explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1608: Hoverboard

2025-10-04T20:15:08Z

Sprucegrouse: Safari does not support the game. Goggles Mode needs clearer, correct instructions.

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)
:Still working on it now four months later. But not many other helping with it. ;-) Getting closer to the end though with the [[1608:_Hoverboard#Table_with_references|table]] in place. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:10, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
::It’s done! Rejoice
:::Now to work on Gravity [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.103|172.70.131.103]] 04:44, 21 December 2022 (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)

"teleport to next coin" code doesn't work[[User:(insert name here)|(insert name here)]] ([[User talk:(insert name here)|talk]]) 14:47, 21 June 2019 (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)
:It's actually 169 coins (t.length). --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 23:22, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

May I change the code for the display distance and direction thing to make the colors more appealing? I want to cheat but I don't want to stare at that yucky green the whole time. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.88|172.69.170.88]] 17:44, 20 June 2019 (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}}
:What kind of device and is this through the normal xkcd home page? It does not work on my tablet by going to xkcd (anroid, leonov tablet). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:24, 16 December 2015 (UTC)
:: I can’t control on mobile. It says use arrow keys, but I’m on mobile. How can I fix it? I’m on an iPhone. [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 11:30, 3 April 2025 (UTC)
:::I don't think you can. I think it was only made to be played on a computer with a keyboard. [[User:Numbermaniac|Numbermaniac]] ([[User talk:Numbermaniac|talk]]) 04:22, 8 April 2025 (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|199.27.130.168}}

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)
:Yes, getting stuck against walls is normal. If the wall has at least 1 pixel sticking out under the hoverboard, then that pixel will be treated as the floor, and the hoverboard will stop falling. This is easier to see in goggles mode.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.118|108.162.216.118]] 13:15, 29 October 2016 (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)
:This was great. But the zip file misses all images in column 1019-1021 as well as the 6 lowest images of 1022 (X coordinates 1019-1022, all Y coordinatesin the first three and then 6 lowest Y coordinates in the last). It was managable to download the last with my click skills. So thanks anyway. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 28 December 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)Mirages

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)

164 coins with the map. Guessing I might've missed the cotton ball pit bottom, some others in the star destroyer, and maybe one under the volcano. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.196|162.158.63.196]] 21:03, 24 January 2021 (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. {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.87}}
: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)
:Search for any missing things in the complete [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]], and you shall find what you seek. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:40, 16 December 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)
::No text is solid! You can use the full [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]] to find out how to get to every coin and place (or the great map linked at the top). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:40, 16 December 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 large numbers are the actual ones used by the game code and displayed by the hacked-up "radar" so it was a natural choice to use them as they are. We could define some origin and count coordinates from it but we would have to agree on its position and then change the "radar" code and recalculate all coordinates written down already. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 08:53, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
::Coordinates is not very helpful to most people. It should more be in relation to the objects you pass. Either you just look at one of the maps (and then past the pyramid or in the volcano makes sense) or else you actually try the real experience, and again after the ocean comes a pyramid makes more sense than coordinates. Have moved this section to a trivia section. The table should be build differently. That is still work to be done. All things are at the moment mentioned in the complete [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:40, 16 December 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)

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. {{unsigned ip|162.158.153.47}}

That's no 'Children's Swimming Pool', it's a ball pit! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 23:46, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:If it is, it's filled with water as well. There are waves on the surface and fish live in it. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 09:00, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

I slightly improved the "direction to next coin"-code by displaying a compas. Code can be found here http://pastebin.com/PL6fv5XK . I'm new to this wiki and don't want to mess up the page, so I didn't put the code in there myself ... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.209|162.158.90.209]] 00:01, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Haven't read all the comments above so maybe someone has written about it?
If you click up it seems to count how many times. So it will just show white and then when you release again, it will take longer to hit the ground the longer you have pushed up. Tried with 100 clicks (9-10 seconds) and 200 clicks (20 seconds).
I got about 163 coins in about 15886 seconds. (4 hours and 24 minutes.) That was with breaks. It was written so shortly on the screen I did not manage to take it down for certain. But after that I read here about the 169 and found that there where at least three in the volcano I had not noticed at first. And it seems likely that there would be three more I have missed. But really fun to explore. I wrote a lot of the transcript along the way (not from the very start though) This I have now posted without any real order in the [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]] page. Hope fully a full and useful transcript can emerge from this. I hope my text can be used if not used as it is written at the moment.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 02:05, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
:Now a complete transcript... Took me about three weeks to get enough time to do that--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:42, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

I thought Atreyu's horse was Artax, not Artex. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 05:27, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

The beret guy riding a torpedo (/explosive device of some sort) looks like a Dr. Strangeloe tribute to me. {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.39}}

Just added in the 'collision detection' section the text "On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area and then the black image loads in and (probably permanently, without tricks) traps you immobile." To expand upon this, if this is a risk to anyone else (I'm reliant on mobile internet, being away from any comparable landline capability) then you need to look out for perfectly horizontal/vertical edges. For example, hovering up the side of the Washington monument and encountering (typically above the 'bricks' line) a completely flat top. Drifting onto that soon gets you embedded in the remaining Monument, somewhere well below the eventual tip. Alternately, drifting sideways over the landscape and discovering a perfectly vertical cliff downwards (just past the bowling pins is a prime location) tempts you to drift down it and then suddenly the solid land 'happens' around you, forcing a page-refresh and restart (though doubtless there's also various console tricks that could be used). The well, also 'opens out', but it's a lie. I've ended up trapped 'in white' below the now closed black blocks that surround the well bottom (and not found any way back up). But if there a 'texture' (like other cliffs) or 'slope' (like the real Monument edge) to the surface, you're probably Ok. It's a genuine surface or wall that you can generally navigate around without fear of being misled. (Or so is my experience.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 09:12, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Doesn't show anything but a blank page on the first generation iPad. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.184.11|162.158.184.11]] 10:41, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

I agree with [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]]. I have changed the text referring to the source code, since it does not refer to the full sourde code, but just an obfuscated part.--[[User:Gamevang|Gamevang]] ([[User talk:Gamevang|talk]]) 14:36, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

I can't pass through text, anybody else experiencing this? I remember being able to pass through text without no clip mode earlier, but for some reason not anymore.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.36|173.245.54.36]] 18:16, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
:I found that I can't pass through ANYTHING non-white when using current version of Chrome on an iPad iOS 9.1. Makes the "game" much harder to play. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.144|173.245.63.144]] 04:23, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

----

We definitely need a better presentation of interesting objects/locations and their coordinates. Now, we have quite comprehensive multi-level bullet list and a newly-started table. Neither is perfect. We need some form that will show clearly what is where and where it belongs.

Issues to solve:
* Many objects are large and a single coordinates pair simply don't describe them well. We need a clear presentation form that will allow putting both a single pair and several ones, e.g. top and bottom for thin vertical objects (e.g. poles, The Monument), four corners for objects occupying large swaths etc.
* Grouping - we need to group objects that belong to an area, like all things within the Star Destroyer etc. Multilevel bullets are ok, but how to do that in a table?
* Order - within groups and between them, we need some ordering that will organize the entries. For example left-to-right then top-to-bottom or something like that.
* Coordinates system - the "native" game coordinates are large numbers, and negative values for the y coordinate to boot. Someone proposed setting a new origin and counting from there. I think it's a good idea, but will require a firm decision, rewrite of radar code and recalculating of all coordinates written down so far.

Any ideas?
-- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 09:24, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
:If it weren't for so much effort put in already, I think that we ''could'' re-class features as follows:
:* All coin locations, and/or links to the locations they are associated with (e.g. "in original game area" and "carried by a quadcopter drone"), if that's not considered 'unfair' to those wanting to actually play the game (without the self-discipline not to browse the list ;).
:* Locations of all characters, certainly all stick-figures, but maybe also 'wildlife' (or automata) of notable types.
:* All monologues/dialogues/labels (albeit that this is almost entirely a subset of the prior list).
:* Other notable landscape (or structural) features that are more than mere 'flavour' (e.g. the T-shaped mushrooms/whatevers to the east, but not random ground-boulders).
:* Notable move-through spots; inclusive of 'sink-into'able waters/magmas (waist-height, neck-height, fully-submerged?), even when not featuring further hidden routes, but excluding vegetation (ground-grasses/tree-trunks) that ''mostly'' are pass-throughable.
: Some of these are themselves useful references to other items (e.g. "inside front of Blockade Runner" or "beneath eastern stretch of magma") and so can probably be sub-grouped as all items in a given structure ("coins within the initial play area", "characters/speech within the Star Destroyer") and some things do occupy a swathe (the 'play area', the Monument, the ships, the kites, with their strings; the hail of (regular) torpedoes). And I bet there's a whole lot of arguments about what level of detail we could go to... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 10:21, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
When you deposit 42 coins, the response, "No answers here" is a reference to "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."[[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]])
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.149|162.158.252.149]] 03:33, 29 November 2015 (UTC)
::The full and complete [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]] that I have made uses some of the ideas, and groups the stage into sections. Not saying these should be used as is. But all in the image has been described and text transcribed in there. So it would be easy to cut and paste something from them. I have used jump height and fall time as well as time elapsed when moving and the height of the hoverboard Cueball to measure distances/dimensions. I would suggest making pictures from the maps of larger rooms or items. And then zoom in on interesting features. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:50, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Where can I get the uncompressed (original) source code? The reason I am asking is, ''/tigl.js'' is incomplete (no Easter Eggs, etc.), and ''/tigl.min.js'' seems complete, but is unreadable due to "minification" (compression).

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.149|162.158.252.149]] 03:33, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

It's a great comic, but does anyone know what it has to do the with his new book? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.161|198.41.235.161]] 03:50, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

I've created desktop C++/SDL2 based version of 1608, maybe someone will find it useful: https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.212|162.158.90.212]] 17:57, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure what the coordinates are, so I'm reluctant to add it to the page proper, but I'm pretty sure Beret Guy riding the bomb near the Tantive IV is a nod to Dr. Strangelove [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.185|108.162.218.185]] 19:17, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

When I try to play the game on my machine (IE10, Win7), I have whole sections that are just straight lined black boxes, almost like a puzzle with pieces missing. The easiest one to find is by going to the left, the quadcopters are hovering over nothing. Is this a java issue, an IE issue, a Windows issue, or just a "shut up and reboot" issue?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.44|108.162.216.44]] 19:19, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

You use IE? Suicide! The Department of Homeland Security considers IE as a threat. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.36|173.245.54.36]] 22:39, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

Also: If you are using IE, no matter what the problem is, it will '''always''' be an IE issue.
* Stove fire? -- IE issue
* Alien obduction? -- IE issue

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.187|162.158.90.187]] 12:47, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

Might be useful for exploration of the map: I have made a page that embeds hoverboard with a panel allowing you do perform various cheats and tricks. :) http://php.9kv.cu.cc/hoverboard/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.37|108.162.216.37]] 21:42, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

Me Again: Here's a stitched-together image of the map (taken from reddit) with the areas that you can walk through that are normally black highlighted in red: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pnstn4oam15lvgf/hoverboard-collision-map.png?raw=1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.37|108.162.216.37]] 22:34, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

The full transcript of the entire comic is now complete [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 December 2015 (UTC)
:And I just tried it out to finally get all 169 coins and explorer the entire drawing the true way without cheating, in just 1½ hours: [[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All_169_coins]].
::And then later I took the shortest route between coins and finished in less than 25 minutes (see same link as above). Seems like I'm the only one still working to complete this comic... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:39, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

Here is a page with a fully sort-able table of all the links to images: [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]]. It includes notes on which images there are people, text, animals, objects of some interest and coins. And it is designed so connecting images can be found by sorting on either locations, general content or the first word in the description. Only 3440 images described. Although more than 1600 of them are completely black and 40 more almost completely black as well as the 800 white. But still there was close to 1000 images left... Enjoy the easy way to find interesting stuff in the images --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:46, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

I got 26 coins and it said "undefined" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.227|108.162.220.227]] 00:29, 3 March 2016 (UTC)
:You are probably using explorer, see the explanation for this above: [[1608: Hoverboard#Messages in Play Area|Messages in Play Area]]. There even is some examples like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d8/45_coins.PNG this]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:08, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

Good LORD, why is this still "incomplete"? If you look at the red comments in the table, they are inane and unnecessary. Half of the "Missing Explanation" entries do not even *need* an explanation as the title says exactly what it is. Can we finally close this incomplete explanation?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.55|173.245.54.55]] 14:13, 29 June 2016 (UTC)

Hi, but what you are saying is that some of the red text is self explanatory. However, some still needs background information. Also, like most comics, things can be read different ways so there can be alternate explanations. If you feel like you need to say something different from the explanation, just edit. There isn't anything that can't be undone with a simple undo here. [[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 04:15, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

Under "Coins", the example says that it's a lamp and a broken lamp. Isn't it a beehive and then the remains of a 'stolen' beehive? Bees buzz. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.84|108.162.221.84]] 13:49, 29 July 2016 (UTC)

When going through tight passages as Gandalf, rapidly changing direction can cause the game to teleport the character to the room of the Star Destroyer containing two characters swinging through the air. This has happened for me in the well, as well as the passage from Elon Musk's lair to the room containing the universal grounding rod.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.118|108.162.216.118]] 13:15, 29 October 2016 (UTC)

; It works on iPad now!

Just noticed that it now runs on my iPad, though it lags often and the controls are awful—even if I'm tilting in the same direction, Cueball moves randomly, and sometimes he just flies in one direction, and there's no way to get him to go up or turn around. Then he gets stuck on something and you have to refresh the page... Which is quite annoying when you're looking for a certain image to explain and you have to start over from the play area. Still, it's better than nothing. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 03:32, 16 February 2018 (UTC)

Actually, no, the title text isn't only visible on unofficial mobile viewers. You can see it at [https://m.xkcd.com/1608 m.xkcd.com], which is very much official. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.34|162.158.126.34]] 03:29, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Here follows an extensive Latin discussion:

The commentator attempts to explain the motto, "Cur ego committitur dictar latinae."

There is repeated suggestion of 'now' or 'just now' somehow arising from the text. And the commentator makes a beginner's error by suggesting that iustus/justus could be used to mean just as in, just now. English has multiple uses of just - as an adverb speaking about time or exclusivity, and as an adjective talking about right and appropriate. For instance:

Adverb time: "Well that just happened." synonyms: currently, now
Adverb exclusive: "Just do it." synonyms: only, merely
Adjective: "That was a just choice." synonyms: righteous, appropriate

Iustus (also spelled justus) is a translation of the adjectival form of English just/righteous. So the exmaple the commentator gives:
'Cur ego iustus committitur loquitur.'
Would mean:
'Why is the righteous I made to speak.'
or, if the adjective is being used as a noun:
'Why am I the righteous/just is made to speak.'

Also, committitur and loquitur in the example are both third person singular, so neither could properly connect to 'ego' (English 'I'). To make sense in the expected way, we would need to put loquo- into the first person singular form at least.

So if the commentator wants to insert the idea of 'just now' or 'currently,' I suggest they use an adverb:
1 recens, 2 jam/iam, 3 nunc, 4 iamiamque/jamjamque
1 recently, 2 now (inprecise), 3 now (this time), 4 now (at once, already, hurry it up man).

On the proper translation:
Dictus is a noun meaning word or speech, from the verb 'dico.' If you wanted to specifically imply that you were using audible words (rather than writing), you'd use the 'loquo-' base instead of 'dic-.' So dictus and dico (from dic-) mean 'words' and 'I say.'
Dicto is a rarer verb meaning I recite, I dictate, I repeat, or something similar. See:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dicto#Latin
The principal forms are dico, dictare, dictavi, dictatum. So we talking about a third declension verb, and the base is dicta-. Dictar would be the first person present passive imperfect. Typically that form would mean something like:
'I am being recited.'
But since a person (as a physical object) can't be spoken or recited, the meaning is probably:
'I am being caused/made/forced to recite.'
The exact nature of 'caused/made/forced' is described by the word, 'committitur.' The committ- base means commit, begin, or make happen. Committitur is the 3rd person (he/she/it) present passive indicative from:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/committitur
Meaning:
he/she/it is made/forced to. (Has become committed.)
So:
'Cur ego committitur dictar latinae'
means:
'Why am I being made/forced to recite/dictate in Latin.'

Also, it should be noted that while the Greeks invented many of the types of punctuation we use today, Romans usually only used periods. (And often Romans would use no punctuation at all. Sometimes they even left out the spaces between words.) Point being, the question mark; like the comma, colon, and semicolon; wasn't commonly used until after the introduction of the printing press. So the quote probably shouldn't end with one.

My Latin is rather rusty, so if you have any better suggestions, please send me an email:
dominicchessman@gmail.com

;The Hoverboard comic:1608 Main theme is the Never Ending Story's 'Nothing'
In "The Never Ending Story" the main theme is the whole world is consumed by "The Nothing" which in this comic is the black part. The movie also includes [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE8mFDabqD0) where the horse is artax(this is already told in the explanation).

So my suggesion is to add the "the nothing" theme at the start of the description.

The paste.click link for the full image is broken, but I do not have a copy of that image. Could someone with the image upload it to Imgur and switch the link? Thank you!

;MetroidXK
It seems the original site is down. I wonder if anyone still has a copy of it.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.6|162.158.167.6]] 04:02, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

The volcano lair may be a reference to the podcast Bionic by Relay FM. I don't want to make the edit myself because the idea of Elon Musk (or other CEOs) having a volcano lair isn't super unique, and I'd want confirmation from someone else that this is a good enough connection for a reference. {{unsigned ip|172.69.48.154}}
:I'd say it is such a common trope, that it is not a specific reference. Also since this comic is from November 2015, and podcasts have seen their rise in the last few years only, (also they may have existed before 2015) such a reference would definitely need to be sanity checked if it was available before release of the comic. If so it could be given as an example to the trope.--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:11, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

So... I encountered an issue with the comic. Scrolling up I see that others appear to have found this before, where sometimes parts won't load, but I've never seen it this drastically... I left the destroyer, continued jumping until I reached the right side (when Cueball went all the way to the right), and fell, hoping to get down to the stork nest. I fell a minute or more before realizing something was wrong, after continuing to jump up for a long period of time I realized I'd been trapped underneath the ground (which was a smooth surface above Cueball's head). Turning on mewtwo, gandalf and noclip modes allowed me to get back up to the top, but I wanted to see how far down the tiles stop loading- I found it's three seconds in gandalf mode to get from the part under the ground to the bottom part of the volcano lair. Just thought you guys should know -- Anonymous Waste of Time, 2/8/21

;Washington Monument
The text for the Washington Monument indicates that the crack might refer to damage from the 2011 earthquake. Is it possible that it instead refers to the fact that the Monument has a clear color change about a quarter of the way up, due to a halt in construction and a change in the source of the marble?

Has anyone else documented that Command + alt + k makes you go up? You keep going until you hit the downward key (which pauses ascent) or you hit the upwards key.

With [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&diff=105815&oldid=105813 this edit] the explanation was added to the category {{Category:Pages using invalid self-closed HTML tags|Pages using invalid self-closed HTML tags}}. I don’t know how to fix it. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | [https://www.google.com Google search] | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 16:22, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

;Giant octopus "not real" arm
May it be a reference to the 2002 book "L'Oeil de la Pieuvre" ("The Octopus' Eye") by French author Serge Brussolo ?
There is a giant octopus in the book, whose arms would fit the definition perfectly.
It is a good read, if you are into rather dark science-fiction/fantasy novel series targeting young adults demographics, and therefore I wish not to spoil it.
Although there might not be English translations available, if you would like to know the details I can provide in English or in French.
There are other obvious and known sources justifying the "not real" arm's appareance in the comic, but in the off chance Randall Munroe read this book, or used the same inspiration as the book's author, I guess that asking ourselves about the possibility does no harm!

Two additions, early on, would be a great service to future players of this game. First is to note that Safari does not support it. (It does not let you pass through anything in BLACK, from the stick figure and hidden trap door in the Play Area, to the bottom of the Washington Monument, or any hidden doors.

Second, although Goggles Mode is repeated mentioned as to only practical way to get to the most interesting places, the instructions for getting there are deeply buried, with not proper cross-references.

When finally get there, the command is misprinted. There need to be spaces before, between and after the parens in ze.goggles ( ) .

[[User:Sprucegrouse|Sprucegrouse]] ([[User talk:Sprucegrouse|talk]]) 20:15, 4 October 2025 (UTC)

User talk:FaviFake

2025-10-04T13:52:59Z

Sprucegrouse: /* Hoverboard */ new section

[[#jumpb|''(jump to bottom)'']]
<big><big><big><big>Hey there, feel free to '''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:FaviFake&action=edit&section=new send me a message]''' :)</big></big></big><div style="float:right;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:10px;">__TOC__</div></big>

== Objects table ==
Thanks for replying. The current table in the main text looks good, but still it is a ''description'' or just ''enumeration'' of game objects, not an ''explanation'' (or in some cases: partly an explanation). Supposing we keep the current structure, it is possible to add explanations for the planet names in the '''Explanation''' column. For example, first sentence of the second paragraph is a good ''explanation'' for the Uzumaki planet's name. On the other hand, Andal has only a ''description'' (what it looks like and what features are present on the surface) and no ''explanation'' (that it refers to Animorphs series of books). There's also a question where one should put explanations of items and messages. Some do not need an explanation ('You found a stick'), but most do: what they mean and what they refer to, both in xkcd context (such as when there's a comic about the thing) and in general context. I hope you understand the difference between ''description'' and ''explanation''. Maybe there's also some misunderstanding resulting from a language barrier; English is not my native language.

What is also missing in the table are many structures or objects found on the planets and, most importantly, dialogues or monologous of the characters, which contain many puns and references, and also hints for the player. There's simply no place for them in the current structure. Making more columns may be messsy. That's why I proposed making several tables covering different aspects.

Please take my remarks as proposals to improve the structure and not as a criticism or request for you to make everything right and fill every cell of the table. I think we need to create a clear structure for everyone else to fill in with details; but also to provide good examples to follow.

Technical remarks:
* In my opinion, the filename column is not needed, it does not appear anywhere while playing, it's in source code only. Better remove it to have more horizontal space for the rest. The names given to the planets by the editors of the explanation page shown in the Description column are fine.
* Coordinates are also not useful for a regular player, who does not use some Javascript addition/cheats, maybe remove it as well; textual directions in '''Explanation''' column are sufficient.

-- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 19:59, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
:> Thanks for replying. The current table in the main text looks good, but still it is a ''description'' or just ''enumeration'' of game objects, not an ''explanation'' (or in some cases: partly an explanation). Supposing we keep the current structure, it is possible to add explanations for the planet names in the '''Explanation''' column. For example, first sentence of the second paragraph is a good ''explanation'' for the Uzumaki planet's name. On the other hand, Andal has only a ''description'' (what it looks like and what features are present on the surface) and no ''explanation'' (that it refers to Animorphs series of books).
:Hey! Yeah, that's the state of the table ''right now'', and I 100% percent agree with everything you're saying here. All planets and items that need an explanation should be explained and not just described. I mostly just copied and pasted the "planet description/explanations" from the old list to the table: creating the table was way more painful than i thought. I was actually surprized to see that nobody explained what Andal referred to, but I don't know anything about it so more knowledgeable people will have to chip in on that

:>There's also a question where one should put explanations of items and messages. Some do not need an explanation ('You found a stick'), but most do: what they mean and what they refer to, both in xkcd context (such as when there's a comic about the thing) and in general context. I hope you understand the difference between ''description'' and ''explanation''.
:I do! And I wish other people could help here. I'm not sure if you've seen it, but this is the banner i put above the table:
----
'''ALL ITEM EXPLANATIONS NEED TO BE TRANSFERRED FROM THE OLD PLANET LIST TO THE NEW TABLE''' 
We are currently switching from a disorganized list (below, inside the green banner) to the new organized table, but the explanations for specific items are missing from the new table. Please help by copying the item explanations from the old list and adding them to the new table ''in this format:'' 
<code>The item message &ndash; <nowiki>''Where to find it &ndash; Explanation, such as references etc''</nowiki></code> 
Example: You found a cheese platter (Your tanks recharge faster) – ''Next to the cell tower – The cheese is a reference to [https://example.com 1234: Cheese]''
----
'''OTHER ISSUES:'''
* upgrades that end in "???" need to be replaced by the exact upgrade message shown to the user.
* the "Tiles (X, Y)" column for planet coordinates is empty

:As you can see, the explanations should be put right next to the items and messages. Unfortunately no one has started to add them to the table yet

:> Maybe there's also some misunderstanding resulting from a language barrier; English is not my native language.
:Your English is excellent :)

:> dialogues or monologous of the characters, which contain many puns and references, and also hints for the player. There's simply no place for them in the current structure. Making more columns may be messsy. That's why I proposed making several tables covering different aspects.
Almost all the dialogues are on the [[2765: Escape Speed/Transcript]] page, so I guess they should be added there. I don't know if they're already here, I haven't looked at it enough
:: The transcript is not the place for explanations. Puns and references shall be explained elsewhere. I continue working on the transcript but there's still quite a way to go. -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 5 May 2023

:> Please take my remarks as proposals to improve the structure and not as a criticism or request for you to make everything right and fill every cell of the table. I think we need to create a clear structure for everyone else to fill in with details; but also to provide good examples to follow.
:Yeah; i totally get everything you said. In my last reply I think I was a bit too rude for some reason, maybe it's because I just finished the table and was tired.

:>* In my opinion, the filename column is not needed, it does not appear anywhere while playing, it's in source code only. Better remove it to have more horizontal space for the rest. The names given to the planets by the editors of the explanation page shown in the Description column are fine.
:* Coordinates are also not useful for a regular player, who does not use some Javascript addition/cheats, maybe remove it as well; textual directions in '''Explanation''' column are sufficient.
I was heavily inspired by the table in the [[2712: Gravity]] explanation, which included these. I kind of agree that the filename could be removed, and the filenames could be added to the planet name or explanation, i didn't think about that. About the tiles, someone might use them someday, but if the column keeps remaining empty, i don't mind seeing it disappear

:I really liked your ideas, if you don't mind I'll copy and paste this discussion in the actual comic discussion page and see what others think --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:37, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

::Update: I found a way and added all the coordinates, and moved the planet filenames to the Planet Name column to make more space for the other columns :)

::: Hi, what about dividing planets and objects like in [[User:Malgond/Drafts/Escape_Speed|my experiment]]? There's plenty of horizontal space for explanations and the entries are quite compact vertically. I also think about color-coding the different Types of game objects. -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 5 May 2023

::::Hmm, I think it looks a little messy and maybe too complicated. Do any other comics have two different tables? Also, I'm personally not a fan of mixing items, landscapes, and people. I think most people reading the table are there to get an overview of the planets and what they contain. Do we really have to explain everything in such detail? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:09, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

:::::We do not have to follow other explanations too closely, we could use a new form if it seems clearer and better. The current form has no place neither for explaining items nor for dialogues/monologues. More columns could be problematic (specifically in today's world of high and narrow screens of smartphones). Should we explain everything? Well, it us up to collective "us". Personally, I would like someone explain a few puns/dialogues I do not understand.
:::::For now, there's only a handful of people still interested in somehow finishing the explanation for this huge comic. Maybe if we two can agree on some format we could put it in discussion page and ask for votes. (Discussion needs a cleanup, BTW). -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 22:00, 7 May 2023 (UTC)

:::::Hey, I'm back. I see you're enhancing your example table, and iI was wondering, do you plan to move your edits to the actual article after you're done and use the test to see how the formatting looks? Isn't it easier to just add them to the main page directly? Just wondering. If you want I can help you port them over :)
:::::Keeping the contents of the table on your talk page and then porting them over afterwards could lead to a loss of information added after you started editing your user page [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:11, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

::::::I'm back too. Yes, I intend to put it in the main article, but I am a bit shy to replace a lot of your work; I've asked for opinions in the talk page. Let's see how it sorts out. Maybe someone has a still better idea. -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 21:50, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

::::::Oh. I think the structure of the current table in the article is better than the one you've been working on: for example, it's easier to sort for items, is more compact, and is just one. Why don't you just add a "transcript" column like the table on [[2712: Gravity]] to put what things and people say, and add the rest of the information on the respective columns? Personally, I think you're making it a little bit too complicated. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:26, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

== Haltones ==

"They're not **predominantly** gray, the two main colors are just white and black. Sometimes he uses the gray color just like when he uses any other color" ... It didn't say that they were predominantly grey(/'gray'), any more than it said that they'd be predominently black (as [[:Category:Comics with inverted brightness]], often, in preference to white). The point being that even the most "black and white" images aren't monochrome, but have degrees of grey at the boundaries, with smoothly antialiased boundaries between the full black of the line (or filled area) and the full white of the background (or inverted detail). You'll see this if you zoom in, with your favourite image editor. And very often in images with a default RGB colourspace, even if the effective pallette employed covers just greyscale values. But greys actually do feature a lot, too (often the first choice of non-black-and-white, for slight lessening of prominence, as opposed to 'red pen' ''increased'' visibility). So it's technically inaccurate to describe them as pretty much monochrome. But how to convey this in <...counts...> less than 157ish words? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.173|172.71.242.173]] 16:35, 17 May 2023 (UTC)
:The wiki page says
::::"xkcd comics are usually plain, predominantly black-and-white line drawings, but sometimes they make use of hues beyond the usual monochrome colors, even if it is just red-penned annotations.
:I think it's enough, since, even if grey is more used than other non-monochrome colors, I don't believe it's so important that it needs to be included as a "third" main color. If Randall uses many bright colors, that he will obviously also use simpler hues of grey when needed. What do you think? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:51, 17 May 2023 (UTC)
:Aside from the antialising edging gradient, I just used the Random Page link and landed on [[1301: File Extensions|something with functional greys]], [[734: Outbreak|an unusual use of 'Post-It' yellow]], an unremarkably "just black pen" comic and then [[1788: Barge|more functional grey]]. I'd argue against "monochrome" as a description, as clearly there is more than just #000000 and #FFFFFF, often enough, in an actual fill-colour/broad-brush context. Even if that's #808080 or another no-hue shade. (I was expecting to land on a "grey pen" comic to assess, after enough clicks but, having seen what I got in the random first handful, I saw no need to go on.)
:And "monochrome" can be/often is coloured. Sepia photographs or "night vision" green displays are perfect examples of monochrome (with or without halftones/dithering/whatever). As is [[267: Choices: Part 4]] (other Choices comics may be considered "duotone", in different ways).
:Maybe "...are often drawn as black shapes on white, or occasionally white shapes on a dark background, but may feature at least one additional highlighting shade or an even fuller colour pallette." Does that sufficiently cover that whole breadth of use? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.154|172.70.86.154]] 19:48, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

== Childish slang. ==

Agree with you on the recent change that you (generic 'you', not ''you'' 'you'!) sound infantile, any which way, upon use of the words mentioned. Which is how it was still said before the revert in that version of edit. But with <code>"pretty gay" and "retarded" are infantile and offensive slang for "foolish" or "contemptible"</code>, you miss the point. Foolishness is just one distant contender for what "pretty gay" is often intended to mean (even if not actually being used for someone/something 'effeminate'). And "retarded" is more in the whole "thick, stupid, dumb" line of insult than "contemptible" (which is more "horrible, dislikable, repulsive"..?).
 Personally, I also thought it better with not actually defining insults (correctly or otherwise), as it adds power to them. I can call someone a "numpty" in jest, for example, and colloquially that might be understood as the low-level insult (if that) which it is intended to be. But if I start to bandy around its {{wiktionary|numpty#Scots|dictionary definition}} then it becomes more of a seriously accusatory description.
 Just my opinion. Not really understanding the latest revert when it had seemed to be improved (if anything) in the version you reverted away. Just putting it there. I know you're doing a lot of editing (good stuff!) just wondering if you considered this one carefully enough in your obvious zeal. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.182.89|172.71.182.89]] 16:31, 28 May 2023 (UTC)
:Addendum. Meant to say, if you decide to undo/reform your own revert (I won't do it, but on the offchance you see my point), I'd have not said "''commonly'' used". They're used in slang, but I don't think we can say how frequently they pop up. They're "used in slang" (and also not in slang, or at least not insulting slang, where "gay" has a long history of just meaning "happy", whilst "retarded" is often to do with decceleration/minimised acceleration of physical systems) but I'm not sure they're no more than minority words in the whole world of such language. They depict a subset of insult-givers (like the character in the comic, for whom it adds a certain additional characterisation) amongst all the many and varied insult-givers, and Randall surely chose such semi-bowlderised terms to not have to write any of all the far worse words he might also have done. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.31|172.71.94.31]] 16:46, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

== IP page to delete ==

I didn't see your thinking about why the Deletion category was not needed there. And, believe me as an IP myself, I've never known anything useful being said on an IP's User or User Talk page. With that example not breaking the pattern any. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.131|172.70.85.131]] 00:41, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:I just don't think there's a reason to delete it, it's useful to have a previous talk page if the IP continues to edit and people want to communicate with them [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:51, 30 June 2023 (UTC)
::"The IP" is whichever one of 'us' happens to land on that particular Cloudflare route.
::I'm not going to go back and find out which IP it represents, to check if it's in their current stock of connected gateways, but it might not be. Or it was even (depending on date) a pre-Cloudflare 'straight' access unproxied and thus no longer seen, even if the exact same editor on the exact same IP lucked on ''their'' initial gateway.
::Certainly it won't map to a meaningful 'user', chances may even be that it doesn't map to ''any'' user. IP-version User/User Talk pages are anachronisms pretty much as soon as they're created. Or before, if based upon trying to contact an author of an older edit. I was on 172.70.85.131, above, but who knows (before I submit it) what this reply's sign-off will say.
::And a one-shot editor may never ever see the results of any conversation that was tried to be started. Whereas I ''might'' see any response, anywhere, that contextually makes it plain that they're talking about an edit I once made.
::Honestly, I think it'd be worthwhile checking ''every'' IP-focussed namespace page and archiving anything truly interesting that found itself in there in some other central location then condemning them all to deletion. Maybe, if possible, prevent their creation too. But I don't have the ability to do anything (except sift through them for any of the very rare gems of quality, but I wouldn't be able to do anything about it from there on in, so...
::...not gonna do anything more about it (I can't, other than reinstate the To Be Deleted membership, whch I won't bother with), but I hope you understand my perspective on this. I've seen you become a very useful member of the community, who I generally respect for your input and tweaks to the site, and don't expect you to take instruction from li'l ol' me (not even working with an established identity). Just consider this as food for thought, and leave it at that if you wish. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.19|162.158.34.19]] 20:12, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

== RTL/LTR: "...but I think it refers to me" ==

Yeah, it does. The point being that we might not do anything about the smartarses who vandalise knowingly (and I don't see a problem with what you otherwise did), but when someone thinks ''they'' have unique and funny joke (along the lines of putting "Citation needed"s ''everywhere'') they might spot the comment and then realise how we've seen it all done before so refrain from the prank. I can't even recall how many times we have had to revert things, but best to put off the casual comedian, and it won't change the outcome either way for the dedicated vandal with their blood up and looking to cause trouble. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.107|141.101.98.107]] 20:00, 29 June 2023 (UTC)
:I guess you're right, I just thought it was very clear for everyone that rendering an entire article unreadable was an act of pure vandalism, but I guess an editor comment doesn't hurt. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:53, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

== The reason "the image size wasn't there"? ==

...because it didn't need an image-size restriction, originally? Compare the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:Miss_lenhart.png previous and current version sizes]. Nice to have a (''huge!'') high-res headshot, no doubt, but clearly that's why you found that it now needs artificially constraining... No actual mystery. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.63|172.70.85.63]] 17:16, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

:Yeah you're right, I just assumed every comic had the image size to be future-proof. The weird thing was that the "imagesize: " part was already there, but there was no value. Anyway, nothing important.

== I disagree with Oxford commas. ==

"For breakfast I had some bread, toast, and jam." - A legitimate(ish) case of ", and ". Or "I created the world, and saw that it was good." I otherwise prefer to suscribe to replacing all non-final conjunctions in sequence with commas but ''not'' adding one before the ultimate (remaining) conjunction. That's like having "Fish, and chips", where it isn't an actual afterthought. And best to rephrase or repunctuate (e.g. with super-listing semicolons to separate) if you have confusing comma-breakout clauses that ''so'' easily clash (or lead you down funny garden paths) with Oxford Commas. My opinion, but this is why syntax is clearer when leaving out OCs. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.93|172.70.85.93]] 13:59, 6 July 2023 (UTC)
:I just think it's better to use it everywhere to avoid any possible confusion. If we used it half the time, it would be inconsistent. But it's no big deal.
::Similarly, no big deal. Except that it ''looked'' like an error. You've done a lot of useful changes, recently... A ''lot''... Which is not a bad thing, I must add. Occasionally I've seen what (I thought!) you intended to say, and I've helped out with a misplaced word or two. And I honestly do not feel like OCs read correctly in many circumstances. How would you even OC something like "...you should paint it red, yellow or, maybe, orange"?
::The comma already does a lot of heavy lifting, four or five different uses can occur in the same sentence, with it commonly doing duty as a sub-clause parenthetical (except without the clear open/close distinction of an actual parenthetical) ''as well as'' conjunction-replacement within a list. You will find many instances of non-OCed lists on the site. In fact I find the "Please note that all contributions to explain xkcd..." bit, below this edit box, to be the exception and not the rule.
::Anyhoo... I 'corrected' an example, but did not re'correct' it once you made it obvious what rule you were working to. I think you're less right than me, naturally, even if I wouldn't say that you're more wrong. ;) But I thought I'd make you a brief note of my thoughts rather than edit-warring the issue. Less brief, now, but I hope you still take it in good humour. (Oh, yeah, I'm sort of Ok with Oxford Spelling, insofar as it's mostly what I use naturally. Except for the "-ize" bit. That and their Comma are totally against how I was taught at school, a number of decades ago. :P ) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.71|172.71.242.71]] 15:26, 6 July 2023 (UTC)
:::You really seem to care about this a lot more than I do, if you want feel free to revert my edit back. I'm not even sure why we're here talking about commas lol
:::I'm no expert and I just like commas. Thanks for checking my edits, I think I've seen a few of your corrections. I have a lot of free time at the moment and I seem to like fixing up unorganized things here --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:42, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

== Science Girl/Hairbun ==

You may have noted that several of the Talk pages attached to those you changed already had discussions about whether someone was Hairbun or (a possibly grown-up version of) Science Girl, and you had people like Kynde support the change ''to'' treating her as Science Girl. No skin off my nose, but I'm not sure your arguments are strong enough to support your broad sweep changes in that regard. I think I'd side with "bun with trailing hair" being SG (regardless of apparent age/maturity, as the description only really says ''usually'' a child, whether you take that as prescriptivist or descriptivist) but not enough that I'd reverse your considerable efforts in this matter. But on the off-chance that you hadn't noticed the prior discussions and conclusions, before making your own assessment. FYI, only. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.204|172.71.178.204]] 14:01, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

:I will properly reply to you tomorrow since it's midnight here. Btw thanks for letting me know these hyperlinks were rendered correctly, and for fixing my 1 typo <s>(after i corrected 100)</s>
::Guys, some things may be being taken too seriously. Assuming [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&diff=prev&oldid=317396 this was the 'one error'], yeah, the Pedant's Curse hits us all, that's the point. Easy to see how it was done (read as "a Category:Interactive..." rather than "an interactive", or whatever). Happens to the best of us, when concentrating on loads of other things. Not sure about the Jill thing, at all, myself, but that discussion is probably for soewhere else. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.158|172.69.79.158]] 22:22, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

:::Nonononono I wasn't serious when I thanked you about the typo, I was also just kidding. I was joking about how after I corrected a ton of typos I added one more.
:::On the main topic you brought up: I think Jill's main characteristics (I'll talk about why I renamed her) are that she is a child, she is usually interested in science, and has always one or two buns with trailing hair. [[Hairbun]] isn't as defined as Jill: she just has a bun. This is what the page [[Hairbun]] (written entirely by Kynde, I haven't reformatted to remove the bullet points yet), say about the bun:
----
:::*Her appearance, apart from her glasses, can also change.
:::**In 703: Honor Societies, 708: Sex Dice, 1511: Spice Girl, 1601: Isolation and in every instance in 1608: Hoverboard her hair looks somewhat different, curly and with some kind of ponytail, but since '''her main distinguishing characteristic is the hair bun''', these comics are included.
:::[...]
:::*There are some characters with hair buns that are not Hairbun:
:::**Since she is a grown woman, she should not be confused with Jill or any other small girls with hair bun like in 1584: Moments of Inspiration.
----
:::And on the Page for Jill, before I ever touched it, it said:
:::*As she is usually also clearly a child she usually cannot be confused with Hairbun
----
:::Kynde mentioned [[1511: Spice Girl]] and [[1601: Isolation]] as featuring Hairbun and not Jill, but they look exactly like a grown-up Jill. Plus, on the gallery section on [[Hairbun]] (I'm working on adding back a better one since the old one was kinda broken UPDATE 11:13, 8 July 2023 (UTC): Added the gallery back with vector images), this was the first picture of Hairbun:
:::[[File:Hair Bun Girl with curly hair and ponytail.png]]

:::So, to recap: Hairbun has always had a version with a bun with trailing hair, but it was inconsistent between comics, so I settled on Jill is a girl that always has trailing hair and Hairbun is an adult that sometimes has trailing hair.

:::On the topic of renaming Jill:
:::*I searched the wiki for Jill and found 3 discussions. One of them ended up "why world we even create a page for that girl, there aren't many comics featuring her.", but didn't criticize the name too much iirc
:::*We did the same thing for [[Danish]]. The only time she was given ''any'' name ("Danish in the sense of "darling" iirc), that was the name used.
:::*If we change our minds and Jill also becomes a woman, we don't have to remove the "girl" part.
:::*I'm not sure about this, but I think she's slowing being added more and more outside science comics.

:::Wow this was long --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:20, 8 July 2023 (UTC)

== In reply to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2794:_Alphabet_Notes&curid=26437&diff=321127&oldid=320916 this query]... ==

There's {{w|Welsh orthography|the Welsh}}, at the very least! (Well, you did ask! Even if it's truly not so relevent. ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.159|172.70.86.159]] 11:29, 18 August 2023 (UTC)
:Lol. TIL! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 20:13, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

== Plural animals ==

Following on from Ferret->Ferrets, what about the last remaining singular that is Category:Apatosaurus? (I must admit, all your edits/re-edits are making my head spin, as worthy as they often are, but this seems like the next logical step that I thought you might have done to finish that particular neatening job.) But I'll leave it up to you as to whether it's Apatosauruses, Apatosaurii or whatever else you might consider most appropriate... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.98|172.70.85.98]] 10:15, 24 August 2023 (UTC)
:I actually thought about it, and I came to the conclusion that I don't know what the plural of that word is. Feel free to research if there's a "right" word and rename that category :)
:> (I must admit, all your edits/re-edits are making my head spin,
:Yeah I don't really organize everything I want to change beforehand, so whenever i notice a little thing is missing, I add it to every page that needs it. I guess it's easier to review my edits in bulk from a page's version history lol --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:53, 24 August 2023 (UTC)

== Community portal spam ==
The spammers seem to be deleting text from Community Portal. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 07:28, 3 November 2024 (UTC)
:Thanks, but I couldn't find any recent example concerning me. Do you mind giving an example? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:49, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

== Possible Adminship? ==

Hi FaviFake, I’m Victoria. I’m planning on reaching out to Jeff via Twitter/X because there’s a long list of things that only he can do. You can see the list at my [[User:42.book.addict#To_Do_List_for_Jeff|user page]]. One of these tasks is promoting more admins. Seeing as you are quite active, and have done quite a lot of edits (top 10 in CS score-wow!), would you like to be mentioned in my message as a possible admin candidate? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:21, 3 November 2024 (UTC)
: Oh hey, thanks for messaging me! I started caring a lot for this site about a year ago, went on a complete pause for a few months, and came back this week. You seem very active, love to see some new active users! I saw your message on the community portal saying you were trying to find a way to contact Jeff. That's actually something I've thought about doing for a long time but never actually tried since not even Davidy22 was able to contact him at one point iirc.
:Anyway, yes, I'd love to be an admin for this site since there are so many things I can't do as a user (i have my own to-do list, which includes 1) actually deleting pages in Pages to delete and 2) improving/fixing the comic templates and Main page).
: So yeah, I wish you good luck contacting him! My only advice is to use any possible way to (or to get someone else to) contact him without worrying too much about annoying him. His last contribution was more than a year ago, he can totally jump back in for a moment after being unreachable for so long. I really like your message, it's very well-written, now the hard part is getting it to him. Asking Davidy22 for his email address (or finding it online) sounds like a great idea to me. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 22:12, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

== Trivia below transcript ==
The FAQ page says that trivia is below transcript. I'm very sorry about this. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 00:41, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:Nono don't be sorry, you're totally right! I came back here after months of being offline and forgot about the order! I realised my mistake yesterday but didn't have the time to go look for the article to revert my edit. Please revert it if you get the chance to do it before me. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 04:53, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
::There, I should've fixed it now. I see you also reverted my edit, thanks! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 04:59, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

== On the Ghosts in the NavPane ==

When I saw 42's inclusion of Ghosts in the Character NavPane, I was pondering asking for Demons and Aliens (the blob-monster types, or near variations, from both UFO-ish comics and far-future) to be added alongside.

But I agree with you that they're not ''really'' minor characters. Yet I think they (all of them) deserve a slot there, as they are as much a feature as the (Animals/)Squirrels section. Originally thought to suggest "Groups" (could include "Multiple Cueballs" and even "Children" for groups with otherwise un-IDed child characters), which you could still ''also'' add (but for human-character groups only), but now thinking "Other Beings" could hold Ghosts, Demons and Aliens (maybe "Future Beings" separate from the latter, or at least the differently-futuristic "Floating Orbs" as ''another'' other classification category in there). As a section between Real People and Animals, I thought, unless it's decided best to put them after Animals.

Food for thought, anyway. You (and 42, and maybe others) may have your own ideas on this, and I wouldn't (and can't) spring my own ideas upon you by suddenly just editing the appropriate source. It probably needs discussion. I nearly put my earlier thoughts in the Community Portal area, but as you're personally active on this at the moment I thought it might be easier for you to ponder if I finally commited it to writing just here. (Feel free to move this contrib/advertise it wider, if you see fit.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.62|172.70.91.62]] 14:19, 5 November 2024 (UTC)
:Just popping in to add my 2 cents-I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of having “other beings” in the navbox. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:02, 5 November 2024 (UTC)
::Hey there, thanks a lot for messaging me about this. I disagree with you for one specific reason: the navbox was initially supposed to catalogue the recurring characters in the comics which displayed more or less the same behaviours across comics, such as [[Black Hat]] and [[Beret Guy]]. It then expanded to include real people, such as politicians, which still remained the same characters across different comics. The animal section is different in that some of them are the same animals across comics (such as bobcats and red spiders, for example), but since we had to include them, we included EVERY animal, even when they were completely different every time, because it'd look weird if the only animals there were the specific ones i mentioned.
::If we included a section such as Other beings that includes ghosts, I believe it would be filled with characters that are not the same in every comic they appear in and the navbox would completely lose its intended purpose. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:13, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

== (Whoops, forgot a header!) ...FYC ==

If you agree with {{diff|356369|these additions/changes}}, with or without other adjustments, I was wondering if you'd like to do the respective changes to the Incomplete Article category page, as I find it's semi-protected and I'm thus locked out from the edits that I thought I might duplicate there too (in my IP state – yes, I know I could change this, but I'm happier just to leave it up to you/whoever). Anyway, for your consideration. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.75|162.158.202.75]] 17:09, 10 November 2024 (UTC)
: Done! Thanks. I removed a few technical details. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:24, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

==The [[What If? chapters|''What If?'' article index]] project==
''The messages regarding the [[What If? chapters|''What If?'' article index]] project have been moved to '''[[Talk:What If? chapters]]'''. To add a new topic regarding the index, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:What_If?_chapters&action=edit&section=new click here].'' --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:15, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

== Removed "Discussion" super-header. ==

I had wondered, as (at that time) you hadn't bothered to remove any of the ''other'' equivalent super-headers. It looked a bit like an accidental select-and-cut, like sometimes editors do, given your actual edit was waaay down the other end of the page. (It was a bit too neat, not like the usual case of somehow snipping off just one of the "="s, make a =="header"== into a ="header="=, effectively, but I've also seen similarly unmessy accidents happen, so your decent tightening up of the whitespace could have just as easily been a part of the same misclicking.)

I did check the companion pages, and they were all happyily as they (once) were. Note that the extra level of header ''does'' have use for (e.g.) putting a similar level of header at the bottom to give Archive, FAQ, etc, sections (not part of the now-top-levelisted points), or even such that we can have "for <foo>, see <otherPortal#section>" to gather things up with less repeats. Not to have their own subheaders (unless they, too, get so large that we have to further split them!), but to be seperate-but-appended like a Transcript (and maybe Trivia) section, regardless of how subheadered an in-depth Explanation gets. If we ever get that (and, really, we could do with a ''lot'' of archival for most of the Community Pages, and maybe some FAQing, for which I ''might'' suggest a subheadering to easily scan for... e.g. ... the situation with the MathML that seems to get revisited more often than not), then we probably need the superheaders back, unless we put messy indented-bullet-trees (at the top? with or without "expand"-hiding?) ''only'' for non-discussion items.

Not that I totally agree that "1.<many...>" (and the occasional "1.<something>.<subsubitem>" was unreadable, either, but ''so long'' as we don't have a further main(ish) header, of equal import, then ''maybe'' it's ok to do it your way. Just it seemed like a big decision to make, to cut out all the (admitedly untaken) options out of the equation. ...And that is a summary of the mental arithmatic whizzing through my head when I had decided (on balance) that you'd probably just made an unknowing misedit that needed bringing back in line with the others. Just to explain the snap decision to undo your 'accident'. Not sure whether you'd been purposefully thinking about it for far longer, of course. Maybe even a couple of minutes! ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.58|172.71.178.58]] 14:53, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

:I totally agree with everything you said! One day I noticed there was a useless superheader at the top which was making the TOC unnecessarily slightly harder to scan through. We should definitely bring it back if someone decides to organise the portals, but I figured since it was untouched for more than a decade, it's likely it won't happen in the near future. There was no need to explain the reasoning behind your revert, but I appreciate you reaching out! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:06, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

==A simple Thank-you==
Thank you so much for expanding my knowledge of xkcd, the wiki, and wikis overall. That user page creation left a bit of a mark on me lol. I have found out that I have reached a high enough level to create user pages. I have created 2 user pages and 2 discussion pages for other worthy members of the community. Thank you for the very helpful advice, and thanks again for providing helpful information from the community. Sincerely, [[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]] ([[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al|talk]]) 05:14, 27 February 2025 (UTC)
:No worries! I'm glad we have another active contributor <3   --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:09, 27 February 2025 (UTC)
::It's relevant to note that we only create User pages when people explicitly ask for them. On the other hand, '''User talk''' pages are created if you want to talk to that specific member privately. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:14, 27 February 2025 (UTC)

== Removing references to order of LiveJournal comics ==

[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1%3A_Barrel_-_Part_1&type=revision&diff=320394&oldid=320342 But WHY?] 
I'm very unhappy to realize you have deleted my hard work giving people a possibility to click through the first comics in the order they where released on livejournal. I have not checked them all, but I'm not happy that it has been deleted and would like to get it back. Pleas try to explain why you found it a good idea to remove this info from so many comics! I'm quite upset about it at the moment. And since you removed it would like you to restore it if you cannot make me see why! Seems there is also more info I put in that have been deleted? :-( --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:31, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

:You are mistaken! I actually liked the idea of browsing the first comics in the original order ''so much'' that I moved it above the explanation! This means it's now much easier to browse them in the correct order, because the user is no longer required to scroll to the bottom of the page: the links are right below the comic.

:I did this for all the 50ish comics. I think you might also have missed the "Original title" and "Original caption" parts of these first comics. In every one of these comics, right under the title (above the image) there's an "Original title". Likewise, below every Title text there's now an "Original caption" part, which contains the LiveJournal caption. See for example comics [[4: Landscape (sketch)]] or [[8: Red spiders]]. I also added a link to the specific LiveJournal post both on the title and caption parts, so users can see them for themselves. Your hard work no longer sits in the hidden Trivia section, but is actually above everything else and easier to read and use!

:I do think it's still not perfect, especially part to browse the comics. I'd like to create a custom template with real buttons (not just links) and an actual explanation of the situation, or maybe integrate it directly into the {{tl|comic}} template. But still, a much better solution than putting everything in the last section! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

::I'm sorry for the harsh words. Late that night I realized all my trivia info was deleted (did see the original title text was added), but did not realize that the info was relegated to a more prominent place. So I take back my comment, and instead now thank you for improving my work. Hope you accept this apology from a message written at a bad time. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:58, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

:::Of course! You were very polite. I'm glad you're still active in this wiki :) --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:16, 12 March 2025 (UTC)
::::Me to, so there at least is one active admin. Sadly I'm not very good at the tech stuff a<nd also do not have time to look into all kinds of wiki policies... Glad there are others like you who lift the mantle on those parts. We really need a guy like Davidy... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:12, 13 March 2025 (UTC)

:::::UPDATE: I moved the sentences above the ==Explanation==, so it should now be clearer. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:01, 1 April 2025 (UTC)

== Jill's renaming ==

Hi FaviFake 
Just came around to think about the renaming og Science Girl, that I created, to Jill. I really do not like it, and we do not generally give generic figures a name, Megan and Danish the exceptions. And because she is in a comic based on a children song, the name is clearly from the song not because the generic Science Girl is called Jill. Jill is not even used in the comic, only in the title text. You wrote there where no less than three discussions regarding this name change, agreeing with you. But they are not on the talk page of Science Girls page. I'm seriously considering changing it back, so let me know where these discussions are located. I also think it was a mistake to call Danish, Danish, but it beats calling her Black Hats girlfriend. It was just a nickname he used, and they killed the witness as no one must know... But that was done way before I began editing this page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:21, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

:Hey, thanks for your message! I'll respond tomorrow because I don't have time, but for now I just wanted to note somewhere (before I forget) that I looked though all 41 appearances and counted the times where science is the main theme of the comic. The result was that the majority of Jill appearences are not related to science. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 20:07, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

::Well I will have to check that but the first instance was included because it was a girl who where interested in science even though she doesn't look like ScienceGirl. And an adult version of her was included because it was science again. The question is of course if there are now a different girl... But I do not like the naming of her. We did refrain from naming Cueball Rob, and there was also someone who did not like Megan. But that I like now. I prefer keeping Danish, but do not like the reason why she got than name. And other generic characters have been given a name in some comics without we used this. And really feel it is wrong to name her after a children song just because she was in a comic about that song! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:26, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

{{Outdent|::}}
Hey.
And an adult version of her was included because it was science again.
I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to, but this would actually help my case! "Girl" implies she's either a teenager or a child. This means that, if you wanted to broaden her definition to also include "adult versions", you'd have to use another name. Science Woman? Science Female Charachter? I think Jill is better: it sounds like a name a child would have, but doesn't prevent us from giving the name Jill to adult versions. If we change our minds and Jill also becomes a woman, we don't have to remove the "girl" part.

We do not generally give '''generic figures''' a name
But I don't think she's a generic figure. In a bit more than a third of the comic appearences, she's specifically interested in science. This, to me, means she's likely the same person on most of the comics. SHe also has a similar behaviour.

Even if that weren't the case, we would still have to find a name for her that's generic enough, that represents her qualities, AND that's not a proper name. Or, we could just call her what Randall called her, "[[Jill]]". There is precendent on this wiki for giving a name to a character based solely on one instance, where the name wasn't even intended: that's [[Danish]]. Even more: Danish was used by Randall as an adjective, but here Randall gave us a proper name!

There where no less than three discussions regarding this name change, agreeing with you.
I didn't say they agreed with me. There was no consensus on all of them, iirc, mainly because few people partecipated. Yes, I remember they weren't on her talk page, which is weird, but they were somewhere else. I remember they were mostly even.

The first instance was included [...] even though she doesn't look like Science Girl
That specific comic is an exception, in all other comics she has a bun with trailing hair. Randall may have drawn a ponytail because of the limited space. Anyways, as I said, the majority of the comics featuring her aren't mainly about science. (Of course, almost all Randall comics relate to science, but I counted comics where it was intented.)

We did refrain from naming Cueball Rob
That's because there was consensus on the fact that Cueball is an everyman, while Rob is the same charachter.

And really feel it is wrong to name her after a children song just because she was in a comic about that song!
Well that's the only mention of her name we have, even if it's unrelated. I like that she was named after a nursery rhyme, it fits her character, since she's a child.

[...] I really do not like it, [...]

[...] I do not like the naming of her. [...]

[...] There was also someone who did not like Megan. But I like [Megan] now. [...]

[...] I really '''feel''' it is wrong to name her after a children song [...]
I'm starting to see a trend here. Do you think it could be possible you're against the name change because you simply... don’t like how it sounds? I didn't like how "Science Girl" sounded, but that's not why I changed her name...

--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:34, 31 March 2025 (UTC)
:Thanks for the reply. Sadly you could not show me any discussion about the name change. Only that you said there where. So that did not help. Yes maybe I used the same wording many time. Also not native English speaker so may have less options to express my meaning... What I do not like about Jill and using that comic to name her, is that I do not think that comic at all is representative of the character I had identified and named Science Girl. But I do agree that if there are several instances where she is represented as an adult it could be a problem. I only new her as adult in [[1520: Degree-Off]] and I can see this has been changes, although I believe this should be reverted as this is not hairbun bu Science Girl. I did not know it had been removed. In this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1520:_Degree-Off&oldid=123879 version] she was named Science Girl] but it was removed without my knowing. And that she was an adult version was in this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jill&oldid=123921 version]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:35, 31 March 2025 (UTC)
::Looking at comics now, and just found this one, without looking for Jill and saw her here: [[2747: Presents for Biologists]]. To me the important thing is the interest in science and that the hairbun is not tight but with strings of hair hanging loose. So maybe the explanation to Jill should be changed to a young woman, often a child with a loose hairbun, not to be3 confused with the generic every woman Hairbun... Then Degree-Off is also clearly Jill. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:56, 31 March 2025 (UTC)
{{Outdent|::}}
Also not native English speaker so may have less options to express my meaning
I'm also not a native speaker, I'm Italian! :D I wasn't pointing out your choice of words but rather what you were trying to say, which is (I think?) that you don't like the name. Anyways:

To me the important thing is the interest in science [...] So maybe the explanation to Jill should be changed to a young woman [...]
It seems your opinion has changed completely then! This is what [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jill&oldid=123921 you wrote] about [[Hairbun]] before I joined this wiki:
''Since she [Hairbun] is a '''grown woman''', she should not be confused with Science Girl or any other '''small girls''' with hair bun like in [[1584: Moments of Inspiration]].''
According to this logic in this comic:
* [[1520: Degree-Off]] - taller than other woman and man, so a woman → '''not Jill'''
* [[2747: Presents for Biologists]] - as tall as other woman and man, so a woman → '''not Jill'''

Also, this would mean we'd have to rename Jill to someone else in a third or a fourth of her appearences.

But I do agree that if there are several instances where she is represented as an adult it could be a problem
I agree! If there's one thing that I think everyone can agreen on is that we shoudn't call a grown woman a "girl". And "Science Woman" sounds like a superhero.

So, to avoid naming Hairbun '''based on how she looks''' and Jill '''based on her displayed interest''' (I'll remind you, you said in Hairbun's page that this is Hairbun:)
[[File:Hair Bun Girl with curly hair and ponytail.png]]

...all i did was standardise the matter:
*'''Jill is a child OR girl that always has trailing hair''' (except 1 comic), and
*'''Hairbun is an adult that sometimes has trailing hair.'''

I think any other definition would be incredibly confusing. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:03, 1 April 2025 (UTC)
:Well I originally put in degree off as Science Girl as she both looked and behaved like Science Girl. So I may have changed my mind. Cannot find the picture you said that I said was Hairbun? Maybe it was from before I introduced Science Girl. I have created both of these characters and then others have changed the explanation and the name. I also called her [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hairbun&oldid=88388 Hair Bun Girl], which I can now see it wrong since she was a woman, but again, not native English. Here is my first creation of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jill&oldid=123862 Science Girl]. There where more than a year between, so maybe I changed my mind regarding which could be hairbun in between? I'm certainly more interested in having those characters with hairbun and dangling hair to be another than normal hairbun now. And would today have collected those that looks like that together. Also there are many instances of Jill where she do not have a speaking part, thus saying she is always interested in science doesn't fit with how she is listed now... It is difficult. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:57, 2 April 2025 (UTC)

::Oh yeah that makes sense, I didn't consider the fact that Science Jirl was created possibly years after Hairbun. I'm not sure I understood your last sentence, about Jill not speaking? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:26, 2 April 2025 (UTC)
:::I think only a year after. But still. I meant that there are several instances with Jill where she do not have a speaking part in the comic, and thus cannot be said to have a special interest in science or her sharp wit. So if science should be her main indicator then she has to say something. But I do not really know how to make this as best as it could be. (Science Jirl, Jirl a combination of Jill and Girl ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:46, 4 April 2025 (UTC)

::::It'd be so funny if we settled on Science Jirl haha. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:10, 4 April 2025 (UTC)

== As I can't edit it... ==

Regarding the Editor FAQ:
For headlines, you have to use wiki-style code. The simplest way is a preceding semicolon at the beginning of the line which causes the entire line to be rendered in bold.
...I might be tempted to say something like "This makes use of {{w|Help:Wikitext#Description_lists|Description List}} markup", given how there are circumstances when a ";something:fuller description of something" is also actually useful. And then go on to say something about how this is functionally simpler than the actual (sub-)header use of =s, ==s, ===s, etc, (which you'd be advised to check what 'level' of (sub-)header you're already working in and go for the next level on from that) and would the usually be recorded in a Table Of Contents of either the page concerned or any page which it is transcluded within.

Except that we're going into really ''technical'' territory with the latter bit. Generally, ==s are for Explanation, Transcript, Trivia headers in comics, you could say. (The reason being is that the Main Page has a single-= header under which the Latest Comic is transcluded and so ==s are best to be inherited as transient sub-headers - but you don't need to say that... it's just an obvious reasong behind the stylistic decision.) Headering a section other than these, in a comic (such as a place for a Table Of Things, or similar) would generally be ===ed (or, rarely, ====ed, as a sub-sub-header of the Explanation/whatever). It is best to avoid any ===+ing at all in the Comic Talk page because, if the Comic page itself gets a TOC (some do, most don't, but all ''potentially'' could) then the transcluded Discussion gets (probably!) inadvertently and improperly added in. (You can force a NOTOC, and some other tricks, but I've never been able to find a NOTOCIFTRANSCLUDED-like thing, not without peppering noinclude sections around section headers, which is... getting ''far'' too complicated.) So, just saying "Don't use '==...'s in Talk Pages, stick to ';'s..." (even without the reasoning) might be an advisable statement.

Yeah, I'm giving you a lot of stuff here (I think you know all of it, actually), hopefully you can tease out some of the bits actually useful to suggest in the FAQ. :P [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.164|172.68.205.164]] 21:52, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

Darnit, also meant to add that in the {{template|Citation needed}} explanation you wrote, could you change {{template|actual citation needed}} to {{template|Actual citation needed}}? The latter is the actual template, the former is just a redirect. No harm in ''using'' the redirect-needing ones (generally), but you might as well advertise the correct ones. Like you don't advertise {{template|cn}} or <nowiki>{{template|fact}}</nowiki> (both ->{{template|Citation needed}}, as are {{template|citation needed}}, {{template|Citation Needed}} and other case-accomadating variations), though people still are able to use them. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.164|172.68.205.164]] 21:58, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

:Sorry but you're gonna have to give me exactly what you want me to paste in the article, I haven't understood a word of what you said. I changed the actual cit needed thinghy--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:45, 12 April 2025 (UTC)

==User page creation==
I just wanted to say thanks again for making my user page! --[[User:Xnerkcd|xnerkcd]] ([[User talk:Xnerkcd|talk]]) 17:38, 13 April 2025 (UTC)
:No worries! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:22, 13 April 2025 (UTC)

==Admin==
What does an admin do? Are they just the people that can create pages?
:Not an admin, but they basically manage the wiki state-of-affairs and oversee day-to-day operation. Basically, a stepup from typical moderators. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.208.206|172.69.208.206]]
::I guess that's what they're ''supposed'' to do. Because of the status quo, they just sometimes pop back in and do stuff we can't. We can however create pages ourselves. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:46, 15 April 2025 (UTC)

== A Barnstar For You :3 ==

{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" | {{#ifeq:{{{2|}}}|alt|[[File:Blueprint Barnstar 3.PNG|100px|border]]|[[File:Blueprint Barnstar 2.PNG|100px|border]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: bottom; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Template Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: top; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | Thanks for all of your work on improving the templates on here! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:01, 18 April 2025 (UTC)
|}
:Thanks so much! But [[User:Firestar233]] definitely deserves that award more than I do! He created the templates for the what if? index that are still incredibly useful! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 20:31, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

==''Restructuring [[Header text]] as a table''==
''The messages regarding the [[Talk:Header text|''Header text'' reformatting]] project have been moved to '''[[Talk:Header text]]'''. To add a new topic regarding the projects, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Header_text&action=edit&section=new click here].'' --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:15, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

== So, the HiddenCat..? ==

You do seem pleased that it works, but I can't work out what you've done by it (presuming it has effects upon a different page). And slightly worried by the additional redlinked category that the page now has. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.161|172.68.229.161]] 19:31, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

:Sure. See {{mw|Help:Categories#Hidden_categories}}. I only applied it for the new All pages and the old All comics cats. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:13, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:Solved the redlink (non-)issue by un-redlinking it (aka creating the cat). --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:55, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

::Still less than wise as to what ''problem'' it solves, but I'm just happy that you're happy. ;)
::Also "The categories that a page is in are normally listed at the bottom of the page." I'd have written as "The categories that a page are in are normally listed at the bottom of the page.", to match "categories=>are" ''or'' "Each category that a page is in is normally listed at the bottom of the page." to force "category=>is" agreement- but maybe that's a UK-English v.s. US-English thing. (Or just my particular regional sub-dialect of English (quite near me there's a place where "we was" and "I was" are considered 'correct' and another where "we were" and "I were" are, so there's easily room for such confusion, even though I'm a "we were" and "I was" person myself). Or just me be entirely mistaken about something!) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.187|172.68.205.187]] 20:52, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:::> ''Still less than wise as to what ''problem'' it solves
:::Solves the problem of displaying a category that should not be seen by users.

:::Also, your suggestion seems grammatically incorrect. The "is" you'd like to change to an "are" is referring to "a page", not "categories". You may want to read the sentence again. afaik, "a page is here" is correct and "a page are here" is incorrect. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:18, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

== Exclusive xkcd textbook comics ==

Hey uhhh does anyone know about [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/science/randall-munroe-xkcd-science-textbook.html this]? Should we make explanations for these?
--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[DSBContribs |'''''My life choices''''']] 20:48, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

Google's Ai says there are multiple exclusive comics for the textbook, but I've only been able to find Inside Body, shown here:

[[File:Inside Body.jpg|300px]]

 {{unsigned|DollarStoreBa'al|23:07, 8 May 2025‎}}
:Hey, I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific about what "this" and "these" are. You might be looking for this page: [[New York Times: Good Question]]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:06, 9 May 2025 (UTC)
::'This' links to a NYT article about randall munroe doing illustrations for a science textbook. Google's AI overview says there are three exclusive comic for this. I've only been able to find one. I'm asking if we should add explanations for these new comics. I have given it the temporary name 'Inside Body', since when I saved the image from the NYT article, the name 'Inside Body comic' was used.--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[DSBContribs |'''''My life choices''''']] 16:59, 9 May 2025 (UTC)
:::upon further investigation, the article is on the page you linked to. My question is still whether we add an explanation for Inside Body. Also, do we add explanations for the other comics shown in the science textbook pages? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[DSBContribs |'''''My life choices''''']] 17:02, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

::::A large language model is one of the most unreliable sources of information. Unless you find any other site or person mentioning that there are exclusive xkcd comics on some textbooks, I don't think we should in any way create pages based on what a large language model generated. Can you find any actual sources?

::::We might still explain that one specific comic, but this is not the right place to discuss this, we should use the community portals. Besides, there are many other comics in [[New York Times: Good Question]] that aren't explained. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:06, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

== It's a date. ==

I'm confused by {{diff|377635|the ISO Dates edit}}. First of all, as explained in my full revert's summary, lowercase are (mostly) reserved for time-placeholders and uppercase used for date-placeholder. And I checked a number of separate documentations and implementations where datetime format variations are described/configured, without finding even one that consistently reserved only "MM", etc, for month, for disambiguation with time's equivalent "mm"-for-minutes, but lowercased everything else.

Secondly, the apparent reason for this edit did not mention this. (Perhaps an overzealous editor auto-correct? Except it/you 'missed a few' and came back to 'fix' them.) The reason actually suggests a sentence's meaning was previously reversed when it clearly was not.

I reverted to before both your edits and those which had prompted your mass-'correction'. Technically, this leaves the "US format in binary" incorrect, which was the only case-change that the prior editor had actually rationalised before you. An argument ''could'' be made that "mm/dd/yyyy" could be parsable as being "MM/DD/YYYY, but in binary", like kb/kilobits is to kB/kilobytes... though that's not even how it's phrased and I'm sure that this should indeed be uppercased like it had been. I also think the other change, to the sentence, is more elegant (for the exact same meaning), but am allowing for a slight possibility that I'm wrong about that. As such, I'm letting you consider where we go from here. Revert my change (the latest, as I type) to re-'fix' things back into lowercase, if you have enough reason to, or reassess the things you blitzed and restore the "binary date" and/or rephrased "drop leading zeros" edits.

Any further discussion, on either original issue, I will leave between you and the other editor, though I thought I'd give you a direct nod about my full reasons why I nuked ''both'' changes, as you had apparently put far more effort into your contributions (for right or wrong). And I'm not currently unconvinced by ''their'' edits, but maybe you can take the opportunity to explain things better and switch my opinions over to your POV. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.44|172.68.229.44]] 04:05, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

:Sure! I just made the table on that page sortable again. Microsoft has always used yyyy, dd, and MM in their settings, so I assumed that was the standard. Thanks!--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:55, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

== From Kynde's page ==

::::: And finally: the typos in the message you replied to were caused by my keyboard autocorrecting my words (my pc is broken). When you reply, do it on my talk page so we don't spam Kynde's. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 12:44, 29 June 2025 (UTC)
{{outdent|:::::}}
:Hello, I think you mistook another IP's recent comment as being from me-IP, from things said prior to the above. There are a few of us around, and I don't mind being mixed up with some of them (or vice-versa) that are similarly longterm maintainers of seemingly good intentions. Though I think that IP also used "propogate" instead of "propagate" (like I know I've got my own blindspots in spelling/grammar, and occasional tendency to lapse into dialect), which also amused me.
:As to your autocorrection-errors, it surprised me... In my experience, non-native but fluent of English don't let mistakes like that happen, and you're certainly up there with native speakers (il mio italiano è per lo più limitato a ciò che può fare un traduttore online... così!). I think it just looked... careless. Also, strangely induced errors.
:Don't let me discourage you, you've gone to a lot of trouble. Some things maybe necessary, some things maybe more just 'your own vision' that I could take or leave. Just that the "diff" page doesn't always align things to make it easy to compare old vs. new versions for anything more complicated than paragraphs/bullets/tabling to bullets/tabling/paragraphs or tabling/paragraphs/tables (as required). Complete rewrites don't help, even assuming that they accurate rewrites.
:...so, this is my response. From your invitation. Of course I can't speak for anyone else involved. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 18:17, 29 June 2025 (UTC)

::Oh well, until you decide to create a proper account I will blindly assume every IP that uses parentheses and subclauses is the same exact person! You are everyone.

:: Grazie per il complimento; il mio inglese would be better if I cared about looking over every message I post. I usually only extensively proofread article changes. You're right, that specific mistake wasn't an auto correction, I just didn't want to explain everything, but I have time to kill so I guess I'll just do it. On mobile, i prefer using Gboard's glide typing feature, which can sometimes mistake two words even if their letters are almost completely different. You can look it up, it looks cool, though I doubt it'd be ergonomic to use on your tablet. That's why help became hello.

:: Amusingly, there's a grammar error in your reply that I'll let you find! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 22:17, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

== Rather than re-de-revert. ==

{{quote|The text "Don't remove this notice too soon" is there when there isn't a specific reason the page is incomplete. Now there is a clear moment when the page can be marked as complete. Not sure why you put back the PAGE CREATED BY thingy|{{diff|381894|Your re-revert}}}}

It's not just "Don't remove the 'Don't remove this text too soon' text too soon"... It's contectually applying to the ''whole'' incompleteness tag. Now, I'm not saying that, without it, people will think it ok to remove the whole thing, but there's no reason to remove it until you're removing the whole thing as solved. What even is the benefit of doing so?

But, honestly, I restored it not for meta-ontological purposes, but because I was actually trying to counter the strange removal of the PAGE CREATED BY bit. I appreciate that you may think that it confuses new readers, and I daresay that it does (a little bit), but it probably confuses them more when some new comics have this time-honoured bit of site culture and some do not. Whereas they shouldn't really take too long to realise that:
* "CREATED BY A BOT" is basically what it says on the tin, before any human has had a chance to ponder the newly added page,
* "CREATED BY <A JOKE>" is a new article once the rabble have gotten to it,
** ...though, IMO, you should only normally change it as "first editor" (or "first editor with a good idea ror a joke to put there") with something to contribute into the Explanation and/or Transcript (or will do momentarily), not ''just as a "FIRST!"-type thing then leave it...
** ...and you should think twice before changing someone else's joke to your own; perhaps refine it (oapply mild corrections to grammar/spelling/whatever it's trying to reference), but if you just totally "no, MY IDEA!" it, what's to stop the next person going "no, no, ''MY'' IDEA!!"? Just accept what's there (or tweak it, honourably), you'll perhaps be able to get (and keep for a reasonable time) the subtle 'bragging rights' to a future comic, if everyone plays nice and doesn't just entirely change it on a whim. Or remove it for no good reason, before the whole tag is considered superfluous anyway...
* If someone (like yourself) adds in an incomplete tag ''back'' into a previously 'presumed complete' page, that can happily stay without the BOT-inspired humour. Unless one feels like it, but actually adding the tag back in to pages, which (by wiki convention) are always open to being re-edited if you so wish,
** ...if I may say, adding an "incomplete|X and Y need doing to this page", instead of just doing X and Y to the page, is a waste of edits. I appreciate there are some things you might not be able to actually do (explain something that currently confuses you, for example), but occasionally it's a request to trivially reformat something, and no obvious reason why you haven't just done the reformatting in this edit. If you haven't time to do it all now, it doesn't need a placeholder to make a note to yourself to come back and do it when you can..
** ...and, unless you've changed it since I last looked, there's at least one "X needs doing" that seems to have been done but the "X needs doing" tag is still there. Haven't been able to work out if ''not all'' X has been done (for some reason), or whoever did complete it left this tag (whether or not they've deleted othersz along the way). When I have time to to through it line-by-line (more work than to quickly write something like this, which is to explain things that are clearly not as self-evident as I had thought), maybe I'll be the one to remove the notice to that effect..

I have no doubt that some of my thinkings around these matters (and various site traditions/conventions, which may predate me and do definitely prefate you) are perhaps a little strange. Similarly, I find some of your thinking strange. Or at least what I imagine is your thinkings, based upon your occasional doings. As it is practically impossible to cover all the various aspects of thought (or ideas about your aspects of thought) in an Edit Summary, especially one with "Reverting edit by..." filler already in it, this is to make up for the rather limited and compressed 'explanation' you perhaps had to make do with previously.

And it's only my opinion, albeit based upon site consensus (messy and ever-changing as that is) that I've absorbed from my time here. Perhaps you wish to shift consensus, but I'd of course like you to at least know that ''this is what you're doing''. If you don't know this, your well-meaning attempts to restandardise the groupçsnhive mind may just be more confusing than productive. Perhaps you may want to say "I don't think we should <foo> any more", rather than just de-<foo> everything without warning people that you might be treading on their metaphorical toes. Not that I can stop you, but every now and then I might be seeming to tread on your own toes (with no malicious intent), just because we're dancing to completely different beats. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.216|82.132.246.216]] 17:10, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

:Hi!

There's no reason to remove it until you're removing the whole thing as solved. What even is the benefit of doing so?

:That message is part of the default text for new comics. If someone has changed the incomplete tag, it's harder to notice that a specific reason has been created if the old text is still there. For these reasons, I believe editors are more likely to overlook what's written in the notice, thinking it only contains the default text.

[H]onestly, I restored it not for meta-ontological purposes

:What's a meta-ontological purpose?

the strange removal of the PAGE CREATED BY bit. I appreciate that you may think that it confuses new readers, and I daresay that it does (a little bit), but it probably confuses them more when some new comics have this time-honoured bit of site culture and some do not.

:Two things:
:1. The main reason I remove it is to avoid the above: editors thinking nobody pointed out specific page issues. And not just newer editors, even I sometimes miss an incomplete reason because I SEE THE ALL CAPS TEXT AND THINK NOBODY CHANGED IT. (im not screaming)

:2. Recently, I don't remove the joke from the LATESTCOMIC, unless it's really hard to see the actual incomplete reason.

"CREATED BY A BOT" is basically what it says on the tin, before any human has had a chance to ponder the newly added page,

:That hasn't been the case for months now. Look at the OG versions of the pages. Editors are adding it wholesale.

...though, IMO, you should only normally change it as "first editor" (or "first editor with a good idea ror a joke to put there") with something to contribute into the Explanation and/or Transcript (or will do momentarily), not just as a "FIRST!"-type thing then leave it...
...and you should think twice before changing someone else's joke to your own; perhaps refine it (oapply mild corrections to grammar/spelling/whatever it's trying to reference), but if you just totally "no, MY IDEA!" it, what's to stop the next person going "no, no, MY IDEA!!"? Just accept what's there (or tweak it, honourably), you'll perhaps be able to get (and keep for a reasonable time) the subtle 'bragging rights' to a future comic, if everyone plays nice and doesn't just entirely change it on a whim. Or remove it for no good reason, before the whole tag is considered superfluous anyway...

:I haven't considered this type of edit warring before, and I'm happy to stay away from it. I'm not sure whether the "you" was referring to me specifically, because I only edited the CREATED BY once or twice (i mostly remove it when it's old or hides the real reason a page is incomplete).

adding an "incomplete|X and Y need doing to this page", instead of just doing X and Y to the page, is a waste of edits

:I've been trying to do that less recently

If you haven't time to do it all now, it doesn't need a placeholder to make a note to yourself to come back and do it when you can..

:I thought this use was accepted. I do it because if someone else gets there before me, they can do it themselves. Could you suggest other ways for saving these small-but-needed edits?

unless you've changed it since I last looked, there's at least one "X needs doing" that seems to have been done but the "X needs doing" tag is still there.

:I think I've always removed an incomplete tag I created myself for all comics that aren't the ~20 most recent if, after chacking the page, I notice the editor has forgotten (and I always check the edits within a few days unless im on vacation). Please feel free to remove all my or others' incomplete tags if you notice it's complete. I don't understand why you're saying you noticed one and seemingly didn't remove it? If the editor that fixes the page forgets, it's up to whoever notices first to remove it.

Similarly, I find some of your thinking strange. Or at least what I imagine is your thinkings, based upon your occasional doings.

:Yeah I don't think I've ever explained my removals of the CREATED BY things. To summarise:
:Reason number 1) editors thinking nobody pointed out specific page issues because they think it's still the default notice.
:Reason number 2) the comic is old
:Reason number 3) confuses new users, but in the last year or so I haven't worried about this because I removed the incomplete notices from the [[Main Page]]. Hopefully the newbies will look at the mainpage first.

Perhaps you may want to say "I don't think we should <foo> any more", rather than just de-<foo> everything without warning people that you might be treading on their metaphorical toes.

:It's not that I want the tradition to stop, it's just that it gets in the way of productiveness. A notice is the most powerful thing we have to spread a message, and yet we use it as a joke which sometimes hides what's actually wrong with the page. I wish there were a way to keep the CREATED BY's and still allow for important notices to be highly visible. Currently, if I have to choose one, I choose the latter. Do you have any ideas about this? New templates, edits to the bot script, new fields for the existing template, a different notice type, etc?

:Also, any thoughts on the topic above. Your suggestions are often a good start but then you stop replying :( ㅤ [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:21, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

::Ok, my prior reply seems to have been not posted, for reasons I can only guess (dodgy connection, looked like it happened but I moved on too quick, or didn't notice I'd landed on Edit Conflict, something like that?). But I've also been way too busy to actively ponder if you've not bothered to respond to me, in turn.
::Not going to recompose everything, at length, but Incomplete templates ''easily'' contain the original BOT text/user-version, as long as users don't go over-creative over it. Genuine reasons added to this are still visible. The BOT-original "don't delete this too soon" doesn't become any more superfluous than the now ubiquitous "editing it" link. For as long as the notice is 'new' on a new article, there's no reason at all to squeeze anything out in most circumstances. Don't underestimate the readership.
::If you're adding a box back in for an old article that has passed such 'newness' (or where there never was one), keep it as businesslike as you wish, of course.
::If you have a long, complicated list of things, it's probably a long, complicated article where you can site an Incomplete notice by the side of each troublesome item (as you have done).
::Not going any further, like pointing you back at innumerable 'classic' examples of it all just working (whether new users or old users took the necessary hints), as that was a lot of wasted work from last time I 'replied'. But it's all there in the back-pagesz if you care to look. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.128|82.132.245.128]] 16:45, 5 August 2025 (UTC)

:::Short and sweet reply, I like it! You should have a dodgy connection more often :D I seem to care about the notice much less than you do, so, sure; I'll keep it on relatively new articles and do whatever if it's older and doesn't still have the original. I still wish there were an easier solution, but it's just a notice. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:53, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

== Questions ==

Dear FaviFake

I posted a new question on the Randall question thing. I have no clue how to use the Wiki, but I still did my best to post a question. If I did it wrong please forgive me and I'll do my best next time.

PS. The question I posted is all the way down, at least as I am writing now.

[[User:Little Timmy|Little Timmy]] ([[User talk:Little Timmy|talk]]) 01:30, 29 July 2025 (UTC)Little Timmy[[User:Little Timmy|Little Timmy]] ([[User talk:Little Timmy|talk]]) 01:30, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

:No worries, that was good. You can learn more about editing this wiki on [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ]]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:50, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

==''Restoring the mini [[Comic series]]''==
''The messages regarding the [[Talk:Comic series|definition of a proper "comic series"]] have been moved to '''[[Talk:Comic series]]'''. To add a new topic regarding the comic series, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Comic_series&action=edit&section=new click here].'' --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:46, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
== Leaderboard ==

Wow, you probably know already but I’m just re-reminding you that you fell out of 1st place. Keep up the good contributions! {{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}} [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!| Aprilfoolsupdate!]]([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 09:57, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

:Oh well, I surely care more about [[Special:ContributionScores#All time (Top 50)|this other list]]. Thanks! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:09, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

::I never knew this list existed! I wonder what’s behind it? The “well known” one is <nowiki> {{Special:ContributionScores/50/7/nosort,notools}} </nowiki> I guess, but what’s the one for this list?[[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!| Aprilfoolsupdate!]]([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 13:11, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

:::Who knows! Maybe Mediawiki has the answer. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:20, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

== Small Talk (Or Something Like That) ==

Hey, how's things going? Everything alright? Any wiki-wide events I missed? Really miss how things were before. -Tori '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 15:51, 9 August 2025 (UTC)

:Hi welcome back!!! The only interesting thing imo opinion is that Randall replied to me again, I'm not sure if you saw that, see my userpage. :) --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:39, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

::Oh and the [[Comic series]] page was divided into main series and miniseries and is now just a list of transclusions so we don't have to keep 2 pages up to date. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:41, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

== "I'll omit this part because I'm not sure it should be published." ==
why? [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 09:28, 18 August 2025 (UTC)
:What? could you elaborate? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:37, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
::randall's reply. the answer that starts "Most of those were inside jokes sent to friends [...]" [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 11:44, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Oh right. Some have said it's a bit personal. Now that the sitewide banner's off I'll reinstate it. Thx. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:40, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
:::{{Done}} --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:42, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

== A rational rationale? ==

You know, some people complain about explanations being too long. Copying {{diff|384566|a swathe of wikipedia}} about twice as large as the original explanation text seems about as odd as initially deciding to removing that text (which linked to the page in question, for the curious) ''possibly'' because you personally didn't know about it. It's ok, not everyone does know, even native speakers, but also maybe the treatment originally given to that part could be reworded to slightly more compact. (I liked the flippant bit. But I wouldn't have said it quite like that, myself.) Yet there's some confusion over your underkill-then-overkill approach. And if I was going to rewrite it, it'd be more considered than either excising or copypasting. Could have just been left alone, though. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.85|82.132.237.85]] 17:27, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
:It said singular they was considered incorrect, iirc, which is not really the case nowadays. I did a bit of ce before pasting it; my logic was: either add it back correctly, or remove the wrong part. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:28, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

==Tori and I have an idea==
Please check the proposals board for an idea to subvert the 255 character signature limit. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 17:40, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

==[[:Template:comic discussion 1167]]==
Hi FaviFake. I was looking through the unused templates page to try to do some cleanup on here when I noticed a [[:Template:comic discussion 1167|template]] from back in 2013. You had originally tagged it as a page to delete, but then added a lot more to the template. Since it is still unused and I cannot surmise any purpose for it, I have re-tagged it. Would you mind explaining your thought process? Thanks, '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:36, 10 September 2025 (UTC)
:I don't remember why I used it, probably as a sandbox. It's unnecessary, thanks for flagging it.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:58, 13 September 2025 (UTC)

==Contact Info Google Site==
Hi FaviFake, what is the URL for your Google Site of contact info? I remember that you had posted it on here, but I cannot find it. I was experiencing Cloudflare errors in the past 24 hours and was unable to contact anyone on Explain XKCD. I would greatly enjoy it if we had some other form of communication outside of here. Thanks. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:17, 12 September 2025 (UTC)
:Oh, thank god it's back. I noticed the outage and it seems someone had posted about it on reddit.
:The website is https://sites.google.com/view/FaviFake, you can bookmark it if you want. I noticed you're also on Reddit (and Wikipedia iirc), so I might contact you there if there's a more serious outage. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:58, 13 September 2025 (UTC)

{{Links}}

== Hoverboard ==

I glad that someone has looked at my changes to this game description.

I am sorry, however, that you disagree with my two main points.

Can we discuss?

I see no point in getting into a "reversion war" over comments to a comic.

[[User:Sprucegrouse|Sprucegrouse]] ([[User talk:Sprucegrouse|talk]]) 13:52, 4 October 2025 (UTC)

1608: Hoverboard

2025-10-04T04:07:02Z

Sprucegrouse: Correcting my own typos and similar.

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}

{{TOC}}To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1608|original comic}}!

==Explanation==

Hoverboard is a platforming minigame, whose ostensible goal is collecting gold coins. This [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] appeared on the same date as the release of [[Randall]]'s book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]''.

