explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-25T20:52:17Z

Kyledavide: /* Imperial Star Destroyer */ Dancers location

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png
| titletext = Return to the play area
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|It's possible not all of the game's secrets have been unearthed yet.}}
The "comic" is actually a {{w|browser game}} made to celebrate the release of Randall's new book, ''Thing Explainer'', on the date of this comic's release.

The game features [[Cueball]] riding on a {{w|hoverboard}}. The only controls are the arrow keys. The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights. The player begins in a line-drawing maze with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" station. The ostensible goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and return them to the deposit in the fastest possible time, which returns a text message describing the result. Players consumed with obtaining the best possible time result for collecting the coins may not realize there is anything more to the game.

Beyond the maze on either side (just far enough that players who remain within the maze will not see) are tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to multi-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red error message "return to play area".

Outside the play area is an entire world to explore including are numerous points of interest and {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} similar in style to comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left and the right direction, but is technically unbounded upwards and downwards, however, past a certain point there appears to be nothing interesting in the up or down direction. It could be possible that some unexplored hole leads deeper into the map than has been found so far, it is also possible that jumping for a considerable amount of time would allow the player to reach some additional content above the map. There are 152 more coins outside the initial "play area" for a total of 169 in the entire game.

===Technical aspects===
As previously noted, the comic bears considerable resemblance to [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The comic is made in much the same way, with 'drawn' images "glued" together to form a large "map", with the illusion of infinite bounds made possible through space saving techniques where blank tiles are not stored and are instead painted white. The boundary between blank squares and 'drawn' squares is made clear as any white space in the normal images has a very slight grey tint. Thus, seams between images and blank spaces can be discerned.

The tiles for the map are stored as simple PNG files in the naming scheme: X:Y+s.png. An example can be seen here: http://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. So far, through experimentation, tiles in the range 928 to 1108 X and -1112 to -928 Y have been discovered, internally, the position of the player is divided by 512 and rounded down to give the position of the tile.

The game was made by [http://chromakode.com Max Goodman] who has previously worked on [[1416: Pixels]]. The source code for the game can be found [https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js here].

===Areas===
[[File:thumb_1608.jpg|thumb|right|one incomplete compilation of the entire game area (note the missing pinnacle of the Washington Monument]]

Starting area - (x: 512187, y: -549668)

==== West / Left ====
* {{w|Washington Monument}} - (x: 509864, y: -549746)
** Secret entrance into the inside of the Monument, right side, about halfway up - (x: 509815, y: -552614)
* Girl in a hamster ball - (x: 505790, y: -549905)
* Yet [[1504|another dig]] at the Lion King and the lands touched by shadow - (x: 504998, y: -550676)
* An {{w|X-Wing}} at a gas station - (x: 503253, y: -551129)
** Go straight up from the cockpit for a coin
* A well with a girl at the bottom of it, claiming to not be a ghost - (x: 501998, y: -551030)
* Landing re-entry capsule with parachutes - (x: 500040, y: -552369)
* Local Mom discovering This One Weird Bug - (x: 497994, y: -551334)
* Volcano -
** With suicidal quadcopters taking footage of it - (x: 486640, y: -554838)
* Lava pools -
* A dark grey ocean that isn't noticeable until you fall in
* LOTR Eagles - (x: 489661 y: -556811)
* {{w|Elon Musk}}'s Volcano Lair - (x: 484167, y: -549462)
** entrance hidden under volcano lava, dive down at Artex, following the wall with ze goggles to find it - (x: 483791, y: -551292)
** you can also go blind, the path zigzags with 3 turns. To escape, jump repeatedly while moving one direction for 5+ seconds, the other way 5+ seconds, and back again. Don't stop jumping.
* Artex + Gandalf - (x: 483715, y: -554354)
* Giant spaceship / Floating rock island in the sky (x: 507163, y: -567537)
* Hat underground
* A hole which traps(?) the player unless noclip mode is used

==== East / Right ====

* Desert -
* People holding anchor lines to the Tantive IV (Star Wars: A New Hope), being attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer - (the people: x: 518954, y: -549056)
* Ocean Yelper (giving only 2.5/5 stars) - x: 522015, y: -549015
* Talking Rogue Wave - (x: 523460, y: -549013)
* Wedding - (x: 531558, y: -549386)
* Graveyard - (x: 534140, y: -549546)
* Remains of {{w|Ozymandias}}' Statue - (x: 535927, y: -549666)
* Huge pyramid - (x: 538167, y: -550906)
* Blackhat's hat on a stick - (x: 549997, y: -549777)
* Giant bird nest - (x: 567123, y; -550417)

==== Imperial Star Destroyer ====

High up in the air there's a huge spaceship.

