Automated site searching request

[vfb]

Could the new and improved automatic site searching please skip over capitol provinces. Some nations have just one magic site in their capitol, and automated site searching means 15 wasted gems or micromanagement.

According to Edi's DB, the capitol sites all have frequency 5. So if any province has a frequency 5 site, it could be skipped, just like provinces with 2 or more sites are currently skipped.

Please?

I'll give you some cake in advance. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cake.gif

[Zeldor]

So there is any logic in that site searching? For me it works fine, until it decides to get stuck on the province where searching mage is.

[vfb]

It starts at the lowest-numbered province with less than 2 known sites. If you own no provinces with less than 2 known sites, then the search will target the province the caster is in. It would make more sense to target the lowest-numbered province with less than 3 known sites next, instead of the current province, and then finally those provinces with 3 known sites, but I don't want to ask for too much!

[Zeldor]

I am pretty sure it chooses provinces with 2-3 magic sites. It sometimes also just ingores newly conquered provinces that have 0-1 magic sites.

[vfb]

No, that's not how it works. It never targets a province with 2 or more known sites (except when it has run out of sites to search, it targets the caster's current province). It will not skip a newly-conquered province with 0-1 sites, but it will target an pre-existing province of yours first with a lower province number, if it has only 0-1 known sites.

If you've got a save file where automated searching is not working like I describe, could you please attach it. Perhaps something was changed in the last patch? But in all my 3.15 games, it's working as I described.

By the way, I was not the discoverer of the logic behind the auto-site-search algorithm. But I can't remember who figured it out, sorry!

[Edi]

vfb is correct in his description of the autosearch mechanics. Though autosearching also skips over any provinces where any level of that type of search has been performed.

I have no idea how feasible it would be to change the site searching spells to check for the frequency attribute of already discovered sites, but I suppose it could be done if Johan is feeling like it.

[thejeff]

vfb is correct. It never chooses provinces with 2+ known sites. Except, obviously, when it defaults to the caster's current province. But that's not really choosing that province, just telling you it can't find a valid target.

The only bit vfb left out was that it also doesn't target any province that has been manually searching in that path. So if you had a level 1 mage search, that province will be skipped.

But I think what may be confusing you is the timing. A mage you have doing automated monthly casting of a site search spell picks his next target right after casting his spell. This means he may choose a province and then have other mages casting search spells find sites in it, bringing it to 2 or more sites.
Since ritual magic happens before battles, it also means provinces conquered that turn aren't eligible targets. You didn't own them when the target was chosen.
This also means that a caster could be targeting a province you lost that turn, possibly giving your opponent free gems.

[Hully]

Hi

ok, automated site searching? has this really been implemented? If so how do you turn it on...

Also is there a complete list of keyboard commands anywhere?

Thanks


Hully

[Edi]

Shift+M and select site search ritual. It'll keep on going until it runs out of targets.

[vfb]

Hully said:
Also is there a complete list of keyboard commands anywhere?

Hully



Last page of the manual has the list. It doesn't list the '?' keyboard command though. The '?' command in the game lists all the keyboard commands too.

[Wick]

I think a little thing that would have a big impact on automatic searching would be targeting the median ID instead of the low.

[ComTrav]

Another question from a newb learning about this wonderful feature:

How smart is this? If I've manually searched a site with a high-path astral mage (and found nothing), will it target it with Arcane Probing?

[vfb]

No.

I left that bit out of my explanation, but please see thejeff's comment above.

[Hully]

Hi

Thanks shift+M, great.

The manual that came with my game has 292 pages and list NO keyboard commands, last couple of pages index and before that glossary.

Thanks for the info on the ? key appreciated.


Hully

[capnq]

Hully said: The manual that came with my game has 292 pages and list NO keyboard commands, last couple of pages index and before that glossary.

You got a defective manual, then; the hotkey list is on p. 294.

Another hotkey that isn't listed is alt-enter to toggle windowed mode.

alt-tab cycles through the programs on the taskbar, but that's part of Windows rather than Dom3.

[Endoperez]

capnq said:
You got a defective manual, then; the hotkey list is on p. 294.



I don't have it either, but I got an early copy of the game. Perhaps the hotkey list has been included since.

[vfb]

Yep, there are no defective manuals, just two editions. The first does not have the national global enchantments like Illwinter, and it sounds like it's missing the hotkeys too.

[Omnirizon]

I've got a possibly ignorant array of question

so why are provinces with 2 sites skipped? can a province not have more than 2 sites? is there a limit on how many sites it can have? when are magic sites determined: at generation of game, or when the province is searched?

[thejeff]

I'm not sure why provinces with 2 sites are skipped. Design choice. Efficiency compromise, I'd guess. The more sites found, the less likely there will be more, so it's more efficient to search provinces with less sites. Just like not searching provinces that have been searched at all in a path.

My standard practice is to let the automated searches finish, then go through and mop up anything they skipped.

Provinces can have up to 4 sites. Determined at the beginning of the game. Some can have effects even before they are discovered, scale changes, unrest, etc.

[Endoperez]

EDIT: Too late. Thejeff explained it better, any way.

[Kamamura]

Does not work for me no matter what I do. The shift+M shortcut does not seem to do anything (others work). Used Ulm master smiths to test it.

[Ballbarian]

Have you patched the game Kamamura? This feature was added in an update.

[Falkor]

Kamamura, maybe you just forgot to click on the mage before 'shift + M'?

[Cor2]

Kamamura,
One other common problem, make sure caps lock is not on.

[Taqwus]

Ensure that your gem reserves are decent.

If memory serves, it's a bit finicky about how many gems you have left -- maybe doing something like checking whether you have enough gems for the next cast and canceling it if you don't, before gem income is added.

[Wokeye]

Are odd indy scales a good indicator of a magic site (eg death = death site)?

[vfb]

Yes, if it's not season-related heat-cold scales, or enemy dominion influence. Look at the 'Scale1' and 'Scale2' columns in Edi's DB (linked in his signature).

Death scales are usually from a death site (or nature in a forest) IIRC.