The title refers to the skateboard-like {{w|hoverboard}} that was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE prominently featured] in the movie {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}. The BTTF movies' hero, {{w|Marty McFly}}, travels to the future in this sequel, to [https://www.facebook.com/October212015BTTF 2015-10-21], to be exact. This comic was released on 2015-11-24, about a month later. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33785285 had actually] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HI137m7XA4 come] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLwNGBB_Yb0 to] [https://www.wired.com/2016/03/hendo-2-hoverboard/ pass] by this date, along with inventions like [https://www.terrafugia.com/ flying] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-1pXbW5wVg cars] and [https://www.soundandvision.com/content/wear-your-music-thinkgeeks-soundtrack-shirt#jo8J1DassbWxlptj.97 musical clothing]. Randall is known to have had [[:Category:Electric skateboard|electric skateboards]], which which are thematically related, and another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]].

===Game Features===

Your player in the game is an {{w|animated}} [[Cueball]] riding a hoverboard that assumes [[#Animation|several different positions]] as it travels. You control your player with the left, up and right arrows, as noted on the start screen. Your player can jump repeatedly and thereby reach ever-increasing heights. You can move him left and right both while jumping and descending. (More under [[#Functionality|Functionality]] and Controls.)

{{spoiler|The best way to enjoy this comic is just to {{xkcd|1608|play the game}}! (Just be sure that you play using a web browser other than Safari.) If you have not yet tried (hard) to play it "cold" already, do so now. Reading beyond this Alert first will deprive you of the best this game has to offer.}}

Your player begins in a maze (called the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/All_play_area_hanging_all_coins.PNG Play Area]). It holds 17 gold coins and contains a "deposit" box. One goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and deposit them quickly. Deposits returns [[#Coins|text messages]] describing the result of the round of play. It may seem to some, at this point, that there is nothing more to the game.

However, just out of view, beyond the maze on either side are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player]. But these walls can be scaled by continuous jumping, allowing the player to exit the maze on both sides, despite the flashing red false warning [[#Coins|error message]]: "'''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area]'''".

If you disregard this, you can take your player, hoverboard Cueball, to explore far beyond the walls to left and right (and above), where there are many points of interest to be found, as well as 152 more [[#Coins|coins]] to collect, 116 on the right and 36 on the left.

All of the interesting places of the game are noted in the references and maps below and on the Extra Hoverboard Pages that are linked there. As a practical matter, however, you can only visit many of the most interesting places only with the help of the JavaScript Goggles hack. Entering Goggles Mode brings up a new pane to the right of the comic that enables you to see secret entrances in otherwise solid surfaces, and to see in the dark after the player enters black spaces.

To open the JavaScript Console, press F12 on PCs, and Command-Option-i on Mac. In the command line under the Console tab, enter: ze.goggles ( ) , making sure your command includes spaces before, between and after the two parens. This will bring up a window to the right of the comic showing black objects that are right next to the player in red. The red marks the spots where the player can pass objects that are black in the game. Cyan lines in the window mark the limits of how far the player can pass in the dark.

Hoverboard's many {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} recall comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. Nonetheless, Hoverboard is xkcd's first actual game, one in which you move an object in front of the drawing. In Click and Drag you only move the drawing into the view section. In the two previous [[April Fools' Day comics]], [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]], the user does not move anything, but only supplies choices, text and drawings. The next {{w|April Fools' Day}} comic contains another game, [[1663: Garden]], in which you also moved objects around and make them disappear (as you do with coins in this game.)

===Main themes===
There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main ones are '''{{w|Star Wars}}''' and '''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'''. Below is a [[#Details and references|list of details and references]] to these movies (19 to SW and 6 to LOTR) as well as much more.

The largest part of the game is located on the '''right side''' of the play area and is dominated by references to ''Star Wars'', notably a recreation of [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=112 the opening scene] in the {{w|Star Wars (film)|first film}}, where {{w|Princess Leia|Princess Leia's}} space ship ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'', also known as ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png The Rebel Blockade Runner]'', is flying over [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png the desert] planet {{w|Tatooine}}. Here it is followed by the {{w|Star Destroyer}}, ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]''. The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png desert ground with these two space ships] above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png commented on] by [[Megan]] who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyer's hull.
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground, but there are three [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png wires from the ground] that connect (and thus guide you) up to ''The Runner'' and from there [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png 100+ torpedoes], which are fired [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down on the Runner] coming [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png from the Destroyer] above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png looking up and reacting] or like [[White Hat]] looking from the tip of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Washington Monument] and reacting [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png by saying]: "Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''."). There is also a giant island floating very high above the flagpost in the left side of the world, with no indication of its existence.

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png such a Destroyer]. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins are located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many, many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png huge cave] with trees and animals. At [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png the bridge] we meet both {{w|Darth Vader}} and the Emperor himself, {{w|Palpatine}}. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance, Darth Vader discusses {{w|Steven Universe}}, bringing up Rose Quartz and Steven himself ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png who can be found with the Crystal Gems] in a different part of the Destroyer).
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a Crystal Gem...
There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the Destroyer, some of these are also Star Wars related like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png the wedding scene] where {{w|Jabba the Hutt}} is mentioned.

To the '''left side''' is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here, the main theme is ''The Lord of the Rings'' mainly with the presence of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png volcano] where for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Megan tries to throw] in {{w|One Ring|''rings'' of power}}, as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the xkcd game represents Mt. Doom. Frodo, {{w|Sauron}}, and {{w|Gandalf}} are all mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text. Two {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png talking about Frodo] and {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien}}, Sauron's name is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png read up by Megan from a book], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure] in the crater and also his name is used in the [[#Coins|message]] you receive if you collect [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG all possible coins].

The two worlds do conflict though, as an {{w|X-wing fighter}} is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png parked at a gas station] to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote ''You shall not pass!'' from his fight against the {{w|Balrog}} is modified by [[Cueball]] who is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png ''not'' trying to block your path] to a coin inside a room in the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that {{w|Andy Serkis}} who played {{w|Gollum}} in LOTR, now plays the {{w|Supreme Leader Snoke}} in the new Star Wars movie, and [https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/6/64/Supremeleader.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/270?cb=20151223201852 his appearance] as Snoke is not that much different from Gollum's. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds one of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Randall would not have known this last part at the time that this comic was released, but he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis' involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/star-trek-fans-rivalry-george-lucas-roddenberry/ naughty reference] to {{w|Star Trek}} from inside [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the bridge] of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a long-haired woman (maybe [[Danish]] since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans and [[Hairbun]] behind her, which could represent Princess Leia with her [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1b/Princess_Leia%27s_characteristic_hairstyle.jpg special hair style]) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_Comparing_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_real_level_1.png complete depiction] of ''[https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png Level 1]'' of the computer game ''{{w|Prince of Persia}}'' down to the three coins being in the place of three items to take in that game, and at least two of the opposing sword fighters in the correct places as well.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' was released on December 14, 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in [[1585: Similarities]], when another movie ({{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot ''BB-8'' that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section could be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although {{w|the Hobbit}} has been released as {{w|The Hobbit (film series)|three films}} over the previous three Christmases it was Star Wars that dominated the Christmas a month after this comic's release.

===Extra Hoverboard pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size). These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]]''' - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]''' - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the [[#Environment|Environment]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages]]''' - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the [[#Secret passages and hidden places|Secret passages and hidden places]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/All image links]]''' It is linked from the [[#All images|All images]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins]]''' It is linked from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots]]''' It can be linked from several sections, but among others from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]]''' It will be linked from the [[#Details and references|list of details and references]], which will be using these images in the explanation.

===Characters===
Almost all main [[:Category:Characters|characters]] in the xkcd gallery are used more than once, especially there are three characters that are used several times. Number one is of course [[Cueball]] (with close to 90 appearances) who is already shown at the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png starting point]. He is also the first character seen when walking both [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png right] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png left] (where he speaks the first line to the left).

Then follows [[Megan]] with at least 40 appearances, she is even shown twice in the same location three times, one of these three even occurs within one of the [https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png small images]. She is also shown with Cueball in his first appearance to the left, and she is the first to speak a line to the right [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png here].

Also [[Ponytail]] is well represented with 26 appearances (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png here)].

[[Hairy]] (with different hair styles) is used 7 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png here]) and [[Hairbun]] is used 5 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png here)].

Two of the main characters are used twice: [[Beret Guy]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png here]) and [[White Hat]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png here]).

The only exception is that the main villain of xkcd [[Black Hat]] who is very hard to find. He is only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png shown once] in the comic where he very uncharacteristically just sits and snores at the right wall in the cave inside the Destroyer (is it really him...?). The only other hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png on a stick] under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not that kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see [[405: Journal 3]]). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could also be any of the Cueballs close by…

Also [[Blondie]] seems to be only represented once, while in her reporter mode while discovering a bug before the volcano as can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png here].

There are also several characters that are not recognizable as either any of the standard xkcd characters or in any other way (see for instance a few of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding guests]). But there are possibly some of the minor characters are used like [[Danish]] at the bridge in the Blockade Runner ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png here]) but this cannot be confirmed, she just looks like her and has some similarities teasing the Star Wars fan.

Several places in the comic it is clear from the size and the behavior that some of the characters are kids, see for instance the Blondie image mentioned above, where two kids looking like Megan and Hairy stand behind her, but they would in principle not be Megan or Hairy despite appearance, as these named characters are adults.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books, and shows; for instance Darth Vader ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png here]), Gandalf ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png here]) and Steven Universe ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png here]) all three mentioned above, and some real life people: you can find [[Elon Musk]], who has a [[#Secret passages and hidden places|hidden lair]] under the Volcano (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png here]), and Gregor Mendel, hanging out on a Star Destroyer with a pea plant.

Furthermore, there are many animals (like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png the puma and the deer]) in the cave, some even rather big like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png octopus] or even gigantic like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] (all three from inside the Destroyer). There are also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each spaceship ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png here from the Destroyer]).

==Environment==
This is the whole comic image, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red. See also a collection of different [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!
[[File:1608 full.png|1300px|link=1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]

===Secret passages and hidden places===
There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. You might have discovered this yourself if you stayed in the play area, as the platform below the inverted parentheses is only solid at the edges. Some of these places out of the play area even hide secret passages or hidden rooms. You can reveal them by [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1608:_Hoverboard#Cheats_and_Exploits activating goggles mode].

One notable hidden area is Elon Musk's volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here without using goggles mode even if you know it is there. (For more details, see [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages|secret passages]].)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the {{w|Washington Monument}}, which is almost the highest point with solid ground. It is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. Even if you go up enough, you will almost miss it, as the Monument is not aligned to the island. (The [[#Viewers|maps]] can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. Getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG Gandalf-like wizard]. (See more regarding [[#Coins|coins]] below.)

===Coins===
There are 169 total coins in the comic. For more details, see the [[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins|coins location]]. The highest-located coin in the game is beside the large rock on Rock Island, while the lowest-located coin is a toss-up between the one in the volcano lair, in the well, and on the rogue wave talking to Cueball. (There's also a coin under the lava but it's not at the bottom of the room.) On top of the eggs in the stork nest, on the far right of the image, there are ten coins. These are the most coins that can be collected in one place outside the play area.

The Coins are not part of the drawing, as they are added later and are superimposed on top of the comic image. This means they are always on top of the black parts of the image, even in secret paggsages. There are no coins located over any part of the solid bedrock or walls in the comic, but sometimes they coins are placed over some of the black parts that you can walk through. See example here [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_with_coin_1070_1095.png with coin] vs. [https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png without coin]. The coin is here a lamp, and then when it is removed it reveals an exploded lamp and also one more insect. See a picture here of the coin delivery after [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Reaching all the boundaries|reaching all coins and all the boundaries]].

Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector. The table contains examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
In Chrome and Firefox, there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined". Safari, as noted elsewhere, is not recommended. See [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Coin collecting messages|screen-shots]] or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
!# coins
!Text when depositing this number of coins
"X" is the number of coins collected
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/0_coins.PNG 0 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 0 coins in 1 second''' You successfully avoided all the coins.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1_coin.PNG 1 coin]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got a single coin in 1 second''' It's a start.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/2_coins.PNG 2]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/4_coins.PNG 4 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 3 seconds''' Not bad!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/5_coins.PNG 5]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/9_coins.PNG 9 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 12 seconds''' Terrific!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/10_coins.PNG 10]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/55/16_coins.PNG 16 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 10 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG 17 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 17 coins in 15 seconds''' You found all the coins! Great job!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/18_coins.PNG 18-41 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 430 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/42_coins.PNG 42 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 42 coins in 460 seconds''' No answers here.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d8/45_coins.PNG 43-168 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 460 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG All 169 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds''' Are you Gandalf?
|}

Once you leave the play area, you get a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG flashing warning message] in red letters at the bottom of the screen:
{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"| '''Return to the play area'''
|}
This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time). Then, it pauses for about 1.3 seconds and repeats five times, flashing a total of 15 times in just about 11.3 seconds. The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period. If you re-enter later, it will flash once you leave again. The play area is anything within and below the middle part of the walls just outside the starting maze.

===Boundaries===
The whole map is 1920 pixels wide, for a length of 10,656' or 3247.9488m. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground preventing you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves. In the upward direction there is theoretically also an invisible wall, but while jumping, [[Cueball]] and his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you jump; in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for Cueball to fall down again once the button is released. So, although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. When the comic was first released, it could have been possible that there were some hidden unexplored parts. Shortly after it was posted, however, a [[#Viewers|map]] was created which covered the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest).

To the far left is a blond woman wearing her hair in a bun, looking right. She tells you about the Destroyer, should you have gone this way without finding it yet.
:Woman: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

The highest straight rise into the air to something other than white is Rock Island, just left of and very high over the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of the Island, you are standing almost as high up as possible (the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tad higher). There is a coin here one step next to the rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over Rock Island's edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game.

As for the deepest parts of the image, the volcano lair and the deep well (halfway to the volcano on the left) are tied. The deepest part where you can stand, however, is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rogue wave is talking to Cueball:
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ... But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.

Taking a route through all the extremes mentioned here (the lowest, highest, leftmost, and rightmost solid positions within the game) can be achieved in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. It takes 1 minute and 52 to get from the starting point to the leftmost edge. While we do not have a definite speed for the hoverboard, we can obtain the dimensions of the map by using the Washington monument. Assuming it reflects the real-life dimension of the monument, it is 100 pixels tall, while the actual monument is 555'. This means that 1 pixel is about 5.55 real-world inches.

===All images===
Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for the (1000, 1074) starting point image.] '''Here is a page with a table of all the links to images: [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]].''' The individual images are so small and cut off at "random" intervals, so you will often be unable to see both a person what they're sayin in the same image.
See for instance this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding scene] to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as they are in the link): [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1073+s.png (1037, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1074+s.png (1037, 1074)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1074+s.png (1038, 1074)]

The maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180. Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). The total possible images in the y-direction are 44. Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction) Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)

The number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which don't even have a number/or active link on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate. The same also goes for the X coordinate: above X=1076 there are also many non-existing images with not active link. All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are non-existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank/white empty air in the game. If you try to load one of the completely blank images like [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1077+s.png (1000, 1077)], three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.

Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1076+s.png (1000, 1076)]. There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or underground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076. For instance, the image below the starting point is completely black [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1073+s.png (1000, 1073)], and so are the next three below. The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1069+s.png (1000, 1069)]. All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1069+s.png (1107, 1069)] (this is not the case to the far left at [https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1069+s.png (928, 1069)]). You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually, you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white. This picture with the wave at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)] gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand. Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1072+s.png (1022, 1072)], which is of course completely black.

Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:

*At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png (1078, 1112)] there are 36 active images. Thus, even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).

*These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last twelve images above this are missing it is still four less than under the bridge.

*Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like [https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)], there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).

*Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the height here going up to 1088, thus also making it twenty active Y images. The only '''not''' completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles [https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)].

==Details and references==
On the page [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]], images covering all individual scenes (in full size and with coins) has been saved and uploaded to be used for reference in the [[#Table with references|table]] below from where they are linked directly. There are also several overviews in smaller resolution. Almost all these images have been made using this [https://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages] which includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of user [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on this [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 Reddit thread].

===References to Thing Explainer===
Some of the scenes in this comic reference the pictures in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. Here are some examples:

*[[1133: Up Goer Five]], the comic that was the impetus for the book. These are both referenced in this game by the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png space capsule] used for re-entry by the astronauts that flew to the moon using the {{w|Saturn V|Saturn Five}} rocket. This capsule is floating down over the plateau before the volcano to the left.

*In ''Sky Toucher'', the last entry explaining a skyscraper, there are several references to the game, one of these being the space capsule just mentioned above. Other references:
**Ponytail throwing a paper plane out, which she also does [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png below the bridge] of the Destroyer. (This is also a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/1110 Click and Drag] where [https://imgs.xkcd.com/clickdrag/6n2w.png Cueball does the same], here even from a skyscraper).
**Cueball is setting up a kite and Ponytail is crawling up in the line. In the comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite]. Being up in a kite is also referenced in both [[235: Kite]] and in the title text of [[1614: Kites]] (from just a few weeks after the release of this comic.)
**There is a floor in the middle of the building with trees, just like there is a cave inside the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png with a tree "inside"].
**Cueball is holding a fishing rod out over the side of the building letting the hook hand in the air. The same [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png can be seen] under the Rebel Blockage Runner.
**Megan is using a skateboard in a strange ellipsoid-shaped room. This can be a reference both to where Megan is seen on a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png skateboard inside a hamster ball] and to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png globe of death] at the top of the bridge on the Destroyer.
**There is a car in the top section of the tower (long away from the parking cellar in the basement). There are two [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png cars inside] the Destroyer, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png one of them] deep inside with no easy access to the outside.
**Two people are standing on a cloud, one of them (Megan) jumps out from it. This is similar to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png two base jumpers] on the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png rock island].
*In the ''Red world space car'' explaining (about the {{w|Curiosity Rover}} on {{w|Mars}}) there are two references to the scenes around the Rebel Blockade Runner:
**Curiosity toasts a marshmallow over a fire as does Megan and Cueball over the exhaust pipe at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the rear of the Runner].
**When Curiosity is set down on Mars by the {{w|Mars Science Laboratory}} (MSL), lowered down in wires below the MSL, the wires were released once the rover was down and then it flies away. In the book Megan is hanging from one of these wires when it flies away. This is similar to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Megan hanging in one of the anchor lines] going from the ground up to the Runner.

*In ''The USS Laws of the Land'' about the ship called {{w|USS Constitution}} (named after the {{w|United States Constitution}} which is explained in the entry just before this one), there are two references to this comic:
**There is both a giant octopus' arm (marked as ''not real'') and a very large octopus under the ship. The shape of the octopus is the same as the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png silhouette of a giant octopus] inside the Destroyer. Octopuses like this are often used in xkcd, and they are also included in the explanation about ''Writing sticks'' (as the source of ink for the pens), as a motive in ''Picture taker'' and in ''Tree of life''. As an example, from another xkcd comic with octopuses see for instance [[435: Purity]].
**There is also a bowling alley in the hull of the ship - a reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png hamster ball bowling] in the left part of the world. Bowling is also used two other places in the book, namely on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and a bowling alley is used for measuring length in ''How to count things''.

*Ants are used three times in the book. A zoom-in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' about geological ages of the Earth, and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others; an ant queen, a clear reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] in the Destroyer. They are of course also in the ''Tree of life''.

*Basketball is shown twice in this comic ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png left of volcano] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png on top of Destroyer]). In the book the size of different ''Playing Fields'' is one of the stories, and it included the field for basketball (i.e. ''circle ball'').

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png huge foot] before the pyramid look like the foot used in the explanation for ''How to count things'' to describe the wight "one kilo" using a picture labeled ''one foot'' (i.e. not the length one foot, as the length is given in meters). A similar experience to the one in [[526: Converting to Metric]].

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png giant light bulb] towards the bottom rear end of the Destroyer is a reference to the entry on {{w|tungsten}} in the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' (i.e. the {{w|periodic table}}). In the book a {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb|light bulb}} is shown and then an arrow points to the {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb#Filament|filament}} which is made of tungsten in the typical {{w|Thomas Edison|Edison}} light bulbs.

*In the explanation for ''Box that cleans food holders'' (Dishwasher) Ponytail yells ''Wheee!'' as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach (bottom left). This is similar to her position and movement in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png colon like structure] inside the Destroyer and Cueball also sliding in this colon yells ''Wheee!''

*In the explanation for ''Bending computer'' Ponytail comes racing on her bike with a laptop on top of the handlebars. She is also seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png racing a bike down the slope of the volcano].

===References to other comics===
There are also many references to other xkcd comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png ball pit] filled with '''[[:Category:Playpen balls|playpen balls]]''', and two adults playing in it, like in [[150: Grownups]]. Also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png the well] in the left part of the world with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png a girl and a coin] at the bottom is likely a reference to the movie ''The Ring'', which has been referenced before in xkcd. Wells have also come up in xkcd in [[561: Well]] and [[568: Well 2]].

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal '''skateboard'''. This is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png used by Megan] in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a {{w|hamster ball}}. There is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png another hamster ball], with a kid (looking like Megan) inside. It is used in a more than human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game to the left. '''Hamster balls''' is another item that has been [[:Category:Hamster balls|prominently featured]] in xkcd.

In the weeks prior to the publication, and especially the weeks after, there were also other comics that had a subject which could refer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:

*[[1600: MarketWatch]] - the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png first that is encountered] in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the base] of the monument to make sure we know it is the Washington monument, and another [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the top] of the monument referring to the {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|aluminum apex}} that constitutes the very tip of the monument, which was very expensive at the time it was installed in 1884, when aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. Today it would not make anyone rich from the metal alone, although the tip would be worth a lot for other historical reasons, but this is not what Cueball's comment is about.
::Cueball to Megan at the bottom: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
::Cueball to White Hat at the tip: Look at that- solid aluminum! We're gonna be rich!

*[[1610: Fire Ants]] - in this game there is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png giant ant queen] inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs. See also [[1641: Hot Dogs]] where Cueball has a similar style conversation, with the same ''Eww'' ending as with the ant queen:
::Cueball: What's up?
::Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
::Cueball: Eww.

*[[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] - this is about super volcanoes, vs. [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png the Volcano], Mount Doom in the game as indicated by Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png throwing rings into the lava]:
::Megan at the edge of the volcano crater: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.

*[[1614: Kites]] - Megan is seen with a kite, and in this comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite] to the left towards Mount Doom.

*[[1620: Christmas Settings]] - another Star Wars reference to {{w|lightsaber}} noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Ponytail practicing] on the Rebel Blockade Runner, and with a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png kid about to hit a Piñata] in the Destroyer.

*[[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]] - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not yet real (only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png in this game]).

*[[1630: Quadcopter]] - in this comic three quadcopters act together to abduct Cueball. Thus, making them sentient, like the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png quadcopter who is speaking to another] over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crater to the left.
::Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.

*[[1632: Palindrome]] - a reference to the famous palindrome about the Panama canal: "''A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''", and thus also to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png song that Cueball sings] at the ruin to the right, where the first four lines is mashup of the palindrome and {{w|Spider-Man_(theme_song)|the Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]):
::Cueball singing:
:::Spider-man
::::Spider-plan
:::Spider-canal
::::Spider-Panama
:::Gates let in
::::Spider boats
:::Flood the locks
::::Spiders float
:::''Look out!''
:::Spiders in both oceans.

*[[735: Floor]] Instead of pretending the floor is lava as in the comic, they stand by the lava pretending that it is the floor.

===All references===
The contents of the comic are documented in the table below. The table first goes through the entire image from left to right along the ground (i.e., going up the volcano and down in the lair, down the well and up to the top of the Washington Monument.) Then, it goes back to the Rebel Runner, and after that follows the torpedoes up to the Star Destroyer. Finally, it goes through the Star Destroyer from tip to rear in four sections, taking everything within each section top to bottom, before moving on to the next section. In the table are the following columns:

*'''Description''' of the scene depicted in the overview links. If the scene is a zoomed-out overview that covers the images below, its explanation is in '''bold'''. This can be used as a guide to where in the image the scenes are located, unless you sort by column.

*'''Transcript'''. Any text has only been transcribed once. If some scenes overlap, the text has only been written in the first or the one where the text is most central. Also, overviews that has been zoomed out aren'ttranscribedd and are listed as (N/A). However, (None) means the scene doesn't contain text. By sorting the transcript, the scenes with text are shown first.

*'''Overview links'''. There can be many, but the first will always be the overview. If there are secret passages or hiddend environment, two versions of the images are included. The second version, ''Hidden passages in red'', marks these passages in red instead of black.

*'''Tiles (X, Y)'''. For the standard images, there is also a link to the defining image tile on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

*'''References'''. Three things are referenced many times, and each has their own column so the table can be sorted on these:
**'''SW''': {{w|Star Wars}}
**'''LOTR''': {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}
**'''TE''': [[Thing Explainer]]
**'''Other'''. There is also a column for "other" types of references so they can also be sorted, without drowning in the three recurring types of references. These can also be sorted, since they start with "Comics:", "Movies:", etc.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" | Description
! rowspan="2" | Transcript
! rowspan="2" | Overview links
! colspan="2" | Tiles (X, Y)
! colspan="4" | References
! rowspan="2" | Explanation
|-
! Main
! Second
! {{abbr|S W|References to STAR WARS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|L O T R|References to THE LORD OF THE RINGS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|T E|References to THING EXPLAINER (Randall's book)}}
! Other
|-
|'''Everything Left of play area.'''|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Section of the image revealed when going left of the starting point.
|-
|Entire Volcano plateau.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d5/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3d/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|About halfway from the Play Area to the volcanos slope, there is a steep plateau. This is the part left of this plateau.
|-
|Woman with white hair bun at the left end of world looking right.
|
:Woman: In the sky,
:Woman: beyond the mountain,
:Woman: I saw a starship.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0928x1082y_At_the_end_of_all_things.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1082+s.png (928, 1082)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The woman at the left end of the world tells about the Star Destroyer in the right part of the world. There are four coins in front of her to anyone coming this far.
|-
|Coin and boulders.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0933x1083y_Coin_and_boulders.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/933:-1083+s.png (933, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/935:-1083+s.png (935, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|A single coin hangs in the air above the rocky ground with giant boulders.
|-
|'''Entire Volcano.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_Entire_Volcano_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Comic: [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]]
|The comic released a week after this one is about a super volcano made in a science fair experiment. As can be seen there is a lair beneath the lava lake. The entrance is revealed by the other link that turns the hidden passages to red. It is for sure possible to get stuck in the lava lake, as everything becomes black in the game when going beneath the surface.
|-
|'''Left Volcano Top.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_0943x1087y_Left_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A zoom out of the left rim of the volcanic crater.
|-
|Basketball on the volcano.
|
:Ponytail: OK, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/936:-1084+s.png (936, 1084)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is a reference to {{w|Pompeii}} a Roman town-city near modern Naples, which has become famous when it was discovered that it had been preserved in the ash when it was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft.) of volcanic ash in the eruption of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} in AD 79. When it was {{w|Pompeii#Rediscovery|found again}} it turned out that people had been surprised by the ash, and thus buried alive. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when they died. This is what Ponytail wishes for her and Megan, when the volcano they are standing on erupts, a rather morbid wish. She wants their sweet basketball moves to be preserved for eternity. In ''Playing Fields'' in TE basketball is mentioned. It is also played on top of the Destroyer close to the bridge. In this case the coin is on top of the basket, but too large to go into the hoop.
|-
|Old man walking up the volcano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_0937x1085y_Old_man_walking_up_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/937:-1085+s.png (937, 1085)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Is it an old man who just walks up a mountain, or a young man using a walking stick? It makes quite a difference to how this scene is viewed.
|-
|Duck at the left crater top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/41/1608_0940x1087y_Duck_at_the_left_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/940:-1087+s.png (940, 1087)]
|
|
|
|
|
|A duck is sitting at the top of the crater. There are several birds in this comic. Another duck looking the other way is found on top of the flag pole near the base of the Washington Monument.
|-
|Megan’s treasure hoard.
|
:Megan: Gooooold!
:Megan: Goold!
:Bags: $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/43/1608_0941x1084y_Megans_treassure_hoarde.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1084+s.png (941, 1084)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1083+s.png (941, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|In the side of the crater there is a small cave where Megan has found a treasury hoard and she is celebrating all the gold she has found, including two coins.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lake.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b1/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left.png Zoom in left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/02/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_0946x1080y_Lava_lake_Upper_shaft_red.png Shaft in lake in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/94/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center.png Zoom in central part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/25/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire Right part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair.png Shaft into lair below] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|These images only cover the part beneath the surface where there is actually still lava, as can be seen in the images where ''Hidden passages in red''. Only the top of the lair below is shown here. From the hidden passage it is here possible to see how to enter this lair. In the images that shows the hidden part the two loose boulders that float (or are outcrops) in the right part of the lake can be seen as well as the two other holes in the lava lakes floor, which all explain why it is easy to get stuck in the lake once you go below the surface and move around. Since everything is black, you do not even know if the game still works and many people may have given up, maybe reloading after not being able to get on with the game. There is no place in the lake where you can get really stuck, as long as you just push upwards while changing direction from left to right, you are bound to get out sooner or later.
|-
|Rock with Gandalf in Lava lake.
|
:Megan: If you breathe out through you nose a little as you jump in, it can keep you from getting lava in you nasal passages.
:Cueball: Artex!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1083+s.png (944, 1083)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Film: {{w|The Neverending Story}}
|The wizard on the rock represents Gandalf from LOTR. What Megan tells Cueball works fine with water, not so much with lava. The horse Artax (pronounced Artex in the film) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y688upqmRXo drowns in the swamp of sadness] while Atreyu tries to save it and yells its name. Drowning in a swamp sucks, but doing so in lava will make death swifter. Both situations, however, indicate that you can actually go into the lava. If playing for the first time and becoming uncertain what would happen if the hoverboard touched the lava, the player might actually not even try to go into the lava, thus for certain would miss finding the lair beneath the lava.
|-
|Quadcopters over lava lake right.
|
:Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/950:-1084+s.png (950, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|Comics: [[1630: Quadcopter]] and in general those about [[:Category:Robots|Robots]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|AI]]
|The comic was released shortly after this one, and is about AI quadcopters that abduct Cueball. One of these {{w|quadcopters}} tells the other that no one will think much of their volcano footage if they actually survive. I.e. they have to get too close to the bubbling surface to survive before they actually obtain the footage wished for. It sounds like it tries to instill courage in them to perform this deadly task. There is a coin below the left copter. Drones has become a [[:Category:Drones|recurrent subject]] xkcd.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lair.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The three rooms of the volcanic lair (and the entrance haft in the image with hidden passages in red).
|-
|Trending on twitter cave in lair and Lava lake bottom shaft.
|
:Cueball: What news of the world above? Please, tell me- what's hot and viral? ''What's trending on Twitter?!!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6e/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2a/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1079+s.png (944, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1079+s.png (945, 1079)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Social networking|Social networking]]
|Cueball has been stuck below the lava for some times without access to the internet, and he now craves news from the world above. But it is not really news stories he craves but only the hot and viral videos and what is trending on {{w|Twitter}}. To be addicted to social networks and viral videos is probably a real infliction and it is a pain for Cueball to not be able to get on-line. Two coins are behind him.
|-
|Elon Musk’s cave in lair.
|
:Left Cueball: I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be like... Tropical. And ...Well, ''pleasant''.
:[[Elon Musk]] in the high chair: Back to your desks, swine!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1074+s.png (945, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/946:-1074+s.png (946, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk|Elon Musk]]
|It turns out that this is [[Elon Musk]]'s lair. Having a secret lair with a hidden entrance is an often uses trope in films. Often it would be the villain (like in a {{w|James Bond}} film) that has such a place, but also heroes, like {{w|Batman}}, uses such hiding places. The joke here is that Cueball has assumed that Elon Musk, an extraordinarily rich and enterprising man, which could be one of these megalomaniacs that might end up being a super villain, would have a bit more class over his secret lair. It also turns out that Elon sits in the cave and shouts at his workers to get back to work, even calling them names. There is also a coin here.
|-
|Ground symbol in lair.
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:Ponytail: So ''this'' is where it is.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/947:-1073+s.png (947, 1073)]
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|The antenna looking item hanging from the ceiling is the embodiment of the {{w|Ground_%28electricity%29#Electronics|Earth ground symbol}} commonly used in circuit diagrams for electronics. So this is where the Earth is grounded in "real life" and finally Ponytail has found it. To protect themselves i their long search for this Ponytail and Megan seem to be wearing {{w|Antistatic_wrist_strap|antistatic wrist straps}}. This may also be a reference to the Circuit Diagram comic in which a ground is labeled as "bury deep, but not too deep"
|-
|'''Right Volcano Top'''
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra.png Extra zoom out] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|A zoom out of the right rim of the volcanic crater. In the extra zoom out the eagles can be seen as well, they are high enough to be missed entirely when moving along the crater surface.
|-
|Ring of power and lave floor at the right crater top.
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:Megan: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.
:Girl with hair bun: Let's play a game where the lava is the floor of a house.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/952:-1087+s.png (952, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/953:-1087+s.png (953, 1087)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Megan tells Cueball that one of the many rings she throws into the crater is probably a {{w|One Ring|''ring'' of power}}, a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. From her last comment, ''or whatever'', it seems she doesn't care too much, which make it clear, from the LOTR universe, that neither of these rings in the one ring. It would not have be this easy throwing them into the lava if it had been. There seems to be 16 rings, which is less than the other rings that are ruled by the one ring, the 9 for the humans, the 7 for the dwarfs and the 3 for the elves (19 plus the one ring 20 rings in total).

The two girls are playing a dangerous game, the exact opposite of the normal version of the children’s game {{w|Hot lava (game)|Hot lava}}, where they pretend the floor in the house is made out of lava, and that you die if you touch it. However, in this version of the game they pretend to play that the lava is the floor in a house, and they may then just walk out into the lava pool, where they would die.
|-
|Megan sliding down slope on snow sleigh.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_0956x1085y_Megan_sliding_down_slope_on_snow_sleigh.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1085+s.png (956, 1085)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1086+s.png (956, 1086)]
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|Megan is sliding fast down the crater side. She will hit a jump near the coin, and would probably fly a considerable distance given the speed she seems to have.
|-
|Eagles over right crater top.
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:Left eagle: Tolkien said Frodo left the cloak somewhere over here.
:Right eagle: Can't ''he'' just fix it?
:Left eagle: He doesn't want to rewrite that chapter.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Frodo's mithril cloak was taken from him at Cirith Ungol, which, along with other items, was recovered by Gandalf and returned to him at Minas Tirith. Some readers have been confused by this turn of events however, due to it not being present in some versions of the movie adaptation. Two of the {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} from LOTR flies above the right crater top. In this situation the eagles are being used to find {{w|Frodo|Frodo's}} cloak, with one eagle complaining that "he", meaning {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}} the author of LOTR, should just fix the issue without the eagles. This is a reference to the eagles use in LOTR as a {{w|Deus ex machina|deus ex machina}} and the [https://periannath.com/feature/why-doesnt-frodo-just-ride-an-eagle-to-mount-doom/ supposed plot hole] of the eagles not [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Eagles#Flying_the_Ring_to_Mount_Doom flying the ring to mordor]. However, this was of course not possible before Sauron and his ringwraiths were defeated.
|-
|Ponytail racing down the steep slope on a bike.
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:Ponytail: 114 mph!
:Ponytail: Suck it, previous downhill volcano record-holder!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/958:-1083+s.png (958, 1083)]
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|Ponytail is trying to break the world record for downhill race on a bike on a volcano. The {{w|Cycling_records#History_of_downhill_records|record}} at the time of this comic was from 2002 and was 107 mph (172 km/h) easily beaten by the 114 mph (183 km/h) that Ponytail reaches as she mocks the previous record holder. There were two different records, one for prototype bike by {{w|Éric Barone}} (the 107 mph (172 km/h)) and one for serial production bicycle (102.5 mph (164.95 km/h) set in 2011 by {{w|Markus Stöckl}}). She beat them both and it looks like a very ordinary bike she rides. The all-time record for downhill racing is not using the ashy slopes on volcanos but from racing on snow, and here the record is not in danger from Ponytail as it is a staggering 138 mph (222 km/h) again with a lesser record for serial produced bikes of 130 mph (210 km/h). She will soon hit a rock outcrop so hopefully she has very good brakes...
|-
|Tell my wife why you left me there, and Megan and Cueball with a device
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:Right Cueball: If I don't make it back...
:Right Cueball: ...Tell my wife...
:Right Cueball: ...Where I am...
:Right Cueball: ...And why you left me there…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_0960x1081y_Tell_my_wife_why_you_left_me_there.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/960:-1081+s.png (960, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/961:-1081+s.png (961, 1081)]
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|''If I don't make it back'' is a common [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfIDoNotReturn trope] in films and books used when the speaker is about to make a noble sacrifice. The speaker will then usually tell the other to go tell his wife that he died bravely or that his friends should remember him. There is even a [https://vimeo.com/58319575 song] with the same title by {{w|Tracy Lawrence}}. In Cueball's case, both him and his companion are attempting to scale a dangerous mountain and neither are inclined to sacrifice their own lives for the other. Cueball appears to be struggling, climbing on all fours while his friend is standing. Subverting the trope, he attempts to guilt trip his friend into helping him.

Also here are Megan with some kind of device and Cueball on top of a large boulder. Maybe they are investigating the environment on the volcanic slope. Cueball has just discovered the coin hanging above them.
|-
|It becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts and Ponytail and Cueball on the slope
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:Megan: This is currently a V2, but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0962x1080y_It_becomes_a_V7_if_the_volcano_erupts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/962:-1080+s.png (962, 1080)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/963:-1079+s.png (963, 1079)]
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|Megan and Cueball climb a very steep part of the mountain slope. In {{w|bouldering}}, the relative difficulty of a bouldering problem is graded using the {{w|Grade (bouldering)|V scale}}. She exclaims that at the moment the climb is only a V2, but if the volcano erupts this would increase to V7. The joke is that the shaking ground and the lava resulting from the eruption would obviously make it harder to complete the bouldering problem without getting killed. In reality, passing environmental conditions do not affect the grade that a bouldering problem receives.
|-
|Megan reading for children about Sauron’s ring.
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:Megan: "The time has come" the Walrus said, and put on a Sauron's ring…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1078+s.png (964, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1079+s.png (964, 1079)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|The line ""The time has come" the Walrus said, to talk of many things" is from the poem {{w|The Walrus and the Carpenter}} by {{w|Lewis Carroll}}'s book {{w|Through the Looking-Glass}}, the sequel to {{w|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland}}. {{w|Sauron}} is the main enemy in LOTR, the one who has made the ring, and now needs it to gain his powers back. In this mixed poem the second line is changed but follows the same rhyme scheme. But although ''rings'' would have rhymed with ''things'', it of course have to ''ring'' as the {{w|walrus}} can only put the {{w|One Ring|one ring of power}} on, while uttering the now much more ominous sounding phrase ''The time has come''. Megan is reading this poem/story at the base of the volcano Mount Doom where the ring was created and later destroyed. Like Frodo, Sauron is one of the characters from LOTR who is only mentioned, not shown, in the comic.
|-
|Vaping Earth.
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:Cueball: The Earth is vaping.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_0969x1077y_Vaping_Earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/969:-1077+s.png (969, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/968:-1077+s.png (968, 1077)]
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|{{w|Vaping}} is a term used instead of smoking for the use of electronic cigarettes. There is even a game called the {{w|Vaping game}} for blowing extra large clouds of vapor out while using these substitutes for cigarettes. Cueball remarks that here it is the Earth that does so, due to the volcanic activity of the nearby volcano.
|-
|'''Left of play area to Kite.'''
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/80/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|This is the area from below the volcano's slope and towards the play area. There are several hidden places and pools that can be seen in the second image link.
|-
|Kite and weird bug.
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:Mom: Check out this one weird bug, discovered by a local mom.
:Girl: Oh my God, mom, stop saying everything like that.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/970:-1077+s.png (970, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/972:-1077+s.png (972, 1077)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic [[1614: Kites]] and in general the [[:Category:Kites|kite category]]. Also the [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait category]]
|The comic was released only two weeks after this game, and although it is clearly a girl in this comic, she looks like Megan who sets up the kite in the next comic. There is also a kite in ''Sky Toucher'' in TE and kites is a recurring theme in xkcd.

The mother that discovers the bug is [[Blondie]]. She talks like she is one of the {{w|clickbait}} headlines used for getting people to click in on the link generally aimed at generating online advertising revenue, which fits nicely with her recurring theme of as a news anchor. Her daughter is tired of this, especially as it seems like the mother speaks like that all the time. This may embarrass the girl, especially if she is with a friend rather than a brother. Maybe the mother has been reading too many clickbait news on-line? As noted in the other references ''clickbait'' is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother is near a small lake, so it is likely that there is plenty of insects and other bugs. It is possible to sink into the lake as can be seen in the second image with the hidden parts shown in red.
|-
|Space capsule with parachutes.
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:Bird thinking: I don't remember laying these but ''wow'' they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch.

:Cueball: Yes! My phone has a signal.
:Voice from inside: How many new likes did we get during reentry?
:Cueball: I'm checking!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1079+s.png (976, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1080+s.png (976, 1080)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic : [[1133: Up Goer Five]]
|The book TE was based on the comic ''Up Goer Five'' which was about the rocket that took this space capsule to the moon. When it lands it uses three large parachutes to slow down after the main brake-down during reentry. On top of these sits a bird looking like a hen. It is a hen that can think, but it is still not very clever. It believes that this is three eggs, and is amazed that they are already flying before they hatch, which is of course ridiculous, but they do float in the air...

The astronauts inside (two at least, but there should be three if it was one of the moon landing missions) has just been waiting to get close enough to Earth again that they can get a signal on their smart phones. Cueball is even opening the hatch during descend to increase this chance, which would be highly dangerous. Also normally they would land in water (which will though not be the case this time). The reason he does this is that they wish to know how many more likes they (and their mission) has received during the reentry. This would have been relevant if the moon landings had taken place today. There where no social media or internet back in 1969. This is similar to the Cueball who is trapped in the lava lair without connection to Twitter.
|-
|Girl running to other girl and small forest.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_0978x1077y_Girl_running_to_other_girl_and_small_forrest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/978:-1077+s.png (978, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1077+s.png (976, 1077)]
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|Just two young girls playing near a forest of low trees. But with the space capsule above the forest.
|-
|Entire well - zoom out.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Comics in the [[561: Well|Well series]].
|There are many similarities in this well to the [[561: Well|Well series]]. Someone is looking into a well that has the same general appearance and there is a person inside which turned out to be the case in [[568: Well 2]]. People throw coins into it and there is a coin at the bottom in the game (although above the water.)
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|Well top.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0980x1077y_Well_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1077+s.png (980, 1077)]
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|Cueball looks into the deep well.
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|Well bottom.
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:Girl: I'm not a ghost. I just like wells.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1073+s.png (980, 1073)]
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|At the bottom of the well in the water (see also the hidden passages image) is a girl. Above to the left of her is a coin. Maybe thrown in by Cueball at the top. Ghost living in wells is a common theme, for instance there is a Japanese movie {{w|Banchō Sarayashiki}} whose [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202946/releaseinfo English title] is ''Ghost in the Well''. So, this is why this real girl explains that she is actually not a ghost, she just like wells and thus likes to sit in the cold water at the bottom of wells. This could be very dangerous, and she will probably have a hard time getting up. It is also a very deep well, so falling into this well might very well be lethal. There are also many stories (in this case also real stories like the one about {{w|Jessica McClure}}) about kids that fall into wells, some of them surviving being stuck for several days in the wells. Also, in movies this story is often used, for instance in {{w|Batman Begins}} the young Bruce Wayne falls down a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a fear of bats.
|-
|Entire gas station with birds above
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_with_coin_on_string.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_without_coin_on_string.png Without coin]
|Overview
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|The two birds with a coin between them flying above the gas station is way too high up, to be discovered when just moving normally over the gas station, even jumping once up from the highest spot. This is thus one of several coins that are easily missed. There is more explanation this scene where these two individual scenes are described.
|-
|Gas station with x-wing.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1077+s.png (982, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/983:-1077+s.png (983, 1077)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Megan has managed to land her {{w|x-wing}} fighter from the rebel fleet in Star Wars right next to a standard gas station. And she has planned to fill her spaceship up. That it could run on petrol for cars seems highly unlikely. The question is if she has already filled it up and is heading back with the handle to the gas stander, or if she has just discovered that the hose is not long enough to reach all the way under the wing to the fighter. It will have taken considerable skills to land this close to the station without hitting the cover over the stander. Ponytail is sitting in the shop with a coin. This is the first coin to be discovered when going left from the play-area. There is a long stretch without coins to begin with. The coins on the rock island in the sky it on this stretch, but so far above that most people would miss them altogether. There is also a coin with two birds straight above the right wing on the X-wing. But about three jumps up, so it is easy to miss. To get into the shop you need to go over the stander and back. Why Cueball have crawled up in the roof is not clear. But maybe he is enjoying the view over the cliff that is to the right of the station. There is a stop sign to the left, but there seems to be no road that way. Maybe that is why you should stop...
|-
|Birds with coin.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_with_coin.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_without_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1079+s.png (982, 1079)]
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|Film: {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}
|In the film it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut between them on a string as the two birds do with the coin here. First when the coin has been taken, can the string between the birds be seen (see the other image). The birds are three jumps above the X-wing below, and this coin is thus easily missed by the players. In the film the horses are simulated with the sound of two coconuts shells being hit together. Someone asks how they happened to be in England and there is discussion about migratory birds like {{w|swallows}} and the possibility that they have brought the coconuts along with them. But the consensus is that they cannot do this by themselves the coconut being too heavy, but then it is suggested that two swallows could carry it on a string between them. Later in the film someone is seen actually tying two birds together to a coconut. In this comic, we now know how the coins have been transported through the image...
|-
|Our kingdom from a cliff.
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:Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Girl: What's with the shadowy place over there?
:Cueball: That is beyond our borders.
:Girl: No, I mean what object casts a shadow over a whole region?
:Cueball: Oh, that's god. He lives over there.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1076+s.png (986, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1075+s.png (986, 1075)]
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|Film: {{w|The Lion King}} and comic: [[1504: Opportunity]] as well as [[:Category:The Lion King|The Lion King category]]
|Cueballs lines is from The Lion King and has been used directly before in the comic Opportunity. Randall has made several references to the film in xkcd, and it is obvious that he was very affected by this film that came out when he was just the right age.

Cueball is talking to a child version of Ponytail, whose mother may be the one climbing up the cliff side below. The first three lines of the quote goes as in the film, but then it turns out that the girl is properly referring to the Star Destroyer that would be clearly visible from this cliff as it covers almost the entire right part of this world from just beyond the play-area. (They do not look high enough to see the rock island in the sky, and it would also not cast shadow over an entire region.) As it is not certain players coming here have already been to the right to see the Destroyer it is not necessarily clear that the reply from Cueball should apply to the Destroyer. But if it does then it would be the Emperor Palpatine that he refers to as God. The emperor is on board the Destroyer near the bridge at the very top rear end of the spaceship and has God like powers. It could however also just be a general reference to the {{w|God}} and thus be inferred as if God cast a shadow over an entire region (country). Maybe just in general as if he has a place in the sky that cast a shadow (like sitting on a cloud). Alternatively, it could be the people who believe too much in any God, which can be viewed as living under a shadow, as they will not try to see any reality if it does not fit with their religious beliefs.
|-
|Hamster ball bowling.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/987:-1075+s.png (987, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/989:-1074+s.png (989, 1074)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster ballscategory]]
|There have been several xkcd comics with human sized hamster balls, and there is even one more in this comic up in the Destroyer. In this scene it is two young girls that use the hamster ball as a bowling ball in a human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game. Hopefully, the little girl with the hair bun behind the pins get away in time if it is a strike. It is the first time hamster ball and bowling has been matched, but in TE there are bowling alleys both on the ship ''The USS Laws of the Land'' and on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and such an alley is also used for measuring length in ''How to count things''. One of the many large trees that are found in the drawing is standing alone in this scene. Most other places there are more than one tree together.
|-
|If loving you is wrong I don’t want to and Beret Guy following insects
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:Cueball: If loving you is wrong, I don't want to.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1074+s.png (990, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/991:-1074+s.png (991, 1074)]
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|Song (or quote): {{w|(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right}}
|A reference to either the [https://krexy.com/if-loving-you-is-wrong general love quote] or maybe more likely to the song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJj7SN9EWI performed most notably] by {{w|Luther Ingram}}. Recently (2014), there has also been a TV series produced called {{w|If Loving You Is Wrong (TV series)|If Loving You Is Wrong}}.

The quote is very romantic, because the speaker is stating that if it is wrong to love a specific person, the speaker chooses to be in love and does not wish to be right. However, Cueball twist the quote quite a lot, saying instead that if it is wrong to love Ponytail then he does not want to love her at all - taking all romance out of the statement.

Also in this scene is one of only two instances where Beret Guy appears. Typical of his past appearances, he seems to be occupied by following a small flying insect through the tall grass.
|-
|'''Entire Washington monument'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Overview]
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7a/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out.png Central hidden passage] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]

|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1600: MarketWatch]]
|The tallest manmade structure on the ground in this game is the {{w|Washington Monument}} which recently before the release of this comic was referred to in the mentioned comic. As can be seen in the hidden passages images there are two secret passages, one at the bottom (see this scene for more) and one in the middle of the monument. The one in the central part of the monument is actually quite large, and as can be seen in the images zooming in on the central part there is also a fault line in the monument at the base of this hidden passage. But it doesn't really lead to anywhere interesting. The fault line could be a reference to the {{w|Washington_Monument#2011_earthquake_damage|earthquake damage}} from 2011 where several stones cracked.
|-
|Base of Washington monument with Cueball and Megan
|
:Cueball: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1074+s.png (994, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1074+s.png (995, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|At the base of the Washington Monument Megan and Cueball is looking up at it, and Cueball complains that it doesn't even look like {{w|Washington, D.C.|Washington}}. By "Washington" he could be referring to the city of Washington DC or to the real Washington monument, but he is probably referring to the first US President George Washington, since monuments often depict (look like) the person they are dedicated to, but the real Washington monument is not meant to look like Washington himself. Cueball seems to have expected all presidential monuments to include a statue of the honored president and is confused and disappointed when the monument fails to meet his expectations. Of course, since this is the only Washington based building in the game it is true that the place doesn't look like the city. If he refers to the monument, then it can be questioned if this is because the monument is not an exact replica (in proportions and/or scale). In any case it is clearly meant as an indicator that this is supposed to look like the monument, and with the tip's apex being made of aluminum (see that scene) as on the real monument, there can be no doubt what is referenced. It is possible to get to the left side of the monument without going up to see the tip, if the player immediately understands the sign with the white arrow that points to a hidden passage through the base of the monument, as can be seen in the second image with the hidden passages shown in red.

To the left of the monument there is a flagpole with a blown-out flag. It is all black, but it should be the {{w|Flag of the United States|the Stars and Stripes}} as there are fifty flag poles with the US flag (one for each [[1653: United States Map|state]]) surrounding the monument in a circle. On top of the pole there sits a duck looking left. Towards the end of the world to the left on top of the left volcanic rim there also sits a similar duck looking right.
|-
|Tip of Washington monument with Cueball and White Hat
|
:Cueball: Look at that- Solid aluminum!
:Cueball: We´re gonna be rich!
:White Hat: Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1083+s.png (995, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1084+s.png (995, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|The tip of the monument is actually {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|made of solid aluminum}} and at the time this {{w|aluminum}} apex was installed it was a rare metal as valuable as {{w|silver}}, but today it is maybe about 1/300 as valuable as silver. So Cueball and White Hat will not become rich based on the metal value. Of course, if they did steal the tip of such a famous monument, they might actually be able to sell it to a scrupulous collector at a value comparable to if was just a lump of silver of that weight.

White Hat looking over his shoulder spots the Star Destroyer and thus help guide a player that has started going left towards the Destroyer to the right. How they have managed the climb, getting the ropes over the tip, or how Cueball intends to get down with the tip is left to the readers imagination...
|-
|'''Entire floating rock island.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar}}
|This floating rock island may be a reference to the film Avatar where floating rocks is part of the scenery of the fictive moon {{w|Fictional_universe_of_Avatar#Astronomy_and_geology|Pandora}}. The rock in the game is very hard to find by chance, it is kind of unobtainable, which may be a further reference to the film since the reason the rocks do float is a combination of a weak gravity, a strong magnetic field and a mineral whose {{w|Superconductivity|superconductive properties}} allow it to float in magnetic fields. Of course, the levitating Hallelujah Mountains in the film contain significant quantities of the mineral which is called {{w|Unobtanium}}. Only thing pointing towards it is the Washington Monument and even if you go up from there, pushing the up arrow continuously for more than half a minute you may almost miss it, as only the far-right girl would move through the view. And with two coins around this island, it is important to find it in order to get all coins. Apart from the coins and the surprise there is little of interest here, and not even any spoken text.

To the right just beneath the rear end of the Destroyer there is a small lump of earth that has floated up from the ground, hovering over the corresponding hole in the ground. Maybe this is caused by the same force that have created this floating island.
|-
|Top left of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f5/1608_0989x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1111+s.png (990, 1111)]
|
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|
|The large rock on top of the floating island is one of only two places where there is anything at a coordinate of Y=1112. On top of the globe of Death over the bridge of the destroyer, there are three images at the top of this that enters 1112. And there [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png the very top] is just slightly higher up. But there is no coin there, so the coin that would be in the tile used for main reference here that holds the coin is the highest location for any coin in the game, as the Globe of Death has its coin in its center below the top.
|-
|Top right of floating rock island with base jumpers.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1111+s.png (994, 1111)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE two people jump of a cloud, like the base jumpers Megan and Ponytail does here from the floating rock, but at least these two girls do have parachutes on (as opposed to the cloud jumpers in TE). How they got here is a good question, but of course they could have flown here in for instance the X-wing from below at the gas station.
|-
|Bottom of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_0992x1109y_Bottom_middle_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/992:-1109+s.png (992, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/993:-1109+s.png (993, 1109)]
|
|
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|At the bottom of the island several small and large boulders can be seen hanging only loosely on to the bottom. At the center the largest rock can be seen, but even this is slipping a little as can be seen by the small white speck high over the very bottom of this boulder. Right of this is the other coin that belongs to this hidden place in the sky.
|-
|'''Entire Play Area - zoom out.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1001x1074y_Entire_Play_Area_Zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png With starting view]
|Overview
|
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|The entire play area with the walls and their outer foundation. See also the insert with the starting view shown in red in the second image link and see more about the buildup of scenes from the individual image tiles using the [[#Image coordinates|play area down below]]. It is easy to see how a player of the game, with no knowledge of Randall's way of thinking, may not even think about exploring outside this area, even if they do try to go outside the maze. Because it is possible to jump around in the maze without discovering that you can actually fly rather than just jump. If you only jump once, you cannot see the too op the walls. On top of this there is the large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG red warning letters] telling you to go back if you try to leave the confines of the wall.
|-
|The Play Area.
|
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:Deposit coins here
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1075+s.png (1000, 1075)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is the starting area where the game begins. There is even some extra text telling you to ''Use arrow keys to move'' but as soon as you do, this text disappears, just like the [[#Coins|message you can receive]] below in the view depending on your action in this area. The text below the starting point of the hoverboard Cueball that you control, explains that the game is released on this day to celebrate the release of Randall's new book [[Thing Explainer]] and thus directly references the book. And also explains why this comic has been made, and furthermore why it was released on a Tuesday rather than the usual Wednesday release, which was then skipped this week. It also explains that if you collect coins, you can deposit them at the terminal, and when you do it list the score (number of coins and the time used) and rates your achievement. By noting that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG you got all the coins] if you collect all seventeen coins in the play area maze, then it is one more trick to try to make you stay inside the walls of the maze. There is only one small feature that can be spotted from within the maze that breaks the symmetry and may give away the clue of the game. And that is the small stone that lies on the ground to the left. Because why should it be there, if this was just a platform/maze game. The walls cannot be seen if you stay in or just around the outer wall of the maze. But if you go to them, you may think this is the end. Another detail about the game to be learned already here is that there can be "solid" black parts of the surroundings which are not solid at all. This can be seen in the image showing the hidden passages in red. Here it can be seen that the ledge beneath the two inverted parenthesis " )( " is not solid, and that you can fall or jump up through this section. This could forewarn you of the hidden passages, especially to the lair beneath the volcano which are the only real hidden place based on hidden passages, but also for those in the Washington Monument and in the cotton trap in the Destroyer and the glitch floor also on the Destroyer.
|-
|'''Everything Right of Washington monument.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_Everything_Right_of_washington_monument.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|
|Most of the details in the image is found to the right of the play-area, mainly in the form of the rooms in the Destroyer. On the ground only a few artifacts are large enough to be seen in this zoomed out version. The three T's and the forest, and then of course the pyramid. Interestingly enough there are almost more to be seen inside the Destroyer with the two large rooms (the cave and the Glitch floor room) both being large enough to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png accommodate the entire pyramid].
|-
|Cueball outside play area.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1074+s.png (1004, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1074+s.png (1003, 1074)]
|
|
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|
|Typically reading direction would lead a player to this location first after escaping the play area. Is this is indeed the case then the grass and after that Cueball is the first hint that something more is going to happen in this game. Apart from the Cueball standing inside the play area, this is the closest person to the play area. He is just standing there doing nothing, so it is still not clear how big this is going to be.
|-
|Megan points at Runner after forest.
|
:Megan: Wow.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_1008x1074y_Megan_points_at_Runner_after_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1074+s.png (1008, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1074+s.png (1006, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|The small forest with two large trees and several small ones is the first really interesting to show up if exiting the play area to the right for the first time and finally a person actually speaking shows up (although Cueball at the base of the Washington Monument to the right would be closer). Megan is not saying much, but she is clearly reacting to something. It could be to one or both the space ships above her. Since the Destroyer is already on top of her, as the front end of that ship is just short of being above the right wall of the play area, then it could also be the Rebel Runner she is pointing out. No matter what, following her arm going up and right it is likely that the runner will enter the view, but it is possible to miss it, in which case there would be a long way up to the Destroyer. Megan and Cueball is standing on the edge of a cliff, offering them an excellent view. Stepping down on the plateau below the cliff takes the player close to the lowest possible level to be at in the game. There are no tiles with any white below that level (1073). But the lowest point is first in the Ocean.
|-
|Cliff with rock and cactus.
|
:(None, or rather the text has been written in the previous scene)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1073+s.png (1010, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1073+s.png (1008, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|After the grassy ground and the forest above the cliff to the left this marks the beginning of a long stretch of barren land ending in a dessert before reaching the ocean. Here a cactus and two large boulders display this inhospitable terrain. It seems like something is sitting on top of the smaller boulder, this could be a lizard, but it is too small to be certain. But that it is not part of the rock can be seen in the other image showing the parts of the image that you can walk through in red. And this small "lizard" is obviously sitting on top of the boulder.
|-
|Entire wires from ground to Runner.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Here is the first direct link from the ground to the Destroyer. This specific link takes the player from the ground level up along one of the three wires to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. If you went straight for the runner without going further right, the first coin you would find to the right would be one of the three at the runner. Else the first coin to the right (along the ground) would be in the dunes before Ponytail to the right.As can be seen the three wires are held by people and are then attached with anchors to the hull. Megan is climbing up the last of the three wires. See more in the specific scenes.
|-
|Three wires and people holding on on the ground
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1013x1073y_Three_wires_and_people_holding_on.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1073+s.png (1013, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1073+s.png (1011, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Three pairs of people are trying to hold on the three wires going straight up. Cueball and Megan holds on leaning left on the left wire, another Cueball and Hairy hold on to each side of the middle wire and finally yet a Cueball holds on to the last, while a small girl with a hair bun steps on the end of the wire, like she would be able to walk it like a tightrope. This should not be physically possible as the ropes do not seem to be attached to the ground, at least not the one to the left. But there can be no doubt that the drawing shows her standing with both feet on the rope. She is thus not helping Cueball. From here it is not yet known to the player that it is the Rebel Runner they have caught (with anchors) above, but when this becomes clear it will also be clear that they have no chance of holding on to the space ship. But here it seems they are doing a great job. The ground is barren between these wires and a {{w|tumbleweed}} is blowing along to make this even more clear. This part of a plant was also mentioned in a toast in [[1645: Toasts]].
|-
|Three wires Megan hanging on that reaches up to three anchors in the bottom hull of the Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1076+s.png (1015, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1014:-1078+s.png (1014, 1078)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Megan tries to climb up the last of the wires going from the ground, and it turns out that it leads up to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. Not to a really good spot in her wires case, as there seems to be nothing to help her get inside the runner from there. The other two wires comes up to a cannon close to an entrance, where Cueball is fishing birds with a crumb of bread or a cracker on the end of the hook. (The bird fishing scene is also depicted when going through the Runner [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down below]). All three wires ends in anchors that are here used the reverse way of a normal anchor, with the anchor attached to the ship instead of to the bottom of the sea (or at least the ground below an air ship). In ''Red world space car'' in TE, Megan is also seen hanging on to a rope like this.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the dunes of the desert that continues after the barren landscape to the left of the desert. Here a zoom out of the entire desert with the first three coins along the ground to the right. The Rebel Runner flying above this dune landscape is a reference to the desert planet {{w|Tatooine}} where the opening scene is taking place.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1073+s.png (1015, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1073+s.png (1016, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the desert on top of a small dune, as these get increasingly higher further right into the desert. The coin to the left of her at the tip of a dune is the first along the ground when going right. It is soon followed by a second one at the base of the largest dune in desert.
|-
|The largest dune.
|
:(None - the text is written in the scene centered on the ocean)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1017x1073y_The_largest_dune.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1073+s.png (1017, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1073+s.png (1018, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|The largest dune in the desert, also shown partly in the scene with Ponytail, also has a coin at the other base. After this there is only one smaller dune and then the desert stops at the shore of a small sea or ocean.
|-
|Entire ocean.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0e/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The sea/ocean consist of a rather large body of water with a tall wave in the center. It is quite deep as can be seen in the other image with the water shown in red. Where the sea is deepest, is also the point that is the lowest hoverboard Cueball can get in the entire image. It is the closest that anything other than completely black comes to the level with Y=1072.
|-
|Megan rates the Sea.
|
:Megan: This is an OK sea.
:Megan:★★⯪☆☆
:[a rating of 2.5 stars].
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1073+s.png (1019, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|
|It is very unusually to rate a sea, like you would a film or book, or a restaurant or museum. But today it is also common to rate anything you have used on-line like an internet shop or a company you have used. So, this may be a jab at all the people that rate everything in stars. According to [[1098: Star Ratings]] 2½ stars as an online star rating means that the sea is a crab sea, so this indicates that Megan's rating should not be viewed as such, since she also exclaims that it is an OK sea, as in an acceptable. Overall, another joke about online behavior, like the reference to Twitter and likes in the volcanic lair and the space shuttle, respectively.
|-
|Rouge wave.
|
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ...But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1073+s.png (1023, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1315: Questions for God]]
|{{w|Fluid dynamics}} is a complex subdiscipline of {{w|fluid mechanics}} that deals with fluid flow. Although it is not their main target they can also be used for {{w|surface waves}} which would be like the {{w|rogue wave}} in this scene. This kind of waves is also known as freak waves, monster waves etc. They are large and spontaneous surface waves that occur far out in open water and can be extremely dangerous. But as the wave describes to Cueball these big waves can be predicted from the equations in fluid dynamics. Of course, Cueball is less afraid of the wave (even though it is {{w|Rogue (vagrant)|rouge}}), than he is fascinated by the fact that it speaks. The wave just replies that the equations are really complicated. That this is the case was for instance part of [[1315: Questions for God]] where a famous quote regarding turbulent motion of fluids is mentioned. {{w|Turbulence}} is also described by fluid dynamics, so they are part of the equations and the {{w|Horace_Lamb#Career| quote}} by {{w|Horace Lamb}} was: "I am an old man now, and when I die and go to heaven there are two matters on which I hope for enlightenment. One is {{w|quantum electrodynamics}}, and the other is the turbulent motion of fluids. And about the former I am rather optimistic." He turned out to be correct as nowadays we have a much clearer understanding of QED, while our understanding of turbulence has improved little. {{w|Richard Feynman}}, who was himself largely responsible for explaining QED, famously {{w|Turbulence|described turbulence}} as "the most important unsolved problem of classical physics". So who knows if these formulas could describe a talking wave? A coin crowns the wave.
|-
|Ruins with Cueball singing of Spiders and Panama.
|
:Cueball singing:
::Spider-man
:::Spider-plan
::Spider-canal
:::Spider-Panama
::Gates let in
:::Spider boats
::Flood the locks
:::Spiders float
::''Look out!''
::Spiders in both oceans.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1073+s.png (1026, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1073+s.png (1027, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1632: Palindrome]] and the [[:Category:Spiders|Spiders category]]
|The palindrome comic was released shortly after this and used a palindrome about the {{w|Panama canal}} which is the first four lines with ''Spider-'' changed with "A" the first three times and then with nothing before Panama as in ''"A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''. The song is inspired by the {{w|Spider-Man (theme song)|Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]), but takes it in a rather different direction. Spiders have been a recurring theme and as the rest of the song tells that the spiders have now breached through the Panama Canal using spider-boats and by flooding the gates (in the canal) so now there are spiders in both oceans. If they came from the {{w|Atlantic ocean}} to the {{w|Pacific ocean}} or the other way around is not clear, but there are now spiders on both sides of the {{w|Central America|Central American}} strip of land. If the line ''Spiders float'' refer to actually floating spiders or just because they float on their boat is unclear. But we are forewarned about these spreading spiders with a '''''Look out!''''' (another lyric from the Spider-Man theme song). This threat continues the theme of the [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]] especially those from [[126: Red Spiders Cometh]].

There is a coin inside the ruin beneath Cueball who sits on top of the ruin, and both sings the song and plays the guitar. Megan just stands inside the ruin at ground level and listens. It is not difficult to get to the coin, but there is only entrance into the little coin room between the ledge under Cueball and the ceiling of the lower room. But it is possible to walk directly in them from the left. Maybe the ruin is in this state of affair because the spiders have crossed the ocean just to the left, the shore of this can be seen at the edge of the scene. But there is no indication of any spiders anywhere else in the comic, in spite of the many animals throughout the comic.
|-
|Ponytail flying.
|
:Ponytails arms: Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3b/1608_1029x1073y_Ponytail_flying.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1073+s.png (1029, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1073+s.png (1030, 1073)]
|
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|Ponytail manages to fly by just flapping her arms violently, a feat that is of course not possible. It keeps he above the coin on the ground, so the player can get to it first... In the Destroyer another Ponytail seems to be [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png flying straight up in a shaft] towards a coin this time without using her arms as wings. So, her flying is a small theme in the game. (It is not close to being directly above the Ponytail on the ground as the Ponytail in the Destroyer is just past the pyramid on the ground).
|-
|Entire forest - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3a/1608_1032x1074y_Entire_forest_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This is the largest collection of such tall trees, and if all smaller trees are counted probably also the largest collection of trees in general. In the left part of the world there is a scene with lots of trees, but they are all smaller than even the two medium-sized trees besides the five really large. the last tree to the right somehow belongs more to the wedding scene just right of it, but there are smaller trees all the way up to it, making it part of this forest. Drawing trees like this is often used in xkcd and in particularly also allot in ''click and drag''.
|-
|Left part of forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/56/1608_1032x1074y_Left_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1074+s.png (1032, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1074+s.png (1033, 1074)]
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|The left part of the forest has the largest trees and also the two coins, one in the fork of the first big trees and another some way above the first substantial tree to the left. It is just high enough that it will be missed by just sliding along the ground, and even when jumping to get the other coin it will still not necessarily enter into the viewing frame, so it can be considered one of the slightly hidden coins in the game.
|-
|Right part of forest.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/37/1608_1034x1073y_Right_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1073+s.png (1034, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1073+s.png (1035, 1073)]
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|The right part of the forest has the last two trees in the clump of four large ones, and then small to tiny trees continue the "forest" until the final tree, just beyond which the wedding takes place, and this tree also seems to be part of that scene.
|-
|Wedding and picnic.
|
:Priest: And if any here can give cause why these two should not be wed,
:Priest: The Great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1040:-1074+s.png (1040, 1074)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan, in a black wedding dress, and Cueball, with a tie, is married by a female priest in front of a crowd of five sitting in chairs in front of them. In the crowd there are yet another Cueball, Hairy and Ponytail, but the last two are not the familiar versions in xkcd: one has a cap on backwards and then a person (M/W?) with black. Just before a {{w|wedding}} it is sometimes customary to ask if any in the crowd could give a cause why these two people should not be wed. What is not customary is to threaten those who do have any objections that they would then have to plead these in front of the great gangster boss from Star Wars, {{w|Jabba the Hutt}}. In case he has condoned this wedding, you may end up pleading for him to kill you mercifully if you did object anyway. The normal form of the priest's question goes more [https://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/marriage.pdf like this]: "If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace." (See the top of page 4 of the pdf file in the link (page 424) and a discussion about this sentences use [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=635317 in real life]).

Beyond the wedding, another Megan is sitting on a large boulder facing the wedding, and behind her a third Cueball is having a picnic with a second Ponytail. The question here is if Megan looks at the wedding or turns her back to the picnic. Depending if the player went right along the ground to begins with and saw the wedding first or went through the Destroyer and came back the other way and saw the picnic first the players preconceptions on these questions may be completely different. In either case it still looks like Megan would have liked to be with Cueball (either the one in the tie or the one at the picnic. Of course, with characters drawn "randomly" in many places she may bot even belong to either scene. Standing on the rock with Megan hoverboard Cueball cannot see either of the scenes, but standing between Megan and either scene, she can be seen together with either of the relevant Cueball and another girl. In the first case with the wedding, she might have wished she had the courage to speak up in spite of the Jabba threat. In the other case she may feel rejected by the happy picnic couple and has turned her back to them. Poor Megan. Ponytail and Cueball seems to enjoy their picnic lunch in the open air though.
|-
|Cemetery.
|
:Megan: They're inscribed with our family motto, "Cur ego committitur dictar latinae," which means "Why did I just start speaking Latin?"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1042x1074y_Cemetary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1042:-1074+s.png (1042, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1074+s.png (1043, 1074)]
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|It is so common to have your motto translated into the dead language {{w|Latin}} that there even is an entire category for {{w|Category:Latin mottos|Latin mottos}} on Wikipedia. Since no one really speaks the language anymore, and only few learn it well enough to just read any sentence, by doing so you actually hide this motto that you probably would like to tell people about. The only Latin that has entered popular usage are generally idioms, like {{w|Carpe diem}} (seize the day), etc. (et cetera, meaning "and the rest"). However, most of the time, like the one Megan is explaining to her friend, it would make much more sense to just write it in your native language (English in this case); but then of course there would be no need for a motto, where you ask yourself why you are speaking Latin. In this way, the joke is quite self-referential. There is also a cemetery in Click and Drag.

The Latin in the motto is not correct, but close, and it could both be Randall's accidental errors or purposeful errors (as there are probably many "private" mottoes out there that are not completely correct. The original sentence:

'''Cur''' - why. '''Ego''' - I. '''Committitur''' - can be translated as "start", but is incorrectly conjugated; in view of the proper translation, a more acceptable word would be "commisi". '''Dictar''' - likely a misspelling of "dictare", an acceptable translation of "to speak". '''Latinae''' - Latin, but in the wrong case; a more correct translation would probably be "Latinam". A possible translation of this sentence is therefore "Why did I start to speak Latin?". The word ''just'' is completely missing and could have been included by using ''modo''. However, Megan could have added it to make it more "natural" in English. In this way, the family motto given here is a slightly misused satirical statement on Latin family mottoes.
|-
|Huge foot.
|
:Cueball: It says "Yo, future dirtbags! Check out my huge foot!"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1074+s.png (1046, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1047:-1074+s.png (1047, 1074)]
|
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''How to count things'' in TE there is also a drawing of a huge foot, used to count mass, not length... The two Cueballs check out an inscription at the foot ([[559: No Pun Intended|pun intended]]) of a monument. Typically old relics from the past has been demolished, and if only part of a human body is displayed (at least when it is not just a {{w|Bust (sculpture)|bust}} supposed to only have head and shoulders), then it is often assumed that the rest of the statue has been lost. Just like the missing arms of the ancient Greek statue {{w|Venus de Milo}}. These arms were there originally. But as it turns out as Cueball reads the transcription someone in the past just wished to show the future his huge foot. Suggesting that this is either actual size, or just that he was very proud of at least one of his feet. He also mocks anyone reading the inscription by calling them the derogating word [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dirtbag dirtbags]. This is a recent work so if this were an ancient monument it would be highly unlikely that it said that. Of course, it could be Cueballs translation of what is actually written, or as this is not necessarily old, it is not just part of the original monument but the entire unbroken statue of a foot, then it could be a contemporary artist who made it. However, it is just in front of the pyramid to the right, and in front of the real pyramid {{w|Pyramid of Khafre}} the {{w|Great Sphinx of Giza}}, also much larger than life size lies. (It has lost its nose by the way). So, this could be the games version of such a large statue in front of a pyramid.

As from the scene to the left of this giant foot, the inscription that Cueball reads is probably in Latin, in which case it could have read something along the lines of: ''Io, de futuro sacculo terra! Reprehendo sicco meus ingens radices!'' (which could be translated back to ''Io, for the future of the bag, earth Check out my huge foot!'', since there were no words for ''Yo dirtbags'' in Latin.

This is likely to be a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem ''{{w|Ozymandias}}'', which starts:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
[..."]
|-
|Entire Pyramid.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1050x1075y_Pyramid_Entire_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Destroyer]
|Overview
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|A smooth pyramid with Ponytail in front of the left side and a coin at the tip. It is large but not compared to the Destroyer above it. To illustrate the other image shows that the pyramid could comfortably be placed inside the cave in the Destroyer. There is also a pyramid in Click and Drag.
|-
|Pyramid protip.
|
:Ponytail: Protip:
:Ponytail: Don't stop climbing just because you reach the top.
:Ponytail: ☑ Show tips on startup
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1608_1048x1074y_Pyramid_protip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1074+s.png (1048, 1074)]
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|Comics: [[:Category:Protip|Protip category]]
|Ponytail greets the player as (if) they approach the pyramid from the left. She points up the side of the pyramid and gives a protip (a feature often used in xkcd). The tip is yet another indication that the Destroyer is above (the tip) of the pyramid. She tells the player to keep "climbing" after the top (that is not usually possible, but the hoverboard can keep on flying). By doing so the player may reach up to the entrance leading into the spiral corridor (although it will be difficult to keep the same incline as the pyramid on the way up). Ponytails last remark about showing tips on startup makes her sound like she is some kind of program, which can give you interesting hints and tips every time you start the program. If you do not wish this, you can just leave the [https://help.formulatrix.com/rock-maker/3.4/Content/Resources/Images/RM%203.0.3/StartUp%20Tips.png check box unchecked]. This is the last scene with spoken words (or other text) along the right ground, although it is only halfway from the play area to the right end of this world.
|-
|Pyramid tip.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f6/1608_1050x1076y_Pyramid_tip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1051:-1076+s.png (1051, 1076)]
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|At the very tip of the pyramid there is a coin. This is the highest point in the right part of the world, which is directly connected with the ground through a fixed structure (i.e. not a wire). In most of the left part of the world even the ground level is higher, and the Washington Monument is much taller. The next coins are five scenes longer to the right as nothing much happens on the remaining stretch along the ground towards the end of the right part of the world from here.
|-
|Pyramid Right bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c5/1608_1053x1074y_Pyramid_Right_bottom.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1074+s.png (1053, 1074)]
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|As opposed to the left side of the pyramid with a protip, there is nothing on the right side of the pyramid, even the ground is completely featureless, and actually continuous to be so for a while as can be seen in the next two scenes. It is the longest stretch along the ground with no features of interest and also almost completely flat ground. Even the third scene from here is still without characters although there at least is some ground features. For certain the entertainment of the right side is up above in the Destroyer.
|-
|Flat and bare ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/19/1608_1056x1074y_Flat_and_bare_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1074+s.png (1056, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1074+s.png (1057, 1074)]
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|The first of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though, even without much plant life probably takes the prize as the most featureless scene in the game.
|-
|Flat grassy ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1059x1074y_Flat_grassy_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1074+s.png (1059, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1074+s.png (1060, 1074)]
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|The second in a row of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though have a little more grass than the previous scene...
|-
|Small cliff or hill.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1063x1075y_Small_cliff_or_hill.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1075+s.png (1063, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1074+s.png (1062, 1074)]
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|Almost as boring as the previous two scenes, but at least there is a little cliff.
|-
|The three T's.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_1066x1075y_The_three_Ts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1075+s.png (1066, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1075+s.png (1067, 1075)]
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|Computer games
|These three Ts with Megan on top of the first, looks similar to scenes from many {{w|Platform game|platform computer games}}, like for instance [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlatformGame this example] from {{w|Mario Bros.}}.
|-
|Coin over grass hole.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b6/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1074+s.png (1071, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1074+s.png (1072, 1074)]
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|The fourth "boring" scene in a row at least have a coin. The grass is rather tall in this location and there are also two small hills to the left, and behind the coin another small bump to the right. The coin is located over a small hole that is filled with grass, so when the player takes the coin hoverboard Cueball will [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/Grasshole_under_coin.PNG sink to his waist].
|-
|Ponytail and bird black hat on a stick and Cueball whistling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1074+s.png (1073, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1074+s.png (1074, 1074)]
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|Ponytail is walking towards a small cliff with a flying bird following behind her. She approaches a black hat on a stick, looking like Black Hats hat. He usually never leaves without it, so it seems a little strange to find i hanging there. It is actually quite hard to find any Black Hat's in the comic, but above in the Destroyer, just slightly to the left of this hat the only instance of Black Hat in the game sits and snores in the Cave. So, he is not only represented by this hat. A kid looking like Cueball stand to the right below the cliff. He seems to be either singing or whistling.
|-
|Small stone pile.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1078x1074y_Small_stone_pile.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1074+s.png (1078, 1074)]
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|After a small step down in the terrain height the only feature of this fifth boring scene is a small stone pile that seems to be made of 5-6 small stones with different size not ordered after size, so it looks like it could easily fall over. The pile is solid, so the player needs to jump to get past it and hoverboard Cueball can stand on top of it.
|-
|Two birds and coin above them.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1081x1074y_Two_birds_and_coin_above_them.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1074+s.png (1081, 1074)]
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|Once again two birds are seen together, this time they are not (as over the gas station to the left) tied together with string. But also, here there is a coin, and just like there it is hidden. Not so much as over the gas station, as here the birds can be seen from the ground, but the coin can only be seen by jumping once. Walking along the ground would let the birds enter into the view but not the coin right above them.
|-
|Pedestal.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1086x1074y_Pedestal.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1074+s.png (1086, 1074)]
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|Once again a very boring scene (6th) but at least there is a small pedestal to the right. In itself not very interesting, but if the player drops straight down out of the rear entry of the Destroyer above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this pedestal.
|-
|Medusa and floating earth.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1088:-1074+s.png (1088, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1075+s.png (1090, 1075)]
|
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|The first character in four scenes is no one else but {{w|Medusa}} coming towards the player (if going right) arms outstretched and what appears to be about 10 snakes jutting out of her head which Medusa is known for. The snakes are venomous and people who gaze upon her face would be turned to stone. So not so nice to come by and it for sure relates to the coming end of the world, at least of this world right end.

The floating earth to the right may be of similar origin as the floating rock island above the Washington Monument, maybe the same forces are at work. Seems like it has just been torn up from the hoke in the ground below it, like it is now floating up. If the player drops straight down from the very end of the Destroyer up above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this floating earth. Anything right of the start of the hole is no longer under the Destroyer, which anything else right of the play area until this hole has been. Could be the Destroyer's influence that creates this hole? (But not just because it passes over, because then the earth should be floating up all the way behind it).
|-
|White Hat hiding in the grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1093:-1074+s.png (1093, 1074)]
|
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|Another flat scenery but at least White Hat is hiding in the grass to the right, only his head showing above the high grass, so her must be either sitting or even lying down propped up on his arms. This is one of only two scenes with White Hat throughout the game.
|-
|Lollipop plant and coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_1095x1075y_Lollipop_plant_and_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1095:-1075+s.png (1095, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1094:-1074+s.png (1094, 1074)]
|
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|The seventh boring scene is lit up by a coin that hangs in the air slightly before the only feature of the scene, which appears to be a plant, with a strange lollipop shape.
|-
|Drifting Cueball.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1098x1074y_Drifting_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1098:-1074+s.png (1098, 1074)]
|
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|Another completely flat grassy landscape but with a strangely elongated Cueball drifting in the wind. Characters flying is depicted in two scenes where Ponytail flies, but she does this of her own will. Here is seems like Cueball is just drifting with the wind towards the end of the world, which is only two scenes away, and he is the last character along the ground towards the end. This is in some way reminiscent of Click and Drag, where the Cueball floating with the balloon to begin with, can also be seen at the very right end of the world. But then again here it more seems like Cueball doesn't have a choice, and he also seems to be out of shape. The shape he is in, and the relation to the end of the world could be a (loose) reference to the sixth and seventh day in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]].
|-
|Just grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1103x1074y_Just_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1103:-1074+s.png (1103, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1104:-1074+s.png (1104, 1074)]
|
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|The eight boring scene since the pyramid, with a rolling hill of grass, but only the 2nd most boring, as the most boring scene was the first scene after the pyramid because that one did not even have grass.
|-
|Storks nest at right end of the world with 10 coins.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_1107x1075y_Storks_nest_at_right_end_of_the_world_with_10_coins.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1075+s.png (1107, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1074+s.png (1107, 1074)]
|
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|
|This is the right end of the world, marked by a high pole raising up from a foundation, and on the top of the pole there is a large {{w|White stork|stork}} nest with three eggs in it. Maybe it is not a stork nest (though it looks like a {{w|White_stork#Conservation|man-made nest platform}} for storks), but an eagle nest, though they do not usually use mad made structures for their nest as do storks. But if it were an eagle's nest, it could be for those two that are flying over the right tip of the volcano crater in the far of left part of the world.

With ten coins on top of the three eggs in the nest this is the place with the highest coin density in the game, but not most coins over a single image tile as that price goes to the starting tile with eleven coins. There are also seventeen coins in the play area scene, but they are not as closely gathered as here, where all 10 coins are almost as close together as possible, and all of them in the same [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1076+s.png completely white image tile] right above the tile with the nest and eggs.
|-
|'''Entire Rebel Blockade Runner'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_and_wires_zoom_out.png Also with wires] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png Also with torpedoes]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|An overview of the entire Rebel Blockade Runner ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'' from the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. It has four rooms (one blown open), a small cannon room that cannot be entered by the hoverboard and two corridors. The rear is the large engines. There are three coins. There is a clear symmetry along the center, as the two cannons and the two parabolic antennas are placed symmetrical on the top and bottom hull, and also the curve of the hull is symmetric. In the second image link the way to find the runner from the ground via the wires can be seen (six coins). And in the third the way to find the Destroyer above via the torpedoes can be seen (14 coins). The Destroyer is thus not hidden, like for instance the Floating Rock Island or the Hidden Lair beneath the lava lake, and there are many less direct indications that there is a runner from all the people who comment on them or even directly or indirectly point the way to the Destroyer. The Runner is supposed to be 150 m long.
|-
|Bridge on the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!
:Second scene:
:Megan: Good against remotes is one thing, but a ''true'' Jedi train with a T-shirt cannon.
:Box: Shirts
:Third scene:
:Box: Bullets
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1012:-1078+s.png (1012, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1078+s.png (1013, 1078)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner is crammed with interesting scenes. First on the bridge itself a long-haired woman (the captain) is mocking both Star Wars and Star Trek fans alike by using the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcRX0Gw1aaw opening line] from the Star Trek series about stating the {{w|stardate}} for the captain's log on board the first spaceship ever shown in the Star Wars franchise. Hairbun behind her (it could be {{w|Princess Leia}} who also has buns but above each ear) is clearly distressed by this "mistake". This could either be because she is a Star Wars fan that dislike Star Trek or because the stardate used is the real date, November 24, 2015, on which the comic was released (as well as the book ''Thing Explainer'') instead of using the normal convention for stardates with a four or five digit number plus a decimal like 1513.1. Given that the long-haired woman has the appearance of [[Danish]], this may be intentionally rather than a mistake. There is another reference to the Star Trek universe in the scene where the torpedoes are fired from the Destroyer above, so no less than two Trek infiltrations in the opening scene of Star Wars.

Beneath the bridge there is a smaller room where Ponytail and Megan spoofs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69NCLxwLEY Luke's Lightsaber Training] from the original Star Wars movie where {{w|Luke Skywalker}} practices under {{w|Ben Kenobi}}'s guidance while {{w|Han Solo}} comes with snide remarks. Ponytail (in Luke's place) holds a {{w|lightsaber}} above which floats a sphere which represents the small remote controlled {{w|Jedi}} training device from that scene. Megan both guides like Ben and comments like Han. She holds some kind of cannon that she obviously loads with T-shirts from the box behind her. As she tells Ponytail, a true Jedi trains with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCz7C6jEIk t-shirt cannon]. Han Solo's quote begins like it but ends quite differently: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuCbDkKIs4 Good against remotes is one thing good against the living it's something else]. He would also prefer a {{w|Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster}} as he explains: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V268Qk6-xsw Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid]. There is a coin behind Ponytail.

Above the bridge there is a hatch open where hoverboard Cueball may enter and a Cueball is standing behind the hatch looking down along the hull.

There are cannons both above and below the hull, the one on top has a coin in front of the barrel. There is a similar cannon with a coin in front on top of the Destroyer. Beneath this cannon is a tiny room where another Cueball is pouring several small bullets from a bucket into a black box labeled bullets (for the cannon). From this room there is a small shaft down to the main corridor in the Runner. But this shaft is too slim for hoverboard Cueball to pass up through it, or rather for the board to get in. Cueball can pass into the hole, but the board holds him back from reaching up in the small room. The cannon below has two of the anchors from the wires going to the ground attached around its barrel. The third anchor is stuck in the bottom hull further down the hull. It is unclear how this last has become attached to the hull!

In the corridor that runs away from the bridge a small robot on wheels drive towards left. Similar types of robots are often seen in the Star Wars universe and there is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png another robot] looking like two of these on top of each other in the Destroyer above where the torpedoes connecting them ends up. Further down the corridor Ponytail is walking to the right while singing indicated with two notes.

