Luna

tl;dr: There's a new tool to find the moon & mars hotspots. Here it is: https://www.cnhotspotfinder.com/ Thanks to riser for collaborating to create it. The Google sheet isn't working anymore and I don't know yet whether it will be fixable, or even worth fixing. So the admin recently made a change to the CN server-side code for choosing the location of the moon & mars hotspots every month. This broke the spreadsheet I made as the hotspots no longer lie on the same neat line that they've always been on. So basically we've had to fall back from only searching a narrow line of points to searching all integer coordinates across the entire sphere, for both moon & mars (and also decoupling the Moon & Mars so test points on one don't narrow down the possibilities on the other). While this in theory is possible with Google sheets, well, narrowing down 169*359 possible hotspots in a spreadsheet is pretty unwieldy. Back when we had the possibilities narrowed down to a line there were only 1218 possible hotspots which can be done with Google sheets reasonably well. So time to use code rather than sheets. I had ChatGPT write code to search through all the possible integer coordinates and list the ones that match the points that have been tested. Look here for a post I made on that. And riser made a website using the code and hosted it. Here it is: https://www.cnhotspotfinder.com/. Keep in mind that the Moon and Mars are now decoupled, so you can use the website for the Moon only or Mars only (or have two instances of the website open in 2 tabs if you're trying to find both). Points from one will no longer help with the other like I said. We only have 1 month of data so far (April 2024) from after admin's change. Maybe with more months of data a pattern will emerge similar to the line from before the change. For now it may take some extra guesses to the find the hotspots each month since there is no such pattern helping us out. And of course there is a possibility that the server is just picking integer coordinates completely randomly now with no pattern in which case things will stay that way. Time will tell.

tl;dr: There's a new tool to find the moon & mars hotspots. Here it is: https://www.cnhotspotfinder.com/ Thanks to riser for collaborating to create it. The Google sheet isn't working anymore and I don't know yet whether it will be fixable, or even worth fixing. So the admin recently made a change to the CN server-side code for choosing the location of the moon & mars hotspots every month. This broke the spreadsheet I made as the hotspots no longer lie on the same neat line that they've always been on. So basically we've had to fall back from only searching a narrow line of points to searching all integer coordinates across the entire sphere, for both moon & mars (and also decoupling the Moon & Mars so test points on one don't narrow down the possibilities on the other). While this in theory is possible with Google sheets, well, narrowing down 169*359 possible hotspots in a spreadsheet is pretty unwieldy. Back when we had the possibilities narrowed down to a line there were only 1218 possible hotspots which can be done with Google sheets reasonably well. So time to use code rather than sheets. I had ChatGPT write code to search through all the possible integer coordinates and list the ones that match the points that have been tested. Look here for a post I made on that. And riser made a website using the code and hosted it. Here it is: https://www.cnhotspotfinder.com/. Keep in mind that the Moon and Mars are now decoupled, so you can use the website for the Moon only or Mars only (or have two instances of the website open in 2 tabs if you're trying to find both). Points from one will no longer help with the other like I said. We only have 1 month of data so far (April 2024) from after admin's change. Maybe with more months of data a pattern will emerge similar to the line from before the change. For now it may take some extra guesses to the find the hotspots each month since there is no such pattern helping us out. And of course there is a possibility that the server is just picking integer coordinates completely randomly now with no pattern in which case things will stay that way. Time will tell.