* Coordinates:
** top left at (513072, -560660)
** bottom left at (513086, -559470)
** top at (552154, -569022)
** top right at (556557, -567711)
** bottom right at (558244, -556542)
* Entrances:
** Tunnel to an isolated small room at (557774, -562042)
** Shaft at (556350, -556720)
** Tunnel at (552319, -566184)
* Interesting objects and places inside:
** Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383)
** A nearly complete depiction of Level 1 of {{w|Prince of Persia (1989 video game)|Prince of Persia}}, an ancient Jump & Run game - (x: 551532, y: -563512)
** Emperor Palpatine Park and Gazebo - (x: 546819, y: -559584)
** Dancers (possibly [[162|spinning counter-clockwise]]) dancing to piano music - (x: 547516, y: -563355)
** Octopus guarding two coins - (x: 531646, y: -559663)
** A sign saying "Caution GlitchFloor" (falling straight down through it nets you a coin someway down) - (x: 547898, y: -556784)
** Huge light bulb - (x: 555405, y: -557769)
** The Emperor [[1596|birdwatching]] - (x: 554777, y: -567346)
** Ponytail jousting on a velociraptor - (x: 552048, y: -568045)

=== Maps ===
* [http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ Quickly hacked overview] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/kyledavide kyledavide] on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 reddit].
* [https://i.imgur.com/uYryxss.png png-map] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/luke_in_the_sky luke_in_the_sky] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread]

===Controls===
The keyboard controls are as follows:

* '''Go Left''' - Left arrow key, a or h
* '''Go Right''' - Right arrow key, d or l
* '''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Up arrow key, w, or k
* '''Go Down (if gravity disabled)''' - Down arrow key, s, or j

This control scheme covers the three commonly used directional key sets: WASD a set of keys commonly used by modern games; HJKL a set of movement keys used by vi and applications which attempt to mimic vi key controls (vim); and the arrow keys, the most generic set of keys which is usually accepted by most applications which take movement as input, these were commonly used in older games.

On devices which have a touch screen and tilt sensor (portable devices like mobile phones and tablets) the controls are as follows:
* '''Go Left''' - Roll the device anticlockwise
* '''Go Right''' - Roll the device clockwise
* '''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Tap the screen

After inspecting the source code, there appears to be no way to move down on a portable device, this is only relevant if gravity is disabled.

===Cheats and Exploits===
Aside from the obvious ability to move out of bounds in the game, there are some more obscure hidden features which can't be enabled through normal gameplay, the ones found so far are as follows:

'''Modes''' are activated by opening the Javascript Console (F12 [Or Command-Alt-I in most browsers under Mac OS X] to open Developer Tools, then Console tab) and writing corresponding commands:

* '''Gandalf Mode: ''' ''window.i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further
* '''Speedhack: ''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed
* '''Jump Hack: ''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -1 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)
* '''Mewtwo mode: ''' ''window.mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity
* '''Noclip mode: ''' ''window.noclip = true'' - player is able to move around the map without collision. Combine with Gandalf and Mewtwo modes for free easy map traversal.
* '''Goggles mode: ''' ''window.ze.goggles()'' - displays a small window showing area around the player in a pixelated manner. The goggles indicate collision boundaries (where the player touches the world) in cyan lines. Black pixels that are passable (such as other characters or text) will be highlighted red (allowing secret passages to be discovered).
* '''Position Tracking: ''' ''window.explorer.pos'' - Returns the player location to the console. Can be used to track position and test to ensure you are still moving. Must be re-entered to compare positioning.
* '''Position Setting: ''' ''window.explorer.pos.x = *Value* or window.explorer.pos.y = *Value*'' - Can be used to manually set a position within the world. The start is at x: 512106, y: -549612. The left terrain bound is at x: 475210, y: -553711. The right terrain bound is at x: 567281, y: -549712. Mewtwo and Noclip modes are a must for exploring in this way.
* '''All the above: ''' ''window.explorer.opts'' - Contains all the game's parameters. You can directly mess with ''gravity'', collision (''disableCollision''), jump force (''jumpForce'') and speed (''maxSpeed''), among others. Run ''Object.keys(window.explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.
* '''List all coins: ''' ''window.explorer.objects'' - Array containing the position of the 169 coins of the game.
* '''Disable tilt input: ''' ''getEventListeners(window)['deviceorientation'][0].remove()'' - on Macs with motion sensor, disables tilt input which causes problems controlling the avatar

'''Getting All Coins: ''' To instantly get all coins, input the below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with window.i.am.gandalf

for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
explorer.objects[T].got = true;
}

To teleport to the next coin every time you press the left or right arrow:

var T = 0;
document.onkeydown = function(event){
if (event.keyCode == 37) { T = T-1 }
else if (event.keyCode == 39) { T = T+1 }
else { return }
T = T % explorer.objects.length;
var coin = explorer.objects[T];
explorer.pos.x = coin.x1; explorer.pos.y = coin.y1;
}

For a quick tour of all the coins:

var delayInMilliseconds = 1000; // 1 second delay between each teleport. feel free to change this.
var index = 0;
explorer.objects.forEach(function(x){
setTimeout(function(){
explorer.pos.x = x.x1;
explorer.pos.y = x.y1;
x.got = true;
explorer.frame(); // forces a redraw
},
(index + 1) * delayInMilliseconds);
index++;
});

To see a list of coin coordinates you have not yet collected:

var L = 0;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (I.got) {
L++;
} else {
console.log(I.x1.toString() + ", " + I.y1.toString());
}
}
console.log("You've found " + L.toString() + " of 169 coins");

To display the distance and direction to the closest coin:

function distance(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x1 - x2;
var dy = y1 - y2;
return Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (!I.got) {
var dist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, I.x1, I.y1);
if (dist < mindist) {
mindist = dist;
closest = I;
}
}
}
var indicator = "";
if (closest.x1 < explorer.pos.x) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (closest.x1 > explorer.pos.x) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (closest.y1 < explorer.pos.y) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (closest.y1 > explorer.pos.y) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " " + indicator;
}

var d = document.createElement("div");
d.id = "radar";
d.style.position = "fixed";
d.style.left = "0px";
d.style.top = "0px";
d.style.width = "150px";
d.style.height = "35px";
d.style.border = "1px solid red";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "green";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 1000);

