Staff refuses to fill the Water Trough

[Tuub]

So i've been setting up my enclosure of highland cattle, however staff refuses to fill up the small water trough. The overlay claims they have access to them but they just jump and leave when called. My highland cow died of dehydration because of it while i continue to build the enclosure. Any help for this?

(PS. why does Frontier think the Highland Cattle are the size of a truck when it comes to passable area lol)

[grampers62]

A few things to check.
First, click the water item and see if it says accessible. Sometimes the heat maps are not accurate.
Some times what looks like enough room for an item really isn't. Be sure to have a reasonable clear space around food and water items to insure they can be used.
Next try moving the water item. Some times we need to hold shift and raise things then tap shift to reset the item on the terrain.
If it was working and then stopped...
The last thing to do is move a barrier post slightly and then tap ctrl+z to undo the move. That normally forces the game to recalculate the habitat.

[Tuub]

Originally posted by grampers62:

A few things to check.
First, click the water item and see if it says accessible. Sometimes the heat maps are not accurate.
Some times what looks like enough room for an item really isn't. Be sure to have a reasonable clear space around food and water items to insure they can be used.
Next try moving the water item. Some times we need to hold shift and raise things then tap shift to reset the item on the terrain.
If it was working and then stopped...
The last thing to do is move a barrier post slightly and then tap ctrl+z to undo the move. That normally forces the game to recalculate the habitat.

It was accessible and i tried putting one elsewhere but that one also didn't get filled up by the staff.

I'll have to try the ctrl+z move to know if it does anything.

[grampers62]

Be sure to check that a six meter arc of clear flat space exists around the habitat entry. This is required for the animation routines that start habitat actions.
A screenshot of the offending habitat might help. be sure to check the staff heat map for the habitat as well.

[Tuub]

6 Meters? How can you build a cool enclosure with that much empty space around haha

Forreal, the amount of space you need for animals to be able to move around (And so apperantly staff as well) is terribly unrealistic. I'll post a screenshot of the situation.

[Tuub]

Here's the original place of the small water trought (Plan was to make it into a normal drinking spot for a cattle barn)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3250882200

And here's one more close and with more open space, + staff jumping before walking away again instead of filling it up.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3250882247

[Tuub]

They even refuse to walk to this one... And yes, tehy do walk around the barn to clean up poo so it's not like they can't walk over there.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3250886331

[grampers62]

Okay. In general, the water troughs fail when not directly on the terrain. It's dumb but that's the way they work.
When you click the trough it should say how much water is in it and last time it was used. Also note that staff will not fill a trough till it gets to a certain level of empty *and* the animals need water. If there is a water feature in the habitat the animals might not even use the water trough.
Also note that sometimes an animal can get into areas of the habitat and not be able to get back out.
Yeah, that six meter arc of space around the gate is important. We can sometimes place items that don't block movement but most scenery items can cause habitat errors. This can include items that staff and animals are able to walk on. It's a crazy twist but real.

[wpegg]

I've never been able to get the water troughs to provide for large animals like cattle, a single cow will drain an entire trough and the staff only seem to refill them when they provide the food. If you're not putting any water in the enclosure then the only one I could get to work was the piped one that doesn't need staff to refill it. You can still put the others in for aesthetics, but hide a piped one somewhere in the enclosure so they can actually drink.

[Tuub]

Originally posted by wpegg:

I've never been able to get the water troughs to provide for large animals like cattle, a single cow will drain an entire trough and the staff only seem to refill them when they provide the food. If you're not putting any water in the enclosure then the only one I could get to work was the piped one that doesn't need staff to refill it. You can still put the others in for aesthetics, but hide a piped one somewhere in the enclosure so they can actually drink.

I'll give this a try!

[Tuub]

Originally posted by grampers62:

Okay. In general, the water troughs fail when not directly on the terrain. It's dumb but that's the way they work.
When you click the trough it should say how much water is in it and last time it was used. Also note that staff will not fill a trough till it gets to a certain level of empty *and* the animals need water. If there is a water feature in the habitat the animals might not even use the water trough.
Also note that sometimes an animal can get into areas of the habitat and not be able to get back out.
Yeah, that six meter arc of space around the gate is important. We can sometimes place items that don't block movement but most scenery items can cause habitat errors. This can include items that staff and animals are able to walk on. It's a crazy twist but real.

Kinda sucks that the game acts so difficult to these things, but thanks.

[Just Kevin]

There's always the self filling water fountain things. But I expect they have to be Researched.

[Ellorien]

Originally posted by Just Kevin:

There's always the self filling water fountain things. But I expect they have to be Researched.

No research necessary. I’ve never used a water trough. A total waste of keeper’s time and effort. I would imagine some players might want to use them as a piece of decor in a sandbox with thirst/hunger turned off. Otherwise there is absolutely no reason to use them, ever.
These troughs are always the first objects I demolish in any scenario that has them, to be replaced with water pumps (or the ponds + water purifier).

[Tuub]

Originally posted by wpegg:

I've never been able to get the water troughs to provide for large animals like cattle, a single cow will drain an entire trough and the staff only seem to refill them when they provide the food. If you're not putting any water in the enclosure then the only one I could get to work was the piped one that doesn't need staff to refill it. You can still put the others in for aesthetics, but hide a piped one somewhere in the enclosure so they can actually drink.

Sadly it seems the keepers refuse to do anything except for cleaning the enclosure. They don't fill water and don't even fill food. I deleted the barrier and rebuilt it but that too doesn't seem to work at all :(

[Tuub]

Originally posted by grampers62:

Okay. In general, the water troughs fail when not directly on the terrain. It's dumb but that's the way they work.
When you click the trough it should say how much water is in it and last time it was used. Also note that staff will not fill a trough till it gets to a certain level of empty *and* the animals need water. If there is a water feature in the habitat the animals might not even use the water trough.
Also note that sometimes an animal can get into areas of the habitat and not be able to get back out.
Yeah, that six meter arc of space around the gate is important. We can sometimes place items that don't block movement but most scenery items can cause habitat errors. This can include items that staff and animals are able to walk on. It's a crazy twist but real.

I tried all you mentioned, even deleted the entire enclosure building so all that was left was a gate and the water trought. Still nothing. They also refuse to fill up food. Even deleted the enclosure itself and redid it but nothing out of that either.... Seems the game is broken :(

[grampers62]

And you have verified game files through steam?
Playing in sandbox? Is animal welfare on?