan.wittens の投稿を引用：

NOT A BUG.

What do you call something that happens that is not working as intended that ends your game?

Well it is an event that is working as intended, the creators just didn't anticipate it could cripple your game if it hits a tiny starting colony.
Bugs are unintended because of programming not working properly, but in this case the game is working as intended...

[BGR]

In today's world a bug includes things that do not work as expected or the way one wishes them to. How things got this way i am fuzzy on.

[johan.wittens]

Sorry to bang on about it, but it just seems that this particular event was soooo poorly thought out that it can be very game crippling...
What also REALLY annoyed me about it, but i had forgotten about after 5 hours of trying to save my colony and eventually going on the forums:

"The fine Martian dust can be a serious health hazard. We thought that our airlock filters could handle it well enough but this particular Dust Storm got the better of them."

THIS PARTICULAR DUST STORM

That also implies it is just this storm that was special, and that it was a one off event. NO WHERE does it even remotely imply that now EVERY dust storm more and more people will get sick...

When the storm hit i was i my very early game (it was the first storm ever) and had 12 colonists. 2 got sick so i thought hey i'll be able to manage this... It was one of the reasons i choose not work, because i thought i could work with 2 people not being able to work. But then a few sols later a second storm hit when i had over 30 colonists and then about half got sick. This was a total surprise to me and then it really started to annoy me.

1. They mislead you that your people will be able to work when the storm passes.
2. They mislead you about this being a one off event, when it totally isn't and more will get sick every time a new storm hits.
3. They don't mention anything about a cure.
4. they only make the cure available when you reach a set number of sick people, making it near impossible for small colonies to overcome this sickness if you chose the "not work" option.

Really poorly thought out in my opinion...

I gave up on that colony after more than 10 hours of trying to keep it alive. Got 48 people now with over 20 sick, barely any food OR money left, and just one scientist left. Doubt that, when i find the motivation to try further, i will be able to safe that colony.

[BGR]

A true leader never blames the consequences of his or her decision on someone else. You had a young volatile colony and the decision to allow people not to work cost you the mission. Learn from it and move on.

[some moron]

Hi BGR. I don't agree with that because the description was not sufficient. I thought it would be something only taking them out during dust storms. Which would be kinda cool. But it's not.
It needs to read "will not work for the rest of their life, and also new colonists will continue to contract the disease"
If you are trying to make it like reality, then in reality after I realized they never intended to work again and screw the colony, I would change my mind and say "sorry you have to work because you have to pay your way, we can't afford the food. Or you get spaced. But you can't ride for free on a new colony".
At least renegades can still farm in their minimalist dome.
This uninformed choice is equivalent to "during my very early game, give me a 70% permanent handicap"
For what it's worth, I killed off my dust sicknesses and that helped. But it's a stupid thing to have in the game.

[BGR]

some moron の投稿を引用：

Hi BGR. I don't agree with that because the description was not sufficient. I thought it would be something only taking them out during dust storms. Which would be kinda cool. But it's not.
It needs to read "will not work for the rest of their life, and also new colonists will continue to contract the disease"
If you are trying to make it like reality, then in reality after I realized they never intended to work again and screw the colony, I would change my mind and say "sorry you have to work because you have to pay your way, we can't afford the food. Or you get spaced. But you can't ride for free on a new colony".
At least renegades can still farm in their minimalist dome.
This uninformed choice is equivalent to "during my very early game, give me a 70% permanent handicap"
For what it's worth, I killed off my dust sicknesses and that helped. But it's a stupid thing to have in the game.

If they had biased your decision by telling you the consequences of each choice then it would be pointless to even ask. Right?