v0.31:World rejection

This is the place for those troubled individuals who are attempting Template:L but end up with nothing but rejections from the world generation process.

For general information advanced world generation see Template:L.

Solving World Rejection Problems

Generally speaking, you can always solve world rejection problems by nullifying (setting to 0) all of the parameters that specify "minimum number of" whatever. The main problem with this is that many of the details of your world will be left purely to chance, perhaps not giving you the sort of conditions that you're looking for.

One general thing to try is nullify all of the parameters that cause rejection (most of which contain the word "minimum") and see what is generated. If you find that you get too few mountains, for example, you can then play with parameters such as elevation and see what happens. This will give you a chance to actually view the worlds that would otherwise be rejected so you can get a better idea of what impact various settings are having.

The Rejection Log

In the main Dwarf Fortress folder you'll find a file called map_rejection_log.txt. Every time a world is rejected the reason will be logged to this file. Reading this file will give you a better idea of what is going on than the "having trouble placing" errors that you get on the screen only after a few hundred errors, not all of which may be the same as the specific "having trouble placing" dialogue that is shown.

"The World Generator is having trouble placing..."

Specific rejection errors, and possible solutions, are described below.

Mountain peaks

rejection log example: Not enough peaks: 1<3 Check your maximum elevation parameters.

• Can the elevation 400 be placed enough times to provide space for your peaks?
  • Check your preset elevations for the elevation 400.
  • You must have at least as many of these highest elevation points as you are requiring peaks.

Alternatively, reduce the number of peaks required by the parameters.

Mid-level elevations.

• Your worldgen parameters must allow elevations between 100 and 299 for this.
  • Check the parameters governing elevation frequencies.
  • Or simply reduce the number of mid-level elevation squares required.

Low elevations

Your worldgen parameters must allow for enough elevations between 0 and 99 for this.

High elevations

Your worldgen parameters must allow for enough elevations between 300 and 400 for this.

Ocean squares along the edges

Your worldgen parameters must allow for enough elevations between 0 and 99 for this.

• If that doesn't work, simply reduce the number of edge oceans required.

rainfall/drainage/savagery/volcanism in the manner specified by the parameters

Check the parameters governing these features. Reduce the number of high, medium or low squares required.

Volcanoes

Check your maximum volcanism value.

• Volcanoes can only form in areas with 100 volcanism.
  • As such, you must have at least as many areas with 100 volcanism as you do desired volcanoes.

If all else fails, reduce the number of volcanoes required by the parameters.

Swamps and marshes

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, mid-to-high rainfall, low drainage, non-freezing areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of swamp squares and regions required by the parameters.

Deserts and badlands

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, very low rainfall, non-freezing areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of desert squares and regions required by the parameters.

Forests

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, high rainfall, high drainage, non-freezing areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of forest squares and regions required by the parameters.

Mountains

Make sure your parameters and presets can support high elevation areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of mountain squares and regions required by the parameters.

Oceans

Make sure your parameters and presets can support low elevation areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of ocean squares and regions required by the parameters.

Glaciers

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, very high drainage, freezing areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of glacial squares and regions required by the parameters.

Tundra regions

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, low-to-mid drainage, freezing areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of tundra squares and regions required by the parameters.

Grasslands

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, low-to-mid rainfall, low-to-mid drainage, non-freezing areas.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of grassland squares and regions required by the parameters.

Hills

Make sure your parameters and presets can support mid-elevation, low-to-mid rainfall, high drainage, non-freezing areas.

Rivers

Make sure your parameters and presets allow as many mountain squares as you are requiring river start points.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of rivers required by the parameters.

Too many subregions

Make sure your parameters and presets aren't so variable that biomes change frequently.

• If that doesn't work, increase the number of subregions permitted by the parameters, up to the cap.

Mountain caves

Make sure your parameters and presets allow as many border mountain squares as you are requiring mountain caves.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of mountain caves required by the parameters.

Low-lying caves

Make sure your parameters and presets allow as many mid-elevation squares as you are requiring low-lying caves.

• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of non-mountain caves required by the parameters.

Civilizations

Make sure your parameters and presets offer enough low-to-mid savagery, evil/good appropriate, biome appropriate squares to establish sites.

• High savagery (66+) blocks civilization placement -- make sure your parameters and presets offer at least small pockets of low-to-mid savagery areas.
  • If you have very few biome types and are placing good or evil regions, they'll often crowd out the civilizations as well.
• If that doesn't work, reduce the number of civilizations required by the parameters.

The world generator couldn't find any civilization definitions

This problem cannot be resolved by continuing, so you should either abort or skip all rejects for a legends-only game.

The world generator is having trouble placing a controllable civilization

Make sure your parameters and presets have adequate squares of this kind.

• Dwarves, for example, require non-evil, non-good, unsavage mountain squares that aren't surrounded by the ocean.
• If that doesn't work, remove the requirement of a controllable civilization from the parameters, which will restrict you to adventurers (assuming an appropriate civilization is placed)

V · T · E Worlds
World generation (Advanced · Rejection)
Biome · Climate · Surroundings · Map legend · Calendar
Civilization · Sites (Cave · Town · Fortress · Ruin)
Aquifer · Brook · Caverns · Island · Tunnel · Volcano · Waterfall
Chasm · Desert · Forest · Glacier · Grassland · Lake · Mountain · Murky pool · Ocean · River · Savanna · Shrubland · Tundra · Wetland