To display your current coordinates:

function renderRadar2() {
document.getElementById("radar2").innerHTML = "x: " + explorer.pos.x.toFixed(1).toString() + " y: " + explorer.pos.y.toFixed(1).toString()
}

var d = document.createElement("div")
d.id = "radar2"
d.style.position = "fixed"
d.style.left = "150px"
d.style.top = "0px"
d.style.width = "150px"
d.style.height = "35px"
d.style.border = "1px solid red"
d.style.zIndex = "2"
d.style.backgroundColor = "green"
d.style.color = "#8f8"
document.body.appendChild(d)

setInterval(renderRadar2, 1000)

===Functionality===
By observing page code while playing, the game grabs and displays images based on location, and subsequently clears all non-visible images. The game uses what seems to be a position syntax to retrieve the intended images live, and returns an error if such an image does not exist, such as a blank area. This technically means things could be added to the world and updated live. If the player is moving sufficiently fast or if the internet connection is slow, this means that the player can get stuck in a black area that does not load in time.

This also means that the game does not have coded top or bottom limits, so any attempt to find the ''ceiling'' of the game will be futile unless the game is tweaked. The game does however have side limits.

When you deposit a certain number of coins, you will get one of the following messages:
* 0 coins : You got 0 coins in (n) seconds/ You successfully avoided all the coins.
* 1 coin : You got a single coin in (n) seconds/ It's a start.
* 2-4 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Not bad!
* 5-9 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Terrific!
* 17 coins : You got 17 coins in (n) seconds/ You found all the coins! Great job!
* 42 coins : You got 42 coins in (n) seconds/ No answers here.
* 169 coins : You got 169 coins in (n) seconds/ Are you Gandalf?
* All others: You got (n) coins in (n) seconds

Opening the console will display the text: what? hoverboard not enough for you!? in the log. Activating goggles mode will cause the text 'B-)' to appear in the log.

Leaving the play area will cause the red text 'RETURN TO THE PLAY AREA' to rapidly blink 3 times (150 msec duration), followed by a pause, and this will repeat 5 times for a total of 15 blinks. This will also reoccur if the player passes through the play area on their way back from exploring one side.

===Explanations of jokes===
{{incomplete|Insert table here}}

{| class="wikitable"
! Coordinates || Text and explaination
|-
| x: 483735, y: -551990 || "What news of the world above? Please tell me - what's hot and viral? What's trending on twitter?"
|}

==Trivia==
* The alt text is only visible on the mobile version of the site, or when leaving the starting area. Further, when leaving the starting area, it shows different than normal alt text.
* If the focus switches from the game to the page, the cueball can freeze in midair. The same thing can happen if the window border overlaps the play area.
* The Washington monument as an invisible floor next to the visible bricks.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Something similar to 1110: [[Click and Drag]]}}
The game features Cueball on a hoverboard in a simple map. On the map are coins which Cueball has to collect.
It appears Cueball can jump multiple times without needing to land, this means that Cueball is able to escape the designated "Play Area".
This prompts a warning which soon disappears allowing Cueball to discover the world.

[THIS ONLY COVERS THE PERMANENT TEXT, NOT THE DIFFERENT WIN STATES] 
MY NEW BOOK 
''THE THINGS EXPLAINER'', 
COMES OUT TODAY! 

TO CELEBRATE, HERE'S 
A SMALL GAME. 

[TO THE SIDE, BELOW AN ARROW] 
DEPOSIT COINS HERE 

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-25T20:45:33Z

Kyledavide:

Can't be bothered working out how to edit the page, but the explanation contains the phrase "People holding anchor lines to a Star Destroyer" - they're holding anchor lines to a CR90 Corvette, specifically the Tantive IV, commonly referred to as the "Rebel Blockade Runner", which in turn is being *attacked by* a Star Destroyer. I'll get my coat.

Well, this will be the next incomplete explanation for a while. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.165|162.158.90.165]] 21:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Yes, one thing to note is how to get the hell out of the cave near the volcano [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.159|108.162.249.159]] 22:38, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The image is made up of small images with addresses of the form http://xkcd.com/1608/XXXX:-YYYY+s.png (although not every coordinate inside the bounds has an image associated). A script could probably dump out all the images and paste them together. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.6|108.162.216.6]] 22:46, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

West -- Under Lava Pools -- Elon Musk's Secret Volcano Base (not as enjoyable as you might expect).

The Starship out east contains, among other things, Darth Vader, apparently explaining Steven Universe to a subordinate. (Steven and the Crystal Gems can be found a the west end of the ship, near an ice cream cooler.) The same ship contains an elaborate homage to the original Prince of Persia. {{unsigned ip|162.158.56.5}}

There, have at thee an image! [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 22:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

There are 168 coins spread throughout the map according to the source code [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 23:03, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

When using a device, instead of saying "use arrow keys to move", it says "tilt to move, tap to jump". It's also a lot harder to control. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.159}}

It's actually 169 coins (t.length). --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 23:22, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

I got 153 coins!! :D There's two starships, one's a star destroyer with an expansive maze dropping regular torpedoes on the other. May be noteworthy that there are various references to Star Wars and Steven Universe throughout. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 23:27, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The second starship is the TantiveIV, Leia's ship at the beginning of episode 4. Note directly below the Tantive, the terrain seems to be sand dunes. Also there are two more space ships by the volcano; an X-wing at a gas station and an Apollo Command Module. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.24}}

https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js - Looks like there's an easier to read version of the code there. Maybe that'll help someone with extracting all the images. {{unsigned ip|

