p399.ans1
======================
.......
.......
**X....
.....X*
.......

=================
p399.in2
======================
10 13
.............
.............
..XXXXX......
..X..X.......
..X.X.X.X....
..X...X......
..XXXXX......
.............
.............
.............

=================
p399.ans2
======================
........*....
........*....
..XXXXX**....
..X..X..*....
..X.X.X.X....
..X...X......
..XXXXX......
.............
.............
.............

=================
p399.cpp
======================
#include <bits/stdc++.h>

using namespace std;

template<typename T1, typename T2>
ostream& operator<<(ostream& out, const pair<T1, T2>& x) {
    return out << x.first << ' ' << x.second;
}

template<typename T1, typename T2>
istream& operator>>(istream& in, pair<T1, T2>& x) {
    return in >> x.first >> x.second;
}

template<typename T>
istream& operator>>(istream& in, vector<T>& a) {
    for(auto& x: a) {
        in >> x;
    }
    return in;
};

template<typename T>
ostream& operator<<(ostream& out, const vector<T>& a) {
    for(auto x: a) {
        out << x << ' ';
    }
    return out;
};

int N, M;
vector<string> grid;

void read() {
    cin >> N >> M;
    grid.assign(N, "");
    for(int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        cin >> grid[i];
    }
}

void solve() {
    // The grid is tiny (N, M <= 15), so we can afford to enumerate "where
    // pipes meet" directly. It's very important to note that there are only two
    // craters which is mentioned in the problem statement. A pipe set is a
    // collection of '.' cells; any optimal solution falls into one of two
    // shapes:
    //
    //     (a) two independent paths, each connecting one crater to the ocean;
    //     (b) a single connected '*' component that touches the ocean and
    //         at least two craters (the Steiner / branched shape).
    //
    // We label craters by 4-connected flood fill of the 'X' cells, and for
    // each crater i collect its ports = the '.' cells edge-adjacent to it.
    // Every '.' cell on the border is an ocean port (the area around the isle
    // is ocean). Then we run two flavors of multi-source BFS over '.' cells:
    //
    //     distO[r][c]   = min cells from (r,c) to any ocean port (1 at the
    //                     port itself, +1 per step), with parent pointers;
    //     distC[i][r][c] = same thing but sourced from crater i's ports.
    //
    // For shape (a), the cheapest single-crater connection has cost
    // cost[i] = min over ports p of crater i of distO[p]; pick the two
    // craters with the smallest cost[], reconstruct each path via parentO,
    // and take the union (the two paths may share cells, so we count by set
    // union, not sum).
    //
    // For shape (b), the optimal Steiner tree on three terminals (ocean +
    // two craters) in an unweighted graph is always realized by three
    // shortest paths meeting at a single vertex m. Iterate over every pair
    // i < j of craters and every candidate meeting cell m; the union of the
    // three paths uses
    //
    //     distO[m] + (distC[i][m] - 1) + (distC[j][m] - 1)
    //
    // cells (the -1's account for m being shared). Covering >= 3 craters
    // with one component cannot beat the best pair, so enumerating pairs is
    // enough.
    //
    // Compare the two candidates' actual cell counts -- for shape (b) we do
    // one extra BFS from the chosen m to recover the in-tree paths to the
    // best port of crater i and crater j, then union with the ocean path --
    // mark those cells with '*', and print the grid. Total time is
    // O(K^2 * N * M), trivially within limits.

    const int dr[] = {-1, 1, 0, 0};
    const int dc[] = {0, 0, -1, 1};
    const int INF = INT_MAX;

    auto in_bounds = [&](int r, int c) {
        return r >= 0 && r < N && c >= 0 && c < M;
    };

    vector<vector<int>> crater_id(N, vector<int>(M, -1));
    int K = 0;
    for(int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        for(int j = 0; j < M; j++) {
            if(grid[i][j] != 'X' || crater_id[i][j] != -1) {
                continue;
            }
            queue<pair<int, int>> q;
            q.push({i, j});
            crater_id[i][j] = K;
            while(!q.empty()) {
                auto [r, c] = q.front();
                q.pop();
                for(int d = 0; d < 4; d++) {
                    int nr = r + dr[d], nc = c + dc[d];
                    if(in_bounds(nr, nc) && grid[nr][nc] == 'X' &&
                       crater_id[nr][nc] == -1) {
                        crater_id[nr][nc] = K;
                        q.push({nr, nc});
                    }
                }
            }
            K++;
        }
    }

