Doc: Automated dials

Automated dials is a core system that lets you play comfortably, picking up and dropping things and clicking buttons to use most built-in automation of the table. Playing without these is possible (Doc: Commands) but clunky as hell.

Here's an image album of automated dials in action so you know what we're talking about.

For your convenience, table is provided with dial assignment system that takes care of pretty much everything dial related. Just use it, it's easy.

Follow the Quickplay guide or Video tutorial to learn how to get, assign and use automated dials efficiently.

Dial assignment

Dials can be easily assigned by dragging your ships into the hidden zone and clicking "Assign Dials".

Assigned dials will be named after assigned ship (shown on mouseover while faceup) and will display a label when pulled out and laid facedown.

Dials assignment should persist through save-load, but it is not guaranteed. The safest way would be to unassign, save, load, reassign. See Save & Load basics.

It is safe to physically delete assigned dials as well as delete a ship with dials - that will trigger auto dials unassignment.

Below information applies to the underlying system which you really shouldn't use since automatic assignment is possible. Following stuff is included for backward compatibility.

Dials are assigned to ship using the 'sd' command from Doc: Commands. This command is made to works super smooth if you're using dial sets provided with the table.

Any dial/set can be assigned to any ship - there's no game logic built in. Dial assignment does assert some generic bad situations (e.g. dials with wrong move codes in descriptions) and warns about suspicious things (e.g. assignment outside hidden zone, assignment of dials that had an owner already).

Each dial can be assigned to one ship at a time. After assignment, you cannot "move" them as in change their default position.

Dials unasignment is done with 'rd' command. Unassigned dials are flipped but ready to reuse after flipping back.

Interaction with automated dials

After you assign dials, only one dial at the time can be moved out from a layout. Simply pick it up, flip it and drop it somewhere. On drop, buttons with actions will appear. If there was already a dial pulled out like this, it will be returned as if Delete button was clicked on it.

Delete button returns a dial back to its position in layout.

Flip button flips a dial faceup and changes its button set to shorthands of various actions. Button labelled A expands/collapses the set. What each button does can be easily tested or you can learn about it in the Performing actions article.

You're free to click the Delete button, pull another dial or grab and move it whenever you wish to (regardless of its state).

Dials are technically cards in TTS and obey some built-in card rules. Because of that, you do not want to ever place dial directly on another - they will be both destroyed and deck will be created. Reassign them if that happens.

Where to get dials exactly

Dials will spawn or be taken automatically when you click "Assign Dials". They also come spawned with any list through list spawner (Doc: Squad Building), but you shouldn't worry about it.

Technical notes: "Automated dial" can be any card. The thing that matters is that has a valid move code (see above) written in its description that performs when you click Move. You can use it to create your own dial sets or add a 'k0' card for an U-Wing dial set or whatever.