Falling back to older code I wrote, but which runs locally on my computer. I got chatgpt to write some code a couple of days ago which pretty much does the same thing as my old code. Could be useful if other people want to join in on the hotspot finding, or maybe even turn this into a basic website, as the spreadsheet may continue to be broken depending on exactly what change the admin made. We'll have a better idea next month or maybe later of what admin's change was. Here's the code from chatgpt, with minor edits: import math class TestPoint: def __init__(self, lat, lon, effectiveness): self.lat = lat self.lon = lon self.effectiveness = effectiveness class PossibleHotspot: def __init__(self, lat, lon): self.lat = lat self.lon = lon def calculate_distance(test_point, hotspot): lat1 = math.radians(test_point.lat) lon1 = math.radians(test_point.lon) lat2 = math.radians(hotspot.lat) lon2 = math.radians(hotspot.lon) d = math.acos(math.sin(lat1) * math.sin(lat2) + math.cos(lat1) * math.cos(lat2) * math.cos(lon2 - lon1)) return d def calculate_effectiveness(test_point, hotspot): distance = calculate_distance(test_point, hotspot) effectiveness = (distance * 124.362 / math.pi) / 100 effectiveness = 1 - effectiveness effectiveness = max(math.floor(effectiveness * 100), 50) return effectiveness def find_matching_hotspots(test_points): possible_hotspots = [] for lat in range(-84, 85): for lon in range(-179, 180): hotspot = PossibleHotspot(lat, lon) match = True for test_point in test_points: if test_point.effectiveness != calculate_effectiveness(test_point, hotspot): match = False break if match: possible_hotspots.append(hotspot) return possible_hotspots # Example test points test_points = [ TestPoint(80.00000001, 103, 89), TestPoint(77, 22, 98), TestPoint(78, 17, 97) ] matching_hotspots = find_matching_hotspots(test_points) for hotspot in matching_hotspots: print(f"Matching hotspot: lat={hotspot.lat}&lon={hotspot.lon}") You don't even need to run it locally. You can run it in any online python evaluator like this one: https://www.online-python.com/ In case you're curious what my prompt to chatgpt was, which explains how the moon & mars effectiveness calculation works: AI has gotten so good over the past few years. I wonder how differently the whole process of finding the hotspots would have gone if AI could write code like this back when the moon & mars wonders were first introduced.

April 2024 Moon Hotspot: lat=76&lon=28

Admin changed the formula for picking the moon & mars hotspots, which might as well be an April Fool's joke. The finder spreadsheet isn't working anymore.

April 2024 Mars Hotspot: lat=50&lon=-148

Thanks for testing it! I'm seeing both your base and colony at -55.0000000000000142,-87 looking at your Mars page's source code. Are you sure you used lat=-54.9999999999999929&lon=-87 for the Base? The really far out points like -55.0000011640180162 require the math to be done just right to work out, so they're incredibly machine specific. Like if you test the math on a processor that happens to do the exact same thing the CN server does, you can nail one of those points. It was done with -6.00000088280216559 in a previous month like I mentioned in my last post. The closer in ones like lat=-55.0000000000000142&lon=-87 are more likely to work just cause the processor happen to randomly calculate it in a way to get exactly 0 distance between the wonder and hotspot.

If anyone wants to experiment more with the floating point offsets, here are some coordinates which may give 100% (no guarantees): lat=-54.9999988395099493&lon=-87 lat=-54.9999999999999929&lon=-87 lat=-55.0000000000000142&lon=-87 lat=-55.0000011640180162&lon=-87 These are interesting for being extreme (either extremely close to -55 or extremely far from it). But there should be millions more that give 100%. There may be ones even farther away that give 100%, but it takes a LOT of compute time to test all the values. (If you're just looking for coordinates that have already been tested and confirmed to give 100%, both lat=-54.99999999&lon=-87 and lat=-54.9999999&lon=-87 fit the bill.)