Above the cannon at the bottom of the hull on a ledge with an entry to the ship is a third Cueball holding a fishing rod out over the ledge, so the hook hangs in the air. Maybe he is fishing for either of the two birds that are flying around the line. What appears to be a loaf of bread or [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png a cracker is attached to the hook] at the end of the line. A similar scene is also found in TE in ''Sky Toucher''.
|-
|Death Star Plans in the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: The Death Star plans are ''not'' in the main computer.
:Second Cueball: Darn.
:Second Cueball: See, if we had found them in the main computer, which would be good news, since it would mean no one else had them.
:Second Cueball: But since we didn’t find them, we need to keep searching for anyone with a copy.
:Second Cueball: That all makes sense and I ''definitely'' understand how computers work.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball: So you just came down and made a hole in our ship without permission?
:Fourth Cueball: Yup
:Third Cueball: Wow, Rude.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1017x1078y_Death_Star_Plans_in_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1078+s.png (1017, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1079+s.png (1016, 1079)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The reference to the Death Star plans is from [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=340 the opening scene] in the first Star Wars movie. The sentence uttered by First Cueball is said by a Storm Trooper to Darth Vader. The [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes?qt=qt0440708 rest of the quote] is not quite like in the comic. Rather is goes like this:
:Darth Vader: [addressing the Tantive IV's captain, whom he is interrogating] Where are those transmissions you intercepted? WHAT have you DONE with those plans?
:Captain Antilles: We intercepted no transmissions... This is a consular ship... We're on a diplomatic mission...
:Darth Vader: [shouting] If this is a consular ship, WHERE is the ambassador?
:Darth Vader: Commander, tear this ship apart until you find those plans! And bring me all passengers, I want them ALIVE!
The comic jokes with the way Darth Vader seems to assume that if the plans had been found on the computer, then no one else would have had access to them. The second Cueball, although not Vader, represents a superior that have absolutely no idea about how computers work, in spite of his insistence that he actually do. If the data has once been intercepted, they could have been shared or copied to several other computers or devices or even been printed. By finding them in the main computer they would only make sure that they were indeed intercepted, but not be certain that they have not been delivered to the rebel base.

The other two Cueballs on top of the ship stand over a hole in the hull going into a small room above and left of the large room. It seems that the fourth Cueball has made this hole directly from the outside (i.e. it is not caused by an exploding torpedo from the Destroyer above). Because he confirms when the third Cueball asks if he just came down to make the hole without permission. The third Cueball thinks this is rude. This is, of course, hilarious as if a space pirate or any other attacker of a spaceship would ask permission before attacking. And also, the idea that he might get permission for asking is likewise crazy. To call this rude is also a weird way to look at such an attack. {{w|C3PO}} uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoG9tKf1lA this as reply] to a comment made to him by a similar droid in the second movie.
|-
|Top rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: That thing is ''huge. Imperial''-class?
:Second Cueball: Yeah. Maybe a MK-1. Depends on whether this is the expanded universe or not.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball's bow: Twang
:Torpedo: Boom
:Third scene:
:Fourth Cueball: Why are they still firing?
:Fifth Cueball: Oh, the turret operators pretty much do their own thing.
:Fifth Cueball: It's definitely a pain sometimes.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1079+s.png (1018, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1080+s.png (1019, 1080)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this overview of the top rear of the hull of the Runner, there are four scenes with two persons in each, with no less than six Cueballs. Beginning with the scene to the far left the two first Cueballs discuss what type of Star Destroyer is shooting at their ship from above them. They are clearly tilting their head far back to look up. The first Cueball comments on how huge it is and asks if it is an {{w|Star_Destroyer#Imperial_class|''Imperial'' class}} Destroyer. "''Imperial'' class" is the designation of the Destroyer ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]'' that followed the Rebel Runner ''Tantive IV'' in the opening scene. There is also and more than 10 times as large version called a {{w|Star_Destroyer#Super_Star_Destroyer|Super Star Destroyer}}, which were featured in the two sequels in the original trilogy. But even the original Star Destroyers were improved during the movies, so when the improved Destroyers came out, they became known as ([https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_II-class_Star_Destroyer Mark II], Mk-II or plainly II, and the original (as Devastator) became known as [https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_I-class_Star_Destroyer Mk-1]. The second Cueball agrees with the first and suggest that it is a Mk-1 and thus makes it even more clear that this scene is actually the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. But then again, he continues, it depends weather this is the {{w|Star Wars expanded universe|expanded universe}} (now known as ''Star Wars Legends'') where all authorized media (books etc.) released based on the Star Wars franchise should be counted in, or if it is only the movies sanctioned directly by George Lucas (and now Disney). What he says is that in all those works there could be so many other types os ships mentioned, that he could mistake for a Mk-1, that in that universe he would not be certain at all. But in the "official" universe he would claim that it was a Mk-1 ''Imperial'' class Star Destroyer.

In the next scene Ponytail and a third Cueball fight with bows and arrows against the Destroyers 100+ torpedoes raining down from above. Ten of these can be seen falling, one hits the ship, and one has just exploded in a big ''boom'', to be compared with the feeble ''twang'' made by Cueballs bow when he fires the arrow. When later discovering how far there is up to the bottom of the Destroyer it only becomes even more silly.

In the third scene two more Cueballs (four and five) look up at the torpedoes falling down in an arch over their heads. The fourth Cueball asks why they still keep firing. And the fifth Cueball tries to explain. A {{w|Gun turret|turret}} is generally a weapon mount that houses the crew and a projectile-firing weapon and lets the weapon be aimed and fired in a given cone of fire. So, it is this crew, that are the turret operators. There is also such [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png an operator] on the Rebel Runner below the top cannon (or turret), in the scene with the bridge. The reason they keep fighting is given that they just do their own thing and that is annoying. This indicates that these two Cueballs do no longer think that the Destroyer needs to fire anymore on the Runner, and thus also indicates that they are part of the crew from the Destroyer send down to take over the Runner. Thus, it is annoying that the shooting has not stopped as it puts them in danger. If they belong to the Runner, then they would not think it weird that the shooting continued. It turns out to be Megan who is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png turret operator in the Destroyer]! At least they can be happy that it is regular torpedoes. (See the explanation of the scene regarding the Torpedo cannon below Destroyer).

In the final scene at the very end of the hull is the sixth Cueball together with Megan. She holds on to him as he tries to toast a giant marshmallow on a stick by holding it in front of the exhaust pipe of the Runner. This would most likely melt the marshmallow instantaneously... In ''Red world space car'' in TE the Mars rower also toasts a marshmallow on a stick over a small fire.
|-
|Bottom rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1020x1078y_Bottom_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1078+s.png (1020, 1078)]
|
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|
|The rear end of the Rebel Runner with the last part of the big Death Star plan room to visible to the left. Three engines are visible, with the top one being cut of (Cueball is roasting a marshmallow above the cut off - see previous scene). This is consistent with the three rows of engines as [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/2016/04/tantive_iv_over_tatooine.png?itok=1k3g3pFH can be seen in the film], with four engines in top and bottom row and three in the middle. There is a coin behind the lowest of the engines. There appear to be {{w|truck nuts}} attached to the rear of the ship beneath the hull. These are plastic or metal accessories, typically for cars, which resemble a pair of dangling testicles/balls. They are attached under the rear bumper of the vehicle, so they are visible from behind as a practical joke. Some find it is in so bad a taste that it should be banned or fined.
|-
|'''Entire torpedoes rain from Runner to Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|An overview of the entire rain of torpedoes fired down from the Star Destroyer to the Runner. There are one hundred undamaged torpedoes in the air, two that are hitting each other exploding, one that has just contacted the hull and one that has just exploded on the hull of the Runner. A total of 104 torpedoes has thus been fired at this moment in time. The rain is not so much there for jokes but to guide the player up to the Destroyer. Only interesting scene on the way up is Beret Guy riding a torpedo, and apart from that and the two torpedoes hitting each other and exploding, there is nothing else to see. But there are two coins to collect.
|-
|Torpedoes just above Runner with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1019x1081y_Torpedoes_just_above_Runner_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1081+s.png (1019, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1081+s.png (1020, 1081)]
|
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|11 torpedoes just above the Runner with a coin.
|-
|Torpedoes two steps above Runner with Beret Guy.
|
:Beret Guy: Horsey!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1083+s.png (1020, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1021:-1083+s.png (1021, 1083)]
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Dr. Strangelove}}
|Beret Guys only second appearance in this comic. He is flying down from the Destroyer sitting astray a torpedo riding it like it was a horse. In the film Dr. Stangelove a man is also flying down like this riding a bomb like it is a horse (a nuclear bomb in that case though). Beret Guy will likely survive due to his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. With his torpedo there are eight torpedoes in this scene
|-
|Torpedoes three steps above Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1023x1085y_Torpedoes_three_steps_above_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1086+s.png (1023, 1086)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1024:-1086+s.png (1024, 1086)]
|
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|21 torpedoes are shown. This image is so large that it goes outside the "active" images, and thus the lower right part is in gray. In the game this part will be displayed as white, but there is no image below to save (but many all-white images are active though!)
|-
|Torpedoes two steps below Destroyer with exploding torpedoes.
|
:Torpedoes: Boom
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a8/1608_1025x1087y_Torpedoes_two_steps_below_Destroyer_with_exploding_torpedoes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1087+s.png (1025, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1087+s.png (1026, 1087)]
|
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|21 torpedoes are shown, but two of them are hitting each other exploding. Where you can stand on the torpedoes, you cannot stand on the "boom", but still on the black part of the exploding torpedoes. If the two exploding torpedoes are the same and if they have no means of self-propelling, then they should not hit each other under normal conditions. Only if a wind gust slowed down the one and not the other (which could of course be the case.) But else they would follow the same parabolic path from cannon to target without getting closer.
|-
|Torpedoes one step below Destroyer with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/1608_1029x1089y_Torpedoes_one_step_below_Destroyer_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1089+s.png (1029, 1089)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1090+s.png (1031, 1090)]
|
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|19 torpedoes just below the Destroyer with a coin.
|-
|Torpedo cannon below Destroyer.
|
:Megan: We have no photon torpedoes, so I'm firing regular ones
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1091+s.png (1034, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1091+s.png (1033, 1091)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The 12 last torpedoes lead up to the cannon below the Destroyer that has fired them all towards the runner far below. In the control room (or turret room see explanation of scene where the torpedoes hit the Runner) is Megan and Cueball. She explains that she used regular torpedoes rather than the much more powerful {{w|Weapons_in_Star_Trek#Projectile_weapons|'''photon''' torpedoes}}. This may cheat some to think this is a reference to the weapon Luke Skywalker used when destroying the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. But they were called {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_weapons#Ship-mounted|'''proton''' torpedoes}}. Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an {{w|antimatter}} warhead and one of those alone would probably take a ship like the Runner out if it was not shielded... However, they are used by the {{w|Starship Enterprise}} in the Star Trek universe. So, this is the second (but more subtle) mixing of the two competing franchises connected with the torpedoes in the opening scene of Star Wars. The first being on the bridge of the Runner below. Above the control room there is a shaft up to a corridor in which a small robot of the types typically seen on spaceships in Star Wars is seen. There is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png similar robot] down in the Runner but only half this one's height.
|-
|'''Entire Star Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This is the only reference to Star Wars just because of the Destroyer. Anything inside the spaceship will only be listed as SW reference if there is something in relation to SW, or at least to part of the ship itself (like using special outcrops on the ship for a special room, like the Globe of Death at the top of the bridge).
|-
|'''Entire front end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_front_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/22/1608_Entire_front_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
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|
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|This overview is shown to illustrate how far apart the rooms are even in the very front end of the Destroyer where it is slimmest. The image with hidden passages shows how deep the swimming pool is and that the hoverboard can also sink into the playpen pit. Moving just a little further right than this overview, and the Destroyer becomes wider than the zoom scale for these overviews.
|-
|Overview of the very tip of the front end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_Zoom_out_of_the_very_front_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|The front has both a mouth a nose and an eye with a pupil. It has just eaten a coin and can smell the one above its nose. See more on this interpretation under the ''Colon like structure'' below.
|-
|Very front with Cueball looking out at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/60/1608_1002x1094y_Very_front_with_Cueball_looking_out_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1094+s.png (1002, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1094+s.png (1003, 1094)]
|
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|The closest entrance to the Destroyer from the starting point is guarded by Cueball. Going straight up from the right wall in the play area will take the hoverboard straight up in front of Cueball. There is a coin behind him where this first corridor turns up into a shaft.
|-
|Very front with playpen balls pit at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1095+s.png (1004, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1005:-1095+s.png (1005, 1095)]
|
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|[[150: Grownups]] and the [[:Category:Playpen balls|Playpen balls Category]].
|The top part of the front of the Star Destroyer also has an entrance as does the bottom section (see above). There is a coin above the hull. This first corridor leads to a playpen pit filled with playpen balls, which is a recurring subject in xkcd. Cueball and Megan is adult sized (i.e. as big as hoverboard Cueball) and it is thus a clear reference to Grownups. There could be water down below the balls as a fish is seen jumping out over the surface. But given that there are no splashes from the balls Cueball throws in the air, it could also just be a gimmick by Randall. To have something like this in a Star Destroyer kind of ruins the mood surrounding these war machines. Something seen several times throughout the spaceship.
|-
|Piñata and Cueball with lightsaber at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: No, I got this.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1095+s.png (1006, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1095+s.png (1007, 1095)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Comic: [[1620: Christmas Settings]]
|Although the original {{w|piñata}} was star shaped it is now common to use different shapes like the horse or donkey displayed in the comic. Children usually hits the piñata with a club until it breaks and falls down revealing candy or toys inside. The two Cueballs, Megan and Hairy are adults though as big as hoverboard Cueball, just like in the playpen pit. It is common for adults to participate in hitting down a piñata. But to do it with a {{w|lightsaber}} would defeat the purpose of this game as it will go right through the piñata on contact thus spilling the contest out on the floor in the first go. The Cueball with the lightsaber can thus confidently say that he got this. But it seems like the other Cueball is trying to stop him and that Hairy, holding the club they were intended to use, puts a hand protectively on Megan. A lightsaber would be a very dangerous weapon and should not be used lightly in a playful setting. As a side note any candy/toy in the path of the ligtsaber as it passes through the piñata will melt/burn immediately. Lightsaber noises are mentioned in the title text of the Christmas Settings comic coming out shortly after this one.
|-
|Shaft and corridor at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1608_1007x1094y_Shaft_and_corridor_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1094+s.png (1007, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1094+s.png (1008, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Lots of sections inside the Destroyer consist of long corridors with shafts going up and down here and there, but with no interesting features or objects. This is the first example of such a corridor, near the bottom hull of the Destroyer, showing that it is not a featureless outer hull. Apart from the ever-increasing width of the Destroyer there are some steps up and down, to indicate some of the features seen in the Star Wars movie.
|-
|Swimming pool with Ponytail jumping at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1094+s.png (1010, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1094+s.png (1011, 1094)]
|
|
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|
|Another enjoyable activity to attend to by adults is located here in the front sections of the Destroyer: A swimming pool. Don't worry about Ponytail jumping head first into the water, as can be seen in the hidden passage image it is rather deep. Cueball and Megan is already in. Supposedly there is a rung ladder up again on the side, but it cannot be seen in this slice through the Destroyer. A coin hangs in the top corner of the room. When standing with the hoverboard on the bottom of the pool it will be possible to see that there is a coin on the outside of the hull in the indentation in the hull below the pool. From the outside, however, it will not be possible to see that there is a pool above as the water is the same black (to the eye) as the solid hull.
|-
|Shaft and corridor with three coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1011x1096y_Shaft_and_corridor_with_three_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1096+s.png (1011, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1009:-1095+s.png (1009, 1095)]
|
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|
|
|After leaving the piñata room going down the corridor there are two coins. One under the shaft going up and one further down the corridor. Going up the shaft there is also a coin on the outside of the top hull at the top of another of the small step where the hulls width increases faster than the steady slope that are always there. This coin is almost on top of the one in the corridor below.
|-
|Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1015x1093y_Dead_end_shaft_with_rubbles_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1093+s.png (1015, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1093+s.png (1016, 1093)]
|
|
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|From the shaft that exits the Destroyers bottom hull there goes a corridor to the left. But only for a short while. Then there is a pile of rubble like there has either been a cave in or as if someone has been digging this tunnel and then has stopped. This is consistent with the mining company seen much further down the Destroyer. There is a coin in front of the rubble.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/34/1608_1019x1095y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|This zoom-out gives an overview of a large section of the Destroyer with only a long corridor and two shafts going down from it. There are almost no features, but for Hairy standing carefully at the edge of one shaft looking down into it. So again, an example of the larger areas inside the destroyer where nothing happens.
|-
|Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1016x1095y_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1095+s.png (1016, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png (1013, 1096)]
|
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|
|This is the shaft that came out of the piñata room. At the end of this image is the first shaft going down where Hairy is standing carefully at the edge looking down. Before that a shaft goes up to the top hull where a coin is situated on top of a small step down. At the other end of this "step" to the left there was also a coin.
|-
|Three coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1023x1095y_Three_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1095+s.png (1023, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1095+s.png (1022, 1095)]
|
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|This is the room where the long corridor going from the piñata room ends. Although it is a quite boring room it has three coins, the highest coin density seen so far when entering the Destroyer from the front end. A shaft down outside the room prevents this from being a dead end.
|-
|Triple coins and a single coin on top of a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1023x1097y_Triple_coins_and_a_single_coin_on_top_of_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1097+s.png (1023, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1097+s.png (1025, 1097)]
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|There is a very long straight stretch on top of the hull where nothing happens after the step down, but suddenly there are three coins in a row, and then a shaft down, with a ledge out over the shaft opening, with yet a coin, makes it worth the players while to come up there as well.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_1025x1092y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This overview at the bottom of the hull shows the shaft (to the right) that was covered with a ledge at the top of the hull. Although it takes a small turn left before going down and out at the bottom it thus almost runs straight through the Destroyer and also here at the bottom a thin ledge covers the shafts exit. But here are no coins. There are another shaft and two corridors.
|-
|Shall '''not not''' pass room and parachutes at one of two ledges at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: You shall not not pass!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1093+s.png (1026, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1092+s.png (1028, 1092)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The shaft going out at the bottom left is the one mentioned above. Going through the corridor above takes hoverboard Cueball into a room with a Cueball blocking his way holding a handout towards him. He almost uses the last part of a [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes?item=qt0445998 famous quote by Gandalf] when facing the {{w|Balrog}} in the mines of {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}}, but here with an '''extra not''' added to negate the "not" from the quote. So "You shall ''not'' '''not''' pass" = You '''shall''' pass, and when you do you get a coin. It is easy to miss that there are two times not in the sentence, which is for certain intentionally by Randall, as the spoken sentence thus do not match the appearance of Cueball with a handout.

If hoverboard Cueball jump ship at the ledge to the left, he can fly over to the next ledge where Cueball and a guy with black hair is preparing to jump of the ship using parachutes. Behind them there is a shaft going up into the ship with a coin.
|-
|Two coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_1026x1095y_Two_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1095+s.png (1026, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1095+s.png (1027, 1095)]
|
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|The shaft going up in the two coins room comes from a corridor below that also connects to the shaft to the left. The corridor is right above the ''you shall not not pass'' room below. The shaft to the left goes up the ledge covered exit to the top hull.
|-
|Steven Universe and Crystal Gems; and ice cream prediction.
|
:Megan: Prediction: Seconds before you die, you will remember these words.
:Box: Ice cream
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1095+s.png (1031, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1095+s.png (1029, 1095)]
|
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|In the room to the left, Megan talks to Cueball while they walk towards an ice cream freezer (at the end of the room with a coin on top). Her comment that she can predict that he will remember those words when he dies could be quite sinister. Since they are so boring the only way, she can make this prediction come through is if she now turns around killing him. If she waits a little longer, she will not have to move him so far before she can hide his body in the freezer...

In the room to the right is a group of four stick figures representing {{w|Steven Universe (character)|Steven Universe}} and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#/media/File:StevenFinalPoster.jpg Crystal Gems]. From left to right, Steven is next to {{w|Pearl (Steven Universe)|Pearl}} (as a stick figure with shorter hair), {{w|Garnet (Steven Universe)|Garnet}} (as a taller stick figure with sunglasses and an afro), and {{w|List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#Amethyst|Amethyst}} (as a shorter stick figure with long hair). The Crystal Gems are a "superhero" team of alien "Gems" who protect the earth, with their newest member being the half-Gem, half-human Steven. (Elsewhere on the bridge of the Destroyer, Darth Vader references Steven Universe in that Steven is half Gem.) A coin is hovering over Garnet's raised left hand.

Below these two rooms runs a corridor that goes left to the shaft going up to the top hull. The shaft going down goes to the two guys with parachutes. There is a coin next to the shaft. To get from this corridor to the rooms above hoverboard Cueball either have to go out on the top hull or move through the rotary that follows to the right.
|-
|'''Entire Rotary section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/67/1608_Entire_Rotary_section.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Entire_Rotary_section_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png Swallow Runner]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|To the left in this overview is the roundabout like structure that Cueball above it calls a rotary, which has given name to this section of the ship that follows after it up to the section with the cave. The Destroyer becomes much broader here especially due to the two large steps that the top part of the hull takes in the middle and to the right in this image.

In the hidden passage image, the cotton trap is revealed with the two entrances to the room below and to the corridor to the right that leads past different traps into the cave. At the top and bottom middle of the image there are two cars, and as it can be seen in the hidden passage image the hoverboard cannot rest on top of those.

In the composite ''Swallow Runner'' image the Rebel Runner has been placed in the opening in the bottom hull to reveal that this is indeed the opening in the bottom of the Destroyer that swallows the entire Rebel Runner in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie. This feature is thus a direct reference to the "real" Devastator Destroyer and thus a direct reference to the opening scene and to Star Wars. Below the individual scenes in the Rotary section will be described.
|-
|Empty room and Cueball on corridor going to rotary at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: Ugh, rotaries.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1608_1029x1097y_Empty_room_and_Cueball_on_corridor_going_to_rotary_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1096+s.png (1032, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1097+s.png (1030, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|A big empty room near the top hull and a coin in a shaft going down from the top hull. The shaft going down will lead to both the room with the ice dream box and the one with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems. The corridor going right will go down into the rotary, see next scene. Cueball is looking down into this and expressing his dislike of this {{w|Traffic circle|type of structures}}. Maybe he has bad experience with these in real life traffic.
|-
|The rotary.
|
:(none)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1608_1033x1095y_The_rotary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1095+s.png (1033, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1095+s.png (1035, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the {{w|Traffic circle|Rotary}} that has given its name to the section of the Star Destroyer from the structure itself and right of this until the section where the cave is located. A rotary is also known as a ''traffic circle'' and is a large version of a roundabout with several roads exiting from it. At the top of the upper left passage (see the scene above) Cueball is looking down into this structure and calls it a rotary (hence the name).

The centre contains a small room with a stick figure wearing a tonsure haircut (where only the top of the head is shaved bald), a potted plant, and a coin. The plant resembles a pea plant, and the tonsure is a haircut associated with monks, so this is likely to be Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a 19th century Czech monk who discovered the principles of genetic inheritance by crossing strains of pea plants.

Large rotaries may have more than four roads leading away, but in this case, there are four, and neither of them are leading straight away up/down or left/right. Three of them are almost at a 45-degree angle, but the one going down is only a little of to the right, and soon turns straight down.

Only other feature is the Cueball rushing right on his bike in the corridor leading away from the rightmost exit. There are several bikes throughout the comic, with two more in the Globe of Death above the bridge of the Destroyer and one going down the right slope of the Volcano.

Entering the rotary for the first time there are of course three new directions to move along in, making it a special point in the users' exploration of the Destroyer.
|-
|Photon cannon Tetris piece and mini robot at bottom of hull.
|
:(None - the cannon part has been transcribed in the torpedo section)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1093+s.png (1034, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1092+s.png (1035, 1092)]
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Tetris}}
|The bottom part of the scene has already been described in relation to the torpedo rain. But as can be seen here it is possible to enter the torpedo room almost directly from the bottom exit of the rotary above. Coming down that way is also a T-shaped {{w|Tetris#Colors_of_Tetriminos|tetriminos}} from the Tetris computer game. At the end of the corridor with the small robot there is a shaft, and in the exit from the corridor there is a coin.
|-
|Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d3/1608_1038x1092y_Shaft_corridor_with_coin_and_room_with_coin_over_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1092+s.png (1038, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1036:-1092+s.png (1036, 1092)]
|
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|Going down from the corridor from the scene above takes the player through a small room with a coin at the bottom of the hull and then out over a thick ledge in the air beneath the Destroyer. There is a large gap starting here that ends in the ''Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.
|-
|Giant octopus in Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1094+s.png (1038, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1093+s.png (1038, 1093)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|A giant octopus with a dome shaped head in a dome shaped room with coins above its tentacles left and right. In TE there are several octopuses, and this animal is also often used in xkcd in general. But particularly in ''The USS Laws of the Land'' there is both a large octopus beneath the ship and one giant tentacle reaching up from the deep. If this is considered a monster, then this section of the ship may be the monster section as there also seem to be some kind of horned monster in the room to the right of this room.
|-
|Hamster ball and stilts room.
|
:Megan: ''AaaaAaaa''
:Guy with hair: I can't leave.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1095+s.png (1038, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1039:-1096+s.png (1039, 1096)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster balls category]]
|This room is the first after exiting the rotary to the upper right. The shaft goes down past the octopus room (see scene above). It is the second instance with a hamster ball in this comic, the first being a small girl (with Megan like hair) in the left part of the world just before the plateau. But in this case, it is the adult Megan that is inside the ball, not only running but actually standing on a skateboard. She is clearly not in control. As the player is on a hoverboard there is some kind of connection with a girl on skateboard. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE Megan also uses a skateboard, inside a rounded structure.

Megan is not alone though as there is also a guy (with a wee bit of hair) on stilts. The stilts seem to be very high and if the guy wishes to stay on these stilts his assessment, that he can't leave the room, is true. Between his stilts there is a coin. The world highest stilts are shown in [[482: Height]] and in the next "game" comic after this one, [[1663: Garden]], it is possible to "[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts.png grow]" a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/Garden_Stilt_walker.png girl on stilts].
|-
|Box with horns and coin room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1043x1093y_Box_with_horns_and_coin_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1093+s.png (1043, 1093)]
|
|
|
|
|
|In this room across from the giant octopus room there is yet a possible monster hidden in a box. Two large horns jut out of the box, but if they are standing on the box or is sitting on some horned beast inside the box is not clear. But they look rather ominously, and if it is a monster, it would with the giant octopus make this section a monster section. A coin is hovering between the horns. The shaft up is the only way to move further down inside the Destroyer without moving over or under the hull.

Its appearance in the Star Destroyer with the coin makes it superficially similar to a holoprojector, with the coin as the holorgram - it is unclear whether this is the intended meaning, however.
|-
|Zoom out of three empty rooms near bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1046x1094y_Zoom_out_of_three_empty_rooms_near_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A dead end with three empty room with no coins or any interesting features, thus only this zoomed out version is displayed here. The rooms are just right of the horned box and below is the part of the hull that is the opening where the Destroyer will swallow the Runner. It is not a complete waste to come over this way, as the room to the right with the hoverboard is central to the comic. But no need to go into these rooms if trying to pick up all the coins as fast as possible.
|-
|Corridor with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1046x1097y_Corridor_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1097+s.png (1046, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|
|This is one of the longer corridors without any features. It is the only way to move right inside the destroyer in this section. The corridor goes above the three empty rooms in the scene above and also above the hoverboard room in the scene below. At the end of the corridor there is a shaft up. The only reason this segment is shown is because of the coin.
|-
|Two hoverboards room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1095+s.png (1048, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1094+s.png (1048, 1094)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]]
|Self-reference to title of this comic, and the conversation guide comic released shortly after this is also referencing this entire comic as it complains that hoverboards are not real yet. There is both another hoverboard Cueball and a hoverboard Megan in this room, but compared to the players hoverboard Cueball these two are somewhat more advanced and managed to swoop around the coin in the middle. The room can only be entered from the right. To the left there is only a dead end with three completely empty rooms, so don't bother going there if you are in a hurry to pick up all the coins...
|-
|Zoom out with dead end corridor car room and shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f9/1608_1051x1097y_Zoom_out_with_dead_end_corridor_car_room_and_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Overview of the end of the long corridor with the coin mentioned above. It ends here in the dead end at the bottom. The corridor above has Cueball lying on the hood of a car in a small room quite a distance from any exits to the outside.
|-
|Cueball on hood of car room and a giant step with coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1099+s.png (1048, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1099+s.png (1049, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this dead-end room Cueball is lying on the hood of a car. Hoverboard Cueball cannot copy this as the car is not a solid segment of the image. The hull is not far away, and the car room is right where one of the large steps in the upper hull appears. Right outside there are two coins at the bottom and top of the step. These cannot be seen from inside the room. There is no fast way to get outside from here, and actually no easy way to get a car into this room either. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE there is also a car stuck in the middle of the skyscraper a long way from the parking cellar. In this comic there is actually even one more car in the Destroyer, but that is at least close to an exit ledge (see scene below).
|-
|Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull.
|
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?
:Blonde woman with hair bun: Whatever. Who cares it’s probably fine.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1090+s.png (1049, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1050:-1090+s.png (1050, 1090)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan is referring to the fact that spaceships in Star Wars often fly fast also inside the atmosphere of a planet. Not something you would normally design for. Though in the case with the Destroyer and Runner they did not go inside the atmosphere as depicted here in the comic, in the scene from the original Star Wars movie. The blonde woman comes with a comment typical for b-moves, who cares if this would work in real life, it is just a film.

There is a large gap in the bottom hull ending here and starting in the ''Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.

Behind the two women, who are standing on a thin ledge where the large gap ends, there is another car (see scene above). At least it is clear how this car could get into this room (and out again). Above the car there is a coin. Behind the car there is a corridor going into the Destroyer, but quite high up on the wall for a normal exit. The car cannot be used as a step to jump in there, as it is not part of the solid picture.
|-
|Ponytail flying up a shaft towards a coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1091+s.png (1053, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1091+s.png (1054, 1091)]
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|The corridor from the room with Megan and the car is long. In the middle of it there is a shaft going up (a long way). Just inside this shaft Ponytail is seen flying up, hands in front of her like another Superman. Above her in the shaft there is a coin. This is not the only place in the comic where Ponytail is flying. Although here it seems like an automatic thing (like Superman), whereas down below on the ground below the Destroyer she has to flap her arms violently, but then actually manages to take off from the ground. In a spaceship like this Destroyer there could both be a system to let people float upwards, some gravitational effects or just plain effects of the flying itself, whereas down on the ground flying like that would be magic for sure. But at least there seems to be some correlation since it is Ponytail that flies in both cases.
|-
|Trap covered with leaves and flying Ponytail at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: ...And we cover it with leaves so no one sees it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1090+s.png (1055, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1091+s.png (1055, 1091)]
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|After the shaft where Ponytail flies up (see more in the scene above) the corridor continues to a pit which Cueball and a kid have been covering with leaves and sticks. It seems like they are making a trap, which is even more likely seeing that the bottom of the pit has six sharp spikes that would likely impale any unlucky victims that fell in. Alternatively (given the words Cueball uses), they have made this hole by mistake, and now tries to cover it so no one sees it. If he meant it to be a trap, he might instead have phrased it, "so they won't see it until it is too late". The kid looks like the kid in the room at the rotary, as they have the same hairdo.
|-
|Corridor and shaft with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8f/1608_1053x1094y_Corridor_and_shaft_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1094+s.png (1053, 1094)]
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|The shaft going up from Ponytail below goes past the corridor to the left that goes to the hoverboards room. There is a coin in the entrance.
|-
|'''Entire Corridor peristalsis and colon.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_Entire_area_around_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Zoom out to entire area]
|Overview
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|With the comment from Hairbun about peristalsis - the bowel movement getting food etc. through the digestive system, and with the three chambers with coins above a colon like structure, leading into the corridor with these motions, with a coin both going down the colon and through the peristalsis, there can be no doubt that this is the digestive system for this "living" spaceship, and coins is what it lives off. This interpretation can further be extended to the very front end, where there is the appearance of a head that eats coins (see the front-end overview) and at the rear end a coin is bouncing out at the very last shaft before the very end of the ship. Suggesting where this animal gets rid of the waste products afterwards. (The rest of the ship is not part of this interpretation).
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and two-coin rooms at top of hull.
|
:Hairbun: Ah, yes. Corridor peristalsis.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1099+s.png (1054, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1100+s.png (1057, 1100)]
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|Following the corridor from the room with Cueball on the hood of a car leads to a part of that corridor experiencing {{w|peristalsis}}. This is the kind of muscle movements that causes food to move through the {{w|human gastrointestinal tract}}. Hairbun is telling Cueball that this is indeed corridor peristalsis, so a way for the corridor to move stuff along. As there are coins at both end of this section it is quite clear that these coins are moved along by the corridor itself. The indentation of the corridor is so strong that the corridor is not wide enough to allow hoverboard Cueball to pass through. So, to get both coins another route needs to be found. The shortest way is to go up the shaft behind Hairbun, passing the two empty rooms with coins on the way to the top of the Destroyers hull. To get to the other side hoverboard Cueball will then have to pass through the Destroyers colon like structure to the right. See below. As mentioned in the overview above this is a clear reference to the human digestive system, or in this case the Destroyers ditto.
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and colon.
|
:Cueball: Wheee!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1055x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1099+s.png (1055, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1099+s.png (1056, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Moving a little further down right than the peristalsis scene above the bottom part of the {{w|Large intestine|colon}} like structure can be seen, closely connected to this other intestine like structure (The three coins in the left part of the image are the same as in the scene above). The reason for showing this scene is to show the closeness of these two digestive system structures. In ''Box that cleans food holders'' in TE Ponytail yells "Wheee!" as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach, a mix of the action performed by Cueball and Ponytail in the colon like structure. Ponytail is sliding towards a coin at the bottom in one of the colon loops. The top part of the colon can be seen in the next scene.
|-
|Colon like structure with Ponytail and Cueball sliding down.
|
:(None - text already transcribed in the scene above ''Corridor peristalsis and colon''.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_1058x1100y_Colon_like_structure_with_Ponytail_and_Cueball_sliding_down.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1100+s.png (1058, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1101+s.png (1058, 1101)]
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|The entrance from the top to the colon like structure have a Cueball looking down into it. The rest of the scene has been described above.
|-
|Huge step and three room with coin and Cueball looking into shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/14/1608_1058x1102y_Huge_step_and_three_room_with_coin_and_Cueball_looking_into_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1102+s.png (1058, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1103+s.png (1056, 1103)]
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|This is the upper entrance to the colon like structure into which Cueball is looking. (See scenes above). To the left is the top hull of the Destroyer which takes two huge steps up at this place. Cueball is standing in a corridor with three small rooms, each with a coin in the top of the room. This seems to be a place to hold the coins until they are ready to move down the colon like structure, where another coin is already moving through, going down to the corridor peristalsis in the corridor below, where more coins are moving through the ships digestive system. Going over the hull and down this colon like structure is the fastest/shortest way between the two separated sides of the corridor peristalsis.
|-
|Coin in corridor under Buffer stop room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1060x1099y_Coin_in_corridor_under_Buffer_stop_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1099+s.png (1059, 1099)]
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|Moving away to the right from the corridor peristalsis takes hoverboard Cueball past a small shaft up into a room with two coins in front of what looks like a train {{w|buffer stop}}. One coin in front of each of the buffers. Continuing along the corridor there is another coin. The corridor continues and a shaft is going up. This part of the Destroyer is the beginning of the cave section. The cave can be entered from above by continuing along the corridor.
|-
|Cannon with coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_1060x1103y_Canon_with_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1103+s.png (1060, 1103)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1103+s.png (1062, 1103)]
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|There is a similar cannon with a coin in front of the barrel on the top of the Runner below the Destroyer. This cannon is on top of the hull above and right of the three room above the colon like structure. The shaft going down right is over the next cave section.
|-
|Coin in corridor below mining company in dead end corridor.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1062x1101y_Coin_in_corridor_below_mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1101+s.png (1062, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1101+s.png (1063, 1101)]
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|Two Cueballs work as a mining company in this corridor which they are expanding. It could be that they are digging for gold, but if that gold should be represented by coins, it is weird that the coin hangs above the Cueball with the {{w|pickaxe}} in the higher section of this corridor, instead of being in front of him. The other Cueball drives away with a wheelbarrow full of the rubble they have dug free from the ship. This is another indication of how big the ship is. It is easier to just dig a new corridor than to build the corridor into the ship to begin with. Further to the left in the Destroyer there was another dead-end corridor that looked like it had been dug out - see the scene ''Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.'' But here the mining company had left (even though there also was a coin there). The shaft to the left goes up to the hull right of the cannon from the scene above. The corridor below goes left (past another coin) to the shaft down to the corridor with peristalsis. To the right it goes above the cave to the dance hall room with piano.
|-
|Mining company in dead end corridor also coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ca/1608_1063x1102y_Mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor_also_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1102+s.png (1063, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1103+s.png (1063, 1103)]
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|The same mining company scene as described above but with the view moved to show the top hull, right of the cannon. Right of the shaft going up there is a coin. At the very top right of the hull, the basketball dropped by the Cueball like kid can be seen as it comes bouncing down the length of the hull. This basketball scene is part of the cave section and will be described below.
|-
|'''Entire cotton trap and spark gap room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/65/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap.png Entire area around] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Here are two different zoom out of the cotton trap room with the spark gap room below. In the first overview a zoom out is shown with only these two rooms. There are four coins inside and two on the outside of the hull. The three coins around the cotton trap is almost connected by the cotton, as can be seen in the next overview where the hidden passage through the cotton is clearly marked in red. As can be seen there is a very deep black hole beneath the surface of the cotton (which Ponytail states is cotton). From the bottom of the cotton trap going left will lead to a hidden entrance to the top of the spark gap room. Going right will lead to the hidden entrance to the corridor with traps going to the left entrance to the cave. There are coins on each exit as well as just above the cotton to the right. The third image is a further zoom out to show the entire surroundings of the cotton trap room. (And the last is with the cotton etc. turned red). Here the traps in the corridor leading to the cave can be seen as well as the opening into the cave. Below that the strange spiral corridor can be seen. Both these scenes will be described below in the cave section. To the left the shaft and corridors that connect the two rooms even if not noticing the hidden passage can be seen. It is the corridor with the trap covered by Cueball and the shaft where Ponytail flies up. Three more coins are visible in this wider zoom out for a total of nine coins in this area. The two rooms will be described in further detail below. All of the rooms that can be entered through the cotton trap can also be entered through different entrances from other routes. This means that failing to find out how the cotton trap works, will not prevent the player in reaching either the spark gap from below or the cave to the right.
|-
|Entire Cotton trap room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Overview with the entire cotton trap with and without the cotton shown in red. See above and below for more details.
|-
|Coins in two corridors towards cotton trap.
|
:(None - transcript is written in the scene below.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1055x1095y_Coins_in_two_corridors_towards_cotton_trap.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1095+s.png (1055, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1095+s.png (1056, 1095)]
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|The corridor going from the shaft with the flying Ponytail to the Ponytail warning about the cotton trap also has a coin. The coin in the exit of the other corridor to the shaft was mentioned previously as it is the exit from the room with two hoverboards. See more about the cotton trap below.
|-
|Cotton trap room with Ponytail.
|
:Ponytail: Watch out for the cotton. It's a trap for someone, I think.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/28/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1095+s.png (1057, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1094+s.png (1059, 1094)]
|
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|Entering this room along the top corridor reveals Ponytail standing at the beginning of a steep descend. She clearly warns the player about a trap made of cotton. As can be seen in the hidden passage image most of the black at the bottom of the descend is not solid floor but a hidden passage. Given Ponytails comment it must be assumed to be made of cotton. Given that hoverboard Cueball is not affected by the cotton and can move either up again, or out left or right it is not a trap for him. But other unlucky persons falling into the cotton might not be as lucky. If this is not a trap in itself, there are several traps if moving out to the right (where the coin is below the cotton level). This corridor goes to the cave, but first after passing five traps. See more about the entire surroundings in the overview scenes above.
|-
|Cotton trap room bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1092+s.png (1058, 1092)]
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|The bottom of the cotton trap is a dark place. But as can be seen in the red hidden passage image it is possible to move both left and right to get out. In either case a coin can be obtained at the exit. The left exit leads to a shaft going into the spark gap room below, and the right exit leads through a corridor with traps into the cave. Going up in the spark gap room below will clearly reveal the shaft up. But if the cotton trap has not been discovered at this time, it is likely that the player will not attempt to breech the wall and would thus fail to enter the cotton trap from below. The coin could easily seem enough reason for this dead-end shaft above the room.
|-
|Entire spark gap room to bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1058x1090y_Zoom_out_of_spark_gap_room_to_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire spark gap room, both showing the two coins beneath the outside hull as well as the coin in the top shaft (leading to the cotton trap to the right of this) and the coin behind the spark gap. See more below.
|-
|Spark gap room
|
:Cueball on wall: Shh.
:Electrode bottom: JS
:Electrode top: JS
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4d/1608_1057x1092y_Spark_gap_room_with_Cueball_on_the_wall.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/1608_1058x1090y_Spark_gap_room_only_with_Cueball_on_floor_and_coins_at_bottom_of_hull.png Buttom part to below hull]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1090+s.png (1058, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1092+s.png (1057, 1092)]
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|This room is called the {{w|spark gap}} room, because there seems to be a spark between the two large electrode like structures marked JS. Cueball is watching this, maybe he is the evil inventor that has created this device. At least another Cueball is climbing high above him up on the wall to the left, and when the player passes him on his hoverboard he asks the player no to talk about him (''shh''). It is unclear if he is sneaking away, spying, or sneaking down to attack the other Cueball. A coin is hidden behind the spark gap, but as the spark gap is of the "red" type of black hoverboard Cueball can pass without problems into the coin. As can be seen in the other image displaying the lower part of this scene, the coin outside of the hull is close by, and actually the two coins above each other down there are in the same small image (see the first of the small images).
|-
|Corridor with fire and hammer traps.
|
:Hammers left: Chomp Chomp
:Hammer right: Chomp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1094+s.png (1060, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1061:-1093+s.png (1061, 1093)]
|
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|This is the corridor exiting the cotton trap room (with a coin as mentioned previously), see the cotton in the hidden passage in red image. The corridor leads to the cave, but to get there five traps has to be passed. First there are four hammers with jagged edges that opens and closes with much force as perceived by the noises. And then a pit with a fire has to be surpassed. Of course, as can be seen in the "red" image, neither of these traps are any problem for hoverboard Cueball as they are all of the red type of black. But it is a clear indication that the player is about to enter some interesting place, which is true as the cave is one of the most interesting places in the Destroyer. Although there are two other ways to get into the cave, it is by far the most interesting way to enter the cave for the first time!
|-
|Corridor to cave opening.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1062x1094y_Corridor_to_cave_opening.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1094+s.png (1062, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1094+s.png (1063, 1094)]
|
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|Same scene as above but only the right part with the fire, to show how the corridor enters the beginning of the cave.
|-
|Zoom out with spiral corridor at bottom of the hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1063x1091y_Zoom_out_with_spiral_corridor_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Below the corridor to the cave is a strange corridor which spirals into nothing in the middle. There are no coins in this section, so this is a zoom out without any further zoom in on this section. The room at the top seems like a starting point to go into the spiral. The corridor to the right goes into the huge glitch floor room below the cave. The shaft down goes out the bottom of the hull.
|-
|'''Entire Cave Bridge and rear end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|-
|'''Entire cave section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_Entire_cave_section.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Entire Cave and Glitch floor room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ea/1608_Entire_Cave_and_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|From this image it is clear that the two largest rooms in the Destroyer are almost of the same size and positioned almost on top of each other. They only need a little parallel shift to make them into one big circular room. The Glitch floor room is a feature that can be seen in the Star Wars film, as a protrusion beneath the hull of the Destroyer. In an actual Star Destroyer, this protrusion holds the hyper matter reactor that powers the ship as a whole.
|-
|'''Entire Cave.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/24/1608_Entire_Cave_and_shaft_above.png With shaft and room above] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Pyramid]
|Overview
|
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|In ''Sky Toucher'' there is also a floor in the skyscraper with trees inside, just like the tree inside the cave inside the Destroyer.
|-
|Lake with tree birds and puma on rock at exit in the bottom left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1093+s.png (1065, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1094+s.png (1067, 1094)]
|
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|{{w|Puma}}, or mountain lions, are important predators in an ecosystem and would help keep the deer population in this cave under control.
|-
|Three birds in the top left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1095y_Three_birds_in_the_top_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1095+s.png (1065, 1095)]
|
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|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} has its origins in bird conservation, and it is only natural that an Imperial Park such as this (see below) would also contain birds.
|-
|Gazebo puma deer Cueball with bow and talk of Palpatine in the middle of the cave.
|
:Cueball: I know it seems weird, but every Star Destroyer has one of these rooms.
:Cueball: Say what you will about Palpatine's politics, but he's a staunch supporter of the imperial parks and the Coruscant Audubon society.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1093+s.png (1068, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1094+s.png (1068, 1094)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Palpatine is the evil emperor and the capital "planet" Coruscant is a planet with city all over the solid parts of the surface. So that he is interested in keeping parks both on this planet and on all his Star Destroyers comes as a surprise...
|-

|The broad shaft going into the top of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_1067x1097y_The_broad_shaft_going_into_the_top_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1097+s.png (1067, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1096+s.png (1068, 1096)]
|
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|-
|Deer and exit below lamp coin and Black Hat in the bottom right side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1093+s.png (1069, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1093+s.png (1071, 1093)]
|
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|
|Black Hat is sitting in a cubby high above the ground and looks to be asleep.
|-
|Lamp coin and Black Hat in the top right side of the cave.
|
:Insects: ''Bzzzzz''

:Black Hat: Zzz
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png (1070, 1095)]
|
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|
|In this image the coin is part of the scenery as it is the lamp the buzzing insects fly around. When it is gone it reveals a broken lamp, and an insect that had been hidden behind the coin.
|-
|Corridor from shaft to the two coins in corridors.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_1063x1099y_Corridor_from_shaft_to_the_two_coins_in_corridors.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1099+s.png (1065, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1098+s.png (1064, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Two coins in corridors and four-coin room above shaft to cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_1067x1104y_Two_coins_in_corridors_and_four_coin_room_above_shaft_to_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1100+s.png (1067, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1098+s.png (1067, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Chandelier room with two coins above cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_1070x1098y_Chandelier_room_with_two_coins_above_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1098+s.png (1070, 1098)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1098+s.png (1071, 1098)]
|
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|
|The coins here look like lightbulbs, although it is unclear what a chandelier is doing in a room like this.
|-
|Zoom out with dance room and basketball and slinky stair at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/1608_1068x1101y_Zoom_out_with_dance_room_and_basketball_and_slinky_stair_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Coin close to basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_1063x1104y_Coin_close_to_basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1104+s.png (1065, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1104+s.png (1064, 1104)]
|
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|This coin could also be something that's bouncing down the slope of the Star Destroyer hull - see below.
|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1104+s.png (1067, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1104+s.png (1066, 1104)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|2 Cueballs, Megan and Ponytail are playing basketball on top of the sloped hull of the Star Destroyer. This has proven to be a bad idea, as the slope of the hull has caused the basketball to bounce and roll down the slope, while Cueball runs behind it to catch it.
|-
|Dancing room with piano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1069x1101y_Dancing_room_with_piano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1101+s.png (1069, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1101+s.png (1070, 1101)]
|
|
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|
|Possibly a reference to Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant in "An American in Paris."
|-
|Slinky staircase at top of hull.
|
:Slinky: Slink slink slink
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/1608_1069x1104y_Slinky_stair_case_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1104+s.png (1069, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1103+s.png (1070, 1103)]
|
|
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|
|While it is unclear why the slinky is on the star destroyer at all, the stairs are a reference to the slinky {{w|jingle}} which says "walks downstairs..." The noise is also a reference to the creation of the name "slinky" which was based on the word slink in the dictionary.
|-
|Upside down room and Giddyayup cowboy riding the ship at top of hull.
|
:Cowboy: Giddyayup!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/1608_1073x1104y_Upside_down_room_and_Giddyayup_cowboy_riding_the_ship_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1104+s.png (1072, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1103+s.png (1074, 1103)]
|
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|
|The man on top of the hull is a reference to riding a horse and specifically an American cowboy riding a horse. The (Cueball?) is using reins to "steer" the star destroyer much the same as one would steer a horse. In addition, "Giddyayup" is the command for a horse move. The upside-down room is most likely just a simple visual gag, but could also be a reference to the fact that star destroyers have artificial gravity in SW and thus any direction could be "up" depending on where you are.
|-
|'''Entire Glitch floor room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/52/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Including two rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Also including two close rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In the zoom outs the coin below the hidden glitch in the floor can be seen at the very bottom of the pictures. It is quite a drop to catch it, but if you did not expect it, it is likely you would reach it before going up again.
|-
|Bottom center of Glitch floor room with coin sign and Cueball.
|
:Large sign:
::!
::Caution:
::Glitchfloor.

:Floor signs:
::!
::!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1088+s.png (1069, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1088+s.png (1070, 1088)]
|
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|You are warned not to step onto this glitch floor! But if you do you can drop down to yet another coin far below the Destroyer, but even farther up above the ground.
|-
|Two rooms with coins right of Glitch floor room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_1074x1090y_Two_rooms_with_coins_right_of_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1092+s.png (1073, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1091+s.png (1074, 1091)]
|
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|-
|Cannon protruding below the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_1075x1088y_Canon_protruding_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1088+s.png (1075, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1088+s.png (1076, 1088)]
|
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|
|This cannon is a standard cannon seen on a star destroyer in Star Wars and is not out of place here. It is somewhat unusual that this is on the bottom, since these cannons are generally on top though they are all over the ship, and there are turrets on the bottom of the First Order star destroyer in Force Awakens. Also, the shape is more reminiscent of a real tank gun than the squarer turrets in Star Wars, though this is probably just an effect of Randall's drawing style, rather than anything significant.
|-
|Entire area around the bridge.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_Entire_area_around_the_bridge.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4b/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_rear_section.png Entire bridge area] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_emperor.png Brdige and emperor] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c2/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_globe_of_death.png Bridge and globe of death] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png Actual bridge] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png Vader twice and emperor]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the main bridge of the Star Destroyer, including the command deck. It hosts both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpantine aboard. The Globe of Death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generators.
|-
|Ponytail with paper plane and coin below her on top hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1077x1107y_Ponytail_with_paper_plane_and_coin_below_her_on_top_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1106+s.png (1078, 1006)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1105+s.png (1077, 1105)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Cueball also throws out a plane in Click and Drag from the skyscraper. This also happens in the ''Sky Toucher'' in TE where it is Ponytail again.
|-
|Tarkin on the bridge and Ponytail with paper plane.
|
:Cueball: The fault, dear Tarkin, is not in our star destroyers, but in ourselves.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1107+s.png (1077, 1107)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1108+s.png (1077, 1108)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|| This is most likely a reference to the book (then made into a movie) titled "{{w|The Fault in Our Stars}}". The title of which is a reference to a line in {{w|William Shakespeare |Shakespeare's}} play {{W|Julius Caesar (play) |Julius Ceasar}}; "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves". Grand Moff Tarkin is the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
|-
|Darth Vader talks about Steven Universe on the bridge Megan adjust antenna.
|
:Megan: Such a pain adjusting this thing every time we move

:Darth Vader: ''Breathe''
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a crystal gem,
:Darth Vader: ''Breathe'')
:Darth Vader: so he's half- Are you getting all this?
:Hairy: Yes, my Lord!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1109+s.png (1077, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1110+s.png (1077, 1110)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|Darth Vader refers to Steven Universe from the TV series. His mother is a Crystal Gem, so since his father is human, he is only a half gem, which is a joke in itself. Steven and his family are located inside a room in the middle of the Destroyer. Maybe as prisoners or it could be Vader is just a big fan since he talks about them on the bridge.
|-
|Globe of Death at the top of the Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1110+s.png (1078, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1112+s.png (1077, 1112)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This structure of the Globe of death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generator globes as can be seen in the films.
|-
|Fire system with pure oxygen and two coins room.
|
:Hairbun: In the event of a fire on one of the decks, this system will seal it off and pump in pure oxygen.
:Ponytail: Wait, ''Oxygen?'' Not a fire suppressant like-
:Hairbun: Ugh, ''boring''.

|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1080x1105y_Fire_system_with_pure_oxygen_and_two_coins_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1105+s.png (1080, 1105)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1105+s.png (1081, 1105)]
|
|
|
|
|This is a reference to a {{w|Gaseous fire suppression}} in which tanks similar to those shown are filled with an inert gas, usually nitrogen. Similar systems are referenced in [[1737: Datacenter Scale]]. This system is generally used in large server rooms, where a room with fire will be sealed off from the rest of the servers, and the inert gas will flow into the room, extinguishing the fire, at the cost of whatever was in the room. Since this could be deadly these systems are only legal in rooms with little or no human interaction. The character on the left (Possibly Megan with hair buns) starts off by describing this system, though the system on the star destroyer has the key difference of piping in oxygen, instead of nitrogen, which Ponytail questions. Megan responds "Uhh, ''Boring''." which is technically true. An Inert gas will have a little visible effect, and the fire will slowly die. Piping in oxygen, however, is not a valid way to extinguish flames, as it would feed the fire instead of extinguishing it, though, if you have an adequate seal, this might not be as much of a problem as it sounds. The fire will eventually consume all of the oxygen and die. Unfortunately, there are 3 problems with this. The first is simple: there are people on a star destroyer, and this system will kill them if they happen to be near the fire. The second is that in addition to simply feeding the fire the oxygen is explosive, which could potentially blow the doors that seal the decks, allowing the fire to spread. The third is in the wording of (Megan?); who says that it will seal off the affected ''deck'' which is SW generally refers to an entire level. While this may just be a wording error by Randall, given the humor of the rest of the system, it would not be a great leap to imagine a system that seals off a whole floor regardless of the size of the fire, killing everyone on that floor. In addition, given that the Empire is evil, it is also not a stretch to believe that they would kill an entire deck for a small fire just because the alternative is boring. This kind of scenario was in fact explored in the novel {{w|Star Wars: Lost Stars}} where it is described that entire decks were destroyed during the scene in {{w|The Empire Strikes Back}} where a star destroyer chases the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. This destruction is pointed out in the novel and dismissed, as it is in this comic.
|-
|Darth Vader’s gold bullion and Cueball and Ponytail in small room at the top of the hull.
|
:Cueball: Aha! Darth Vader's secret gold bullion reserves! We'll be rich!
:Megan: I'm not sure this is canon.
:Bags: $ $ $
:Boxes: $ $ $ $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_1080x1108y_Darth_Vaders_gold_bullion_and_Cueball_and_Ponytail_in_small_room_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1108+s.png (1080, 1108)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1109+s.png (1079, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Despots are generally known for having vast reserves of wealth hidden away secretly, often in the form of gold. Here, Megan remarks on finding Darth Vader's secret stash. This is obviously not canon, as Cueball remarks - Darth Vader's palaces in both canon and legacy storylines have been largely devoid of treasures and wealth, being mostly a place of meditation on the Dark Side.
|-
|Large crocodile near globe of death at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e8/1608_1081x1110y_Large_crocodile_near_globe_of_death_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1110+s.png (1081, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1111+s.png (1079, 1111)]
|
|
|
|
|Crocodiles are cold-blooded creatures, and a flat, open, sunlit space such as the top of the Star Destroyer Bridge would be a great place for a crocodile to bask in the sun to warm itself.
|-
|The Emperor Palpatine and his birds at the top of the hull.
|
:Guy: My emperor...
:Guy: We all share in your newfound enthusiasm for birdwatching.
:Guy: But normally one watches them in the wild, rather than drugging and imprisoning them in a house of stairs.
:Emperor: ''Silence.''
:Bird: Chirp
:Bird: Chirp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_1083x1109y_The_Emperor_Palpatine_and_his_birds_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1109+s.png (1083, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1109+s.png (1084, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|House of Stairs may refer to the M. C. Escher {{w|House Of Stairs|lithograph}} with that title, but this is more likely to be a reference to the William Sleator novel {{w|House of Stairs (Sleator novel)|House Of Stairs}} (named for the Escher work) which features five teenage orphans who wake up inside an environment with similarities to that in the Escher print (but with normal gravity).
|-
|Coin behind the rear end at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1087x1108y_Coin_behind_the_rear_end_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1087:-1108+s.png (1087, 1108)]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Entire Prince of Persia maze.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_both_exits.png Including both exits]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Prince of Persia}}
|Compare to this [https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png picture of level 1] taken from the game.
|-
|Corridor left of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1073x1101y_Corridor_left_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1101+s.png (1073, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1101+s.png (1072, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left entrance to Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1076x1101y_Left_entrance_to_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1101+s.png (1076, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1101+s.png (1077, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left part of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/03/1608_1079x1102y_Left_part_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1102+s.png (1077, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1102+s.png (1080, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right part and exit of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1082x1101y_Right_part_and_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1101+s.png (1082, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1102+s.png (1081, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right exit of Prince of Persia maze and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1084x1103y_Right_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1102+s.png (1083, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1103+s.png (1083, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Ant Queen and alarm ante room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/10/1608_Ant_Queen_and_alarm_ante_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In this section all rooms have the same dome shaped ceiling that goes a little below the walls of the corridors.
|-
|Corridor with alarm and trapped Cueball.
|
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1075x1094y_Corridor_with_alarm_and_trapped_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1094+s.png (1075, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1094+s.png (1074, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Cueball appears to be trapped beneath a platform and is looking up, presumably wondering how to escape this situation. This has been made more ominous by the alarm going off nearby, which adds to the seriousness of the situation. A coin has been stored alongside some boxes nearby as well.
|-
|Ant Queen in Destroyer.
|
:Cueball: What's up?
:Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
:Cueball: Eww.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1095+s.png (1078, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1094+s.png (1077, 1094)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic: [[1610: Fire Ants]] and [[1641: Hot Dogs]]
|The ant comic was released only a week after this comic and refers how cool ants are. Ants are also used twice in TE A zoom in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others: an ant queen, a clear reference to the ant queen in the Destroyer. The other comic is a discussion running along exactly the same template ending in ''Eww''.

This is probably a reference to a part of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" in his Ender series. In it, the main character, Ender, visits a hive queen "bugger" he saved on his travels and became friends with, at a time after the queen has settled in on a new planet. At one point, Ender brings other humans to meet the queen at a time when she was giving birth to some of her drones. This is most likely meant to represent a parody of that conversation or else represent a comedic idea of his first conversation with her when she had been birthing, where Ender is alone and is speaking to the Hive Queen. In this version, when he finds out that she is in the process of birthing more ants, rather than being compassionate and understanding with the Queen (as he is in the book), Ender is weirded out like the other humans he brings along with him later.
|-
|Entire shafts from top to bottom towards the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_Entire_shafts_from_top_to_bottom_towards_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the longest shaft in the Destroyer, and with the other shaft going out at the rear end, it is possible to go from the top room at the emperor and out beneath in a very short time.
|-
|Coin in the longest shaft.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1084x1099y_Coin_in_the_longest_shaft.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1099+s.png (1084, 1099)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Might be a reference to how the emperor fell to his first death by being thrown down a shaft in the throne room by Darth Vader onboard the 2nd Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
|-
|Cueball and Megan hanging on to each other in a shaft figuring this out.
|
:Cueball: Okay
:Cueball: We can figure this out.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1084x1095y_Cueball_and_Megan_hanging_on_to_each_other_in_a_shaft_figuring_this_out.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1095+s.png (1084, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to a similar scene in "The Emperor's New Groove", although neither character here is obviously a llama.
|-
|Zoom out on light bulb with corridor and other room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1084x1092y_Zoom_out_on_light_bulb_with_corridor_and_other_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Giant light bulb room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1090+s.png (1084, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1085:-1090+s.png (1085, 1090)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''The pieces everything is made of'' in TE a light bulb is used as reference for the entry on tungsten as the filament in such bulbs is made from this element.
|-
|Hairbun proposition room and Cueball losing his sandwich at the rear end.
|
:Hairbun: Use a proposition instead of a preposition if you need something to end a sentence with, baby.

:Cueball: My sandwich!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_1086x1091y_Hair_Bun_Girl_proposition_room_and_Cueball_losing_his_sandwich_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1091+s.png (1086, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1089:-1091+s.png (1089, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|One comment is inside the other on the outside of the Destroyer. Cueballs sandwich will fall to the ground.
|-
|Coin bouncing out from a shaft below the hull.
|
:Coin: Bounce
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_1086x1088y_Coin_bouncing_out_from_a_shaft_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1088+s.png (1086, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1090+s.png (1086, 1090)]
|
|
|
|
|In relation to the colon interpretation (see above) then this would literally be the rear of this living spaceship, and the coin is the waste going out the rear entry!
|-
|Megan hanging on below the bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan Hmm.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/1608_1082x1088y_Megan_hanging_on_below_the_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1088+s.png (1082, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Megan has found herself in a precarious situation and is humorously underreacting by going 'Hmm'.
|-
|Zoom out on shaft and small dead-end room at the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1088x1098y_Zoom_out_on_shaft_and_small_dead_end_room_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Zoom out on shafts and part of the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1088x1105y_Zoom_out_on_shafts_and_part_of_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Coin in a small indentation corridor at the rear end.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1090x1102y_Coin_in_a_small_indentation_corridor_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1102+s.png (1090, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|
|It is unknown what part of the Star Destroyer it could explicitly be hidden in. However, a Star Destroyer would have more than enough surface features for such an indent to exist and have a coin inside it.
|-
|Megan wants synesthesia at the rear end at bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan: I want synesthesia so bad I can ''taste'' it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1090x1088y_Megan_want_synesthesia_at_the_rear_end_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png (1090, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1213: Combination Vision Test]]
|{{w|Synesthesia}} is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. One typical version is where numbers are perceived as having colors. This was used in the comic referenced. In this comic a wish for something makes Megan almost taste it. If she did indeed have this dysfunction, she might already have what she wished for... This is one of the rare incidences where there are two almost identically Megans in one scene.
|}
</div>

==Technical aspects==
The game was made by [https://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].

===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, and it is not possible to go down further than image with Y coordinate 1073 (and it goes down to 1069 in the full image), so there is a bottom limit in the game. If using a [[#Cheats|cheat mode]] this may be different.

There are a couple of issues in the game. On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area before the black image loads and permanently traps you immobile (unless you [[#Cheats|cheat]]). Sometimes, the timing of the game is completely off, which can make Cueball move extremely slowly or quickly, which makes the images jump and makes the graphic look worse. The latter error was actually used to discover something about how you move when pressing the arrows - see under [[#Functionality|Functionality]]. 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 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 (see [[#Cheats|Cheats]]).

If you keep down the left/right control, you will keep moving along in that direction as long as no object blocks you.
A jump will only take you a certain height. The jump is initially very quick, then gravity stops you and reverts the direction. When descending, you accelerate quickly but reach a terminal velocity after a few seconds. If you jump repeatedly while keeping a left/right control down, you will jump in that direction. If you only jump once while holding down the direction control, then you will stop moving forward after about 2.8s. From then on, you will just keep falling straight down or stop where you reached if on the ground. This makes quite a difference when you jump into an opening from a high structure. If the background is completely white, you cannot see that you do not continue to move forward and will thus not be aware that you are now falling straight down, instead of going left/right.

It can actually be quite difficult to notice as you will leave any structures that can indicate this issue very quickly. Of course, if you notice that you land much too close to some high structure from where you base jumped, you will begin to understand. For instance, falling off the floating rock, and not moving away from under neath it during that long fall. The timing was discovered because of one of the bugs in the program that sometimes [[#Functionality|makes Cueball move extremely slow]], so one jump takes more than 3s. The solution to keep moving to either side while descending is that, after the jump, you release and repress the left/right control. You will then continue moving in that direction as long as you do not jump again. If you keep holding one of these buttons, you will also keep moving laterally. When you jump up over a long distance or continue to jump hover over the landscape, you will not have this issue, since every jump reactivates the lateral movement.

===Animation===
There have before been several interactive comics and also a few with animations. But these animations have typically been lines of flashing text or changing lights. This comic is the first with a character that is specifically changing position in animation style. Apart from this, there are also flashing text when leaving the play-area and text that appears and disappears as described in [[#Coins|Messages in Play Area]]. This also happens with the text written to begin with explaining how to play the game: ''Use the arrow keys to move'', which disappears upon touching the keys. Below are two images showing two kinds of animation of the hoverboard Cueball. The first image shows the eight standard animation that can easily be seen. They are
*Standing still facing right (starting position)
*Standing still facing left
*Moving left along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Moving right along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Jumping while facing left looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Jumping while facing right looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Falling while facing left looking down with hoverboard pointing up
*Falling while facing right looking down with hoverboard pointing up
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball standard animation.png]]

There are several in-between frames of Cueball turning from left to right and even more from right to left. The second image shows eight in between animations (together with four from above). Not all the positions are necessarily caught in this collage here, but there is only a limited amount of them and all last less tahn a split second. They have been sorted so it could look like Cueball has just turned to the right standing still, then jumping while turning right, then turning right while in jump, to finish the turn while falling.
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball turning animation.png]]

===Image coordinates===
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 from the starting tile can be seen here: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png, with the coordinate (X, Y) coordinate (1000, 1074).

Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. The image tiles names are listed as coordinates in an X - Y grid with X in the range from 928 to 1108 and Y in the range from 928 to 1112.

Internally in the game, the position of the player is given for instance as (X: 512187, -Y: -549668) for the starting position. Then these numbers are divided by 512 and rounded down. This gives the coordinate of the tile that the hoverboard is currently in.
:(X: 512187, -Y: -549668)/512 => (X, Y) = (1000.37, -[-1073,6]) => (1000, 1074) when the numbers are rounded down.
The bottom left corner of the first tile, would thus be (1000, 1073), and the top left corner (1000, 1074) => (512000, -549888).

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed-out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas. Here is an example which uses the initial Play Area:

{{cot|Play Area used as example}}
Using the Play Area as an example some of the features mentioned in this section will be explained.
The images used below can be seen together [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All of Play Area|here]].
The hoverboard begins in (X, Y) = [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
But even while staying within the Play Area, defined as the area where you will not be told to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area], you can see all or part of twenty images.
You can move one image left and right of the starting point before reaching the walls, and one image up without getting too high. But from there you can see part of the images one step further left, right and up, and from the starting level you can see part of the black images below as well.
This makes it a five times four images rectangle.
This first example shows a full-size image combined from these twenty images that make up the play area starting in the top left corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/998:-1076+s.png (998, 1076)] and finishing down the right corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1073+s.png (1002, 1073)].
Here are only the images themselves, nothing with the game parts, i.e. coins and hoverboard Cueball: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Images_Only.png Play Area Full Size Images Only].

The next example shows both where the tiles are and what you see to begin with, i.e. the starting view when loading the comic to begin with. Still without any in game details.
Here the tiles are lines out with green and the view frame is in red. From this it can be seen that the view is somewhat larger than a single image.
More precisely the view is 1.43 times longer and 1.34 higher than a tile giving an area almost twice as big (1.93 times), but only going about one-third of a tile length in each direction: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Tiles and View].
This third example shows the game version, with coins and hoverboard, but still the hole Play Area and hence also the read viewing square.

This is included to indicate which coins can be seen to begin with and also how the view is centered around Cueball and the hoverboard.
Cueballs center is also the center of the view. His center is defined as the line of his body in the X direction and just above his hands in the Y direction.
The view is twelve times as high and thirty times as wide as the Cueball on hoverboard (and compared to a tile these numbers are 9.4 and 20.8 times).[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard and View].

The last and fourth example is the same as above, but again with the green tiles.
This to indicate the size of a tile compared to Cueball
It also shows that although there are twelve coins in the starting view, the one at the top left is clearly in the image above, and the three others at the top are grazing the top edge of the image: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a3/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard Tiles and View].
{{cob}}

===Cheats===
[[File:1608_MetroidXK.png|500px|thumb|right]]
A standalone cross-platform [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl open-source] remake of this comic is available. It has extra features, such as offline play, arbitrary game window size, persistent games state on exit, save up to ten locations and teleport to them at will, and an explorable world map. It is available to dowload [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl/releases here].

There's also a satirical crossover with the classic game {{w|Super Metroid}}, allowing the user to explore the world as Samus in search of powerups and secrets, while encountering danger at every turn. You can find more information [https://web.archive.org/web/20170223172620/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=113083&start=120#p3913102 here] and download it [https://www.xeloh.com/Releases#MetroidXK here].

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:

'''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. 
'''Click to expand:'''

*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white Gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.

*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed

*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -10 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)

*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity

*'''Noclip mode:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''explorer.pos.x = *Value* or 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 necessary for exploring in this way.

* '''All the above:''' ''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(explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.

* '''List all coins:''' ''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 code below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with i.am.gandalf
{{cot|View hacks}}
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:

<pre>
var coinsnotfound = [];
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
if (explorer.objects[T].got == false) {
coinsnotfound.push([
explorer.objects[T].x1,
explorer.objects[T].y1
])
}
}
console.log(coinsnotfound);
</pre>
To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

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

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "blue";
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;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "blue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "blue";
}
linecolor = "deepskyblue";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "deepskyblue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " ";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + (((ang+270+180)%360+180)%360-180).toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

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 = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid blue";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 50);
</pre>

To see how many coins you've collected:

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

console.log(coinsfound);

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)
{{cob}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:No title text]] 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]] 
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] 
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:The Lion King]] 
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Spiders]] 
[[Category:Songs]] 
[[Category:Protip]] 
[[Category:Hamster balls]]
[[Category:Playpen balls]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Sport]] 
[[Category:Robots]] 
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]] 
[[Category:Food]] 
[[Category:Social networking]] 
[[Category:Clickbait]] 
[[Category:Drones]] 
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Ants]]
[[Category:Stilts]]

1608: Hoverboard

2025-10-04T04:00:04Z

Sprucegrouse: Added Goggles Mode instructions and cleaned up language.

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}
{{TOC}}To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1608|original comic}}!

==Explanation==

Hoverboard is a platforming minigame, whose ostensible goal is collecting gold coins. This [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] appeared on the same date as the release of [[Randall]]'s book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]''.

The title refers to the skateboard-like {{w|hoverboard}} that was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE prominently featured] in the movie {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}. The BTTF movies' hero, {{w|Marty McFly}}, travels to the future in this sequel, to [https://www.facebook.com/October212015BTTF 2015-10-21], to be exact. This comic was released on 2015-11-24, about a month later. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33785285 had actually] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HI137m7XA4 come] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLwNGBB_Yb0 to] [https://www.wired.com/2016/03/hendo-2-hoverboard/ pass] by this date, along with inventions like [https://www.terrafugia.com/ flying] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-1pXbW5wVg cars] and [https://www.soundandvision.com/content/wear-your-music-thinkgeeks-soundtrack-shirt#jo8J1DassbWxlptj.97 musical clothing]. Randall is known to have had [[:Category:Electric skateboard|electric skateboards]], which which are thematically related, and another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]].

===Game Features===

{{spoiler|The best way to enjoy this comic is simply to {{xkcd|1608|play the game}}! (Just be sure that you play using a web browser other than Safari.) If you have not yet tried (hard) to play it "cold" already, do so now. Reading beyond this Alert first will eliminate the possibility of your experiencing best of the rewards the game offers.}}

Your player in the game is an {{w|animated}} [[Cueball]] riding a hoverboard that assumes [[#Animation|several different positions]] as it travels. You control your player with the left, up and right arrows, as noted on the start screen. Your player can jump repeatedly and thereby reach ever-increasing heights. You can move him left and right both while jumping and descending. (More under [[#Functionality|Functionality]] and Controls.)

Your player begins in a maze (called the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/All_play_area_hanging_all_coins.PNG Play Area]). It holds 17 gold coins and contains a "deposit" box. One goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and deposit them quickly. Deposits returns [[#Coins|text messages]] describing the result of the round of play. It may seem to some, at this point, that there is nothing more to the game.

However, just out of view, beyond the maze on either side are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player]. But these walls can be scaled by continuous jumping, allowing the player to exit the maze on both sides, despite the flashing red false warning [[#Coins|error message]]: "'''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area]'''".

If you disregard this, you can take your player, hoverboard Cueball, to explore far beyond the walls to left and right (and above), where there are many points of interest to be found, as well as 152 more [[#Coins|coins]] to collect, 116 on the right and 36 on the left.

All of the interesting places of the game are noted in the references and maps below and on the Extra Hoverboard Pages that are linked there. As a practical matter, hovever, you can only visit many of the most interesting places only with the help of the JavaScript Goggles hack. Entering Goggles Mode brings up a new pane to the right of the comic that enables you to see secret entrances in otherwise solid surfaces, and to see in the dark after the player enters black spaces.

To open the JavaScript Console, press F12 on PCs, and Command-Option-i on Mac. In the command line under the Console tab, enter: ze.goggles ( ) , making sure your command includes spaces before, between and after the two parens. This will bring up a window to the right of the comic showing black objects that are right next to the player in red. The red marks the spots where the player can pass objects that are black in the game. Cyan lines in the window mark the limits of how far the player can pass in the dark.

Hoverboard's many {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} recall comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. Nonetheless, Hoverboard is xkcd's first actual game, one in which you move an object in front of the drawing. In Click and Drag you only move the drawing into the view section. In the two previous [[April Fools' Day comics]], [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]], the user does not move anything, but only supplies choices, text and drawings. The next {{w|April Fools' Day}} comic contains another game, [[1663: Garden]], in which you also moved objects around and make them disappear (as you do with coins in this game.)

===Main themes===
There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main ones are '''{{w|Star Wars}}''' and '''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'''. Below is a [[#Details and references|list of details and references]] to these movies (19 to SW and 6 to LOTR) as well as much more.

The largest part of the game is located on the '''right side''' of the play area and is dominated by references to ''Star Wars'', notably a recreation of [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=112 the opening scene] in the {{w|Star Wars (film)|first film}}, where {{w|Princess Leia|Princess Leia's}} space ship ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'', also known as ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png The Rebel Blockade Runner]'', is flying over [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png the desert] planet {{w|Tatooine}}. Here it is followed by the {{w|Star Destroyer}}, ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]''. The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png desert ground with these two space ships] above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png commented on] by [[Megan]] who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyer's hull.
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground, but there are three [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png wires from the ground] that connect (and thus guide you) up to ''The Runner'' and from there [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png 100+ torpedoes], which are fired [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down on the Runner] coming [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png from the Destroyer] above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png looking up and reacting] or like [[White Hat]] looking from the tip of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Washington Monument] and reacting [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png by saying]: "Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''."). There is also a giant island floating very high above the flagpost in the left side of the world, with no indication of its existence.

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png such a Destroyer]. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins are located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many, many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png huge cave] with trees and animals. At [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png the bridge] we meet both {{w|Darth Vader}} and the Emperor himself, {{w|Palpatine}}. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance, Darth Vader discusses {{w|Steven Universe}}, bringing up Rose Quartz and Steven himself ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png who can be found with the Crystal Gems] in a different part of the Destroyer).
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a Crystal Gem...
There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the Destroyer, some of these are also Star Wars related like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png the wedding scene] where {{w|Jabba the Hutt}} is mentioned.

To the '''left side''' is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here, the main theme is ''The Lord of the Rings'' mainly with the presence of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png volcano] where for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Megan tries to throw] in {{w|One Ring|''rings'' of power}}, as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the xkcd game represents Mt. Doom. Frodo, {{w|Sauron}}, and {{w|Gandalf}} are all mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text. Two {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png talking about Frodo] and {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien}}, Sauron's name is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png read up by Megan from a book], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure] in the crater and also his name is used in the [[#Coins|message]] you receive if you collect [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG all possible coins].

The two worlds do conflict though, as an {{w|X-wing fighter}} is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png parked at a gas station] to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote ''You shall not pass!'' from his fight against the {{w|Balrog}} is modified by [[Cueball]] who is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png ''not'' trying to block your path] to a coin inside a room in the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that {{w|Andy Serkis}} who played {{w|Gollum}} in LOTR, now plays the {{w|Supreme Leader Snoke}} in the new Star Wars movie, and [https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/6/64/Supremeleader.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/270?cb=20151223201852 his appearance] as Snoke is not that much different from Gollum's. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds one of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Randall would not have known this last part at the time that this comic was released, but he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis' involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/star-trek-fans-rivalry-george-lucas-roddenberry/ naughty reference] to {{w|Star Trek}} from inside [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the bridge] of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a long-haired woman (maybe [[Danish]] since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans and [[Hairbun]] behind her, which could represent Princess Leia with her [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1b/Princess_Leia%27s_characteristic_hairstyle.jpg special hair style]) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_Comparing_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_real_level_1.png complete depiction] of ''[https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png Level 1]'' of the computer game ''{{w|Prince of Persia}}'' down to the three coins being in the place of three items to take in that game, and at least two of the opposing sword fighters in the correct places as well.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' was released on December 14, 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in [[1585: Similarities]], when another movie ({{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot ''BB-8'' that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section could be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although {{w|the Hobbit}} has been released as {{w|The Hobbit (film series)|three films}} over the previous three Christmases it was Star Wars that dominated the Christmas a month after this comic's release.

===Extra Hoverboard pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size). These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]]''' - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]''' - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the [[#Environment|Environment]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages]]''' - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the [[#Secret passages and hidden places|Secret passages and hidden places]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/All image links]]''' It is linked from the [[#All images|All images]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins]]''' It is linked from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots]]''' It can be linked from several sections, but among others from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]]''' It will be linked from the [[#Details and references|list of details and references]], which will be using these images in the explanation.

===Characters===
Almost all main [[:Category:Characters|characters]] in the xkcd gallery are used more than once, especially there are three characters that are used several times. Number one is of course [[Cueball]] (with close to 90 appearances) who is already shown at the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png starting point]. He is also the first character seen when walking both [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png right] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png left] (where he speaks the first line to the left).

Then follows [[Megan]] with at least 40 appearances, she is even shown twice in the same location three times, one of these three even occurs within one of the [https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png small images]. She is also shown with Cueball in his first appearance to the left, and she is the first to speak a line to the right [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png here].

Also [[Ponytail]] is well represented with 26 appearances (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png here)].

[[Hairy]] (with different hair styles) is used 7 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png here]) and [[Hairbun]] is used 5 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png here)].

Two of the main characters are used twice: [[Beret Guy]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png here]) and [[White Hat]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png here]).

The only exception is that the main villain of xkcd [[Black Hat]] who is very hard to find. He is only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png shown once] in the comic where he very uncharacteristically just sits and snores at the right wall in the cave inside the Destroyer (is it really him...?). The only other hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png on a stick] under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not that kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see [[405: Journal 3]]). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could also be any of the Cueballs close by…

Also [[Blondie]] seems to be only represented once, while in her reporter mode while discovering a bug before the volcano as can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png here].

There are also several characters that are not recognizable as either any of the standard xkcd characters or in any other way (see for instance a few of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding guests]). But there are possibly some of the minor characters are used like [[Danish]] at the bridge in the Blockade Runner ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png here]) but this cannot be confirmed, she just looks like her and has some similarities teasing the Star Wars fan.

Several places in the comic it is clear from the size and the behavior that some of the characters are kids, see for instance the Blondie image mentioned above, where two kids looking like Megan and Hairy stand behind her, but they would in principle not be Megan or Hairy despite appearance, as these named characters are adults.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books, and shows; for instance Darth Vader ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png here]), Gandalf ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png here]) and Steven Universe ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png here]) all three mentioned above, and some real life people: you can find [[Elon Musk]], who has a [[#Secret passages and hidden places|hidden lair]] under the Volcano (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png here]), and Gregor Mendel, hanging out on a Star Destroyer with a pea plant.

Furthermore, there are many animals (like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png the puma and the deer]) in the cave, some even rather big like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png octopus] or even gigantic like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] (all three from inside the Destroyer). There are also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each spaceship ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png here from the Destroyer]).

==Environment==
This is the whole comic image, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red. See also a collection of different [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!
[[File:1608 full.png|1300px|link=1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]

===Secret passages and hidden places===
There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. You might have discovered this yourself if you stayed in the play area, as the platform below the inverted parentheses is only solid at the edges. Some of these places out of the play area even hide secret passages or hidden rooms. You can reveal them by [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1608:_Hoverboard#Cheats_and_Exploits activating goggles mode].

One notable hidden area is Elon Musk's volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here without using goggles mode even if you know it is there. (For more details, see [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages|secret passages]].)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the {{w|Washington Monument}}, which is almost the highest point with solid ground. It is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. Even if you go up enough, you will almost miss it, as the Monument is not aligned to the island. (The [[#Viewers|maps]] can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. Getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG Gandalf-like wizard]. (See more regarding [[#Coins|coins]] below.)

===Coins===
There are 169 total coins in the comic. For more details, see the [[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins|coins location]]. The highest-located coin in the game is beside the large rock on Rock Island, while the lowest-located coin is a toss-up between the one in the volcano lair, in the well, and on the rogue wave talking to Cueball. (There's also a coin under the lava but it's not at the bottom of the room.) On top of the eggs in the stork nest, on the far right of the image, there are ten coins. These are the most coins that can be collected in one place outside the play area.

The Coins are not part of the drawing, as they are added later and are superimposed on top of the comic image. This means they are always on top of the black parts of the image, even in secret paggsages. There are no coins located over any part of the solid bedrock or walls in the comic, but sometimes they coins are placed over some of the black parts that you can walk through. See example here [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_with_coin_1070_1095.png with coin] vs. [https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png without coin]. The coin is here a lamp, and then when it is removed it reveals an exploded lamp and also one more insect. See a picture here of the coin delivery after [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Reaching all the boundaries|reaching all coins and all the boundaries]].

Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector. The table contains examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
In Chrome and Firefox, there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined". Safari, as noted elsewhere, is not recommended. See [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Coin collecting messages|screen-shots]] or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
!# coins
!Text when depositing this number of coins
"X" is the number of coins collected
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/0_coins.PNG 0 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 0 coins in 1 second''' You successfully avoided all the coins.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1_coin.PNG 1 coin]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got a single coin in 1 second''' It's a start.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/2_coins.PNG 2]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/4_coins.PNG 4 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 3 seconds''' Not bad!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/5_coins.PNG 5]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/9_coins.PNG 9 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 12 seconds''' Terrific!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/10_coins.PNG 10]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/55/16_coins.PNG 16 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 10 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG 17 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 17 coins in 15 seconds''' You found all the coins! Great job!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/18_coins.PNG 18-41 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 430 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/42_coins.PNG 42 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 42 coins in 460 seconds''' No answers here.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d8/45_coins.PNG 43-168 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 460 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG All 169 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds''' Are you Gandalf?
|}

Once you leave the play area, you get a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG flashing warning message] in red letters at the bottom of the screen:
{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"| '''Return to the play area'''
|}
This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time). Then, it pauses for about 1.3 seconds and repeats five times, flashing a total of 15 times in just about 11.3 seconds. The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period. If you re-enter later, it will flash once you leave again. The play area is anything within and below the middle part of the walls just outside the starting maze.

===Boundaries===
The whole map is 1920 pixels wide, for a length of 10,656' or 3247.9488m. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground preventing you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves. In the upward direction there is theoretically also an invisible wall, but while jumping, [[Cueball]] and his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you jump; in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for Cueball to fall down again once the button is released. So, although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. When the comic was first released, it could have been possible that there were some hidden unexplored parts. Shortly after it was posted, however, a [[#Viewers|map]] was created which covered the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest).

To the far left is a blond woman wearing her hair in a bun, looking right. She tells you about the Destroyer, should you have gone this way without finding it yet.
:Woman: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

The highest straight rise into the air to something other than white is Rock Island, just left of and very high over the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of the Island, you are standing almost as high up as possible (the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tad higher). There is a coin here one step next to the rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over Rock Island's edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game.

As for the deepest parts of the image, the volcano lair and the deep well (halfway to the volcano on the left) are tied. The deepest part where you can stand, however, is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rogue wave is talking to Cueball:
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ... But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.

Taking a route through all the extremes mentioned here (the lowest, highest, leftmost, and rightmost solid positions within the game) can be achieved in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. It takes 1 minute and 52 to get from the starting point to the leftmost edge. While we do not have a definite speed for the hoverboard, we can obtain the dimensions of the map by using the Washington monument. Assuming it reflects the real-life dimension of the monument, it is 100 pixels tall, while the actual monument is 555'. This means that 1 pixel is about 5.55 real-world inches.

===All images===
Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for the (1000, 1074) starting point image.] '''Here is a page with a table of all the links to images: [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]].''' The individual images are so small and cut off at "random" intervals, so you will often be unable to see both a person what they're sayin in the same image.
See for instance this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding scene] to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as they are in the link): [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1073+s.png (1037, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1074+s.png (1037, 1074)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1074+s.png (1038, 1074)]

The maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180. Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). The total possible images in the y-direction are 44. Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction) Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)

The number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which don't even have a number/or active link on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate. The same also goes for the X coordinate: above X=1076 there are also many non-existing images with not active link. All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are non-existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank/white empty air in the game. If you try to load one of the completely blank images like [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1077+s.png (1000, 1077)], three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.

Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1076+s.png (1000, 1076)]. There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or underground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076. For instance, the image below the starting point is completely black [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1073+s.png (1000, 1073)], and so are the next three below. The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1069+s.png (1000, 1069)]. All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1069+s.png (1107, 1069)] (this is not the case to the far left at [https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1069+s.png (928, 1069)]). You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually, you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white. This picture with the wave at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)] gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand. Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1072+s.png (1022, 1072)], which is of course completely black.

Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:

*At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png (1078, 1112)] there are 36 active images. Thus, even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).

*These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last twelve images above this are missing it is still four less than under the bridge.

*Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like [https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)], there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).

*Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the height here going up to 1088, thus also making it twenty active Y images. The only '''not''' completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles [https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)].

==Details and references==
On the page [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]], images covering all individual scenes (in full size and with coins) has been saved and uploaded to be used for reference in the [[#Table with references|table]] below from where they are linked directly. There are also several overviews in smaller resolution. Almost all these images have been made using this [https://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages] which includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of user [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on this [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 Reddit thread].

===References to Thing Explainer===
Some of the scenes in this comic reference the pictures in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. Here are some examples:

*[[1133: Up Goer Five]], the comic that was the impetus for the book. These are both referenced in this game by the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png space capsule] used for re-entry by the astronauts that flew to the moon using the {{w|Saturn V|Saturn Five}} rocket. This capsule is floating down over the plateau before the volcano to the left.

*In ''Sky Toucher'', the last entry explaining a skyscraper, there are several references to the game, one of these being the space capsule just mentioned above. Other references:
**Ponytail throwing a paper plane out, which she also does [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png below the bridge] of the Destroyer. (This is also a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/1110 Click and Drag] where [https://imgs.xkcd.com/clickdrag/6n2w.png Cueball does the same], here even from a skyscraper).
**Cueball is setting up a kite and Ponytail is crawling up in the line. In the comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite]. Being up in a kite is also referenced in both [[235: Kite]] and in the title text of [[1614: Kites]] (from just a few weeks after the release of this comic.)
**There is a floor in the middle of the building with trees, just like there is a cave inside the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png with a tree "inside"].
**Cueball is holding a fishing rod out over the side of the building letting the hook hand in the air. The same [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png can be seen] under the Rebel Blockage Runner.
**Megan is using a skateboard in a strange ellipsoid-shaped room. This can be a reference both to where Megan is seen on a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png skateboard inside a hamster ball] and to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png globe of death] at the top of the bridge on the Destroyer.
**There is a car in the top section of the tower (long away from the parking cellar in the basement). There are two [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png cars inside] the Destroyer, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png one of them] deep inside with no easy access to the outside.
**Two people are standing on a cloud, one of them (Megan) jumps out from it. This is similar to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png two base jumpers] on the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png rock island].
*In the ''Red world space car'' explaining (about the {{w|Curiosity Rover}} on {{w|Mars}}) there are two references to the scenes around the Rebel Blockade Runner:
**Curiosity toasts a marshmallow over a fire as does Megan and Cueball over the exhaust pipe at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the rear of the Runner].
**When Curiosity is set down on Mars by the {{w|Mars Science Laboratory}} (MSL), lowered down in wires below the MSL, the wires were released once the rover was down and then it flies away. In the book Megan is hanging from one of these wires when it flies away. This is similar to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Megan hanging in one of the anchor lines] going from the ground up to the Runner.