    vector<vector<pair<int, int>>> ports(K);
    for(int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        for(int j = 0; j < M; j++) {
            if(grid[i][j] != '.') {
                continue;
            }
            set<int> seen;
            for(int d = 0; d < 4; d++) {
                int ni = i + dr[d], nj = j + dc[d];
                if(in_bounds(ni, nj) && grid[ni][nj] == 'X') {
                    int cid = crater_id[ni][nj];
                    if(seen.insert(cid).second) {
                        ports[cid].push_back({i, j});
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    auto bfs = [&](const vector<pair<int, int>>& sources, int start_dist) {
        vector<vector<int>> dist(N, vector<int>(M, INF));
        vector<vector<pair<int, int>>> par(
            N, vector<pair<int, int>>(M, {-1, -1})
        );
        queue<pair<int, int>> q;
        for(auto [r, c]: sources) {
            if(dist[r][c] == INF) {
                dist[r][c] = start_dist;
                q.push({r, c});
            }
        }
        while(!q.empty()) {
            auto [r, c] = q.front();
            q.pop();
            for(int d = 0; d < 4; d++) {
                int nr = r + dr[d], nc = c + dc[d];
                if(in_bounds(nr, nc) && grid[nr][nc] == '.' &&
                   dist[nr][nc] == INF) {
                    dist[nr][nc] = dist[r][c] + 1;
                    par[nr][nc] = {r, c};
                    q.push({nr, nc});
                }
            }
        }
        return make_pair(dist, par);
    };

    vector<pair<int, int>> ocean_sources;
    for(int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        for(int j = 0; j < M; j++) {
            if(grid[i][j] == '.' &&
               (i == 0 || i == N - 1 || j == 0 || j == M - 1)) {
                ocean_sources.push_back({i, j});
            }
        }
    }
    auto [dist_o, par_o] = bfs(ocean_sources, 1);

    vector<vector<vector<int>>> dist_c(K);
    for(int k = 0; k < K; k++) {
        dist_c[k] = bfs(ports[k], 1).first;
    }

    auto best_port = [&](int k, const vector<vector<int>>& d) {
        pair<int, int> best = {-1, -1};
        int bd = INF;
        for(auto [r, c]: ports[k]) {
            if(d[r][c] < bd) {
                bd = d[r][c];
                best = {r, c};
            }
        }
        return best;
    };

    auto trace_path = [&](pair<int, int> start,
                          const vector<vector<pair<int, int>>>& par) {
        set<pair<int, int>> path;
        auto cur = start;
        while(cur.first != -1) {
            path.insert(cur);
            cur = par[cur.first][cur.second];
        }
        return path;
    };

    vector<int> cost(K, INF);
    for(int k = 0; k < K; k++) {
        for(auto [r, c]: ports[k]) {
            cost[k] = min(cost[k], dist_o[r][c]);
        }
    }
    vector<int> order(K);
    iota(order.begin(), order.end(), 0);
    sort(order.begin(), order.end(), [&](int a, int b) {
        return cost[a] < cost[b];
    });

    set<pair<int, int>> S_sep;
    int cost_sep = INF;
    if(K >= 2 && cost[order[0]] != INF && cost[order[1]] != INF) {
        auto pa = best_port(order[0], dist_o);
        auto pb = best_port(order[1], dist_o);
        auto sa = trace_path(pa, par_o);
        auto sb = trace_path(pb, par_o);
        S_sep.insert(sa.begin(), sa.end());
        S_sep.insert(sb.begin(), sb.end());
        cost_sep = (int)S_sep.size();
    }