Thanks for testing it! This is useful information. 😊 Not exactly. Here's an example of lat=-6.00000088280216559 giving 100% one month. That same month -5.99999999 and -5.99999996 gave 100% but -6 gave 99%. Floating points actually use binary digits instead of decimal digits, which wouldn't really lend itself to a situation where nothing beyond the 7th decimal digit matters. But it's wilder than that. Here are the 41 numbers closest to -55 (20 on each side of -55 plus -55 itself): -54.9999999999998579 100 -54.9999999999998650 100 -54.9999999999998721 100 -54.9999999999998792 100 -54.9999999999998863 100 -54.9999999999998934 99 -54.9999999999999005 100 -54.9999999999999076 100 -54.9999999999999147 100 -54.9999999999999218 100 -54.9999999999999289 100 -54.9999999999999361 100 -54.9999999999999432 100 -54.9999999999999503 99 -54.9999999999999574 100 -54.9999999999999645 100 -54.9999999999999716 100 -54.9999999999999787 100 -54.9999999999999858 100 -54.9999999999999929 100 -55.0000000000000000 99 -55.0000000000000071 99 -55.0000000000000142 100 -55.0000000000000213 100 -55.0000000000000284 100 -55.0000000000000355 100 -55.0000000000000426 100 -55.0000000000000497 100 -55.0000000000000568 100 -55.0000000000000639 100 -55.0000000000000711 100 -55.0000000000000782 100 -55.0000000000000853 100 -55.0000000000000924 100 -55.0000000000000995 100 -55.0000000000001066 100 -55.0000000000001137 100 -55.0000000000001208 100 -55.0000000000001279 99 -55.0000000000001350 100 -55.0000000000001421 100 As you can see there is seemingly no pattern. And yes, these are the 41 closest numbers to -55. A double precision floating point number can't represent anything between -54.9999999999999929 and -55. The difference between those two is exactly 1 bit as far as the computer knows. But it's even worse than that. You see, if you run the code to generate that on a different computer you get different results. Yes, I tried. Which means the list above isn't the absolute truth regarding the floating point calculation. And even worse, if the server-side CN code starts being run on a different computer the moon & mars calculations may start giving different results. In fact this has already happened. -55 used to work but then stopped working at some point: If anyone wants to play around with this, it's really simple to do so. Here's the C++ code I used to generate the results above. The essential part is the checkLat function which is fortunately only a simple few lines. The rest of the code just exists to loop through a bunch of test values and print the results, so you can change that to test whatever you want to test. You don't need to understand the weird pointer referencing/deferencing trickery to test your own values. Just run checkLat(lat,-55) with whatever lat you want to test. It will return true for lat values that give 100% and false for values that don't. #include <stdio.h> #include <cmath> bool checkLat(double lat1, double lat2) { double testVal = cos(lat1*M_PI/180.0)*cos(lat2*M_PI/180.0) + sin(lat1*M_PI/180.0)*sin(lat2*M_PI/180.0); return testVal == 1; } int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { double neg55 = -55.0; long int neg55bits = *(long int*)&neg55; for (long int i = -20; i<=20; i++) { long int latBits = neg55bits + i; double lat = *(double*)&latBits; printf("%.16f\t%d\n",lat, checkLat(lat,-55)?100:99); } return 0; } Like I said, if you run it on a different computer sadly you'll get different results. I actually had difficulty finding a computer that doesn't think -55 gives 100%. I ran it on this website and it seems to agree with the results @Greatest Mothers posted above: https://www.online-cpp.com/

Thanks for testing it! I do see your base at -48 and your colony and mine at -48.00000001 from your mars page's source code. The source code from Greatest Mothers's page shows all 3 wonders at -48.00000001. So I'm going to assume -48, -72 actually gives 99%. Good to test stuff like this, as there have been some weird surprises with floating point stuff which don't fit the google sheet. They're rare it seems, but it happens.

Wait hold on, did you place them at -48, -72 using a URL with lat=-48 in it? Or did you place them using a URL with lat=-48.00000001 in it and then look at your mars page afterwards and see that they say -48.00000? The mars page should say -48.00000 since that page rounds. I'm seeing that all 3 of your wonders are at -48.00000001,-72 by looking at the source code of your nation's mars page.

Good to know! Thanks for letting us know! The floating point calculations seem to vary slightly between machines, which makes predicting them.. complicated unfortunately.