*In ''The USS Laws of the Land'' about the ship called {{w|USS Constitution}} (named after the {{w|United States Constitution}} which is explained in the entry just before this one), there are two references to this comic:
**There is both a giant octopus' arm (marked as ''not real'') and a very large octopus under the ship. The shape of the octopus is the same as the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png silhouette of a giant octopus] inside the Destroyer. Octopuses like this are often used in xkcd, and they are also included in the explanation about ''Writing sticks'' (as the source of ink for the pens), as a motive in ''Picture taker'' and in ''Tree of life''. As an example, from another xkcd comic with octopuses see for instance [[435: Purity]].
**There is also a bowling alley in the hull of the ship - a reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png hamster ball bowling] in the left part of the world. Bowling is also used two other places in the book, namely on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and a bowling alley is used for measuring length in ''How to count things''.

*Ants are used three times in the book. A zoom-in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' about geological ages of the Earth, and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others; an ant queen, a clear reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] in the Destroyer. They are of course also in the ''Tree of life''.

*Basketball is shown twice in this comic ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png left of volcano] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png on top of Destroyer]). In the book the size of different ''Playing Fields'' is one of the stories, and it included the field for basketball (i.e. ''circle ball'').

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png huge foot] before the pyramid look like the foot used in the explanation for ''How to count things'' to describe the wight "one kilo" using a picture labeled ''one foot'' (i.e. not the length one foot, as the length is given in meters). A similar experience to the one in [[526: Converting to Metric]].

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png giant light bulb] towards the bottom rear end of the Destroyer is a reference to the entry on {{w|tungsten}} in the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' (i.e. the {{w|periodic table}}). In the book a {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb|light bulb}} is shown and then an arrow points to the {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb#Filament|filament}} which is made of tungsten in the typical {{w|Thomas Edison|Edison}} light bulbs.

*In the explanation for ''Box that cleans food holders'' (Dishwasher) Ponytail yells ''Wheee!'' as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach (bottom left). This is similar to her position and movement in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png colon like structure] inside the Destroyer and Cueball also sliding in this colon yells ''Wheee!''

*In the explanation for ''Bending computer'' Ponytail comes racing on her bike with a laptop on top of the handlebars. She is also seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png racing a bike down the slope of the volcano].

===References to other comics===
There are also many references to other xkcd comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png ball pit] filled with '''[[:Category:Playpen balls|playpen balls]]''', and two adults playing in it, like in [[150: Grownups]]. Also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png the well] in the left part of the world with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png a girl and a coin] at the bottom is likely a reference to the movie ''The Ring'', which has been referenced before in xkcd. Wells have also come up in xkcd in [[561: Well]] and [[568: Well 2]].

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal '''skateboard'''. This is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png used by Megan] in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a {{w|hamster ball}}. There is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png another hamster ball], with a kid (looking like Megan) inside. It is used in a more than human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game to the left. '''Hamster balls''' is another item that has been [[:Category:Hamster balls|prominently featured]] in xkcd.

In the weeks prior to the publication, and especially the weeks after, there were also other comics that had a subject which could refer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:

*[[1600: MarketWatch]] - the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png first that is encountered] in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the base] of the monument to make sure we know it is the Washington monument, and another [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the top] of the monument referring to the {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|aluminum apex}} that constitutes the very tip of the monument, which was very expensive at the time it was installed in 1884, when aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. Today it would not make anyone rich from the metal alone, although the tip would be worth a lot for other historical reasons, but this is not what Cueball's comment is about.
::Cueball to Megan at the bottom: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
::Cueball to White Hat at the tip: Look at that- solid aluminum! We're gonna be rich!

*[[1610: Fire Ants]] - in this game there is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png giant ant queen] inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs. See also [[1641: Hot Dogs]] where Cueball has a similar style conversation, with the same ''Eww'' ending as with the ant queen:
::Cueball: What's up?
::Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
::Cueball: Eww.

*[[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] - this is about super volcanoes, vs. [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png the Volcano], Mount Doom in the game as indicated by Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png throwing rings into the lava]:
::Megan at the edge of the volcano crater: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.

*[[1614: Kites]] - Megan is seen with a kite, and in this comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite] to the left towards Mount Doom.

*[[1620: Christmas Settings]] - another Star Wars reference to {{w|lightsaber}} noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Ponytail practicing] on the Rebel Blockade Runner, and with a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png kid about to hit a Piñata] in the Destroyer.

*[[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]] - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not yet real (only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png in this game]).

*[[1630: Quadcopter]] - in this comic three quadcopters act together to abduct Cueball. Thus, making them sentient, like the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png quadcopter who is speaking to another] over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crater to the left.
::Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.

*[[1632: Palindrome]] - a reference to the famous palindrome about the Panama canal: "''A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''", and thus also to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png song that Cueball sings] at the ruin to the right, where the first four lines is mashup of the palindrome and {{w|Spider-Man_(theme_song)|the Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]):
::Cueball singing:
:::Spider-man
::::Spider-plan
:::Spider-canal
::::Spider-Panama
:::Gates let in
::::Spider boats
:::Flood the locks
::::Spiders float
:::''Look out!''
:::Spiders in both oceans.

*[[735: Floor]] Instead of pretending the floor is lava as in the comic, they stand by the lava pretending that it is the floor.

===All references===
The contents of the comic are documented in the table below. The table first goes through the entire image from left to right along the ground (i.e., going up the volcano and down in the lair, down the well and up to the top of the Washington Monument.) Then, it goes back to the Rebel Runner, and after that follows the torpedoes up to the Star Destroyer. Finally, it goes through the Star Destroyer from tip to rear in four sections, taking everything within each section top to bottom, before moving on to the next section. In the table are the following columns:

*'''Description''' of the scene depicted in the overview links. If the scene is a zoomed-out overview that covers the images below, its explanation is in '''bold'''. This can be used as a guide to where in the image the scenes are located, unless you sort by column.

*'''Transcript'''. Any text has only been transcribed once. If some scenes overlap, the text has only been written in the first or the one where the text is most central. Also, overviews that has been zoomed out aren'ttranscribedd and are listed as (N/A). However, (None) means the scene doesn't contain text. By sorting the transcript, the scenes with text are shown first.

*'''Overview links'''. There can be many, but the first will always be the overview. If there are secret passages or hiddend environment, two versions of the images are included. The second version, ''Hidden passages in red'', marks these passages in red instead of black.

*'''Tiles (X, Y)'''. For the standard images, there is also a link to the defining image tile on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

*'''References'''. Three things are referenced many times, and each has their own column so the table can be sorted on these:
**'''SW''': {{w|Star Wars}}
**'''LOTR''': {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}
**'''TE''': [[Thing Explainer]]
**'''Other'''. There is also a column for "other" types of references so they can also be sorted, without drowning in the three recurring types of references. These can also be sorted, since they start with "Comics:", "Movies:", etc.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" | Description
! rowspan="2" | Transcript
! rowspan="2" | Overview links
! colspan="2" | Tiles (X, Y)
! colspan="4" | References
! rowspan="2" | Explanation
|-
! Main
! Second
! {{abbr|S W|References to STAR WARS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|L O T R|References to THE LORD OF THE RINGS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|T E|References to THING EXPLAINER (Randall's book)}}
! Other
|-
|'''Everything Left of play area.'''|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Section of the image revealed when going left of the starting point.
|-
|Entire Volcano plateau.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d5/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3d/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|About halfway from the Play Area to the volcanos slope, there is a steep plateau. This is the part left of this plateau.
|-
|Woman with white hair bun at the left end of world looking right.
|
:Woman: In the sky,
:Woman: beyond the mountain,
:Woman: I saw a starship.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0928x1082y_At_the_end_of_all_things.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1082+s.png (928, 1082)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The woman at the left end of the world tells about the Star Destroyer in the right part of the world. There are four coins in front of her to anyone coming this far.
|-
|Coin and boulders.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0933x1083y_Coin_and_boulders.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/933:-1083+s.png (933, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/935:-1083+s.png (935, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|A single coin hangs in the air above the rocky ground with giant boulders.
|-
|'''Entire Volcano.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_Entire_Volcano_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Comic: [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]]
|The comic released a week after this one is about a super volcano made in a science fair experiment. As can be seen there is a lair beneath the lava lake. The entrance is revealed by the other link that turns the hidden passages to red. It is for sure possible to get stuck in the lava lake, as everything becomes black in the game when going beneath the surface.
|-
|'''Left Volcano Top.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_0943x1087y_Left_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A zoom out of the left rim of the volcanic crater.
|-
|Basketball on the volcano.
|
:Ponytail: OK, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/936:-1084+s.png (936, 1084)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is a reference to {{w|Pompeii}} a Roman town-city near modern Naples, which has become famous when it was discovered that it had been preserved in the ash when it was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft.) of volcanic ash in the eruption of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} in AD 79. When it was {{w|Pompeii#Rediscovery|found again}} it turned out that people had been surprised by the ash, and thus buried alive. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when they died. This is what Ponytail wishes for her and Megan, when the volcano they are standing on erupts, a rather morbid wish. She wants their sweet basketball moves to be preserved for eternity. In ''Playing Fields'' in TE basketball is mentioned. It is also played on top of the Destroyer close to the bridge. In this case the coin is on top of the basket, but too large to go into the hoop.
|-
|Old man walking up the volcano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_0937x1085y_Old_man_walking_up_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/937:-1085+s.png (937, 1085)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Is it an old man who just walks up a mountain, or a young man using a walking stick? It makes quite a difference to how this scene is viewed.
|-
|Duck at the left crater top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/41/1608_0940x1087y_Duck_at_the_left_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/940:-1087+s.png (940, 1087)]
|
|
|
|
|
|A duck is sitting at the top of the crater. There are several birds in this comic. Another duck looking the other way is found on top of the flag pole near the base of the Washington Monument.
|-
|Megan’s treasure hoard.
|
:Megan: Gooooold!
:Megan: Goold!
:Bags: $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/43/1608_0941x1084y_Megans_treassure_hoarde.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1084+s.png (941, 1084)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1083+s.png (941, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|In the side of the crater there is a small cave where Megan has found a treasury hoard and she is celebrating all the gold she has found, including two coins.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lake.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b1/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left.png Zoom in left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/02/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_0946x1080y_Lava_lake_Upper_shaft_red.png Shaft in lake in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/94/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center.png Zoom in central part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/25/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire Right part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair.png Shaft into lair below] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|These images only cover the part beneath the surface where there is actually still lava, as can be seen in the images where ''Hidden passages in red''. Only the top of the lair below is shown here. From the hidden passage it is here possible to see how to enter this lair. In the images that shows the hidden part the two loose boulders that float (or are outcrops) in the right part of the lake can be seen as well as the two other holes in the lava lakes floor, which all explain why it is easy to get stuck in the lake once you go below the surface and move around. Since everything is black, you do not even know if the game still works and many people may have given up, maybe reloading after not being able to get on with the game. There is no place in the lake where you can get really stuck, as long as you just push upwards while changing direction from left to right, you are bound to get out sooner or later.
|-
|Rock with Gandalf in Lava lake.
|
:Megan: If you breathe out through you nose a little as you jump in, it can keep you from getting lava in you nasal passages.
:Cueball: Artex!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1083+s.png (944, 1083)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Film: {{w|The Neverending Story}}
|The wizard on the rock represents Gandalf from LOTR. What Megan tells Cueball works fine with water, not so much with lava. The horse Artax (pronounced Artex in the film) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y688upqmRXo drowns in the swamp of sadness] while Atreyu tries to save it and yells its name. Drowning in a swamp sucks, but doing so in lava will make death swifter. Both situations, however, indicate that you can actually go into the lava. If playing for the first time and becoming uncertain what would happen if the hoverboard touched the lava, the player might actually not even try to go into the lava, thus for certain would miss finding the lair beneath the lava.
|-
|Quadcopters over lava lake right.
|
:Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/950:-1084+s.png (950, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|Comics: [[1630: Quadcopter]] and in general those about [[:Category:Robots|Robots]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|AI]]
|The comic was released shortly after this one, and is about AI quadcopters that abduct Cueball. One of these {{w|quadcopters}} tells the other that no one will think much of their volcano footage if they actually survive. I.e. they have to get too close to the bubbling surface to survive before they actually obtain the footage wished for. It sounds like it tries to instill courage in them to perform this deadly task. There is a coin below the left copter. Drones has become a [[:Category:Drones|recurrent subject]] xkcd.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lair.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The three rooms of the volcanic lair (and the entrance haft in the image with hidden passages in red).
|-
|Trending on twitter cave in lair and Lava lake bottom shaft.
|
:Cueball: What news of the world above? Please, tell me- what's hot and viral? ''What's trending on Twitter?!!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6e/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2a/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1079+s.png (944, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1079+s.png (945, 1079)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Social networking|Social networking]]
|Cueball has been stuck below the lava for some times without access to the internet, and he now craves news from the world above. But it is not really news stories he craves but only the hot and viral videos and what is trending on {{w|Twitter}}. To be addicted to social networks and viral videos is probably a real infliction and it is a pain for Cueball to not be able to get on-line. Two coins are behind him.
|-
|Elon Musk’s cave in lair.
|
:Left Cueball: I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be like... Tropical. And ...Well, ''pleasant''.
:[[Elon Musk]] in the high chair: Back to your desks, swine!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1074+s.png (945, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/946:-1074+s.png (946, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk|Elon Musk]]
|It turns out that this is [[Elon Musk]]'s lair. Having a secret lair with a hidden entrance is an often uses trope in films. Often it would be the villain (like in a {{w|James Bond}} film) that has such a place, but also heroes, like {{w|Batman}}, uses such hiding places. The joke here is that Cueball has assumed that Elon Musk, an extraordinarily rich and enterprising man, which could be one of these megalomaniacs that might end up being a super villain, would have a bit more class over his secret lair. It also turns out that Elon sits in the cave and shouts at his workers to get back to work, even calling them names. There is also a coin here.
|-
|Ground symbol in lair.
|
:Ponytail: So ''this'' is where it is.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/947:-1073+s.png (947, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|
|The antenna looking item hanging from the ceiling is the embodiment of the {{w|Ground_%28electricity%29#Electronics|Earth ground symbol}} commonly used in circuit diagrams for electronics. So this is where the Earth is grounded in "real life" and finally Ponytail has found it. To protect themselves i their long search for this Ponytail and Megan seem to be wearing {{w|Antistatic_wrist_strap|antistatic wrist straps}}. This may also be a reference to the Circuit Diagram comic in which a ground is labeled as "bury deep, but not too deep"
|-
|'''Right Volcano Top'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra.png Extra zoom out] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A zoom out of the right rim of the volcanic crater. In the extra zoom out the eagles can be seen as well, they are high enough to be missed entirely when moving along the crater surface.
|-
|Ring of power and lave floor at the right crater top.
|
:Megan: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.
:Girl with hair bun: Let's play a game where the lava is the floor of a house.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/952:-1087+s.png (952, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/953:-1087+s.png (953, 1087)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Megan tells Cueball that one of the many rings she throws into the crater is probably a {{w|One Ring|''ring'' of power}}, a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. From her last comment, ''or whatever'', it seems she doesn't care too much, which make it clear, from the LOTR universe, that neither of these rings in the one ring. It would not have be this easy throwing them into the lava if it had been. There seems to be 16 rings, which is less than the other rings that are ruled by the one ring, the 9 for the humans, the 7 for the dwarfs and the 3 for the elves (19 plus the one ring 20 rings in total).

The two girls are playing a dangerous game, the exact opposite of the normal version of the children’s game {{w|Hot lava (game)|Hot lava}}, where they pretend the floor in the house is made out of lava, and that you die if you touch it. However, in this version of the game they pretend to play that the lava is the floor in a house, and they may then just walk out into the lava pool, where they would die.
|-
|Megan sliding down slope on snow sleigh.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_0956x1085y_Megan_sliding_down_slope_on_snow_sleigh.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1085+s.png (956, 1085)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1086+s.png (956, 1086)]
|
|
|
|
|Megan is sliding fast down the crater side. She will hit a jump near the coin, and would probably fly a considerable distance given the speed she seems to have.
|-
|Eagles over right crater top.
|
:Left eagle: Tolkien said Frodo left the cloak somewhere over here.
:Right eagle: Can't ''he'' just fix it?
:Left eagle: He doesn't want to rewrite that chapter.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Frodo's mithril cloak was taken from him at Cirith Ungol, which, along with other items, was recovered by Gandalf and returned to him at Minas Tirith. Some readers have been confused by this turn of events however, due to it not being present in some versions of the movie adaptation. Two of the {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} from LOTR flies above the right crater top. In this situation the eagles are being used to find {{w|Frodo|Frodo's}} cloak, with one eagle complaining that "he", meaning {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}} the author of LOTR, should just fix the issue without the eagles. This is a reference to the eagles use in LOTR as a {{w|Deus ex machina|deus ex machina}} and the [https://periannath.com/feature/why-doesnt-frodo-just-ride-an-eagle-to-mount-doom/ supposed plot hole] of the eagles not [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Eagles#Flying_the_Ring_to_Mount_Doom flying the ring to mordor]. However, this was of course not possible before Sauron and his ringwraiths were defeated.
|-
|Ponytail racing down the steep slope on a bike.
|
:Ponytail: 114 mph!
:Ponytail: Suck it, previous downhill volcano record-holder!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/958:-1083+s.png (958, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Ponytail is trying to break the world record for downhill race on a bike on a volcano. The {{w|Cycling_records#History_of_downhill_records|record}} at the time of this comic was from 2002 and was 107 mph (172 km/h) easily beaten by the 114 mph (183 km/h) that Ponytail reaches as she mocks the previous record holder. There were two different records, one for prototype bike by {{w|Éric Barone}} (the 107 mph (172 km/h)) and one for serial production bicycle (102.5 mph (164.95 km/h) set in 2011 by {{w|Markus Stöckl}}). She beat them both and it looks like a very ordinary bike she rides. The all-time record for downhill racing is not using the ashy slopes on volcanos but from racing on snow, and here the record is not in danger from Ponytail as it is a staggering 138 mph (222 km/h) again with a lesser record for serial produced bikes of 130 mph (210 km/h). She will soon hit a rock outcrop so hopefully she has very good brakes...
|-
|Tell my wife why you left me there, and Megan and Cueball with a device
|
:Right Cueball: If I don't make it back...
:Right Cueball: ...Tell my wife...
:Right Cueball: ...Where I am...
:Right Cueball: ...And why you left me there…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_0960x1081y_Tell_my_wife_why_you_left_me_there.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/960:-1081+s.png (960, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/961:-1081+s.png (961, 1081)]
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|''If I don't make it back'' is a common [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfIDoNotReturn trope] in films and books used when the speaker is about to make a noble sacrifice. The speaker will then usually tell the other to go tell his wife that he died bravely or that his friends should remember him. There is even a [https://vimeo.com/58319575 song] with the same title by {{w|Tracy Lawrence}}. In Cueball's case, both him and his companion are attempting to scale a dangerous mountain and neither are inclined to sacrifice their own lives for the other. Cueball appears to be struggling, climbing on all fours while his friend is standing. Subverting the trope, he attempts to guilt trip his friend into helping him.

Also here are Megan with some kind of device and Cueball on top of a large boulder. Maybe they are investigating the environment on the volcanic slope. Cueball has just discovered the coin hanging above them.
|-
|It becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts and Ponytail and Cueball on the slope
|
:Megan: This is currently a V2, but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0962x1080y_It_becomes_a_V7_if_the_volcano_erupts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/962:-1080+s.png (962, 1080)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/963:-1079+s.png (963, 1079)]
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|Megan and Cueball climb a very steep part of the mountain slope. In {{w|bouldering}}, the relative difficulty of a bouldering problem is graded using the {{w|Grade (bouldering)|V scale}}. She exclaims that at the moment the climb is only a V2, but if the volcano erupts this would increase to V7. The joke is that the shaking ground and the lava resulting from the eruption would obviously make it harder to complete the bouldering problem without getting killed. In reality, passing environmental conditions do not affect the grade that a bouldering problem receives.
|-
|Megan reading for children about Sauron’s ring.
|
:Megan: "The time has come" the Walrus said, and put on a Sauron's ring…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1078+s.png (964, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1079+s.png (964, 1079)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The line ""The time has come" the Walrus said, to talk of many things" is from the poem {{w|The Walrus and the Carpenter}} by {{w|Lewis Carroll}}'s book {{w|Through the Looking-Glass}}, the sequel to {{w|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland}}. {{w|Sauron}} is the main enemy in LOTR, the one who has made the ring, and now needs it to gain his powers back. In this mixed poem the second line is changed but follows the same rhyme scheme. But although ''rings'' would have rhymed with ''things'', it of course have to ''ring'' as the {{w|walrus}} can only put the {{w|One Ring|one ring of power}} on, while uttering the now much more ominous sounding phrase ''The time has come''. Megan is reading this poem/story at the base of the volcano Mount Doom where the ring was created and later destroyed. Like Frodo, Sauron is one of the characters from LOTR who is only mentioned, not shown, in the comic.
|-
|Vaping Earth.
|
:Cueball: The Earth is vaping.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_0969x1077y_Vaping_Earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/969:-1077+s.png (969, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/968:-1077+s.png (968, 1077)]
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|{{w|Vaping}} is a term used instead of smoking for the use of electronic cigarettes. There is even a game called the {{w|Vaping game}} for blowing extra large clouds of vapor out while using these substitutes for cigarettes. Cueball remarks that here it is the Earth that does so, due to the volcanic activity of the nearby volcano.
|-
|'''Left of play area to Kite.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/80/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|This is the area from below the volcano's slope and towards the play area. There are several hidden places and pools that can be seen in the second image link.
|-
|Kite and weird bug.
|
:Mom: Check out this one weird bug, discovered by a local mom.
:Girl: Oh my God, mom, stop saying everything like that.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/970:-1077+s.png (970, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/972:-1077+s.png (972, 1077)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic [[1614: Kites]] and in general the [[:Category:Kites|kite category]]. Also the [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait category]]
|The comic was released only two weeks after this game, and although it is clearly a girl in this comic, she looks like Megan who sets up the kite in the next comic. There is also a kite in ''Sky Toucher'' in TE and kites is a recurring theme in xkcd.

The mother that discovers the bug is [[Blondie]]. She talks like she is one of the {{w|clickbait}} headlines used for getting people to click in on the link generally aimed at generating online advertising revenue, which fits nicely with her recurring theme of as a news anchor. Her daughter is tired of this, especially as it seems like the mother speaks like that all the time. This may embarrass the girl, especially if she is with a friend rather than a brother. Maybe the mother has been reading too many clickbait news on-line? As noted in the other references ''clickbait'' is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother is near a small lake, so it is likely that there is plenty of insects and other bugs. It is possible to sink into the lake as can be seen in the second image with the hidden parts shown in red.
|-
|Space capsule with parachutes.
|
:Bird thinking: I don't remember laying these but ''wow'' they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch.

:Cueball: Yes! My phone has a signal.
:Voice from inside: How many new likes did we get during reentry?
:Cueball: I'm checking!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1079+s.png (976, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1080+s.png (976, 1080)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic : [[1133: Up Goer Five]]
|The book TE was based on the comic ''Up Goer Five'' which was about the rocket that took this space capsule to the moon. When it lands it uses three large parachutes to slow down after the main brake-down during reentry. On top of these sits a bird looking like a hen. It is a hen that can think, but it is still not very clever. It believes that this is three eggs, and is amazed that they are already flying before they hatch, which is of course ridiculous, but they do float in the air...

The astronauts inside (two at least, but there should be three if it was one of the moon landing missions) has just been waiting to get close enough to Earth again that they can get a signal on their smart phones. Cueball is even opening the hatch during descend to increase this chance, which would be highly dangerous. Also normally they would land in water (which will though not be the case this time). The reason he does this is that they wish to know how many more likes they (and their mission) has received during the reentry. This would have been relevant if the moon landings had taken place today. There where no social media or internet back in 1969. This is similar to the Cueball who is trapped in the lava lair without connection to Twitter.
|-
|Girl running to other girl and small forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_0978x1077y_Girl_running_to_other_girl_and_small_forrest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/978:-1077+s.png (978, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1077+s.png (976, 1077)]
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|Just two young girls playing near a forest of low trees. But with the space capsule above the forest.
|-
|Entire well - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
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|
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|Comics in the [[561: Well|Well series]].
|There are many similarities in this well to the [[561: Well|Well series]]. Someone is looking into a well that has the same general appearance and there is a person inside which turned out to be the case in [[568: Well 2]]. People throw coins into it and there is a coin at the bottom in the game (although above the water.)
|-
|Well top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0980x1077y_Well_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1077+s.png (980, 1077)]
|
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|Cueball looks into the deep well.
|-
|Well bottom.
|
:Girl: I'm not a ghost. I just like wells.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1073+s.png (980, 1073)]
|
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|At the bottom of the well in the water (see also the hidden passages image) is a girl. Above to the left of her is a coin. Maybe thrown in by Cueball at the top. Ghost living in wells is a common theme, for instance there is a Japanese movie {{w|Banchō Sarayashiki}} whose [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202946/releaseinfo English title] is ''Ghost in the Well''. So, this is why this real girl explains that she is actually not a ghost, she just like wells and thus likes to sit in the cold water at the bottom of wells. This could be very dangerous, and she will probably have a hard time getting up. It is also a very deep well, so falling into this well might very well be lethal. There are also many stories (in this case also real stories like the one about {{w|Jessica McClure}}) about kids that fall into wells, some of them surviving being stuck for several days in the wells. Also, in movies this story is often used, for instance in {{w|Batman Begins}} the young Bruce Wayne falls down a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a fear of bats.
|-
|Entire gas station with birds above
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_with_coin_on_string.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_without_coin_on_string.png Without coin]
|Overview
|
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|The two birds with a coin between them flying above the gas station is way too high up, to be discovered when just moving normally over the gas station, even jumping once up from the highest spot. This is thus one of several coins that are easily missed. There is more explanation this scene where these two individual scenes are described.
|-
|Gas station with x-wing.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1077+s.png (982, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/983:-1077+s.png (983, 1077)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan has managed to land her {{w|x-wing}} fighter from the rebel fleet in Star Wars right next to a standard gas station. And she has planned to fill her spaceship up. That it could run on petrol for cars seems highly unlikely. The question is if she has already filled it up and is heading back with the handle to the gas stander, or if she has just discovered that the hose is not long enough to reach all the way under the wing to the fighter. It will have taken considerable skills to land this close to the station without hitting the cover over the stander. Ponytail is sitting in the shop with a coin. This is the first coin to be discovered when going left from the play-area. There is a long stretch without coins to begin with. The coins on the rock island in the sky it on this stretch, but so far above that most people would miss them altogether. There is also a coin with two birds straight above the right wing on the X-wing. But about three jumps up, so it is easy to miss. To get into the shop you need to go over the stander and back. Why Cueball have crawled up in the roof is not clear. But maybe he is enjoying the view over the cliff that is to the right of the station. There is a stop sign to the left, but there seems to be no road that way. Maybe that is why you should stop...
|-
|Birds with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_with_coin.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_without_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1079+s.png (982, 1079)]
|
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|Film: {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}
|In the film it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut between them on a string as the two birds do with the coin here. First when the coin has been taken, can the string between the birds be seen (see the other image). The birds are three jumps above the X-wing below, and this coin is thus easily missed by the players. In the film the horses are simulated with the sound of two coconuts shells being hit together. Someone asks how they happened to be in England and there is discussion about migratory birds like {{w|swallows}} and the possibility that they have brought the coconuts along with them. But the consensus is that they cannot do this by themselves the coconut being too heavy, but then it is suggested that two swallows could carry it on a string between them. Later in the film someone is seen actually tying two birds together to a coconut. In this comic, we now know how the coins have been transported through the image...
|-
|Our kingdom from a cliff.
|
:Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Girl: What's with the shadowy place over there?
:Cueball: That is beyond our borders.
:Girl: No, I mean what object casts a shadow over a whole region?
:Cueball: Oh, that's god. He lives over there.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1076+s.png (986, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1075+s.png (986, 1075)]
|
|
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|Film: {{w|The Lion King}} and comic: [[1504: Opportunity]] as well as [[:Category:The Lion King|The Lion King category]]
|Cueballs lines is from The Lion King and has been used directly before in the comic Opportunity. Randall has made several references to the film in xkcd, and it is obvious that he was very affected by this film that came out when he was just the right age.

Cueball is talking to a child version of Ponytail, whose mother may be the one climbing up the cliff side below. The first three lines of the quote goes as in the film, but then it turns out that the girl is properly referring to the Star Destroyer that would be clearly visible from this cliff as it covers almost the entire right part of this world from just beyond the play-area. (They do not look high enough to see the rock island in the sky, and it would also not cast shadow over an entire region.) As it is not certain players coming here have already been to the right to see the Destroyer it is not necessarily clear that the reply from Cueball should apply to the Destroyer. But if it does then it would be the Emperor Palpatine that he refers to as God. The emperor is on board the Destroyer near the bridge at the very top rear end of the spaceship and has God like powers. It could however also just be a general reference to the {{w|God}} and thus be inferred as if God cast a shadow over an entire region (country). Maybe just in general as if he has a place in the sky that cast a shadow (like sitting on a cloud). Alternatively, it could be the people who believe too much in any God, which can be viewed as living under a shadow, as they will not try to see any reality if it does not fit with their religious beliefs.
|-
|Hamster ball bowling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/987:-1075+s.png (987, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/989:-1074+s.png (989, 1074)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster ballscategory]]
|There have been several xkcd comics with human sized hamster balls, and there is even one more in this comic up in the Destroyer. In this scene it is two young girls that use the hamster ball as a bowling ball in a human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game. Hopefully, the little girl with the hair bun behind the pins get away in time if it is a strike. It is the first time hamster ball and bowling has been matched, but in TE there are bowling alleys both on the ship ''The USS Laws of the Land'' and on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and such an alley is also used for measuring length in ''How to count things''. One of the many large trees that are found in the drawing is standing alone in this scene. Most other places there are more than one tree together.
|-
|If loving you is wrong I don’t want to and Beret Guy following insects
|
:Cueball: If loving you is wrong, I don't want to.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1074+s.png (990, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/991:-1074+s.png (991, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Song (or quote): {{w|(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right}}
|A reference to either the [https://krexy.com/if-loving-you-is-wrong general love quote] or maybe more likely to the song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJj7SN9EWI performed most notably] by {{w|Luther Ingram}}. Recently (2014), there has also been a TV series produced called {{w|If Loving You Is Wrong (TV series)|If Loving You Is Wrong}}.

The quote is very romantic, because the speaker is stating that if it is wrong to love a specific person, the speaker chooses to be in love and does not wish to be right. However, Cueball twist the quote quite a lot, saying instead that if it is wrong to love Ponytail then he does not want to love her at all - taking all romance out of the statement.

Also in this scene is one of only two instances where Beret Guy appears. Typical of his past appearances, he seems to be occupied by following a small flying insect through the tall grass.
|-
|'''Entire Washington monument'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Overview]
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7a/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out.png Central hidden passage] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]

|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1600: MarketWatch]]
|The tallest manmade structure on the ground in this game is the {{w|Washington Monument}} which recently before the release of this comic was referred to in the mentioned comic. As can be seen in the hidden passages images there are two secret passages, one at the bottom (see this scene for more) and one in the middle of the monument. The one in the central part of the monument is actually quite large, and as can be seen in the images zooming in on the central part there is also a fault line in the monument at the base of this hidden passage. But it doesn't really lead to anywhere interesting. The fault line could be a reference to the {{w|Washington_Monument#2011_earthquake_damage|earthquake damage}} from 2011 where several stones cracked.
|-
|Base of Washington monument with Cueball and Megan
|
:Cueball: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1074+s.png (994, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1074+s.png (995, 1074)]
|
|
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|
|At the base of the Washington Monument Megan and Cueball is looking up at it, and Cueball complains that it doesn't even look like {{w|Washington, D.C.|Washington}}. By "Washington" he could be referring to the city of Washington DC or to the real Washington monument, but he is probably referring to the first US President George Washington, since monuments often depict (look like) the person they are dedicated to, but the real Washington monument is not meant to look like Washington himself. Cueball seems to have expected all presidential monuments to include a statue of the honored president and is confused and disappointed when the monument fails to meet his expectations. Of course, since this is the only Washington based building in the game it is true that the place doesn't look like the city. If he refers to the monument, then it can be questioned if this is because the monument is not an exact replica (in proportions and/or scale). In any case it is clearly meant as an indicator that this is supposed to look like the monument, and with the tip's apex being made of aluminum (see that scene) as on the real monument, there can be no doubt what is referenced. It is possible to get to the left side of the monument without going up to see the tip, if the player immediately understands the sign with the white arrow that points to a hidden passage through the base of the monument, as can be seen in the second image with the hidden passages shown in red.

To the left of the monument there is a flagpole with a blown-out flag. It is all black, but it should be the {{w|Flag of the United States|the Stars and Stripes}} as there are fifty flag poles with the US flag (one for each [[1653: United States Map|state]]) surrounding the monument in a circle. On top of the pole there sits a duck looking left. Towards the end of the world to the left on top of the left volcanic rim there also sits a similar duck looking right.
|-
|Tip of Washington monument with Cueball and White Hat
|
:Cueball: Look at that- Solid aluminum!
:Cueball: We´re gonna be rich!
:White Hat: Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1083+s.png (995, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1084+s.png (995, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|The tip of the monument is actually {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|made of solid aluminum}} and at the time this {{w|aluminum}} apex was installed it was a rare metal as valuable as {{w|silver}}, but today it is maybe about 1/300 as valuable as silver. So Cueball and White Hat will not become rich based on the metal value. Of course, if they did steal the tip of such a famous monument, they might actually be able to sell it to a scrupulous collector at a value comparable to if was just a lump of silver of that weight.

White Hat looking over his shoulder spots the Star Destroyer and thus help guide a player that has started going left towards the Destroyer to the right. How they have managed the climb, getting the ropes over the tip, or how Cueball intends to get down with the tip is left to the readers imagination...
|-
|'''Entire floating rock island.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar}}
|This floating rock island may be a reference to the film Avatar where floating rocks is part of the scenery of the fictive moon {{w|Fictional_universe_of_Avatar#Astronomy_and_geology|Pandora}}. The rock in the game is very hard to find by chance, it is kind of unobtainable, which may be a further reference to the film since the reason the rocks do float is a combination of a weak gravity, a strong magnetic field and a mineral whose {{w|Superconductivity|superconductive properties}} allow it to float in magnetic fields. Of course, the levitating Hallelujah Mountains in the film contain significant quantities of the mineral which is called {{w|Unobtanium}}. Only thing pointing towards it is the Washington Monument and even if you go up from there, pushing the up arrow continuously for more than half a minute you may almost miss it, as only the far-right girl would move through the view. And with two coins around this island, it is important to find it in order to get all coins. Apart from the coins and the surprise there is little of interest here, and not even any spoken text.

To the right just beneath the rear end of the Destroyer there is a small lump of earth that has floated up from the ground, hovering over the corresponding hole in the ground. Maybe this is caused by the same force that have created this floating island.
|-
|Top left of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f5/1608_0989x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1111+s.png (990, 1111)]
|
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|The large rock on top of the floating island is one of only two places where there is anything at a coordinate of Y=1112. On top of the globe of Death over the bridge of the destroyer, there are three images at the top of this that enters 1112. And there [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png the very top] is just slightly higher up. But there is no coin there, so the coin that would be in the tile used for main reference here that holds the coin is the highest location for any coin in the game, as the Globe of Death has its coin in its center below the top.
|-
|Top right of floating rock island with base jumpers.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1111+s.png (994, 1111)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE two people jump of a cloud, like the base jumpers Megan and Ponytail does here from the floating rock, but at least these two girls do have parachutes on (as opposed to the cloud jumpers in TE). How they got here is a good question, but of course they could have flown here in for instance the X-wing from below at the gas station.
|-
|Bottom of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_0992x1109y_Bottom_middle_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/992:-1109+s.png (992, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/993:-1109+s.png (993, 1109)]
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|At the bottom of the island several small and large boulders can be seen hanging only loosely on to the bottom. At the center the largest rock can be seen, but even this is slipping a little as can be seen by the small white speck high over the very bottom of this boulder. Right of this is the other coin that belongs to this hidden place in the sky.
|-
|'''Entire Play Area - zoom out.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1001x1074y_Entire_Play_Area_Zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png With starting view]
|Overview
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|The entire play area with the walls and their outer foundation. See also the insert with the starting view shown in red in the second image link and see more about the buildup of scenes from the individual image tiles using the [[#Image coordinates|play area down below]]. It is easy to see how a player of the game, with no knowledge of Randall's way of thinking, may not even think about exploring outside this area, even if they do try to go outside the maze. Because it is possible to jump around in the maze without discovering that you can actually fly rather than just jump. If you only jump once, you cannot see the too op the walls. On top of this there is the large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG red warning letters] telling you to go back if you try to leave the confines of the wall.
|-
|The Play Area.
|
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:Deposit coins here
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1075+s.png (1000, 1075)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is the starting area where the game begins. There is even some extra text telling you to ''Use arrow keys to move'' but as soon as you do, this text disappears, just like the [[#Coins|message you can receive]] below in the view depending on your action in this area. The text below the starting point of the hoverboard Cueball that you control, explains that the game is released on this day to celebrate the release of Randall's new book [[Thing Explainer]] and thus directly references the book. And also explains why this comic has been made, and furthermore why it was released on a Tuesday rather than the usual Wednesday release, which was then skipped this week. It also explains that if you collect coins, you can deposit them at the terminal, and when you do it list the score (number of coins and the time used) and rates your achievement. By noting that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG you got all the coins] if you collect all seventeen coins in the play area maze, then it is one more trick to try to make you stay inside the walls of the maze. There is only one small feature that can be spotted from within the maze that breaks the symmetry and may give away the clue of the game. And that is the small stone that lies on the ground to the left. Because why should it be there, if this was just a platform/maze game. The walls cannot be seen if you stay in or just around the outer wall of the maze. But if you go to them, you may think this is the end. Another detail about the game to be learned already here is that there can be "solid" black parts of the surroundings which are not solid at all. This can be seen in the image showing the hidden passages in red. Here it can be seen that the ledge beneath the two inverted parenthesis " )( " is not solid, and that you can fall or jump up through this section. This could forewarn you of the hidden passages, especially to the lair beneath the volcano which are the only real hidden place based on hidden passages, but also for those in the Washington Monument and in the cotton trap in the Destroyer and the glitch floor also on the Destroyer.
|-
|'''Everything Right of Washington monument.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_Everything_Right_of_washington_monument.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Most of the details in the image is found to the right of the play-area, mainly in the form of the rooms in the Destroyer. On the ground only a few artifacts are large enough to be seen in this zoomed out version. The three T's and the forest, and then of course the pyramid. Interestingly enough there are almost more to be seen inside the Destroyer with the two large rooms (the cave and the Glitch floor room) both being large enough to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png accommodate the entire pyramid].
|-
|Cueball outside play area.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1074+s.png (1004, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1074+s.png (1003, 1074)]
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|Typically reading direction would lead a player to this location first after escaping the play area. Is this is indeed the case then the grass and after that Cueball is the first hint that something more is going to happen in this game. Apart from the Cueball standing inside the play area, this is the closest person to the play area. He is just standing there doing nothing, so it is still not clear how big this is going to be.
|-
|Megan points at Runner after forest.
|
:Megan: Wow.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_1008x1074y_Megan_points_at_Runner_after_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1074+s.png (1008, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1074+s.png (1006, 1074)]
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|The small forest with two large trees and several small ones is the first really interesting to show up if exiting the play area to the right for the first time and finally a person actually speaking shows up (although Cueball at the base of the Washington Monument to the right would be closer). Megan is not saying much, but she is clearly reacting to something. It could be to one or both the space ships above her. Since the Destroyer is already on top of her, as the front end of that ship is just short of being above the right wall of the play area, then it could also be the Rebel Runner she is pointing out. No matter what, following her arm going up and right it is likely that the runner will enter the view, but it is possible to miss it, in which case there would be a long way up to the Destroyer. Megan and Cueball is standing on the edge of a cliff, offering them an excellent view. Stepping down on the plateau below the cliff takes the player close to the lowest possible level to be at in the game. There are no tiles with any white below that level (1073). But the lowest point is first in the Ocean.
|-
|Cliff with rock and cactus.
|
:(None, or rather the text has been written in the previous scene)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1073+s.png (1010, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1073+s.png (1008, 1073)]
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|After the grassy ground and the forest above the cliff to the left this marks the beginning of a long stretch of barren land ending in a dessert before reaching the ocean. Here a cactus and two large boulders display this inhospitable terrain. It seems like something is sitting on top of the smaller boulder, this could be a lizard, but it is too small to be certain. But that it is not part of the rock can be seen in the other image showing the parts of the image that you can walk through in red. And this small "lizard" is obviously sitting on top of the boulder.
|-
|Entire wires from ground to Runner.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Here is the first direct link from the ground to the Destroyer. This specific link takes the player from the ground level up along one of the three wires to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. If you went straight for the runner without going further right, the first coin you would find to the right would be one of the three at the runner. Else the first coin to the right (along the ground) would be in the dunes before Ponytail to the right.As can be seen the three wires are held by people and are then attached with anchors to the hull. Megan is climbing up the last of the three wires. See more in the specific scenes.
|-
|Three wires and people holding on on the ground
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1013x1073y_Three_wires_and_people_holding_on.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1073+s.png (1013, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1073+s.png (1011, 1073)]
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|Three pairs of people are trying to hold on the three wires going straight up. Cueball and Megan holds on leaning left on the left wire, another Cueball and Hairy hold on to each side of the middle wire and finally yet a Cueball holds on to the last, while a small girl with a hair bun steps on the end of the wire, like she would be able to walk it like a tightrope. This should not be physically possible as the ropes do not seem to be attached to the ground, at least not the one to the left. But there can be no doubt that the drawing shows her standing with both feet on the rope. She is thus not helping Cueball. From here it is not yet known to the player that it is the Rebel Runner they have caught (with anchors) above, but when this becomes clear it will also be clear that they have no chance of holding on to the space ship. But here it seems they are doing a great job. The ground is barren between these wires and a {{w|tumbleweed}} is blowing along to make this even more clear. This part of a plant was also mentioned in a toast in [[1645: Toasts]].
|-
|Three wires Megan hanging on that reaches up to three anchors in the bottom hull of the Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1076+s.png (1015, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1014:-1078+s.png (1014, 1078)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Megan tries to climb up the last of the wires going from the ground, and it turns out that it leads up to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. Not to a really good spot in her wires case, as there seems to be nothing to help her get inside the runner from there. The other two wires comes up to a cannon close to an entrance, where Cueball is fishing birds with a crumb of bread or a cracker on the end of the hook. (The bird fishing scene is also depicted when going through the Runner [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down below]). All three wires ends in anchors that are here used the reverse way of a normal anchor, with the anchor attached to the ship instead of to the bottom of the sea (or at least the ground below an air ship). In ''Red world space car'' in TE, Megan is also seen hanging on to a rope like this.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the dunes of the desert that continues after the barren landscape to the left of the desert. Here a zoom out of the entire desert with the first three coins along the ground to the right. The Rebel Runner flying above this dune landscape is a reference to the desert planet {{w|Tatooine}} where the opening scene is taking place.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1073+s.png (1015, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1073+s.png (1016, 1073)]
|
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|Ponytail is standing in the desert on top of a small dune, as these get increasingly higher further right into the desert. The coin to the left of her at the tip of a dune is the first along the ground when going right. It is soon followed by a second one at the base of the largest dune in desert.
|-
|The largest dune.
|
:(None - the text is written in the scene centered on the ocean)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1017x1073y_The_largest_dune.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1073+s.png (1017, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1073+s.png (1018, 1073)]
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|The largest dune in the desert, also shown partly in the scene with Ponytail, also has a coin at the other base. After this there is only one smaller dune and then the desert stops at the shore of a small sea or ocean.
|-
|Entire ocean.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0e/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|The sea/ocean consist of a rather large body of water with a tall wave in the center. It is quite deep as can be seen in the other image with the water shown in red. Where the sea is deepest, is also the point that is the lowest hoverboard Cueball can get in the entire image. It is the closest that anything other than completely black comes to the level with Y=1072.
|-
|Megan rates the Sea.
|
:Megan: This is an OK sea.
:Megan:★★⯪☆☆
:[a rating of 2.5 stars].
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1073+s.png (1019, 1073)]
|
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|It is very unusually to rate a sea, like you would a film or book, or a restaurant or museum. But today it is also common to rate anything you have used on-line like an internet shop or a company you have used. So, this may be a jab at all the people that rate everything in stars. According to [[1098: Star Ratings]] 2½ stars as an online star rating means that the sea is a crab sea, so this indicates that Megan's rating should not be viewed as such, since she also exclaims that it is an OK sea, as in an acceptable. Overall, another joke about online behavior, like the reference to Twitter and likes in the volcanic lair and the space shuttle, respectively.
|-
|Rouge wave.
|
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ...But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1073+s.png (1023, 1073)]
|
|
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|Comic: [[1315: Questions for God]]
|{{w|Fluid dynamics}} is a complex subdiscipline of {{w|fluid mechanics}} that deals with fluid flow. Although it is not their main target they can also be used for {{w|surface waves}} which would be like the {{w|rogue wave}} in this scene. This kind of waves is also known as freak waves, monster waves etc. They are large and spontaneous surface waves that occur far out in open water and can be extremely dangerous. But as the wave describes to Cueball these big waves can be predicted from the equations in fluid dynamics. Of course, Cueball is less afraid of the wave (even though it is {{w|Rogue (vagrant)|rouge}}), than he is fascinated by the fact that it speaks. The wave just replies that the equations are really complicated. That this is the case was for instance part of [[1315: Questions for God]] where a famous quote regarding turbulent motion of fluids is mentioned. {{w|Turbulence}} is also described by fluid dynamics, so they are part of the equations and the {{w|Horace_Lamb#Career| quote}} by {{w|Horace Lamb}} was: "I am an old man now, and when I die and go to heaven there are two matters on which I hope for enlightenment. One is {{w|quantum electrodynamics}}, and the other is the turbulent motion of fluids. And about the former I am rather optimistic." He turned out to be correct as nowadays we have a much clearer understanding of QED, while our understanding of turbulence has improved little. {{w|Richard Feynman}}, who was himself largely responsible for explaining QED, famously {{w|Turbulence|described turbulence}} as "the most important unsolved problem of classical physics". So who knows if these formulas could describe a talking wave? A coin crowns the wave.
|-
|Ruins with Cueball singing of Spiders and Panama.
|
:Cueball singing:
::Spider-man
:::Spider-plan
::Spider-canal
:::Spider-Panama
::Gates let in
:::Spider boats
::Flood the locks
:::Spiders float
::''Look out!''
::Spiders in both oceans.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1073+s.png (1026, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1073+s.png (1027, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1632: Palindrome]] and the [[:Category:Spiders|Spiders category]]
|The palindrome comic was released shortly after this and used a palindrome about the {{w|Panama canal}} which is the first four lines with ''Spider-'' changed with "A" the first three times and then with nothing before Panama as in ''"A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''. The song is inspired by the {{w|Spider-Man (theme song)|Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]), but takes it in a rather different direction. Spiders have been a recurring theme and as the rest of the song tells that the spiders have now breached through the Panama Canal using spider-boats and by flooding the gates (in the canal) so now there are spiders in both oceans. If they came from the {{w|Atlantic ocean}} to the {{w|Pacific ocean}} or the other way around is not clear, but there are now spiders on both sides of the {{w|Central America|Central American}} strip of land. If the line ''Spiders float'' refer to actually floating spiders or just because they float on their boat is unclear. But we are forewarned about these spreading spiders with a '''''Look out!''''' (another lyric from the Spider-Man theme song). This threat continues the theme of the [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]] especially those from [[126: Red Spiders Cometh]].

There is a coin inside the ruin beneath Cueball who sits on top of the ruin, and both sings the song and plays the guitar. Megan just stands inside the ruin at ground level and listens. It is not difficult to get to the coin, but there is only entrance into the little coin room between the ledge under Cueball and the ceiling of the lower room. But it is possible to walk directly in them from the left. Maybe the ruin is in this state of affair because the spiders have crossed the ocean just to the left, the shore of this can be seen at the edge of the scene. But there is no indication of any spiders anywhere else in the comic, in spite of the many animals throughout the comic.
|-
|Ponytail flying.
|
:Ponytails arms: Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3b/1608_1029x1073y_Ponytail_flying.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1073+s.png (1029, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1073+s.png (1030, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Ponytail manages to fly by just flapping her arms violently, a feat that is of course not possible. It keeps he above the coin on the ground, so the player can get to it first... In the Destroyer another Ponytail seems to be [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png flying straight up in a shaft] towards a coin this time without using her arms as wings. So, her flying is a small theme in the game. (It is not close to being directly above the Ponytail on the ground as the Ponytail in the Destroyer is just past the pyramid on the ground).
|-
|Entire forest - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3a/1608_1032x1074y_Entire_forest_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the largest collection of such tall trees, and if all smaller trees are counted probably also the largest collection of trees in general. In the left part of the world there is a scene with lots of trees, but they are all smaller than even the two medium-sized trees besides the five really large. the last tree to the right somehow belongs more to the wedding scene just right of it, but there are smaller trees all the way up to it, making it part of this forest. Drawing trees like this is often used in xkcd and in particularly also allot in ''click and drag''.
|-
|Left part of forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/56/1608_1032x1074y_Left_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1074+s.png (1032, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1074+s.png (1033, 1074)]
|
|
|
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|The left part of the forest has the largest trees and also the two coins, one in the fork of the first big trees and another some way above the first substantial tree to the left. It is just high enough that it will be missed by just sliding along the ground, and even when jumping to get the other coin it will still not necessarily enter into the viewing frame, so it can be considered one of the slightly hidden coins in the game.
|-
|Right part of forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/37/1608_1034x1073y_Right_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1073+s.png (1034, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1073+s.png (1035, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|The right part of the forest has the last two trees in the clump of four large ones, and then small to tiny trees continue the "forest" until the final tree, just beyond which the wedding takes place, and this tree also seems to be part of that scene.
|-
|Wedding and picnic.
|
:Priest: And if any here can give cause why these two should not be wed,
:Priest: The Great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1040:-1074+s.png (1040, 1074)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan, in a black wedding dress, and Cueball, with a tie, is married by a female priest in front of a crowd of five sitting in chairs in front of them. In the crowd there are yet another Cueball, Hairy and Ponytail, but the last two are not the familiar versions in xkcd: one has a cap on backwards and then a person (M/W?) with black. Just before a {{w|wedding}} it is sometimes customary to ask if any in the crowd could give a cause why these two people should not be wed. What is not customary is to threaten those who do have any objections that they would then have to plead these in front of the great gangster boss from Star Wars, {{w|Jabba the Hutt}}. In case he has condoned this wedding, you may end up pleading for him to kill you mercifully if you did object anyway. The normal form of the priest's question goes more [https://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/marriage.pdf like this]: "If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace." (See the top of page 4 of the pdf file in the link (page 424) and a discussion about this sentences use [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=635317 in real life]).

Beyond the wedding, another Megan is sitting on a large boulder facing the wedding, and behind her a third Cueball is having a picnic with a second Ponytail. The question here is if Megan looks at the wedding or turns her back to the picnic. Depending if the player went right along the ground to begins with and saw the wedding first or went through the Destroyer and came back the other way and saw the picnic first the players preconceptions on these questions may be completely different. In either case it still looks like Megan would have liked to be with Cueball (either the one in the tie or the one at the picnic. Of course, with characters drawn "randomly" in many places she may bot even belong to either scene. Standing on the rock with Megan hoverboard Cueball cannot see either of the scenes, but standing between Megan and either scene, she can be seen together with either of the relevant Cueball and another girl. In the first case with the wedding, she might have wished she had the courage to speak up in spite of the Jabba threat. In the other case she may feel rejected by the happy picnic couple and has turned her back to them. Poor Megan. Ponytail and Cueball seems to enjoy their picnic lunch in the open air though.
|-
|Cemetery.
|
:Megan: They're inscribed with our family motto, "Cur ego committitur dictar latinae," which means "Why did I just start speaking Latin?"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1042x1074y_Cemetary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1042:-1074+s.png (1042, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1074+s.png (1043, 1074)]
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|It is so common to have your motto translated into the dead language {{w|Latin}} that there even is an entire category for {{w|Category:Latin mottos|Latin mottos}} on Wikipedia. Since no one really speaks the language anymore, and only few learn it well enough to just read any sentence, by doing so you actually hide this motto that you probably would like to tell people about. The only Latin that has entered popular usage are generally idioms, like {{w|Carpe diem}} (seize the day), etc. (et cetera, meaning "and the rest"). However, most of the time, like the one Megan is explaining to her friend, it would make much more sense to just write it in your native language (English in this case); but then of course there would be no need for a motto, where you ask yourself why you are speaking Latin. In this way, the joke is quite self-referential. There is also a cemetery in Click and Drag.

The Latin in the motto is not correct, but close, and it could both be Randall's accidental errors or purposeful errors (as there are probably many "private" mottoes out there that are not completely correct. The original sentence:

'''Cur''' - why. '''Ego''' - I. '''Committitur''' - can be translated as "start", but is incorrectly conjugated; in view of the proper translation, a more acceptable word would be "commisi". '''Dictar''' - likely a misspelling of "dictare", an acceptable translation of "to speak". '''Latinae''' - Latin, but in the wrong case; a more correct translation would probably be "Latinam". A possible translation of this sentence is therefore "Why did I start to speak Latin?". The word ''just'' is completely missing and could have been included by using ''modo''. However, Megan could have added it to make it more "natural" in English. In this way, the family motto given here is a slightly misused satirical statement on Latin family mottoes.
|-
|Huge foot.
|
:Cueball: It says "Yo, future dirtbags! Check out my huge foot!"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1074+s.png (1046, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1047:-1074+s.png (1047, 1074)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''How to count things'' in TE there is also a drawing of a huge foot, used to count mass, not length... The two Cueballs check out an inscription at the foot ([[559: No Pun Intended|pun intended]]) of a monument. Typically old relics from the past has been demolished, and if only part of a human body is displayed (at least when it is not just a {{w|Bust (sculpture)|bust}} supposed to only have head and shoulders), then it is often assumed that the rest of the statue has been lost. Just like the missing arms of the ancient Greek statue {{w|Venus de Milo}}. These arms were there originally. But as it turns out as Cueball reads the transcription someone in the past just wished to show the future his huge foot. Suggesting that this is either actual size, or just that he was very proud of at least one of his feet. He also mocks anyone reading the inscription by calling them the derogating word [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dirtbag dirtbags]. This is a recent work so if this were an ancient monument it would be highly unlikely that it said that. Of course, it could be Cueballs translation of what is actually written, or as this is not necessarily old, it is not just part of the original monument but the entire unbroken statue of a foot, then it could be a contemporary artist who made it. However, it is just in front of the pyramid to the right, and in front of the real pyramid {{w|Pyramid of Khafre}} the {{w|Great Sphinx of Giza}}, also much larger than life size lies. (It has lost its nose by the way). So, this could be the games version of such a large statue in front of a pyramid.

As from the scene to the left of this giant foot, the inscription that Cueball reads is probably in Latin, in which case it could have read something along the lines of: ''Io, de futuro sacculo terra! Reprehendo sicco meus ingens radices!'' (which could be translated back to ''Io, for the future of the bag, earth Check out my huge foot!'', since there were no words for ''Yo dirtbags'' in Latin.

This is likely to be a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem ''{{w|Ozymandias}}'', which starts:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
[..."]
|-
|Entire Pyramid.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1050x1075y_Pyramid_Entire_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Destroyer]
|Overview
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|A smooth pyramid with Ponytail in front of the left side and a coin at the tip. It is large but not compared to the Destroyer above it. To illustrate the other image shows that the pyramid could comfortably be placed inside the cave in the Destroyer. There is also a pyramid in Click and Drag.
|-
|Pyramid protip.
|
:Ponytail: Protip:
:Ponytail: Don't stop climbing just because you reach the top.
:Ponytail: ☑ Show tips on startup
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1608_1048x1074y_Pyramid_protip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1074+s.png (1048, 1074)]
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|Comics: [[:Category:Protip|Protip category]]
|Ponytail greets the player as (if) they approach the pyramid from the left. She points up the side of the pyramid and gives a protip (a feature often used in xkcd). The tip is yet another indication that the Destroyer is above (the tip) of the pyramid. She tells the player to keep "climbing" after the top (that is not usually possible, but the hoverboard can keep on flying). By doing so the player may reach up to the entrance leading into the spiral corridor (although it will be difficult to keep the same incline as the pyramid on the way up). Ponytails last remark about showing tips on startup makes her sound like she is some kind of program, which can give you interesting hints and tips every time you start the program. If you do not wish this, you can just leave the [https://help.formulatrix.com/rock-maker/3.4/Content/Resources/Images/RM%203.0.3/StartUp%20Tips.png check box unchecked]. This is the last scene with spoken words (or other text) along the right ground, although it is only halfway from the play area to the right end of this world.
|-
|Pyramid tip.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f6/1608_1050x1076y_Pyramid_tip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1051:-1076+s.png (1051, 1076)]
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|At the very tip of the pyramid there is a coin. This is the highest point in the right part of the world, which is directly connected with the ground through a fixed structure (i.e. not a wire). In most of the left part of the world even the ground level is higher, and the Washington Monument is much taller. The next coins are five scenes longer to the right as nothing much happens on the remaining stretch along the ground towards the end of the right part of the world from here.
|-
|Pyramid Right bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c5/1608_1053x1074y_Pyramid_Right_bottom.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1074+s.png (1053, 1074)]
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|As opposed to the left side of the pyramid with a protip, there is nothing on the right side of the pyramid, even the ground is completely featureless, and actually continuous to be so for a while as can be seen in the next two scenes. It is the longest stretch along the ground with no features of interest and also almost completely flat ground. Even the third scene from here is still without characters although there at least is some ground features. For certain the entertainment of the right side is up above in the Destroyer.
|-
|Flat and bare ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/19/1608_1056x1074y_Flat_and_bare_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1074+s.png (1056, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1074+s.png (1057, 1074)]
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|The first of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though, even without much plant life probably takes the prize as the most featureless scene in the game.
|-
|Flat grassy ground.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1059x1074y_Flat_grassy_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1074+s.png (1059, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1074+s.png (1060, 1074)]
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|The second in a row of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though have a little more grass than the previous scene...
|-
|Small cliff or hill.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1063x1075y_Small_cliff_or_hill.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1075+s.png (1063, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1074+s.png (1062, 1074)]
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|Almost as boring as the previous two scenes, but at least there is a little cliff.
|-
|The three T's.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_1066x1075y_The_three_Ts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1075+s.png (1066, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1075+s.png (1067, 1075)]
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|Computer games
|These three Ts with Megan on top of the first, looks similar to scenes from many {{w|Platform game|platform computer games}}, like for instance [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlatformGame this example] from {{w|Mario Bros.}}.
|-
|Coin over grass hole.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b6/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1074+s.png (1071, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1074+s.png (1072, 1074)]
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|The fourth "boring" scene in a row at least have a coin. The grass is rather tall in this location and there are also two small hills to the left, and behind the coin another small bump to the right. The coin is located over a small hole that is filled with grass, so when the player takes the coin hoverboard Cueball will [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/Grasshole_under_coin.PNG sink to his waist].
|-
|Ponytail and bird black hat on a stick and Cueball whistling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1074+s.png (1073, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1074+s.png (1074, 1074)]
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|Ponytail is walking towards a small cliff with a flying bird following behind her. She approaches a black hat on a stick, looking like Black Hats hat. He usually never leaves without it, so it seems a little strange to find i hanging there. It is actually quite hard to find any Black Hat's in the comic, but above in the Destroyer, just slightly to the left of this hat the only instance of Black Hat in the game sits and snores in the Cave. So, he is not only represented by this hat. A kid looking like Cueball stand to the right below the cliff. He seems to be either singing or whistling.
|-
|Small stone pile.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1078x1074y_Small_stone_pile.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1074+s.png (1078, 1074)]
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|After a small step down in the terrain height the only feature of this fifth boring scene is a small stone pile that seems to be made of 5-6 small stones with different size not ordered after size, so it looks like it could easily fall over. The pile is solid, so the player needs to jump to get past it and hoverboard Cueball can stand on top of it.
|-
|Two birds and coin above them.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1081x1074y_Two_birds_and_coin_above_them.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1074+s.png (1081, 1074)]
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|Once again two birds are seen together, this time they are not (as over the gas station to the left) tied together with string. But also, here there is a coin, and just like there it is hidden. Not so much as over the gas station, as here the birds can be seen from the ground, but the coin can only be seen by jumping once. Walking along the ground would let the birds enter into the view but not the coin right above them.
|-
|Pedestal.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1086x1074y_Pedestal.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1074+s.png (1086, 1074)]
|
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|Once again a very boring scene (6th) but at least there is a small pedestal to the right. In itself not very interesting, but if the player drops straight down out of the rear entry of the Destroyer above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this pedestal.
|-
|Medusa and floating earth.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1088:-1074+s.png (1088, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1075+s.png (1090, 1075)]
|
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|The first character in four scenes is no one else but {{w|Medusa}} coming towards the player (if going right) arms outstretched and what appears to be about 10 snakes jutting out of her head which Medusa is known for. The snakes are venomous and people who gaze upon her face would be turned to stone. So not so nice to come by and it for sure relates to the coming end of the world, at least of this world right end.

The floating earth to the right may be of similar origin as the floating rock island above the Washington Monument, maybe the same forces are at work. Seems like it has just been torn up from the hoke in the ground below it, like it is now floating up. If the player drops straight down from the very end of the Destroyer up above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this floating earth. Anything right of the start of the hole is no longer under the Destroyer, which anything else right of the play area until this hole has been. Could be the Destroyer's influence that creates this hole? (But not just because it passes over, because then the earth should be floating up all the way behind it).
|-
|White Hat hiding in the grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1093:-1074+s.png (1093, 1074)]
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|Another flat scenery but at least White Hat is hiding in the grass to the right, only his head showing above the high grass, so her must be either sitting or even lying down propped up on his arms. This is one of only two scenes with White Hat throughout the game.
|-
|Lollipop plant and coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_1095x1075y_Lollipop_plant_and_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1095:-1075+s.png (1095, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1094:-1074+s.png (1094, 1074)]
|
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|The seventh boring scene is lit up by a coin that hangs in the air slightly before the only feature of the scene, which appears to be a plant, with a strange lollipop shape.
|-
|Drifting Cueball.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1098x1074y_Drifting_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1098:-1074+s.png (1098, 1074)]
|
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|
|Another completely flat grassy landscape but with a strangely elongated Cueball drifting in the wind. Characters flying is depicted in two scenes where Ponytail flies, but she does this of her own will. Here is seems like Cueball is just drifting with the wind towards the end of the world, which is only two scenes away, and he is the last character along the ground towards the end. This is in some way reminiscent of Click and Drag, where the Cueball floating with the balloon to begin with, can also be seen at the very right end of the world. But then again here it more seems like Cueball doesn't have a choice, and he also seems to be out of shape. The shape he is in, and the relation to the end of the world could be a (loose) reference to the sixth and seventh day in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]].
|-
|Just grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1103x1074y_Just_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1103:-1074+s.png (1103, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1104:-1074+s.png (1104, 1074)]
|
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|The eight boring scene since the pyramid, with a rolling hill of grass, but only the 2nd most boring, as the most boring scene was the first scene after the pyramid because that one did not even have grass.
|-
|Storks nest at right end of the world with 10 coins.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_1107x1075y_Storks_nest_at_right_end_of_the_world_with_10_coins.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1075+s.png (1107, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1074+s.png (1107, 1074)]
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|This is the right end of the world, marked by a high pole raising up from a foundation, and on the top of the pole there is a large {{w|White stork|stork}} nest with three eggs in it. Maybe it is not a stork nest (though it looks like a {{w|White_stork#Conservation|man-made nest platform}} for storks), but an eagle nest, though they do not usually use mad made structures for their nest as do storks. But if it were an eagle's nest, it could be for those two that are flying over the right tip of the volcano crater in the far of left part of the world.

With ten coins on top of the three eggs in the nest this is the place with the highest coin density in the game, but not most coins over a single image tile as that price goes to the starting tile with eleven coins. There are also seventeen coins in the play area scene, but they are not as closely gathered as here, where all 10 coins are almost as close together as possible, and all of them in the same [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1076+s.png completely white image tile] right above the tile with the nest and eggs.
|-
|'''Entire Rebel Blockade Runner'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_and_wires_zoom_out.png Also with wires] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png Also with torpedoes]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|An overview of the entire Rebel Blockade Runner ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'' from the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. It has four rooms (one blown open), a small cannon room that cannot be entered by the hoverboard and two corridors. The rear is the large engines. There are three coins. There is a clear symmetry along the center, as the two cannons and the two parabolic antennas are placed symmetrical on the top and bottom hull, and also the curve of the hull is symmetric. In the second image link the way to find the runner from the ground via the wires can be seen (six coins). And in the third the way to find the Destroyer above via the torpedoes can be seen (14 coins). The Destroyer is thus not hidden, like for instance the Floating Rock Island or the Hidden Lair beneath the lava lake, and there are many less direct indications that there is a runner from all the people who comment on them or even directly or indirectly point the way to the Destroyer. The Runner is supposed to be 150 m long.
|-
|Bridge on the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!
:Second scene:
:Megan: Good against remotes is one thing, but a ''true'' Jedi train with a T-shirt cannon.
:Box: Shirts
:Third scene:
:Box: Bullets
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1012:-1078+s.png (1012, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1078+s.png (1013, 1078)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner is crammed with interesting scenes. First on the bridge itself a long-haired woman (the captain) is mocking both Star Wars and Star Trek fans alike by using the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcRX0Gw1aaw opening line] from the Star Trek series about stating the {{w|stardate}} for the captain's log on board the first spaceship ever shown in the Star Wars franchise. Hairbun behind her (it could be {{w|Princess Leia}} who also has buns but above each ear) is clearly distressed by this "mistake". This could either be because she is a Star Wars fan that dislike Star Trek or because the stardate used is the real date, November 24, 2015, on which the comic was released (as well as the book ''Thing Explainer'') instead of using the normal convention for stardates with a four or five digit number plus a decimal like 1513.1. Given that the long-haired woman has the appearance of [[Danish]], this may be intentionally rather than a mistake. There is another reference to the Star Trek universe in the scene where the torpedoes are fired from the Destroyer above, so no less than two Trek infiltrations in the opening scene of Star Wars.

Beneath the bridge there is a smaller room where Ponytail and Megan spoofs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69NCLxwLEY Luke's Lightsaber Training] from the original Star Wars movie where {{w|Luke Skywalker}} practices under {{w|Ben Kenobi}}'s guidance while {{w|Han Solo}} comes with snide remarks. Ponytail (in Luke's place) holds a {{w|lightsaber}} above which floats a sphere which represents the small remote controlled {{w|Jedi}} training device from that scene. Megan both guides like Ben and comments like Han. She holds some kind of cannon that she obviously loads with T-shirts from the box behind her. As she tells Ponytail, a true Jedi trains with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCz7C6jEIk t-shirt cannon]. Han Solo's quote begins like it but ends quite differently: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuCbDkKIs4 Good against remotes is one thing good against the living it's something else]. He would also prefer a {{w|Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster}} as he explains: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V268Qk6-xsw Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid]. There is a coin behind Ponytail.

Above the bridge there is a hatch open where hoverboard Cueball may enter and a Cueball is standing behind the hatch looking down along the hull.

There are cannons both above and below the hull, the one on top has a coin in front of the barrel. There is a similar cannon with a coin in front on top of the Destroyer. Beneath this cannon is a tiny room where another Cueball is pouring several small bullets from a bucket into a black box labeled bullets (for the cannon). From this room there is a small shaft down to the main corridor in the Runner. But this shaft is too slim for hoverboard Cueball to pass up through it, or rather for the board to get in. Cueball can pass into the hole, but the board holds him back from reaching up in the small room. The cannon below has two of the anchors from the wires going to the ground attached around its barrel. The third anchor is stuck in the bottom hull further down the hull. It is unclear how this last has become attached to the hull!

In the corridor that runs away from the bridge a small robot on wheels drive towards left. Similar types of robots are often seen in the Star Wars universe and there is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png another robot] looking like two of these on top of each other in the Destroyer above where the torpedoes connecting them ends up. Further down the corridor Ponytail is walking to the right while singing indicated with two notes.

Above the cannon at the bottom of the hull on a ledge with an entry to the ship is a third Cueball holding a fishing rod out over the ledge, so the hook hangs in the air. Maybe he is fishing for either of the two birds that are flying around the line. What appears to be a loaf of bread or [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png a cracker is attached to the hook] at the end of the line. A similar scene is also found in TE in ''Sky Toucher''.
|-
|Death Star Plans in the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: The Death Star plans are ''not'' in the main computer.
:Second Cueball: Darn.
:Second Cueball: See, if we had found them in the main computer, which would be good news, since it would mean no one else had them.
:Second Cueball: But since we didn’t find them, we need to keep searching for anyone with a copy.
:Second Cueball: That all makes sense and I ''definitely'' understand how computers work.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball: So you just came down and made a hole in our ship without permission?
:Fourth Cueball: Yup
:Third Cueball: Wow, Rude.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1017x1078y_Death_Star_Plans_in_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1078+s.png (1017, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1079+s.png (1016, 1079)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|The reference to the Death Star plans is from [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=340 the opening scene] in the first Star Wars movie. The sentence uttered by First Cueball is said by a Storm Trooper to Darth Vader. The [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes?qt=qt0440708 rest of the quote] is not quite like in the comic. Rather is goes like this:
:Darth Vader: [addressing the Tantive IV's captain, whom he is interrogating] Where are those transmissions you intercepted? WHAT have you DONE with those plans?
:Captain Antilles: We intercepted no transmissions... This is a consular ship... We're on a diplomatic mission...
:Darth Vader: [shouting] If this is a consular ship, WHERE is the ambassador?
:Darth Vader: Commander, tear this ship apart until you find those plans! And bring me all passengers, I want them ALIVE!
The comic jokes with the way Darth Vader seems to assume that if the plans had been found on the computer, then no one else would have had access to them. The second Cueball, although not Vader, represents a superior that have absolutely no idea about how computers work, in spite of his insistence that he actually do. If the data has once been intercepted, they could have been shared or copied to several other computers or devices or even been printed. By finding them in the main computer they would only make sure that they were indeed intercepted, but not be certain that they have not been delivered to the rebel base.

The other two Cueballs on top of the ship stand over a hole in the hull going into a small room above and left of the large room. It seems that the fourth Cueball has made this hole directly from the outside (i.e. it is not caused by an exploding torpedo from the Destroyer above). Because he confirms when the third Cueball asks if he just came down to make the hole without permission. The third Cueball thinks this is rude. This is, of course, hilarious as if a space pirate or any other attacker of a spaceship would ask permission before attacking. And also, the idea that he might get permission for asking is likewise crazy. To call this rude is also a weird way to look at such an attack. {{w|C3PO}} uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoG9tKf1lA this as reply] to a comment made to him by a similar droid in the second movie.
|-
|Top rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: That thing is ''huge. Imperial''-class?
:Second Cueball: Yeah. Maybe a MK-1. Depends on whether this is the expanded universe or not.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball's bow: Twang
:Torpedo: Boom
:Third scene:
:Fourth Cueball: Why are they still firing?
:Fifth Cueball: Oh, the turret operators pretty much do their own thing.
:Fifth Cueball: It's definitely a pain sometimes.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1079+s.png (1018, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1080+s.png (1019, 1080)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this overview of the top rear of the hull of the Runner, there are four scenes with two persons in each, with no less than six Cueballs. Beginning with the scene to the far left the two first Cueballs discuss what type of Star Destroyer is shooting at their ship from above them. They are clearly tilting their head far back to look up. The first Cueball comments on how huge it is and asks if it is an {{w|Star_Destroyer#Imperial_class|''Imperial'' class}} Destroyer. "''Imperial'' class" is the designation of the Destroyer ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]'' that followed the Rebel Runner ''Tantive IV'' in the opening scene. There is also and more than 10 times as large version called a {{w|Star_Destroyer#Super_Star_Destroyer|Super Star Destroyer}}, which were featured in the two sequels in the original trilogy. But even the original Star Destroyers were improved during the movies, so when the improved Destroyers came out, they became known as ([https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_II-class_Star_Destroyer Mark II], Mk-II or plainly II, and the original (as Devastator) became known as [https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_I-class_Star_Destroyer Mk-1]. The second Cueball agrees with the first and suggest that it is a Mk-1 and thus makes it even more clear that this scene is actually the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. But then again, he continues, it depends weather this is the {{w|Star Wars expanded universe|expanded universe}} (now known as ''Star Wars Legends'') where all authorized media (books etc.) released based on the Star Wars franchise should be counted in, or if it is only the movies sanctioned directly by George Lucas (and now Disney). What he says is that in all those works there could be so many other types os ships mentioned, that he could mistake for a Mk-1, that in that universe he would not be certain at all. But in the "official" universe he would claim that it was a Mk-1 ''Imperial'' class Star Destroyer.

In the next scene Ponytail and a third Cueball fight with bows and arrows against the Destroyers 100+ torpedoes raining down from above. Ten of these can be seen falling, one hits the ship, and one has just exploded in a big ''boom'', to be compared with the feeble ''twang'' made by Cueballs bow when he fires the arrow. When later discovering how far there is up to the bottom of the Destroyer it only becomes even more silly.

In the third scene two more Cueballs (four and five) look up at the torpedoes falling down in an arch over their heads. The fourth Cueball asks why they still keep firing. And the fifth Cueball tries to explain. A {{w|Gun turret|turret}} is generally a weapon mount that houses the crew and a projectile-firing weapon and lets the weapon be aimed and fired in a given cone of fire. So, it is this crew, that are the turret operators. There is also such [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png an operator] on the Rebel Runner below the top cannon (or turret), in the scene with the bridge. The reason they keep fighting is given that they just do their own thing and that is annoying. This indicates that these two Cueballs do no longer think that the Destroyer needs to fire anymore on the Runner, and thus also indicates that they are part of the crew from the Destroyer send down to take over the Runner. Thus, it is annoying that the shooting has not stopped as it puts them in danger. If they belong to the Runner, then they would not think it weird that the shooting continued. It turns out to be Megan who is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png turret operator in the Destroyer]! At least they can be happy that it is regular torpedoes. (See the explanation of the scene regarding the Torpedo cannon below Destroyer).

In the final scene at the very end of the hull is the sixth Cueball together with Megan. She holds on to him as he tries to toast a giant marshmallow on a stick by holding it in front of the exhaust pipe of the Runner. This would most likely melt the marshmallow instantaneously... In ''Red world space car'' in TE the Mars rower also toasts a marshmallow on a stick over a small fire.
|-
|Bottom rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1020x1078y_Bottom_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1078+s.png (1020, 1078)]
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|The rear end of the Rebel Runner with the last part of the big Death Star plan room to visible to the left. Three engines are visible, with the top one being cut of (Cueball is roasting a marshmallow above the cut off - see previous scene). This is consistent with the three rows of engines as [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/2016/04/tantive_iv_over_tatooine.png?itok=1k3g3pFH can be seen in the film], with four engines in top and bottom row and three in the middle. There is a coin behind the lowest of the engines. There appear to be {{w|truck nuts}} attached to the rear of the ship beneath the hull. These are plastic or metal accessories, typically for cars, which resemble a pair of dangling testicles/balls. They are attached under the rear bumper of the vehicle, so they are visible from behind as a practical joke. Some find it is in so bad a taste that it should be banned or fined.
|-
|'''Entire torpedoes rain from Runner to Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire rain of torpedoes fired down from the Star Destroyer to the Runner. There are one hundred undamaged torpedoes in the air, two that are hitting each other exploding, one that has just contacted the hull and one that has just exploded on the hull of the Runner. A total of 104 torpedoes has thus been fired at this moment in time. The rain is not so much there for jokes but to guide the player up to the Destroyer. Only interesting scene on the way up is Beret Guy riding a torpedo, and apart from that and the two torpedoes hitting each other and exploding, there is nothing else to see. But there are two coins to collect.
|-
|Torpedoes just above Runner with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1019x1081y_Torpedoes_just_above_Runner_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1081+s.png (1019, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1081+s.png (1020, 1081)]
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|11 torpedoes just above the Runner with a coin.
|-
|Torpedoes two steps above Runner with Beret Guy.
|
:Beret Guy: Horsey!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1083+s.png (1020, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1021:-1083+s.png (1021, 1083)]
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|Film: {{w|Dr. Strangelove}}
|Beret Guys only second appearance in this comic. He is flying down from the Destroyer sitting astray a torpedo riding it like it was a horse. In the film Dr. Stangelove a man is also flying down like this riding a bomb like it is a horse (a nuclear bomb in that case though). Beret Guy will likely survive due to his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. With his torpedo there are eight torpedoes in this scene
|-
|Torpedoes three steps above Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1023x1085y_Torpedoes_three_steps_above_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1086+s.png (1023, 1086)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1024:-1086+s.png (1024, 1086)]
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|21 torpedoes are shown. This image is so large that it goes outside the "active" images, and thus the lower right part is in gray. In the game this part will be displayed as white, but there is no image below to save (but many all-white images are active though!)
|-
|Torpedoes two steps below Destroyer with exploding torpedoes.
|
:Torpedoes: Boom
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a8/1608_1025x1087y_Torpedoes_two_steps_below_Destroyer_with_exploding_torpedoes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1087+s.png (1025, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1087+s.png (1026, 1087)]
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|21 torpedoes are shown, but two of them are hitting each other exploding. Where you can stand on the torpedoes, you cannot stand on the "boom", but still on the black part of the exploding torpedoes. If the two exploding torpedoes are the same and if they have no means of self-propelling, then they should not hit each other under normal conditions. Only if a wind gust slowed down the one and not the other (which could of course be the case.) But else they would follow the same parabolic path from cannon to target without getting closer.
|-
|Torpedoes one step below Destroyer with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/1608_1029x1089y_Torpedoes_one_step_below_Destroyer_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1089+s.png (1029, 1089)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1090+s.png (1031, 1090)]
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|19 torpedoes just below the Destroyer with a coin.
|-
|Torpedo cannon below Destroyer.
|
:Megan: We have no photon torpedoes, so I'm firing regular ones
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1091+s.png (1034, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1091+s.png (1033, 1091)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The 12 last torpedoes lead up to the cannon below the Destroyer that has fired them all towards the runner far below. In the control room (or turret room see explanation of scene where the torpedoes hit the Runner) is Megan and Cueball. She explains that she used regular torpedoes rather than the much more powerful {{w|Weapons_in_Star_Trek#Projectile_weapons|'''photon''' torpedoes}}. This may cheat some to think this is a reference to the weapon Luke Skywalker used when destroying the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. But they were called {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_weapons#Ship-mounted|'''proton''' torpedoes}}. Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an {{w|antimatter}} warhead and one of those alone would probably take a ship like the Runner out if it was not shielded... However, they are used by the {{w|Starship Enterprise}} in the Star Trek universe. So, this is the second (but more subtle) mixing of the two competing franchises connected with the torpedoes in the opening scene of Star Wars. The first being on the bridge of the Runner below. Above the control room there is a shaft up to a corridor in which a small robot of the types typically seen on spaceships in Star Wars is seen. There is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png similar robot] down in the Runner but only half this one's height.
|-
|'''Entire Star Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|This is the only reference to Star Wars just because of the Destroyer. Anything inside the spaceship will only be listed as SW reference if there is something in relation to SW, or at least to part of the ship itself (like using special outcrops on the ship for a special room, like the Globe of Death at the top of the bridge).
|-
|'''Entire front end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_front_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/22/1608_Entire_front_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|This overview is shown to illustrate how far apart the rooms are even in the very front end of the Destroyer where it is slimmest. The image with hidden passages shows how deep the swimming pool is and that the hoverboard can also sink into the playpen pit. Moving just a little further right than this overview, and the Destroyer becomes wider than the zoom scale for these overviews.
|-
|Overview of the very tip of the front end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_Zoom_out_of_the_very_front_end.png Overview]
|Overview
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|The front has both a mouth a nose and an eye with a pupil. It has just eaten a coin and can smell the one above its nose. See more on this interpretation under the ''Colon like structure'' below.
|-
|Very front with Cueball looking out at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/60/1608_1002x1094y_Very_front_with_Cueball_looking_out_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1094+s.png (1002, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1094+s.png (1003, 1094)]
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|The closest entrance to the Destroyer from the starting point is guarded by Cueball. Going straight up from the right wall in the play area will take the hoverboard straight up in front of Cueball. There is a coin behind him where this first corridor turns up into a shaft.
|-
|Very front with playpen balls pit at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1095+s.png (1004, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1005:-1095+s.png (1005, 1095)]
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|[[150: Grownups]] and the [[:Category:Playpen balls|Playpen balls Category]].
|The top part of the front of the Star Destroyer also has an entrance as does the bottom section (see above). There is a coin above the hull. This first corridor leads to a playpen pit filled with playpen balls, which is a recurring subject in xkcd. Cueball and Megan is adult sized (i.e. as big as hoverboard Cueball) and it is thus a clear reference to Grownups. There could be water down below the balls as a fish is seen jumping out over the surface. But given that there are no splashes from the balls Cueball throws in the air, it could also just be a gimmick by Randall. To have something like this in a Star Destroyer kind of ruins the mood surrounding these war machines. Something seen several times throughout the spaceship.
|-
|Piñata and Cueball with lightsaber at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: No, I got this.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1095+s.png (1006, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1095+s.png (1007, 1095)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Comic: [[1620: Christmas Settings]]
|Although the original {{w|piñata}} was star shaped it is now common to use different shapes like the horse or donkey displayed in the comic. Children usually hits the piñata with a club until it breaks and falls down revealing candy or toys inside. The two Cueballs, Megan and Hairy are adults though as big as hoverboard Cueball, just like in the playpen pit. It is common for adults to participate in hitting down a piñata. But to do it with a {{w|lightsaber}} would defeat the purpose of this game as it will go right through the piñata on contact thus spilling the contest out on the floor in the first go. The Cueball with the lightsaber can thus confidently say that he got this. But it seems like the other Cueball is trying to stop him and that Hairy, holding the club they were intended to use, puts a hand protectively on Megan. A lightsaber would be a very dangerous weapon and should not be used lightly in a playful setting. As a side note any candy/toy in the path of the ligtsaber as it passes through the piñata will melt/burn immediately. Lightsaber noises are mentioned in the title text of the Christmas Settings comic coming out shortly after this one.
|-
|Shaft and corridor at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1608_1007x1094y_Shaft_and_corridor_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1094+s.png (1007, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1094+s.png (1008, 1094)]
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|Lots of sections inside the Destroyer consist of long corridors with shafts going up and down here and there, but with no interesting features or objects. This is the first example of such a corridor, near the bottom hull of the Destroyer, showing that it is not a featureless outer hull. Apart from the ever-increasing width of the Destroyer there are some steps up and down, to indicate some of the features seen in the Star Wars movie.
|-
|Swimming pool with Ponytail jumping at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1094+s.png (1010, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1094+s.png (1011, 1094)]
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|Another enjoyable activity to attend to by adults is located here in the front sections of the Destroyer: A swimming pool. Don't worry about Ponytail jumping head first into the water, as can be seen in the hidden passage image it is rather deep. Cueball and Megan is already in. Supposedly there is a rung ladder up again on the side, but it cannot be seen in this slice through the Destroyer. A coin hangs in the top corner of the room. When standing with the hoverboard on the bottom of the pool it will be possible to see that there is a coin on the outside of the hull in the indentation in the hull below the pool. From the outside, however, it will not be possible to see that there is a pool above as the water is the same black (to the eye) as the solid hull.
|-
|Shaft and corridor with three coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1011x1096y_Shaft_and_corridor_with_three_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1096+s.png (1011, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1009:-1095+s.png (1009, 1095)]
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|After leaving the piñata room going down the corridor there are two coins. One under the shaft going up and one further down the corridor. Going up the shaft there is also a coin on the outside of the top hull at the top of another of the small step where the hulls width increases faster than the steady slope that are always there. This coin is almost on top of the one in the corridor below.
|-
|Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1015x1093y_Dead_end_shaft_with_rubbles_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1093+s.png (1015, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1093+s.png (1016, 1093)]
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|From the shaft that exits the Destroyers bottom hull there goes a corridor to the left. But only for a short while. Then there is a pile of rubble like there has either been a cave in or as if someone has been digging this tunnel and then has stopped. This is consistent with the mining company seen much further down the Destroyer. There is a coin in front of the rubble.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/34/1608_1019x1095y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
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|This zoom-out gives an overview of a large section of the Destroyer with only a long corridor and two shafts going down from it. There are almost no features, but for Hairy standing carefully at the edge of one shaft looking down into it. So again, an example of the larger areas inside the destroyer where nothing happens.
|-
|Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1016x1095y_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1095+s.png (1016, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png (1013, 1096)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the shaft that came out of the piñata room. At the end of this image is the first shaft going down where Hairy is standing carefully at the edge looking down. Before that a shaft goes up to the top hull where a coin is situated on top of a small step down. At the other end of this "step" to the left there was also a coin.
|-
|Three coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1023x1095y_Three_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1095+s.png (1023, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1095+s.png (1022, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the room where the long corridor going from the piñata room ends. Although it is a quite boring room it has three coins, the highest coin density seen so far when entering the Destroyer from the front end. A shaft down outside the room prevents this from being a dead end.
|-
|Triple coins and a single coin on top of a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1023x1097y_Triple_coins_and_a_single_coin_on_top_of_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1097+s.png (1023, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1097+s.png (1025, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|There is a very long straight stretch on top of the hull where nothing happens after the step down, but suddenly there are three coins in a row, and then a shaft down, with a ledge out over the shaft opening, with yet a coin, makes it worth the players while to come up there as well.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_1025x1092y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This overview at the bottom of the hull shows the shaft (to the right) that was covered with a ledge at the top of the hull. Although it takes a small turn left before going down and out at the bottom it thus almost runs straight through the Destroyer and also here at the bottom a thin ledge covers the shafts exit. But here are no coins. There are another shaft and two corridors.
|-
|Shall '''not not''' pass room and parachutes at one of two ledges at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: You shall not not pass!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1093+s.png (1026, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1092+s.png (1028, 1092)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The shaft going out at the bottom left is the one mentioned above. Going through the corridor above takes hoverboard Cueball into a room with a Cueball blocking his way holding a handout towards him. He almost uses the last part of a [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes?item=qt0445998 famous quote by Gandalf] when facing the {{w|Balrog}} in the mines of {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}}, but here with an '''extra not''' added to negate the "not" from the quote. So "You shall ''not'' '''not''' pass" = You '''shall''' pass, and when you do you get a coin. It is easy to miss that there are two times not in the sentence, which is for certain intentionally by Randall, as the spoken sentence thus do not match the appearance of Cueball with a handout.