    int min_multi = INF;
    int best_i = -1, best_j = -1;
    pair<int, int> best_m = {-1, -1};
    for(int i = 0; i < K; i++) {
        for(int j = i + 1; j < K; j++) {
            for(int r = 0; r < N; r++) {
                for(int c = 0; c < M; c++) {
                    if(grid[r][c] != '.') {
                        continue;
                    }
                    if(dist_o[r][c] == INF || dist_c[i][r][c] == INF ||
                       dist_c[j][r][c] == INF) {
                        continue;
                    }
                    int v = dist_o[r][c] + dist_c[i][r][c] - 1 +
                            dist_c[j][r][c] - 1;
                    if(v < min_multi) {
                        min_multi = v;
                        best_i = i;
                        best_j = j;
                        best_m = {r, c};
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    set<pair<int, int>> S_multi;
    int cost_multi = INF;
    if(best_i != -1) {
        auto ocean_path = trace_path(best_m, par_o);
        auto [dist_m, par_m] = bfs({best_m}, 0);
        auto pi = best_port(best_i, dist_m);
        auto pj = best_port(best_j, dist_m);
        auto path_i = trace_path(pi, par_m);
        auto path_j = trace_path(pj, par_m);
        S_multi.insert(ocean_path.begin(), ocean_path.end());
        S_multi.insert(path_i.begin(), path_i.end());
        S_multi.insert(path_j.begin(), path_j.end());
        cost_multi = (int)S_multi.size();
    }

    set<pair<int, int>>& chosen = (cost_sep <= cost_multi) ? S_sep : S_multi;
    for(auto [r, c]: chosen) {
        grid[r][c] = '*';
    }
    for(auto& row: grid) {
        cout << row << '\n';
    }
}

int main() {
    ios_base::sync_with_stdio(false);
    cin.tie(nullptr);

    int T = 1;
    // cin >> T;
    for(int test = 1; test <= T; test++) {
        read();
        solve();
    }

    return 0;
}

=================
statement.txt
======================
399. Berodoskar Development
Time limit per test: 0.25 second(s)
Memory limit: 65536 kilobytes
input: standard
output: standard

Not far away from Berland there is a small stony isle in the ocean. The name of the isle is Berodoskar and it is an ideal place for a military base. The only problem is lack of fresh water, but such a negligible problem will never stop Berl III, the King of Berland. He has stated that there would be exactly two water-storage reservoirs with desalinated water. The best way to organize reservoirs is to use existing craters located on the isle and connect them with the ocean by a water-pipe. And you are the person responsible for the water-storage system creation. You have a map of Berodoskar on which the isle is represented as a rectangle divided into unit squares by horizontal and vertical lines. Each unit square is marked with either '' character if it contains a part of crater or with '' character if there is no crater on this square. If two squares marked with '' have the common edge they are considered as parts of one crater. There are no squares marked with '' connected with the ocean. The whole area around the square is the ocean. The water-pipe you are to create should connect any two of craters with the ocean. It is allowed to connect more than two craters, but at least two craters should be connected. The water-pipe will consist of segments connected by edge and each segment will occupy the whole non-crater unit square. A pipe is connected with a crater if they have a common edge. You want to minimize number of squares involved into water-storage system creation. It is possible that two independent water-pipes are more efficient than one branched (see examples).
Input
The first line contains two integer numbers N and M — number of unit squares in vertical and horizontal directions (3≤ N, M≤ 15). After that N lines follow describing the isle. Each line contains exactly M characters '' or ''. It is guaranteed that there are at least two craters reachable from the ocean.
Output
Output N lines with M characters in each — an isle map is in the same format as in the input, but with the water-pipe indicated. Squares with the water-pipe should be marked with '' instead of ''. If there are several solutions with the same minimal number of squares used, output any one of them.
Example(s)
sample input
sample output
5 7
.......
.......
..X....
.....X.
.......
.......
.......
**X....
.....X*
.......

sample input
sample output
10 13
.............
.............
..XXXXX......
..X..X.......
..X.X.X.X....
..X...X......
..XXXXX......
.............
.............
.............
........*....
........*....
..XXXXX**....
..X..X..*....
..X.X.X.X....
..X...X......
..XXXXX......
.............
.............
.............

: in second example you are not allowed to connect a crater with the ocean via another crater.


=================
p399.in1
======================
5 7
.......
.......
..X....
.....X.
.......

=================