Try this (not yet confirmed): November 2023 Mars Lat Mars Lon Probability -48.00000001 -72 100.00000% URL Segment: &lat=-48.00000001&lon=-72

Try this: lat= 74&lon=16

Possible Locations for the Moon Hotspot: Moon Lat Moon Lon Probability Observed In -65 78 50.54844% -66.00000001 78 32.58633% -65 79 16.86523%

I updated the spreadsheet based on all hotspots up to Sept 2022: Moon & Mars Hotspot Finder You can use it as is (the 2 sections with borders are publicly editable), or make a copy. If you're using an older copy, I highly recommend making a copy of the latest version and using that instead, as it has updated data. For instance, the latest version has 96 previously observed hotspots, which as you may have noticed have higher probability. The older versions don't have all 96, so if the hotspot happens to land on a location that isn't marked as previously observed in your version, it may be harder to find the hotspot.

I updated the spreadsheet based on all hotspots up to Sept 2022: Moon & Mars Hotspot Finder You can use it as is (the 2 sections with borders are publicly editable), or make a copy. If you're using an older copy, I highly recommend making a copy of the latest version and using that instead, as it has updated data. For instance, the latest version has 96 previously observed hotspots, which as you may have noticed have higher probability. The older versions don't have all 96, so if the hotspot happens to land on a location that isn't marked as previously observed in your version, it may be harder to find the hotspot.

Based on moon hotspot: Possible Locations for the Mars Hotspot: Mars Lat Mars Lon Probability Observed In -14 -1 43.76041% -15 -1 39.02225% -15 -2 17.21734%

Try this (haven't confirmed it yet): Moon Lat Moon Lon Probability Observed In 15 -110 100.00000%

Updated for March 2022: Moon & Mars Hotspot Finder Note this is the exact same link as last time, so if you're using the spreadsheet directly (i.e. you didn't make a copy), it's already updated. If you're using a copy, click the link above and make a copy so you're using the updated version. It's been a while! 22 months since the last update, 22 new months of data, 13 brand new locations which were never observed before, 1 mars longitude anomaly. The number of possible hotspots has been reduced from 1252 to 1218 thanks to the new data. Probabilities have been updated based on the new data. If it makes you feel even better, it's low probability points like this that eliminate possible hotspots. It was this exact month's hotspots (Feb 2022) that are responsible for reducing the number of possible hotspots to 1218. So while those low probability points may suck short term, they are helping long term, by narrowing down the search in future months.

Updated for March 2022: Moon & Mars Hotspot Finder Note this is the exact same link as last time, so if you're using the spreadsheet directly (i.e. you didn't make a copy), it's already updated. If you're using a copy, click the link above and make a copy so you're using the updated version. It's been a while! 22 months since the last update, 22 new months of data, 13 brand new locations which were never observed before, 1 mars longitude anomaly. The number of possible hotspots has been reduced from 1252 to 1218 thanks to the new data. Probabilities have been updated based on the new data. If it makes you feel even better, it's low probability points like this that eliminate possible hotspots. It was this exact month's hotspots (Feb 2022) that are responsible for reducing the number of possible hotspots to 1218. So while those low probability points may suck short term, they are helping long term, by narrowing down the search in future months.

Points to try: lat=64&lon=118 lat=64&lon=117 lat=65&lon=117 lat=65&lon=116 lat=62.99999999&lon=119 lat=66.00000001&lon=116 Looks like the Mars longitude bug strikes again (server calculates the latitude normally and gets 64 or 65 for this month, but does something weird for the longitude). But we won't know for sure until someone finds the hotspot.

Update for May 2020: Moon & Mars Hotspot Finder I'm trying something new with this update. Through the power of protected ranges, the cells for entering test points (i.e. the ones in the two boxes surrounded by borders) are now editable by everyone. Hopefully that helps with collaboration, since everyone can be using the same google sheet. There's always the option of making a private copy (File -> Make a copy) just like before if you prefer that instead. After you've entered your tests points (or someone else entered test points) give it a few seconds to calculate. It may give strange results while it's calculating, but everything should be fine once it's done. Let me know if you find any problems with the spreadsheet, or have any questions or comments. The moon hotspot affects the mars hotspot a LOT, and vice versa. In fact if one hotspot is found, the number of possibilities for the other one is reduced to 4 maximum (often fewer), and because of the skewed probability distribution, you can usually find the hotspot in 1 try. So definitely check out the other thread. Most people don't realize that the other celestial body affects them.