If hoverboard Cueball jump ship at the ledge to the left, he can fly over to the next ledge where Cueball and a guy with black hair is preparing to jump of the ship using parachutes. Behind them there is a shaft going up into the ship with a coin.
|-
|Two coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_1026x1095y_Two_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1095+s.png (1026, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1095+s.png (1027, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|The shaft going up in the two coins room comes from a corridor below that also connects to the shaft to the left. The corridor is right above the ''you shall not not pass'' room below. The shaft to the left goes up the ledge covered exit to the top hull.
|-
|Steven Universe and Crystal Gems; and ice cream prediction.
|
:Megan: Prediction: Seconds before you die, you will remember these words.
:Box: Ice cream
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1095+s.png (1031, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1095+s.png (1029, 1095)]
|
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|In the room to the left, Megan talks to Cueball while they walk towards an ice cream freezer (at the end of the room with a coin on top). Her comment that she can predict that he will remember those words when he dies could be quite sinister. Since they are so boring the only way, she can make this prediction come through is if she now turns around killing him. If she waits a little longer, she will not have to move him so far before she can hide his body in the freezer...

In the room to the right is a group of four stick figures representing {{w|Steven Universe (character)|Steven Universe}} and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#/media/File:StevenFinalPoster.jpg Crystal Gems]. From left to right, Steven is next to {{w|Pearl (Steven Universe)|Pearl}} (as a stick figure with shorter hair), {{w|Garnet (Steven Universe)|Garnet}} (as a taller stick figure with sunglasses and an afro), and {{w|List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#Amethyst|Amethyst}} (as a shorter stick figure with long hair). The Crystal Gems are a "superhero" team of alien "Gems" who protect the earth, with their newest member being the half-Gem, half-human Steven. (Elsewhere on the bridge of the Destroyer, Darth Vader references Steven Universe in that Steven is half Gem.) A coin is hovering over Garnet's raised left hand.

Below these two rooms runs a corridor that goes left to the shaft going up to the top hull. The shaft going down goes to the two guys with parachutes. There is a coin next to the shaft. To get from this corridor to the rooms above hoverboard Cueball either have to go out on the top hull or move through the rotary that follows to the right.
|-
|'''Entire Rotary section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/67/1608_Entire_Rotary_section.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Entire_Rotary_section_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png Swallow Runner]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|To the left in this overview is the roundabout like structure that Cueball above it calls a rotary, which has given name to this section of the ship that follows after it up to the section with the cave. The Destroyer becomes much broader here especially due to the two large steps that the top part of the hull takes in the middle and to the right in this image.

In the hidden passage image, the cotton trap is revealed with the two entrances to the room below and to the corridor to the right that leads past different traps into the cave. At the top and bottom middle of the image there are two cars, and as it can be seen in the hidden passage image the hoverboard cannot rest on top of those.

In the composite ''Swallow Runner'' image the Rebel Runner has been placed in the opening in the bottom hull to reveal that this is indeed the opening in the bottom of the Destroyer that swallows the entire Rebel Runner in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie. This feature is thus a direct reference to the "real" Devastator Destroyer and thus a direct reference to the opening scene and to Star Wars. Below the individual scenes in the Rotary section will be described.
|-
|Empty room and Cueball on corridor going to rotary at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: Ugh, rotaries.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1608_1029x1097y_Empty_room_and_Cueball_on_corridor_going_to_rotary_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1096+s.png (1032, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1097+s.png (1030, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|A big empty room near the top hull and a coin in a shaft going down from the top hull. The shaft going down will lead to both the room with the ice dream box and the one with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems. The corridor going right will go down into the rotary, see next scene. Cueball is looking down into this and expressing his dislike of this {{w|Traffic circle|type of structures}}. Maybe he has bad experience with these in real life traffic.
|-
|The rotary.
|
:(none)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1608_1033x1095y_The_rotary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1095+s.png (1033, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1095+s.png (1035, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the {{w|Traffic circle|Rotary}} that has given its name to the section of the Star Destroyer from the structure itself and right of this until the section where the cave is located. A rotary is also known as a ''traffic circle'' and is a large version of a roundabout with several roads exiting from it. At the top of the upper left passage (see the scene above) Cueball is looking down into this structure and calls it a rotary (hence the name).

The centre contains a small room with a stick figure wearing a tonsure haircut (where only the top of the head is shaved bald), a potted plant, and a coin. The plant resembles a pea plant, and the tonsure is a haircut associated with monks, so this is likely to be Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a 19th century Czech monk who discovered the principles of genetic inheritance by crossing strains of pea plants.

Large rotaries may have more than four roads leading away, but in this case, there are four, and neither of them are leading straight away up/down or left/right. Three of them are almost at a 45-degree angle, but the one going down is only a little of to the right, and soon turns straight down.

Only other feature is the Cueball rushing right on his bike in the corridor leading away from the rightmost exit. There are several bikes throughout the comic, with two more in the Globe of Death above the bridge of the Destroyer and one going down the right slope of the Volcano.

Entering the rotary for the first time there are of course three new directions to move along in, making it a special point in the users' exploration of the Destroyer.
|-
|Photon cannon Tetris piece and mini robot at bottom of hull.
|
:(None - the cannon part has been transcribed in the torpedo section)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1093+s.png (1034, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1092+s.png (1035, 1092)]
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Tetris}}
|The bottom part of the scene has already been described in relation to the torpedo rain. But as can be seen here it is possible to enter the torpedo room almost directly from the bottom exit of the rotary above. Coming down that way is also a T-shaped {{w|Tetris#Colors_of_Tetriminos|tetriminos}} from the Tetris computer game. At the end of the corridor with the small robot there is a shaft, and in the exit from the corridor there is a coin.
|-
|Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d3/1608_1038x1092y_Shaft_corridor_with_coin_and_room_with_coin_over_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1092+s.png (1038, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1036:-1092+s.png (1036, 1092)]
|
|
|
|
|Going down from the corridor from the scene above takes the player through a small room with a coin at the bottom of the hull and then out over a thick ledge in the air beneath the Destroyer. There is a large gap starting here that ends in the ''Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.
|-
|Giant octopus in Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1094+s.png (1038, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1093+s.png (1038, 1093)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|A giant octopus with a dome shaped head in a dome shaped room with coins above its tentacles left and right. In TE there are several octopuses, and this animal is also often used in xkcd in general. But particularly in ''The USS Laws of the Land'' there is both a large octopus beneath the ship and one giant tentacle reaching up from the deep. If this is considered a monster, then this section of the ship may be the monster section as there also seem to be some kind of horned monster in the room to the right of this room.
|-
|Hamster ball and stilts room.
|
:Megan: ''AaaaAaaa''
:Guy with hair: I can't leave.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1095+s.png (1038, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1039:-1096+s.png (1039, 1096)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster balls category]]
|This room is the first after exiting the rotary to the upper right. The shaft goes down past the octopus room (see scene above). It is the second instance with a hamster ball in this comic, the first being a small girl (with Megan like hair) in the left part of the world just before the plateau. But in this case, it is the adult Megan that is inside the ball, not only running but actually standing on a skateboard. She is clearly not in control. As the player is on a hoverboard there is some kind of connection with a girl on skateboard. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE Megan also uses a skateboard, inside a rounded structure.

Megan is not alone though as there is also a guy (with a wee bit of hair) on stilts. The stilts seem to be very high and if the guy wishes to stay on these stilts his assessment, that he can't leave the room, is true. Between his stilts there is a coin. The world highest stilts are shown in [[482: Height]] and in the next "game" comic after this one, [[1663: Garden]], it is possible to "[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts.png grow]" a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/Garden_Stilt_walker.png girl on stilts].
|-
|Box with horns and coin room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1043x1093y_Box_with_horns_and_coin_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1093+s.png (1043, 1093)]
|
|
|
|
|
|In this room across from the giant octopus room there is yet a possible monster hidden in a box. Two large horns jut out of the box, but if they are standing on the box or is sitting on some horned beast inside the box is not clear. But they look rather ominously, and if it is a monster, it would with the giant octopus make this section a monster section. A coin is hovering between the horns. The shaft up is the only way to move further down inside the Destroyer without moving over or under the hull.

Its appearance in the Star Destroyer with the coin makes it superficially similar to a holoprojector, with the coin as the holorgram - it is unclear whether this is the intended meaning, however.
|-
|Zoom out of three empty rooms near bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1046x1094y_Zoom_out_of_three_empty_rooms_near_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A dead end with three empty room with no coins or any interesting features, thus only this zoomed out version is displayed here. The rooms are just right of the horned box and below is the part of the hull that is the opening where the Destroyer will swallow the Runner. It is not a complete waste to come over this way, as the room to the right with the hoverboard is central to the comic. But no need to go into these rooms if trying to pick up all the coins as fast as possible.
|-
|Corridor with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1046x1097y_Corridor_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1097+s.png (1046, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|
|This is one of the longer corridors without any features. It is the only way to move right inside the destroyer in this section. The corridor goes above the three empty rooms in the scene above and also above the hoverboard room in the scene below. At the end of the corridor there is a shaft up. The only reason this segment is shown is because of the coin.
|-
|Two hoverboards room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1095+s.png (1048, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1094+s.png (1048, 1094)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]]
|Self-reference to title of this comic, and the conversation guide comic released shortly after this is also referencing this entire comic as it complains that hoverboards are not real yet. There is both another hoverboard Cueball and a hoverboard Megan in this room, but compared to the players hoverboard Cueball these two are somewhat more advanced and managed to swoop around the coin in the middle. The room can only be entered from the right. To the left there is only a dead end with three completely empty rooms, so don't bother going there if you are in a hurry to pick up all the coins...
|-
|Zoom out with dead end corridor car room and shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f9/1608_1051x1097y_Zoom_out_with_dead_end_corridor_car_room_and_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Overview of the end of the long corridor with the coin mentioned above. It ends here in the dead end at the bottom. The corridor above has Cueball lying on the hood of a car in a small room quite a distance from any exits to the outside.
|-
|Cueball on hood of car room and a giant step with coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1099+s.png (1048, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1099+s.png (1049, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this dead-end room Cueball is lying on the hood of a car. Hoverboard Cueball cannot copy this as the car is not a solid segment of the image. The hull is not far away, and the car room is right where one of the large steps in the upper hull appears. Right outside there are two coins at the bottom and top of the step. These cannot be seen from inside the room. There is no fast way to get outside from here, and actually no easy way to get a car into this room either. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE there is also a car stuck in the middle of the skyscraper a long way from the parking cellar. In this comic there is actually even one more car in the Destroyer, but that is at least close to an exit ledge (see scene below).
|-
|Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull.
|
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?
:Blonde woman with hair bun: Whatever. Who cares it’s probably fine.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1090+s.png (1049, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1050:-1090+s.png (1050, 1090)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan is referring to the fact that spaceships in Star Wars often fly fast also inside the atmosphere of a planet. Not something you would normally design for. Though in the case with the Destroyer and Runner they did not go inside the atmosphere as depicted here in the comic, in the scene from the original Star Wars movie. The blonde woman comes with a comment typical for b-moves, who cares if this would work in real life, it is just a film.

There is a large gap in the bottom hull ending here and starting in the ''Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.

Behind the two women, who are standing on a thin ledge where the large gap ends, there is another car (see scene above). At least it is clear how this car could get into this room (and out again). Above the car there is a coin. Behind the car there is a corridor going into the Destroyer, but quite high up on the wall for a normal exit. The car cannot be used as a step to jump in there, as it is not part of the solid picture.
|-
|Ponytail flying up a shaft towards a coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1091+s.png (1053, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1091+s.png (1054, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|The corridor from the room with Megan and the car is long. In the middle of it there is a shaft going up (a long way). Just inside this shaft Ponytail is seen flying up, hands in front of her like another Superman. Above her in the shaft there is a coin. This is not the only place in the comic where Ponytail is flying. Although here it seems like an automatic thing (like Superman), whereas down below on the ground below the Destroyer she has to flap her arms violently, but then actually manages to take off from the ground. In a spaceship like this Destroyer there could both be a system to let people float upwards, some gravitational effects or just plain effects of the flying itself, whereas down on the ground flying like that would be magic for sure. But at least there seems to be some correlation since it is Ponytail that flies in both cases.
|-
|Trap covered with leaves and flying Ponytail at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: ...And we cover it with leaves so no one sees it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1090+s.png (1055, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1091+s.png (1055, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|After the shaft where Ponytail flies up (see more in the scene above) the corridor continues to a pit which Cueball and a kid have been covering with leaves and sticks. It seems like they are making a trap, which is even more likely seeing that the bottom of the pit has six sharp spikes that would likely impale any unlucky victims that fell in. Alternatively (given the words Cueball uses), they have made this hole by mistake, and now tries to cover it so no one sees it. If he meant it to be a trap, he might instead have phrased it, "so they won't see it until it is too late". The kid looks like the kid in the room at the rotary, as they have the same hairdo.
|-
|Corridor and shaft with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8f/1608_1053x1094y_Corridor_and_shaft_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1094+s.png (1053, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|
|The shaft going up from Ponytail below goes past the corridor to the left that goes to the hoverboards room. There is a coin in the entrance.
|-
|'''Entire Corridor peristalsis and colon.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_Entire_area_around_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Zoom out to entire area]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|With the comment from Hairbun about peristalsis - the bowel movement getting food etc. through the digestive system, and with the three chambers with coins above a colon like structure, leading into the corridor with these motions, with a coin both going down the colon and through the peristalsis, there can be no doubt that this is the digestive system for this "living" spaceship, and coins is what it lives off. This interpretation can further be extended to the very front end, where there is the appearance of a head that eats coins (see the front-end overview) and at the rear end a coin is bouncing out at the very last shaft before the very end of the ship. Suggesting where this animal gets rid of the waste products afterwards. (The rest of the ship is not part of this interpretation).
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and two-coin rooms at top of hull.
|
:Hairbun: Ah, yes. Corridor peristalsis.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1099+s.png (1054, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1100+s.png (1057, 1100)]
|
|
|
|
|Following the corridor from the room with Cueball on the hood of a car leads to a part of that corridor experiencing {{w|peristalsis}}. This is the kind of muscle movements that causes food to move through the {{w|human gastrointestinal tract}}. Hairbun is telling Cueball that this is indeed corridor peristalsis, so a way for the corridor to move stuff along. As there are coins at both end of this section it is quite clear that these coins are moved along by the corridor itself. The indentation of the corridor is so strong that the corridor is not wide enough to allow hoverboard Cueball to pass through. So, to get both coins another route needs to be found. The shortest way is to go up the shaft behind Hairbun, passing the two empty rooms with coins on the way to the top of the Destroyers hull. To get to the other side hoverboard Cueball will then have to pass through the Destroyers colon like structure to the right. See below. As mentioned in the overview above this is a clear reference to the human digestive system, or in this case the Destroyers ditto.
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and colon.
|
:Cueball: Wheee!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1055x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1099+s.png (1055, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1099+s.png (1056, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Moving a little further down right than the peristalsis scene above the bottom part of the {{w|Large intestine|colon}} like structure can be seen, closely connected to this other intestine like structure (The three coins in the left part of the image are the same as in the scene above). The reason for showing this scene is to show the closeness of these two digestive system structures. In ''Box that cleans food holders'' in TE Ponytail yells "Wheee!" as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach, a mix of the action performed by Cueball and Ponytail in the colon like structure. Ponytail is sliding towards a coin at the bottom in one of the colon loops. The top part of the colon can be seen in the next scene.
|-
|Colon like structure with Ponytail and Cueball sliding down.
|
:(None - text already transcribed in the scene above ''Corridor peristalsis and colon''.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_1058x1100y_Colon_like_structure_with_Ponytail_and_Cueball_sliding_down.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1100+s.png (1058, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1101+s.png (1058, 1101)]
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|The entrance from the top to the colon like structure have a Cueball looking down into it. The rest of the scene has been described above.
|-
|Huge step and three room with coin and Cueball looking into shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/14/1608_1058x1102y_Huge_step_and_three_room_with_coin_and_Cueball_looking_into_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1102+s.png (1058, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1103+s.png (1056, 1103)]
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|This is the upper entrance to the colon like structure into which Cueball is looking. (See scenes above). To the left is the top hull of the Destroyer which takes two huge steps up at this place. Cueball is standing in a corridor with three small rooms, each with a coin in the top of the room. This seems to be a place to hold the coins until they are ready to move down the colon like structure, where another coin is already moving through, going down to the corridor peristalsis in the corridor below, where more coins are moving through the ships digestive system. Going over the hull and down this colon like structure is the fastest/shortest way between the two separated sides of the corridor peristalsis.
|-
|Coin in corridor under Buffer stop room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1060x1099y_Coin_in_corridor_under_Buffer_stop_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1099+s.png (1059, 1099)]
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|Moving away to the right from the corridor peristalsis takes hoverboard Cueball past a small shaft up into a room with two coins in front of what looks like a train {{w|buffer stop}}. One coin in front of each of the buffers. Continuing along the corridor there is another coin. The corridor continues and a shaft is going up. This part of the Destroyer is the beginning of the cave section. The cave can be entered from above by continuing along the corridor.
|-
|Cannon with coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_1060x1103y_Canon_with_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1103+s.png (1060, 1103)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1103+s.png (1062, 1103)]
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|There is a similar cannon with a coin in front of the barrel on the top of the Runner below the Destroyer. This cannon is on top of the hull above and right of the three room above the colon like structure. The shaft going down right is over the next cave section.
|-
|Coin in corridor below mining company in dead end corridor.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1062x1101y_Coin_in_corridor_below_mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1101+s.png (1062, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1101+s.png (1063, 1101)]
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|Two Cueballs work as a mining company in this corridor which they are expanding. It could be that they are digging for gold, but if that gold should be represented by coins, it is weird that the coin hangs above the Cueball with the {{w|pickaxe}} in the higher section of this corridor, instead of being in front of him. The other Cueball drives away with a wheelbarrow full of the rubble they have dug free from the ship. This is another indication of how big the ship is. It is easier to just dig a new corridor than to build the corridor into the ship to begin with. Further to the left in the Destroyer there was another dead-end corridor that looked like it had been dug out - see the scene ''Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.'' But here the mining company had left (even though there also was a coin there). The shaft to the left goes up to the hull right of the cannon from the scene above. The corridor below goes left (past another coin) to the shaft down to the corridor with peristalsis. To the right it goes above the cave to the dance hall room with piano.
|-
|Mining company in dead end corridor also coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ca/1608_1063x1102y_Mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor_also_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1102+s.png (1063, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1103+s.png (1063, 1103)]
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|The same mining company scene as described above but with the view moved to show the top hull, right of the cannon. Right of the shaft going up there is a coin. At the very top right of the hull, the basketball dropped by the Cueball like kid can be seen as it comes bouncing down the length of the hull. This basketball scene is part of the cave section and will be described below.
|-
|'''Entire cotton trap and spark gap room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/65/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap.png Entire area around] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Here are two different zoom out of the cotton trap room with the spark gap room below. In the first overview a zoom out is shown with only these two rooms. There are four coins inside and two on the outside of the hull. The three coins around the cotton trap is almost connected by the cotton, as can be seen in the next overview where the hidden passage through the cotton is clearly marked in red. As can be seen there is a very deep black hole beneath the surface of the cotton (which Ponytail states is cotton). From the bottom of the cotton trap going left will lead to a hidden entrance to the top of the spark gap room. Going right will lead to the hidden entrance to the corridor with traps going to the left entrance to the cave. There are coins on each exit as well as just above the cotton to the right. The third image is a further zoom out to show the entire surroundings of the cotton trap room. (And the last is with the cotton etc. turned red). Here the traps in the corridor leading to the cave can be seen as well as the opening into the cave. Below that the strange spiral corridor can be seen. Both these scenes will be described below in the cave section. To the left the shaft and corridors that connect the two rooms even if not noticing the hidden passage can be seen. It is the corridor with the trap covered by Cueball and the shaft where Ponytail flies up. Three more coins are visible in this wider zoom out for a total of nine coins in this area. The two rooms will be described in further detail below. All of the rooms that can be entered through the cotton trap can also be entered through different entrances from other routes. This means that failing to find out how the cotton trap works, will not prevent the player in reaching either the spark gap from below or the cave to the right.
|-
|Entire Cotton trap room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Overview with the entire cotton trap with and without the cotton shown in red. See above and below for more details.
|-
|Coins in two corridors towards cotton trap.
|
:(None - transcript is written in the scene below.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1055x1095y_Coins_in_two_corridors_towards_cotton_trap.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1095+s.png (1055, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1095+s.png (1056, 1095)]
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|The corridor going from the shaft with the flying Ponytail to the Ponytail warning about the cotton trap also has a coin. The coin in the exit of the other corridor to the shaft was mentioned previously as it is the exit from the room with two hoverboards. See more about the cotton trap below.
|-
|Cotton trap room with Ponytail.
|
:Ponytail: Watch out for the cotton. It's a trap for someone, I think.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/28/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1095+s.png (1057, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1094+s.png (1059, 1094)]
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|Entering this room along the top corridor reveals Ponytail standing at the beginning of a steep descend. She clearly warns the player about a trap made of cotton. As can be seen in the hidden passage image most of the black at the bottom of the descend is not solid floor but a hidden passage. Given Ponytails comment it must be assumed to be made of cotton. Given that hoverboard Cueball is not affected by the cotton and can move either up again, or out left or right it is not a trap for him. But other unlucky persons falling into the cotton might not be as lucky. If this is not a trap in itself, there are several traps if moving out to the right (where the coin is below the cotton level). This corridor goes to the cave, but first after passing five traps. See more about the entire surroundings in the overview scenes above.
|-
|Cotton trap room bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1092+s.png (1058, 1092)]
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|The bottom of the cotton trap is a dark place. But as can be seen in the red hidden passage image it is possible to move both left and right to get out. In either case a coin can be obtained at the exit. The left exit leads to a shaft going into the spark gap room below, and the right exit leads through a corridor with traps into the cave. Going up in the spark gap room below will clearly reveal the shaft up. But if the cotton trap has not been discovered at this time, it is likely that the player will not attempt to breech the wall and would thus fail to enter the cotton trap from below. The coin could easily seem enough reason for this dead-end shaft above the room.
|-
|Entire spark gap room to bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1058x1090y_Zoom_out_of_spark_gap_room_to_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire spark gap room, both showing the two coins beneath the outside hull as well as the coin in the top shaft (leading to the cotton trap to the right of this) and the coin behind the spark gap. See more below.
|-
|Spark gap room
|
:Cueball on wall: Shh.
:Electrode bottom: JS
:Electrode top: JS
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4d/1608_1057x1092y_Spark_gap_room_with_Cueball_on_the_wall.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/1608_1058x1090y_Spark_gap_room_only_with_Cueball_on_floor_and_coins_at_bottom_of_hull.png Buttom part to below hull]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1090+s.png (1058, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1092+s.png (1057, 1092)]
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|This room is called the {{w|spark gap}} room, because there seems to be a spark between the two large electrode like structures marked JS. Cueball is watching this, maybe he is the evil inventor that has created this device. At least another Cueball is climbing high above him up on the wall to the left, and when the player passes him on his hoverboard he asks the player no to talk about him (''shh''). It is unclear if he is sneaking away, spying, or sneaking down to attack the other Cueball. A coin is hidden behind the spark gap, but as the spark gap is of the "red" type of black hoverboard Cueball can pass without problems into the coin. As can be seen in the other image displaying the lower part of this scene, the coin outside of the hull is close by, and actually the two coins above each other down there are in the same small image (see the first of the small images).
|-
|Corridor with fire and hammer traps.
|
:Hammers left: Chomp Chomp
:Hammer right: Chomp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1094+s.png (1060, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1061:-1093+s.png (1061, 1093)]
|
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|This is the corridor exiting the cotton trap room (with a coin as mentioned previously), see the cotton in the hidden passage in red image. The corridor leads to the cave, but to get there five traps has to be passed. First there are four hammers with jagged edges that opens and closes with much force as perceived by the noises. And then a pit with a fire has to be surpassed. Of course, as can be seen in the "red" image, neither of these traps are any problem for hoverboard Cueball as they are all of the red type of black. But it is a clear indication that the player is about to enter some interesting place, which is true as the cave is one of the most interesting places in the Destroyer. Although there are two other ways to get into the cave, it is by far the most interesting way to enter the cave for the first time!
|-
|Corridor to cave opening.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1062x1094y_Corridor_to_cave_opening.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1094+s.png (1062, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1094+s.png (1063, 1094)]
|
|
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|Same scene as above but only the right part with the fire, to show how the corridor enters the beginning of the cave.
|-
|Zoom out with spiral corridor at bottom of the hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1063x1091y_Zoom_out_with_spiral_corridor_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Below the corridor to the cave is a strange corridor which spirals into nothing in the middle. There are no coins in this section, so this is a zoom out without any further zoom in on this section. The room at the top seems like a starting point to go into the spiral. The corridor to the right goes into the huge glitch floor room below the cave. The shaft down goes out the bottom of the hull.
|-
|'''Entire Cave Bridge and rear end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|-
|'''Entire cave section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_Entire_cave_section.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Entire Cave and Glitch floor room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ea/1608_Entire_Cave_and_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|From this image it is clear that the two largest rooms in the Destroyer are almost of the same size and positioned almost on top of each other. They only need a little parallel shift to make them into one big circular room. The Glitch floor room is a feature that can be seen in the Star Wars film, as a protrusion beneath the hull of the Destroyer. In an actual Star Destroyer, this protrusion holds the hyper matter reactor that powers the ship as a whole.
|-
|'''Entire Cave.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/24/1608_Entire_Cave_and_shaft_above.png With shaft and room above] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Pyramid]
|Overview
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|In ''Sky Toucher'' there is also a floor in the skyscraper with trees inside, just like the tree inside the cave inside the Destroyer.
|-
|Lake with tree birds and puma on rock at exit in the bottom left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1093+s.png (1065, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1094+s.png (1067, 1094)]
|
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|{{w|Puma}}, or mountain lions, are important predators in an ecosystem and would help keep the deer population in this cave under control.
|-
|Three birds in the top left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1095y_Three_birds_in_the_top_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1095+s.png (1065, 1095)]
|
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|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} has its origins in bird conservation, and it is only natural that an Imperial Park such as this (see below) would also contain birds.
|-
|Gazebo puma deer Cueball with bow and talk of Palpatine in the middle of the cave.
|
:Cueball: I know it seems weird, but every Star Destroyer has one of these rooms.
:Cueball: Say what you will about Palpatine's politics, but he's a staunch supporter of the imperial parks and the Coruscant Audubon society.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1093+s.png (1068, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1094+s.png (1068, 1094)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Palpatine is the evil emperor and the capital "planet" Coruscant is a planet with city all over the solid parts of the surface. So that he is interested in keeping parks both on this planet and on all his Star Destroyers comes as a surprise...
|-

|The broad shaft going into the top of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_1067x1097y_The_broad_shaft_going_into_the_top_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1097+s.png (1067, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1096+s.png (1068, 1096)]
|
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|-
|Deer and exit below lamp coin and Black Hat in the bottom right side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1093+s.png (1069, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1093+s.png (1071, 1093)]
|
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|
|Black Hat is sitting in a cubby high above the ground and looks to be asleep.
|-
|Lamp coin and Black Hat in the top right side of the cave.
|
:Insects: ''Bzzzzz''

:Black Hat: Zzz
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png (1070, 1095)]
|
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|
|In this image the coin is part of the scenery as it is the lamp the buzzing insects fly around. When it is gone it reveals a broken lamp, and an insect that had been hidden behind the coin.
|-
|Corridor from shaft to the two coins in corridors.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_1063x1099y_Corridor_from_shaft_to_the_two_coins_in_corridors.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1099+s.png (1065, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1098+s.png (1064, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Two coins in corridors and four-coin room above shaft to cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_1067x1104y_Two_coins_in_corridors_and_four_coin_room_above_shaft_to_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1100+s.png (1067, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1098+s.png (1067, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Chandelier room with two coins above cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_1070x1098y_Chandelier_room_with_two_coins_above_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1098+s.png (1070, 1098)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1098+s.png (1071, 1098)]
|
|
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|
|The coins here look like lightbulbs, although it is unclear what a chandelier is doing in a room like this.
|-
|Zoom out with dance room and basketball and slinky stair at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/1608_1068x1101y_Zoom_out_with_dance_room_and_basketball_and_slinky_stair_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
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|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|-
|Coin close to basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_1063x1104y_Coin_close_to_basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1104+s.png (1065, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1104+s.png (1064, 1104)]
|
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|
|This coin could also be something that's bouncing down the slope of the Star Destroyer hull - see below.
|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1104+s.png (1067, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1104+s.png (1066, 1104)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|2 Cueballs, Megan and Ponytail are playing basketball on top of the sloped hull of the Star Destroyer. This has proven to be a bad idea, as the slope of the hull has caused the basketball to bounce and roll down the slope, while Cueball runs behind it to catch it.
|-
|Dancing room with piano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1069x1101y_Dancing_room_with_piano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1101+s.png (1069, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1101+s.png (1070, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant in "An American in Paris."
|-
|Slinky staircase at top of hull.
|
:Slinky: Slink slink slink
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/1608_1069x1104y_Slinky_stair_case_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1104+s.png (1069, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1103+s.png (1070, 1103)]
|
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|
|While it is unclear why the slinky is on the star destroyer at all, the stairs are a reference to the slinky {{w|jingle}} which says "walks downstairs..." The noise is also a reference to the creation of the name "slinky" which was based on the word slink in the dictionary.
|-
|Upside down room and Giddyayup cowboy riding the ship at top of hull.
|
:Cowboy: Giddyayup!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/1608_1073x1104y_Upside_down_room_and_Giddyayup_cowboy_riding_the_ship_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1104+s.png (1072, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1103+s.png (1074, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|The man on top of the hull is a reference to riding a horse and specifically an American cowboy riding a horse. The (Cueball?) is using reins to "steer" the star destroyer much the same as one would steer a horse. In addition, "Giddyayup" is the command for a horse move. The upside-down room is most likely just a simple visual gag, but could also be a reference to the fact that star destroyers have artificial gravity in SW and thus any direction could be "up" depending on where you are.
|-
|'''Entire Glitch floor room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/52/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Including two rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Also including two close rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In the zoom outs the coin below the hidden glitch in the floor can be seen at the very bottom of the pictures. It is quite a drop to catch it, but if you did not expect it, it is likely you would reach it before going up again.
|-
|Bottom center of Glitch floor room with coin sign and Cueball.
|
:Large sign:
::!
::Caution:
::Glitchfloor.

:Floor signs:
::!
::!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1088+s.png (1069, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1088+s.png (1070, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|You are warned not to step onto this glitch floor! But if you do you can drop down to yet another coin far below the Destroyer, but even farther up above the ground.
|-
|Two rooms with coins right of Glitch floor room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_1074x1090y_Two_rooms_with_coins_right_of_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1092+s.png (1073, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1091+s.png (1074, 1091)]
|
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|-
|Cannon protruding below the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_1075x1088y_Canon_protruding_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1088+s.png (1075, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1088+s.png (1076, 1088)]
|
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|
|This cannon is a standard cannon seen on a star destroyer in Star Wars and is not out of place here. It is somewhat unusual that this is on the bottom, since these cannons are generally on top though they are all over the ship, and there are turrets on the bottom of the First Order star destroyer in Force Awakens. Also, the shape is more reminiscent of a real tank gun than the squarer turrets in Star Wars, though this is probably just an effect of Randall's drawing style, rather than anything significant.
|-
|Entire area around the bridge.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_Entire_area_around_the_bridge.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4b/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_rear_section.png Entire bridge area] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_emperor.png Brdige and emperor] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c2/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_globe_of_death.png Bridge and globe of death] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png Actual bridge] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png Vader twice and emperor]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the main bridge of the Star Destroyer, including the command deck. It hosts both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpantine aboard. The Globe of Death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generators.
|-
|Ponytail with paper plane and coin below her on top hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1077x1107y_Ponytail_with_paper_plane_and_coin_below_her_on_top_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1106+s.png (1078, 1006)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1105+s.png (1077, 1105)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Cueball also throws out a plane in Click and Drag from the skyscraper. This also happens in the ''Sky Toucher'' in TE where it is Ponytail again.
|-
|Tarkin on the bridge and Ponytail with paper plane.
|
:Cueball: The fault, dear Tarkin, is not in our star destroyers, but in ourselves.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1107+s.png (1077, 1107)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1108+s.png (1077, 1108)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|| This is most likely a reference to the book (then made into a movie) titled "{{w|The Fault in Our Stars}}". The title of which is a reference to a line in {{w|William Shakespeare |Shakespeare's}} play {{W|Julius Caesar (play) |Julius Ceasar}}; "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves". Grand Moff Tarkin is the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
|-
|Darth Vader talks about Steven Universe on the bridge Megan adjust antenna.
|
:Megan: Such a pain adjusting this thing every time we move

:Darth Vader: ''Breathe''
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a crystal gem,
:Darth Vader: ''Breathe'')
:Darth Vader: so he's half- Are you getting all this?
:Hairy: Yes, my Lord!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1109+s.png (1077, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1110+s.png (1077, 1110)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|Darth Vader refers to Steven Universe from the TV series. His mother is a Crystal Gem, so since his father is human, he is only a half gem, which is a joke in itself. Steven and his family are located inside a room in the middle of the Destroyer. Maybe as prisoners or it could be Vader is just a big fan since he talks about them on the bridge.
|-
|Globe of Death at the top of the Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1110+s.png (1078, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1112+s.png (1077, 1112)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This structure of the Globe of death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generator globes as can be seen in the films.
|-
|Fire system with pure oxygen and two coins room.
|
:Hairbun: In the event of a fire on one of the decks, this system will seal it off and pump in pure oxygen.
:Ponytail: Wait, ''Oxygen?'' Not a fire suppressant like-
:Hairbun: Ugh, ''boring''.

|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1080x1105y_Fire_system_with_pure_oxygen_and_two_coins_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1105+s.png (1080, 1105)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1105+s.png (1081, 1105)]
|
|
|
|
|This is a reference to a {{w|Gaseous fire suppression}} in which tanks similar to those shown are filled with an inert gas, usually nitrogen. Similar systems are referenced in [[1737: Datacenter Scale]]. This system is generally used in large server rooms, where a room with fire will be sealed off from the rest of the servers, and the inert gas will flow into the room, extinguishing the fire, at the cost of whatever was in the room. Since this could be deadly these systems are only legal in rooms with little or no human interaction. The character on the left (Possibly Megan with hair buns) starts off by describing this system, though the system on the star destroyer has the key difference of piping in oxygen, instead of nitrogen, which Ponytail questions. Megan responds "Uhh, ''Boring''." which is technically true. An Inert gas will have a little visible effect, and the fire will slowly die. Piping in oxygen, however, is not a valid way to extinguish flames, as it would feed the fire instead of extinguishing it, though, if you have an adequate seal, this might not be as much of a problem as it sounds. The fire will eventually consume all of the oxygen and die. Unfortunately, there are 3 problems with this. The first is simple: there are people on a star destroyer, and this system will kill them if they happen to be near the fire. The second is that in addition to simply feeding the fire the oxygen is explosive, which could potentially blow the doors that seal the decks, allowing the fire to spread. The third is in the wording of (Megan?); who says that it will seal off the affected ''deck'' which is SW generally refers to an entire level. While this may just be a wording error by Randall, given the humor of the rest of the system, it would not be a great leap to imagine a system that seals off a whole floor regardless of the size of the fire, killing everyone on that floor. In addition, given that the Empire is evil, it is also not a stretch to believe that they would kill an entire deck for a small fire just because the alternative is boring. This kind of scenario was in fact explored in the novel {{w|Star Wars: Lost Stars}} where it is described that entire decks were destroyed during the scene in {{w|The Empire Strikes Back}} where a star destroyer chases the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. This destruction is pointed out in the novel and dismissed, as it is in this comic.
|-
|Darth Vader’s gold bullion and Cueball and Ponytail in small room at the top of the hull.
|
:Cueball: Aha! Darth Vader's secret gold bullion reserves! We'll be rich!
:Megan: I'm not sure this is canon.
:Bags: $ $ $
:Boxes: $ $ $ $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_1080x1108y_Darth_Vaders_gold_bullion_and_Cueball_and_Ponytail_in_small_room_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1108+s.png (1080, 1108)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1109+s.png (1079, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Despots are generally known for having vast reserves of wealth hidden away secretly, often in the form of gold. Here, Megan remarks on finding Darth Vader's secret stash. This is obviously not canon, as Cueball remarks - Darth Vader's palaces in both canon and legacy storylines have been largely devoid of treasures and wealth, being mostly a place of meditation on the Dark Side.
|-
|Large crocodile near globe of death at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e8/1608_1081x1110y_Large_crocodile_near_globe_of_death_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1110+s.png (1081, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1111+s.png (1079, 1111)]
|
|
|
|
|Crocodiles are cold-blooded creatures, and a flat, open, sunlit space such as the top of the Star Destroyer Bridge would be a great place for a crocodile to bask in the sun to warm itself.
|-
|The Emperor Palpatine and his birds at the top of the hull.
|
:Guy: My emperor...
:Guy: We all share in your newfound enthusiasm for birdwatching.
:Guy: But normally one watches them in the wild, rather than drugging and imprisoning them in a house of stairs.
:Emperor: ''Silence.''
:Bird: Chirp
:Bird: Chirp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_1083x1109y_The_Emperor_Palpatine_and_his_birds_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1109+s.png (1083, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1109+s.png (1084, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|House of Stairs may refer to the M. C. Escher {{w|House Of Stairs|lithograph}} with that title, but this is more likely to be a reference to the William Sleator novel {{w|House of Stairs (Sleator novel)|House Of Stairs}} (named for the Escher work) which features five teenage orphans who wake up inside an environment with similarities to that in the Escher print (but with normal gravity).
|-
|Coin behind the rear end at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1087x1108y_Coin_behind_the_rear_end_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1087:-1108+s.png (1087, 1108)]
|
|
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|
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|-
|'''Entire Prince of Persia maze.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_both_exits.png Including both exits]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Prince of Persia}}
|Compare to this [https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png picture of level 1] taken from the game.
|-
|Corridor left of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1073x1101y_Corridor_left_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1101+s.png (1073, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1101+s.png (1072, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left entrance to Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1076x1101y_Left_entrance_to_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1101+s.png (1076, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1101+s.png (1077, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left part of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/03/1608_1079x1102y_Left_part_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1102+s.png (1077, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1102+s.png (1080, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right part and exit of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1082x1101y_Right_part_and_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1101+s.png (1082, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1102+s.png (1081, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right exit of Prince of Persia maze and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1084x1103y_Right_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1102+s.png (1083, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1103+s.png (1083, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Ant Queen and alarm ante room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/10/1608_Ant_Queen_and_alarm_ante_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In this section all rooms have the same dome shaped ceiling that goes a little below the walls of the corridors.
|-
|Corridor with alarm and trapped Cueball.
|
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1075x1094y_Corridor_with_alarm_and_trapped_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1094+s.png (1075, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1094+s.png (1074, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Cueball appears to be trapped beneath a platform and is looking up, presumably wondering how to escape this situation. This has been made more ominous by the alarm going off nearby, which adds to the seriousness of the situation. A coin has been stored alongside some boxes nearby as well.
|-
|Ant Queen in Destroyer.
|
:Cueball: What's up?
:Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
:Cueball: Eww.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1095+s.png (1078, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1094+s.png (1077, 1094)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic: [[1610: Fire Ants]] and [[1641: Hot Dogs]]
|The ant comic was released only a week after this comic and refers how cool ants are. Ants are also used twice in TE A zoom in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others: an ant queen, a clear reference to the ant queen in the Destroyer. The other comic is a discussion running along exactly the same template ending in ''Eww''.

This is probably a reference to a part of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" in his Ender series. In it, the main character, Ender, visits a hive queen "bugger" he saved on his travels and became friends with, at a time after the queen has settled in on a new planet. At one point, Ender brings other humans to meet the queen at a time when she was giving birth to some of her drones. This is most likely meant to represent a parody of that conversation or else represent a comedic idea of his first conversation with her when she had been birthing, where Ender is alone and is speaking to the Hive Queen. In this version, when he finds out that she is in the process of birthing more ants, rather than being compassionate and understanding with the Queen (as he is in the book), Ender is weirded out like the other humans he brings along with him later.
|-
|Entire shafts from top to bottom towards the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_Entire_shafts_from_top_to_bottom_towards_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the longest shaft in the Destroyer, and with the other shaft going out at the rear end, it is possible to go from the top room at the emperor and out beneath in a very short time.
|-
|Coin in the longest shaft.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1084x1099y_Coin_in_the_longest_shaft.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1099+s.png (1084, 1099)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Might be a reference to how the emperor fell to his first death by being thrown down a shaft in the throne room by Darth Vader onboard the 2nd Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
|-
|Cueball and Megan hanging on to each other in a shaft figuring this out.
|
:Cueball: Okay
:Cueball: We can figure this out.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1084x1095y_Cueball_and_Megan_hanging_on_to_each_other_in_a_shaft_figuring_this_out.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1095+s.png (1084, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to a similar scene in "The Emperor's New Groove", although neither character here is obviously a llama.
|-
|Zoom out on light bulb with corridor and other room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1084x1092y_Zoom_out_on_light_bulb_with_corridor_and_other_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Giant light bulb room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1090+s.png (1084, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1085:-1090+s.png (1085, 1090)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''The pieces everything is made of'' in TE a light bulb is used as reference for the entry on tungsten as the filament in such bulbs is made from this element.
|-
|Hairbun proposition room and Cueball losing his sandwich at the rear end.
|
:Hairbun: Use a proposition instead of a preposition if you need something to end a sentence with, baby.

:Cueball: My sandwich!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_1086x1091y_Hair_Bun_Girl_proposition_room_and_Cueball_losing_his_sandwich_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1091+s.png (1086, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1089:-1091+s.png (1089, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|One comment is inside the other on the outside of the Destroyer. Cueballs sandwich will fall to the ground.
|-
|Coin bouncing out from a shaft below the hull.
|
:Coin: Bounce
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_1086x1088y_Coin_bouncing_out_from_a_shaft_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1088+s.png (1086, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1090+s.png (1086, 1090)]
|
|
|
|
|In relation to the colon interpretation (see above) then this would literally be the rear of this living spaceship, and the coin is the waste going out the rear entry!
|-
|Megan hanging on below the bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan Hmm.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/1608_1082x1088y_Megan_hanging_on_below_the_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1088+s.png (1082, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Megan has found herself in a precarious situation and is humorously underreacting by going 'Hmm'.
|-
|Zoom out on shaft and small dead-end room at the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1088x1098y_Zoom_out_on_shaft_and_small_dead_end_room_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Zoom out on shafts and part of the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1088x1105y_Zoom_out_on_shafts_and_part_of_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Coin in a small indentation corridor at the rear end.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1090x1102y_Coin_in_a_small_indentation_corridor_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1102+s.png (1090, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|
|It is unknown what part of the Star Destroyer it could explicitly be hidden in. However, a Star Destroyer would have more than enough surface features for such an indent to exist and have a coin inside it.
|-
|Megan wants synesthesia at the rear end at bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan: I want synesthesia so bad I can ''taste'' it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1090x1088y_Megan_want_synesthesia_at_the_rear_end_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png (1090, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1213: Combination Vision Test]]
|{{w|Synesthesia}} is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. One typical version is where numbers are perceived as having colors. This was used in the comic referenced. In this comic a wish for something makes Megan almost taste it. If she did indeed have this dysfunction, she might already have what she wished for... This is one of the rare incidences where there are two almost identically Megans in one scene.
|}
</div>

==Technical aspects==
The game was made by [https://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].

===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, and it is not possible to go down further than image with Y coordinate 1073 (and it goes down to 1069 in the full image), so there is a bottom limit in the game. If using a [[#Cheats|cheat mode]] this may be different.

There are a couple of issues in the game. On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area before the black image loads and permanently traps you immobile (unless you [[#Cheats|cheat]]). Sometimes, the timing of the game is completely off, which can make Cueball move extremely slowly or quickly, which makes the images jump and makes the graphic look worse. The latter error was actually used to discover something about how you move when pressing the arrows - see under [[#Functionality|Functionality]]. 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 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 (see [[#Cheats|Cheats]]).

If you keep down the left/right control, you will keep moving along in that direction as long as no object blocks you.
A jump will only take you a certain height. The jump is initially very quick, then gravity stops you and reverts the direction. When descending, you accelerate quickly but reach a terminal velocity after a few seconds. If you jump repeatedly while keeping a left/right control down, you will jump in that direction. If you only jump once while holding down the direction control, then you will stop moving forward after about 2.8s. From then on, you will just keep falling straight down or stop where you reached if on the ground. This makes quite a difference when you jump into an opening from a high structure. If the background is completely white, you cannot see that you do not continue to move forward and will thus not be aware that you are now falling straight down, instead of going left/right.

It can actually be quite difficult to notice as you will leave any structures that can indicate this issue very quickly. Of course, if you notice that you land much too close to some high structure from where you base jumped, you will begin to understand. For instance, falling off the floating rock, and not moving away from under neath it during that long fall. The timing was discovered because of one of the bugs in the program that sometimes [[#Functionality|makes Cueball move extremely slow]], so one jump takes more than 3s. The solution to keep moving to either side while descending is that, after the jump, you release and repress the left/right control. You will then continue moving in that direction as long as you do not jump again. If you keep holding one of these buttons, you will also keep moving laterally. When you jump up over a long distance or continue to jump hover over the landscape, you will not have this issue, since every jump reactivates the lateral movement.

===Animation===
There have before been several interactive comics and also a few with animations. But these animations have typically been lines of flashing text or changing lights. This comic is the first with a character that is specifically changing position in animation style. Apart from this, there are also flashing text when leaving the play-area and text that appears and disappears as described in [[#Coins|Messages in Play Area]]. This also happens with the text written to begin with explaining how to play the game: ''Use the arrow keys to move'', which disappears upon touching the keys. Below are two images showing two kinds of animation of the hoverboard Cueball. The first image shows the eight standard animation that can easily be seen. They are
*Standing still facing right (starting position)
*Standing still facing left
*Moving left along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Moving right along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Jumping while facing left looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Jumping while facing right looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Falling while facing left looking down with hoverboard pointing up
*Falling while facing right looking down with hoverboard pointing up
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball standard animation.png]]

There are several in-between frames of Cueball turning from left to right and even more from right to left. The second image shows eight in between animations (together with four from above). Not all the positions are necessarily caught in this collage here, but there is only a limited amount of them and all last less tahn a split second. They have been sorted so it could look like Cueball has just turned to the right standing still, then jumping while turning right, then turning right while in jump, to finish the turn while falling.
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball turning animation.png]]

===Image coordinates===
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 from the starting tile can be seen here: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png, with the coordinate (X, Y) coordinate (1000, 1074).

Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. The image tiles names are listed as coordinates in an X - Y grid with X in the range from 928 to 1108 and Y in the range from 928 to 1112.

Internally in the game, the position of the player is given for instance as (X: 512187, -Y: -549668) for the starting position. Then these numbers are divided by 512 and rounded down. This gives the coordinate of the tile that the hoverboard is currently in.
:(X: 512187, -Y: -549668)/512 => (X, Y) = (1000.37, -[-1073,6]) => (1000, 1074) when the numbers are rounded down.
The bottom left corner of the first tile, would thus be (1000, 1073), and the top left corner (1000, 1074) => (512000, -549888).

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed-out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas. Here is an example which uses the initial Play Area:

{{cot|Play Area used as example}}
Using the Play Area as an example some of the features mentioned in this section will be explained.
The images used below can be seen together [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All of Play Area|here]].
The hoverboard begins in (X, Y) = [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
But even while staying within the Play Area, defined as the area where you will not be told to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area], you can see all or part of twenty images.
You can move one image left and right of the starting point before reaching the walls, and one image up without getting too high. But from there you can see part of the images one step further left, right and up, and from the starting level you can see part of the black images below as well.
This makes it a five times four images rectangle.
This first example shows a full-size image combined from these twenty images that make up the play area starting in the top left corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/998:-1076+s.png (998, 1076)] and finishing down the right corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1073+s.png (1002, 1073)].
Here are only the images themselves, nothing with the game parts, i.e. coins and hoverboard Cueball: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Images_Only.png Play Area Full Size Images Only].

The next example shows both where the tiles are and what you see to begin with, i.e. the starting view when loading the comic to begin with. Still without any in game details.
Here the tiles are lines out with green and the view frame is in red. From this it can be seen that the view is somewhat larger than a single image.
More precisely the view is 1.43 times longer and 1.34 higher than a tile giving an area almost twice as big (1.93 times), but only going about one-third of a tile length in each direction: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Tiles and View].
This third example shows the game version, with coins and hoverboard, but still the hole Play Area and hence also the read viewing square.

This is included to indicate which coins can be seen to begin with and also how the view is centered around Cueball and the hoverboard.
Cueballs center is also the center of the view. His center is defined as the line of his body in the X direction and just above his hands in the Y direction.
The view is twelve times as high and thirty times as wide as the Cueball on hoverboard (and compared to a tile these numbers are 9.4 and 20.8 times).[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard and View].

The last and fourth example is the same as above, but again with the green tiles.
This to indicate the size of a tile compared to Cueball
It also shows that although there are twelve coins in the starting view, the one at the top left is clearly in the image above, and the three others at the top are grazing the top edge of the image: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a3/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard Tiles and View].
{{cob}}

===Cheats===
[[File:1608_MetroidXK.png|500px|thumb|right]]
A standalone cross-platform [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl open-source] remake of this comic is available. It has extra features, such as offline play, arbitrary game window size, persistent games state on exit, save up to ten locations and teleport to them at will, and an explorable world map. It is available to dowload [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl/releases here].

There's also a satirical crossover with the classic game {{w|Super Metroid}}, allowing the user to explore the world as Samus in search of powerups and secrets, while encountering danger at every turn. You can find more information [https://web.archive.org/web/20170223172620/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=113083&start=120#p3913102 here] and download it [https://www.xeloh.com/Releases#MetroidXK here].

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:

'''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. 
'''Click to expand:'''

*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white Gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.

*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed

*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -10 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)

*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity

*'''Noclip mode:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''explorer.pos.x = *Value* or 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 necessary for exploring in this way.

* '''All the above:''' ''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(explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.

* '''List all coins:''' ''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 code below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with i.am.gandalf
{{cot|View hacks}}
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:

<pre>
var coinsnotfound = [];
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
if (explorer.objects[T].got == false) {
coinsnotfound.push([
explorer.objects[T].x1,
explorer.objects[T].y1
])
}
}
console.log(coinsnotfound);
</pre>
To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

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

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "blue";
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;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "blue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "blue";
}
linecolor = "deepskyblue";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "deepskyblue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " ";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + (((ang+270+180)%360+180)%360-180).toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

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 = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid blue";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 50);
</pre>

To see how many coins you've collected:

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

console.log(coinsfound);

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)
{{cob}}

{{comic discussion}}

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1608: Hoverboard

2025-10-03T16:29:16Z

Sprucegrouse: /* Game Features */ Improved by own improved Alert language a little.

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}
{{TOC}}To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1608|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
This is an [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] made to celebrate the release of [[Randall]]'s new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day. The [[Header text|header text]] also [[Header text#2015-11-24_-_Thing_Explainer_is_out_today|changed that day]] to shout out that the book was released on that day. This is a platforming minigame, in which you collect coins while riding on a hoverboard.

The title refers to a {{w|hoverboard}} (which resembles a hovering skateboard without wheels) which has been most [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE prominently featured] in the movie {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}. {{w|Marty McFly}} traveled to the future in this second installment, more precisely to [https://www.facebook.com/October212015BTTF 2015-10-21], and this comic was released just over one month later 2015-11-24. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33785285 have] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HI137m7XA4 come] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLwNGBB_Yb0 to] [https://www.wired.com/2016/03/hendo-2-hoverboard/ pass] before reaching the date from the movie, but are more uncommon in our world, along with other inventions like [https://www.terrafugia.com/ flying] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-1pXbW5wVg cars] and [https://www.soundandvision.com/content/wear-your-music-thinkgeeks-soundtrack-shirt#jo8J1DassbWxlptj.97 musical clothing]. Randall is known to have had [[:Category:Electric skateboard|electric skateboards]], which is also thematically related, although another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]].

Given Randall's enjoyment of movies and time travel it is very likely that this game is also a tribute to the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies. But the release day of the game has been used to promote his new book (as is clear with the text in the start screen of the game), and this explains why it was not released on the Back to the Future date. Apart from the date of release and the text about the book, the game does not seem to have any direct relation to the book; there are, however, several scenes in the game that could be seen as [[#Reference to Thing Explainer|references to ''Thing Explainer'']]. Instead, the main part of the game is all the references to several movies and other stuff that has often been featured in xkcd as well as many of the other comics.

===Game Features===
{{spoiler|The best way to enjoy this comic is simply to {{xkcd|1608|play the game}}! (Just be sure that you play using a web browser other than Safari.) If you haven't tried (hard) playing it "cold" already, reading beyond this Alert will leave you with a less rewarding potential game experience.}}
The game features an {{w|animated}} [[Cueball]] riding on a hoverboard which can take [[#Animation|several different positions]]. The controls are the left, up, and right arrows, as written on the start screen until you begin the game, after which the text disappears. There are alternatives as explained in the [[#Functionality|Functionality]] section. The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights, and can move left and right both while jumping and descending (see more under controls).

The player begins in a line-drawing maze (called the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/All_play_area_hanging_all_coins.PNG Play Area]) with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" terminal. 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 [[#Coins|text messages]] 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 [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player]. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to double-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red [[#Coins|error message]]: "'''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area]'''".

However, if the player follows their desire to explore the world outside and disregards this message, they can take hoverboard Cueball outside beyond the tall walls surrounding the initial play area. And here they will discover an entire world that can be explored left and right (and above), including numerous points of interest and {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} similar in style to comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. There are also many more [[#Coins|coins]] to collect, 169 coins overall, so 152 more than those from the play area. There are also 116 in the right side alone, and 36 on the left.

Although this game is reminiscent of Click and Drag, this was the first time an actual game, where the user moves an object in front of the drawing, has been released on xkcd. In previous "games" this has not been the case. In Click and Drag the user only moves the drawing into the view section. And in for instance the two previous [[April Fools' Day comics]], [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]], the user does not move anything, but only supplies choices, text and drawings. However, already on the next {{w|April Fools' Day}} a new game, [[1663: Garden]], was released where the users also actively moved items around on the screen and could make items disappear (like taking coins in this game.). The ability to infinitely doubles jump allows us to reach beyond just the ground.

===Main themes===
There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main themes are '''{{w|Star Wars}}''' and '''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'''. Below there is a [[#Details and references|list of details and references]] to these movies and much more. For instance, there are 19 references to SW and 6 to LOTR.

The largest part of the game is located on the '''right side''' of the play area and is mainly a world dominated by references to ''Star Wars''. Most noticeable is a recreation of [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=112 the opening scene] in the {{w|Star Wars (film)|first film}}, where {{w|Princess Leia|Princess Leia's}} space ship ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'', also known as ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png The Rebel Blockade Runner]'', is flying over [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png the desert] planet {{w|Tatooine}}. Here it is followed by the {{w|Star Destroyer}}, ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]''. The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png desert ground with these two space ships] above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png commented on] by [[Megan]] who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyer's hull.
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground, but there are three [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png wires from the ground] that connect (and thus guide you) up to ''The Runner'' and from there [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png 100+ torpedoes], which are fired [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down on the Runner] coming [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png from the Destroyer] above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png looking up and reacting] or like [[White Hat]] looking from the tip of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Washington Monument] and reacting [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png by saying]: "Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''."). There is also a giant island floating very high above the flagpost in the left side of the world, with no indication of its existence.

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png such a Destroyer]. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins are located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many, many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png huge cave] with trees and animals. At [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png the bridge] we meet both {{w|Darth Vader}} and the Emperor himself, {{w|Palpatine}}. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance, Darth Vader discusses {{w|Steven Universe}}, bringing up Rose Quartz and Steven himself ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png who can be found with the Crystal Gems] in a different part of the Destroyer).
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a Crystal Gem...
There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the Destroyer, some of these are also Star Wars related like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png the wedding scene] where {{w|Jabba the Hutt}} is mentioned.

To the '''left side''' is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here, the main theme is ''The Lord of the Rings'' mainly with the presence of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png volcano] where for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Megan tries to throw] in {{w|One Ring|''rings'' of power}}, as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the xkcd game represents Mt. Doom. Frodo, {{w|Sauron}}, and {{w|Gandalf}} are all mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text. Two {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png talking about Frodo] and {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien}}, Sauron's name is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png read up by Megan from a book], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure] in the crater and also his name is used in the [[#Coins|message]] you receive if you collect [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG all possible coins].

The two worlds do conflict though, as an {{w|X-wing fighter}} is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png parked at a gas station] to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote ''You shall not pass!'' from his fight against the {{w|Balrog}} is modified by [[Cueball]] who is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png ''not'' trying to block your path] to a coin inside a room in the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that {{w|Andy Serkis}} who played {{w|Gollum}} in LOTR, now plays the {{w|Supreme Leader Snoke}} in the new Star Wars movie, and [https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/6/64/Supremeleader.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/270?cb=20151223201852 his appearance] as Snoke is not that much different from Gollum's. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds one of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Randall would not have known this last part at the time that this comic was released, but he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis' involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/star-trek-fans-rivalry-george-lucas-roddenberry/ naughty reference] to {{w|Star Trek}} from inside [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the bridge] of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a long-haired woman (maybe [[Danish]] since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans and [[Hairbun]] behind her, which could represent Princess Leia with her [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1b/Princess_Leia%27s_characteristic_hairstyle.jpg special hair style]) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_Comparing_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_real_level_1.png complete depiction] of ''[https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png Level 1]'' of the computer game ''{{w|Prince of Persia}}'' down to the three coins being in the place of three items to take in that game, and at least two of the opposing sword fighters in the correct places as well.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' was released on December 14, 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in [[1585: Similarities]], when another movie ({{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot ''BB-8'' that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section could be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although {{w|the Hobbit}} has been released as {{w|The Hobbit (film series)|three films}} over the previous three Christmases it was Star Wars that dominated the Christmas a month after this comic's release.

===Extra Hoverboard pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size). These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]]''' - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]''' - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the [[#Environment|Environment]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages]]''' - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the [[#Secret passages and hidden places|Secret passages and hidden places]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/All image links]]''' It is linked from the [[#All images|All images]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins]]''' It is linked from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots]]''' It can be linked from several sections, but among others from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]]''' It will be linked from the [[#Details and references|list of details and references]], which will be using these images in the explanation.

===Characters===
Almost all main [[:Category:Characters|characters]] in the xkcd gallery are used more than once, especially there are three characters that are used several times. Number one is of course [[Cueball]] (with close to 90 appearances) who is already shown at the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png starting point]. He is also the first character seen when walking both [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png right] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png left] (where he speaks the first line to the left).

Then follows [[Megan]] with at least 40 appearances, she is even shown twice in the same location three times, one of these three even occurs within one of the [https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png small images]. She is also shown with Cueball in his first appearance to the left, and she is the first to speak a line to the right [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png here].

Also [[Ponytail]] is well represented with 26 appearances (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png here)].

[[Hairy]] (with different hair styles) is used 7 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png here]) and [[Hairbun]] is used 5 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png here)].

Two of the main characters are used twice: [[Beret Guy]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png here]) and [[White Hat]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png here]).

The only exception is that the main villain of xkcd [[Black Hat]] who is very hard to find. He is only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png shown once] in the comic where he very uncharacteristically just sits and snores at the right wall in the cave inside the Destroyer (is it really him...?). The only other hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png on a stick] under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not that kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see [[405: Journal 3]]). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could also be any of the Cueballs close by…

Also [[Blondie]] seems to be only represented once, while in her reporter mode while discovering a bug before the volcano as can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png here].

There are also several characters that are not recognizable as either any of the standard xkcd characters or in any other way (see for instance a few of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding guests]). But there are possibly some of the minor characters are used like [[Danish]] at the bridge in the Blockade Runner ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png here]) but this cannot be confirmed, she just looks like her and has some similarities teasing the Star Wars fan.

Several places in the comic it is clear from the size and the behavior that some of the characters are kids, see for instance the Blondie image mentioned above, where two kids looking like Megan and Hairy stand behind her, but they would in principle not be Megan or Hairy despite appearance, as these named characters are adults.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books, and shows; for instance Darth Vader ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png here]), Gandalf ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png here]) and Steven Universe ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png here]) all three mentioned above, and some real life people: you can find [[Elon Musk]], who has a [[#Secret passages and hidden places|hidden lair]] under the Volcano (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png here]), and Gregor Mendel, hanging out on a Star Destroyer with a pea plant.

Furthermore, there are many animals (like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png the puma and the deer]) in the cave, some even rather big like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png octopus] or even gigantic like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] (all three from inside the Destroyer). There are also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each spaceship ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png here from the Destroyer]).

==Environment==
This is the whole comic image, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red. See also a collection of different [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!
[[File:1608 full.png|1300px|link=1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]

===Secret passages and hidden places===
There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. You might have discovered this yourself if you stayed in the play area, as the platform below the inverted parentheses is only solid at the edges. Some of these places out of the play area even hide secret passages or hidden rooms. You can reveal them by [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1608:_Hoverboard#Cheats_and_Exploits activating goggles mode].

One notable hidden area is Elon Musk's volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here without using goggles mode even if you know it is there. (For more details, see [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages|secret passages]].)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the {{w|Washington Monument}}, which is almost the highest point with solid ground. It is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. Even if you go up enough, you will almost miss it, as the Monument is not aligned to the island. (The [[#Viewers|maps]] can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. Getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG Gandalf-like wizard]. (See more regarding [[#Coins|coins]] below.)

===Coins===
There are 169 total coins in the comic. For more details, see the [[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins|coins location]]. The highest-located coin in the game is beside the large rock on Rock Island, while the lowest-located coin is a toss-up between the one in the volcano lair, in the well, and on the rogue wave talking to Cueball. (There's also a coin under the lava but it's not at the bottom of the room.) On top of the eggs in the stork nest, on the far right of the image, there are ten coins. These are the most coins that can be collected in one place outside the play area.

The Coins are not part of the drawing, as they are added later and are superimposed on top of the comic image. This means they are always on top of the black parts of the image, even in secret paggsages. There are no coins located over any part of the solid bedrock or walls in the comic, but sometimes they coins are placed over some of the black parts that you can walk through. See example here [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_with_coin_1070_1095.png with coin] vs. [https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png without coin]. The coin is here a lamp, and then when it is removed it reveals an exploded lamp and also one more insect. See a picture here of the coin delivery after [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Reaching all the boundaries|reaching all coins and all the boundaries]].

Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector. The table contains examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
In Chrome and Firefox, there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined". Safari, as noted elsewhere, is not recommended. See [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Coin collecting messages|screen-shots]] or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
!# coins
!Text when depositing this number of coins
"X" is the number of coins collected
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/0_coins.PNG 0 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 0 coins in 1 second''' You successfully avoided all the coins.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1_coin.PNG 1 coin]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got a single coin in 1 second''' It's a start.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/2_coins.PNG 2]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/4_coins.PNG 4 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 3 seconds''' Not bad!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/5_coins.PNG 5]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/9_coins.PNG 9 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 12 seconds''' Terrific!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/10_coins.PNG 10]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/55/16_coins.PNG 16 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 10 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG 17 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 17 coins in 15 seconds''' You found all the coins! Great job!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/18_coins.PNG 18-41 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 430 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/42_coins.PNG 42 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 42 coins in 460 seconds''' No answers here.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d8/45_coins.PNG 43-168 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 460 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG All 169 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds''' Are you Gandalf?
|}

Once you leave the play area, you get a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG flashing warning message] in red letters at the bottom of the screen:
{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"| '''Return to the play area'''
|}
This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time). Then, it pauses for about 1.3 seconds and repeats five times, flashing a total of 15 times in just about 11.3 seconds. The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period. If you re-enter later, it will flash once you leave again. The play area is anything within and below the middle part of the walls just outside the starting maze.

===Boundaries===
The whole map is 1920 pixels wide, for a length of 10,656' or 3247.9488m. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground preventing you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves. In the upward direction there is theoretically also an invisible wall, but while jumping, [[Cueball]] and his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you jump; in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for Cueball to fall down again once the button is released. So, although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. When the comic was first released, it could have been possible that there were some hidden unexplored parts. Shortly after it was posted, however, a [[#Viewers|map]] was created which covered the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest).

To the far left is a blond woman wearing her hair in a bun, looking right. She tells you about the Destroyer, should you have gone this way without finding it yet.
:Woman: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

The highest straight rise into the air to something other than white is Rock Island, just left of and very high over the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of the Island, you are standing almost as high up as possible (the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tad higher). There is a coin here one step next to the rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over Rock Island's edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game.

As for the deepest parts of the image, the volcano lair and the deep well (halfway to the volcano on the left) are tied. The deepest part where you can stand, however, is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rogue wave is talking to Cueball:
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ... But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.

Taking a route through all the extremes mentioned here (the lowest, highest, leftmost, and rightmost solid positions within the game) can be achieved in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. It takes 1 minute and 52 to get from the starting point to the leftmost edge. While we do not have a definite speed for the hoverboard, we can obtain the dimensions of the map by using the Washington monument. Assuming it reflects the real-life dimension of the monument, it is 100 pixels tall, while the actual monument is 555'. This means that 1 pixel is about 5.55 real-world inches.

===All images===
Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for the (1000, 1074) starting point image.] '''Here is a page with a table of all the links to images: [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]].''' The individual images are so small and cut off at "random" intervals, so you will often be unable to see both a person what they're sayin in the same image.
See for instance this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding scene] to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as they are in the link): [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1073+s.png (1037, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1074+s.png (1037, 1074)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1074+s.png (1038, 1074)]

The maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180. Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). The total possible images in the y-direction are 44. Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction) Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)

The number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which don't even have a number/or active link on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate. The same also goes for the X coordinate: above X=1076 there are also many non-existing images with not active link. All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are non-existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank/white empty air in the game. If you try to load one of the completely blank images like [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1077+s.png (1000, 1077)], three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.

Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1076+s.png (1000, 1076)]. There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or underground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076. For instance, the image below the starting point is completely black [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1073+s.png (1000, 1073)], and so are the next three below. The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1069+s.png (1000, 1069)]. All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1069+s.png (1107, 1069)] (this is not the case to the far left at [https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1069+s.png (928, 1069)]). You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually, you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white. This picture with the wave at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)] gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand. Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1072+s.png (1022, 1072)], which is of course completely black.

Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:

*At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png (1078, 1112)] there are 36 active images. Thus, even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).

*These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last twelve images above this are missing it is still four less than under the bridge.

*Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like [https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)], there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).

*Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the height here going up to 1088, thus also making it twenty active Y images. The only '''not''' completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles [https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)].

==Details and references==
On the page [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]], images covering all individual scenes (in full size and with coins) has been saved and uploaded to be used for reference in the [[#Table with references|table]] below from where they are linked directly. There are also several overviews in smaller resolution. Almost all these images have been made using this [https://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages] which includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of user [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on this [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 Reddit thread].

===References to Thing Explainer===
Some of the scenes in this comic reference the pictures in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. Here are some examples:

*[[1133: Up Goer Five]], the comic that was the impetus for the book. These are both referenced in this game by the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png space capsule] used for re-entry by the astronauts that flew to the moon using the {{w|Saturn V|Saturn Five}} rocket. This capsule is floating down over the plateau before the volcano to the left.

*In ''Sky Toucher'', the last entry explaining a skyscraper, there are several references to the game, one of these being the space capsule just mentioned above. Other references:
**Ponytail throwing a paper plane out, which she also does [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png below the bridge] of the Destroyer. (This is also a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/1110 Click and Drag] where [https://imgs.xkcd.com/clickdrag/6n2w.png Cueball does the same], here even from a skyscraper).
**Cueball is setting up a kite and Ponytail is crawling up in the line. In the comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite]. Being up in a kite is also referenced in both [[235: Kite]] and in the title text of [[1614: Kites]] (from just a few weeks after the release of this comic.)
**There is a floor in the middle of the building with trees, just like there is a cave inside the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png with a tree "inside"].
**Cueball is holding a fishing rod out over the side of the building letting the hook hand in the air. The same [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png can be seen] under the Rebel Blockage Runner.
**Megan is using a skateboard in a strange ellipsoid-shaped room. This can be a reference both to where Megan is seen on a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png skateboard inside a hamster ball] and to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png globe of death] at the top of the bridge on the Destroyer.
**There is a car in the top section of the tower (long away from the parking cellar in the basement). There are two [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png cars inside] the Destroyer, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png one of them] deep inside with no easy access to the outside.
**Two people are standing on a cloud, one of them (Megan) jumps out from it. This is similar to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png two base jumpers] on the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png rock island].
*In the ''Red world space car'' explaining (about the {{w|Curiosity Rover}} on {{w|Mars}}) there are two references to the scenes around the Rebel Blockade Runner:
**Curiosity toasts a marshmallow over a fire as does Megan and Cueball over the exhaust pipe at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the rear of the Runner].
**When Curiosity is set down on Mars by the {{w|Mars Science Laboratory}} (MSL), lowered down in wires below the MSL, the wires were released once the rover was down and then it flies away. In the book Megan is hanging from one of these wires when it flies away. This is similar to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Megan hanging in one of the anchor lines] going from the ground up to the Runner.

*In ''The USS Laws of the Land'' about the ship called {{w|USS Constitution}} (named after the {{w|United States Constitution}} which is explained in the entry just before this one), there are two references to this comic:
**There is both a giant octopus' arm (marked as ''not real'') and a very large octopus under the ship. The shape of the octopus is the same as the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png silhouette of a giant octopus] inside the Destroyer. Octopuses like this are often used in xkcd, and they are also included in the explanation about ''Writing sticks'' (as the source of ink for the pens), as a motive in ''Picture taker'' and in ''Tree of life''. As an example, from another xkcd comic with octopuses see for instance [[435: Purity]].
**There is also a bowling alley in the hull of the ship - a reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png hamster ball bowling] in the left part of the world. Bowling is also used two other places in the book, namely on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and a bowling alley is used for measuring length in ''How to count things''.

*Ants are used three times in the book. A zoom-in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' about geological ages of the Earth, and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others; an ant queen, a clear reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] in the Destroyer. They are of course also in the ''Tree of life''.

*Basketball is shown twice in this comic ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png left of volcano] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png on top of Destroyer]). In the book the size of different ''Playing Fields'' is one of the stories, and it included the field for basketball (i.e. ''circle ball'').

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png huge foot] before the pyramid look like the foot used in the explanation for ''How to count things'' to describe the wight "one kilo" using a picture labeled ''one foot'' (i.e. not the length one foot, as the length is given in meters). A similar experience to the one in [[526: Converting to Metric]].

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png giant light bulb] towards the bottom rear end of the Destroyer is a reference to the entry on {{w|tungsten}} in the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' (i.e. the {{w|periodic table}}). In the book a {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb|light bulb}} is shown and then an arrow points to the {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb#Filament|filament}} which is made of tungsten in the typical {{w|Thomas Edison|Edison}} light bulbs.

*In the explanation for ''Box that cleans food holders'' (Dishwasher) Ponytail yells ''Wheee!'' as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach (bottom left). This is similar to her position and movement in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png colon like structure] inside the Destroyer and Cueball also sliding in this colon yells ''Wheee!''

*In the explanation for ''Bending computer'' Ponytail comes racing on her bike with a laptop on top of the handlebars. She is also seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png racing a bike down the slope of the volcano].

===References to other comics===
There are also many references to other xkcd comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png ball pit] filled with '''[[:Category:Playpen balls|playpen balls]]''', and two adults playing in it, like in [[150: Grownups]]. Also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png the well] in the left part of the world with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png a girl and a coin] at the bottom is likely a reference to the movie ''The Ring'', which has been referenced before in xkcd. Wells have also come up in xkcd in [[561: Well]] and [[568: Well 2]].

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal '''skateboard'''. This is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png used by Megan] in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a {{w|hamster ball}}. There is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png another hamster ball], with a kid (looking like Megan) inside. It is used in a more than human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game to the left. '''Hamster balls''' is another item that has been [[:Category:Hamster balls|prominently featured]] in xkcd.

In the weeks prior to the publication, and especially the weeks after, there were also other comics that had a subject which could refer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:

*[[1600: MarketWatch]] - the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png first that is encountered] in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the base] of the monument to make sure we know it is the Washington monument, and another [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the top] of the monument referring to the {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|aluminum apex}} that constitutes the very tip of the monument, which was very expensive at the time it was installed in 1884, when aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. Today it would not make anyone rich from the metal alone, although the tip would be worth a lot for other historical reasons, but this is not what Cueball's comment is about.
::Cueball to Megan at the bottom: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
::Cueball to White Hat at the tip: Look at that- solid aluminum! We're gonna be rich!

*[[1610: Fire Ants]] - in this game there is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png giant ant queen] inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs. See also [[1641: Hot Dogs]] where Cueball has a similar style conversation, with the same ''Eww'' ending as with the ant queen:
::Cueball: What's up?
::Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
::Cueball: Eww.

*[[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] - this is about super volcanoes, vs. [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png the Volcano], Mount Doom in the game as indicated by Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png throwing rings into the lava]:
::Megan at the edge of the volcano crater: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.

*[[1614: Kites]] - Megan is seen with a kite, and in this comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite] to the left towards Mount Doom.

*[[1620: Christmas Settings]] - another Star Wars reference to {{w|lightsaber}} noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Ponytail practicing] on the Rebel Blockade Runner, and with a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png kid about to hit a Piñata] in the Destroyer.

*[[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]] - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not yet real (only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png in this game]).

*[[1630: Quadcopter]] - in this comic three quadcopters act together to abduct Cueball. Thus, making them sentient, like the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png quadcopter who is speaking to another] over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crater to the left.
::Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.

*[[1632: Palindrome]] - a reference to the famous palindrome about the Panama canal: "''A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''", and thus also to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png song that Cueball sings] at the ruin to the right, where the first four lines is mashup of the palindrome and {{w|Spider-Man_(theme_song)|the Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]):
::Cueball singing:
:::Spider-man
::::Spider-plan
:::Spider-canal
::::Spider-Panama
:::Gates let in
::::Spider boats
:::Flood the locks
::::Spiders float
:::''Look out!''
:::Spiders in both oceans.

*[[735: Floor]] Instead of pretending the floor is lava as in the comic, they stand by the lava pretending that it is the floor.

===All references===
The contents of the comic are documented in the table below. The table first goes through the entire image from left to right along the ground (i.e., going up the volcano and down in the lair, down the well and up to the top of the Washington Monument.) Then, it goes back to the Rebel Runner, and after that follows the torpedoes up to the Star Destroyer. Finally, it goes through the Star Destroyer from tip to rear in four sections, taking everything within each section top to bottom, before moving on to the next section. In the table are the following columns:

*'''Description''' of the scene depicted in the overview links. If the scene is a zoomed-out overview that covers the images below, its explanation is in '''bold'''. This can be used as a guide to where in the image the scenes are located, unless you sort by column.

*'''Transcript'''. Any text has only been transcribed once. If some scenes overlap, the text has only been written in the first or the one where the text is most central. Also, overviews that has been zoomed out aren'ttranscribedd and are listed as (N/A). However, (None) means the scene doesn't contain text. By sorting the transcript, the scenes with text are shown first.

*'''Overview links'''. There can be many, but the first will always be the overview. If there are secret passages or hiddend environment, two versions of the images are included. The second version, ''Hidden passages in red'', marks these passages in red instead of black.

*'''Tiles (X, Y)'''. For the standard images, there is also a link to the defining image tile on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

*'''References'''. Three things are referenced many times, and each has their own column so the table can be sorted on these:
**'''SW''': {{w|Star Wars}}
**'''LOTR''': {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}
**'''TE''': [[Thing Explainer]]
**'''Other'''. There is also a column for "other" types of references so they can also be sorted, without drowning in the three recurring types of references. These can also be sorted, since they start with "Comics:", "Movies:", etc.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" | Description
! rowspan="2" | Transcript
! rowspan="2" | Overview links
! colspan="2" | Tiles (X, Y)
! colspan="4" | References
! rowspan="2" | Explanation
|-
! Main
! Second
! {{abbr|S W|References to STAR WARS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|L O T R|References to THE LORD OF THE RINGS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|T E|References to THING EXPLAINER (Randall's book)}}
! Other
|-
|'''Everything Left of play area.'''|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Section of the image revealed when going left of the starting point.
|-
|Entire Volcano plateau.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d5/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3d/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|About halfway from the Play Area to the volcanos slope, there is a steep plateau. This is the part left of this plateau.
|-
|Woman with white hair bun at the left end of world looking right.
|
:Woman: In the sky,
:Woman: beyond the mountain,
:Woman: I saw a starship.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0928x1082y_At_the_end_of_all_things.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1082+s.png (928, 1082)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|The woman at the left end of the world tells about the Star Destroyer in the right part of the world. There are four coins in front of her to anyone coming this far.
|-
|Coin and boulders.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0933x1083y_Coin_and_boulders.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/933:-1083+s.png (933, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/935:-1083+s.png (935, 1083)]
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|A single coin hangs in the air above the rocky ground with giant boulders.
|-
|'''Entire Volcano.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_Entire_Volcano_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Comic: [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]]
|The comic released a week after this one is about a super volcano made in a science fair experiment. As can be seen there is a lair beneath the lava lake. The entrance is revealed by the other link that turns the hidden passages to red. It is for sure possible to get stuck in the lava lake, as everything becomes black in the game when going beneath the surface.
|-
|'''Left Volcano Top.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_0943x1087y_Left_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|A zoom out of the left rim of the volcanic crater.
|-
|Basketball on the volcano.
|
:Ponytail: OK, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/936:-1084+s.png (936, 1084)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is a reference to {{w|Pompeii}} a Roman town-city near modern Naples, which has become famous when it was discovered that it had been preserved in the ash when it was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft.) of volcanic ash in the eruption of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} in AD 79. When it was {{w|Pompeii#Rediscovery|found again}} it turned out that people had been surprised by the ash, and thus buried alive. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when they died. This is what Ponytail wishes for her and Megan, when the volcano they are standing on erupts, a rather morbid wish. She wants their sweet basketball moves to be preserved for eternity. In ''Playing Fields'' in TE basketball is mentioned. It is also played on top of the Destroyer close to the bridge. In this case the coin is on top of the basket, but too large to go into the hoop.
|-
|Old man walking up the volcano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_0937x1085y_Old_man_walking_up_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/937:-1085+s.png (937, 1085)]
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|Is it an old man who just walks up a mountain, or a young man using a walking stick? It makes quite a difference to how this scene is viewed.
|-
|Duck at the left crater top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/41/1608_0940x1087y_Duck_at_the_left_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/940:-1087+s.png (940, 1087)]
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|A duck is sitting at the top of the crater. There are several birds in this comic. Another duck looking the other way is found on top of the flag pole near the base of the Washington Monument.
|-
|Megan’s treasure hoard.
|
:Megan: Gooooold!
:Megan: Goold!
:Bags: $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/43/1608_0941x1084y_Megans_treassure_hoarde.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1084+s.png (941, 1084)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1083+s.png (941, 1083)]
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|In the side of the crater there is a small cave where Megan has found a treasury hoard and she is celebrating all the gold she has found, including two coins.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lake.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b1/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left.png Zoom in left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/02/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_0946x1080y_Lava_lake_Upper_shaft_red.png Shaft in lake in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/94/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center.png Zoom in central part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/25/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire Right part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair.png Shaft into lair below] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|These images only cover the part beneath the surface where there is actually still lava, as can be seen in the images where ''Hidden passages in red''. Only the top of the lair below is shown here. From the hidden passage it is here possible to see how to enter this lair. In the images that shows the hidden part the two loose boulders that float (or are outcrops) in the right part of the lake can be seen as well as the two other holes in the lava lakes floor, which all explain why it is easy to get stuck in the lake once you go below the surface and move around. Since everything is black, you do not even know if the game still works and many people may have given up, maybe reloading after not being able to get on with the game. There is no place in the lake where you can get really stuck, as long as you just push upwards while changing direction from left to right, you are bound to get out sooner or later.
|-
|Rock with Gandalf in Lava lake.
|
:Megan: If you breathe out through you nose a little as you jump in, it can keep you from getting lava in you nasal passages.
:Cueball: Artex!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1083+s.png (944, 1083)]
|
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Film: {{w|The Neverending Story}}
|The wizard on the rock represents Gandalf from LOTR. What Megan tells Cueball works fine with water, not so much with lava. The horse Artax (pronounced Artex in the film) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y688upqmRXo drowns in the swamp of sadness] while Atreyu tries to save it and yells its name. Drowning in a swamp sucks, but doing so in lava will make death swifter. Both situations, however, indicate that you can actually go into the lava. If playing for the first time and becoming uncertain what would happen if the hoverboard touched the lava, the player might actually not even try to go into the lava, thus for certain would miss finding the lair beneath the lava.
|-
|Quadcopters over lava lake right.
|
:Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/950:-1084+s.png (950, 1084)]
|
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|Comics: [[1630: Quadcopter]] and in general those about [[:Category:Robots|Robots]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|AI]]
|The comic was released shortly after this one, and is about AI quadcopters that abduct Cueball. One of these {{w|quadcopters}} tells the other that no one will think much of their volcano footage if they actually survive. I.e. they have to get too close to the bubbling surface to survive before they actually obtain the footage wished for. It sounds like it tries to instill courage in them to perform this deadly task. There is a coin below the left copter. Drones has become a [[:Category:Drones|recurrent subject]] xkcd.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lair.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|The three rooms of the volcanic lair (and the entrance haft in the image with hidden passages in red).
|-
|Trending on twitter cave in lair and Lava lake bottom shaft.
|
:Cueball: What news of the world above? Please, tell me- what's hot and viral? ''What's trending on Twitter?!!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6e/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2a/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1079+s.png (944, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1079+s.png (945, 1079)]
|
|
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|Comics with [[:Category:Social networking|Social networking]]
|Cueball has been stuck below the lava for some times without access to the internet, and he now craves news from the world above. But it is not really news stories he craves but only the hot and viral videos and what is trending on {{w|Twitter}}. To be addicted to social networks and viral videos is probably a real infliction and it is a pain for Cueball to not be able to get on-line. Two coins are behind him.
|-
|Elon Musk’s cave in lair.
|
:Left Cueball: I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be like... Tropical. And ...Well, ''pleasant''.
:[[Elon Musk]] in the high chair: Back to your desks, swine!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1074+s.png (945, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/946:-1074+s.png (946, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk|Elon Musk]]
|It turns out that this is [[Elon Musk]]'s lair. Having a secret lair with a hidden entrance is an often uses trope in films. Often it would be the villain (like in a {{w|James Bond}} film) that has such a place, but also heroes, like {{w|Batman}}, uses such hiding places. The joke here is that Cueball has assumed that Elon Musk, an extraordinarily rich and enterprising man, which could be one of these megalomaniacs that might end up being a super villain, would have a bit more class over his secret lair. It also turns out that Elon sits in the cave and shouts at his workers to get back to work, even calling them names. There is also a coin here.
|-
|Ground symbol in lair.
|
:Ponytail: So ''this'' is where it is.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/947:-1073+s.png (947, 1073)]
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|The antenna looking item hanging from the ceiling is the embodiment of the {{w|Ground_%28electricity%29#Electronics|Earth ground symbol}} commonly used in circuit diagrams for electronics. So this is where the Earth is grounded in "real life" and finally Ponytail has found it. To protect themselves i their long search for this Ponytail and Megan seem to be wearing {{w|Antistatic_wrist_strap|antistatic wrist straps}}. This may also be a reference to the Circuit Diagram comic in which a ground is labeled as "bury deep, but not too deep"
|-
|'''Right Volcano Top'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra.png Extra zoom out] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|A zoom out of the right rim of the volcanic crater. In the extra zoom out the eagles can be seen as well, they are high enough to be missed entirely when moving along the crater surface.
|-
|Ring of power and lave floor at the right crater top.
|
:Megan: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.
:Girl with hair bun: Let's play a game where the lava is the floor of a house.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/952:-1087+s.png (952, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/953:-1087+s.png (953, 1087)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Megan tells Cueball that one of the many rings she throws into the crater is probably a {{w|One Ring|''ring'' of power}}, a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. From her last comment, ''or whatever'', it seems she doesn't care too much, which make it clear, from the LOTR universe, that neither of these rings in the one ring. It would not have be this easy throwing them into the lava if it had been. There seems to be 16 rings, which is less than the other rings that are ruled by the one ring, the 9 for the humans, the 7 for the dwarfs and the 3 for the elves (19 plus the one ring 20 rings in total).

The two girls are playing a dangerous game, the exact opposite of the normal version of the children’s game {{w|Hot lava (game)|Hot lava}}, where they pretend the floor in the house is made out of lava, and that you die if you touch it. However, in this version of the game they pretend to play that the lava is the floor in a house, and they may then just walk out into the lava pool, where they would die.
|-
|Megan sliding down slope on snow sleigh.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_0956x1085y_Megan_sliding_down_slope_on_snow_sleigh.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1085+s.png (956, 1085)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1086+s.png (956, 1086)]
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|Megan is sliding fast down the crater side. She will hit a jump near the coin, and would probably fly a considerable distance given the speed she seems to have.
|-
|Eagles over right crater top.
|
:Left eagle: Tolkien said Frodo left the cloak somewhere over here.
:Right eagle: Can't ''he'' just fix it?
:Left eagle: He doesn't want to rewrite that chapter.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)]
|
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Frodo's mithril cloak was taken from him at Cirith Ungol, which, along with other items, was recovered by Gandalf and returned to him at Minas Tirith. Some readers have been confused by this turn of events however, due to it not being present in some versions of the movie adaptation. Two of the {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} from LOTR flies above the right crater top. In this situation the eagles are being used to find {{w|Frodo|Frodo's}} cloak, with one eagle complaining that "he", meaning {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}} the author of LOTR, should just fix the issue without the eagles. This is a reference to the eagles use in LOTR as a {{w|Deus ex machina|deus ex machina}} and the [https://periannath.com/feature/why-doesnt-frodo-just-ride-an-eagle-to-mount-doom/ supposed plot hole] of the eagles not [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Eagles#Flying_the_Ring_to_Mount_Doom flying the ring to mordor]. However, this was of course not possible before Sauron and his ringwraiths were defeated.
|-
|Ponytail racing down the steep slope on a bike.
|
:Ponytail: 114 mph!
:Ponytail: Suck it, previous downhill volcano record-holder!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/958:-1083+s.png (958, 1083)]
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|Ponytail is trying to break the world record for downhill race on a bike on a volcano. The {{w|Cycling_records#History_of_downhill_records|record}} at the time of this comic was from 2002 and was 107 mph (172 km/h) easily beaten by the 114 mph (183 km/h) that Ponytail reaches as she mocks the previous record holder. There were two different records, one for prototype bike by {{w|Éric Barone}} (the 107 mph (172 km/h)) and one for serial production bicycle (102.5 mph (164.95 km/h) set in 2011 by {{w|Markus Stöckl}}). She beat them both and it looks like a very ordinary bike she rides. The all-time record for downhill racing is not using the ashy slopes on volcanos but from racing on snow, and here the record is not in danger from Ponytail as it is a staggering 138 mph (222 km/h) again with a lesser record for serial produced bikes of 130 mph (210 km/h). She will soon hit a rock outcrop so hopefully she has very good brakes...
|-
|Tell my wife why you left me there, and Megan and Cueball with a device
|
:Right Cueball: If I don't make it back...
:Right Cueball: ...Tell my wife...
:Right Cueball: ...Where I am...
:Right Cueball: ...And why you left me there…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_0960x1081y_Tell_my_wife_why_you_left_me_there.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/960:-1081+s.png (960, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/961:-1081+s.png (961, 1081)]
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|''If I don't make it back'' is a common [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfIDoNotReturn trope] in films and books used when the speaker is about to make a noble sacrifice. The speaker will then usually tell the other to go tell his wife that he died bravely or that his friends should remember him. There is even a [https://vimeo.com/58319575 song] with the same title by {{w|Tracy Lawrence}}. In Cueball's case, both him and his companion are attempting to scale a dangerous mountain and neither are inclined to sacrifice their own lives for the other. Cueball appears to be struggling, climbing on all fours while his friend is standing. Subverting the trope, he attempts to guilt trip his friend into helping him.

