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08-02-09, 03:04 AM   #1
Jigain
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Carbonite Nodes, Routing, and You

Right, there's been a lot of questions regarding this lately - or rather, overall throughout the history of Carbonite... or at least since Carbonite Nodes was first implemented... but you get the point. So, here's a little 101 on how to use this.

Table of contents:
-Part 1: What's Carbonite Nodes?
--What does it do?
--How do I use it?
--What's different?
--This addon is wrong, I went to a spot marked on the map, but there was no mineral / herb there!
-Part 2: What's routing?
--How do I access the routing function?
--I tried to Route Current Gather Locations, but it doesn't do anything!
--What if I don't want to go to one of the targets? Maybe it's misplaced, out of reach, or too close for comfort to an outpost of the other faction?
--How can I route only one or a few nodes? I only want some herbs or minerals.
--I've found some mining nodes don't contain what Carbonite says.
--What options can I adjust in routing?



Part 1: What's Carbonite Nodes?
Carbonite Nodes is a database of most - say 98% - of the possible spawn points for herbs and minerals in the game. Using it is completely optional, Carbonite runs fine without it, and you only need to use it once.

What does it do?
Simply put, it updates your Carbonite map with the location of possible gathering spawn points, including Frostchip, gas clouds, and those kinds of things. It's a one way process, mind you, but there's of course nothing to lose by using it.

How do I use it?
First, like any addon, you need to activate it in the Addons section when you select your character, like so:


Next, you import the nodes via the Carbonite options menu. I assume you know how to get it up.


After that, you're good to go. The import can take a while, depending on how fast your computer is, but it generally takes less than a few seconds. And you're done! You can now log out and deactivate CarboniteNodes if you wish, or leave it running. It's only a database accessed on demand by Carbonite, so it costs no resources whatsoever, nor does it do anything without your specific orders.

What's different?
Right, so let's open up the right-click menu on your map. Select Show... and then check either Show Herb Locations or Show Mining Locations, or both if you want.


All of a sudden, your map could look like this:


This is with herbs being shown.

This addon is wrong, I went to a spot marked on the map, but there was no mineral / herb there!
This is something that often comes up. The truth is, Carbonite doesn't know where the actual nodes are in the world. No addon does. All it does is show you where they can be. Not all icons marked "Plaguebloom" will have a Plaguebloom node there once you get there, but Carbonite shows all the known locations where the game can spawn them.

See, the game has a fixed place for all possible spawn points. When a herb spawns, one of those spawn points are chosen. A Plaguebloom can spawn on any of the Plaguebloom spawn points, but it will NEVER spawn on a Silverleaf spawn point.

As for knowing whether a herb or mining node has spawned, you'll have to travel there and see for yourself. Tedious, I know, but that's the only way you'll know. And that's what routing is for.



Part 2: What's routing?

Routing in Carbonite is, simply put, the addon calculating the most efficient* way of visiting each and every one of the selected places.

*Most efficient is a relative term. Carbonite calculates on what would be the shortest route (in terms of yards traveled) to visit all places it routes you through, from a bird's point of view. In other words, what looks shortest on the map. This does not take into account lakes, mountains, settlements of the opposite faction, or anything else terrain-related. Implementing such an advanced algorithm would be difficult and time-consuming, and hopefully you're not too lazy to use some common sense while wandering around.

Carbonite can route three different things. Gather locations, which is what we will talk about, goto targets, and unexplored areas in your current zone.


How do I access the routing function?
By right clicking on your map, then select Route... and what you wish to route.


I tried to Route Current Gather Locations, but it doesn't do anything!
Do you have any gather locations on the map? Follow the above instruction on the Show... menu to show either herbs or mineral nodes. Then try routing again.

Once it's done, it'll look something like this:


You'll also have the HUD arrow pointing you in the direction of the next route target.

What if I don't want to go to one of the targets? Maybe it's misplaced, out of reach, or too close for comfort to an outpost of the other faction?
There's a hotkey you can set for that in the Key Bindings section.


When Carbonite tells you to go to a node that you want to skip, hit that hotkey and Carb will instruct you how to get to the next.

How can I route only one or a few nodes? I only want some herbs or minerals.
That's fairly easy as well. You begin by deselecting both mining and herbalism locations in the Show... menu we talked about earlier. Then you click the Guide button on your Carbonite map, go to Gather, select if you want herbs or minerals, and then pick the one you're looking for. OBSERVE, you need to click on the icon, clicking the text won't work. If you look on your map, icons for that herb or mineral alone will pop up. You can hold the SHIFT button and click more icons if you want to include them.
((--Image yet to come--))

After that, you right click the map, select Route... and Current Gather Locations. Viola.

I've found some mining nodes don't contain what Carbonite says.
You've probably found a rare spawn. The way the game works when respawning nodes is that there's a small chance a rarer mineral will spawn on a certain other node's location. This is the complete list:

Silver is a rare spawn from Tin nodes.
Gold is a rare spawn from Iron nodes.
Truesilver is a rare spawn from Mithril nodes.
Eternium is a rare drop from all Outland veins.
Khorium is a rare spawn from all Outland veins.
Saronite and Titanium share spawn points.

Simply put, if you want to farm Silver, track Tin and route through them. If you want Titanium, route through both Saronite and Titanium spawn points.

What options can I adjust in routing?
Well, all of them are in the routing submenu. Note that each of these are calculated at the routing itself, so if you set Target Radius to 30 from 60 while following a routing, your current routing will still require you to get within 60 yards, but the next one you do will be 30.


Recycle Reached Targets - this tells Carbonite to spin you right round, baby, right round... like a record, baby. Right round, round, round. Ahem. Well, say you route through all the Mining nodes in Elwynn Forest. Once you're done, Recycle Reached Targets will send you around the cycle again, and again, until you right click the map and clear the goto targets.
Gather Target Radius - this is the distance, in yards, you will need to be within before Carbonite considers you to be at the currently tracked node and sends you on to the next. Default is 60 yards. NOTE: When tracking minerals or herbs, they appear as the yellow dots on your minimap at 80 yards or below. But don't forget to take into account latency and map update frequency. I recommend 60 if your latency is usually fine, as in 100 or less, and 40 if you often find yourself with a latency of about 500-600.
Gather Merge Radius - tells Carbonite at which radius it shouldn't route you to a node close to an existing target. Having it at 20 means that if I route Mining nodes, and there's a possible Tin spawn 15 yards away from a possible Copper spawn, Carbonite will only tell me to go to a spot right in between those (thanks to faatal for that info).



End of guide, so far. Hopefully this will answer most of the community's question about Carbonite Nodes and routing. There's one picture I still need to update with, but it will be done as soon as humanly possible.

Feel free to use this thread to ask questions you feel have not been answered, correct any misinformation that could have snuck aboard, or suggest improvements to the guide.

Last edited by Jigain : 08-02-09 at 09:59 PM. Reason: "Cyanized" topic headers for easier overview.
 
 

WoWInterface » Featured Projects » Carbonite » Carbonite Archive » Carbonite Nodes, Routing, and You

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