Loop Snares, better than Fences? A possible bug

[Felius]

I've observed a rather unexpected behavior in my games: NPCs, including animals, seem to absolutely refuse, at all costs, to step on a trap that can't hold them. That is, while a bear or wolf might step on a pit trap, and therefore get stuck there, they simply will not step on a loop snare or other bird/hare trap.

With that in mind it comes to mind that a line of loop snares (at 3ft of cord each, pretty cheap with the changes to how tying equipment works) is arguably a highly efficient way of creating a fence around your home or field: Anything small gets trapped (mostly birds. You'll be drowning in feathers real quick), and unless something small creates a whole in your traps, nothing big will cross so as not to disturb your bird traps (very polite bears, even when they want to kill you they wouldn't want to ruin a trap you put there  )

Now, I've yet to set up a test if that's only valid if there's at least one possible untrapped path, or if it also works for when there's no possible path that doesn't hit a trap. If it's the latter, this is very concerning, as it would allow pretty casual killing of anything that doesn't have ranged capabilities (which is to say, npcs with bows or javelins) so long you have enough ammo, but even the latter would be a concern, as it'd make it much easier to fence, trap or prevent enemies from flanking oneself.

Have you observed the same behavior in your games? What do you think on the matter?

[PALU]

Yes, small traps are effective at keeping large creatures out (a trap fence lined with small traps on the inside is good for your crops...). However, very occasionally a large animal crosses small traps, but it's rare, and I don't think I've ever seen a small animal cross a large trap (no hare tracks over pit traps, for instance).

Humans, however, have the capability to both cross through/over traps without triggering them and the ability to disable them. This ability depends on them detecting the traps, which they do if the traps are parts of trap fences, but not stand alone traps (I've had a case with a woodsman who kept cutting trees by my homestead, cut down a tree that was part of a trap line, and then got trapped in the trap that was no longer a part of a larger structure. It took months for the broken leg to heal).

[JP_Finn]

Yes indeed.
And if you only have “large animal traps” aka pit-traps and bait them with turnips: hares will hop on the pit trap, eat the turnip, then run off. Likely to the next pit trap to eat the bait turnip on it.

[JP_Finn]

Forgot to add to above post: if you add a single loop snare with turnip as bait, then the hare will leave the pit trap bait turnips be and try to eat the loop snare bait instead.

[Felius]

Just did some "accidental" testing of this: Some foreign traders walked into my homestead. I wasn't entirely sure if they took anything, so I decided to take everything from them. Failed a few attempts, saved scummed out of a back-up save I had made before trying. Ended back here: I had a few fox traps in storage, so I put three of them blocking the door to my cabin and started firing at the traders with bow and arrow: Traders with melee weapons suddenly keep hanging around the front of my place without actually managing to get in, despite the trap being entirely harmless to people. At no point they decided to try to destroy the traps instead.

For reference, the save before installing the traps and shooting the traders:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgqYS4wYOScuiQ85vQpATl0_flli?e=DYKR3t (download link will expire 1st of february 2021). It uses BAC if there's trouble loading it without the mod or something.

[Dr.Hossa]

Yeah, also had a quite polite Lynx, escaping from me into my crops, which were mostly surrounded with snares.

It really struck me as a strange behavior, when the cat was not be able to even jump over them.
I did, what a respectful, close to nature, not cheesy player would do: I skinned and slaughtered it, one cut for the Blood God ofc, the other ones spoiled since i had just killed an elk. I tried to make leather, and ofc, the hide spoiled too. But hey, modern times, you gotta adapt. With temperatures rising, there wont be any lynxes soon anyway, so i made the best out of it...

*sarkasm, weird hanibal lecter fantasies, devil-may-care attitude - off*
  To get on the topic, I actually see this as a kind of buggy and not intentional.

[WOLFGEIST]

Suggestion for a potential fix for this: Animals too large for loop snare traps trigger and trip the trap when adjacent to it. Or they could even have a chance to destroy it completely and eat all of the bait.

[JP_Finn]

Suggestion for a potential fix for this: Animals too large for loop snare traps trigger and trip the trap when adjacent to it. Or they could even have a chance to destroy it completely and eat all of the bait.

You should post the idea in the Suggestions sub-forum.