Mobile Dungeons

• X wrote on 2015-06-25 05:42
  Another very quick topic tonight.
  
  Over the years, much research has gone into trying to map and predict the locations of the various respawning dungeons. Now, with the advent of server files, we can finally answer this question!
  
  Looking for a dungeon title? This is for you:
  [SPOILER="Strong Language"]

  [Image: http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp21txUuYA1qbkyo1o1_500.gif]

  [/SPOILER]
  
  Our first stop is the server's db/ruin/ruin.xml file. This is where the various Iria dungeons are defined. Here's Maiz's entry:
  [CODE] <ruin id="2" name="_LT[xml.ruins.2]" propclassid="24752" questid="301043">
  <lifetime discovered="0" open="10080" close="0" destroyed="0" />
  <!-- 툴로 생성된 파일에 위치를 기록한다. -->
  <position file="ruin_position_maiz_plain.xml" />
  <dungeons>
  <dungeon name="maizplain_dungeon" condition="random" />
  <dungeon name="maizplain_twin_sword_dungeon" condition="item:53043" option="private" />
  <!-- 빛나는 스톤 가고일 던전 -->
  <dungeon name="stonegargoyle_shoulderaccessory_dungeon" condition="item:55062" option="private" />
  <dungeon name="stonegargoyle_glove_dungeon" condition="item:55063" option="private" />
  <dungeon name="stonegargoyle_boots_dungeon" condition="item:55064" option="private" />
  <dungeon name="shining_stonegargoyle_dungeon" condition="item:55068" option="private" />
  <!-- 일본 초보자 이벤트 - uhihiho 2006/10/15 -->
  <dungeon name="MaizPlain_Japan_Event_dungeon" condition="item:63153" option="private" />
  <dungeon name="MaizPlain_Japan_Event_dungeon" condition="item:63167" option="private" />
  <!-- 보이트 RP -->
  <dungeon name="maizplain_dungeon_Voight_RP" condition="item:63189" option="private" />
  <!-- 아르넨 RP -->
  <dungeon name="maizplain_dungeon_Arneng_RP" condition="item:63190" option="private" />
  <!-- G10 메인스트림 엘프 큐빅 모으기 던전 -->
  <dungeon name="MaizPlain_dungeon_g10" condition="item:63192" option="private" />
  
  </dungeons>
  <dungeon_filter>
  <item condition="stringid:karu_forest" />
  </dungeon_filter>
  <discover_rewards>
  <!-- 유적을 발견시 랜덤하게 아래의 아이템중 하나를 선택해서 줍니다. -->
  <!-- rate는 새와 같음 -->
  <reward id="62005" desc="_LT[xml.ruins.11]" rate="40000" option="prefix:20821" />
  </discover_rewards>
  </ruin>[/CODE]
  
  Things to note:
  - There's an entry matching the dropped item with the appropriate dungeon. "option=private" means dropping the same item will create a new instance each time.
  - There's a "lifetime" element that seems to contain timers for the various phases of the dungeon. I'm interpreting Maiz's as "No delay once the dungeon is discovered. It proceeds immediately to the open state, where it remains for 10080 minutes (7 days exactly). After that, it closes for 0 minutes, is destroyed for 0 minutes, and then becomes re-eligible for discovery"
  - There's a positions file!
  
  Karu, Maiz, and Longa are all open for 7 days at a time, apparently.
  
  Now, let's look at the position file! I'll use Longa's.
  
  [CODE]<positions xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
  <position index="1" region="3100" x="351201" y="408301" dir="0.00" rate="100" />
  <position index="2" region="3100" x="348601" y="403201" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="3" region="3100" x="357001" y="401601" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="4" region="3100" x="347601" y="408401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="5" region="3100" x="343601" y="407401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="6" region="3100" x="345801" y="404001" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="7" region="3100" x="351201" y="404601" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="8" region="3100" x="350601" y="399401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="9" region="3100" x="353001" y="401401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="10" region="3100" x="354201" y="397601" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="11" region="3100" x="381601" y="395801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="12" region="3100" x="367001" y="398801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="13" region="3100" x="360001" y="396001" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="14" region="3100" x="374401" y="393601" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="15" region="3100" x="379801" y="400601" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="16" region="3100" x="361201" y="399801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="17" region="3100" x="363401" y="395801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="18" region="3100" x="369201" y="395201" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="19" region="3100" x="372001" y="399201" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="20" region="3100" x="373401" y="396401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="21" region="3100" x="375401" y="399401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="22" region="3100" x="377601" y="397201" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="23" region="3100" x="382201" y="398801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="24" region="3100" x="394401" y="408001" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="25" region="3100" x="389401" y="401401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="26" region="3100" x="385401" y="398001" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="27" region="3100" x="386401" y="401201" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="28" region="3100" x="392801" y="404801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="29" region="3100" x="395801" y="412801" dir="0" rate="100" />
  <position index="30" region="3100" x="398801" y="414401" dir="0" rate="100" />
  </positions>[/CODE]
  
  It looks like we've hit the jackpot! A list of all possible coordinates the dungeon will appear at! Exactly what we wa-
  
  Uh oh.
  
  See that "rate" parameter? It's used on lists that have a random item picked from them. So, after the ruins are destroyed, the server picks a random position from the list for the new ruins.
  
  But you still want the title, huh? I suppose you could just visit each potential location, right? You could use Rydian's character data reader to get your coordinates, right?
  
  Not so fast, Skippy. That might work for Longa, with only 30 potential locations. Maiz would take an extreme amount of patience, as it has 116 possible respawn points, but it would be doable with some luck. But you want Karu? Clear your calendar and stock up on food. You're going to need a while to check its 545 possible locations.
  
  

  [Image: http://i.imgur.com/6VbchRA.gif]
• M wrote on 2015-06-25 11:02
  Are the servers still unsynced? I seem to remember just looking at like Mari to see where Ruairi's was going to be.
• SozenCratosFocker wrote on 2015-06-25 14:00
  Are you sure the "rate" part is even actually used? I thought someone put something about a repeating pattern for those spawns on the wiki a few years ago.
• X wrote on 2015-06-25 14:23

  Quote from M;1279943:

  Are the servers still unsynced? I seem to remember just looking at like Mari to see where Ruairi's was going to be.

  
  
  The easiest way to find this out is to organize a little cross server investigation.
  
  

  Quote from SozenCratosFocker;1279951:

  Are you sure the "rate" part is even actually used? I thought someone put something about a repeating pattern for those spawns on the wiki a few years ago.

  
  
  I don't know what else it could be for. I can't say it's randomization for sure without access to the actual server, but I've only ever seen "rate" attributes in drop tables, AI action selection, and other randomized lists.
  
  The only references I can find are on the talk page for dungeon respawn. Nothing definitive, just one guy claiming that overseas had found an ordering. I think there are three possibilities:
  
  - There is an ordering, and the rate parameter means something totally different.
  - There was an ordering, but it was changed to random to prevent unfair advantages.
  - There was never an ordering; overseas just suffered from Apophenia.
  
  I think the last one is most likely, but someone could theoretically follow Longa's spawns for a month or so and see if they match the posted data.
• SozenCratosFocker wrote on 2015-06-25 14:51
  rate=100 could just mean 100%, as in 0% chance of something different happening that they were considering but didn't implement.
• X wrote on 2015-06-25 15:05
  Karu has rate="33" and Maiz has something different yet. This is not uncommon to see in randomized lists. The server just adds up all the rates and chooses a number between 0 and the sum. The important thing with rate-based randomization is the proportions between rates, not the actual numbers themselves. For example, the rates are the same per-dungeon, so each location has the same proportional chance of being picked.