I've got all the images downloaded. Zipping/uploading now. Should I post a link here when complete or what's the best way to share these? I'm also working on setting up a zoomable map. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 23:57, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The collision detection is glitchy. I keep landing/bumping against platforms I'm far away from. Is getting stuck against walls normal? --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.234|199.27.130.234]] 00:01, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Tiles are located here in a zip: https://up1.ca/#Gi51KPFyPRELe0T1D6q9Mw All I did was iterate over http://xkcd.com/1608/X:-Y+s.png from X=[916...1116] and Y=[916...1116]. I'm working on putting a zoomable map together. If anyone has interest in helping we could hop on IRC? [[User:Jcox|Jcox]] ([[User talk:Jcox|talk]]) 00:15, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I've written a zsh script to iterate over all possible tiles (does anyone know the height limits? the source only gives the left and right limits) and glue them together into one giant file. I'll upload the results as soon as it's finished. [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 00:17, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I don't think it's limited vertically at all. I found a zoomable map on the reddit topic http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ (by kyledavide) [[User:Miraries|Miraries]] ([[User talk:Miraries|talk]]) 00:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)Miraries

Here's a zoomed out map of all the game area: https://i.imgur.com/rNU9ZgN.png. From ''luke_in_the_sky'' at Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc1245]. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 00:35, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Alright, the full png of the entire map is almost finished, I should have used white tiles as blank tiles but I guess I can fix that up in gimp, and I'm not sure how to account for the 1 pixel overlap with just imagemagick convert. The last step is to merge allthe layer images into one giant image, wish my laptop the best of luck! [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 01:00, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Someone beat you to it, but keep on it: that one doesn't have right limit tiles. https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc0p8x --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 01:19, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps we can change the screenshot at the top to this? It's a quickly hacked overview of the entire map: http://imgur.com/Mz9arHz [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.167|199.27.129.167]] 01:27, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
: I think it might make more sense to just add it as another image, mediawiki supports this after all. The syntax should be: <nowiki>[[File:filename.png|thumb|Subtitle|alt=alt]]</nowiki> [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 01:34, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

[http://files.mckaysalisbury.com/xkcd/hoverboard.html] This one loads all of the images quickly (From the xkcd site), and uses browser zooming. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 01:29, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

:The impassible backgrounds are RGB(0,0,0), and the passable ones are RGB(1,1,1). <code>#explore > :first-child {filter:brightness(30);-webkit-filter:brightness(30);-moz-filter:brightness(30);-o-filter:brightness(30);-ms-filter:brightness(30);}</code> ... See https://twitter.com/BadPhysics/status/669354631869304832 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.155|108.162.249.155]] 03:40, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Here are all the secret passages marked I could find: http://imgur.com/a/fKE1Q --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.220|162.158.91.220]] 00:50, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I wrote a tampermonkey script that shows you your coordinates and lets you teleport; will make coordinate sharing a lot easier. You do need tampermonkey installed for this to work. [https://github.com/minerguy31/xkcd-hoverboard-mod/raw/master/XKCD%20Hoverboard%20Mod.user.js Click to install] [[User:Minerguy31|Minerguy31]] ([[User talk:Minerguy31|talk]]) 04:17, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I got 159 coins without the map. If you guys are still wondering how to escape the volcano, move to the right for as long as you think you can, then start spamming the up key while switching between holding the left and right keys. It worked for me on my first try.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.119|162.158.252.119]] 07:06, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Didn't take down the coordinates, but the layout to the first level of the original Prince of Persia is in there, including the guard standing by with his scimitar! I found it in the ship atop the pyramid east of the play area. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.245|108.162.218.245]] 06:24, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Just thought this was interesting, when you "complete" the game by dropping coins, the following line of javascript is run, which sends your result to the server (L is number of coins, z is seconds used):
(new Image).src = "//xkcd.com/events.gif?coins=" + L + "&seconds=" + z;
Don't be tricked by the .gif extension, it doesn't show an image when opened, and the server probably handles this request by logging it to somewhere.
: It actually returns a 1 by 1 pixel white GIF. [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 13:14, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Is there a way that we can merge the "game" part of this comic with the map of [[1110: Click and Drag]]? Allowing us to explore that one in a similar way? [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 11:03, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Well I managed to find (nearly) everything, except the floating rock island, and 162 coins without the map, but even with looking at several maps, I didn't pass any graveyard nor found the way to the grey ocean, which I assume is underneath the "continent". Does anyone know where the entrance is? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.218|162.158.90.218]] 11:54, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Just thought I should say; the comic supports some alternative movement controls, there's the arrow keys, WASD, and also the vi keys (hjkl), and the numpad (8426). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.125|108.162.242.125]] 13:29, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I was not able to get to some points because they were surrounded by text, people or other objects. Is that normal, or are there tricks to get to every coin without using cheats (console)? It would be nice if this could be mention / explained in the article. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.35|162.158.135.35]] 13:31, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:In some cases you can come in from the side as opposed to trying to come down through or up through something. Example: at the X-Wing "gas station", to get that coin, land on the ground to the left of the X-Wing and move to the right on the ground towards the gas station. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The list of "areas" in the map would be much easier to read, and much easier to correlate with the map, if the origin were set to the starting area (that is, if the coordinates of the starting area were set to x:0, y:0). What is the reason for the very large numbers? --[[User:BlueMoonlet|BlueMoonlet]] ([[User talk:BlueMoonlet|talk]]) 15:50, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The starting area is in no way related to pac-man. The lines are not all right angles, there is a timer, there's gravity, there are no aggressors, you're collecting coins instead of pellets.... Not every line maze is pac-man. This is an erroneous reference that should be removed. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.167|198.41.235.167]] 17:16, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The source code found at https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js does not seem to be complete. I would personally work on de-obfuscating the full source code using the fragment found there but technically the source is covered by implicit copyright laws and that means that if I published a derived work I would be breaking those laws. Should I just change the line from "The source code can be found at ..." to "The full (obfuscated) source code can be found at ...tigl.min.js and a deobfuscated piece of the source code can be found at ...tigl.js". [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 18:28, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I added quick coordinate / teleport access on right-click to the quick hack map. [[User:Kyledavide|Kyledavide]] ([[User talk:Kyledavide|talk]]) 20:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-25T20:42:26Z