Update for May 2020: Moon & Mars Hotspot Finder I'm trying something new with this update. Through the power of protected ranges, the cells for entering test points (i.e. the ones in the two boxes surrounded by borders) are now editable by everyone. Hopefully that helps with collaboration, since everyone can be using the same google sheet. There's always the option of making a private copy (File -> Make a copy) just like before if you prefer that instead. After you've entered your tests points (or someone else entered test points) give it a few seconds to calculate. It may give strange results while it's calculating, but everything should be fine once it's done. Let me know if you find any problems with the spreadsheet, or have any questions or comments. The moon hotspot affects the mars hotspot a LOT, and vice versa. In fact if one hotspot is found, the number of possibilities for the other one is reduced to 4 maximum (often fewer), and because of the skewed probability distribution, you can usually find the hotspot in 1 try. So definitely check out the other thread. Most people don't realize that the other celestial body affects them.

A 50% point strategy: TL;DR: If you only have 50% points, try these: -45, 39 45, 20 This is ONLY for the case where no points have been found with >50% effectiveness. Otherwise just use the moon & mars hotspot finder google sheet. As always, check the moon thread cause they may have found a >50% point on their end which also eliminates the need to use this strategy. Here are 2 good points to try if only 50% effectiveness points have been found: -45, 39 (mars southern hemisphere test point) 45, 20 (mars northern hemisphere test point) Do NOT use these points on the Moon. If you try both of these points, it's guaranteed that at least one of them will be >50%, no matter where the hotspot is or what month it is. Even if you're starting with literally zero information, 2 guesses is all it takes to get a point that's >50% and then things go fast from there. If you already have a 50% point, try the test point in the opposite hemisphere first. If you already have 50% points in both hemispheres, try entering them into the google sheet, eyeball which hemisphere has more possible hotspots, and try the test point in that hemisphere. Or just pick the southern hemisphere point if that's too much work. It's not the most optimal strategy, but it only takes 2 guesses max and doesn't require any extra math cause it's always the exact same 2 points every single month. Note: Neither of these points are possible hotspots. They won't come up 100%. But if you only have 50% points, the chance of getting lucky and getting 100% is very small anyway, so it's better to maximize your chance of finding a >50% point instead which allows you to find the hotspot with fewer guesses. More details if you're curious: The northern hemisphere test point is the point in the northern hemisphere with the lowest chance of coming up 50% if you're starting with no information (42.97% chance of coming up 50%). It's actually tied with 9 other northern hemisphere points with the same chance of 50%, which are (48, 13), (47, 15), (47, 16), (46, 18), (46, 19), (45, 21), (44, 23), (43, 25), (42, 27). Just pick one of the 10 northern hemisphere points. There's no need to try them all. If the northern hemisphere point does come up 50%, it actually eliminates ALL the possible hotspots in the northern hemisphere plus some of the ones in the southern hemisphere near the equator, leaving only 485 possible hotspots, all of which are in the southern hemisphere. For the southern hemisphere I did something a bit different. I picked a point with the lowest number of possible hotspots remaining if it comes up 50% (479 points remaining). That's because the point with the lowest chance of coming up 50% (-45, 40 with a 34.98% chance of coming up 50%) actually doesn't eliminate all the possible hotspots in the southern hemisphere, so it doesn't complement the northern hemisphere point to form a pair of points that are guaranteed to produce a >50% point. The point I picked is tied for second lowest chance of coming up 50% though, at 35.74% chance, so it's pretty close. There are 11 other points that also have 479 points remaining if they come up 50%, and those 11 points also tied for second lowest chance of coming up 50%, along with 3 other points that are also tied for second lowest chance of coming up 50% but have >479 points remaining if they come up 50%. If the southern hemisphere point does come up 50%, it eliminates the possible hotspots in the southern hemisphere plus some of the northern hemisphere points near the equator, leaving only 479 possible hotspots, all of which are in the northern hemisphere. Both of the points won't come up 50%, cause that would eliminate all the possible hotspots.