Also here are Megan with some kind of device and Cueball on top of a large boulder. Maybe they are investigating the environment on the volcanic slope. Cueball has just discovered the coin hanging above them.
|-
|It becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts and Ponytail and Cueball on the slope
|
:Megan: This is currently a V2, but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0962x1080y_It_becomes_a_V7_if_the_volcano_erupts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/962:-1080+s.png (962, 1080)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/963:-1079+s.png (963, 1079)]
|
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|Megan and Cueball climb a very steep part of the mountain slope. In {{w|bouldering}}, the relative difficulty of a bouldering problem is graded using the {{w|Grade (bouldering)|V scale}}. She exclaims that at the moment the climb is only a V2, but if the volcano erupts this would increase to V7. The joke is that the shaking ground and the lava resulting from the eruption would obviously make it harder to complete the bouldering problem without getting killed. In reality, passing environmental conditions do not affect the grade that a bouldering problem receives.
|-
|Megan reading for children about Sauron’s ring.
|
:Megan: "The time has come" the Walrus said, and put on a Sauron's ring…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1078+s.png (964, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1079+s.png (964, 1079)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The line ""The time has come" the Walrus said, to talk of many things" is from the poem {{w|The Walrus and the Carpenter}} by {{w|Lewis Carroll}}'s book {{w|Through the Looking-Glass}}, the sequel to {{w|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland}}. {{w|Sauron}} is the main enemy in LOTR, the one who has made the ring, and now needs it to gain his powers back. In this mixed poem the second line is changed but follows the same rhyme scheme. But although ''rings'' would have rhymed with ''things'', it of course have to ''ring'' as the {{w|walrus}} can only put the {{w|One Ring|one ring of power}} on, while uttering the now much more ominous sounding phrase ''The time has come''. Megan is reading this poem/story at the base of the volcano Mount Doom where the ring was created and later destroyed. Like Frodo, Sauron is one of the characters from LOTR who is only mentioned, not shown, in the comic.
|-
|Vaping Earth.
|
:Cueball: The Earth is vaping.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_0969x1077y_Vaping_Earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/969:-1077+s.png (969, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/968:-1077+s.png (968, 1077)]
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|
|{{w|Vaping}} is a term used instead of smoking for the use of electronic cigarettes. There is even a game called the {{w|Vaping game}} for blowing extra large clouds of vapor out while using these substitutes for cigarettes. Cueball remarks that here it is the Earth that does so, due to the volcanic activity of the nearby volcano.
|-
|'''Left of play area to Kite.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/80/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the area from below the volcano's slope and towards the play area. There are several hidden places and pools that can be seen in the second image link.
|-
|Kite and weird bug.
|
:Mom: Check out this one weird bug, discovered by a local mom.
:Girl: Oh my God, mom, stop saying everything like that.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/970:-1077+s.png (970, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/972:-1077+s.png (972, 1077)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic [[1614: Kites]] and in general the [[:Category:Kites|kite category]]. Also the [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait category]]
|The comic was released only two weeks after this game, and although it is clearly a girl in this comic, she looks like Megan who sets up the kite in the next comic. There is also a kite in ''Sky Toucher'' in TE and kites is a recurring theme in xkcd.

The mother that discovers the bug is [[Blondie]]. She talks like she is one of the {{w|clickbait}} headlines used for getting people to click in on the link generally aimed at generating online advertising revenue, which fits nicely with her recurring theme of as a news anchor. Her daughter is tired of this, especially as it seems like the mother speaks like that all the time. This may embarrass the girl, especially if she is with a friend rather than a brother. Maybe the mother has been reading too many clickbait news on-line? As noted in the other references ''clickbait'' is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother is near a small lake, so it is likely that there is plenty of insects and other bugs. It is possible to sink into the lake as can be seen in the second image with the hidden parts shown in red.
|-
|Space capsule with parachutes.
|
:Bird thinking: I don't remember laying these but ''wow'' they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch.

:Cueball: Yes! My phone has a signal.
:Voice from inside: How many new likes did we get during reentry?
:Cueball: I'm checking!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1079+s.png (976, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1080+s.png (976, 1080)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic : [[1133: Up Goer Five]]
|The book TE was based on the comic ''Up Goer Five'' which was about the rocket that took this space capsule to the moon. When it lands it uses three large parachutes to slow down after the main brake-down during reentry. On top of these sits a bird looking like a hen. It is a hen that can think, but it is still not very clever. It believes that this is three eggs, and is amazed that they are already flying before they hatch, which is of course ridiculous, but they do float in the air...

The astronauts inside (two at least, but there should be three if it was one of the moon landing missions) has just been waiting to get close enough to Earth again that they can get a signal on their smart phones. Cueball is even opening the hatch during descend to increase this chance, which would be highly dangerous. Also normally they would land in water (which will though not be the case this time). The reason he does this is that they wish to know how many more likes they (and their mission) has received during the reentry. This would have been relevant if the moon landings had taken place today. There where no social media or internet back in 1969. This is similar to the Cueball who is trapped in the lava lair without connection to Twitter.
|-
|Girl running to other girl and small forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_0978x1077y_Girl_running_to_other_girl_and_small_forrest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/978:-1077+s.png (978, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1077+s.png (976, 1077)]
|
|
|
|
|Just two young girls playing near a forest of low trees. But with the space capsule above the forest.
|-
|Entire well - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comics in the [[561: Well|Well series]].
|There are many similarities in this well to the [[561: Well|Well series]]. Someone is looking into a well that has the same general appearance and there is a person inside which turned out to be the case in [[568: Well 2]]. People throw coins into it and there is a coin at the bottom in the game (although above the water.)
|-
|Well top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0980x1077y_Well_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1077+s.png (980, 1077)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Cueball looks into the deep well.
|-
|Well bottom.
|
:Girl: I'm not a ghost. I just like wells.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1073+s.png (980, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|
|At the bottom of the well in the water (see also the hidden passages image) is a girl. Above to the left of her is a coin. Maybe thrown in by Cueball at the top. Ghost living in wells is a common theme, for instance there is a Japanese movie {{w|Banchō Sarayashiki}} whose [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202946/releaseinfo English title] is ''Ghost in the Well''. So, this is why this real girl explains that she is actually not a ghost, she just like wells and thus likes to sit in the cold water at the bottom of wells. This could be very dangerous, and she will probably have a hard time getting up. It is also a very deep well, so falling into this well might very well be lethal. There are also many stories (in this case also real stories like the one about {{w|Jessica McClure}}) about kids that fall into wells, some of them surviving being stuck for several days in the wells. Also, in movies this story is often used, for instance in {{w|Batman Begins}} the young Bruce Wayne falls down a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a fear of bats.
|-
|Entire gas station with birds above
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_with_coin_on_string.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_without_coin_on_string.png Without coin]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|The two birds with a coin between them flying above the gas station is way too high up, to be discovered when just moving normally over the gas station, even jumping once up from the highest spot. This is thus one of several coins that are easily missed. There is more explanation this scene where these two individual scenes are described.
|-
|Gas station with x-wing.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1077+s.png (982, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/983:-1077+s.png (983, 1077)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan has managed to land her {{w|x-wing}} fighter from the rebel fleet in Star Wars right next to a standard gas station. And she has planned to fill her spaceship up. That it could run on petrol for cars seems highly unlikely. The question is if she has already filled it up and is heading back with the handle to the gas stander, or if she has just discovered that the hose is not long enough to reach all the way under the wing to the fighter. It will have taken considerable skills to land this close to the station without hitting the cover over the stander. Ponytail is sitting in the shop with a coin. This is the first coin to be discovered when going left from the play-area. There is a long stretch without coins to begin with. The coins on the rock island in the sky it on this stretch, but so far above that most people would miss them altogether. There is also a coin with two birds straight above the right wing on the X-wing. But about three jumps up, so it is easy to miss. To get into the shop you need to go over the stander and back. Why Cueball have crawled up in the roof is not clear. But maybe he is enjoying the view over the cliff that is to the right of the station. There is a stop sign to the left, but there seems to be no road that way. Maybe that is why you should stop...
|-
|Birds with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_with_coin.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_without_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1079+s.png (982, 1079)]
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}
|In the film it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut between them on a string as the two birds do with the coin here. First when the coin has been taken, can the string between the birds be seen (see the other image). The birds are three jumps above the X-wing below, and this coin is thus easily missed by the players. In the film the horses are simulated with the sound of two coconuts shells being hit together. Someone asks how they happened to be in England and there is discussion about migratory birds like {{w|swallows}} and the possibility that they have brought the coconuts along with them. But the consensus is that they cannot do this by themselves the coconut being too heavy, but then it is suggested that two swallows could carry it on a string between them. Later in the film someone is seen actually tying two birds together to a coconut. In this comic, we now know how the coins have been transported through the image...
|-
|Our kingdom from a cliff.
|
:Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Girl: What's with the shadowy place over there?
:Cueball: That is beyond our borders.
:Girl: No, I mean what object casts a shadow over a whole region?
:Cueball: Oh, that's god. He lives over there.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1076+s.png (986, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1075+s.png (986, 1075)]
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|The Lion King}} and comic: [[1504: Opportunity]] as well as [[:Category:The Lion King|The Lion King category]]
|Cueballs lines is from The Lion King and has been used directly before in the comic Opportunity. Randall has made several references to the film in xkcd, and it is obvious that he was very affected by this film that came out when he was just the right age.

Cueball is talking to a child version of Ponytail, whose mother may be the one climbing up the cliff side below. The first three lines of the quote goes as in the film, but then it turns out that the girl is properly referring to the Star Destroyer that would be clearly visible from this cliff as it covers almost the entire right part of this world from just beyond the play-area. (They do not look high enough to see the rock island in the sky, and it would also not cast shadow over an entire region.) As it is not certain players coming here have already been to the right to see the Destroyer it is not necessarily clear that the reply from Cueball should apply to the Destroyer. But if it does then it would be the Emperor Palpatine that he refers to as God. The emperor is on board the Destroyer near the bridge at the very top rear end of the spaceship and has God like powers. It could however also just be a general reference to the {{w|God}} and thus be inferred as if God cast a shadow over an entire region (country). Maybe just in general as if he has a place in the sky that cast a shadow (like sitting on a cloud). Alternatively, it could be the people who believe too much in any God, which can be viewed as living under a shadow, as they will not try to see any reality if it does not fit with their religious beliefs.
|-
|Hamster ball bowling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/987:-1075+s.png (987, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/989:-1074+s.png (989, 1074)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster ballscategory]]
|There have been several xkcd comics with human sized hamster balls, and there is even one more in this comic up in the Destroyer. In this scene it is two young girls that use the hamster ball as a bowling ball in a human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game. Hopefully, the little girl with the hair bun behind the pins get away in time if it is a strike. It is the first time hamster ball and bowling has been matched, but in TE there are bowling alleys both on the ship ''The USS Laws of the Land'' and on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and such an alley is also used for measuring length in ''How to count things''. One of the many large trees that are found in the drawing is standing alone in this scene. Most other places there are more than one tree together.
|-
|If loving you is wrong I don’t want to and Beret Guy following insects
|
:Cueball: If loving you is wrong, I don't want to.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1074+s.png (990, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/991:-1074+s.png (991, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Song (or quote): {{w|(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right}}
|A reference to either the [https://krexy.com/if-loving-you-is-wrong general love quote] or maybe more likely to the song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJj7SN9EWI performed most notably] by {{w|Luther Ingram}}. Recently (2014), there has also been a TV series produced called {{w|If Loving You Is Wrong (TV series)|If Loving You Is Wrong}}.

The quote is very romantic, because the speaker is stating that if it is wrong to love a specific person, the speaker chooses to be in love and does not wish to be right. However, Cueball twist the quote quite a lot, saying instead that if it is wrong to love Ponytail then he does not want to love her at all - taking all romance out of the statement.

Also in this scene is one of only two instances where Beret Guy appears. Typical of his past appearances, he seems to be occupied by following a small flying insect through the tall grass.
|-
|'''Entire Washington monument'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Overview]
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7a/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out.png Central hidden passage] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]

|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1600: MarketWatch]]
|The tallest manmade structure on the ground in this game is the {{w|Washington Monument}} which recently before the release of this comic was referred to in the mentioned comic. As can be seen in the hidden passages images there are two secret passages, one at the bottom (see this scene for more) and one in the middle of the monument. The one in the central part of the monument is actually quite large, and as can be seen in the images zooming in on the central part there is also a fault line in the monument at the base of this hidden passage. But it doesn't really lead to anywhere interesting. The fault line could be a reference to the {{w|Washington_Monument#2011_earthquake_damage|earthquake damage}} from 2011 where several stones cracked.
|-
|Base of Washington monument with Cueball and Megan
|
:Cueball: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1074+s.png (994, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1074+s.png (995, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|At the base of the Washington Monument Megan and Cueball is looking up at it, and Cueball complains that it doesn't even look like {{w|Washington, D.C.|Washington}}. By "Washington" he could be referring to the city of Washington DC or to the real Washington monument, but he is probably referring to the first US President George Washington, since monuments often depict (look like) the person they are dedicated to, but the real Washington monument is not meant to look like Washington himself. Cueball seems to have expected all presidential monuments to include a statue of the honored president and is confused and disappointed when the monument fails to meet his expectations. Of course, since this is the only Washington based building in the game it is true that the place doesn't look like the city. If he refers to the monument, then it can be questioned if this is because the monument is not an exact replica (in proportions and/or scale). In any case it is clearly meant as an indicator that this is supposed to look like the monument, and with the tip's apex being made of aluminum (see that scene) as on the real monument, there can be no doubt what is referenced. It is possible to get to the left side of the monument without going up to see the tip, if the player immediately understands the sign with the white arrow that points to a hidden passage through the base of the monument, as can be seen in the second image with the hidden passages shown in red.

To the left of the monument there is a flagpole with a blown-out flag. It is all black, but it should be the {{w|Flag of the United States|the Stars and Stripes}} as there are fifty flag poles with the US flag (one for each [[1653: United States Map|state]]) surrounding the monument in a circle. On top of the pole there sits a duck looking left. Towards the end of the world to the left on top of the left volcanic rim there also sits a similar duck looking right.
|-
|Tip of Washington monument with Cueball and White Hat
|
:Cueball: Look at that- Solid aluminum!
:Cueball: We´re gonna be rich!
:White Hat: Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1083+s.png (995, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1084+s.png (995, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|The tip of the monument is actually {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|made of solid aluminum}} and at the time this {{w|aluminum}} apex was installed it was a rare metal as valuable as {{w|silver}}, but today it is maybe about 1/300 as valuable as silver. So Cueball and White Hat will not become rich based on the metal value. Of course, if they did steal the tip of such a famous monument, they might actually be able to sell it to a scrupulous collector at a value comparable to if was just a lump of silver of that weight.

White Hat looking over his shoulder spots the Star Destroyer and thus help guide a player that has started going left towards the Destroyer to the right. How they have managed the climb, getting the ropes over the tip, or how Cueball intends to get down with the tip is left to the readers imagination...
|-
|'''Entire floating rock island.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar}}
|This floating rock island may be a reference to the film Avatar where floating rocks is part of the scenery of the fictive moon {{w|Fictional_universe_of_Avatar#Astronomy_and_geology|Pandora}}. The rock in the game is very hard to find by chance, it is kind of unobtainable, which may be a further reference to the film since the reason the rocks do float is a combination of a weak gravity, a strong magnetic field and a mineral whose {{w|Superconductivity|superconductive properties}} allow it to float in magnetic fields. Of course, the levitating Hallelujah Mountains in the film contain significant quantities of the mineral which is called {{w|Unobtanium}}. Only thing pointing towards it is the Washington Monument and even if you go up from there, pushing the up arrow continuously for more than half a minute you may almost miss it, as only the far-right girl would move through the view. And with two coins around this island, it is important to find it in order to get all coins. Apart from the coins and the surprise there is little of interest here, and not even any spoken text.

To the right just beneath the rear end of the Destroyer there is a small lump of earth that has floated up from the ground, hovering over the corresponding hole in the ground. Maybe this is caused by the same force that have created this floating island.
|-
|Top left of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f5/1608_0989x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1111+s.png (990, 1111)]
|
|
|
|
|The large rock on top of the floating island is one of only two places where there is anything at a coordinate of Y=1112. On top of the globe of Death over the bridge of the destroyer, there are three images at the top of this that enters 1112. And there [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png the very top] is just slightly higher up. But there is no coin there, so the coin that would be in the tile used for main reference here that holds the coin is the highest location for any coin in the game, as the Globe of Death has its coin in its center below the top.
|-
|Top right of floating rock island with base jumpers.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1111+s.png (994, 1111)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE two people jump of a cloud, like the base jumpers Megan and Ponytail does here from the floating rock, but at least these two girls do have parachutes on (as opposed to the cloud jumpers in TE). How they got here is a good question, but of course they could have flown here in for instance the X-wing from below at the gas station.
|-
|Bottom of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_0992x1109y_Bottom_middle_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/992:-1109+s.png (992, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/993:-1109+s.png (993, 1109)]
|
|
|
|
|At the bottom of the island several small and large boulders can be seen hanging only loosely on to the bottom. At the center the largest rock can be seen, but even this is slipping a little as can be seen by the small white speck high over the very bottom of this boulder. Right of this is the other coin that belongs to this hidden place in the sky.
|-
|'''Entire Play Area - zoom out.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1001x1074y_Entire_Play_Area_Zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png With starting view]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The entire play area with the walls and their outer foundation. See also the insert with the starting view shown in red in the second image link and see more about the buildup of scenes from the individual image tiles using the [[#Image coordinates|play area down below]]. It is easy to see how a player of the game, with no knowledge of Randall's way of thinking, may not even think about exploring outside this area, even if they do try to go outside the maze. Because it is possible to jump around in the maze without discovering that you can actually fly rather than just jump. If you only jump once, you cannot see the too op the walls. On top of this there is the large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG red warning letters] telling you to go back if you try to leave the confines of the wall.
|-
|The Play Area.
|
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:Deposit coins here
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1075+s.png (1000, 1075)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is the starting area where the game begins. There is even some extra text telling you to ''Use arrow keys to move'' but as soon as you do, this text disappears, just like the [[#Coins|message you can receive]] below in the view depending on your action in this area. The text below the starting point of the hoverboard Cueball that you control, explains that the game is released on this day to celebrate the release of Randall's new book [[Thing Explainer]] and thus directly references the book. And also explains why this comic has been made, and furthermore why it was released on a Tuesday rather than the usual Wednesday release, which was then skipped this week. It also explains that if you collect coins, you can deposit them at the terminal, and when you do it list the score (number of coins and the time used) and rates your achievement. By noting that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG you got all the coins] if you collect all seventeen coins in the play area maze, then it is one more trick to try to make you stay inside the walls of the maze. There is only one small feature that can be spotted from within the maze that breaks the symmetry and may give away the clue of the game. And that is the small stone that lies on the ground to the left. Because why should it be there, if this was just a platform/maze game. The walls cannot be seen if you stay in or just around the outer wall of the maze. But if you go to them, you may think this is the end. Another detail about the game to be learned already here is that there can be "solid" black parts of the surroundings which are not solid at all. This can be seen in the image showing the hidden passages in red. Here it can be seen that the ledge beneath the two inverted parenthesis " )( " is not solid, and that you can fall or jump up through this section. This could forewarn you of the hidden passages, especially to the lair beneath the volcano which are the only real hidden place based on hidden passages, but also for those in the Washington Monument and in the cotton trap in the Destroyer and the glitch floor also on the Destroyer.
|-
|'''Everything Right of Washington monument.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_Everything_Right_of_washington_monument.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Most of the details in the image is found to the right of the play-area, mainly in the form of the rooms in the Destroyer. On the ground only a few artifacts are large enough to be seen in this zoomed out version. The three T's and the forest, and then of course the pyramid. Interestingly enough there are almost more to be seen inside the Destroyer with the two large rooms (the cave and the Glitch floor room) both being large enough to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png accommodate the entire pyramid].
|-
|Cueball outside play area.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1074+s.png (1004, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1074+s.png (1003, 1074)]
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|Typically reading direction would lead a player to this location first after escaping the play area. Is this is indeed the case then the grass and after that Cueball is the first hint that something more is going to happen in this game. Apart from the Cueball standing inside the play area, this is the closest person to the play area. He is just standing there doing nothing, so it is still not clear how big this is going to be.
|-
|Megan points at Runner after forest.
|
:Megan: Wow.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_1008x1074y_Megan_points_at_Runner_after_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1074+s.png (1008, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1074+s.png (1006, 1074)]
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|The small forest with two large trees and several small ones is the first really interesting to show up if exiting the play area to the right for the first time and finally a person actually speaking shows up (although Cueball at the base of the Washington Monument to the right would be closer). Megan is not saying much, but she is clearly reacting to something. It could be to one or both the space ships above her. Since the Destroyer is already on top of her, as the front end of that ship is just short of being above the right wall of the play area, then it could also be the Rebel Runner she is pointing out. No matter what, following her arm going up and right it is likely that the runner will enter the view, but it is possible to miss it, in which case there would be a long way up to the Destroyer. Megan and Cueball is standing on the edge of a cliff, offering them an excellent view. Stepping down on the plateau below the cliff takes the player close to the lowest possible level to be at in the game. There are no tiles with any white below that level (1073). But the lowest point is first in the Ocean.
|-
|Cliff with rock and cactus.
|
:(None, or rather the text has been written in the previous scene)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1073+s.png (1010, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1073+s.png (1008, 1073)]
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|After the grassy ground and the forest above the cliff to the left this marks the beginning of a long stretch of barren land ending in a dessert before reaching the ocean. Here a cactus and two large boulders display this inhospitable terrain. It seems like something is sitting on top of the smaller boulder, this could be a lizard, but it is too small to be certain. But that it is not part of the rock can be seen in the other image showing the parts of the image that you can walk through in red. And this small "lizard" is obviously sitting on top of the boulder.
|-
|Entire wires from ground to Runner.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Here is the first direct link from the ground to the Destroyer. This specific link takes the player from the ground level up along one of the three wires to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. If you went straight for the runner without going further right, the first coin you would find to the right would be one of the three at the runner. Else the first coin to the right (along the ground) would be in the dunes before Ponytail to the right.As can be seen the three wires are held by people and are then attached with anchors to the hull. Megan is climbing up the last of the three wires. See more in the specific scenes.
|-
|Three wires and people holding on on the ground
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1013x1073y_Three_wires_and_people_holding_on.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1073+s.png (1013, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1073+s.png (1011, 1073)]
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|Three pairs of people are trying to hold on the three wires going straight up. Cueball and Megan holds on leaning left on the left wire, another Cueball and Hairy hold on to each side of the middle wire and finally yet a Cueball holds on to the last, while a small girl with a hair bun steps on the end of the wire, like she would be able to walk it like a tightrope. This should not be physically possible as the ropes do not seem to be attached to the ground, at least not the one to the left. But there can be no doubt that the drawing shows her standing with both feet on the rope. She is thus not helping Cueball. From here it is not yet known to the player that it is the Rebel Runner they have caught (with anchors) above, but when this becomes clear it will also be clear that they have no chance of holding on to the space ship. But here it seems they are doing a great job. The ground is barren between these wires and a {{w|tumbleweed}} is blowing along to make this even more clear. This part of a plant was also mentioned in a toast in [[1645: Toasts]].
|-
|Three wires Megan hanging on that reaches up to three anchors in the bottom hull of the Runner.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1076+s.png (1015, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1014:-1078+s.png (1014, 1078)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Megan tries to climb up the last of the wires going from the ground, and it turns out that it leads up to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. Not to a really good spot in her wires case, as there seems to be nothing to help her get inside the runner from there. The other two wires comes up to a cannon close to an entrance, where Cueball is fishing birds with a crumb of bread or a cracker on the end of the hook. (The bird fishing scene is also depicted when going through the Runner [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down below]). All three wires ends in anchors that are here used the reverse way of a normal anchor, with the anchor attached to the ship instead of to the bottom of the sea (or at least the ground below an air ship). In ''Red world space car'' in TE, Megan is also seen hanging on to a rope like this.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes - zoom out.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Ponytail is standing in the dunes of the desert that continues after the barren landscape to the left of the desert. Here a zoom out of the entire desert with the first three coins along the ground to the right. The Rebel Runner flying above this dune landscape is a reference to the desert planet {{w|Tatooine}} where the opening scene is taking place.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1073+s.png (1015, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1073+s.png (1016, 1073)]
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|Ponytail is standing in the desert on top of a small dune, as these get increasingly higher further right into the desert. The coin to the left of her at the tip of a dune is the first along the ground when going right. It is soon followed by a second one at the base of the largest dune in desert.
|-
|The largest dune.
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:(None - the text is written in the scene centered on the ocean)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1017x1073y_The_largest_dune.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1073+s.png (1017, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1073+s.png (1018, 1073)]
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|The largest dune in the desert, also shown partly in the scene with Ponytail, also has a coin at the other base. After this there is only one smaller dune and then the desert stops at the shore of a small sea or ocean.
|-
|Entire ocean.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0e/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|The sea/ocean consist of a rather large body of water with a tall wave in the center. It is quite deep as can be seen in the other image with the water shown in red. Where the sea is deepest, is also the point that is the lowest hoverboard Cueball can get in the entire image. It is the closest that anything other than completely black comes to the level with Y=1072.
|-
|Megan rates the Sea.
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:Megan: This is an OK sea.
:Megan:★★⯪☆☆
:[a rating of 2.5 stars].
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1073+s.png (1019, 1073)]
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|It is very unusually to rate a sea, like you would a film or book, or a restaurant or museum. But today it is also common to rate anything you have used on-line like an internet shop or a company you have used. So, this may be a jab at all the people that rate everything in stars. According to [[1098: Star Ratings]] 2½ stars as an online star rating means that the sea is a crab sea, so this indicates that Megan's rating should not be viewed as such, since she also exclaims that it is an OK sea, as in an acceptable. Overall, another joke about online behavior, like the reference to Twitter and likes in the volcanic lair and the space shuttle, respectively.
|-
|Rouge wave.
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:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ...But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1073+s.png (1023, 1073)]
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|Comic: [[1315: Questions for God]]
|{{w|Fluid dynamics}} is a complex subdiscipline of {{w|fluid mechanics}} that deals with fluid flow. Although it is not their main target they can also be used for {{w|surface waves}} which would be like the {{w|rogue wave}} in this scene. This kind of waves is also known as freak waves, monster waves etc. They are large and spontaneous surface waves that occur far out in open water and can be extremely dangerous. But as the wave describes to Cueball these big waves can be predicted from the equations in fluid dynamics. Of course, Cueball is less afraid of the wave (even though it is {{w|Rogue (vagrant)|rouge}}), than he is fascinated by the fact that it speaks. The wave just replies that the equations are really complicated. That this is the case was for instance part of [[1315: Questions for God]] where a famous quote regarding turbulent motion of fluids is mentioned. {{w|Turbulence}} is also described by fluid dynamics, so they are part of the equations and the {{w|Horace_Lamb#Career| quote}} by {{w|Horace Lamb}} was: "I am an old man now, and when I die and go to heaven there are two matters on which I hope for enlightenment. One is {{w|quantum electrodynamics}}, and the other is the turbulent motion of fluids. And about the former I am rather optimistic." He turned out to be correct as nowadays we have a much clearer understanding of QED, while our understanding of turbulence has improved little. {{w|Richard Feynman}}, who was himself largely responsible for explaining QED, famously {{w|Turbulence|described turbulence}} as "the most important unsolved problem of classical physics". So who knows if these formulas could describe a talking wave? A coin crowns the wave.
|-
|Ruins with Cueball singing of Spiders and Panama.
|
:Cueball singing:
::Spider-man
:::Spider-plan
::Spider-canal
:::Spider-Panama
::Gates let in
:::Spider boats
::Flood the locks
:::Spiders float
::''Look out!''
::Spiders in both oceans.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1073+s.png (1026, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1073+s.png (1027, 1073)]
|
|
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|Comic: [[1632: Palindrome]] and the [[:Category:Spiders|Spiders category]]
|The palindrome comic was released shortly after this and used a palindrome about the {{w|Panama canal}} which is the first four lines with ''Spider-'' changed with "A" the first three times and then with nothing before Panama as in ''"A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''. The song is inspired by the {{w|Spider-Man (theme song)|Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]), but takes it in a rather different direction. Spiders have been a recurring theme and as the rest of the song tells that the spiders have now breached through the Panama Canal using spider-boats and by flooding the gates (in the canal) so now there are spiders in both oceans. If they came from the {{w|Atlantic ocean}} to the {{w|Pacific ocean}} or the other way around is not clear, but there are now spiders on both sides of the {{w|Central America|Central American}} strip of land. If the line ''Spiders float'' refer to actually floating spiders or just because they float on their boat is unclear. But we are forewarned about these spreading spiders with a '''''Look out!''''' (another lyric from the Spider-Man theme song). This threat continues the theme of the [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]] especially those from [[126: Red Spiders Cometh]].

There is a coin inside the ruin beneath Cueball who sits on top of the ruin, and both sings the song and plays the guitar. Megan just stands inside the ruin at ground level and listens. It is not difficult to get to the coin, but there is only entrance into the little coin room between the ledge under Cueball and the ceiling of the lower room. But it is possible to walk directly in them from the left. Maybe the ruin is in this state of affair because the spiders have crossed the ocean just to the left, the shore of this can be seen at the edge of the scene. But there is no indication of any spiders anywhere else in the comic, in spite of the many animals throughout the comic.
|-
|Ponytail flying.
|
:Ponytails arms: Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3b/1608_1029x1073y_Ponytail_flying.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1073+s.png (1029, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1073+s.png (1030, 1073)]
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|Ponytail manages to fly by just flapping her arms violently, a feat that is of course not possible. It keeps he above the coin on the ground, so the player can get to it first... In the Destroyer another Ponytail seems to be [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png flying straight up in a shaft] towards a coin this time without using her arms as wings. So, her flying is a small theme in the game. (It is not close to being directly above the Ponytail on the ground as the Ponytail in the Destroyer is just past the pyramid on the ground).
|-
|Entire forest - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3a/1608_1032x1074y_Entire_forest_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This is the largest collection of such tall trees, and if all smaller trees are counted probably also the largest collection of trees in general. In the left part of the world there is a scene with lots of trees, but they are all smaller than even the two medium-sized trees besides the five really large. the last tree to the right somehow belongs more to the wedding scene just right of it, but there are smaller trees all the way up to it, making it part of this forest. Drawing trees like this is often used in xkcd and in particularly also allot in ''click and drag''.
|-
|Left part of forest.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/56/1608_1032x1074y_Left_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1074+s.png (1032, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1074+s.png (1033, 1074)]
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|The left part of the forest has the largest trees and also the two coins, one in the fork of the first big trees and another some way above the first substantial tree to the left. It is just high enough that it will be missed by just sliding along the ground, and even when jumping to get the other coin it will still not necessarily enter into the viewing frame, so it can be considered one of the slightly hidden coins in the game.
|-
|Right part of forest.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/37/1608_1034x1073y_Right_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1073+s.png (1034, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1073+s.png (1035, 1073)]
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|The right part of the forest has the last two trees in the clump of four large ones, and then small to tiny trees continue the "forest" until the final tree, just beyond which the wedding takes place, and this tree also seems to be part of that scene.
|-
|Wedding and picnic.
|
:Priest: And if any here can give cause why these two should not be wed,
:Priest: The Great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1040:-1074+s.png (1040, 1074)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
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|Megan, in a black wedding dress, and Cueball, with a tie, is married by a female priest in front of a crowd of five sitting in chairs in front of them. In the crowd there are yet another Cueball, Hairy and Ponytail, but the last two are not the familiar versions in xkcd: one has a cap on backwards and then a person (M/W?) with black. Just before a {{w|wedding}} it is sometimes customary to ask if any in the crowd could give a cause why these two people should not be wed. What is not customary is to threaten those who do have any objections that they would then have to plead these in front of the great gangster boss from Star Wars, {{w|Jabba the Hutt}}. In case he has condoned this wedding, you may end up pleading for him to kill you mercifully if you did object anyway. The normal form of the priest's question goes more [https://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/marriage.pdf like this]: "If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace." (See the top of page 4 of the pdf file in the link (page 424) and a discussion about this sentences use [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=635317 in real life]).

Beyond the wedding, another Megan is sitting on a large boulder facing the wedding, and behind her a third Cueball is having a picnic with a second Ponytail. The question here is if Megan looks at the wedding or turns her back to the picnic. Depending if the player went right along the ground to begins with and saw the wedding first or went through the Destroyer and came back the other way and saw the picnic first the players preconceptions on these questions may be completely different. In either case it still looks like Megan would have liked to be with Cueball (either the one in the tie or the one at the picnic. Of course, with characters drawn "randomly" in many places she may bot even belong to either scene. Standing on the rock with Megan hoverboard Cueball cannot see either of the scenes, but standing between Megan and either scene, she can be seen together with either of the relevant Cueball and another girl. In the first case with the wedding, she might have wished she had the courage to speak up in spite of the Jabba threat. In the other case she may feel rejected by the happy picnic couple and has turned her back to them. Poor Megan. Ponytail and Cueball seems to enjoy their picnic lunch in the open air though.
|-
|Cemetery.
|
:Megan: They're inscribed with our family motto, "Cur ego committitur dictar latinae," which means "Why did I just start speaking Latin?"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1042x1074y_Cemetary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1042:-1074+s.png (1042, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1074+s.png (1043, 1074)]
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|It is so common to have your motto translated into the dead language {{w|Latin}} that there even is an entire category for {{w|Category:Latin mottos|Latin mottos}} on Wikipedia. Since no one really speaks the language anymore, and only few learn it well enough to just read any sentence, by doing so you actually hide this motto that you probably would like to tell people about. The only Latin that has entered popular usage are generally idioms, like {{w|Carpe diem}} (seize the day), etc. (et cetera, meaning "and the rest"). However, most of the time, like the one Megan is explaining to her friend, it would make much more sense to just write it in your native language (English in this case); but then of course there would be no need for a motto, where you ask yourself why you are speaking Latin. In this way, the joke is quite self-referential. There is also a cemetery in Click and Drag.

The Latin in the motto is not correct, but close, and it could both be Randall's accidental errors or purposeful errors (as there are probably many "private" mottoes out there that are not completely correct. The original sentence:

'''Cur''' - why. '''Ego''' - I. '''Committitur''' - can be translated as "start", but is incorrectly conjugated; in view of the proper translation, a more acceptable word would be "commisi". '''Dictar''' - likely a misspelling of "dictare", an acceptable translation of "to speak". '''Latinae''' - Latin, but in the wrong case; a more correct translation would probably be "Latinam". A possible translation of this sentence is therefore "Why did I start to speak Latin?". The word ''just'' is completely missing and could have been included by using ''modo''. However, Megan could have added it to make it more "natural" in English. In this way, the family motto given here is a slightly misused satirical statement on Latin family mottoes.
|-
|Huge foot.
|
:Cueball: It says "Yo, future dirtbags! Check out my huge foot!"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1074+s.png (1046, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1047:-1074+s.png (1047, 1074)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''How to count things'' in TE there is also a drawing of a huge foot, used to count mass, not length... The two Cueballs check out an inscription at the foot ([[559: No Pun Intended|pun intended]]) of a monument. Typically old relics from the past has been demolished, and if only part of a human body is displayed (at least when it is not just a {{w|Bust (sculpture)|bust}} supposed to only have head and shoulders), then it is often assumed that the rest of the statue has been lost. Just like the missing arms of the ancient Greek statue {{w|Venus de Milo}}. These arms were there originally. But as it turns out as Cueball reads the transcription someone in the past just wished to show the future his huge foot. Suggesting that this is either actual size, or just that he was very proud of at least one of his feet. He also mocks anyone reading the inscription by calling them the derogating word [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dirtbag dirtbags]. This is a recent work so if this were an ancient monument it would be highly unlikely that it said that. Of course, it could be Cueballs translation of what is actually written, or as this is not necessarily old, it is not just part of the original monument but the entire unbroken statue of a foot, then it could be a contemporary artist who made it. However, it is just in front of the pyramid to the right, and in front of the real pyramid {{w|Pyramid of Khafre}} the {{w|Great Sphinx of Giza}}, also much larger than life size lies. (It has lost its nose by the way). So, this could be the games version of such a large statue in front of a pyramid.

As from the scene to the left of this giant foot, the inscription that Cueball reads is probably in Latin, in which case it could have read something along the lines of: ''Io, de futuro sacculo terra! Reprehendo sicco meus ingens radices!'' (which could be translated back to ''Io, for the future of the bag, earth Check out my huge foot!'', since there were no words for ''Yo dirtbags'' in Latin.

This is likely to be a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem ''{{w|Ozymandias}}'', which starts:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
[..."]
|-
|Entire Pyramid.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1050x1075y_Pyramid_Entire_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Destroyer]
|Overview
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|A smooth pyramid with Ponytail in front of the left side and a coin at the tip. It is large but not compared to the Destroyer above it. To illustrate the other image shows that the pyramid could comfortably be placed inside the cave in the Destroyer. There is also a pyramid in Click and Drag.
|-
|Pyramid protip.
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:Ponytail: Protip:
:Ponytail: Don't stop climbing just because you reach the top.
:Ponytail: ☑ Show tips on startup
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1608_1048x1074y_Pyramid_protip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1074+s.png (1048, 1074)]
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|Comics: [[:Category:Protip|Protip category]]
|Ponytail greets the player as (if) they approach the pyramid from the left. She points up the side of the pyramid and gives a protip (a feature often used in xkcd). The tip is yet another indication that the Destroyer is above (the tip) of the pyramid. She tells the player to keep "climbing" after the top (that is not usually possible, but the hoverboard can keep on flying). By doing so the player may reach up to the entrance leading into the spiral corridor (although it will be difficult to keep the same incline as the pyramid on the way up). Ponytails last remark about showing tips on startup makes her sound like she is some kind of program, which can give you interesting hints and tips every time you start the program. If you do not wish this, you can just leave the [https://help.formulatrix.com/rock-maker/3.4/Content/Resources/Images/RM%203.0.3/StartUp%20Tips.png check box unchecked]. This is the last scene with spoken words (or other text) along the right ground, although it is only halfway from the play area to the right end of this world.
|-
|Pyramid tip.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f6/1608_1050x1076y_Pyramid_tip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1051:-1076+s.png (1051, 1076)]
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|At the very tip of the pyramid there is a coin. This is the highest point in the right part of the world, which is directly connected with the ground through a fixed structure (i.e. not a wire). In most of the left part of the world even the ground level is higher, and the Washington Monument is much taller. The next coins are five scenes longer to the right as nothing much happens on the remaining stretch along the ground towards the end of the right part of the world from here.
|-
|Pyramid Right bottom.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c5/1608_1053x1074y_Pyramid_Right_bottom.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1074+s.png (1053, 1074)]
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|As opposed to the left side of the pyramid with a protip, there is nothing on the right side of the pyramid, even the ground is completely featureless, and actually continuous to be so for a while as can be seen in the next two scenes. It is the longest stretch along the ground with no features of interest and also almost completely flat ground. Even the third scene from here is still without characters although there at least is some ground features. For certain the entertainment of the right side is up above in the Destroyer.
|-
|Flat and bare ground.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/19/1608_1056x1074y_Flat_and_bare_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1074+s.png (1056, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1074+s.png (1057, 1074)]
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|The first of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though, even without much plant life probably takes the prize as the most featureless scene in the game.
|-
|Flat grassy ground.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1059x1074y_Flat_grassy_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1074+s.png (1059, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1074+s.png (1060, 1074)]
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|The second in a row of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though have a little more grass than the previous scene...
|-
|Small cliff or hill.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1063x1075y_Small_cliff_or_hill.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1075+s.png (1063, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1074+s.png (1062, 1074)]
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|Almost as boring as the previous two scenes, but at least there is a little cliff.
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|The three T's.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_1066x1075y_The_three_Ts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1075+s.png (1066, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1075+s.png (1067, 1075)]
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|Computer games
|These three Ts with Megan on top of the first, looks similar to scenes from many {{w|Platform game|platform computer games}}, like for instance [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlatformGame this example] from {{w|Mario Bros.}}.
|-
|Coin over grass hole.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b6/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1074+s.png (1071, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1074+s.png (1072, 1074)]
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|The fourth "boring" scene in a row at least have a coin. The grass is rather tall in this location and there are also two small hills to the left, and behind the coin another small bump to the right. The coin is located over a small hole that is filled with grass, so when the player takes the coin hoverboard Cueball will [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/Grasshole_under_coin.PNG sink to his waist].
|-
|Ponytail and bird black hat on a stick and Cueball whistling.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1074+s.png (1073, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1074+s.png (1074, 1074)]
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|Ponytail is walking towards a small cliff with a flying bird following behind her. She approaches a black hat on a stick, looking like Black Hats hat. He usually never leaves without it, so it seems a little strange to find i hanging there. It is actually quite hard to find any Black Hat's in the comic, but above in the Destroyer, just slightly to the left of this hat the only instance of Black Hat in the game sits and snores in the Cave. So, he is not only represented by this hat. A kid looking like Cueball stand to the right below the cliff. He seems to be either singing or whistling.
|-
|Small stone pile.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1078x1074y_Small_stone_pile.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1074+s.png (1078, 1074)]
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|After a small step down in the terrain height the only feature of this fifth boring scene is a small stone pile that seems to be made of 5-6 small stones with different size not ordered after size, so it looks like it could easily fall over. The pile is solid, so the player needs to jump to get past it and hoverboard Cueball can stand on top of it.
|-
|Two birds and coin above them.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1081x1074y_Two_birds_and_coin_above_them.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1074+s.png (1081, 1074)]
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|Once again two birds are seen together, this time they are not (as over the gas station to the left) tied together with string. But also, here there is a coin, and just like there it is hidden. Not so much as over the gas station, as here the birds can be seen from the ground, but the coin can only be seen by jumping once. Walking along the ground would let the birds enter into the view but not the coin right above them.
|-
|Pedestal.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1086x1074y_Pedestal.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1074+s.png (1086, 1074)]
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|Once again a very boring scene (6th) but at least there is a small pedestal to the right. In itself not very interesting, but if the player drops straight down out of the rear entry of the Destroyer above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this pedestal.
|-
|Medusa and floating earth.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1088:-1074+s.png (1088, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1075+s.png (1090, 1075)]
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|The first character in four scenes is no one else but {{w|Medusa}} coming towards the player (if going right) arms outstretched and what appears to be about 10 snakes jutting out of her head which Medusa is known for. The snakes are venomous and people who gaze upon her face would be turned to stone. So not so nice to come by and it for sure relates to the coming end of the world, at least of this world right end.

The floating earth to the right may be of similar origin as the floating rock island above the Washington Monument, maybe the same forces are at work. Seems like it has just been torn up from the hoke in the ground below it, like it is now floating up. If the player drops straight down from the very end of the Destroyer up above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this floating earth. Anything right of the start of the hole is no longer under the Destroyer, which anything else right of the play area until this hole has been. Could be the Destroyer's influence that creates this hole? (But not just because it passes over, because then the earth should be floating up all the way behind it).
|-
|White Hat hiding in the grass.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1093:-1074+s.png (1093, 1074)]
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|Another flat scenery but at least White Hat is hiding in the grass to the right, only his head showing above the high grass, so her must be either sitting or even lying down propped up on his arms. This is one of only two scenes with White Hat throughout the game.
|-
|Lollipop plant and coin.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_1095x1075y_Lollipop_plant_and_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1095:-1075+s.png (1095, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1094:-1074+s.png (1094, 1074)]
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|The seventh boring scene is lit up by a coin that hangs in the air slightly before the only feature of the scene, which appears to be a plant, with a strange lollipop shape.
|-
|Drifting Cueball.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1098x1074y_Drifting_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1098:-1074+s.png (1098, 1074)]
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|Another completely flat grassy landscape but with a strangely elongated Cueball drifting in the wind. Characters flying is depicted in two scenes where Ponytail flies, but she does this of her own will. Here is seems like Cueball is just drifting with the wind towards the end of the world, which is only two scenes away, and he is the last character along the ground towards the end. This is in some way reminiscent of Click and Drag, where the Cueball floating with the balloon to begin with, can also be seen at the very right end of the world. But then again here it more seems like Cueball doesn't have a choice, and he also seems to be out of shape. The shape he is in, and the relation to the end of the world could be a (loose) reference to the sixth and seventh day in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]].
|-
|Just grass.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1103x1074y_Just_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1103:-1074+s.png (1103, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1104:-1074+s.png (1104, 1074)]
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|The eight boring scene since the pyramid, with a rolling hill of grass, but only the 2nd most boring, as the most boring scene was the first scene after the pyramid because that one did not even have grass.
|-
|Storks nest at right end of the world with 10 coins.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_1107x1075y_Storks_nest_at_right_end_of_the_world_with_10_coins.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1075+s.png (1107, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1074+s.png (1107, 1074)]
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|This is the right end of the world, marked by a high pole raising up from a foundation, and on the top of the pole there is a large {{w|White stork|stork}} nest with three eggs in it. Maybe it is not a stork nest (though it looks like a {{w|White_stork#Conservation|man-made nest platform}} for storks), but an eagle nest, though they do not usually use mad made structures for their nest as do storks. But if it were an eagle's nest, it could be for those two that are flying over the right tip of the volcano crater in the far of left part of the world.

With ten coins on top of the three eggs in the nest this is the place with the highest coin density in the game, but not most coins over a single image tile as that price goes to the starting tile with eleven coins. There are also seventeen coins in the play area scene, but they are not as closely gathered as here, where all 10 coins are almost as close together as possible, and all of them in the same [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1076+s.png completely white image tile] right above the tile with the nest and eggs.
|-
|'''Entire Rebel Blockade Runner'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_and_wires_zoom_out.png Also with wires] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png Also with torpedoes]
|Overview
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|An overview of the entire Rebel Blockade Runner ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'' from the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. It has four rooms (one blown open), a small cannon room that cannot be entered by the hoverboard and two corridors. The rear is the large engines. There are three coins. There is a clear symmetry along the center, as the two cannons and the two parabolic antennas are placed symmetrical on the top and bottom hull, and also the curve of the hull is symmetric. In the second image link the way to find the runner from the ground via the wires can be seen (six coins). And in the third the way to find the Destroyer above via the torpedoes can be seen (14 coins). The Destroyer is thus not hidden, like for instance the Floating Rock Island or the Hidden Lair beneath the lava lake, and there are many less direct indications that there is a runner from all the people who comment on them or even directly or indirectly point the way to the Destroyer. The Runner is supposed to be 150 m long.
|-
|Bridge on the Rebel Blockade Runner.
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:First scene:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!
:Second scene:
:Megan: Good against remotes is one thing, but a ''true'' Jedi train with a T-shirt cannon.
:Box: Shirts
:Third scene:
:Box: Bullets
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1012:-1078+s.png (1012, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1078+s.png (1013, 1078)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner is crammed with interesting scenes. First on the bridge itself a long-haired woman (the captain) is mocking both Star Wars and Star Trek fans alike by using the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcRX0Gw1aaw opening line] from the Star Trek series about stating the {{w|stardate}} for the captain's log on board the first spaceship ever shown in the Star Wars franchise. Hairbun behind her (it could be {{w|Princess Leia}} who also has buns but above each ear) is clearly distressed by this "mistake". This could either be because she is a Star Wars fan that dislike Star Trek or because the stardate used is the real date, November 24, 2015, on which the comic was released (as well as the book ''Thing Explainer'') instead of using the normal convention for stardates with a four or five digit number plus a decimal like 1513.1. Given that the long-haired woman has the appearance of [[Danish]], this may be intentionally rather than a mistake. There is another reference to the Star Trek universe in the scene where the torpedoes are fired from the Destroyer above, so no less than two Trek infiltrations in the opening scene of Star Wars.

Beneath the bridge there is a smaller room where Ponytail and Megan spoofs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69NCLxwLEY Luke's Lightsaber Training] from the original Star Wars movie where {{w|Luke Skywalker}} practices under {{w|Ben Kenobi}}'s guidance while {{w|Han Solo}} comes with snide remarks. Ponytail (in Luke's place) holds a {{w|lightsaber}} above which floats a sphere which represents the small remote controlled {{w|Jedi}} training device from that scene. Megan both guides like Ben and comments like Han. She holds some kind of cannon that she obviously loads with T-shirts from the box behind her. As she tells Ponytail, a true Jedi trains with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCz7C6jEIk t-shirt cannon]. Han Solo's quote begins like it but ends quite differently: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuCbDkKIs4 Good against remotes is one thing good against the living it's something else]. He would also prefer a {{w|Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster}} as he explains: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V268Qk6-xsw Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid]. There is a coin behind Ponytail.

Above the bridge there is a hatch open where hoverboard Cueball may enter and a Cueball is standing behind the hatch looking down along the hull.

There are cannons both above and below the hull, the one on top has a coin in front of the barrel. There is a similar cannon with a coin in front on top of the Destroyer. Beneath this cannon is a tiny room where another Cueball is pouring several small bullets from a bucket into a black box labeled bullets (for the cannon). From this room there is a small shaft down to the main corridor in the Runner. But this shaft is too slim for hoverboard Cueball to pass up through it, or rather for the board to get in. Cueball can pass into the hole, but the board holds him back from reaching up in the small room. The cannon below has two of the anchors from the wires going to the ground attached around its barrel. The third anchor is stuck in the bottom hull further down the hull. It is unclear how this last has become attached to the hull!

In the corridor that runs away from the bridge a small robot on wheels drive towards left. Similar types of robots are often seen in the Star Wars universe and there is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png another robot] looking like two of these on top of each other in the Destroyer above where the torpedoes connecting them ends up. Further down the corridor Ponytail is walking to the right while singing indicated with two notes.

Above the cannon at the bottom of the hull on a ledge with an entry to the ship is a third Cueball holding a fishing rod out over the ledge, so the hook hangs in the air. Maybe he is fishing for either of the two birds that are flying around the line. What appears to be a loaf of bread or [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png a cracker is attached to the hook] at the end of the line. A similar scene is also found in TE in ''Sky Toucher''.
|-
|Death Star Plans in the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: The Death Star plans are ''not'' in the main computer.
:Second Cueball: Darn.
:Second Cueball: See, if we had found them in the main computer, which would be good news, since it would mean no one else had them.
:Second Cueball: But since we didn’t find them, we need to keep searching for anyone with a copy.
:Second Cueball: That all makes sense and I ''definitely'' understand how computers work.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball: So you just came down and made a hole in our ship without permission?
:Fourth Cueball: Yup
:Third Cueball: Wow, Rude.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1017x1078y_Death_Star_Plans_in_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1078+s.png (1017, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1079+s.png (1016, 1079)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
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|The reference to the Death Star plans is from [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=340 the opening scene] in the first Star Wars movie. The sentence uttered by First Cueball is said by a Storm Trooper to Darth Vader. The [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes?qt=qt0440708 rest of the quote] is not quite like in the comic. Rather is goes like this:
:Darth Vader: [addressing the Tantive IV's captain, whom he is interrogating] Where are those transmissions you intercepted? WHAT have you DONE with those plans?
:Captain Antilles: We intercepted no transmissions... This is a consular ship... We're on a diplomatic mission...
:Darth Vader: [shouting] If this is a consular ship, WHERE is the ambassador?
:Darth Vader: Commander, tear this ship apart until you find those plans! And bring me all passengers, I want them ALIVE!
The comic jokes with the way Darth Vader seems to assume that if the plans had been found on the computer, then no one else would have had access to them. The second Cueball, although not Vader, represents a superior that have absolutely no idea about how computers work, in spite of his insistence that he actually do. If the data has once been intercepted, they could have been shared or copied to several other computers or devices or even been printed. By finding them in the main computer they would only make sure that they were indeed intercepted, but not be certain that they have not been delivered to the rebel base.

The other two Cueballs on top of the ship stand over a hole in the hull going into a small room above and left of the large room. It seems that the fourth Cueball has made this hole directly from the outside (i.e. it is not caused by an exploding torpedo from the Destroyer above). Because he confirms when the third Cueball asks if he just came down to make the hole without permission. The third Cueball thinks this is rude. This is, of course, hilarious as if a space pirate or any other attacker of a spaceship would ask permission before attacking. And also, the idea that he might get permission for asking is likewise crazy. To call this rude is also a weird way to look at such an attack. {{w|C3PO}} uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoG9tKf1lA this as reply] to a comment made to him by a similar droid in the second movie.
|-
|Top rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: That thing is ''huge. Imperial''-class?
:Second Cueball: Yeah. Maybe a MK-1. Depends on whether this is the expanded universe or not.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball's bow: Twang
:Torpedo: Boom
:Third scene:
:Fourth Cueball: Why are they still firing?
:Fifth Cueball: Oh, the turret operators pretty much do their own thing.
:Fifth Cueball: It's definitely a pain sometimes.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1079+s.png (1018, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1080+s.png (1019, 1080)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|In this overview of the top rear of the hull of the Runner, there are four scenes with two persons in each, with no less than six Cueballs. Beginning with the scene to the far left the two first Cueballs discuss what type of Star Destroyer is shooting at their ship from above them. They are clearly tilting their head far back to look up. The first Cueball comments on how huge it is and asks if it is an {{w|Star_Destroyer#Imperial_class|''Imperial'' class}} Destroyer. "''Imperial'' class" is the designation of the Destroyer ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]'' that followed the Rebel Runner ''Tantive IV'' in the opening scene. There is also and more than 10 times as large version called a {{w|Star_Destroyer#Super_Star_Destroyer|Super Star Destroyer}}, which were featured in the two sequels in the original trilogy. But even the original Star Destroyers were improved during the movies, so when the improved Destroyers came out, they became known as ([https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_II-class_Star_Destroyer Mark II], Mk-II or plainly II, and the original (as Devastator) became known as [https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_I-class_Star_Destroyer Mk-1]. The second Cueball agrees with the first and suggest that it is a Mk-1 and thus makes it even more clear that this scene is actually the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. But then again, he continues, it depends weather this is the {{w|Star Wars expanded universe|expanded universe}} (now known as ''Star Wars Legends'') where all authorized media (books etc.) released based on the Star Wars franchise should be counted in, or if it is only the movies sanctioned directly by George Lucas (and now Disney). What he says is that in all those works there could be so many other types os ships mentioned, that he could mistake for a Mk-1, that in that universe he would not be certain at all. But in the "official" universe he would claim that it was a Mk-1 ''Imperial'' class Star Destroyer.

In the next scene Ponytail and a third Cueball fight with bows and arrows against the Destroyers 100+ torpedoes raining down from above. Ten of these can be seen falling, one hits the ship, and one has just exploded in a big ''boom'', to be compared with the feeble ''twang'' made by Cueballs bow when he fires the arrow. When later discovering how far there is up to the bottom of the Destroyer it only becomes even more silly.

In the third scene two more Cueballs (four and five) look up at the torpedoes falling down in an arch over their heads. The fourth Cueball asks why they still keep firing. And the fifth Cueball tries to explain. A {{w|Gun turret|turret}} is generally a weapon mount that houses the crew and a projectile-firing weapon and lets the weapon be aimed and fired in a given cone of fire. So, it is this crew, that are the turret operators. There is also such [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png an operator] on the Rebel Runner below the top cannon (or turret), in the scene with the bridge. The reason they keep fighting is given that they just do their own thing and that is annoying. This indicates that these two Cueballs do no longer think that the Destroyer needs to fire anymore on the Runner, and thus also indicates that they are part of the crew from the Destroyer send down to take over the Runner. Thus, it is annoying that the shooting has not stopped as it puts them in danger. If they belong to the Runner, then they would not think it weird that the shooting continued. It turns out to be Megan who is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png turret operator in the Destroyer]! At least they can be happy that it is regular torpedoes. (See the explanation of the scene regarding the Torpedo cannon below Destroyer).

In the final scene at the very end of the hull is the sixth Cueball together with Megan. She holds on to him as he tries to toast a giant marshmallow on a stick by holding it in front of the exhaust pipe of the Runner. This would most likely melt the marshmallow instantaneously... In ''Red world space car'' in TE the Mars rower also toasts a marshmallow on a stick over a small fire.
|-
|Bottom rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1020x1078y_Bottom_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1078+s.png (1020, 1078)]
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|The rear end of the Rebel Runner with the last part of the big Death Star plan room to visible to the left. Three engines are visible, with the top one being cut of (Cueball is roasting a marshmallow above the cut off - see previous scene). This is consistent with the three rows of engines as [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/2016/04/tantive_iv_over_tatooine.png?itok=1k3g3pFH can be seen in the film], with four engines in top and bottom row and three in the middle. There is a coin behind the lowest of the engines. There appear to be {{w|truck nuts}} attached to the rear of the ship beneath the hull. These are plastic or metal accessories, typically for cars, which resemble a pair of dangling testicles/balls. They are attached under the rear bumper of the vehicle, so they are visible from behind as a practical joke. Some find it is in so bad a taste that it should be banned or fined.
|-
|'''Entire torpedoes rain from Runner to Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire rain of torpedoes fired down from the Star Destroyer to the Runner. There are one hundred undamaged torpedoes in the air, two that are hitting each other exploding, one that has just contacted the hull and one that has just exploded on the hull of the Runner. A total of 104 torpedoes has thus been fired at this moment in time. The rain is not so much there for jokes but to guide the player up to the Destroyer. Only interesting scene on the way up is Beret Guy riding a torpedo, and apart from that and the two torpedoes hitting each other and exploding, there is nothing else to see. But there are two coins to collect.
|-
|Torpedoes just above Runner with coin.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1019x1081y_Torpedoes_just_above_Runner_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1081+s.png (1019, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1081+s.png (1020, 1081)]
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|11 torpedoes just above the Runner with a coin.
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|Torpedoes two steps above Runner with Beret Guy.
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:Beret Guy: Horsey!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1083+s.png (1020, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1021:-1083+s.png (1021, 1083)]
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|Film: {{w|Dr. Strangelove}}
|Beret Guys only second appearance in this comic. He is flying down from the Destroyer sitting astray a torpedo riding it like it was a horse. In the film Dr. Stangelove a man is also flying down like this riding a bomb like it is a horse (a nuclear bomb in that case though). Beret Guy will likely survive due to his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. With his torpedo there are eight torpedoes in this scene
|-
|Torpedoes three steps above Runner.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1023x1085y_Torpedoes_three_steps_above_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1086+s.png (1023, 1086)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1024:-1086+s.png (1024, 1086)]
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|21 torpedoes are shown. This image is so large that it goes outside the "active" images, and thus the lower right part is in gray. In the game this part will be displayed as white, but there is no image below to save (but many all-white images are active though!)
|-
|Torpedoes two steps below Destroyer with exploding torpedoes.
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:Torpedoes: Boom
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a8/1608_1025x1087y_Torpedoes_two_steps_below_Destroyer_with_exploding_torpedoes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1087+s.png (1025, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1087+s.png (1026, 1087)]
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|21 torpedoes are shown, but two of them are hitting each other exploding. Where you can stand on the torpedoes, you cannot stand on the "boom", but still on the black part of the exploding torpedoes. If the two exploding torpedoes are the same and if they have no means of self-propelling, then they should not hit each other under normal conditions. Only if a wind gust slowed down the one and not the other (which could of course be the case.) But else they would follow the same parabolic path from cannon to target without getting closer.
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|Torpedoes one step below Destroyer with coin.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/1608_1029x1089y_Torpedoes_one_step_below_Destroyer_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1089+s.png (1029, 1089)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1090+s.png (1031, 1090)]
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|19 torpedoes just below the Destroyer with a coin.
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|Torpedo cannon below Destroyer.
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:Megan: We have no photon torpedoes, so I'm firing regular ones
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1091+s.png (1034, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1091+s.png (1033, 1091)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The 12 last torpedoes lead up to the cannon below the Destroyer that has fired them all towards the runner far below. In the control room (or turret room see explanation of scene where the torpedoes hit the Runner) is Megan and Cueball. She explains that she used regular torpedoes rather than the much more powerful {{w|Weapons_in_Star_Trek#Projectile_weapons|'''photon''' torpedoes}}. This may cheat some to think this is a reference to the weapon Luke Skywalker used when destroying the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. But they were called {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_weapons#Ship-mounted|'''proton''' torpedoes}}. Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an {{w|antimatter}} warhead and one of those alone would probably take a ship like the Runner out if it was not shielded... However, they are used by the {{w|Starship Enterprise}} in the Star Trek universe. So, this is the second (but more subtle) mixing of the two competing franchises connected with the torpedoes in the opening scene of Star Wars. The first being on the bridge of the Runner below. Above the control room there is a shaft up to a corridor in which a small robot of the types typically seen on spaceships in Star Wars is seen. There is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png similar robot] down in the Runner but only half this one's height.
|-
|'''Entire Star Destroyer.'''
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|This is the only reference to Star Wars just because of the Destroyer. Anything inside the spaceship will only be listed as SW reference if there is something in relation to SW, or at least to part of the ship itself (like using special outcrops on the ship for a special room, like the Globe of Death at the top of the bridge).
|-
|'''Entire front end.'''
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_front_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/22/1608_Entire_front_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|This overview is shown to illustrate how far apart the rooms are even in the very front end of the Destroyer where it is slimmest. The image with hidden passages shows how deep the swimming pool is and that the hoverboard can also sink into the playpen pit. Moving just a little further right than this overview, and the Destroyer becomes wider than the zoom scale for these overviews.
|-
|Overview of the very tip of the front end.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_Zoom_out_of_the_very_front_end.png Overview]
|Overview
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|The front has both a mouth a nose and an eye with a pupil. It has just eaten a coin and can smell the one above its nose. See more on this interpretation under the ''Colon like structure'' below.
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|Very front with Cueball looking out at bottom of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/60/1608_1002x1094y_Very_front_with_Cueball_looking_out_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1094+s.png (1002, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1094+s.png (1003, 1094)]
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|The closest entrance to the Destroyer from the starting point is guarded by Cueball. Going straight up from the right wall in the play area will take the hoverboard straight up in front of Cueball. There is a coin behind him where this first corridor turns up into a shaft.
|-
|Very front with playpen balls pit at top of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1095+s.png (1004, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1005:-1095+s.png (1005, 1095)]
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|[[150: Grownups]] and the [[:Category:Playpen balls|Playpen balls Category]].
|The top part of the front of the Star Destroyer also has an entrance as does the bottom section (see above). There is a coin above the hull. This first corridor leads to a playpen pit filled with playpen balls, which is a recurring subject in xkcd. Cueball and Megan is adult sized (i.e. as big as hoverboard Cueball) and it is thus a clear reference to Grownups. There could be water down below the balls as a fish is seen jumping out over the surface. But given that there are no splashes from the balls Cueball throws in the air, it could also just be a gimmick by Randall. To have something like this in a Star Destroyer kind of ruins the mood surrounding these war machines. Something seen several times throughout the spaceship.
|-
|Piñata and Cueball with lightsaber at top of hull.
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:Cueball: No, I got this.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1095+s.png (1006, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1095+s.png (1007, 1095)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Comic: [[1620: Christmas Settings]]
|Although the original {{w|piñata}} was star shaped it is now common to use different shapes like the horse or donkey displayed in the comic. Children usually hits the piñata with a club until it breaks and falls down revealing candy or toys inside. The two Cueballs, Megan and Hairy are adults though as big as hoverboard Cueball, just like in the playpen pit. It is common for adults to participate in hitting down a piñata. But to do it with a {{w|lightsaber}} would defeat the purpose of this game as it will go right through the piñata on contact thus spilling the contest out on the floor in the first go. The Cueball with the lightsaber can thus confidently say that he got this. But it seems like the other Cueball is trying to stop him and that Hairy, holding the club they were intended to use, puts a hand protectively on Megan. A lightsaber would be a very dangerous weapon and should not be used lightly in a playful setting. As a side note any candy/toy in the path of the ligtsaber as it passes through the piñata will melt/burn immediately. Lightsaber noises are mentioned in the title text of the Christmas Settings comic coming out shortly after this one.
|-
|Shaft and corridor at bottom of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1608_1007x1094y_Shaft_and_corridor_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1094+s.png (1007, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1094+s.png (1008, 1094)]
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|Lots of sections inside the Destroyer consist of long corridors with shafts going up and down here and there, but with no interesting features or objects. This is the first example of such a corridor, near the bottom hull of the Destroyer, showing that it is not a featureless outer hull. Apart from the ever-increasing width of the Destroyer there are some steps up and down, to indicate some of the features seen in the Star Wars movie.
|-
|Swimming pool with Ponytail jumping at bottom of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1094+s.png (1010, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1094+s.png (1011, 1094)]
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|Another enjoyable activity to attend to by adults is located here in the front sections of the Destroyer: A swimming pool. Don't worry about Ponytail jumping head first into the water, as can be seen in the hidden passage image it is rather deep. Cueball and Megan is already in. Supposedly there is a rung ladder up again on the side, but it cannot be seen in this slice through the Destroyer. A coin hangs in the top corner of the room. When standing with the hoverboard on the bottom of the pool it will be possible to see that there is a coin on the outside of the hull in the indentation in the hull below the pool. From the outside, however, it will not be possible to see that there is a pool above as the water is the same black (to the eye) as the solid hull.
|-
|Shaft and corridor with three coins at top of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1011x1096y_Shaft_and_corridor_with_three_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1096+s.png (1011, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1009:-1095+s.png (1009, 1095)]
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|After leaving the piñata room going down the corridor there are two coins. One under the shaft going up and one further down the corridor. Going up the shaft there is also a coin on the outside of the top hull at the top of another of the small step where the hulls width increases faster than the steady slope that are always there. This coin is almost on top of the one in the corridor below.
|-
|Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1015x1093y_Dead_end_shaft_with_rubbles_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1093+s.png (1015, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1093+s.png (1016, 1093)]
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|From the shaft that exits the Destroyers bottom hull there goes a corridor to the left. But only for a short while. Then there is a pile of rubble like there has either been a cave in or as if someone has been digging this tunnel and then has stopped. This is consistent with the mining company seen much further down the Destroyer. There is a coin in front of the rubble.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/34/1608_1019x1095y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This zoom-out gives an overview of a large section of the Destroyer with only a long corridor and two shafts going down from it. There are almost no features, but for Hairy standing carefully at the edge of one shaft looking down into it. So again, an example of the larger areas inside the destroyer where nothing happens.
|-
|Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1016x1095y_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1095+s.png (1016, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png (1013, 1096)]
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|This is the shaft that came out of the piñata room. At the end of this image is the first shaft going down where Hairy is standing carefully at the edge looking down. Before that a shaft goes up to the top hull where a coin is situated on top of a small step down. At the other end of this "step" to the left there was also a coin.
|-
|Three coins room and shafts.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1023x1095y_Three_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1095+s.png (1023, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1095+s.png (1022, 1095)]
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|This is the room where the long corridor going from the piñata room ends. Although it is a quite boring room it has three coins, the highest coin density seen so far when entering the Destroyer from the front end. A shaft down outside the room prevents this from being a dead end.
|-
|Triple coins and a single coin on top of a shaft at top of hull.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1023x1097y_Triple_coins_and_a_single_coin_on_top_of_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1097+s.png (1023, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1097+s.png (1025, 1097)]
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|There is a very long straight stretch on top of the hull where nothing happens after the step down, but suddenly there are three coins in a row, and then a shaft down, with a ledge out over the shaft opening, with yet a coin, makes it worth the players while to come up there as well.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with ledge at bottom of hull.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_1025x1092y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This overview at the bottom of the hull shows the shaft (to the right) that was covered with a ledge at the top of the hull. Although it takes a small turn left before going down and out at the bottom it thus almost runs straight through the Destroyer and also here at the bottom a thin ledge covers the shafts exit. But here are no coins. There are another shaft and two corridors.
|-
|Shall '''not not''' pass room and parachutes at one of two ledges at bottom of hull.
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:Cueball: You shall not not pass!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1093+s.png (1026, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1092+s.png (1028, 1092)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|The shaft going out at the bottom left is the one mentioned above. Going through the corridor above takes hoverboard Cueball into a room with a Cueball blocking his way holding a handout towards him. He almost uses the last part of a [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes?item=qt0445998 famous quote by Gandalf] when facing the {{w|Balrog}} in the mines of {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}}, but here with an '''extra not''' added to negate the "not" from the quote. So "You shall ''not'' '''not''' pass" = You '''shall''' pass, and when you do you get a coin. It is easy to miss that there are two times not in the sentence, which is for certain intentionally by Randall, as the spoken sentence thus do not match the appearance of Cueball with a handout.

If hoverboard Cueball jump ship at the ledge to the left, he can fly over to the next ledge where Cueball and a guy with black hair is preparing to jump of the ship using parachutes. Behind them there is a shaft going up into the ship with a coin.
|-
|Two coins room and shafts.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_1026x1095y_Two_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1095+s.png (1026, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1095+s.png (1027, 1095)]
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|The shaft going up in the two coins room comes from a corridor below that also connects to the shaft to the left. The corridor is right above the ''you shall not not pass'' room below. The shaft to the left goes up the ledge covered exit to the top hull.
|-
|Steven Universe and Crystal Gems; and ice cream prediction.
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:Megan: Prediction: Seconds before you die, you will remember these words.
:Box: Ice cream
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1095+s.png (1031, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1095+s.png (1029, 1095)]
|
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|In the room to the left, Megan talks to Cueball while they walk towards an ice cream freezer (at the end of the room with a coin on top). Her comment that she can predict that he will remember those words when he dies could be quite sinister. Since they are so boring the only way, she can make this prediction come through is if she now turns around killing him. If she waits a little longer, she will not have to move him so far before she can hide his body in the freezer...

In the room to the right is a group of four stick figures representing {{w|Steven Universe (character)|Steven Universe}} and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#/media/File:StevenFinalPoster.jpg Crystal Gems]. From left to right, Steven is next to {{w|Pearl (Steven Universe)|Pearl}} (as a stick figure with shorter hair), {{w|Garnet (Steven Universe)|Garnet}} (as a taller stick figure with sunglasses and an afro), and {{w|List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#Amethyst|Amethyst}} (as a shorter stick figure with long hair). The Crystal Gems are a "superhero" team of alien "Gems" who protect the earth, with their newest member being the half-Gem, half-human Steven. (Elsewhere on the bridge of the Destroyer, Darth Vader references Steven Universe in that Steven is half Gem.) A coin is hovering over Garnet's raised left hand.

Below these two rooms runs a corridor that goes left to the shaft going up to the top hull. The shaft going down goes to the two guys with parachutes. There is a coin next to the shaft. To get from this corridor to the rooms above hoverboard Cueball either have to go out on the top hull or move through the rotary that follows to the right.
|-
|'''Entire Rotary section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/67/1608_Entire_Rotary_section.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Entire_Rotary_section_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png Swallow Runner]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|To the left in this overview is the roundabout like structure that Cueball above it calls a rotary, which has given name to this section of the ship that follows after it up to the section with the cave. The Destroyer becomes much broader here especially due to the two large steps that the top part of the hull takes in the middle and to the right in this image.

In the hidden passage image, the cotton trap is revealed with the two entrances to the room below and to the corridor to the right that leads past different traps into the cave. At the top and bottom middle of the image there are two cars, and as it can be seen in the hidden passage image the hoverboard cannot rest on top of those.

In the composite ''Swallow Runner'' image the Rebel Runner has been placed in the opening in the bottom hull to reveal that this is indeed the opening in the bottom of the Destroyer that swallows the entire Rebel Runner in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie. This feature is thus a direct reference to the "real" Devastator Destroyer and thus a direct reference to the opening scene and to Star Wars. Below the individual scenes in the Rotary section will be described.
|-
|Empty room and Cueball on corridor going to rotary at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: Ugh, rotaries.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1608_1029x1097y_Empty_room_and_Cueball_on_corridor_going_to_rotary_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1096+s.png (1032, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1097+s.png (1030, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|A big empty room near the top hull and a coin in a shaft going down from the top hull. The shaft going down will lead to both the room with the ice dream box and the one with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems. The corridor going right will go down into the rotary, see next scene. Cueball is looking down into this and expressing his dislike of this {{w|Traffic circle|type of structures}}. Maybe he has bad experience with these in real life traffic.
|-
|The rotary.
|
:(none)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1608_1033x1095y_The_rotary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1095+s.png (1033, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1095+s.png (1035, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the {{w|Traffic circle|Rotary}} that has given its name to the section of the Star Destroyer from the structure itself and right of this until the section where the cave is located. A rotary is also known as a ''traffic circle'' and is a large version of a roundabout with several roads exiting from it. At the top of the upper left passage (see the scene above) Cueball is looking down into this structure and calls it a rotary (hence the name).

The centre contains a small room with a stick figure wearing a tonsure haircut (where only the top of the head is shaved bald), a potted plant, and a coin. The plant resembles a pea plant, and the tonsure is a haircut associated with monks, so this is likely to be Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a 19th century Czech monk who discovered the principles of genetic inheritance by crossing strains of pea plants.

Large rotaries may have more than four roads leading away, but in this case, there are four, and neither of them are leading straight away up/down or left/right. Three of them are almost at a 45-degree angle, but the one going down is only a little of to the right, and soon turns straight down.

Only other feature is the Cueball rushing right on his bike in the corridor leading away from the rightmost exit. There are several bikes throughout the comic, with two more in the Globe of Death above the bridge of the Destroyer and one going down the right slope of the Volcano.

Entering the rotary for the first time there are of course three new directions to move along in, making it a special point in the users' exploration of the Destroyer.
|-
|Photon cannon Tetris piece and mini robot at bottom of hull.
|
:(None - the cannon part has been transcribed in the torpedo section)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1093+s.png (1034, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1092+s.png (1035, 1092)]
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Tetris}}
|The bottom part of the scene has already been described in relation to the torpedo rain. But as can be seen here it is possible to enter the torpedo room almost directly from the bottom exit of the rotary above. Coming down that way is also a T-shaped {{w|Tetris#Colors_of_Tetriminos|tetriminos}} from the Tetris computer game. At the end of the corridor with the small robot there is a shaft, and in the exit from the corridor there is a coin.
|-
|Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d3/1608_1038x1092y_Shaft_corridor_with_coin_and_room_with_coin_over_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1092+s.png (1038, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1036:-1092+s.png (1036, 1092)]
|
|
|
|
|Going down from the corridor from the scene above takes the player through a small room with a coin at the bottom of the hull and then out over a thick ledge in the air beneath the Destroyer. There is a large gap starting here that ends in the ''Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.
|-
|Giant octopus in Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1094+s.png (1038, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1093+s.png (1038, 1093)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|A giant octopus with a dome shaped head in a dome shaped room with coins above its tentacles left and right. In TE there are several octopuses, and this animal is also often used in xkcd in general. But particularly in ''The USS Laws of the Land'' there is both a large octopus beneath the ship and one giant tentacle reaching up from the deep. If this is considered a monster, then this section of the ship may be the monster section as there also seem to be some kind of horned monster in the room to the right of this room.
|-
|Hamster ball and stilts room.
|
:Megan: ''AaaaAaaa''
:Guy with hair: I can't leave.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1095+s.png (1038, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1039:-1096+s.png (1039, 1096)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster balls category]]
|This room is the first after exiting the rotary to the upper right. The shaft goes down past the octopus room (see scene above). It is the second instance with a hamster ball in this comic, the first being a small girl (with Megan like hair) in the left part of the world just before the plateau. But in this case, it is the adult Megan that is inside the ball, not only running but actually standing on a skateboard. She is clearly not in control. As the player is on a hoverboard there is some kind of connection with a girl on skateboard. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE Megan also uses a skateboard, inside a rounded structure.

Megan is not alone though as there is also a guy (with a wee bit of hair) on stilts. The stilts seem to be very high and if the guy wishes to stay on these stilts his assessment, that he can't leave the room, is true. Between his stilts there is a coin. The world highest stilts are shown in [[482: Height]] and in the next "game" comic after this one, [[1663: Garden]], it is possible to "[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts.png grow]" a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/Garden_Stilt_walker.png girl on stilts].
|-
|Box with horns and coin room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1043x1093y_Box_with_horns_and_coin_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1093+s.png (1043, 1093)]
|
|
|
|
|
|In this room across from the giant octopus room there is yet a possible monster hidden in a box. Two large horns jut out of the box, but if they are standing on the box or is sitting on some horned beast inside the box is not clear. But they look rather ominously, and if it is a monster, it would with the giant octopus make this section a monster section. A coin is hovering between the horns. The shaft up is the only way to move further down inside the Destroyer without moving over or under the hull.

Its appearance in the Star Destroyer with the coin makes it superficially similar to a holoprojector, with the coin as the holorgram - it is unclear whether this is the intended meaning, however.
|-
|Zoom out of three empty rooms near bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1046x1094y_Zoom_out_of_three_empty_rooms_near_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A dead end with three empty room with no coins or any interesting features, thus only this zoomed out version is displayed here. The rooms are just right of the horned box and below is the part of the hull that is the opening where the Destroyer will swallow the Runner. It is not a complete waste to come over this way, as the room to the right with the hoverboard is central to the comic. But no need to go into these rooms if trying to pick up all the coins as fast as possible.
|-
|Corridor with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1046x1097y_Corridor_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1097+s.png (1046, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|
|This is one of the longer corridors without any features. It is the only way to move right inside the destroyer in this section. The corridor goes above the three empty rooms in the scene above and also above the hoverboard room in the scene below. At the end of the corridor there is a shaft up. The only reason this segment is shown is because of the coin.
|-
|Two hoverboards room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1095+s.png (1048, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1094+s.png (1048, 1094)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]]
|Self-reference to title of this comic, and the conversation guide comic released shortly after this is also referencing this entire comic as it complains that hoverboards are not real yet. There is both another hoverboard Cueball and a hoverboard Megan in this room, but compared to the players hoverboard Cueball these two are somewhat more advanced and managed to swoop around the coin in the middle. The room can only be entered from the right. To the left there is only a dead end with three completely empty rooms, so don't bother going there if you are in a hurry to pick up all the coins...
|-
|Zoom out with dead end corridor car room and shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f9/1608_1051x1097y_Zoom_out_with_dead_end_corridor_car_room_and_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Overview of the end of the long corridor with the coin mentioned above. It ends here in the dead end at the bottom. The corridor above has Cueball lying on the hood of a car in a small room quite a distance from any exits to the outside.
|-
|Cueball on hood of car room and a giant step with coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1099+s.png (1048, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1099+s.png (1049, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this dead-end room Cueball is lying on the hood of a car. Hoverboard Cueball cannot copy this as the car is not a solid segment of the image. The hull is not far away, and the car room is right where one of the large steps in the upper hull appears. Right outside there are two coins at the bottom and top of the step. These cannot be seen from inside the room. There is no fast way to get outside from here, and actually no easy way to get a car into this room either. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE there is also a car stuck in the middle of the skyscraper a long way from the parking cellar. In this comic there is actually even one more car in the Destroyer, but that is at least close to an exit ledge (see scene below).
|-
|Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull.
|
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?
:Blonde woman with hair bun: Whatever. Who cares it’s probably fine.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1090+s.png (1049, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1050:-1090+s.png (1050, 1090)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan is referring to the fact that spaceships in Star Wars often fly fast also inside the atmosphere of a planet. Not something you would normally design for. Though in the case with the Destroyer and Runner they did not go inside the atmosphere as depicted here in the comic, in the scene from the original Star Wars movie. The blonde woman comes with a comment typical for b-moves, who cares if this would work in real life, it is just a film.

There is a large gap in the bottom hull ending here and starting in the ''Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.