Kyledavide: /* Maps */ fixed

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png
| titletext = Return to the play area
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|It's possible not all of the game's secrets have been unearthed yet.}}
The "comic" is actually a {{w|browser game}} made to celebrate the release of Randall's new book, ''Thing Explainer'', on the date of this comic's release.

The game features [[Cueball]] riding on a {{w|hoverboard}}. The only controls are the arrow keys. The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights. The player begins in a line-drawing maze with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" station. The ostensible goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and return them to the deposit in the fastest possible time, which returns a text message describing the result. Players consumed with obtaining the best possible time result for collecting the coins may not realize there is anything more to the game.

Beyond the maze on either side (just far enough that players who remain within the maze will not see) are tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to multi-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red error message "return to play area".

Outside the play area is an entire world to explore including are numerous points of interest and {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} similar in style to comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left and the right direction, but is technically unbounded upwards and downwards, however, past a certain point there appears to be nothing interesting in the up or down direction. It could be possible that some unexplored hole leads deeper into the map than has been found so far, it is also possible that jumping for a considerable amount of time would allow the player to reach some additional content above the map. There are 152 more coins outside the initial "play area" for a total of 169 in the entire game.

===Technical aspects===
As previously noted, the comic bears considerable resemblance to [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The comic is made in much the same way, with 'drawn' images "glued" together to form a large "map", with the illusion of infinite bounds made possible through space saving techniques where blank tiles are not stored and are instead painted white. The boundary between blank squares and 'drawn' squares is made clear as any white space in the normal images has a very slight grey tint. Thus, seams between images and blank spaces can be discerned.

The tiles for the map are stored as simple PNG files in the naming scheme: X:Y+s.png. An example can be seen here: http://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. So far, through experimentation, tiles in the range 928 to 1108 X and -1112 to -928 Y have been discovered, internally, the position of the player is divided by 512 and rounded down to give the position of the tile.

The game was made by [http://chromakode.com Max Goodman] who has previously worked on [[1416: Pixels]]. The source code for the game can be found [https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js here].

===Areas===
[[File:thumb_1608.jpg|thumb|right|one incomplete compilation of the entire game area (note the missing pinnacle of the Washington Monument]]

Starting area - (x: 512187, y: -549668)

==== West / Left ====
* {{w|Washington Monument}} - (x: 509864, y: -549746)
** Secret entrance into the inside of the Monument, right side, about halfway up - (x: 509815, y: -552614)
* Girl in a hamster ball - (x: 505790, y: -549905)
* Yet [[1504|another dig]] at the Lion King and the lands touched by shadow - (x: 504998, y: -550676)
* An {{w|X-Wing}} at a gas station - (x: 503253, y: -551129)
** Go straight up from the cockpit for a coin
* A well with a girl at the bottom of it, claiming to not be a ghost - (x: 501998, y: -551030)
* Landing re-entry capsule with parachutes - (x: 500040, y: -552369)
* Local Mom discovering This One Weird Bug - (x: 497994, y: -551334)
* Volcano -
** With suicidal quadcopters taking footage of it - (x: 486640, y: -554838)
* Lava pools -
* A dark grey ocean that isn't noticeable until you fall in
* LOTR Eagles - (x: 489661 y: -556811)
* {{w|Elon Musk}}'s Volcano Lair - (x: 484167, y: -549462)
** entrance hidden under volcano lava, dive down at Artex, following the wall with ze goggles to find it - (x: 483791, y: -551292)
** you can also go blind, the path zigzags with 3 turns. To escape, jump repeatedly while moving one direction for 5+ seconds, the other way 5+ seconds, and back again. Don't stop jumping.
* Artex + Gandalf - (x: 483715, y: -554354)
* Giant spaceship / Floating rock island in the sky (x: 507163, y: -567537)
* Hat underground
* A hole which traps(?) the player unless noclip mode is used

==== East / Right ====

* Desert -
* People holding anchor lines to the Tantive IV (Star Wars: A New Hope), being attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer - (the people: x: 518954, y: -549056)
* Ocean Yelper (giving only 2.5/5 stars) - x: 522015, y: -549015
* Talking Rogue Wave - (x: 523460, y: -549013)
* Wedding - (x: 531558, y: -549386)
* Graveyard - (x: 534140, y: -549546)
* Remains of {{w|Ozymandias}}' Statue - (x: 535927, y: -549666)
* Huge pyramid - (x: 538167, y: -550906)
* Blackhat's hat on a stick - (x: 549997, y: -549777)
* Giant bird nest - (x: 567123, y; -550417)

==== Imperial Star Destroyer ====

High up in the air there's a huge spaceship.

