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 sets for every ship type that also expand neatly with one click and have all the correct commands written already. Just use them, it's easy.

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

Dial assignment

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.

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

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.

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 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 are spawned in infinite, faction colored and named bags if you use the Squad Builder (Quickplay guide and Doc: Squad Building). Like with any bags, hold left click to move them or click and draw away fast to get a dial deck. Then you place it properly, scale if you wish and click Lay out. Resulting layout can be assigned easily.

If you're not using Squad builder, same bags with dials can be found in the "Dials & Refcards" faction bags in the Collection.

Dial system is important and was fiddled with over time. Dial sets from legacy sources (other mods, some Google Drive) are not guaranteed to work.

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.