Behind the two women, who are standing on a thin ledge where the large gap ends, there is another car (see scene above). At least it is clear how this car could get into this room (and out again). Above the car there is a coin. Behind the car there is a corridor going into the Destroyer, but quite high up on the wall for a normal exit. The car cannot be used as a step to jump in there, as it is not part of the solid picture.
|-
|Ponytail flying up a shaft towards a coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1091+s.png (1053, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1091+s.png (1054, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|The corridor from the room with Megan and the car is long. In the middle of it there is a shaft going up (a long way). Just inside this shaft Ponytail is seen flying up, hands in front of her like another Superman. Above her in the shaft there is a coin. This is not the only place in the comic where Ponytail is flying. Although here it seems like an automatic thing (like Superman), whereas down below on the ground below the Destroyer she has to flap her arms violently, but then actually manages to take off from the ground. In a spaceship like this Destroyer there could both be a system to let people float upwards, some gravitational effects or just plain effects of the flying itself, whereas down on the ground flying like that would be magic for sure. But at least there seems to be some correlation since it is Ponytail that flies in both cases.
|-
|Trap covered with leaves and flying Ponytail at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: ...And we cover it with leaves so no one sees it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1090+s.png (1055, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1091+s.png (1055, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|After the shaft where Ponytail flies up (see more in the scene above) the corridor continues to a pit which Cueball and a kid have been covering with leaves and sticks. It seems like they are making a trap, which is even more likely seeing that the bottom of the pit has six sharp spikes that would likely impale any unlucky victims that fell in. Alternatively (given the words Cueball uses), they have made this hole by mistake, and now tries to cover it so no one sees it. If he meant it to be a trap, he might instead have phrased it, "so they won't see it until it is too late". The kid looks like the kid in the room at the rotary, as they have the same hairdo.
|-
|Corridor and shaft with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8f/1608_1053x1094y_Corridor_and_shaft_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1094+s.png (1053, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|
|The shaft going up from Ponytail below goes past the corridor to the left that goes to the hoverboards room. There is a coin in the entrance.
|-
|'''Entire Corridor peristalsis and colon.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_Entire_area_around_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Zoom out to entire area]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|With the comment from Hairbun about peristalsis - the bowel movement getting food etc. through the digestive system, and with the three chambers with coins above a colon like structure, leading into the corridor with these motions, with a coin both going down the colon and through the peristalsis, there can be no doubt that this is the digestive system for this "living" spaceship, and coins is what it lives off. This interpretation can further be extended to the very front end, where there is the appearance of a head that eats coins (see the front-end overview) and at the rear end a coin is bouncing out at the very last shaft before the very end of the ship. Suggesting where this animal gets rid of the waste products afterwards. (The rest of the ship is not part of this interpretation).
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and two-coin rooms at top of hull.
|
:Hairbun: Ah, yes. Corridor peristalsis.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1099+s.png (1054, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1100+s.png (1057, 1100)]
|
|
|
|
|Following the corridor from the room with Cueball on the hood of a car leads to a part of that corridor experiencing {{w|peristalsis}}. This is the kind of muscle movements that causes food to move through the {{w|human gastrointestinal tract}}. Hairbun is telling Cueball that this is indeed corridor peristalsis, so a way for the corridor to move stuff along. As there are coins at both end of this section it is quite clear that these coins are moved along by the corridor itself. The indentation of the corridor is so strong that the corridor is not wide enough to allow hoverboard Cueball to pass through. So, to get both coins another route needs to be found. The shortest way is to go up the shaft behind Hairbun, passing the two empty rooms with coins on the way to the top of the Destroyers hull. To get to the other side hoverboard Cueball will then have to pass through the Destroyers colon like structure to the right. See below. As mentioned in the overview above this is a clear reference to the human digestive system, or in this case the Destroyers ditto.
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and colon.
|
:Cueball: Wheee!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1055x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1099+s.png (1055, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1099+s.png (1056, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Moving a little further down right than the peristalsis scene above the bottom part of the {{w|Large intestine|colon}} like structure can be seen, closely connected to this other intestine like structure (The three coins in the left part of the image are the same as in the scene above). The reason for showing this scene is to show the closeness of these two digestive system structures. In ''Box that cleans food holders'' in TE Ponytail yells "Wheee!" as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach, a mix of the action performed by Cueball and Ponytail in the colon like structure. Ponytail is sliding towards a coin at the bottom in one of the colon loops. The top part of the colon can be seen in the next scene.
|-
|Colon like structure with Ponytail and Cueball sliding down.
|
:(None - text already transcribed in the scene above ''Corridor peristalsis and colon''.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_1058x1100y_Colon_like_structure_with_Ponytail_and_Cueball_sliding_down.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1100+s.png (1058, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1101+s.png (1058, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|The entrance from the top to the colon like structure have a Cueball looking down into it. The rest of the scene has been described above.
|-
|Huge step and three room with coin and Cueball looking into shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/14/1608_1058x1102y_Huge_step_and_three_room_with_coin_and_Cueball_looking_into_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1102+s.png (1058, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1103+s.png (1056, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the upper entrance to the colon like structure into which Cueball is looking. (See scenes above). To the left is the top hull of the Destroyer which takes two huge steps up at this place. Cueball is standing in a corridor with three small rooms, each with a coin in the top of the room. This seems to be a place to hold the coins until they are ready to move down the colon like structure, where another coin is already moving through, going down to the corridor peristalsis in the corridor below, where more coins are moving through the ships digestive system. Going over the hull and down this colon like structure is the fastest/shortest way between the two separated sides of the corridor peristalsis.
|-
|Coin in corridor under Buffer stop room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1060x1099y_Coin_in_corridor_under_Buffer_stop_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1099+s.png (1059, 1099)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Moving away to the right from the corridor peristalsis takes hoverboard Cueball past a small shaft up into a room with two coins in front of what looks like a train {{w|buffer stop}}. One coin in front of each of the buffers. Continuing along the corridor there is another coin. The corridor continues and a shaft is going up. This part of the Destroyer is the beginning of the cave section. The cave can be entered from above by continuing along the corridor.
|-
|Cannon with coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_1060x1103y_Canon_with_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1103+s.png (1060, 1103)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1103+s.png (1062, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|There is a similar cannon with a coin in front of the barrel on the top of the Runner below the Destroyer. This cannon is on top of the hull above and right of the three room above the colon like structure. The shaft going down right is over the next cave section.
|-
|Coin in corridor below mining company in dead end corridor.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1062x1101y_Coin_in_corridor_below_mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1101+s.png (1062, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1101+s.png (1063, 1101)]
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|Two Cueballs work as a mining company in this corridor which they are expanding. It could be that they are digging for gold, but if that gold should be represented by coins, it is weird that the coin hangs above the Cueball with the {{w|pickaxe}} in the higher section of this corridor, instead of being in front of him. The other Cueball drives away with a wheelbarrow full of the rubble they have dug free from the ship. This is another indication of how big the ship is. It is easier to just dig a new corridor than to build the corridor into the ship to begin with. Further to the left in the Destroyer there was another dead-end corridor that looked like it had been dug out - see the scene ''Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.'' But here the mining company had left (even though there also was a coin there). The shaft to the left goes up to the hull right of the cannon from the scene above. The corridor below goes left (past another coin) to the shaft down to the corridor with peristalsis. To the right it goes above the cave to the dance hall room with piano.
|-
|Mining company in dead end corridor also coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ca/1608_1063x1102y_Mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor_also_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1102+s.png (1063, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1103+s.png (1063, 1103)]
|
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|
|The same mining company scene as described above but with the view moved to show the top hull, right of the cannon. Right of the shaft going up there is a coin. At the very top right of the hull, the basketball dropped by the Cueball like kid can be seen as it comes bouncing down the length of the hull. This basketball scene is part of the cave section and will be described below.
|-
|'''Entire cotton trap and spark gap room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/65/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap.png Entire area around] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|
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|
|Here are two different zoom out of the cotton trap room with the spark gap room below. In the first overview a zoom out is shown with only these two rooms. There are four coins inside and two on the outside of the hull. The three coins around the cotton trap is almost connected by the cotton, as can be seen in the next overview where the hidden passage through the cotton is clearly marked in red. As can be seen there is a very deep black hole beneath the surface of the cotton (which Ponytail states is cotton). From the bottom of the cotton trap going left will lead to a hidden entrance to the top of the spark gap room. Going right will lead to the hidden entrance to the corridor with traps going to the left entrance to the cave. There are coins on each exit as well as just above the cotton to the right. The third image is a further zoom out to show the entire surroundings of the cotton trap room. (And the last is with the cotton etc. turned red). Here the traps in the corridor leading to the cave can be seen as well as the opening into the cave. Below that the strange spiral corridor can be seen. Both these scenes will be described below in the cave section. To the left the shaft and corridors that connect the two rooms even if not noticing the hidden passage can be seen. It is the corridor with the trap covered by Cueball and the shaft where Ponytail flies up. Three more coins are visible in this wider zoom out for a total of nine coins in this area. The two rooms will be described in further detail below. All of the rooms that can be entered through the cotton trap can also be entered through different entrances from other routes. This means that failing to find out how the cotton trap works, will not prevent the player in reaching either the spark gap from below or the cave to the right.
|-
|Entire Cotton trap room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Overview with the entire cotton trap with and without the cotton shown in red. See above and below for more details.
|-
|Coins in two corridors towards cotton trap.
|
:(None - transcript is written in the scene below.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1055x1095y_Coins_in_two_corridors_towards_cotton_trap.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1095+s.png (1055, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1095+s.png (1056, 1095)]
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|The corridor going from the shaft with the flying Ponytail to the Ponytail warning about the cotton trap also has a coin. The coin in the exit of the other corridor to the shaft was mentioned previously as it is the exit from the room with two hoverboards. See more about the cotton trap below.
|-
|Cotton trap room with Ponytail.
|
:Ponytail: Watch out for the cotton. It's a trap for someone, I think.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/28/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1095+s.png (1057, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1094+s.png (1059, 1094)]
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|Entering this room along the top corridor reveals Ponytail standing at the beginning of a steep descend. She clearly warns the player about a trap made of cotton. As can be seen in the hidden passage image most of the black at the bottom of the descend is not solid floor but a hidden passage. Given Ponytails comment it must be assumed to be made of cotton. Given that hoverboard Cueball is not affected by the cotton and can move either up again, or out left or right it is not a trap for him. But other unlucky persons falling into the cotton might not be as lucky. If this is not a trap in itself, there are several traps if moving out to the right (where the coin is below the cotton level). This corridor goes to the cave, but first after passing five traps. See more about the entire surroundings in the overview scenes above.
|-
|Cotton trap room bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1092+s.png (1058, 1092)]
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|The bottom of the cotton trap is a dark place. But as can be seen in the red hidden passage image it is possible to move both left and right to get out. In either case a coin can be obtained at the exit. The left exit leads to a shaft going into the spark gap room below, and the right exit leads through a corridor with traps into the cave. Going up in the spark gap room below will clearly reveal the shaft up. But if the cotton trap has not been discovered at this time, it is likely that the player will not attempt to breech the wall and would thus fail to enter the cotton trap from below. The coin could easily seem enough reason for this dead-end shaft above the room.
|-
|Entire spark gap room to bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1058x1090y_Zoom_out_of_spark_gap_room_to_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire spark gap room, both showing the two coins beneath the outside hull as well as the coin in the top shaft (leading to the cotton trap to the right of this) and the coin behind the spark gap. See more below.
|-
|Spark gap room
|
:Cueball on wall: Shh.
:Electrode bottom: JS
:Electrode top: JS
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4d/1608_1057x1092y_Spark_gap_room_with_Cueball_on_the_wall.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/1608_1058x1090y_Spark_gap_room_only_with_Cueball_on_floor_and_coins_at_bottom_of_hull.png Buttom part to below hull]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1090+s.png (1058, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1092+s.png (1057, 1092)]
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|This room is called the {{w|spark gap}} room, because there seems to be a spark between the two large electrode like structures marked JS. Cueball is watching this, maybe he is the evil inventor that has created this device. At least another Cueball is climbing high above him up on the wall to the left, and when the player passes him on his hoverboard he asks the player no to talk about him (''shh''). It is unclear if he is sneaking away, spying, or sneaking down to attack the other Cueball. A coin is hidden behind the spark gap, but as the spark gap is of the "red" type of black hoverboard Cueball can pass without problems into the coin. As can be seen in the other image displaying the lower part of this scene, the coin outside of the hull is close by, and actually the two coins above each other down there are in the same small image (see the first of the small images).
|-
|Corridor with fire and hammer traps.
|
:Hammers left: Chomp Chomp
:Hammer right: Chomp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1094+s.png (1060, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1061:-1093+s.png (1061, 1093)]
|
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|This is the corridor exiting the cotton trap room (with a coin as mentioned previously), see the cotton in the hidden passage in red image. The corridor leads to the cave, but to get there five traps has to be passed. First there are four hammers with jagged edges that opens and closes with much force as perceived by the noises. And then a pit with a fire has to be surpassed. Of course, as can be seen in the "red" image, neither of these traps are any problem for hoverboard Cueball as they are all of the red type of black. But it is a clear indication that the player is about to enter some interesting place, which is true as the cave is one of the most interesting places in the Destroyer. Although there are two other ways to get into the cave, it is by far the most interesting way to enter the cave for the first time!
|-
|Corridor to cave opening.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1062x1094y_Corridor_to_cave_opening.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1094+s.png (1062, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1094+s.png (1063, 1094)]
|
|
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|
|Same scene as above but only the right part with the fire, to show how the corridor enters the beginning of the cave.
|-
|Zoom out with spiral corridor at bottom of the hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1063x1091y_Zoom_out_with_spiral_corridor_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Below the corridor to the cave is a strange corridor which spirals into nothing in the middle. There are no coins in this section, so this is a zoom out without any further zoom in on this section. The room at the top seems like a starting point to go into the spiral. The corridor to the right goes into the huge glitch floor room below the cave. The shaft down goes out the bottom of the hull.
|-
|'''Entire Cave Bridge and rear end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|-
|'''Entire cave section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_Entire_cave_section.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Entire Cave and Glitch floor room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ea/1608_Entire_Cave_and_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|From this image it is clear that the two largest rooms in the Destroyer are almost of the same size and positioned almost on top of each other. They only need a little parallel shift to make them into one big circular room. The Glitch floor room is a feature that can be seen in the Star Wars film, as a protrusion beneath the hull of the Destroyer. In an actual Star Destroyer, this protrusion holds the hyper matter reactor that powers the ship as a whole.
|-
|'''Entire Cave.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/24/1608_Entire_Cave_and_shaft_above.png With shaft and room above] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Pyramid]
|Overview
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|In ''Sky Toucher'' there is also a floor in the skyscraper with trees inside, just like the tree inside the cave inside the Destroyer.
|-
|Lake with tree birds and puma on rock at exit in the bottom left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1093+s.png (1065, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1094+s.png (1067, 1094)]
|
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|{{w|Puma}}, or mountain lions, are important predators in an ecosystem and would help keep the deer population in this cave under control.
|-
|Three birds in the top left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1095y_Three_birds_in_the_top_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1095+s.png (1065, 1095)]
|
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|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} has its origins in bird conservation, and it is only natural that an Imperial Park such as this (see below) would also contain birds.
|-
|Gazebo puma deer Cueball with bow and talk of Palpatine in the middle of the cave.
|
:Cueball: I know it seems weird, but every Star Destroyer has one of these rooms.
:Cueball: Say what you will about Palpatine's politics, but he's a staunch supporter of the imperial parks and the Coruscant Audubon society.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1093+s.png (1068, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1094+s.png (1068, 1094)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Palpatine is the evil emperor and the capital "planet" Coruscant is a planet with city all over the solid parts of the surface. So that he is interested in keeping parks both on this planet and on all his Star Destroyers comes as a surprise...
|-

|The broad shaft going into the top of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_1067x1097y_The_broad_shaft_going_into_the_top_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1097+s.png (1067, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1096+s.png (1068, 1096)]
|
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|-
|Deer and exit below lamp coin and Black Hat in the bottom right side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1093+s.png (1069, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1093+s.png (1071, 1093)]
|
|
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|
|Black Hat is sitting in a cubby high above the ground and looks to be asleep.
|-
|Lamp coin and Black Hat in the top right side of the cave.
|
:Insects: ''Bzzzzz''

:Black Hat: Zzz
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png (1070, 1095)]
|
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|
|In this image the coin is part of the scenery as it is the lamp the buzzing insects fly around. When it is gone it reveals a broken lamp, and an insect that had been hidden behind the coin.
|-
|Corridor from shaft to the two coins in corridors.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_1063x1099y_Corridor_from_shaft_to_the_two_coins_in_corridors.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1099+s.png (1065, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1098+s.png (1064, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Two coins in corridors and four-coin room above shaft to cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_1067x1104y_Two_coins_in_corridors_and_four_coin_room_above_shaft_to_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1100+s.png (1067, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1098+s.png (1067, 1098)]
|
|
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|-
|Chandelier room with two coins above cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_1070x1098y_Chandelier_room_with_two_coins_above_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1098+s.png (1070, 1098)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1098+s.png (1071, 1098)]
|
|
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|
|The coins here look like lightbulbs, although it is unclear what a chandelier is doing in a room like this.
|-
|Zoom out with dance room and basketball and slinky stair at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/1608_1068x1101y_Zoom_out_with_dance_room_and_basketball_and_slinky_stair_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
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|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|-
|Coin close to basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_1063x1104y_Coin_close_to_basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1104+s.png (1065, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1104+s.png (1064, 1104)]
|
|
|
|
|This coin could also be something that's bouncing down the slope of the Star Destroyer hull - see below.
|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1104+s.png (1067, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1104+s.png (1066, 1104)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|2 Cueballs, Megan and Ponytail are playing basketball on top of the sloped hull of the Star Destroyer. This has proven to be a bad idea, as the slope of the hull has caused the basketball to bounce and roll down the slope, while Cueball runs behind it to catch it.
|-
|Dancing room with piano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1069x1101y_Dancing_room_with_piano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1101+s.png (1069, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1101+s.png (1070, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant in "An American in Paris."
|-
|Slinky staircase at top of hull.
|
:Slinky: Slink slink slink
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/1608_1069x1104y_Slinky_stair_case_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1104+s.png (1069, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1103+s.png (1070, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|While it is unclear why the slinky is on the star destroyer at all, the stairs are a reference to the slinky {{w|jingle}} which says "walks downstairs..." The noise is also a reference to the creation of the name "slinky" which was based on the word slink in the dictionary.
|-
|Upside down room and Giddyayup cowboy riding the ship at top of hull.
|
:Cowboy: Giddyayup!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/1608_1073x1104y_Upside_down_room_and_Giddyayup_cowboy_riding_the_ship_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1104+s.png (1072, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1103+s.png (1074, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|The man on top of the hull is a reference to riding a horse and specifically an American cowboy riding a horse. The (Cueball?) is using reins to "steer" the star destroyer much the same as one would steer a horse. In addition, "Giddyayup" is the command for a horse move. The upside-down room is most likely just a simple visual gag, but could also be a reference to the fact that star destroyers have artificial gravity in SW and thus any direction could be "up" depending on where you are.
|-
|'''Entire Glitch floor room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/52/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Including two rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Also including two close rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
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|In the zoom outs the coin below the hidden glitch in the floor can be seen at the very bottom of the pictures. It is quite a drop to catch it, but if you did not expect it, it is likely you would reach it before going up again.
|-
|Bottom center of Glitch floor room with coin sign and Cueball.
|
:Large sign:
::!
::Caution:
::Glitchfloor.

:Floor signs:
::!
::!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1088+s.png (1069, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1088+s.png (1070, 1088)]
|
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|
|
|You are warned not to step onto this glitch floor! But if you do you can drop down to yet another coin far below the Destroyer, but even farther up above the ground.
|-
|Two rooms with coins right of Glitch floor room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_1074x1090y_Two_rooms_with_coins_right_of_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1092+s.png (1073, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1091+s.png (1074, 1091)]
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|-
|Cannon protruding below the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_1075x1088y_Canon_protruding_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1088+s.png (1075, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1088+s.png (1076, 1088)]
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|This cannon is a standard cannon seen on a star destroyer in Star Wars and is not out of place here. It is somewhat unusual that this is on the bottom, since these cannons are generally on top though they are all over the ship, and there are turrets on the bottom of the First Order star destroyer in Force Awakens. Also, the shape is more reminiscent of a real tank gun than the squarer turrets in Star Wars, though this is probably just an effect of Randall's drawing style, rather than anything significant.
|-
|Entire area around the bridge.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_Entire_area_around_the_bridge.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4b/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_rear_section.png Entire bridge area] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_emperor.png Brdige and emperor] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c2/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_globe_of_death.png Bridge and globe of death] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png Actual bridge] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png Vader twice and emperor]
|Overview
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|This is the main bridge of the Star Destroyer, including the command deck. It hosts both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpantine aboard. The Globe of Death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generators.
|-
|Ponytail with paper plane and coin below her on top hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1077x1107y_Ponytail_with_paper_plane_and_coin_below_her_on_top_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1106+s.png (1078, 1006)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1105+s.png (1077, 1105)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Cueball also throws out a plane in Click and Drag from the skyscraper. This also happens in the ''Sky Toucher'' in TE where it is Ponytail again.
|-
|Tarkin on the bridge and Ponytail with paper plane.
|
:Cueball: The fault, dear Tarkin, is not in our star destroyers, but in ourselves.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1107+s.png (1077, 1107)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1108+s.png (1077, 1108)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|| This is most likely a reference to the book (then made into a movie) titled "{{w|The Fault in Our Stars}}". The title of which is a reference to a line in {{w|William Shakespeare |Shakespeare's}} play {{W|Julius Caesar (play) |Julius Ceasar}}; "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves". Grand Moff Tarkin is the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
|-
|Darth Vader talks about Steven Universe on the bridge Megan adjust antenna.
|
:Megan: Such a pain adjusting this thing every time we move

:Darth Vader: ''Breathe''
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a crystal gem,
:Darth Vader: ''Breathe'')
:Darth Vader: so he's half- Are you getting all this?
:Hairy: Yes, my Lord!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1109+s.png (1077, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1110+s.png (1077, 1110)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|Darth Vader refers to Steven Universe from the TV series. His mother is a Crystal Gem, so since his father is human, he is only a half gem, which is a joke in itself. Steven and his family are located inside a room in the middle of the Destroyer. Maybe as prisoners or it could be Vader is just a big fan since he talks about them on the bridge.
|-
|Globe of Death at the top of the Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1110+s.png (1078, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1112+s.png (1077, 1112)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This structure of the Globe of death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generator globes as can be seen in the films.
|-
|Fire system with pure oxygen and two coins room.
|
:Hairbun: In the event of a fire on one of the decks, this system will seal it off and pump in pure oxygen.
:Ponytail: Wait, ''Oxygen?'' Not a fire suppressant like-
:Hairbun: Ugh, ''boring''.

|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1080x1105y_Fire_system_with_pure_oxygen_and_two_coins_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1105+s.png (1080, 1105)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1105+s.png (1081, 1105)]
|
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|
|This is a reference to a {{w|Gaseous fire suppression}} in which tanks similar to those shown are filled with an inert gas, usually nitrogen. Similar systems are referenced in [[1737: Datacenter Scale]]. This system is generally used in large server rooms, where a room with fire will be sealed off from the rest of the servers, and the inert gas will flow into the room, extinguishing the fire, at the cost of whatever was in the room. Since this could be deadly these systems are only legal in rooms with little or no human interaction. The character on the left (Possibly Megan with hair buns) starts off by describing this system, though the system on the star destroyer has the key difference of piping in oxygen, instead of nitrogen, which Ponytail questions. Megan responds "Uhh, ''Boring''." which is technically true. An Inert gas will have a little visible effect, and the fire will slowly die. Piping in oxygen, however, is not a valid way to extinguish flames, as it would feed the fire instead of extinguishing it, though, if you have an adequate seal, this might not be as much of a problem as it sounds. The fire will eventually consume all of the oxygen and die. Unfortunately, there are 3 problems with this. The first is simple: there are people on a star destroyer, and this system will kill them if they happen to be near the fire. The second is that in addition to simply feeding the fire the oxygen is explosive, which could potentially blow the doors that seal the decks, allowing the fire to spread. The third is in the wording of (Megan?); who says that it will seal off the affected ''deck'' which is SW generally refers to an entire level. While this may just be a wording error by Randall, given the humor of the rest of the system, it would not be a great leap to imagine a system that seals off a whole floor regardless of the size of the fire, killing everyone on that floor. In addition, given that the Empire is evil, it is also not a stretch to believe that they would kill an entire deck for a small fire just because the alternative is boring. This kind of scenario was in fact explored in the novel {{w|Star Wars: Lost Stars}} where it is described that entire decks were destroyed during the scene in {{w|The Empire Strikes Back}} where a star destroyer chases the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. This destruction is pointed out in the novel and dismissed, as it is in this comic.
|-
|Darth Vader’s gold bullion and Cueball and Ponytail in small room at the top of the hull.
|
:Cueball: Aha! Darth Vader's secret gold bullion reserves! We'll be rich!
:Megan: I'm not sure this is canon.
:Bags: $ $ $
:Boxes: $ $ $ $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_1080x1108y_Darth_Vaders_gold_bullion_and_Cueball_and_Ponytail_in_small_room_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1108+s.png (1080, 1108)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1109+s.png (1079, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Despots are generally known for having vast reserves of wealth hidden away secretly, often in the form of gold. Here, Megan remarks on finding Darth Vader's secret stash. This is obviously not canon, as Cueball remarks - Darth Vader's palaces in both canon and legacy storylines have been largely devoid of treasures and wealth, being mostly a place of meditation on the Dark Side.
|-
|Large crocodile near globe of death at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e8/1608_1081x1110y_Large_crocodile_near_globe_of_death_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1110+s.png (1081, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1111+s.png (1079, 1111)]
|
|
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|Crocodiles are cold-blooded creatures, and a flat, open, sunlit space such as the top of the Star Destroyer Bridge would be a great place for a crocodile to bask in the sun to warm itself.
|-
|The Emperor Palpatine and his birds at the top of the hull.
|
:Guy: My emperor...
:Guy: We all share in your newfound enthusiasm for birdwatching.
:Guy: But normally one watches them in the wild, rather than drugging and imprisoning them in a house of stairs.
:Emperor: ''Silence.''
:Bird: Chirp
:Bird: Chirp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_1083x1109y_The_Emperor_Palpatine_and_his_birds_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1109+s.png (1083, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1109+s.png (1084, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|House of Stairs may refer to the M. C. Escher {{w|House Of Stairs|lithograph}} with that title, but this is more likely to be a reference to the William Sleator novel {{w|House of Stairs (Sleator novel)|House Of Stairs}} (named for the Escher work) which features five teenage orphans who wake up inside an environment with similarities to that in the Escher print (but with normal gravity).
|-
|Coin behind the rear end at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1087x1108y_Coin_behind_the_rear_end_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1087:-1108+s.png (1087, 1108)]
|
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|-
|'''Entire Prince of Persia maze.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_both_exits.png Including both exits]
|Overview
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|
|Computer game: {{w|Prince of Persia}}
|Compare to this [https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png picture of level 1] taken from the game.
|-
|Corridor left of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1073x1101y_Corridor_left_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1101+s.png (1073, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1101+s.png (1072, 1101)]
|
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|
|See above.
|-
|Left entrance to Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1076x1101y_Left_entrance_to_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1101+s.png (1076, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1101+s.png (1077, 1101)]
|
|
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|
|See above.
|-
|Left part of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/03/1608_1079x1102y_Left_part_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1102+s.png (1077, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1102+s.png (1080, 1102)]
|
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|
|See above.
|-
|Right part and exit of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1082x1101y_Right_part_and_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1101+s.png (1082, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1102+s.png (1081, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right exit of Prince of Persia maze and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1084x1103y_Right_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1102+s.png (1083, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1103+s.png (1083, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Ant Queen and alarm ante room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/10/1608_Ant_Queen_and_alarm_ante_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In this section all rooms have the same dome shaped ceiling that goes a little below the walls of the corridors.
|-
|Corridor with alarm and trapped Cueball.
|
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1075x1094y_Corridor_with_alarm_and_trapped_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1094+s.png (1075, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1094+s.png (1074, 1094)]
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|Cueball appears to be trapped beneath a platform and is looking up, presumably wondering how to escape this situation. This has been made more ominous by the alarm going off nearby, which adds to the seriousness of the situation. A coin has been stored alongside some boxes nearby as well.
|-
|Ant Queen in Destroyer.
|
:Cueball: What's up?
:Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
:Cueball: Eww.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1095+s.png (1078, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1094+s.png (1077, 1094)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic: [[1610: Fire Ants]] and [[1641: Hot Dogs]]
|The ant comic was released only a week after this comic and refers how cool ants are. Ants are also used twice in TE A zoom in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others: an ant queen, a clear reference to the ant queen in the Destroyer. The other comic is a discussion running along exactly the same template ending in ''Eww''.

This is probably a reference to a part of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" in his Ender series. In it, the main character, Ender, visits a hive queen "bugger" he saved on his travels and became friends with, at a time after the queen has settled in on a new planet. At one point, Ender brings other humans to meet the queen at a time when she was giving birth to some of her drones. This is most likely meant to represent a parody of that conversation or else represent a comedic idea of his first conversation with her when she had been birthing, where Ender is alone and is speaking to the Hive Queen. In this version, when he finds out that she is in the process of birthing more ants, rather than being compassionate and understanding with the Queen (as he is in the book), Ender is weirded out like the other humans he brings along with him later.
|-
|Entire shafts from top to bottom towards the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_Entire_shafts_from_top_to_bottom_towards_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the longest shaft in the Destroyer, and with the other shaft going out at the rear end, it is possible to go from the top room at the emperor and out beneath in a very short time.
|-
|Coin in the longest shaft.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1084x1099y_Coin_in_the_longest_shaft.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1099+s.png (1084, 1099)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Might be a reference to how the emperor fell to his first death by being thrown down a shaft in the throne room by Darth Vader onboard the 2nd Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
|-
|Cueball and Megan hanging on to each other in a shaft figuring this out.
|
:Cueball: Okay
:Cueball: We can figure this out.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1084x1095y_Cueball_and_Megan_hanging_on_to_each_other_in_a_shaft_figuring_this_out.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1095+s.png (1084, 1095)]
|
|
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|
|
|Possibly a reference to a similar scene in "The Emperor's New Groove", although neither character here is obviously a llama.
|-
|Zoom out on light bulb with corridor and other room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1084x1092y_Zoom_out_on_light_bulb_with_corridor_and_other_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
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|-
|Giant light bulb room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1090+s.png (1084, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1085:-1090+s.png (1085, 1090)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''The pieces everything is made of'' in TE a light bulb is used as reference for the entry on tungsten as the filament in such bulbs is made from this element.
|-
|Hairbun proposition room and Cueball losing his sandwich at the rear end.
|
:Hairbun: Use a proposition instead of a preposition if you need something to end a sentence with, baby.

:Cueball: My sandwich!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_1086x1091y_Hair_Bun_Girl_proposition_room_and_Cueball_losing_his_sandwich_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1091+s.png (1086, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1089:-1091+s.png (1089, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|One comment is inside the other on the outside of the Destroyer. Cueballs sandwich will fall to the ground.
|-
|Coin bouncing out from a shaft below the hull.
|
:Coin: Bounce
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_1086x1088y_Coin_bouncing_out_from_a_shaft_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1088+s.png (1086, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1090+s.png (1086, 1090)]
|
|
|
|
|In relation to the colon interpretation (see above) then this would literally be the rear of this living spaceship, and the coin is the waste going out the rear entry!
|-
|Megan hanging on below the bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan Hmm.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/1608_1082x1088y_Megan_hanging_on_below_the_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1088+s.png (1082, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Megan has found herself in a precarious situation and is humorously underreacting by going 'Hmm'.
|-
|Zoom out on shaft and small dead-end room at the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1088x1098y_Zoom_out_on_shaft_and_small_dead_end_room_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Zoom out on shafts and part of the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1088x1105y_Zoom_out_on_shafts_and_part_of_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
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|-
|Coin in a small indentation corridor at the rear end.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1090x1102y_Coin_in_a_small_indentation_corridor_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1102+s.png (1090, 1102)]
|
|
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|
|
|It is unknown what part of the Star Destroyer it could explicitly be hidden in. However, a Star Destroyer would have more than enough surface features for such an indent to exist and have a coin inside it.
|-
|Megan wants synesthesia at the rear end at bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan: I want synesthesia so bad I can ''taste'' it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1090x1088y_Megan_want_synesthesia_at_the_rear_end_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png (1090, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1213: Combination Vision Test]]
|{{w|Synesthesia}} is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. One typical version is where numbers are perceived as having colors. This was used in the comic referenced. In this comic a wish for something makes Megan almost taste it. If she did indeed have this dysfunction, she might already have what she wished for... This is one of the rare incidences where there are two almost identically Megans in one scene.
|}
</div>

==Technical aspects==
The game was made by [https://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].

===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, and it is not possible to go down further than image with Y coordinate 1073 (and it goes down to 1069 in the full image), so there is a bottom limit in the game. If using a [[#Cheats|cheat mode]] this may be different.

There are a couple of issues in the game. On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area before the black image loads and permanently traps you immobile (unless you [[#Cheats|cheat]]). Sometimes, the timing of the game is completely off, which can make Cueball move extremely slowly or quickly, which makes the images jump and makes the graphic look worse. The latter error was actually used to discover something about how you move when pressing the arrows - see under [[#Functionality|Functionality]]. 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 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 (see [[#Cheats|Cheats]]).

If you keep down the left/right control, you will keep moving along in that direction as long as no object blocks you.
A jump will only take you a certain height. The jump is initially very quick, then gravity stops you and reverts the direction. When descending, you accelerate quickly but reach a terminal velocity after a few seconds. If you jump repeatedly while keeping a left/right control down, you will jump in that direction. If you only jump once while holding down the direction control, then you will stop moving forward after about 2.8s. From then on, you will just keep falling straight down or stop where you reached if on the ground. This makes quite a difference when you jump into an opening from a high structure. If the background is completely white, you cannot see that you do not continue to move forward and will thus not be aware that you are now falling straight down, instead of going left/right.

It can actually be quite difficult to notice as you will leave any structures that can indicate this issue very quickly. Of course, if you notice that you land much too close to some high structure from where you base jumped, you will begin to understand. For instance, falling off the floating rock, and not moving away from under neath it during that long fall. The timing was discovered because of one of the bugs in the program that sometimes [[#Functionality|makes Cueball move extremely slow]], so one jump takes more than 3s. The solution to keep moving to either side while descending is that, after the jump, you release and repress the left/right control. You will then continue moving in that direction as long as you do not jump again. If you keep holding one of these buttons, you will also keep moving laterally. When you jump up over a long distance or continue to jump hover over the landscape, you will not have this issue, since every jump reactivates the lateral movement.

===Animation===
There have before been several interactive comics and also a few with animations. But these animations have typically been lines of flashing text or changing lights. This comic is the first with a character that is specifically changing position in animation style. Apart from this, there are also flashing text when leaving the play-area and text that appears and disappears as described in [[#Coins|Messages in Play Area]]. This also happens with the text written to begin with explaining how to play the game: ''Use the arrow keys to move'', which disappears upon touching the keys. Below are two images showing two kinds of animation of the hoverboard Cueball. The first image shows the eight standard animation that can easily be seen. They are
*Standing still facing right (starting position)
*Standing still facing left
*Moving left along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Moving right along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Jumping while facing left looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Jumping while facing right looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Falling while facing left looking down with hoverboard pointing up
*Falling while facing right looking down with hoverboard pointing up
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball standard animation.png]]

There are several in-between frames of Cueball turning from left to right and even more from right to left. The second image shows eight in between animations (together with four from above). Not all the positions are necessarily caught in this collage here, but there is only a limited amount of them and all last less tahn a split second. They have been sorted so it could look like Cueball has just turned to the right standing still, then jumping while turning right, then turning right while in jump, to finish the turn while falling.
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball turning animation.png]]

===Image coordinates===
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 from the starting tile can be seen here: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png, with the coordinate (X, Y) coordinate (1000, 1074).

Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. The image tiles names are listed as coordinates in an X - Y grid with X in the range from 928 to 1108 and Y in the range from 928 to 1112.

Internally in the game, the position of the player is given for instance as (X: 512187, -Y: -549668) for the starting position. Then these numbers are divided by 512 and rounded down. This gives the coordinate of the tile that the hoverboard is currently in.
:(X: 512187, -Y: -549668)/512 => (X, Y) = (1000.37, -[-1073,6]) => (1000, 1074) when the numbers are rounded down.
The bottom left corner of the first tile, would thus be (1000, 1073), and the top left corner (1000, 1074) => (512000, -549888).

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed-out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas. Here is an example which uses the initial Play Area:

{{cot|Play Area used as example}}
Using the Play Area as an example some of the features mentioned in this section will be explained.
The images used below can be seen together [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All of Play Area|here]].
The hoverboard begins in (X, Y) = [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
But even while staying within the Play Area, defined as the area where you will not be told to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area], you can see all or part of twenty images.
You can move one image left and right of the starting point before reaching the walls, and one image up without getting too high. But from there you can see part of the images one step further left, right and up, and from the starting level you can see part of the black images below as well.
This makes it a five times four images rectangle.
This first example shows a full-size image combined from these twenty images that make up the play area starting in the top left corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/998:-1076+s.png (998, 1076)] and finishing down the right corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1073+s.png (1002, 1073)].
Here are only the images themselves, nothing with the game parts, i.e. coins and hoverboard Cueball: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Images_Only.png Play Area Full Size Images Only].

The next example shows both where the tiles are and what you see to begin with, i.e. the starting view when loading the comic to begin with. Still without any in game details.
Here the tiles are lines out with green and the view frame is in red. From this it can be seen that the view is somewhat larger than a single image.
More precisely the view is 1.43 times longer and 1.34 higher than a tile giving an area almost twice as big (1.93 times), but only going about one-third of a tile length in each direction: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Tiles and View].
This third example shows the game version, with coins and hoverboard, but still the hole Play Area and hence also the read viewing square.

This is included to indicate which coins can be seen to begin with and also how the view is centered around Cueball and the hoverboard.
Cueballs center is also the center of the view. His center is defined as the line of his body in the X direction and just above his hands in the Y direction.
The view is twelve times as high and thirty times as wide as the Cueball on hoverboard (and compared to a tile these numbers are 9.4 and 20.8 times).[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard and View].

The last and fourth example is the same as above, but again with the green tiles.
This to indicate the size of a tile compared to Cueball
It also shows that although there are twelve coins in the starting view, the one at the top left is clearly in the image above, and the three others at the top are grazing the top edge of the image: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a3/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard Tiles and View].
{{cob}}

===Cheats===
[[File:1608_MetroidXK.png|500px|thumb|right]]
A standalone cross-platform [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl open-source] remake of this comic is available. It has extra features, such as offline play, arbitrary game window size, persistent games state on exit, save up to ten locations and teleport to them at will, and an explorable world map. It is available to dowload [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl/releases here].

There's also a satirical crossover with the classic game {{w|Super Metroid}}, allowing the user to explore the world as Samus in search of powerups and secrets, while encountering danger at every turn. You can find more information [https://web.archive.org/web/20170223172620/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=113083&start=120#p3913102 here] and download it [https://www.xeloh.com/Releases#MetroidXK here].

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:

'''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. 
'''Click to expand:'''

*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white Gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.

*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed

*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -10 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)

*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity

*'''Noclip mode:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''explorer.pos.x = *Value* or 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 necessary for exploring in this way.

* '''All the above:''' ''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(explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.

* '''List all coins:''' ''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 code below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with i.am.gandalf
{{cot|View hacks}}
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:

<pre>
var coinsnotfound = [];
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
if (explorer.objects[T].got == false) {
coinsnotfound.push([
explorer.objects[T].x1,
explorer.objects[T].y1
])
}
}
console.log(coinsnotfound);
</pre>
To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

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

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "blue";
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;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "blue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "blue";
}
linecolor = "deepskyblue";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "deepskyblue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " ";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + (((ang+270+180)%360+180)%360-180).toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

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 = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid blue";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 50);
</pre>

To see how many coins you've collected:

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

console.log(coinsfound);

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)
{{cob}}

{{comic discussion}}

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[[Category:Comics with color]]
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1608: Hoverboard

2025-10-03T16:10:05Z

Sprucegrouse: Added warning to Spoiler Alert not to use Safari (which does not support the hidden doors and other pass-though figures, which are essential features of the game). Reworded the Alert for clarity.

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}
{{TOC}}To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1608|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
This is an [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] made to celebrate the release of [[Randall]]'s new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day. The [[Header text|header text]] also [[Header text#2015-11-24_-_Thing_Explainer_is_out_today|changed that day]] to shout out that the book was released on that day. This is a platforming minigame, in which you collect coins while riding on a hoverboard.

The title refers to a {{w|hoverboard}} (which resembles a hovering skateboard without wheels) which has been most [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE prominently featured] in the movie {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}. {{w|Marty McFly}} traveled to the future in this second installment, more precisely to [https://www.facebook.com/October212015BTTF 2015-10-21], and this comic was released just over one month later 2015-11-24. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33785285 have] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HI137m7XA4 come] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLwNGBB_Yb0 to] [https://www.wired.com/2016/03/hendo-2-hoverboard/ pass] before reaching the date from the movie, but are more uncommon in our world, along with other inventions like [https://www.terrafugia.com/ flying] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-1pXbW5wVg cars] and [https://www.soundandvision.com/content/wear-your-music-thinkgeeks-soundtrack-shirt#jo8J1DassbWxlptj.97 musical clothing]. Randall is known to have had [[:Category:Electric skateboard|electric skateboards]], which is also thematically related, although another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]].

Given Randall's enjoyment of movies and time travel it is very likely that this game is also a tribute to the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies. But the release day of the game has been used to promote his new book (as is clear with the text in the start screen of the game), and this explains why it was not released on the Back to the Future date. Apart from the date of release and the text about the book, the game does not seem to have any direct relation to the book; there are, however, several scenes in the game that could be seen as [[#Reference to Thing Explainer|references to ''Thing Explainer'']]. Instead, the main part of the game is all the references to several movies and other stuff that has often been featured in xkcd as well as many of the other comics.

===Game Features===
{{spoiler|The best way to enjoy this comic is simply to {{xkcd|1608|play the game}}! (Just be sure to play using a web browser other than Safari.) If you haven't tried (hard) playing it "cold" already, reading beyond this Alert is going to cost you, in terms of your overall game experience.}}
The game features an {{w|animated}} [[Cueball]] riding on a hoverboard which can take [[#Animation|several different positions]]. The controls are the left, up, and right arrows, as written on the start screen until you begin the game, after which the text disappears. There are alternatives as explained in the [[#Functionality|Functionality]] section. The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights, and can move left and right both while jumping and descending (see more under controls).

The player begins in a line-drawing maze (called the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/All_play_area_hanging_all_coins.PNG Play Area]) with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" terminal. 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 [[#Coins|text messages]] 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 [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player]. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to double-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red [[#Coins|error message]]: "'''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area]'''".

However, if the player follows their desire to explore the world outside and disregards this message, they can take hoverboard Cueball outside beyond the tall walls surrounding the initial play area. And here they will discover an entire world that can be explored left and right (and above), including numerous points of interest and {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} similar in style to comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. There are also many more [[#Coins|coins]] to collect, 169 coins overall, so 152 more than those from the play area. There are also 116 in the right side alone, and 36 on the left.

Although this game is reminiscent of Click and Drag, this was the first time an actual game, where the user moves an object in front of the drawing, has been released on xkcd. In previous "games" this has not been the case. In Click and Drag the user only moves the drawing into the view section. And in for instance the two previous [[April Fools' Day comics]], [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]], the user does not move anything, but only supplies choices, text and drawings. However, already on the next {{w|April Fools' Day}} a new game, [[1663: Garden]], was released where the users also actively moved items around on the screen and could make items disappear (like taking coins in this game.). The ability to infinitely doubles jump allows us to reach beyond just the ground.

===Main themes===
There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main themes are '''{{w|Star Wars}}''' and '''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'''. Below there is a [[#Details and references|list of details and references]] to these movies and much more. For instance, there are 19 references to SW and 6 to LOTR.

The largest part of the game is located on the '''right side''' of the play area and is mainly a world dominated by references to ''Star Wars''. Most noticeable is a recreation of [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=112 the opening scene] in the {{w|Star Wars (film)|first film}}, where {{w|Princess Leia|Princess Leia's}} space ship ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'', also known as ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png The Rebel Blockade Runner]'', is flying over [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png the desert] planet {{w|Tatooine}}. Here it is followed by the {{w|Star Destroyer}}, ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]''. The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png desert ground with these two space ships] above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png commented on] by [[Megan]] who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyer's hull.
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground, but there are three [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png wires from the ground] that connect (and thus guide you) up to ''The Runner'' and from there [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png 100+ torpedoes], which are fired [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down on the Runner] coming [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png from the Destroyer] above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png looking up and reacting] or like [[White Hat]] looking from the tip of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Washington Monument] and reacting [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png by saying]: "Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''."). There is also a giant island floating very high above the flagpost in the left side of the world, with no indication of its existence.

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png such a Destroyer]. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins are located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many, many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png huge cave] with trees and animals. At [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png the bridge] we meet both {{w|Darth Vader}} and the Emperor himself, {{w|Palpatine}}. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance, Darth Vader discusses {{w|Steven Universe}}, bringing up Rose Quartz and Steven himself ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png who can be found with the Crystal Gems] in a different part of the Destroyer).
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a Crystal Gem...
There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the Destroyer, some of these are also Star Wars related like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png the wedding scene] where {{w|Jabba the Hutt}} is mentioned.

To the '''left side''' is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here, the main theme is ''The Lord of the Rings'' mainly with the presence of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png volcano] where for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Megan tries to throw] in {{w|One Ring|''rings'' of power}}, as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the xkcd game represents Mt. Doom. Frodo, {{w|Sauron}}, and {{w|Gandalf}} are all mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text. Two {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png talking about Frodo] and {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien}}, Sauron's name is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png read up by Megan from a book], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure] in the crater and also his name is used in the [[#Coins|message]] you receive if you collect [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG all possible coins].

The two worlds do conflict though, as an {{w|X-wing fighter}} is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png parked at a gas station] to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote ''You shall not pass!'' from his fight against the {{w|Balrog}} is modified by [[Cueball]] who is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png ''not'' trying to block your path] to a coin inside a room in the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that {{w|Andy Serkis}} who played {{w|Gollum}} in LOTR, now plays the {{w|Supreme Leader Snoke}} in the new Star Wars movie, and [https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/6/64/Supremeleader.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/270?cb=20151223201852 his appearance] as Snoke is not that much different from Gollum's. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds one of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Randall would not have known this last part at the time that this comic was released, but he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis' involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/star-trek-fans-rivalry-george-lucas-roddenberry/ naughty reference] to {{w|Star Trek}} from inside [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the bridge] of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a long-haired woman (maybe [[Danish]] since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans and [[Hairbun]] behind her, which could represent Princess Leia with her [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1b/Princess_Leia%27s_characteristic_hairstyle.jpg special hair style]) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_Comparing_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_real_level_1.png complete depiction] of ''[https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png Level 1]'' of the computer game ''{{w|Prince of Persia}}'' down to the three coins being in the place of three items to take in that game, and at least two of the opposing sword fighters in the correct places as well.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' was released on December 14, 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in [[1585: Similarities]], when another movie ({{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot ''BB-8'' that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section could be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although {{w|the Hobbit}} has been released as {{w|The Hobbit (film series)|three films}} over the previous three Christmases it was Star Wars that dominated the Christmas a month after this comic's release.

===Extra Hoverboard pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size). These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]]''' - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]''' - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the [[#Environment|Environment]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages]]''' - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the [[#Secret passages and hidden places|Secret passages and hidden places]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/All image links]]''' It is linked from the [[#All images|All images]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins]]''' It is linked from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots]]''' It can be linked from several sections, but among others from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]]''' It will be linked from the [[#Details and references|list of details and references]], which will be using these images in the explanation.

===Characters===
Almost all main [[:Category:Characters|characters]] in the xkcd gallery are used more than once, especially there are three characters that are used several times. Number one is of course [[Cueball]] (with close to 90 appearances) who is already shown at the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png starting point]. He is also the first character seen when walking both [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png right] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png left] (where he speaks the first line to the left).

Then follows [[Megan]] with at least 40 appearances, she is even shown twice in the same location three times, one of these three even occurs within one of the [https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png small images]. She is also shown with Cueball in his first appearance to the left, and she is the first to speak a line to the right [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png here].

Also [[Ponytail]] is well represented with 26 appearances (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png here)].

[[Hairy]] (with different hair styles) is used 7 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png here]) and [[Hairbun]] is used 5 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png here)].

Two of the main characters are used twice: [[Beret Guy]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png here]) and [[White Hat]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png here]).

The only exception is that the main villain of xkcd [[Black Hat]] who is very hard to find. He is only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png shown once] in the comic where he very uncharacteristically just sits and snores at the right wall in the cave inside the Destroyer (is it really him...?). The only other hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png on a stick] under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not that kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see [[405: Journal 3]]). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could also be any of the Cueballs close by…

Also [[Blondie]] seems to be only represented once, while in her reporter mode while discovering a bug before the volcano as can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png here].

There are also several characters that are not recognizable as either any of the standard xkcd characters or in any other way (see for instance a few of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding guests]). But there are possibly some of the minor characters are used like [[Danish]] at the bridge in the Blockade Runner ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png here]) but this cannot be confirmed, she just looks like her and has some similarities teasing the Star Wars fan.

Several places in the comic it is clear from the size and the behavior that some of the characters are kids, see for instance the Blondie image mentioned above, where two kids looking like Megan and Hairy stand behind her, but they would in principle not be Megan or Hairy despite appearance, as these named characters are adults.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books, and shows; for instance Darth Vader ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png here]), Gandalf ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png here]) and Steven Universe ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png here]) all three mentioned above, and some real life people: you can find [[Elon Musk]], who has a [[#Secret passages and hidden places|hidden lair]] under the Volcano (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png here]), and Gregor Mendel, hanging out on a Star Destroyer with a pea plant.

Furthermore, there are many animals (like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png the puma and the deer]) in the cave, some even rather big like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png octopus] or even gigantic like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] (all three from inside the Destroyer). There are also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each spaceship ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png here from the Destroyer]).

==Environment==
This is the whole comic image, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red. See also a collection of different [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!
[[File:1608 full.png|1300px|link=1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]

===Secret passages and hidden places===
There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. You might have discovered this yourself if you stayed in the play area, as the platform below the inverted parentheses is only solid at the edges. Some of these places out of the play area even hide secret passages or hidden rooms. You can reveal them by [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1608:_Hoverboard#Cheats_and_Exploits activating goggles mode].

One notable hidden area is Elon Musk's volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here without using goggles mode even if you know it is there. (For more details, see [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages|secret passages]].)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the {{w|Washington Monument}}, which is almost the highest point with solid ground. It is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. Even if you go up enough, you will almost miss it, as the Monument is not aligned to the island. (The [[#Viewers|maps]] can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. Getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG Gandalf-like wizard]. (See more regarding [[#Coins|coins]] below.)

===Coins===
There are 169 total coins in the comic. For more details, see the [[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins|coins location]]. The highest-located coin in the game is beside the large rock on Rock Island, while the lowest-located coin is a toss-up between the one in the volcano lair, in the well, and on the rogue wave talking to Cueball. (There's also a coin under the lava but it's not at the bottom of the room.) On top of the eggs in the stork nest, on the far right of the image, there are ten coins. These are the most coins that can be collected in one place outside the play area.

The Coins are not part of the drawing, as they are added later and are superimposed on top of the comic image. This means they are always on top of the black parts of the image, even in secret paggsages. There are no coins located over any part of the solid bedrock or walls in the comic, but sometimes they coins are placed over some of the black parts that you can walk through. See example here [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_with_coin_1070_1095.png with coin] vs. [https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png without coin]. The coin is here a lamp, and then when it is removed it reveals an exploded lamp and also one more insect. See a picture here of the coin delivery after [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Reaching all the boundaries|reaching all coins and all the boundaries]].

Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector. The table contains examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
In Chrome and Firefox, there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined". Safari, as noted elsewhere, is not recommended. See [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Coin collecting messages|screen-shots]] or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
!# coins
!Text when depositing this number of coins
"X" is the number of coins collected
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/0_coins.PNG 0 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 0 coins in 1 second''' You successfully avoided all the coins.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1_coin.PNG 1 coin]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got a single coin in 1 second''' It's a start.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/2_coins.PNG 2]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/4_coins.PNG 4 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 3 seconds''' Not bad!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/5_coins.PNG 5]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/9_coins.PNG 9 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 12 seconds''' Terrific!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/10_coins.PNG 10]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/55/16_coins.PNG 16 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 10 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG 17 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 17 coins in 15 seconds''' You found all the coins! Great job!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/18_coins.PNG 18-41 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 430 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/42_coins.PNG 42 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 42 coins in 460 seconds''' No answers here.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d8/45_coins.PNG 43-168 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 460 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG All 169 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds''' Are you Gandalf?
|}

Once you leave the play area, you get a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG flashing warning message] in red letters at the bottom of the screen:
{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"| '''Return to the play area'''
|}
This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time). Then, it pauses for about 1.3 seconds and repeats five times, flashing a total of 15 times in just about 11.3 seconds. The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period. If you re-enter later, it will flash once you leave again. The play area is anything within and below the middle part of the walls just outside the starting maze.

===Boundaries===
The whole map is 1920 pixels wide, for a length of 10,656' or 3247.9488m. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground preventing you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves. In the upward direction there is theoretically also an invisible wall, but while jumping, [[Cueball]] and his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you jump; in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for Cueball to fall down again once the button is released. So, although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. When the comic was first released, it could have been possible that there were some hidden unexplored parts. Shortly after it was posted, however, a [[#Viewers|map]] was created which covered the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest).

To the far left is a blond woman wearing her hair in a bun, looking right. She tells you about the Destroyer, should you have gone this way without finding it yet.
:Woman: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

The highest straight rise into the air to something other than white is Rock Island, just left of and very high over the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of the Island, you are standing almost as high up as possible (the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tad higher). There is a coin here one step next to the rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over Rock Island's edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game.

As for the deepest parts of the image, the volcano lair and the deep well (halfway to the volcano on the left) are tied. The deepest part where you can stand, however, is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rogue wave is talking to Cueball:
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ... But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.

Taking a route through all the extremes mentioned here (the lowest, highest, leftmost, and rightmost solid positions within the game) can be achieved in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. It takes 1 minute and 52 to get from the starting point to the leftmost edge. While we do not have a definite speed for the hoverboard, we can obtain the dimensions of the map by using the Washington monument. Assuming it reflects the real-life dimension of the monument, it is 100 pixels tall, while the actual monument is 555'. This means that 1 pixel is about 5.55 real-world inches.

===All images===
Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for the (1000, 1074) starting point image.] '''Here is a page with a table of all the links to images: [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]].''' The individual images are so small and cut off at "random" intervals, so you will often be unable to see both a person what they're sayin in the same image.
See for instance this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding scene] to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as they are in the link): [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1073+s.png (1037, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1074+s.png (1037, 1074)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1074+s.png (1038, 1074)]

The maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180. Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). The total possible images in the y-direction are 44. Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction) Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)

The number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which don't even have a number/or active link on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate. The same also goes for the X coordinate: above X=1076 there are also many non-existing images with not active link. All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are non-existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank/white empty air in the game. If you try to load one of the completely blank images like [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1077+s.png (1000, 1077)], three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.

Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1076+s.png (1000, 1076)]. There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or underground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076. For instance, the image below the starting point is completely black [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1073+s.png (1000, 1073)], and so are the next three below. The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1069+s.png (1000, 1069)]. All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1069+s.png (1107, 1069)] (this is not the case to the far left at [https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1069+s.png (928, 1069)]). You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually, you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white. This picture with the wave at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)] gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand. Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1072+s.png (1022, 1072)], which is of course completely black.

Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:

*At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png (1078, 1112)] there are 36 active images. Thus, even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).

*These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last twelve images above this are missing it is still four less than under the bridge.

*Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like [https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)], there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).

*Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the height here going up to 1088, thus also making it twenty active Y images. The only '''not''' completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles [https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)].

==Details and references==
On the page [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]], images covering all individual scenes (in full size and with coins) has been saved and uploaded to be used for reference in the [[#Table with references|table]] below from where they are linked directly. There are also several overviews in smaller resolution. Almost all these images have been made using this [https://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages] which includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of user [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on this [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 Reddit thread].

===References to Thing Explainer===
Some of the scenes in this comic reference the pictures in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. Here are some examples:

*[[1133: Up Goer Five]], the comic that was the impetus for the book. These are both referenced in this game by the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png space capsule] used for re-entry by the astronauts that flew to the moon using the {{w|Saturn V|Saturn Five}} rocket. This capsule is floating down over the plateau before the volcano to the left.

*In ''Sky Toucher'', the last entry explaining a skyscraper, there are several references to the game, one of these being the space capsule just mentioned above. Other references:
**Ponytail throwing a paper plane out, which she also does [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png below the bridge] of the Destroyer. (This is also a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/1110 Click and Drag] where [https://imgs.xkcd.com/clickdrag/6n2w.png Cueball does the same], here even from a skyscraper).
**Cueball is setting up a kite and Ponytail is crawling up in the line. In the comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite]. Being up in a kite is also referenced in both [[235: Kite]] and in the title text of [[1614: Kites]] (from just a few weeks after the release of this comic.)
**There is a floor in the middle of the building with trees, just like there is a cave inside the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png with a tree "inside"].
**Cueball is holding a fishing rod out over the side of the building letting the hook hand in the air. The same [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png can be seen] under the Rebel Blockage Runner.
**Megan is using a skateboard in a strange ellipsoid-shaped room. This can be a reference both to where Megan is seen on a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png skateboard inside a hamster ball] and to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png globe of death] at the top of the bridge on the Destroyer.
**There is a car in the top section of the tower (long away from the parking cellar in the basement). There are two [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png cars inside] the Destroyer, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png one of them] deep inside with no easy access to the outside.
**Two people are standing on a cloud, one of them (Megan) jumps out from it. This is similar to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png two base jumpers] on the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png rock island].
*In the ''Red world space car'' explaining (about the {{w|Curiosity Rover}} on {{w|Mars}}) there are two references to the scenes around the Rebel Blockade Runner:
**Curiosity toasts a marshmallow over a fire as does Megan and Cueball over the exhaust pipe at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the rear of the Runner].
**When Curiosity is set down on Mars by the {{w|Mars Science Laboratory}} (MSL), lowered down in wires below the MSL, the wires were released once the rover was down and then it flies away. In the book Megan is hanging from one of these wires when it flies away. This is similar to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Megan hanging in one of the anchor lines] going from the ground up to the Runner.

*In ''The USS Laws of the Land'' about the ship called {{w|USS Constitution}} (named after the {{w|United States Constitution}} which is explained in the entry just before this one), there are two references to this comic:
**There is both a giant octopus' arm (marked as ''not real'') and a very large octopus under the ship. The shape of the octopus is the same as the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png silhouette of a giant octopus] inside the Destroyer. Octopuses like this are often used in xkcd, and they are also included in the explanation about ''Writing sticks'' (as the source of ink for the pens), as a motive in ''Picture taker'' and in ''Tree of life''. As an example, from another xkcd comic with octopuses see for instance [[435: Purity]].
**There is also a bowling alley in the hull of the ship - a reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png hamster ball bowling] in the left part of the world. Bowling is also used two other places in the book, namely on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and a bowling alley is used for measuring length in ''How to count things''.

*Ants are used three times in the book. A zoom-in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' about geological ages of the Earth, and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others; an ant queen, a clear reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] in the Destroyer. They are of course also in the ''Tree of life''.

*Basketball is shown twice in this comic ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png left of volcano] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png on top of Destroyer]). In the book the size of different ''Playing Fields'' is one of the stories, and it included the field for basketball (i.e. ''circle ball'').

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png huge foot] before the pyramid look like the foot used in the explanation for ''How to count things'' to describe the wight "one kilo" using a picture labeled ''one foot'' (i.e. not the length one foot, as the length is given in meters). A similar experience to the one in [[526: Converting to Metric]].

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png giant light bulb] towards the bottom rear end of the Destroyer is a reference to the entry on {{w|tungsten}} in the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' (i.e. the {{w|periodic table}}). In the book a {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb|light bulb}} is shown and then an arrow points to the {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb#Filament|filament}} which is made of tungsten in the typical {{w|Thomas Edison|Edison}} light bulbs.

*In the explanation for ''Box that cleans food holders'' (Dishwasher) Ponytail yells ''Wheee!'' as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach (bottom left). This is similar to her position and movement in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png colon like structure] inside the Destroyer and Cueball also sliding in this colon yells ''Wheee!''

*In the explanation for ''Bending computer'' Ponytail comes racing on her bike with a laptop on top of the handlebars. She is also seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png racing a bike down the slope of the volcano].

===References to other comics===
There are also many references to other xkcd comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png ball pit] filled with '''[[:Category:Playpen balls|playpen balls]]''', and two adults playing in it, like in [[150: Grownups]]. Also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png the well] in the left part of the world with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png a girl and a coin] at the bottom is likely a reference to the movie ''The Ring'', which has been referenced before in xkcd. Wells have also come up in xkcd in [[561: Well]] and [[568: Well 2]].

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal '''skateboard'''. This is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png used by Megan] in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a {{w|hamster ball}}. There is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png another hamster ball], with a kid (looking like Megan) inside. It is used in a more than human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game to the left. '''Hamster balls''' is another item that has been [[:Category:Hamster balls|prominently featured]] in xkcd.

In the weeks prior to the publication, and especially the weeks after, there were also other comics that had a subject which could refer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:

*[[1600: MarketWatch]] - the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png first that is encountered] in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the base] of the monument to make sure we know it is the Washington monument, and another [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the top] of the monument referring to the {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|aluminum apex}} that constitutes the very tip of the monument, which was very expensive at the time it was installed in 1884, when aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. Today it would not make anyone rich from the metal alone, although the tip would be worth a lot for other historical reasons, but this is not what Cueball's comment is about.
::Cueball to Megan at the bottom: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
::Cueball to White Hat at the tip: Look at that- solid aluminum! We're gonna be rich!

*[[1610: Fire Ants]] - in this game there is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png giant ant queen] inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs. See also [[1641: Hot Dogs]] where Cueball has a similar style conversation, with the same ''Eww'' ending as with the ant queen:
::Cueball: What's up?
::Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
::Cueball: Eww.

*[[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] - this is about super volcanoes, vs. [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png the Volcano], Mount Doom in the game as indicated by Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png throwing rings into the lava]:
::Megan at the edge of the volcano crater: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.

*[[1614: Kites]] - Megan is seen with a kite, and in this comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite] to the left towards Mount Doom.

*[[1620: Christmas Settings]] - another Star Wars reference to {{w|lightsaber}} noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Ponytail practicing] on the Rebel Blockade Runner, and with a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png kid about to hit a Piñata] in the Destroyer.

*[[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]] - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not yet real (only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png in this game]).

*[[1630: Quadcopter]] - in this comic three quadcopters act together to abduct Cueball. Thus, making them sentient, like the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png quadcopter who is speaking to another] over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crater to the left.
::Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.

*[[1632: Palindrome]] - a reference to the famous palindrome about the Panama canal: "''A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''", and thus also to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png song that Cueball sings] at the ruin to the right, where the first four lines is mashup of the palindrome and {{w|Spider-Man_(theme_song)|the Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]):
::Cueball singing:
:::Spider-man
::::Spider-plan
:::Spider-canal
::::Spider-Panama
:::Gates let in
::::Spider boats
:::Flood the locks
::::Spiders float
:::''Look out!''
:::Spiders in both oceans.

*[[735: Floor]] Instead of pretending the floor is lava as in the comic, they stand by the lava pretending that it is the floor.

===All references===
The contents of the comic are documented in the table below. The table first goes through the entire image from left to right along the ground (i.e., going up the volcano and down in the lair, down the well and up to the top of the Washington Monument.) Then, it goes back to the Rebel Runner, and after that follows the torpedoes up to the Star Destroyer. Finally, it goes through the Star Destroyer from tip to rear in four sections, taking everything within each section top to bottom, before moving on to the next section. In the table are the following columns:

*'''Description''' of the scene depicted in the overview links. If the scene is a zoomed-out overview that covers the images below, its explanation is in '''bold'''. This can be used as a guide to where in the image the scenes are located, unless you sort by column.

*'''Transcript'''. Any text has only been transcribed once. If some scenes overlap, the text has only been written in the first or the one where the text is most central. Also, overviews that has been zoomed out aren'ttranscribedd and are listed as (N/A). However, (None) means the scene doesn't contain text. By sorting the transcript, the scenes with text are shown first.

*'''Overview links'''. There can be many, but the first will always be the overview. If there are secret passages or hiddend environment, two versions of the images are included. The second version, ''Hidden passages in red'', marks these passages in red instead of black.

*'''Tiles (X, Y)'''. For the standard images, there is also a link to the defining image tile on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

*'''References'''. Three things are referenced many times, and each has their own column so the table can be sorted on these:
**'''SW''': {{w|Star Wars}}
**'''LOTR''': {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}
**'''TE''': [[Thing Explainer]]
**'''Other'''. There is also a column for "other" types of references so they can also be sorted, without drowning in the three recurring types of references. These can also be sorted, since they start with "Comics:", "Movies:", etc.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" | Description
! rowspan="2" | Transcript
! rowspan="2" | Overview links
! colspan="2" | Tiles (X, Y)
! colspan="4" | References
! rowspan="2" | Explanation
|-
! Main
! Second
! {{abbr|S W|References to STAR WARS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|L O T R|References to THE LORD OF THE RINGS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|T E|References to THING EXPLAINER (Randall's book)}}
! Other
|-
|'''Everything Left of play area.'''|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Section of the image revealed when going left of the starting point.
|-
|Entire Volcano plateau.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d5/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3d/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|About halfway from the Play Area to the volcanos slope, there is a steep plateau. This is the part left of this plateau.
|-
|Woman with white hair bun at the left end of world looking right.
|
:Woman: In the sky,
:Woman: beyond the mountain,
:Woman: I saw a starship.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0928x1082y_At_the_end_of_all_things.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1082+s.png (928, 1082)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The woman at the left end of the world tells about the Star Destroyer in the right part of the world. There are four coins in front of her to anyone coming this far.
|-
|Coin and boulders.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0933x1083y_Coin_and_boulders.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/933:-1083+s.png (933, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/935:-1083+s.png (935, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|A single coin hangs in the air above the rocky ground with giant boulders.
|-
|'''Entire Volcano.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_Entire_Volcano_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Comic: [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]]
|The comic released a week after this one is about a super volcano made in a science fair experiment. As can be seen there is a lair beneath the lava lake. The entrance is revealed by the other link that turns the hidden passages to red. It is for sure possible to get stuck in the lava lake, as everything becomes black in the game when going beneath the surface.
|-
|'''Left Volcano Top.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_0943x1087y_Left_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A zoom out of the left rim of the volcanic crater.
|-
|Basketball on the volcano.
|
:Ponytail: OK, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/936:-1084+s.png (936, 1084)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is a reference to {{w|Pompeii}} a Roman town-city near modern Naples, which has become famous when it was discovered that it had been preserved in the ash when it was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft.) of volcanic ash in the eruption of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} in AD 79. When it was {{w|Pompeii#Rediscovery|found again}} it turned out that people had been surprised by the ash, and thus buried alive. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when they died. This is what Ponytail wishes for her and Megan, when the volcano they are standing on erupts, a rather morbid wish. She wants their sweet basketball moves to be preserved for eternity. In ''Playing Fields'' in TE basketball is mentioned. It is also played on top of the Destroyer close to the bridge. In this case the coin is on top of the basket, but too large to go into the hoop.
|-
|Old man walking up the volcano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_0937x1085y_Old_man_walking_up_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/937:-1085+s.png (937, 1085)]
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|Is it an old man who just walks up a mountain, or a young man using a walking stick? It makes quite a difference to how this scene is viewed.
|-
|Duck at the left crater top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/41/1608_0940x1087y_Duck_at_the_left_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/940:-1087+s.png (940, 1087)]
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|A duck is sitting at the top of the crater. There are several birds in this comic. Another duck looking the other way is found on top of the flag pole near the base of the Washington Monument.
|-
|Megan’s treasure hoard.
|
:Megan: Gooooold!
:Megan: Goold!
:Bags: $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/43/1608_0941x1084y_Megans_treassure_hoarde.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1084+s.png (941, 1084)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1083+s.png (941, 1083)]
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|In the side of the crater there is a small cave where Megan has found a treasury hoard and she is celebrating all the gold she has found, including two coins.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lake.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b1/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left.png Zoom in left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/02/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_0946x1080y_Lava_lake_Upper_shaft_red.png Shaft in lake in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/94/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center.png Zoom in central part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/25/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire Right part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair.png Shaft into lair below] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|These images only cover the part beneath the surface where there is actually still lava, as can be seen in the images where ''Hidden passages in red''. Only the top of the lair below is shown here. From the hidden passage it is here possible to see how to enter this lair. In the images that shows the hidden part the two loose boulders that float (or are outcrops) in the right part of the lake can be seen as well as the two other holes in the lava lakes floor, which all explain why it is easy to get stuck in the lake once you go below the surface and move around. Since everything is black, you do not even know if the game still works and many people may have given up, maybe reloading after not being able to get on with the game. There is no place in the lake where you can get really stuck, as long as you just push upwards while changing direction from left to right, you are bound to get out sooner or later.
|-
|Rock with Gandalf in Lava lake.
|
:Megan: If you breathe out through you nose a little as you jump in, it can keep you from getting lava in you nasal passages.
:Cueball: Artex!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1083+s.png (944, 1083)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Film: {{w|The Neverending Story}}
|The wizard on the rock represents Gandalf from LOTR. What Megan tells Cueball works fine with water, not so much with lava. The horse Artax (pronounced Artex in the film) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y688upqmRXo drowns in the swamp of sadness] while Atreyu tries to save it and yells its name. Drowning in a swamp sucks, but doing so in lava will make death swifter. Both situations, however, indicate that you can actually go into the lava. If playing for the first time and becoming uncertain what would happen if the hoverboard touched the lava, the player might actually not even try to go into the lava, thus for certain would miss finding the lair beneath the lava.
|-
|Quadcopters over lava lake right.
|
:Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/950:-1084+s.png (950, 1084)]
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|Comics: [[1630: Quadcopter]] and in general those about [[:Category:Robots|Robots]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|AI]]
|The comic was released shortly after this one, and is about AI quadcopters that abduct Cueball. One of these {{w|quadcopters}} tells the other that no one will think much of their volcano footage if they actually survive. I.e. they have to get too close to the bubbling surface to survive before they actually obtain the footage wished for. It sounds like it tries to instill courage in them to perform this deadly task. There is a coin below the left copter. Drones has become a [[:Category:Drones|recurrent subject]] xkcd.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lair.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|The three rooms of the volcanic lair (and the entrance haft in the image with hidden passages in red).
|-
|Trending on twitter cave in lair and Lava lake bottom shaft.
|
:Cueball: What news of the world above? Please, tell me- what's hot and viral? ''What's trending on Twitter?!!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6e/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2a/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1079+s.png (944, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1079+s.png (945, 1079)]
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|Comics with [[:Category:Social networking|Social networking]]
|Cueball has been stuck below the lava for some times without access to the internet, and he now craves news from the world above. But it is not really news stories he craves but only the hot and viral videos and what is trending on {{w|Twitter}}. To be addicted to social networks and viral videos is probably a real infliction and it is a pain for Cueball to not be able to get on-line. Two coins are behind him.
|-
|Elon Musk’s cave in lair.
|
:Left Cueball: I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be like... Tropical. And ...Well, ''pleasant''.
:[[Elon Musk]] in the high chair: Back to your desks, swine!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1074+s.png (945, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/946:-1074+s.png (946, 1074)]
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|Comics with [[:Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk|Elon Musk]]
|It turns out that this is [[Elon Musk]]'s lair. Having a secret lair with a hidden entrance is an often uses trope in films. Often it would be the villain (like in a {{w|James Bond}} film) that has such a place, but also heroes, like {{w|Batman}}, uses such hiding places. The joke here is that Cueball has assumed that Elon Musk, an extraordinarily rich and enterprising man, which could be one of these megalomaniacs that might end up being a super villain, would have a bit more class over his secret lair. It also turns out that Elon sits in the cave and shouts at his workers to get back to work, even calling them names. There is also a coin here.
|-
|Ground symbol in lair.
|
:Ponytail: So ''this'' is where it is.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/947:-1073+s.png (947, 1073)]
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|The antenna looking item hanging from the ceiling is the embodiment of the {{w|Ground_%28electricity%29#Electronics|Earth ground symbol}} commonly used in circuit diagrams for electronics. So this is where the Earth is grounded in "real life" and finally Ponytail has found it. To protect themselves i their long search for this Ponytail and Megan seem to be wearing {{w|Antistatic_wrist_strap|antistatic wrist straps}}. This may also be a reference to the Circuit Diagram comic in which a ground is labeled as "bury deep, but not too deep"
|-
|'''Right Volcano Top'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra.png Extra zoom out] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|A zoom out of the right rim of the volcanic crater. In the extra zoom out the eagles can be seen as well, they are high enough to be missed entirely when moving along the crater surface.
|-
|Ring of power and lave floor at the right crater top.
|
:Megan: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.
:Girl with hair bun: Let's play a game where the lava is the floor of a house.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/952:-1087+s.png (952, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/953:-1087+s.png (953, 1087)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Megan tells Cueball that one of the many rings she throws into the crater is probably a {{w|One Ring|''ring'' of power}}, a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. From her last comment, ''or whatever'', it seems she doesn't care too much, which make it clear, from the LOTR universe, that neither of these rings in the one ring. It would not have be this easy throwing them into the lava if it had been. There seems to be 16 rings, which is less than the other rings that are ruled by the one ring, the 9 for the humans, the 7 for the dwarfs and the 3 for the elves (19 plus the one ring 20 rings in total).

The two girls are playing a dangerous game, the exact opposite of the normal version of the children’s game {{w|Hot lava (game)|Hot lava}}, where they pretend the floor in the house is made out of lava, and that you die if you touch it. However, in this version of the game they pretend to play that the lava is the floor in a house, and they may then just walk out into the lava pool, where they would die.
|-
|Megan sliding down slope on snow sleigh.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_0956x1085y_Megan_sliding_down_slope_on_snow_sleigh.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1085+s.png (956, 1085)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1086+s.png (956, 1086)]
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|Megan is sliding fast down the crater side. She will hit a jump near the coin, and would probably fly a considerable distance given the speed she seems to have.
|-
|Eagles over right crater top.
|
:Left eagle: Tolkien said Frodo left the cloak somewhere over here.
:Right eagle: Can't ''he'' just fix it?
:Left eagle: He doesn't want to rewrite that chapter.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Frodo's mithril cloak was taken from him at Cirith Ungol, which, along with other items, was recovered by Gandalf and returned to him at Minas Tirith. Some readers have been confused by this turn of events however, due to it not being present in some versions of the movie adaptation. Two of the {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} from LOTR flies above the right crater top. In this situation the eagles are being used to find {{w|Frodo|Frodo's}} cloak, with one eagle complaining that "he", meaning {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}} the author of LOTR, should just fix the issue without the eagles. This is a reference to the eagles use in LOTR as a {{w|Deus ex machina|deus ex machina}} and the [https://periannath.com/feature/why-doesnt-frodo-just-ride-an-eagle-to-mount-doom/ supposed plot hole] of the eagles not [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Eagles#Flying_the_Ring_to_Mount_Doom flying the ring to mordor]. However, this was of course not possible before Sauron and his ringwraiths were defeated.
|-
|Ponytail racing down the steep slope on a bike.
|
:Ponytail: 114 mph!
:Ponytail: Suck it, previous downhill volcano record-holder!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/958:-1083+s.png (958, 1083)]
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|Ponytail is trying to break the world record for downhill race on a bike on a volcano. The {{w|Cycling_records#History_of_downhill_records|record}} at the time of this comic was from 2002 and was 107 mph (172 km/h) easily beaten by the 114 mph (183 km/h) that Ponytail reaches as she mocks the previous record holder. There were two different records, one for prototype bike by {{w|Éric Barone}} (the 107 mph (172 km/h)) and one for serial production bicycle (102.5 mph (164.95 km/h) set in 2011 by {{w|Markus Stöckl}}). She beat them both and it looks like a very ordinary bike she rides. The all-time record for downhill racing is not using the ashy slopes on volcanos but from racing on snow, and here the record is not in danger from Ponytail as it is a staggering 138 mph (222 km/h) again with a lesser record for serial produced bikes of 130 mph (210 km/h). She will soon hit a rock outcrop so hopefully she has very good brakes...
|-
|Tell my wife why you left me there, and Megan and Cueball with a device
|
:Right Cueball: If I don't make it back...
:Right Cueball: ...Tell my wife...
:Right Cueball: ...Where I am...
:Right Cueball: ...And why you left me there…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_0960x1081y_Tell_my_wife_why_you_left_me_there.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/960:-1081+s.png (960, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/961:-1081+s.png (961, 1081)]
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|''If I don't make it back'' is a common [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfIDoNotReturn trope] in films and books used when the speaker is about to make a noble sacrifice. The speaker will then usually tell the other to go tell his wife that he died bravely or that his friends should remember him. There is even a [https://vimeo.com/58319575 song] with the same title by {{w|Tracy Lawrence}}. In Cueball's case, both him and his companion are attempting to scale a dangerous mountain and neither are inclined to sacrifice their own lives for the other. Cueball appears to be struggling, climbing on all fours while his friend is standing. Subverting the trope, he attempts to guilt trip his friend into helping him.

Also here are Megan with some kind of device and Cueball on top of a large boulder. Maybe they are investigating the environment on the volcanic slope. Cueball has just discovered the coin hanging above them.
|-
|It becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts and Ponytail and Cueball on the slope
|
:Megan: This is currently a V2, but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0962x1080y_It_becomes_a_V7_if_the_volcano_erupts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/962:-1080+s.png (962, 1080)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/963:-1079+s.png (963, 1079)]
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|Megan and Cueball climb a very steep part of the mountain slope. In {{w|bouldering}}, the relative difficulty of a bouldering problem is graded using the {{w|Grade (bouldering)|V scale}}. She exclaims that at the moment the climb is only a V2, but if the volcano erupts this would increase to V7. The joke is that the shaking ground and the lava resulting from the eruption would obviously make it harder to complete the bouldering problem without getting killed. In reality, passing environmental conditions do not affect the grade that a bouldering problem receives.
|-
|Megan reading for children about Sauron’s ring.
|
:Megan: "The time has come" the Walrus said, and put on a Sauron's ring…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1078+s.png (964, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1079+s.png (964, 1079)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The line ""The time has come" the Walrus said, to talk of many things" is from the poem {{w|The Walrus and the Carpenter}} by {{w|Lewis Carroll}}'s book {{w|Through the Looking-Glass}}, the sequel to {{w|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland}}. {{w|Sauron}} is the main enemy in LOTR, the one who has made the ring, and now needs it to gain his powers back. In this mixed poem the second line is changed but follows the same rhyme scheme. But although ''rings'' would have rhymed with ''things'', it of course have to ''ring'' as the {{w|walrus}} can only put the {{w|One Ring|one ring of power}} on, while uttering the now much more ominous sounding phrase ''The time has come''. Megan is reading this poem/story at the base of the volcano Mount Doom where the ring was created and later destroyed. Like Frodo, Sauron is one of the characters from LOTR who is only mentioned, not shown, in the comic.
|-
|Vaping Earth.
|
:Cueball: The Earth is vaping.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_0969x1077y_Vaping_Earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/969:-1077+s.png (969, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/968:-1077+s.png (968, 1077)]
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|{{w|Vaping}} is a term used instead of smoking for the use of electronic cigarettes. There is even a game called the {{w|Vaping game}} for blowing extra large clouds of vapor out while using these substitutes for cigarettes. Cueball remarks that here it is the Earth that does so, due to the volcanic activity of the nearby volcano.
|-
|'''Left of play area to Kite.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/80/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|This is the area from below the volcano's slope and towards the play area. There are several hidden places and pools that can be seen in the second image link.
|-
|Kite and weird bug.
|
:Mom: Check out this one weird bug, discovered by a local mom.
:Girl: Oh my God, mom, stop saying everything like that.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/970:-1077+s.png (970, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/972:-1077+s.png (972, 1077)]
|
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic [[1614: Kites]] and in general the [[:Category:Kites|kite category]]. Also the [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait category]]
|The comic was released only two weeks after this game, and although it is clearly a girl in this comic, she looks like Megan who sets up the kite in the next comic. There is also a kite in ''Sky Toucher'' in TE and kites is a recurring theme in xkcd.

The mother that discovers the bug is [[Blondie]]. She talks like she is one of the {{w|clickbait}} headlines used for getting people to click in on the link generally aimed at generating online advertising revenue, which fits nicely with her recurring theme of as a news anchor. Her daughter is tired of this, especially as it seems like the mother speaks like that all the time. This may embarrass the girl, especially if she is with a friend rather than a brother. Maybe the mother has been reading too many clickbait news on-line? As noted in the other references ''clickbait'' is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother is near a small lake, so it is likely that there is plenty of insects and other bugs. It is possible to sink into the lake as can be seen in the second image with the hidden parts shown in red.
|-
|Space capsule with parachutes.
|
:Bird thinking: I don't remember laying these but ''wow'' they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch.

:Cueball: Yes! My phone has a signal.
:Voice from inside: How many new likes did we get during reentry?
:Cueball: I'm checking!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1079+s.png (976, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1080+s.png (976, 1080)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic : [[1133: Up Goer Five]]
|The book TE was based on the comic ''Up Goer Five'' which was about the rocket that took this space capsule to the moon. When it lands it uses three large parachutes to slow down after the main brake-down during reentry. On top of these sits a bird looking like a hen. It is a hen that can think, but it is still not very clever. It believes that this is three eggs, and is amazed that they are already flying before they hatch, which is of course ridiculous, but they do float in the air...

The astronauts inside (two at least, but there should be three if it was one of the moon landing missions) has just been waiting to get close enough to Earth again that they can get a signal on their smart phones. Cueball is even opening the hatch during descend to increase this chance, which would be highly dangerous. Also normally they would land in water (which will though not be the case this time). The reason he does this is that they wish to know how many more likes they (and their mission) has received during the reentry. This would have been relevant if the moon landings had taken place today. There where no social media or internet back in 1969. This is similar to the Cueball who is trapped in the lava lair without connection to Twitter.
|-
|Girl running to other girl and small forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_0978x1077y_Girl_running_to_other_girl_and_small_forrest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/978:-1077+s.png (978, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1077+s.png (976, 1077)]
|
|
|
|
|Just two young girls playing near a forest of low trees. But with the space capsule above the forest.
|-
|Entire well - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comics in the [[561: Well|Well series]].
|There are many similarities in this well to the [[561: Well|Well series]]. Someone is looking into a well that has the same general appearance and there is a person inside which turned out to be the case in [[568: Well 2]]. People throw coins into it and there is a coin at the bottom in the game (although above the water.)
|-
|Well top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0980x1077y_Well_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1077+s.png (980, 1077)]
|
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|
|Cueball looks into the deep well.
|-
|Well bottom.
|
:Girl: I'm not a ghost. I just like wells.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1073+s.png (980, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|
|At the bottom of the well in the water (see also the hidden passages image) is a girl. Above to the left of her is a coin. Maybe thrown in by Cueball at the top. Ghost living in wells is a common theme, for instance there is a Japanese movie {{w|Banchō Sarayashiki}} whose [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202946/releaseinfo English title] is ''Ghost in the Well''. So, this is why this real girl explains that she is actually not a ghost, she just like wells and thus likes to sit in the cold water at the bottom of wells. This could be very dangerous, and she will probably have a hard time getting up. It is also a very deep well, so falling into this well might very well be lethal. There are also many stories (in this case also real stories like the one about {{w|Jessica McClure}}) about kids that fall into wells, some of them surviving being stuck for several days in the wells. Also, in movies this story is often used, for instance in {{w|Batman Begins}} the young Bruce Wayne falls down a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a fear of bats.
|-
|Entire gas station with birds above
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_with_coin_on_string.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_without_coin_on_string.png Without coin]
|Overview
|
|
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|The two birds with a coin between them flying above the gas station is way too high up, to be discovered when just moving normally over the gas station, even jumping once up from the highest spot. This is thus one of several coins that are easily missed. There is more explanation this scene where these two individual scenes are described.
|-
|Gas station with x-wing.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1077+s.png (982, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/983:-1077+s.png (983, 1077)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan has managed to land her {{w|x-wing}} fighter from the rebel fleet in Star Wars right next to a standard gas station. And she has planned to fill her spaceship up. That it could run on petrol for cars seems highly unlikely. The question is if she has already filled it up and is heading back with the handle to the gas stander, or if she has just discovered that the hose is not long enough to reach all the way under the wing to the fighter. It will have taken considerable skills to land this close to the station without hitting the cover over the stander. Ponytail is sitting in the shop with a coin. This is the first coin to be discovered when going left from the play-area. There is a long stretch without coins to begin with. The coins on the rock island in the sky it on this stretch, but so far above that most people would miss them altogether. There is also a coin with two birds straight above the right wing on the X-wing. But about three jumps up, so it is easy to miss. To get into the shop you need to go over the stander and back. Why Cueball have crawled up in the roof is not clear. But maybe he is enjoying the view over the cliff that is to the right of the station. There is a stop sign to the left, but there seems to be no road that way. Maybe that is why you should stop...
|-
|Birds with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_with_coin.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_without_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1079+s.png (982, 1079)]
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}
|In the film it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut between them on a string as the two birds do with the coin here. First when the coin has been taken, can the string between the birds be seen (see the other image). The birds are three jumps above the X-wing below, and this coin is thus easily missed by the players. In the film the horses are simulated with the sound of two coconuts shells being hit together. Someone asks how they happened to be in England and there is discussion about migratory birds like {{w|swallows}} and the possibility that they have brought the coconuts along with them. But the consensus is that they cannot do this by themselves the coconut being too heavy, but then it is suggested that two swallows could carry it on a string between them. Later in the film someone is seen actually tying two birds together to a coconut. In this comic, we now know how the coins have been transported through the image...
|-
|Our kingdom from a cliff.
|
:Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Girl: What's with the shadowy place over there?
:Cueball: That is beyond our borders.
:Girl: No, I mean what object casts a shadow over a whole region?
:Cueball: Oh, that's god. He lives over there.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1076+s.png (986, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1075+s.png (986, 1075)]
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|The Lion King}} and comic: [[1504: Opportunity]] as well as [[:Category:The Lion King|The Lion King category]]
|Cueballs lines is from The Lion King and has been used directly before in the comic Opportunity. Randall has made several references to the film in xkcd, and it is obvious that he was very affected by this film that came out when he was just the right age.

Cueball is talking to a child version of Ponytail, whose mother may be the one climbing up the cliff side below. The first three lines of the quote goes as in the film, but then it turns out that the girl is properly referring to the Star Destroyer that would be clearly visible from this cliff as it covers almost the entire right part of this world from just beyond the play-area. (They do not look high enough to see the rock island in the sky, and it would also not cast shadow over an entire region.) As it is not certain players coming here have already been to the right to see the Destroyer it is not necessarily clear that the reply from Cueball should apply to the Destroyer. But if it does then it would be the Emperor Palpatine that he refers to as God. The emperor is on board the Destroyer near the bridge at the very top rear end of the spaceship and has God like powers. It could however also just be a general reference to the {{w|God}} and thus be inferred as if God cast a shadow over an entire region (country). Maybe just in general as if he has a place in the sky that cast a shadow (like sitting on a cloud). Alternatively, it could be the people who believe too much in any God, which can be viewed as living under a shadow, as they will not try to see any reality if it does not fit with their religious beliefs.
|-
|Hamster ball bowling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/987:-1075+s.png (987, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/989:-1074+s.png (989, 1074)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster ballscategory]]
|There have been several xkcd comics with human sized hamster balls, and there is even one more in this comic up in the Destroyer. In this scene it is two young girls that use the hamster ball as a bowling ball in a human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game. Hopefully, the little girl with the hair bun behind the pins get away in time if it is a strike. It is the first time hamster ball and bowling has been matched, but in TE there are bowling alleys both on the ship ''The USS Laws of the Land'' and on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and such an alley is also used for measuring length in ''How to count things''. One of the many large trees that are found in the drawing is standing alone in this scene. Most other places there are more than one tree together.
|-
|If loving you is wrong I don’t want to and Beret Guy following insects
|
:Cueball: If loving you is wrong, I don't want to.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1074+s.png (990, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/991:-1074+s.png (991, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Song (or quote): {{w|(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right}}
|A reference to either the [https://krexy.com/if-loving-you-is-wrong general love quote] or maybe more likely to the song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJj7SN9EWI performed most notably] by {{w|Luther Ingram}}. Recently (2014), there has also been a TV series produced called {{w|If Loving You Is Wrong (TV series)|If Loving You Is Wrong}}.

The quote is very romantic, because the speaker is stating that if it is wrong to love a specific person, the speaker chooses to be in love and does not wish to be right. However, Cueball twist the quote quite a lot, saying instead that if it is wrong to love Ponytail then he does not want to love her at all - taking all romance out of the statement.

Also in this scene is one of only two instances where Beret Guy appears. Typical of his past appearances, he seems to be occupied by following a small flying insect through the tall grass.
|-
|'''Entire Washington monument'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Overview]
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7a/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out.png Central hidden passage] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]

|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1600: MarketWatch]]
|The tallest manmade structure on the ground in this game is the {{w|Washington Monument}} which recently before the release of this comic was referred to in the mentioned comic. As can be seen in the hidden passages images there are two secret passages, one at the bottom (see this scene for more) and one in the middle of the monument. The one in the central part of the monument is actually quite large, and as can be seen in the images zooming in on the central part there is also a fault line in the monument at the base of this hidden passage. But it doesn't really lead to anywhere interesting. The fault line could be a reference to the {{w|Washington_Monument#2011_earthquake_damage|earthquake damage}} from 2011 where several stones cracked.
|-
|Base of Washington monument with Cueball and Megan
|
:Cueball: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1074+s.png (994, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1074+s.png (995, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|At the base of the Washington Monument Megan and Cueball is looking up at it, and Cueball complains that it doesn't even look like {{w|Washington, D.C.|Washington}}. By "Washington" he could be referring to the city of Washington DC or to the real Washington monument, but he is probably referring to the first US President George Washington, since monuments often depict (look like) the person they are dedicated to, but the real Washington monument is not meant to look like Washington himself. Cueball seems to have expected all presidential monuments to include a statue of the honored president and is confused and disappointed when the monument fails to meet his expectations. Of course, since this is the only Washington based building in the game it is true that the place doesn't look like the city. If he refers to the monument, then it can be questioned if this is because the monument is not an exact replica (in proportions and/or scale). In any case it is clearly meant as an indicator that this is supposed to look like the monument, and with the tip's apex being made of aluminum (see that scene) as on the real monument, there can be no doubt what is referenced. It is possible to get to the left side of the monument without going up to see the tip, if the player immediately understands the sign with the white arrow that points to a hidden passage through the base of the monument, as can be seen in the second image with the hidden passages shown in red.

To the left of the monument there is a flagpole with a blown-out flag. It is all black, but it should be the {{w|Flag of the United States|the Stars and Stripes}} as there are fifty flag poles with the US flag (one for each [[1653: United States Map|state]]) surrounding the monument in a circle. On top of the pole there sits a duck looking left. Towards the end of the world to the left on top of the left volcanic rim there also sits a similar duck looking right.
|-
|Tip of Washington monument with Cueball and White Hat
|
:Cueball: Look at that- Solid aluminum!
:Cueball: We´re gonna be rich!
:White Hat: Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1083+s.png (995, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1084+s.png (995, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|The tip of the monument is actually {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|made of solid aluminum}} and at the time this {{w|aluminum}} apex was installed it was a rare metal as valuable as {{w|silver}}, but today it is maybe about 1/300 as valuable as silver. So Cueball and White Hat will not become rich based on the metal value. Of course, if they did steal the tip of such a famous monument, they might actually be able to sell it to a scrupulous collector at a value comparable to if was just a lump of silver of that weight.

White Hat looking over his shoulder spots the Star Destroyer and thus help guide a player that has started going left towards the Destroyer to the right. How they have managed the climb, getting the ropes over the tip, or how Cueball intends to get down with the tip is left to the readers imagination...
|-
|'''Entire floating rock island.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar}}
|This floating rock island may be a reference to the film Avatar where floating rocks is part of the scenery of the fictive moon {{w|Fictional_universe_of_Avatar#Astronomy_and_geology|Pandora}}. The rock in the game is very hard to find by chance, it is kind of unobtainable, which may be a further reference to the film since the reason the rocks do float is a combination of a weak gravity, a strong magnetic field and a mineral whose {{w|Superconductivity|superconductive properties}} allow it to float in magnetic fields. Of course, the levitating Hallelujah Mountains in the film contain significant quantities of the mineral which is called {{w|Unobtanium}}. Only thing pointing towards it is the Washington Monument and even if you go up from there, pushing the up arrow continuously for more than half a minute you may almost miss it, as only the far-right girl would move through the view. And with two coins around this island, it is important to find it in order to get all coins. Apart from the coins and the surprise there is little of interest here, and not even any spoken text.