* Coordinates:
** top left at (513072, -560660)
** bottom left at (513086, -559470)
** top at (552154, -569022)
** top right at (556557, -567711)
** bottom right at (558244, -556542)
* Entrances:
** Tunnel to an isolated small room at (557774, -562042)
** Shaft at (556350, -556720)
** Tunnel at (552319, -566184)
* Interesting objects and places inside:
** Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383)
** A nearly complete depiction of Level 1 of {{w|Prince of Persia (1989 video game)|Prince of Persia}}, an ancient Jump & Run game - (x: 551532, y: -563512)
** Emperor Palpatine Park and Gazebo - (x: 546819, y: -559584)
** Dancers (possibly [[162|spinning counter-clockwise]]) dancing to piano music
** Octopus guarding two coins - (x: 531646, y: -559663)
** A sign saying "Caution GlitchFloor" (falling straight down through it nets you a coin someway down) - (x: 547898, y: -556784)
** Huge light bulb - (x: 555405, y: -557769)
** The Emperor [[1596|birdwatching]] - (x: 554777, y: -567346)
** Ponytail jousting on a velociraptor - (x: 552048, y: -568045)

=== Maps ===
* [http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ Quickly hacked overview] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/kyledavide kyledavide] on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 reddit].
* [https://i.imgur.com/uYryxss.png png-map] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/luke_in_the_sky luke_in_the_sky] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread]

===Controls===
The keyboard controls are as follows:

* '''Go Left''' - Left arrow key, a or h
* '''Go Right''' - Right arrow key, d or l
* '''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Up arrow key, w, or k
* '''Go Down (if gravity disabled)''' - Down arrow key, s, or j

This control scheme covers the three commonly used directional key sets: WASD a set of keys commonly used by modern games; HJKL a set of movement keys used by vi and applications which attempt to mimic vi key controls (vim); and the arrow keys, the most generic set of keys which is usually accepted by most applications which take movement as input, these were commonly used in older games.

On devices which have a touch screen and tilt sensor (portable devices like mobile phones and tablets) the controls are as follows:
* '''Go Left''' - Roll the device anticlockwise
* '''Go Right''' - Roll the device clockwise
* '''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Tap the screen

After inspecting the source code, there appears to be no way to move down on a portable device, this is only relevant if gravity is disabled.

===Cheats and Exploits===
Aside from the obvious ability to move out of bounds in the game, there are some more obscure hidden features which can't be enabled through normal gameplay, the ones found so far are as follows:

'''Modes''' are activated by opening the Javascript Console (F12 [Or Command-Alt-I in most browsers under Mac OS X] to open Developer Tools, then Console tab) and writing corresponding commands:

* '''Gandalf Mode: ''' ''window.i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further
* '''Speedhack: ''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed
* '''Jump Hack: ''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -1 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)
* '''Mewtwo mode: ''' ''window.mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity
* '''Noclip mode: ''' ''window.noclip = true'' - player is able to move around the map without collision. Combine with Gandalf and Mewtwo modes for free easy map traversal.
* '''Goggles mode: ''' ''window.ze.goggles()'' - displays a small window showing area around the player in a pixelated manner. The goggles indicate collision boundaries (where the player touches the world) in cyan lines. Black pixels that are passable (such as other characters or text) will be highlighted red (allowing secret passages to be discovered).
* '''Position Tracking: ''' ''window.explorer.pos'' - Returns the player location to the console. Can be used to track position and test to ensure you are still moving. Must be re-entered to compare positioning.
* '''Position Setting: ''' ''window.explorer.pos.x = *Value* or window.explorer.pos.y = *Value*'' - Can be used to manually set a position within the world. The start is at x: 512106, y: -549612. The left terrain bound is at x: 475210, y: -553711. The right terrain bound is at x: 567281, y: -549712. Mewtwo and Noclip modes are a must for exploring in this way.
* '''All the above: ''' ''window.explorer.opts'' - Contains all the game's parameters. You can directly mess with ''gravity'', collision (''disableCollision''), jump force (''jumpForce'') and speed (''maxSpeed''), among others. Run ''Object.keys(window.explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.
* '''List all coins: ''' ''window.explorer.objects'' - Array containing the position of the 169 coins of the game.
* '''Disable tilt input: ''' ''getEventListeners(window)['deviceorientation'][0].remove()'' - on Macs with motion sensor, disables tilt input which causes problems controlling the avatar

'''Getting All Coins: ''' To instantly get all coins, input the below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with window.i.am.gandalf

for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
explorer.objects[T].got = true;
}

To teleport to the next coin every time you press the left or right arrow:

var T = 0;
document.onkeydown = function(event){
if (event.keyCode == 37) { T = T-1 }
else if (event.keyCode == 39) { T = T+1 }
else { return }
T = T % explorer.objects.length;
var coin = explorer.objects[T];
explorer.pos.x = coin.x1; explorer.pos.y = coin.y1;
}

For a quick tour of all the coins:

var delayInMilliseconds = 1000; // 1 second delay between each teleport. feel free to change this.
var index = 0;
explorer.objects.forEach(function(x){
setTimeout(function(){
explorer.pos.x = x.x1;
explorer.pos.y = x.y1;
x.got = true;
explorer.frame(); // forces a redraw
},
(index + 1) * delayInMilliseconds);
index++;
});

To see a list of coin coordinates you have not yet collected:

var L = 0;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (I.got) {
L++;
} else {
console.log(I.x1.toString() + ", " + I.y1.toString());
}
}
console.log("You've found " + L.toString() + " of 169 coins");

