Player can sort through floor

[That1Git]

Describe the bug

When sorting via O-I, the player can reach otherwise inaccessible locations (i.e. through floors into locked rooms) and teleport items outside.

Attach save file

Spanish Lake_copy-trimmed.tar.gz

Steps to reproduce

Open save or make new world
(if new world) find item inside house, make unsorted zone, destination somewhere else, and teleport up a level.
Then try to sort, and see that instead of going downstairs or getting error message, you reach through the floor and move the item away.

Expected behavior

No teleportation shenanigans through z levels. If they're supposed to be four meters, you shouldn't be able to grab items even if there was a hole in the floor.

Screenshots

No response

Versions and configuration

• OS: Windows
  • OS Version: 10.0.26100.4061 (24H2)
• Game Version: cdda-experimental-2025-05-28-0744 [64-bit]
• Graphics Version: Tiles
• Game Language: System language []
• Mods loaded: [
  Dark Days Ahead [dda],
  Disable NPC Needs [no_npc_food],
  Portal Storms Ignore NPCs [personal_portal_storms],
  Stats Through Kills [stats_through_kills],
  Translate Complex Dialogue [translate_dialogue],
  Tamable Wildlife [Tamable_Wildlife]
  ]

Additional context

The can opener is debugged in, since I had already sorted out all the items before I noticed the bug.

[SittingDucken]

You mean I'm not supposed to be able to climb a tree with a bow and arrow, set a sort area around z 0 of the tree and proceed to have largely infinite arrows and a stack of backup rocks to throw?
Can definitely concur with this as a bug. Though I suppose I'll miss it.

[PatrikLundell]

While accessing an inaccessible area one tile above or below the sorter is definitely not good, being able to access accessible areas immediately above and below (typically due to the presence of stairs) is quite useful to work around the wonkiness of zone visibility (I have no other zones in my list of zones apart for the one just created when at the bottom of the stairs, but I magically do have access to all zones in range when at the top of the stair) in some cases.
And inaccessible tiles shouldn't be valid should never be valid sorting destination (I think source locations mostly sort themselves out, as the sorter won't be able to move to a tile adjacent to the source tile).
I don't really buy the 4 m argument, though, as the size of a tile isn't consistent in the game, and there is no desire to try to make it consistent.

[SittingDucken]

There was a point I remember when my character would attempt to path for Z levels. To a semi annoying point of also trying to walk out of windows, but the point being there should be z-level pathing that resolves the issue of stairs.

[That1Git]

There was a point I remember when my character would attempt to path for Z levels. To a semi annoying point of also trying to walk out of windows, but the point being there should be z-level pathing that resolves the issue of stairs.

That can still happen AFAIK. Had the same character in this bug report try to walk off of the edge of the motel next to it.

is quite useful to work around the wonkiness of zone visibility (I have no other zones in my list of zones apart for the one just created when at the bottom of the stairs, but I magically do have access to all zones in range when at the top of the stair

Interesting, I've never encountered this, with or without distant zones shown.

I don't really buy the 4 m argument, though, as the size of a tile isn't consistent in the game, and there is no desire to try to make it consistent.

When I said this, I was thinking about #75593, which seems not to have had any pushback, even when from Kevin and said "our design assumption is they're 4m (except when not), including but not limited to using relatively pokey sticks of various lengths to reliably attack things from roofs" I figured this meant that tiles are always 1 square meter, or one object/monster/terrain due to technical limitations (see "Multi-tile monsters" under frequently made suggestions, CDDA docs). As in no, it's not worth the effort to make it consistent across the board, but it should be consistent for world distance (driving/running speed, spear reach, etc) when possible.

I could've sworn there was some kind of more accessible and clear source for this, but I can't find it.

[czyjanek]

/confirm
I created new character I was able to sort items on ground level while being in the basement of evac shelter without moving up through stairs.
version cdda-experimental-2025-06-08-0512 c01b353 [64-bit]

[Vgoloshivskiy]

you can also try entering any location deep in ground putting around yourself unsorted zone and putting 2 levels above you sorted zone and thranfer for example Radioactive Generators 2 floors up without need to clear out entire floor and worry about carrying it to the ground level by using ladders

[That1Git]

Oh, nice catch! I thought this was just one level being counted as the same as one tile.
Can you loot all of TCL from the ground level?

Hub 01 might be safe because their items are "owned" and safe from autosorting,

[SittingDucken]

[Kupiko1]

Also auto-sorter is omnipotent. You can run to town you have never been to, in total darkness and sort for binoculars and if they are in your unsorted area, your character will happily run to pick them up. Guess that could be part of this issue?

[That1Git]

That is a problem, and is the case in most of these instances. However, the solution would be different, so I'd recommend maybe opening a separate issue for it. TBH I think the zones system could use an overhaul or at least quite a few touch-ups. Automatically looting from sort zones is unintuitive but I think intentional, the UI is lukewarm at best, and there are (I think multiple) small-ish issues which are niche but easy to exploit. Also activity bugs (I think some have been fixed, but not all), but that's a separate can of worms.

…

On Wed, Oct 29, 2025 at 10:51 AM Kupiko1 ***@***.***> wrote: *Kupiko1* left a comment (CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA#81152) <#81152 (comment)> Also auto-sorter is omnipotent. You can run to town you have never been to, in total darkness and sort for binoculars and if they are in your unsorted area, your character will happily run to pick them up. Guess that could be part of this issue? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#81152 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BMKVNZU3TNF2HNGB6W6O5ET32CLZ7AVCNFSM6AAAAAB6LORFAOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTINRQHA4DQNBRHE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

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