To display the distance and direction to the closest coin:

function distance(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x1 - x2;
var dy = y1 - y2;
return Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (!I.got) {
var dist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, I.x1, I.y1);
if (dist < mindist) {
mindist = dist;
closest = I;
}
}
}
var indicator = "";
if (closest.x1 < explorer.pos.x) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (closest.x1 > explorer.pos.x) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (closest.y1 < explorer.pos.y) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (closest.y1 > explorer.pos.y) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " " + indicator;
}

var d = document.createElement("div");
d.id = "radar";
d.style.position = "fixed";
d.style.left = "0px";
d.style.top = "0px";
d.style.width = "150px";
d.style.height = "35px";
d.style.border = "1px solid red";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "green";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 1000);

To display your current coordinates:

function renderRadar2() {
document.getElementById("radar2").innerHTML = "x: " + explorer.pos.x.toFixed(1).toString() + " y: " + explorer.pos.y.toFixed(1).toString()
}

var d = document.createElement("div")
d.id = "radar2"
d.style.position = "fixed"
d.style.left = "150px"
d.style.top = "0px"
d.style.width = "150px"
d.style.height = "35px"
d.style.border = "1px solid red"
d.style.zIndex = "2"
d.style.backgroundColor = "green"
d.style.color = "#8f8"
document.body.appendChild(d)

setInterval(renderRadar2, 1000)

===Functionality===
By observing page code while playing, the game grabs and displays images based on location, and subsequently clears all non-visible images. The game uses what seems to be a position syntax to retrieve the intended images live, and returns an error if such an image does not exist, such as a blank area. This technically means things could be added to the world and updated live. If the player is moving sufficiently fast or if the internet connection is slow, this means that the player can get stuck in a black area that does not load in time.

This also means that the game does not have coded top or bottom limits, so any attempt to find the ''ceiling'' of the game will be futile unless the game is tweaked. The game does however have side limits.

When you deposit a certain number of coins, you will get one of the following messages:
* 0 coins : You got 0 coins in (n) seconds/ You successfully avoided all the coins.
* 1 coin : You got a single coin in (n) seconds/ It's a start.
* 2-4 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Not bad!
* 5-9 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Terrific!
* 17 coins : You got 17 coins in (n) seconds/ You found all the coins! Great job!
* 42 coins : You got 42 coins in (n) seconds/ No answers here.
* 169 coins : You got 169 coins in (n) seconds/ Are you Gandalf?
* All others: You got (n) coins in (n) seconds

Opening the console will display the text: what? hoverboard not enough for you!? in the log. Activating goggles mode will cause the text 'B-)' to appear in the log.

Leaving the play area will cause the red text 'RETURN TO THE PLAY AREA' to rapidly blink 3 times (150 msec duration), followed by a pause, and this will repeat 5 times for a total of 15 blinks. This will also reoccur if the player passes through the play area on their way back from exploring one side.

===Explanations of jokes===
{{incomplete|Insert table here}}

{| class="wikitable"
! Coordinates || Text and explaination
|-
| x: 483735, y: -551990 || "What news of the world above? Please tell me - what's hot and viral? What's trending on twitter?"
|}

==Trivia==
* The alt text is only visible on the mobile version of the site, or when leaving the starting area. Further, when leaving the starting area, it shows different than normal alt text.
* If the focus switches from the game to the page, the cueball can freeze in midair. The same thing can happen if the window border overlaps the play area.
* The Washington monument as an invisible floor next to the visible bricks.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Something similar to 1110: [[Click and Drag]]}}
The game features Cueball on a hoverboard in a simple map. On the map are coins which Cueball has to collect.
It appears Cueball can jump multiple times without needing to land, this means that Cueball is able to escape the designated "Play Area".
This prompts a warning which soon disappears allowing Cueball to discover the world.

[THIS ONLY COVERS THE PERMANENT TEXT, NOT THE DIFFERENT WIN STATES] 
MY NEW BOOK 
''THE THINGS EXPLAINER'', 
COMES OUT TODAY! 

TO CELEBRATE, HERE'S 
A SMALL GAME. 

[TO THE SIDE, BELOW AN ARROW] 
DEPOSIT COINS HERE 

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1160: Drop Those Pounds

2014-04-27T17:29:32Z

Kyledavide:

"Dropping Thirty Pounds Fast"? Is that a reference to the projectile weight being approx 30lb and "dropping" it on someone's walls? [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 10:03, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
:I was thinking more along the lines of thirty pounds of blood and dismembered flesh. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:46, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

A trebuchet works by dropping a large weight connected to the swing arm, thereby propelling the projectile in a parabola (hopefully) towards the target. Thus, by dropping 30 lbs fast, you may literally hit your target. {{unsigned|‎62.109.36.140}}

:Anyhow the explanation is a little off. The "subtlety" referred to is not that people tend to ignore weight loss flyers. It is that the flyer ''looks'' like a flyer for a weight loss programme, while it is actually trying to recruit people for something entirely different. Most people would not get this and sign up thinking that they would lose body weight, while they would be signing up for the trebuchet club. The only hint is the drawing, really. I agree with the above comment that the "dropping 30lbs" probably refers to the projectile. [[Special:Contributions/62.25.36.19|62.25.36.19]] 10:52, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

::Actually - I didn't mean that the 30lbs was the projectile but rather the counterweight propelling the projectile. [[Special:Contributions/62.109.36.140|62.109.36.140]] 12:53, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

My vote is that 30lbs stands for the projectile. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.159.230|70.31.159.230]] 15:55, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

30lbs for the projectile is most consistent with the alt-text, which implies that they will be hurling projectiles at the town. A 30lbs counterweight would only be able to fling a projectile an order of magnitude smaller. Also, for medieval trebuchets the "average mass of the projectiles was probably around 50–100 kg" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet#Counterweight_trebuchet Wikipedia article]) --[[User:Forlackofabettername|Forlackofabettername]] ([[User talk:Forlackofabettername|talk]]) 16:23, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

:A trebuchet club would likely be building smaller models than the original medieval ones, so my vote is the 30lbs is referring to the counterweight, not the projectile. In a trebuchet, the counterweight drops fast, whereas the projectile doesn't initially drop at all, but it rather launches upwards and sideways; it'll be some time before it starts dropping, and even then not very quickly as the vertical speed takes some time to switch from up to zero, and then finally down, eventually building up speed to something that might be considered "FAST". But the "FAST" is mostly in the horizontal direction rather than seen as a "drop". In the meantime, that counterweight had already dropped more directly a long time ago. --boB

::Even the projectiles will take more to drop, it still quite "FAST" compare any weight loss program, so I think it can still refer to the projectile. [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 18:17, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

:::I can just imagine someone from the club saying "Let's drop 30 lbs on the target". Besides, I'd consider the usage of the word "drop" to be more metaphorical because in the operation of a trebuchet, no individual actually drops a counterweight; they simply pull a pin or cut a rope. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.159.230|70.31.159.230]] 20:54, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

A what-if wonder: considering a {{w|trebuchet}} is a {{w|weapon}}, will it be legal to own and place a {{w|trebuchet}} in your own {{w|backyard}}? [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 18:20, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
: The art of [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613740646 backyard ballistics] is a firmly established niche hobby -- presumably for people with really big backyards. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 20:22, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
::'''''Presumably''''' people with really big backyards ... or with really annoying neighbors. {{unsigned|76.172.113.16}}
:: I needed a new hobby since I broke the last one... this is a contender! Thanks! :D [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 16:42, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

This might be example of '''literal''' vs '''figurative''' meaning: for trebuchet it is literally dropping counterweight and literally hitting a target. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 17:06, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for finally turning my temporary text into a proper explanation :) [[Special:Contributions/62.25.36.19|62.25.36.19]] 17:16, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Image could also be mistaken for two people taking a walk by a hill to a castle; which would be consistent with mistaking the add for one for weight-loss; The absence of any trebuchet in the picture suggests this is deliberate. [[Special:Contributions/144.124.1.121|144.124.1.121]] 10:04, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Although there is ambiguity here, I would think that the 30 pounds is referring to the counterweight. This is due to the fact that any device can hurl a projectile (spring catapult, torsion device, and of course trebuchet) but what sets the trebuchet apart from the rest is that it is powered by falling mass. Also, any trebuchet club that is just starting will likely be building small golfball trebuchets which would likely use counterweights on the scale of 30 pounds. I agree the alt-text makes more sense if they are actually hurling 30 pounds, but I think the main joke here is the comic that makes use of the fact that a trebuchet is literally a dropping weight. Lastly, you aren't "dropping" the projectile, you are hurling it. {{unsigned|72.71.205.240}}

:Of course it's truly pedantic, but has anybody considered that dropping a 30-pound counterweight to fling a projectile imparts the same amount of energy1 to the target as dropping a 30-pound "projectile" (which would be more like a bomb in this case) on the target from roughly the same height the counterweight drops? So dropping a 30-pound counterweight on a trebuchet is very much indeed like dropping a 30-pound payload directly on your target, albeit at an angle that's more likely to be disadvantageous to the target, and from a location that's generally easier to occupy.

:1This is disregarding the additional friction losses, of course, which would be higher in the case of flinging a projectile with a trebuchet than in the case of dropping a bomb, due to friction in the trebuchet's axle or other mechanisms, the greater distance the projectile most likely travels as well as the higher speed with which it does so, and the projectile's lower mass and thus lower inertia. [[User:Daddy|Daddy]] ([[User talk:Daddy|talk]]) 14:01, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

But what IS the LEAST subtle method???[[Special:Contributions/204.138.232.251|204.138.232.251]] 20:40, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

:Using it on the town. [[User:Kyledavide|Kyledavide]] ([[User talk:Kyledavide|talk]]) 17:29, 27 April 2014 (UTC)

I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned (or that I have somehow managed to skim over) the reference to the ''usual'' over-figerative depiction of "hitting a target" in such aspirationally motivating advertising, i.e. an archery target with an arrow in the bullseye. Or unpierced, but pensively awaiting the projectile, depicted in flight (in extreme perspective, heading intothe page that the target often faces straight out from) or otherwise. (I suspect that the phenomena extends to firearms targets as well, especially in communities with a relatively high amount of target-shooting involvement. I'm sure I've seen the old "german soldier silhouette" image used, albeit very rarely.) But, anyway, I can imagine that Randall is additionally riffing off the number of "Hit your target!" flyers with a bullseye motif... but skewing that to the fictional target reader's expectation that a motif or depiction of a parabolic trajectory might be supposed to convey exactly the same thing, rather than its actual literalist meaning. [[Special:Contributions/178.99.226.118|178.99.226.118]] 00:44, 29 March 2013 (UTC)

I'm impressed that nobody added to the explanation how much is 30 pounds in kilograms. I did that now. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.18|108.162.212.18]] 00:18, 16 February 2014 (UTC)