To the right just beneath the rear end of the Destroyer there is a small lump of earth that has floated up from the ground, hovering over the corresponding hole in the ground. Maybe this is caused by the same force that have created this floating island.
|-
|Top left of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f5/1608_0989x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1111+s.png (990, 1111)]
|
|
|
|
|The large rock on top of the floating island is one of only two places where there is anything at a coordinate of Y=1112. On top of the globe of Death over the bridge of the destroyer, there are three images at the top of this that enters 1112. And there [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png the very top] is just slightly higher up. But there is no coin there, so the coin that would be in the tile used for main reference here that holds the coin is the highest location for any coin in the game, as the Globe of Death has its coin in its center below the top.
|-
|Top right of floating rock island with base jumpers.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1111+s.png (994, 1111)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE two people jump of a cloud, like the base jumpers Megan and Ponytail does here from the floating rock, but at least these two girls do have parachutes on (as opposed to the cloud jumpers in TE). How they got here is a good question, but of course they could have flown here in for instance the X-wing from below at the gas station.
|-
|Bottom of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_0992x1109y_Bottom_middle_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/992:-1109+s.png (992, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/993:-1109+s.png (993, 1109)]
|
|
|
|
|At the bottom of the island several small and large boulders can be seen hanging only loosely on to the bottom. At the center the largest rock can be seen, but even this is slipping a little as can be seen by the small white speck high over the very bottom of this boulder. Right of this is the other coin that belongs to this hidden place in the sky.
|-
|'''Entire Play Area - zoom out.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1001x1074y_Entire_Play_Area_Zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png With starting view]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The entire play area with the walls and their outer foundation. See also the insert with the starting view shown in red in the second image link and see more about the buildup of scenes from the individual image tiles using the [[#Image coordinates|play area down below]]. It is easy to see how a player of the game, with no knowledge of Randall's way of thinking, may not even think about exploring outside this area, even if they do try to go outside the maze. Because it is possible to jump around in the maze without discovering that you can actually fly rather than just jump. If you only jump once, you cannot see the too op the walls. On top of this there is the large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG red warning letters] telling you to go back if you try to leave the confines of the wall.
|-
|The Play Area.
|
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:Deposit coins here
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1075+s.png (1000, 1075)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is the starting area where the game begins. There is even some extra text telling you to ''Use arrow keys to move'' but as soon as you do, this text disappears, just like the [[#Coins|message you can receive]] below in the view depending on your action in this area. The text below the starting point of the hoverboard Cueball that you control, explains that the game is released on this day to celebrate the release of Randall's new book [[Thing Explainer]] and thus directly references the book. And also explains why this comic has been made, and furthermore why it was released on a Tuesday rather than the usual Wednesday release, which was then skipped this week. It also explains that if you collect coins, you can deposit them at the terminal, and when you do it list the score (number of coins and the time used) and rates your achievement. By noting that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG you got all the coins] if you collect all seventeen coins in the play area maze, then it is one more trick to try to make you stay inside the walls of the maze. There is only one small feature that can be spotted from within the maze that breaks the symmetry and may give away the clue of the game. And that is the small stone that lies on the ground to the left. Because why should it be there, if this was just a platform/maze game. The walls cannot be seen if you stay in or just around the outer wall of the maze. But if you go to them, you may think this is the end. Another detail about the game to be learned already here is that there can be "solid" black parts of the surroundings which are not solid at all. This can be seen in the image showing the hidden passages in red. Here it can be seen that the ledge beneath the two inverted parenthesis " )( " is not solid, and that you can fall or jump up through this section. This could forewarn you of the hidden passages, especially to the lair beneath the volcano which are the only real hidden place based on hidden passages, but also for those in the Washington Monument and in the cotton trap in the Destroyer and the glitch floor also on the Destroyer.
|-
|'''Everything Right of Washington monument.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_Everything_Right_of_washington_monument.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Most of the details in the image is found to the right of the play-area, mainly in the form of the rooms in the Destroyer. On the ground only a few artifacts are large enough to be seen in this zoomed out version. The three T's and the forest, and then of course the pyramid. Interestingly enough there are almost more to be seen inside the Destroyer with the two large rooms (the cave and the Glitch floor room) both being large enough to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png accommodate the entire pyramid].
|-
|Cueball outside play area.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1074+s.png (1004, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1074+s.png (1003, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|Typically reading direction would lead a player to this location first after escaping the play area. Is this is indeed the case then the grass and after that Cueball is the first hint that something more is going to happen in this game. Apart from the Cueball standing inside the play area, this is the closest person to the play area. He is just standing there doing nothing, so it is still not clear how big this is going to be.
|-
|Megan points at Runner after forest.
|
:Megan: Wow.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_1008x1074y_Megan_points_at_Runner_after_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1074+s.png (1008, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1074+s.png (1006, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|The small forest with two large trees and several small ones is the first really interesting to show up if exiting the play area to the right for the first time and finally a person actually speaking shows up (although Cueball at the base of the Washington Monument to the right would be closer). Megan is not saying much, but she is clearly reacting to something. It could be to one or both the space ships above her. Since the Destroyer is already on top of her, as the front end of that ship is just short of being above the right wall of the play area, then it could also be the Rebel Runner she is pointing out. No matter what, following her arm going up and right it is likely that the runner will enter the view, but it is possible to miss it, in which case there would be a long way up to the Destroyer. Megan and Cueball is standing on the edge of a cliff, offering them an excellent view. Stepping down on the plateau below the cliff takes the player close to the lowest possible level to be at in the game. There are no tiles with any white below that level (1073). But the lowest point is first in the Ocean.
|-
|Cliff with rock and cactus.
|
:(None, or rather the text has been written in the previous scene)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1073+s.png (1010, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1073+s.png (1008, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|After the grassy ground and the forest above the cliff to the left this marks the beginning of a long stretch of barren land ending in a dessert before reaching the ocean. Here a cactus and two large boulders display this inhospitable terrain. It seems like something is sitting on top of the smaller boulder, this could be a lizard, but it is too small to be certain. But that it is not part of the rock can be seen in the other image showing the parts of the image that you can walk through in red. And this small "lizard" is obviously sitting on top of the boulder.
|-
|Entire wires from ground to Runner.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Here is the first direct link from the ground to the Destroyer. This specific link takes the player from the ground level up along one of the three wires to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. If you went straight for the runner without going further right, the first coin you would find to the right would be one of the three at the runner. Else the first coin to the right (along the ground) would be in the dunes before Ponytail to the right.As can be seen the three wires are held by people and are then attached with anchors to the hull. Megan is climbing up the last of the three wires. See more in the specific scenes.
|-
|Three wires and people holding on on the ground
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1013x1073y_Three_wires_and_people_holding_on.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1073+s.png (1013, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1073+s.png (1011, 1073)]
|
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|
|Three pairs of people are trying to hold on the three wires going straight up. Cueball and Megan holds on leaning left on the left wire, another Cueball and Hairy hold on to each side of the middle wire and finally yet a Cueball holds on to the last, while a small girl with a hair bun steps on the end of the wire, like she would be able to walk it like a tightrope. This should not be physically possible as the ropes do not seem to be attached to the ground, at least not the one to the left. But there can be no doubt that the drawing shows her standing with both feet on the rope. She is thus not helping Cueball. From here it is not yet known to the player that it is the Rebel Runner they have caught (with anchors) above, but when this becomes clear it will also be clear that they have no chance of holding on to the space ship. But here it seems they are doing a great job. The ground is barren between these wires and a {{w|tumbleweed}} is blowing along to make this even more clear. This part of a plant was also mentioned in a toast in [[1645: Toasts]].
|-
|Three wires Megan hanging on that reaches up to three anchors in the bottom hull of the Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1076+s.png (1015, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1014:-1078+s.png (1014, 1078)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Megan tries to climb up the last of the wires going from the ground, and it turns out that it leads up to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. Not to a really good spot in her wires case, as there seems to be nothing to help her get inside the runner from there. The other two wires comes up to a cannon close to an entrance, where Cueball is fishing birds with a crumb of bread or a cracker on the end of the hook. (The bird fishing scene is also depicted when going through the Runner [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down below]). All three wires ends in anchors that are here used the reverse way of a normal anchor, with the anchor attached to the ship instead of to the bottom of the sea (or at least the ground below an air ship). In ''Red world space car'' in TE, Megan is also seen hanging on to a rope like this.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the dunes of the desert that continues after the barren landscape to the left of the desert. Here a zoom out of the entire desert with the first three coins along the ground to the right. The Rebel Runner flying above this dune landscape is a reference to the desert planet {{w|Tatooine}} where the opening scene is taking place.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1073+s.png (1015, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1073+s.png (1016, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the desert on top of a small dune, as these get increasingly higher further right into the desert. The coin to the left of her at the tip of a dune is the first along the ground when going right. It is soon followed by a second one at the base of the largest dune in desert.
|-
|The largest dune.
|
:(None - the text is written in the scene centered on the ocean)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1017x1073y_The_largest_dune.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1073+s.png (1017, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1073+s.png (1018, 1073)]
|
|
|
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|The largest dune in the desert, also shown partly in the scene with Ponytail, also has a coin at the other base. After this there is only one smaller dune and then the desert stops at the shore of a small sea or ocean.
|-
|Entire ocean.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0e/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
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|The sea/ocean consist of a rather large body of water with a tall wave in the center. It is quite deep as can be seen in the other image with the water shown in red. Where the sea is deepest, is also the point that is the lowest hoverboard Cueball can get in the entire image. It is the closest that anything other than completely black comes to the level with Y=1072.
|-
|Megan rates the Sea.
|
:Megan: This is an OK sea.
:Megan:★★⯪☆☆
:[a rating of 2.5 stars].
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1073+s.png (1019, 1073)]
|
|
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|
|It is very unusually to rate a sea, like you would a film or book, or a restaurant or museum. But today it is also common to rate anything you have used on-line like an internet shop or a company you have used. So, this may be a jab at all the people that rate everything in stars. According to [[1098: Star Ratings]] 2½ stars as an online star rating means that the sea is a crab sea, so this indicates that Megan's rating should not be viewed as such, since she also exclaims that it is an OK sea, as in an acceptable. Overall, another joke about online behavior, like the reference to Twitter and likes in the volcanic lair and the space shuttle, respectively.
|-
|Rouge wave.
|
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ...But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1073+s.png (1023, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1315: Questions for God]]
|{{w|Fluid dynamics}} is a complex subdiscipline of {{w|fluid mechanics}} that deals with fluid flow. Although it is not their main target they can also be used for {{w|surface waves}} which would be like the {{w|rogue wave}} in this scene. This kind of waves is also known as freak waves, monster waves etc. They are large and spontaneous surface waves that occur far out in open water and can be extremely dangerous. But as the wave describes to Cueball these big waves can be predicted from the equations in fluid dynamics. Of course, Cueball is less afraid of the wave (even though it is {{w|Rogue (vagrant)|rouge}}), than he is fascinated by the fact that it speaks. The wave just replies that the equations are really complicated. That this is the case was for instance part of [[1315: Questions for God]] where a famous quote regarding turbulent motion of fluids is mentioned. {{w|Turbulence}} is also described by fluid dynamics, so they are part of the equations and the {{w|Horace_Lamb#Career| quote}} by {{w|Horace Lamb}} was: "I am an old man now, and when I die and go to heaven there are two matters on which I hope for enlightenment. One is {{w|quantum electrodynamics}}, and the other is the turbulent motion of fluids. And about the former I am rather optimistic." He turned out to be correct as nowadays we have a much clearer understanding of QED, while our understanding of turbulence has improved little. {{w|Richard Feynman}}, who was himself largely responsible for explaining QED, famously {{w|Turbulence|described turbulence}} as "the most important unsolved problem of classical physics". So who knows if these formulas could describe a talking wave? A coin crowns the wave.
|-
|Ruins with Cueball singing of Spiders and Panama.
|
:Cueball singing:
::Spider-man
:::Spider-plan
::Spider-canal
:::Spider-Panama
::Gates let in
:::Spider boats
::Flood the locks
:::Spiders float
::''Look out!''
::Spiders in both oceans.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1073+s.png (1026, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1073+s.png (1027, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1632: Palindrome]] and the [[:Category:Spiders|Spiders category]]
|The palindrome comic was released shortly after this and used a palindrome about the {{w|Panama canal}} which is the first four lines with ''Spider-'' changed with "A" the first three times and then with nothing before Panama as in ''"A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''. The song is inspired by the {{w|Spider-Man (theme song)|Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]), but takes it in a rather different direction. Spiders have been a recurring theme and as the rest of the song tells that the spiders have now breached through the Panama Canal using spider-boats and by flooding the gates (in the canal) so now there are spiders in both oceans. If they came from the {{w|Atlantic ocean}} to the {{w|Pacific ocean}} or the other way around is not clear, but there are now spiders on both sides of the {{w|Central America|Central American}} strip of land. If the line ''Spiders float'' refer to actually floating spiders or just because they float on their boat is unclear. But we are forewarned about these spreading spiders with a '''''Look out!''''' (another lyric from the Spider-Man theme song). This threat continues the theme of the [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]] especially those from [[126: Red Spiders Cometh]].

There is a coin inside the ruin beneath Cueball who sits on top of the ruin, and both sings the song and plays the guitar. Megan just stands inside the ruin at ground level and listens. It is not difficult to get to the coin, but there is only entrance into the little coin room between the ledge under Cueball and the ceiling of the lower room. But it is possible to walk directly in them from the left. Maybe the ruin is in this state of affair because the spiders have crossed the ocean just to the left, the shore of this can be seen at the edge of the scene. But there is no indication of any spiders anywhere else in the comic, in spite of the many animals throughout the comic.
|-
|Ponytail flying.
|
:Ponytails arms: Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3b/1608_1029x1073y_Ponytail_flying.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1073+s.png (1029, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1073+s.png (1030, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Ponytail manages to fly by just flapping her arms violently, a feat that is of course not possible. It keeps he above the coin on the ground, so the player can get to it first... In the Destroyer another Ponytail seems to be [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png flying straight up in a shaft] towards a coin this time without using her arms as wings. So, her flying is a small theme in the game. (It is not close to being directly above the Ponytail on the ground as the Ponytail in the Destroyer is just past the pyramid on the ground).
|-
|Entire forest - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3a/1608_1032x1074y_Entire_forest_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
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|
|This is the largest collection of such tall trees, and if all smaller trees are counted probably also the largest collection of trees in general. In the left part of the world there is a scene with lots of trees, but they are all smaller than even the two medium-sized trees besides the five really large. the last tree to the right somehow belongs more to the wedding scene just right of it, but there are smaller trees all the way up to it, making it part of this forest. Drawing trees like this is often used in xkcd and in particularly also allot in ''click and drag''.
|-
|Left part of forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/56/1608_1032x1074y_Left_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1074+s.png (1032, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1074+s.png (1033, 1074)]
|
|
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|The left part of the forest has the largest trees and also the two coins, one in the fork of the first big trees and another some way above the first substantial tree to the left. It is just high enough that it will be missed by just sliding along the ground, and even when jumping to get the other coin it will still not necessarily enter into the viewing frame, so it can be considered one of the slightly hidden coins in the game.
|-
|Right part of forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/37/1608_1034x1073y_Right_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1073+s.png (1034, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1073+s.png (1035, 1073)]
|
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|The right part of the forest has the last two trees in the clump of four large ones, and then small to tiny trees continue the "forest" until the final tree, just beyond which the wedding takes place, and this tree also seems to be part of that scene.
|-
|Wedding and picnic.
|
:Priest: And if any here can give cause why these two should not be wed,
:Priest: The Great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1040:-1074+s.png (1040, 1074)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan, in a black wedding dress, and Cueball, with a tie, is married by a female priest in front of a crowd of five sitting in chairs in front of them. In the crowd there are yet another Cueball, Hairy and Ponytail, but the last two are not the familiar versions in xkcd: one has a cap on backwards and then a person (M/W?) with black. Just before a {{w|wedding}} it is sometimes customary to ask if any in the crowd could give a cause why these two people should not be wed. What is not customary is to threaten those who do have any objections that they would then have to plead these in front of the great gangster boss from Star Wars, {{w|Jabba the Hutt}}. In case he has condoned this wedding, you may end up pleading for him to kill you mercifully if you did object anyway. The normal form of the priest's question goes more [https://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/marriage.pdf like this]: "If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace." (See the top of page 4 of the pdf file in the link (page 424) and a discussion about this sentences use [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=635317 in real life]).

Beyond the wedding, another Megan is sitting on a large boulder facing the wedding, and behind her a third Cueball is having a picnic with a second Ponytail. The question here is if Megan looks at the wedding or turns her back to the picnic. Depending if the player went right along the ground to begins with and saw the wedding first or went through the Destroyer and came back the other way and saw the picnic first the players preconceptions on these questions may be completely different. In either case it still looks like Megan would have liked to be with Cueball (either the one in the tie or the one at the picnic. Of course, with characters drawn "randomly" in many places she may bot even belong to either scene. Standing on the rock with Megan hoverboard Cueball cannot see either of the scenes, but standing between Megan and either scene, she can be seen together with either of the relevant Cueball and another girl. In the first case with the wedding, she might have wished she had the courage to speak up in spite of the Jabba threat. In the other case she may feel rejected by the happy picnic couple and has turned her back to them. Poor Megan. Ponytail and Cueball seems to enjoy their picnic lunch in the open air though.
|-
|Cemetery.
|
:Megan: They're inscribed with our family motto, "Cur ego committitur dictar latinae," which means "Why did I just start speaking Latin?"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1042x1074y_Cemetary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1042:-1074+s.png (1042, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1074+s.png (1043, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|It is so common to have your motto translated into the dead language {{w|Latin}} that there even is an entire category for {{w|Category:Latin mottos|Latin mottos}} on Wikipedia. Since no one really speaks the language anymore, and only few learn it well enough to just read any sentence, by doing so you actually hide this motto that you probably would like to tell people about. The only Latin that has entered popular usage are generally idioms, like {{w|Carpe diem}} (seize the day), etc. (et cetera, meaning "and the rest"). However, most of the time, like the one Megan is explaining to her friend, it would make much more sense to just write it in your native language (English in this case); but then of course there would be no need for a motto, where you ask yourself why you are speaking Latin. In this way, the joke is quite self-referential. There is also a cemetery in Click and Drag.

The Latin in the motto is not correct, but close, and it could both be Randall's accidental errors or purposeful errors (as there are probably many "private" mottoes out there that are not completely correct. The original sentence:

'''Cur''' - why. '''Ego''' - I. '''Committitur''' - can be translated as "start", but is incorrectly conjugated; in view of the proper translation, a more acceptable word would be "commisi". '''Dictar''' - likely a misspelling of "dictare", an acceptable translation of "to speak". '''Latinae''' - Latin, but in the wrong case; a more correct translation would probably be "Latinam". A possible translation of this sentence is therefore "Why did I start to speak Latin?". The word ''just'' is completely missing and could have been included by using ''modo''. However, Megan could have added it to make it more "natural" in English. In this way, the family motto given here is a slightly misused satirical statement on Latin family mottoes.
|-
|Huge foot.
|
:Cueball: It says "Yo, future dirtbags! Check out my huge foot!"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1074+s.png (1046, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1047:-1074+s.png (1047, 1074)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''How to count things'' in TE there is also a drawing of a huge foot, used to count mass, not length... The two Cueballs check out an inscription at the foot ([[559: No Pun Intended|pun intended]]) of a monument. Typically old relics from the past has been demolished, and if only part of a human body is displayed (at least when it is not just a {{w|Bust (sculpture)|bust}} supposed to only have head and shoulders), then it is often assumed that the rest of the statue has been lost. Just like the missing arms of the ancient Greek statue {{w|Venus de Milo}}. These arms were there originally. But as it turns out as Cueball reads the transcription someone in the past just wished to show the future his huge foot. Suggesting that this is either actual size, or just that he was very proud of at least one of his feet. He also mocks anyone reading the inscription by calling them the derogating word [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dirtbag dirtbags]. This is a recent work so if this were an ancient monument it would be highly unlikely that it said that. Of course, it could be Cueballs translation of what is actually written, or as this is not necessarily old, it is not just part of the original monument but the entire unbroken statue of a foot, then it could be a contemporary artist who made it. However, it is just in front of the pyramid to the right, and in front of the real pyramid {{w|Pyramid of Khafre}} the {{w|Great Sphinx of Giza}}, also much larger than life size lies. (It has lost its nose by the way). So, this could be the games version of such a large statue in front of a pyramid.

As from the scene to the left of this giant foot, the inscription that Cueball reads is probably in Latin, in which case it could have read something along the lines of: ''Io, de futuro sacculo terra! Reprehendo sicco meus ingens radices!'' (which could be translated back to ''Io, for the future of the bag, earth Check out my huge foot!'', since there were no words for ''Yo dirtbags'' in Latin.

This is likely to be a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem ''{{w|Ozymandias}}'', which starts:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
[..."]
|-
|Entire Pyramid.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1050x1075y_Pyramid_Entire_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Destroyer]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A smooth pyramid with Ponytail in front of the left side and a coin at the tip. It is large but not compared to the Destroyer above it. To illustrate the other image shows that the pyramid could comfortably be placed inside the cave in the Destroyer. There is also a pyramid in Click and Drag.
|-
|Pyramid protip.
|
:Ponytail: Protip:
:Ponytail: Don't stop climbing just because you reach the top.
:Ponytail: ☑ Show tips on startup
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1608_1048x1074y_Pyramid_protip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1074+s.png (1048, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|Comics: [[:Category:Protip|Protip category]]
|Ponytail greets the player as (if) they approach the pyramid from the left. She points up the side of the pyramid and gives a protip (a feature often used in xkcd). The tip is yet another indication that the Destroyer is above (the tip) of the pyramid. She tells the player to keep "climbing" after the top (that is not usually possible, but the hoverboard can keep on flying). By doing so the player may reach up to the entrance leading into the spiral corridor (although it will be difficult to keep the same incline as the pyramid on the way up). Ponytails last remark about showing tips on startup makes her sound like she is some kind of program, which can give you interesting hints and tips every time you start the program. If you do not wish this, you can just leave the [https://help.formulatrix.com/rock-maker/3.4/Content/Resources/Images/RM%203.0.3/StartUp%20Tips.png check box unchecked]. This is the last scene with spoken words (or other text) along the right ground, although it is only halfway from the play area to the right end of this world.
|-
|Pyramid tip.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f6/1608_1050x1076y_Pyramid_tip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1051:-1076+s.png (1051, 1076)]
|
|
|
|
|
|At the very tip of the pyramid there is a coin. This is the highest point in the right part of the world, which is directly connected with the ground through a fixed structure (i.e. not a wire). In most of the left part of the world even the ground level is higher, and the Washington Monument is much taller. The next coins are five scenes longer to the right as nothing much happens on the remaining stretch along the ground towards the end of the right part of the world from here.
|-
|Pyramid Right bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c5/1608_1053x1074y_Pyramid_Right_bottom.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1074+s.png (1053, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|
|As opposed to the left side of the pyramid with a protip, there is nothing on the right side of the pyramid, even the ground is completely featureless, and actually continuous to be so for a while as can be seen in the next two scenes. It is the longest stretch along the ground with no features of interest and also almost completely flat ground. Even the third scene from here is still without characters although there at least is some ground features. For certain the entertainment of the right side is up above in the Destroyer.
|-
|Flat and bare ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/19/1608_1056x1074y_Flat_and_bare_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1074+s.png (1056, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1074+s.png (1057, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|The first of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though, even without much plant life probably takes the prize as the most featureless scene in the game.
|-
|Flat grassy ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1059x1074y_Flat_grassy_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1074+s.png (1059, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1074+s.png (1060, 1074)]
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|The second in a row of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though have a little more grass than the previous scene...
|-
|Small cliff or hill.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1063x1075y_Small_cliff_or_hill.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1075+s.png (1063, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1074+s.png (1062, 1074)]
|
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|Almost as boring as the previous two scenes, but at least there is a little cliff.
|-
|The three T's.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_1066x1075y_The_three_Ts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1075+s.png (1066, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1075+s.png (1067, 1075)]
|
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|Computer games
|These three Ts with Megan on top of the first, looks similar to scenes from many {{w|Platform game|platform computer games}}, like for instance [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlatformGame this example] from {{w|Mario Bros.}}.
|-
|Coin over grass hole.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b6/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1074+s.png (1071, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1074+s.png (1072, 1074)]
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|The fourth "boring" scene in a row at least have a coin. The grass is rather tall in this location and there are also two small hills to the left, and behind the coin another small bump to the right. The coin is located over a small hole that is filled with grass, so when the player takes the coin hoverboard Cueball will [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/Grasshole_under_coin.PNG sink to his waist].
|-
|Ponytail and bird black hat on a stick and Cueball whistling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1074+s.png (1073, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1074+s.png (1074, 1074)]
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|Ponytail is walking towards a small cliff with a flying bird following behind her. She approaches a black hat on a stick, looking like Black Hats hat. He usually never leaves without it, so it seems a little strange to find i hanging there. It is actually quite hard to find any Black Hat's in the comic, but above in the Destroyer, just slightly to the left of this hat the only instance of Black Hat in the game sits and snores in the Cave. So, he is not only represented by this hat. A kid looking like Cueball stand to the right below the cliff. He seems to be either singing or whistling.
|-
|Small stone pile.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1078x1074y_Small_stone_pile.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1074+s.png (1078, 1074)]
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|After a small step down in the terrain height the only feature of this fifth boring scene is a small stone pile that seems to be made of 5-6 small stones with different size not ordered after size, so it looks like it could easily fall over. The pile is solid, so the player needs to jump to get past it and hoverboard Cueball can stand on top of it.
|-
|Two birds and coin above them.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1081x1074y_Two_birds_and_coin_above_them.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1074+s.png (1081, 1074)]
|
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|Once again two birds are seen together, this time they are not (as over the gas station to the left) tied together with string. But also, here there is a coin, and just like there it is hidden. Not so much as over the gas station, as here the birds can be seen from the ground, but the coin can only be seen by jumping once. Walking along the ground would let the birds enter into the view but not the coin right above them.
|-
|Pedestal.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1086x1074y_Pedestal.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1074+s.png (1086, 1074)]
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|Once again a very boring scene (6th) but at least there is a small pedestal to the right. In itself not very interesting, but if the player drops straight down out of the rear entry of the Destroyer above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this pedestal.
|-
|Medusa and floating earth.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1088:-1074+s.png (1088, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1075+s.png (1090, 1075)]
|
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|The first character in four scenes is no one else but {{w|Medusa}} coming towards the player (if going right) arms outstretched and what appears to be about 10 snakes jutting out of her head which Medusa is known for. The snakes are venomous and people who gaze upon her face would be turned to stone. So not so nice to come by and it for sure relates to the coming end of the world, at least of this world right end.

The floating earth to the right may be of similar origin as the floating rock island above the Washington Monument, maybe the same forces are at work. Seems like it has just been torn up from the hoke in the ground below it, like it is now floating up. If the player drops straight down from the very end of the Destroyer up above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this floating earth. Anything right of the start of the hole is no longer under the Destroyer, which anything else right of the play area until this hole has been. Could be the Destroyer's influence that creates this hole? (But not just because it passes over, because then the earth should be floating up all the way behind it).
|-
|White Hat hiding in the grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1093:-1074+s.png (1093, 1074)]
|
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|Another flat scenery but at least White Hat is hiding in the grass to the right, only his head showing above the high grass, so her must be either sitting or even lying down propped up on his arms. This is one of only two scenes with White Hat throughout the game.
|-
|Lollipop plant and coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_1095x1075y_Lollipop_plant_and_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1095:-1075+s.png (1095, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1094:-1074+s.png (1094, 1074)]
|
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|The seventh boring scene is lit up by a coin that hangs in the air slightly before the only feature of the scene, which appears to be a plant, with a strange lollipop shape.
|-
|Drifting Cueball.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1098x1074y_Drifting_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1098:-1074+s.png (1098, 1074)]
|
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|
|Another completely flat grassy landscape but with a strangely elongated Cueball drifting in the wind. Characters flying is depicted in two scenes where Ponytail flies, but she does this of her own will. Here is seems like Cueball is just drifting with the wind towards the end of the world, which is only two scenes away, and he is the last character along the ground towards the end. This is in some way reminiscent of Click and Drag, where the Cueball floating with the balloon to begin with, can also be seen at the very right end of the world. But then again here it more seems like Cueball doesn't have a choice, and he also seems to be out of shape. The shape he is in, and the relation to the end of the world could be a (loose) reference to the sixth and seventh day in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]].
|-
|Just grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1103x1074y_Just_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1103:-1074+s.png (1103, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1104:-1074+s.png (1104, 1074)]
|
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|The eight boring scene since the pyramid, with a rolling hill of grass, but only the 2nd most boring, as the most boring scene was the first scene after the pyramid because that one did not even have grass.
|-
|Storks nest at right end of the world with 10 coins.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_1107x1075y_Storks_nest_at_right_end_of_the_world_with_10_coins.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1075+s.png (1107, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1074+s.png (1107, 1074)]
|
|
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|This is the right end of the world, marked by a high pole raising up from a foundation, and on the top of the pole there is a large {{w|White stork|stork}} nest with three eggs in it. Maybe it is not a stork nest (though it looks like a {{w|White_stork#Conservation|man-made nest platform}} for storks), but an eagle nest, though they do not usually use mad made structures for their nest as do storks. But if it were an eagle's nest, it could be for those two that are flying over the right tip of the volcano crater in the far of left part of the world.

With ten coins on top of the three eggs in the nest this is the place with the highest coin density in the game, but not most coins over a single image tile as that price goes to the starting tile with eleven coins. There are also seventeen coins in the play area scene, but they are not as closely gathered as here, where all 10 coins are almost as close together as possible, and all of them in the same [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1076+s.png completely white image tile] right above the tile with the nest and eggs.
|-
|'''Entire Rebel Blockade Runner'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_and_wires_zoom_out.png Also with wires] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png Also with torpedoes]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|An overview of the entire Rebel Blockade Runner ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'' from the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. It has four rooms (one blown open), a small cannon room that cannot be entered by the hoverboard and two corridors. The rear is the large engines. There are three coins. There is a clear symmetry along the center, as the two cannons and the two parabolic antennas are placed symmetrical on the top and bottom hull, and also the curve of the hull is symmetric. In the second image link the way to find the runner from the ground via the wires can be seen (six coins). And in the third the way to find the Destroyer above via the torpedoes can be seen (14 coins). The Destroyer is thus not hidden, like for instance the Floating Rock Island or the Hidden Lair beneath the lava lake, and there are many less direct indications that there is a runner from all the people who comment on them or even directly or indirectly point the way to the Destroyer. The Runner is supposed to be 150 m long.
|-
|Bridge on the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!
:Second scene:
:Megan: Good against remotes is one thing, but a ''true'' Jedi train with a T-shirt cannon.
:Box: Shirts
:Third scene:
:Box: Bullets
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1012:-1078+s.png (1012, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1078+s.png (1013, 1078)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner is crammed with interesting scenes. First on the bridge itself a long-haired woman (the captain) is mocking both Star Wars and Star Trek fans alike by using the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcRX0Gw1aaw opening line] from the Star Trek series about stating the {{w|stardate}} for the captain's log on board the first spaceship ever shown in the Star Wars franchise. Hairbun behind her (it could be {{w|Princess Leia}} who also has buns but above each ear) is clearly distressed by this "mistake". This could either be because she is a Star Wars fan that dislike Star Trek or because the stardate used is the real date, November 24, 2015, on which the comic was released (as well as the book ''Thing Explainer'') instead of using the normal convention for stardates with a four or five digit number plus a decimal like 1513.1. Given that the long-haired woman has the appearance of [[Danish]], this may be intentionally rather than a mistake. There is another reference to the Star Trek universe in the scene where the torpedoes are fired from the Destroyer above, so no less than two Trek infiltrations in the opening scene of Star Wars.

Beneath the bridge there is a smaller room where Ponytail and Megan spoofs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69NCLxwLEY Luke's Lightsaber Training] from the original Star Wars movie where {{w|Luke Skywalker}} practices under {{w|Ben Kenobi}}'s guidance while {{w|Han Solo}} comes with snide remarks. Ponytail (in Luke's place) holds a {{w|lightsaber}} above which floats a sphere which represents the small remote controlled {{w|Jedi}} training device from that scene. Megan both guides like Ben and comments like Han. She holds some kind of cannon that she obviously loads with T-shirts from the box behind her. As she tells Ponytail, a true Jedi trains with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCz7C6jEIk t-shirt cannon]. Han Solo's quote begins like it but ends quite differently: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuCbDkKIs4 Good against remotes is one thing good against the living it's something else]. He would also prefer a {{w|Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster}} as he explains: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V268Qk6-xsw Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid]. There is a coin behind Ponytail.

Above the bridge there is a hatch open where hoverboard Cueball may enter and a Cueball is standing behind the hatch looking down along the hull.

There are cannons both above and below the hull, the one on top has a coin in front of the barrel. There is a similar cannon with a coin in front on top of the Destroyer. Beneath this cannon is a tiny room where another Cueball is pouring several small bullets from a bucket into a black box labeled bullets (for the cannon). From this room there is a small shaft down to the main corridor in the Runner. But this shaft is too slim for hoverboard Cueball to pass up through it, or rather for the board to get in. Cueball can pass into the hole, but the board holds him back from reaching up in the small room. The cannon below has two of the anchors from the wires going to the ground attached around its barrel. The third anchor is stuck in the bottom hull further down the hull. It is unclear how this last has become attached to the hull!

In the corridor that runs away from the bridge a small robot on wheels drive towards left. Similar types of robots are often seen in the Star Wars universe and there is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png another robot] looking like two of these on top of each other in the Destroyer above where the torpedoes connecting them ends up. Further down the corridor Ponytail is walking to the right while singing indicated with two notes.

Above the cannon at the bottom of the hull on a ledge with an entry to the ship is a third Cueball holding a fishing rod out over the ledge, so the hook hangs in the air. Maybe he is fishing for either of the two birds that are flying around the line. What appears to be a loaf of bread or [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png a cracker is attached to the hook] at the end of the line. A similar scene is also found in TE in ''Sky Toucher''.
|-
|Death Star Plans in the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: The Death Star plans are ''not'' in the main computer.
:Second Cueball: Darn.
:Second Cueball: See, if we had found them in the main computer, which would be good news, since it would mean no one else had them.
:Second Cueball: But since we didn’t find them, we need to keep searching for anyone with a copy.
:Second Cueball: That all makes sense and I ''definitely'' understand how computers work.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball: So you just came down and made a hole in our ship without permission?
:Fourth Cueball: Yup
:Third Cueball: Wow, Rude.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1017x1078y_Death_Star_Plans_in_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1078+s.png (1017, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1079+s.png (1016, 1079)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The reference to the Death Star plans is from [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=340 the opening scene] in the first Star Wars movie. The sentence uttered by First Cueball is said by a Storm Trooper to Darth Vader. The [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes?qt=qt0440708 rest of the quote] is not quite like in the comic. Rather is goes like this:
:Darth Vader: [addressing the Tantive IV's captain, whom he is interrogating] Where are those transmissions you intercepted? WHAT have you DONE with those plans?
:Captain Antilles: We intercepted no transmissions... This is a consular ship... We're on a diplomatic mission...
:Darth Vader: [shouting] If this is a consular ship, WHERE is the ambassador?
:Darth Vader: Commander, tear this ship apart until you find those plans! And bring me all passengers, I want them ALIVE!
The comic jokes with the way Darth Vader seems to assume that if the plans had been found on the computer, then no one else would have had access to them. The second Cueball, although not Vader, represents a superior that have absolutely no idea about how computers work, in spite of his insistence that he actually do. If the data has once been intercepted, they could have been shared or copied to several other computers or devices or even been printed. By finding them in the main computer they would only make sure that they were indeed intercepted, but not be certain that they have not been delivered to the rebel base.

The other two Cueballs on top of the ship stand over a hole in the hull going into a small room above and left of the large room. It seems that the fourth Cueball has made this hole directly from the outside (i.e. it is not caused by an exploding torpedo from the Destroyer above). Because he confirms when the third Cueball asks if he just came down to make the hole without permission. The third Cueball thinks this is rude. This is, of course, hilarious as if a space pirate or any other attacker of a spaceship would ask permission before attacking. And also, the idea that he might get permission for asking is likewise crazy. To call this rude is also a weird way to look at such an attack. {{w|C3PO}} uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoG9tKf1lA this as reply] to a comment made to him by a similar droid in the second movie.
|-
|Top rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: That thing is ''huge. Imperial''-class?
:Second Cueball: Yeah. Maybe a MK-1. Depends on whether this is the expanded universe or not.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball's bow: Twang
:Torpedo: Boom
:Third scene:
:Fourth Cueball: Why are they still firing?
:Fifth Cueball: Oh, the turret operators pretty much do their own thing.
:Fifth Cueball: It's definitely a pain sometimes.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1079+s.png (1018, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1080+s.png (1019, 1080)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this overview of the top rear of the hull of the Runner, there are four scenes with two persons in each, with no less than six Cueballs. Beginning with the scene to the far left the two first Cueballs discuss what type of Star Destroyer is shooting at their ship from above them. They are clearly tilting their head far back to look up. The first Cueball comments on how huge it is and asks if it is an {{w|Star_Destroyer#Imperial_class|''Imperial'' class}} Destroyer. "''Imperial'' class" is the designation of the Destroyer ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]'' that followed the Rebel Runner ''Tantive IV'' in the opening scene. There is also and more than 10 times as large version called a {{w|Star_Destroyer#Super_Star_Destroyer|Super Star Destroyer}}, which were featured in the two sequels in the original trilogy. But even the original Star Destroyers were improved during the movies, so when the improved Destroyers came out, they became known as ([https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_II-class_Star_Destroyer Mark II], Mk-II or plainly II, and the original (as Devastator) became known as [https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_I-class_Star_Destroyer Mk-1]. The second Cueball agrees with the first and suggest that it is a Mk-1 and thus makes it even more clear that this scene is actually the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. But then again, he continues, it depends weather this is the {{w|Star Wars expanded universe|expanded universe}} (now known as ''Star Wars Legends'') where all authorized media (books etc.) released based on the Star Wars franchise should be counted in, or if it is only the movies sanctioned directly by George Lucas (and now Disney). What he says is that in all those works there could be so many other types os ships mentioned, that he could mistake for a Mk-1, that in that universe he would not be certain at all. But in the "official" universe he would claim that it was a Mk-1 ''Imperial'' class Star Destroyer.

In the next scene Ponytail and a third Cueball fight with bows and arrows against the Destroyers 100+ torpedoes raining down from above. Ten of these can be seen falling, one hits the ship, and one has just exploded in a big ''boom'', to be compared with the feeble ''twang'' made by Cueballs bow when he fires the arrow. When later discovering how far there is up to the bottom of the Destroyer it only becomes even more silly.

In the third scene two more Cueballs (four and five) look up at the torpedoes falling down in an arch over their heads. The fourth Cueball asks why they still keep firing. And the fifth Cueball tries to explain. A {{w|Gun turret|turret}} is generally a weapon mount that houses the crew and a projectile-firing weapon and lets the weapon be aimed and fired in a given cone of fire. So, it is this crew, that are the turret operators. There is also such [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png an operator] on the Rebel Runner below the top cannon (or turret), in the scene with the bridge. The reason they keep fighting is given that they just do their own thing and that is annoying. This indicates that these two Cueballs do no longer think that the Destroyer needs to fire anymore on the Runner, and thus also indicates that they are part of the crew from the Destroyer send down to take over the Runner. Thus, it is annoying that the shooting has not stopped as it puts them in danger. If they belong to the Runner, then they would not think it weird that the shooting continued. It turns out to be Megan who is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png turret operator in the Destroyer]! At least they can be happy that it is regular torpedoes. (See the explanation of the scene regarding the Torpedo cannon below Destroyer).

In the final scene at the very end of the hull is the sixth Cueball together with Megan. She holds on to him as he tries to toast a giant marshmallow on a stick by holding it in front of the exhaust pipe of the Runner. This would most likely melt the marshmallow instantaneously... In ''Red world space car'' in TE the Mars rower also toasts a marshmallow on a stick over a small fire.
|-
|Bottom rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1020x1078y_Bottom_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1078+s.png (1020, 1078)]
|
|
|
|
|
|The rear end of the Rebel Runner with the last part of the big Death Star plan room to visible to the left. Three engines are visible, with the top one being cut of (Cueball is roasting a marshmallow above the cut off - see previous scene). This is consistent with the three rows of engines as [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/2016/04/tantive_iv_over_tatooine.png?itok=1k3g3pFH can be seen in the film], with four engines in top and bottom row and three in the middle. There is a coin behind the lowest of the engines. There appear to be {{w|truck nuts}} attached to the rear of the ship beneath the hull. These are plastic or metal accessories, typically for cars, which resemble a pair of dangling testicles/balls. They are attached under the rear bumper of the vehicle, so they are visible from behind as a practical joke. Some find it is in so bad a taste that it should be banned or fined.
|-
|'''Entire torpedoes rain from Runner to Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|An overview of the entire rain of torpedoes fired down from the Star Destroyer to the Runner. There are one hundred undamaged torpedoes in the air, two that are hitting each other exploding, one that has just contacted the hull and one that has just exploded on the hull of the Runner. A total of 104 torpedoes has thus been fired at this moment in time. The rain is not so much there for jokes but to guide the player up to the Destroyer. Only interesting scene on the way up is Beret Guy riding a torpedo, and apart from that and the two torpedoes hitting each other and exploding, there is nothing else to see. But there are two coins to collect.
|-
|Torpedoes just above Runner with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1019x1081y_Torpedoes_just_above_Runner_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1081+s.png (1019, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1081+s.png (1020, 1081)]
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|11 torpedoes just above the Runner with a coin.
|-
|Torpedoes two steps above Runner with Beret Guy.
|
:Beret Guy: Horsey!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1083+s.png (1020, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1021:-1083+s.png (1021, 1083)]
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Dr. Strangelove}}
|Beret Guys only second appearance in this comic. He is flying down from the Destroyer sitting astray a torpedo riding it like it was a horse. In the film Dr. Stangelove a man is also flying down like this riding a bomb like it is a horse (a nuclear bomb in that case though). Beret Guy will likely survive due to his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. With his torpedo there are eight torpedoes in this scene
|-
|Torpedoes three steps above Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1023x1085y_Torpedoes_three_steps_above_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1086+s.png (1023, 1086)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1024:-1086+s.png (1024, 1086)]
|
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|21 torpedoes are shown. This image is so large that it goes outside the "active" images, and thus the lower right part is in gray. In the game this part will be displayed as white, but there is no image below to save (but many all-white images are active though!)
|-
|Torpedoes two steps below Destroyer with exploding torpedoes.
|
:Torpedoes: Boom
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a8/1608_1025x1087y_Torpedoes_two_steps_below_Destroyer_with_exploding_torpedoes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1087+s.png (1025, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1087+s.png (1026, 1087)]
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|21 torpedoes are shown, but two of them are hitting each other exploding. Where you can stand on the torpedoes, you cannot stand on the "boom", but still on the black part of the exploding torpedoes. If the two exploding torpedoes are the same and if they have no means of self-propelling, then they should not hit each other under normal conditions. Only if a wind gust slowed down the one and not the other (which could of course be the case.) But else they would follow the same parabolic path from cannon to target without getting closer.
|-
|Torpedoes one step below Destroyer with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/1608_1029x1089y_Torpedoes_one_step_below_Destroyer_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1089+s.png (1029, 1089)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1090+s.png (1031, 1090)]
|
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|19 torpedoes just below the Destroyer with a coin.
|-
|Torpedo cannon below Destroyer.
|
:Megan: We have no photon torpedoes, so I'm firing regular ones
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1091+s.png (1034, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1091+s.png (1033, 1091)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The 12 last torpedoes lead up to the cannon below the Destroyer that has fired them all towards the runner far below. In the control room (or turret room see explanation of scene where the torpedoes hit the Runner) is Megan and Cueball. She explains that she used regular torpedoes rather than the much more powerful {{w|Weapons_in_Star_Trek#Projectile_weapons|'''photon''' torpedoes}}. This may cheat some to think this is a reference to the weapon Luke Skywalker used when destroying the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. But they were called {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_weapons#Ship-mounted|'''proton''' torpedoes}}. Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an {{w|antimatter}} warhead and one of those alone would probably take a ship like the Runner out if it was not shielded... However, they are used by the {{w|Starship Enterprise}} in the Star Trek universe. So, this is the second (but more subtle) mixing of the two competing franchises connected with the torpedoes in the opening scene of Star Wars. The first being on the bridge of the Runner below. Above the control room there is a shaft up to a corridor in which a small robot of the types typically seen on spaceships in Star Wars is seen. There is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png similar robot] down in the Runner but only half this one's height.
|-
|'''Entire Star Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This is the only reference to Star Wars just because of the Destroyer. Anything inside the spaceship will only be listed as SW reference if there is something in relation to SW, or at least to part of the ship itself (like using special outcrops on the ship for a special room, like the Globe of Death at the top of the bridge).
|-
|'''Entire front end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_front_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/22/1608_Entire_front_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|
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|This overview is shown to illustrate how far apart the rooms are even in the very front end of the Destroyer where it is slimmest. The image with hidden passages shows how deep the swimming pool is and that the hoverboard can also sink into the playpen pit. Moving just a little further right than this overview, and the Destroyer becomes wider than the zoom scale for these overviews.
|-
|Overview of the very tip of the front end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_Zoom_out_of_the_very_front_end.png Overview]
|Overview
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|The front has both a mouth a nose and an eye with a pupil. It has just eaten a coin and can smell the one above its nose. See more on this interpretation under the ''Colon like structure'' below.
|-
|Very front with Cueball looking out at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/60/1608_1002x1094y_Very_front_with_Cueball_looking_out_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1094+s.png (1002, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1094+s.png (1003, 1094)]
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|The closest entrance to the Destroyer from the starting point is guarded by Cueball. Going straight up from the right wall in the play area will take the hoverboard straight up in front of Cueball. There is a coin behind him where this first corridor turns up into a shaft.
|-
|Very front with playpen balls pit at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1095+s.png (1004, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1005:-1095+s.png (1005, 1095)]
|
|
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|[[150: Grownups]] and the [[:Category:Playpen balls|Playpen balls Category]].
|The top part of the front of the Star Destroyer also has an entrance as does the bottom section (see above). There is a coin above the hull. This first corridor leads to a playpen pit filled with playpen balls, which is a recurring subject in xkcd. Cueball and Megan is adult sized (i.e. as big as hoverboard Cueball) and it is thus a clear reference to Grownups. There could be water down below the balls as a fish is seen jumping out over the surface. But given that there are no splashes from the balls Cueball throws in the air, it could also just be a gimmick by Randall. To have something like this in a Star Destroyer kind of ruins the mood surrounding these war machines. Something seen several times throughout the spaceship.
|-
|Piñata and Cueball with lightsaber at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: No, I got this.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1095+s.png (1006, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1095+s.png (1007, 1095)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Comic: [[1620: Christmas Settings]]
|Although the original {{w|piñata}} was star shaped it is now common to use different shapes like the horse or donkey displayed in the comic. Children usually hits the piñata with a club until it breaks and falls down revealing candy or toys inside. The two Cueballs, Megan and Hairy are adults though as big as hoverboard Cueball, just like in the playpen pit. It is common for adults to participate in hitting down a piñata. But to do it with a {{w|lightsaber}} would defeat the purpose of this game as it will go right through the piñata on contact thus spilling the contest out on the floor in the first go. The Cueball with the lightsaber can thus confidently say that he got this. But it seems like the other Cueball is trying to stop him and that Hairy, holding the club they were intended to use, puts a hand protectively on Megan. A lightsaber would be a very dangerous weapon and should not be used lightly in a playful setting. As a side note any candy/toy in the path of the ligtsaber as it passes through the piñata will melt/burn immediately. Lightsaber noises are mentioned in the title text of the Christmas Settings comic coming out shortly after this one.
|-
|Shaft and corridor at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1608_1007x1094y_Shaft_and_corridor_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1094+s.png (1007, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1094+s.png (1008, 1094)]
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|Lots of sections inside the Destroyer consist of long corridors with shafts going up and down here and there, but with no interesting features or objects. This is the first example of such a corridor, near the bottom hull of the Destroyer, showing that it is not a featureless outer hull. Apart from the ever-increasing width of the Destroyer there are some steps up and down, to indicate some of the features seen in the Star Wars movie.
|-
|Swimming pool with Ponytail jumping at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1094+s.png (1010, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1094+s.png (1011, 1094)]
|
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|Another enjoyable activity to attend to by adults is located here in the front sections of the Destroyer: A swimming pool. Don't worry about Ponytail jumping head first into the water, as can be seen in the hidden passage image it is rather deep. Cueball and Megan is already in. Supposedly there is a rung ladder up again on the side, but it cannot be seen in this slice through the Destroyer. A coin hangs in the top corner of the room. When standing with the hoverboard on the bottom of the pool it will be possible to see that there is a coin on the outside of the hull in the indentation in the hull below the pool. From the outside, however, it will not be possible to see that there is a pool above as the water is the same black (to the eye) as the solid hull.
|-
|Shaft and corridor with three coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1011x1096y_Shaft_and_corridor_with_three_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1096+s.png (1011, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1009:-1095+s.png (1009, 1095)]
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|After leaving the piñata room going down the corridor there are two coins. One under the shaft going up and one further down the corridor. Going up the shaft there is also a coin on the outside of the top hull at the top of another of the small step where the hulls width increases faster than the steady slope that are always there. This coin is almost on top of the one in the corridor below.
|-
|Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1015x1093y_Dead_end_shaft_with_rubbles_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1093+s.png (1015, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1093+s.png (1016, 1093)]
|
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|From the shaft that exits the Destroyers bottom hull there goes a corridor to the left. But only for a short while. Then there is a pile of rubble like there has either been a cave in or as if someone has been digging this tunnel and then has stopped. This is consistent with the mining company seen much further down the Destroyer. There is a coin in front of the rubble.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/34/1608_1019x1095y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|This zoom-out gives an overview of a large section of the Destroyer with only a long corridor and two shafts going down from it. There are almost no features, but for Hairy standing carefully at the edge of one shaft looking down into it. So again, an example of the larger areas inside the destroyer where nothing happens.
|-
|Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1016x1095y_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1095+s.png (1016, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png (1013, 1096)]
|
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|This is the shaft that came out of the piñata room. At the end of this image is the first shaft going down where Hairy is standing carefully at the edge looking down. Before that a shaft goes up to the top hull where a coin is situated on top of a small step down. At the other end of this "step" to the left there was also a coin.
|-
|Three coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1023x1095y_Three_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1095+s.png (1023, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1095+s.png (1022, 1095)]
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|This is the room where the long corridor going from the piñata room ends. Although it is a quite boring room it has three coins, the highest coin density seen so far when entering the Destroyer from the front end. A shaft down outside the room prevents this from being a dead end.
|-
|Triple coins and a single coin on top of a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1023x1097y_Triple_coins_and_a_single_coin_on_top_of_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1097+s.png (1023, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1097+s.png (1025, 1097)]
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|There is a very long straight stretch on top of the hull where nothing happens after the step down, but suddenly there are three coins in a row, and then a shaft down, with a ledge out over the shaft opening, with yet a coin, makes it worth the players while to come up there as well.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_1025x1092y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|
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|This overview at the bottom of the hull shows the shaft (to the right) that was covered with a ledge at the top of the hull. Although it takes a small turn left before going down and out at the bottom it thus almost runs straight through the Destroyer and also here at the bottom a thin ledge covers the shafts exit. But here are no coins. There are another shaft and two corridors.
|-
|Shall '''not not''' pass room and parachutes at one of two ledges at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: You shall not not pass!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1093+s.png (1026, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1092+s.png (1028, 1092)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The shaft going out at the bottom left is the one mentioned above. Going through the corridor above takes hoverboard Cueball into a room with a Cueball blocking his way holding a handout towards him. He almost uses the last part of a [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes?item=qt0445998 famous quote by Gandalf] when facing the {{w|Balrog}} in the mines of {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}}, but here with an '''extra not''' added to negate the "not" from the quote. So "You shall ''not'' '''not''' pass" = You '''shall''' pass, and when you do you get a coin. It is easy to miss that there are two times not in the sentence, which is for certain intentionally by Randall, as the spoken sentence thus do not match the appearance of Cueball with a handout.

If hoverboard Cueball jump ship at the ledge to the left, he can fly over to the next ledge where Cueball and a guy with black hair is preparing to jump of the ship using parachutes. Behind them there is a shaft going up into the ship with a coin.
|-
|Two coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_1026x1095y_Two_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1095+s.png (1026, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1095+s.png (1027, 1095)]
|
|
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|The shaft going up in the two coins room comes from a corridor below that also connects to the shaft to the left. The corridor is right above the ''you shall not not pass'' room below. The shaft to the left goes up the ledge covered exit to the top hull.
|-
|Steven Universe and Crystal Gems; and ice cream prediction.
|
:Megan: Prediction: Seconds before you die, you will remember these words.
:Box: Ice cream
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1095+s.png (1031, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1095+s.png (1029, 1095)]
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|
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|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|In the room to the left, Megan talks to Cueball while they walk towards an ice cream freezer (at the end of the room with a coin on top). Her comment that she can predict that he will remember those words when he dies could be quite sinister. Since they are so boring the only way, she can make this prediction come through is if she now turns around killing him. If she waits a little longer, she will not have to move him so far before she can hide his body in the freezer...

In the room to the right is a group of four stick figures representing {{w|Steven Universe (character)|Steven Universe}} and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#/media/File:StevenFinalPoster.jpg Crystal Gems]. From left to right, Steven is next to {{w|Pearl (Steven Universe)|Pearl}} (as a stick figure with shorter hair), {{w|Garnet (Steven Universe)|Garnet}} (as a taller stick figure with sunglasses and an afro), and {{w|List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#Amethyst|Amethyst}} (as a shorter stick figure with long hair). The Crystal Gems are a "superhero" team of alien "Gems" who protect the earth, with their newest member being the half-Gem, half-human Steven. (Elsewhere on the bridge of the Destroyer, Darth Vader references Steven Universe in that Steven is half Gem.) A coin is hovering over Garnet's raised left hand.

Below these two rooms runs a corridor that goes left to the shaft going up to the top hull. The shaft going down goes to the two guys with parachutes. There is a coin next to the shaft. To get from this corridor to the rooms above hoverboard Cueball either have to go out on the top hull or move through the rotary that follows to the right.
|-
|'''Entire Rotary section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/67/1608_Entire_Rotary_section.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Entire_Rotary_section_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png Swallow Runner]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|To the left in this overview is the roundabout like structure that Cueball above it calls a rotary, which has given name to this section of the ship that follows after it up to the section with the cave. The Destroyer becomes much broader here especially due to the two large steps that the top part of the hull takes in the middle and to the right in this image.

In the hidden passage image, the cotton trap is revealed with the two entrances to the room below and to the corridor to the right that leads past different traps into the cave. At the top and bottom middle of the image there are two cars, and as it can be seen in the hidden passage image the hoverboard cannot rest on top of those.

In the composite ''Swallow Runner'' image the Rebel Runner has been placed in the opening in the bottom hull to reveal that this is indeed the opening in the bottom of the Destroyer that swallows the entire Rebel Runner in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie. This feature is thus a direct reference to the "real" Devastator Destroyer and thus a direct reference to the opening scene and to Star Wars. Below the individual scenes in the Rotary section will be described.
|-
|Empty room and Cueball on corridor going to rotary at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: Ugh, rotaries.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1608_1029x1097y_Empty_room_and_Cueball_on_corridor_going_to_rotary_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1096+s.png (1032, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1097+s.png (1030, 1097)]
|
|
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|
|A big empty room near the top hull and a coin in a shaft going down from the top hull. The shaft going down will lead to both the room with the ice dream box and the one with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems. The corridor going right will go down into the rotary, see next scene. Cueball is looking down into this and expressing his dislike of this {{w|Traffic circle|type of structures}}. Maybe he has bad experience with these in real life traffic.
|-
|The rotary.
|
:(none)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1608_1033x1095y_The_rotary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1095+s.png (1033, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1095+s.png (1035, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the {{w|Traffic circle|Rotary}} that has given its name to the section of the Star Destroyer from the structure itself and right of this until the section where the cave is located. A rotary is also known as a ''traffic circle'' and is a large version of a roundabout with several roads exiting from it. At the top of the upper left passage (see the scene above) Cueball is looking down into this structure and calls it a rotary (hence the name).

The centre contains a small room with a stick figure wearing a tonsure haircut (where only the top of the head is shaved bald), a potted plant, and a coin. The plant resembles a pea plant, and the tonsure is a haircut associated with monks, so this is likely to be Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a 19th century Czech monk who discovered the principles of genetic inheritance by crossing strains of pea plants.

Large rotaries may have more than four roads leading away, but in this case, there are four, and neither of them are leading straight away up/down or left/right. Three of them are almost at a 45-degree angle, but the one going down is only a little of to the right, and soon turns straight down.

Only other feature is the Cueball rushing right on his bike in the corridor leading away from the rightmost exit. There are several bikes throughout the comic, with two more in the Globe of Death above the bridge of the Destroyer and one going down the right slope of the Volcano.

Entering the rotary for the first time there are of course three new directions to move along in, making it a special point in the users' exploration of the Destroyer.
|-
|Photon cannon Tetris piece and mini robot at bottom of hull.
|
:(None - the cannon part has been transcribed in the torpedo section)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1093+s.png (1034, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1092+s.png (1035, 1092)]
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Tetris}}
|The bottom part of the scene has already been described in relation to the torpedo rain. But as can be seen here it is possible to enter the torpedo room almost directly from the bottom exit of the rotary above. Coming down that way is also a T-shaped {{w|Tetris#Colors_of_Tetriminos|tetriminos}} from the Tetris computer game. At the end of the corridor with the small robot there is a shaft, and in the exit from the corridor there is a coin.
|-
|Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d3/1608_1038x1092y_Shaft_corridor_with_coin_and_room_with_coin_over_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1092+s.png (1038, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1036:-1092+s.png (1036, 1092)]
|
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|Going down from the corridor from the scene above takes the player through a small room with a coin at the bottom of the hull and then out over a thick ledge in the air beneath the Destroyer. There is a large gap starting here that ends in the ''Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.
|-
|Giant octopus in Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1094+s.png (1038, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1093+s.png (1038, 1093)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|A giant octopus with a dome shaped head in a dome shaped room with coins above its tentacles left and right. In TE there are several octopuses, and this animal is also often used in xkcd in general. But particularly in ''The USS Laws of the Land'' there is both a large octopus beneath the ship and one giant tentacle reaching up from the deep. If this is considered a monster, then this section of the ship may be the monster section as there also seem to be some kind of horned monster in the room to the right of this room.
|-
|Hamster ball and stilts room.
|
:Megan: ''AaaaAaaa''
:Guy with hair: I can't leave.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1095+s.png (1038, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1039:-1096+s.png (1039, 1096)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster balls category]]
|This room is the first after exiting the rotary to the upper right. The shaft goes down past the octopus room (see scene above). It is the second instance with a hamster ball in this comic, the first being a small girl (with Megan like hair) in the left part of the world just before the plateau. But in this case, it is the adult Megan that is inside the ball, not only running but actually standing on a skateboard. She is clearly not in control. As the player is on a hoverboard there is some kind of connection with a girl on skateboard. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE Megan also uses a skateboard, inside a rounded structure.

Megan is not alone though as there is also a guy (with a wee bit of hair) on stilts. The stilts seem to be very high and if the guy wishes to stay on these stilts his assessment, that he can't leave the room, is true. Between his stilts there is a coin. The world highest stilts are shown in [[482: Height]] and in the next "game" comic after this one, [[1663: Garden]], it is possible to "[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts.png grow]" a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/Garden_Stilt_walker.png girl on stilts].
|-
|Box with horns and coin room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1043x1093y_Box_with_horns_and_coin_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1093+s.png (1043, 1093)]
|
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|In this room across from the giant octopus room there is yet a possible monster hidden in a box. Two large horns jut out of the box, but if they are standing on the box or is sitting on some horned beast inside the box is not clear. But they look rather ominously, and if it is a monster, it would with the giant octopus make this section a monster section. A coin is hovering between the horns. The shaft up is the only way to move further down inside the Destroyer without moving over or under the hull.

Its appearance in the Star Destroyer with the coin makes it superficially similar to a holoprojector, with the coin as the holorgram - it is unclear whether this is the intended meaning, however.
|-
|Zoom out of three empty rooms near bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1046x1094y_Zoom_out_of_three_empty_rooms_near_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|A dead end with three empty room with no coins or any interesting features, thus only this zoomed out version is displayed here. The rooms are just right of the horned box and below is the part of the hull that is the opening where the Destroyer will swallow the Runner. It is not a complete waste to come over this way, as the room to the right with the hoverboard is central to the comic. But no need to go into these rooms if trying to pick up all the coins as fast as possible.
|-
|Corridor with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1046x1097y_Corridor_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1097+s.png (1046, 1097)]
|
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|This is one of the longer corridors without any features. It is the only way to move right inside the destroyer in this section. The corridor goes above the three empty rooms in the scene above and also above the hoverboard room in the scene below. At the end of the corridor there is a shaft up. The only reason this segment is shown is because of the coin.
|-
|Two hoverboards room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1095+s.png (1048, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1094+s.png (1048, 1094)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]]
|Self-reference to title of this comic, and the conversation guide comic released shortly after this is also referencing this entire comic as it complains that hoverboards are not real yet. There is both another hoverboard Cueball and a hoverboard Megan in this room, but compared to the players hoverboard Cueball these two are somewhat more advanced and managed to swoop around the coin in the middle. The room can only be entered from the right. To the left there is only a dead end with three completely empty rooms, so don't bother going there if you are in a hurry to pick up all the coins...
|-
|Zoom out with dead end corridor car room and shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f9/1608_1051x1097y_Zoom_out_with_dead_end_corridor_car_room_and_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Overview of the end of the long corridor with the coin mentioned above. It ends here in the dead end at the bottom. The corridor above has Cueball lying on the hood of a car in a small room quite a distance from any exits to the outside.
|-
|Cueball on hood of car room and a giant step with coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1099+s.png (1048, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1099+s.png (1049, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this dead-end room Cueball is lying on the hood of a car. Hoverboard Cueball cannot copy this as the car is not a solid segment of the image. The hull is not far away, and the car room is right where one of the large steps in the upper hull appears. Right outside there are two coins at the bottom and top of the step. These cannot be seen from inside the room. There is no fast way to get outside from here, and actually no easy way to get a car into this room either. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE there is also a car stuck in the middle of the skyscraper a long way from the parking cellar. In this comic there is actually even one more car in the Destroyer, but that is at least close to an exit ledge (see scene below).
|-
|Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull.
|
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?
:Blonde woman with hair bun: Whatever. Who cares it’s probably fine.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1090+s.png (1049, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1050:-1090+s.png (1050, 1090)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan is referring to the fact that spaceships in Star Wars often fly fast also inside the atmosphere of a planet. Not something you would normally design for. Though in the case with the Destroyer and Runner they did not go inside the atmosphere as depicted here in the comic, in the scene from the original Star Wars movie. The blonde woman comes with a comment typical for b-moves, who cares if this would work in real life, it is just a film.

There is a large gap in the bottom hull ending here and starting in the ''Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.

Behind the two women, who are standing on a thin ledge where the large gap ends, there is another car (see scene above). At least it is clear how this car could get into this room (and out again). Above the car there is a coin. Behind the car there is a corridor going into the Destroyer, but quite high up on the wall for a normal exit. The car cannot be used as a step to jump in there, as it is not part of the solid picture.
|-
|Ponytail flying up a shaft towards a coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1091+s.png (1053, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1091+s.png (1054, 1091)]
|
|
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|
|The corridor from the room with Megan and the car is long. In the middle of it there is a shaft going up (a long way). Just inside this shaft Ponytail is seen flying up, hands in front of her like another Superman. Above her in the shaft there is a coin. This is not the only place in the comic where Ponytail is flying. Although here it seems like an automatic thing (like Superman), whereas down below on the ground below the Destroyer she has to flap her arms violently, but then actually manages to take off from the ground. In a spaceship like this Destroyer there could both be a system to let people float upwards, some gravitational effects or just plain effects of the flying itself, whereas down on the ground flying like that would be magic for sure. But at least there seems to be some correlation since it is Ponytail that flies in both cases.
|-
|Trap covered with leaves and flying Ponytail at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: ...And we cover it with leaves so no one sees it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1090+s.png (1055, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1091+s.png (1055, 1091)]
|
|
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|
|After the shaft where Ponytail flies up (see more in the scene above) the corridor continues to a pit which Cueball and a kid have been covering with leaves and sticks. It seems like they are making a trap, which is even more likely seeing that the bottom of the pit has six sharp spikes that would likely impale any unlucky victims that fell in. Alternatively (given the words Cueball uses), they have made this hole by mistake, and now tries to cover it so no one sees it. If he meant it to be a trap, he might instead have phrased it, "so they won't see it until it is too late". The kid looks like the kid in the room at the rotary, as they have the same hairdo.
|-
|Corridor and shaft with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8f/1608_1053x1094y_Corridor_and_shaft_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1094+s.png (1053, 1094)]
|
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|
|The shaft going up from Ponytail below goes past the corridor to the left that goes to the hoverboards room. There is a coin in the entrance.
|-
|'''Entire Corridor peristalsis and colon.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_Entire_area_around_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Zoom out to entire area]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|With the comment from Hairbun about peristalsis - the bowel movement getting food etc. through the digestive system, and with the three chambers with coins above a colon like structure, leading into the corridor with these motions, with a coin both going down the colon and through the peristalsis, there can be no doubt that this is the digestive system for this "living" spaceship, and coins is what it lives off. This interpretation can further be extended to the very front end, where there is the appearance of a head that eats coins (see the front-end overview) and at the rear end a coin is bouncing out at the very last shaft before the very end of the ship. Suggesting where this animal gets rid of the waste products afterwards. (The rest of the ship is not part of this interpretation).
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and two-coin rooms at top of hull.
|
:Hairbun: Ah, yes. Corridor peristalsis.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1099+s.png (1054, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1100+s.png (1057, 1100)]
|
|
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|
|Following the corridor from the room with Cueball on the hood of a car leads to a part of that corridor experiencing {{w|peristalsis}}. This is the kind of muscle movements that causes food to move through the {{w|human gastrointestinal tract}}. Hairbun is telling Cueball that this is indeed corridor peristalsis, so a way for the corridor to move stuff along. As there are coins at both end of this section it is quite clear that these coins are moved along by the corridor itself. The indentation of the corridor is so strong that the corridor is not wide enough to allow hoverboard Cueball to pass through. So, to get both coins another route needs to be found. The shortest way is to go up the shaft behind Hairbun, passing the two empty rooms with coins on the way to the top of the Destroyers hull. To get to the other side hoverboard Cueball will then have to pass through the Destroyers colon like structure to the right. See below. As mentioned in the overview above this is a clear reference to the human digestive system, or in this case the Destroyers ditto.
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and colon.
|
:Cueball: Wheee!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1055x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1099+s.png (1055, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1099+s.png (1056, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Moving a little further down right than the peristalsis scene above the bottom part of the {{w|Large intestine|colon}} like structure can be seen, closely connected to this other intestine like structure (The three coins in the left part of the image are the same as in the scene above). The reason for showing this scene is to show the closeness of these two digestive system structures. In ''Box that cleans food holders'' in TE Ponytail yells "Wheee!" as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach, a mix of the action performed by Cueball and Ponytail in the colon like structure. Ponytail is sliding towards a coin at the bottom in one of the colon loops. The top part of the colon can be seen in the next scene.
|-
|Colon like structure with Ponytail and Cueball sliding down.
|
:(None - text already transcribed in the scene above ''Corridor peristalsis and colon''.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_1058x1100y_Colon_like_structure_with_Ponytail_and_Cueball_sliding_down.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1100+s.png (1058, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1101+s.png (1058, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|The entrance from the top to the colon like structure have a Cueball looking down into it. The rest of the scene has been described above.
|-
|Huge step and three room with coin and Cueball looking into shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/14/1608_1058x1102y_Huge_step_and_three_room_with_coin_and_Cueball_looking_into_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1102+s.png (1058, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1103+s.png (1056, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the upper entrance to the colon like structure into which Cueball is looking. (See scenes above). To the left is the top hull of the Destroyer which takes two huge steps up at this place. Cueball is standing in a corridor with three small rooms, each with a coin in the top of the room. This seems to be a place to hold the coins until they are ready to move down the colon like structure, where another coin is already moving through, going down to the corridor peristalsis in the corridor below, where more coins are moving through the ships digestive system. Going over the hull and down this colon like structure is the fastest/shortest way between the two separated sides of the corridor peristalsis.
|-
|Coin in corridor under Buffer stop room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1060x1099y_Coin_in_corridor_under_Buffer_stop_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1099+s.png (1059, 1099)]
|
|
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|
|Moving away to the right from the corridor peristalsis takes hoverboard Cueball past a small shaft up into a room with two coins in front of what looks like a train {{w|buffer stop}}. One coin in front of each of the buffers. Continuing along the corridor there is another coin. The corridor continues and a shaft is going up. This part of the Destroyer is the beginning of the cave section. The cave can be entered from above by continuing along the corridor.
|-
|Cannon with coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_1060x1103y_Canon_with_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1103+s.png (1060, 1103)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1103+s.png (1062, 1103)]
|
|
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|There is a similar cannon with a coin in front of the barrel on the top of the Runner below the Destroyer. This cannon is on top of the hull above and right of the three room above the colon like structure. The shaft going down right is over the next cave section.
|-
|Coin in corridor below mining company in dead end corridor.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1062x1101y_Coin_in_corridor_below_mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1101+s.png (1062, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1101+s.png (1063, 1101)]
|
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|Two Cueballs work as a mining company in this corridor which they are expanding. It could be that they are digging for gold, but if that gold should be represented by coins, it is weird that the coin hangs above the Cueball with the {{w|pickaxe}} in the higher section of this corridor, instead of being in front of him. The other Cueball drives away with a wheelbarrow full of the rubble they have dug free from the ship. This is another indication of how big the ship is. It is easier to just dig a new corridor than to build the corridor into the ship to begin with. Further to the left in the Destroyer there was another dead-end corridor that looked like it had been dug out - see the scene ''Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.'' But here the mining company had left (even though there also was a coin there). The shaft to the left goes up to the hull right of the cannon from the scene above. The corridor below goes left (past another coin) to the shaft down to the corridor with peristalsis. To the right it goes above the cave to the dance hall room with piano.
|-
|Mining company in dead end corridor also coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ca/1608_1063x1102y_Mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor_also_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1102+s.png (1063, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1103+s.png (1063, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|The same mining company scene as described above but with the view moved to show the top hull, right of the cannon. Right of the shaft going up there is a coin. At the very top right of the hull, the basketball dropped by the Cueball like kid can be seen as it comes bouncing down the length of the hull. This basketball scene is part of the cave section and will be described below.
|-
|'''Entire cotton trap and spark gap room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/65/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap.png Entire area around] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Here are two different zoom out of the cotton trap room with the spark gap room below. In the first overview a zoom out is shown with only these two rooms. There are four coins inside and two on the outside of the hull. The three coins around the cotton trap is almost connected by the cotton, as can be seen in the next overview where the hidden passage through the cotton is clearly marked in red. As can be seen there is a very deep black hole beneath the surface of the cotton (which Ponytail states is cotton). From the bottom of the cotton trap going left will lead to a hidden entrance to the top of the spark gap room. Going right will lead to the hidden entrance to the corridor with traps going to the left entrance to the cave. There are coins on each exit as well as just above the cotton to the right. The third image is a further zoom out to show the entire surroundings of the cotton trap room. (And the last is with the cotton etc. turned red). Here the traps in the corridor leading to the cave can be seen as well as the opening into the cave. Below that the strange spiral corridor can be seen. Both these scenes will be described below in the cave section. To the left the shaft and corridors that connect the two rooms even if not noticing the hidden passage can be seen. It is the corridor with the trap covered by Cueball and the shaft where Ponytail flies up. Three more coins are visible in this wider zoom out for a total of nine coins in this area. The two rooms will be described in further detail below. All of the rooms that can be entered through the cotton trap can also be entered through different entrances from other routes. This means that failing to find out how the cotton trap works, will not prevent the player in reaching either the spark gap from below or the cave to the right.
|-
|Entire Cotton trap room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Overview with the entire cotton trap with and without the cotton shown in red. See above and below for more details.
|-
|Coins in two corridors towards cotton trap.
|
:(None - transcript is written in the scene below.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1055x1095y_Coins_in_two_corridors_towards_cotton_trap.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1095+s.png (1055, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1095+s.png (1056, 1095)]
|
|
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|
|The corridor going from the shaft with the flying Ponytail to the Ponytail warning about the cotton trap also has a coin. The coin in the exit of the other corridor to the shaft was mentioned previously as it is the exit from the room with two hoverboards. See more about the cotton trap below.
|-
|Cotton trap room with Ponytail.
|
:Ponytail: Watch out for the cotton. It's a trap for someone, I think.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/28/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1095+s.png (1057, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1094+s.png (1059, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Entering this room along the top corridor reveals Ponytail standing at the beginning of a steep descend. She clearly warns the player about a trap made of cotton. As can be seen in the hidden passage image most of the black at the bottom of the descend is not solid floor but a hidden passage. Given Ponytails comment it must be assumed to be made of cotton. Given that hoverboard Cueball is not affected by the cotton and can move either up again, or out left or right it is not a trap for him. But other unlucky persons falling into the cotton might not be as lucky. If this is not a trap in itself, there are several traps if moving out to the right (where the coin is below the cotton level). This corridor goes to the cave, but first after passing five traps. See more about the entire surroundings in the overview scenes above.
|-
|Cotton trap room bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1092+s.png (1058, 1092)]
|
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|The bottom of the cotton trap is a dark place. But as can be seen in the red hidden passage image it is possible to move both left and right to get out. In either case a coin can be obtained at the exit. The left exit leads to a shaft going into the spark gap room below, and the right exit leads through a corridor with traps into the cave. Going up in the spark gap room below will clearly reveal the shaft up. But if the cotton trap has not been discovered at this time, it is likely that the player will not attempt to breech the wall and would thus fail to enter the cotton trap from below. The coin could easily seem enough reason for this dead-end shaft above the room.
|-
|Entire spark gap room to bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1058x1090y_Zoom_out_of_spark_gap_room_to_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire spark gap room, both showing the two coins beneath the outside hull as well as the coin in the top shaft (leading to the cotton trap to the right of this) and the coin behind the spark gap. See more below.
|-
|Spark gap room
|
:Cueball on wall: Shh.
:Electrode bottom: JS
:Electrode top: JS
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4d/1608_1057x1092y_Spark_gap_room_with_Cueball_on_the_wall.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/1608_1058x1090y_Spark_gap_room_only_with_Cueball_on_floor_and_coins_at_bottom_of_hull.png Buttom part to below hull]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1090+s.png (1058, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1092+s.png (1057, 1092)]
|
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|This room is called the {{w|spark gap}} room, because there seems to be a spark between the two large electrode like structures marked JS. Cueball is watching this, maybe he is the evil inventor that has created this device. At least another Cueball is climbing high above him up on the wall to the left, and when the player passes him on his hoverboard he asks the player no to talk about him (''shh''). It is unclear if he is sneaking away, spying, or sneaking down to attack the other Cueball. A coin is hidden behind the spark gap, but as the spark gap is of the "red" type of black hoverboard Cueball can pass without problems into the coin. As can be seen in the other image displaying the lower part of this scene, the coin outside of the hull is close by, and actually the two coins above each other down there are in the same small image (see the first of the small images).
|-
|Corridor with fire and hammer traps.
|
:Hammers left: Chomp Chomp
:Hammer right: Chomp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1094+s.png (1060, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1061:-1093+s.png (1061, 1093)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the corridor exiting the cotton trap room (with a coin as mentioned previously), see the cotton in the hidden passage in red image. The corridor leads to the cave, but to get there five traps has to be passed. First there are four hammers with jagged edges that opens and closes with much force as perceived by the noises. And then a pit with a fire has to be surpassed. Of course, as can be seen in the "red" image, neither of these traps are any problem for hoverboard Cueball as they are all of the red type of black. But it is a clear indication that the player is about to enter some interesting place, which is true as the cave is one of the most interesting places in the Destroyer. Although there are two other ways to get into the cave, it is by far the most interesting way to enter the cave for the first time!
|-
|Corridor to cave opening.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1062x1094y_Corridor_to_cave_opening.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1094+s.png (1062, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1094+s.png (1063, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Same scene as above but only the right part with the fire, to show how the corridor enters the beginning of the cave.
|-
|Zoom out with spiral corridor at bottom of the hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1063x1091y_Zoom_out_with_spiral_corridor_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|
|Below the corridor to the cave is a strange corridor which spirals into nothing in the middle. There are no coins in this section, so this is a zoom out without any further zoom in on this section. The room at the top seems like a starting point to go into the spiral. The corridor to the right goes into the huge glitch floor room below the cave. The shaft down goes out the bottom of the hull.
|-
|'''Entire Cave Bridge and rear end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|-
|'''Entire cave section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_Entire_cave_section.png Overview]
|Overview
|
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|-
|Entire Cave and Glitch floor room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ea/1608_Entire_Cave_and_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|From this image it is clear that the two largest rooms in the Destroyer are almost of the same size and positioned almost on top of each other. They only need a little parallel shift to make them into one big circular room. The Glitch floor room is a feature that can be seen in the Star Wars film, as a protrusion beneath the hull of the Destroyer. In an actual Star Destroyer, this protrusion holds the hyper matter reactor that powers the ship as a whole.
|-
|'''Entire Cave.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/24/1608_Entire_Cave_and_shaft_above.png With shaft and room above] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Pyramid]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In ''Sky Toucher'' there is also a floor in the skyscraper with trees inside, just like the tree inside the cave inside the Destroyer.
|-
|Lake with tree birds and puma on rock at exit in the bottom left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1093+s.png (1065, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1094+s.png (1067, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|{{w|Puma}}, or mountain lions, are important predators in an ecosystem and would help keep the deer population in this cave under control.
|-
|Three birds in the top left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1095y_Three_birds_in_the_top_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1095+s.png (1065, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|
|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} has its origins in bird conservation, and it is only natural that an Imperial Park such as this (see below) would also contain birds.
|-
|Gazebo puma deer Cueball with bow and talk of Palpatine in the middle of the cave.
|
:Cueball: I know it seems weird, but every Star Destroyer has one of these rooms.
:Cueball: Say what you will about Palpatine's politics, but he's a staunch supporter of the imperial parks and the Coruscant Audubon society.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1093+s.png (1068, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1094+s.png (1068, 1094)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Palpatine is the evil emperor and the capital "planet" Coruscant is a planet with city all over the solid parts of the surface. So that he is interested in keeping parks both on this planet and on all his Star Destroyers comes as a surprise...
|-

|The broad shaft going into the top of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_1067x1097y_The_broad_shaft_going_into_the_top_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1097+s.png (1067, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1096+s.png (1068, 1096)]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Deer and exit below lamp coin and Black Hat in the bottom right side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1093+s.png (1069, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1093+s.png (1071, 1093)]
|
|
|
|
|Black Hat is sitting in a cubby high above the ground and looks to be asleep.
|-
|Lamp coin and Black Hat in the top right side of the cave.
|
:Insects: ''Bzzzzz''

:Black Hat: Zzz
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png (1070, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|
|In this image the coin is part of the scenery as it is the lamp the buzzing insects fly around. When it is gone it reveals a broken lamp, and an insect that had been hidden behind the coin.
|-
|Corridor from shaft to the two coins in corridors.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_1063x1099y_Corridor_from_shaft_to_the_two_coins_in_corridors.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1099+s.png (1065, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1098+s.png (1064, 1098)]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Two coins in corridors and four-coin room above shaft to cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_1067x1104y_Two_coins_in_corridors_and_four_coin_room_above_shaft_to_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1100+s.png (1067, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1098+s.png (1067, 1098)]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Chandelier room with two coins above cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_1070x1098y_Chandelier_room_with_two_coins_above_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1098+s.png (1070, 1098)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1098+s.png (1071, 1098)]
|
|
|
|
|The coins here look like lightbulbs, although it is unclear what a chandelier is doing in a room like this.
|-
|Zoom out with dance room and basketball and slinky stair at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/1608_1068x1101y_Zoom_out_with_dance_room_and_basketball_and_slinky_stair_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
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|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
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|-
|Coin close to basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_1063x1104y_Coin_close_to_basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1104+s.png (1065, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1104+s.png (1064, 1104)]
|
|
|
|
|This coin could also be something that's bouncing down the slope of the Star Destroyer hull - see below.
|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1104+s.png (1067, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1104+s.png (1066, 1104)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|2 Cueballs, Megan and Ponytail are playing basketball on top of the sloped hull of the Star Destroyer. This has proven to be a bad idea, as the slope of the hull has caused the basketball to bounce and roll down the slope, while Cueball runs behind it to catch it.
|-
|Dancing room with piano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1069x1101y_Dancing_room_with_piano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1101+s.png (1069, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1101+s.png (1070, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant in "An American in Paris."
|-
|Slinky staircase at top of hull.
|
:Slinky: Slink slink slink
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/1608_1069x1104y_Slinky_stair_case_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1104+s.png (1069, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1103+s.png (1070, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|While it is unclear why the slinky is on the star destroyer at all, the stairs are a reference to the slinky {{w|jingle}} which says "walks downstairs..." The noise is also a reference to the creation of the name "slinky" which was based on the word slink in the dictionary.
|-
|Upside down room and Giddyayup cowboy riding the ship at top of hull.
|
:Cowboy: Giddyayup!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/1608_1073x1104y_Upside_down_room_and_Giddyayup_cowboy_riding_the_ship_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1104+s.png (1072, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1103+s.png (1074, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|The man on top of the hull is a reference to riding a horse and specifically an American cowboy riding a horse. The (Cueball?) is using reins to "steer" the star destroyer much the same as one would steer a horse. In addition, "Giddyayup" is the command for a horse move. The upside-down room is most likely just a simple visual gag, but could also be a reference to the fact that star destroyers have artificial gravity in SW and thus any direction could be "up" depending on where you are.
|-
|'''Entire Glitch floor room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/52/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Including two rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Also including two close rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In the zoom outs the coin below the hidden glitch in the floor can be seen at the very bottom of the pictures. It is quite a drop to catch it, but if you did not expect it, it is likely you would reach it before going up again.
|-
|Bottom center of Glitch floor room with coin sign and Cueball.
|
:Large sign:
::!
::Caution:
::Glitchfloor.

:Floor signs:
::!
::!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1088+s.png (1069, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1088+s.png (1070, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|You are warned not to step onto this glitch floor! But if you do you can drop down to yet another coin far below the Destroyer, but even farther up above the ground.
|-
|Two rooms with coins right of Glitch floor room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_1074x1090y_Two_rooms_with_coins_right_of_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1092+s.png (1073, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1091+s.png (1074, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Cannon protruding below the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_1075x1088y_Canon_protruding_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1088+s.png (1075, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1088+s.png (1076, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|This cannon is a standard cannon seen on a star destroyer in Star Wars and is not out of place here. It is somewhat unusual that this is on the bottom, since these cannons are generally on top though they are all over the ship, and there are turrets on the bottom of the First Order star destroyer in Force Awakens. Also, the shape is more reminiscent of a real tank gun than the squarer turrets in Star Wars, though this is probably just an effect of Randall's drawing style, rather than anything significant.
|-
|Entire area around the bridge.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_Entire_area_around_the_bridge.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4b/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_rear_section.png Entire bridge area] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_emperor.png Brdige and emperor] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c2/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_globe_of_death.png Bridge and globe of death] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png Actual bridge] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png Vader twice and emperor]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the main bridge of the Star Destroyer, including the command deck. It hosts both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpantine aboard. The Globe of Death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generators.
|-
|Ponytail with paper plane and coin below her on top hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1077x1107y_Ponytail_with_paper_plane_and_coin_below_her_on_top_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1106+s.png (1078, 1006)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1105+s.png (1077, 1105)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Cueball also throws out a plane in Click and Drag from the skyscraper. This also happens in the ''Sky Toucher'' in TE where it is Ponytail again.
|-
|Tarkin on the bridge and Ponytail with paper plane.
|
:Cueball: The fault, dear Tarkin, is not in our star destroyers, but in ourselves.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1107+s.png (1077, 1107)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1108+s.png (1077, 1108)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|| This is most likely a reference to the book (then made into a movie) titled "{{w|The Fault in Our Stars}}". The title of which is a reference to a line in {{w|William Shakespeare |Shakespeare's}} play {{W|Julius Caesar (play) |Julius Ceasar}}; "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves". Grand Moff Tarkin is the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
|-
|Darth Vader talks about Steven Universe on the bridge Megan adjust antenna.
|
:Megan: Such a pain adjusting this thing every time we move

:Darth Vader: ''Breathe''
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a crystal gem,
:Darth Vader: ''Breathe'')
:Darth Vader: so he's half- Are you getting all this?
:Hairy: Yes, my Lord!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1109+s.png (1077, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1110+s.png (1077, 1110)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|Darth Vader refers to Steven Universe from the TV series. His mother is a Crystal Gem, so since his father is human, he is only a half gem, which is a joke in itself. Steven and his family are located inside a room in the middle of the Destroyer. Maybe as prisoners or it could be Vader is just a big fan since he talks about them on the bridge.
|-
|Globe of Death at the top of the Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1110+s.png (1078, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1112+s.png (1077, 1112)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This structure of the Globe of death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generator globes as can be seen in the films.
|-
|Fire system with pure oxygen and two coins room.
|
:Hairbun: In the event of a fire on one of the decks, this system will seal it off and pump in pure oxygen.
:Ponytail: Wait, ''Oxygen?'' Not a fire suppressant like-
:Hairbun: Ugh, ''boring''.

|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1080x1105y_Fire_system_with_pure_oxygen_and_two_coins_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1105+s.png (1080, 1105)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1105+s.png (1081, 1105)]
|
|
|
|
|This is a reference to a {{w|Gaseous fire suppression}} in which tanks similar to those shown are filled with an inert gas, usually nitrogen. Similar systems are referenced in [[1737: Datacenter Scale]]. This system is generally used in large server rooms, where a room with fire will be sealed off from the rest of the servers, and the inert gas will flow into the room, extinguishing the fire, at the cost of whatever was in the room. Since this could be deadly these systems are only legal in rooms with little or no human interaction. The character on the left (Possibly Megan with hair buns) starts off by describing this system, though the system on the star destroyer has the key difference of piping in oxygen, instead of nitrogen, which Ponytail questions. Megan responds "Uhh, ''Boring''." which is technically true. An Inert gas will have a little visible effect, and the fire will slowly die. Piping in oxygen, however, is not a valid way to extinguish flames, as it would feed the fire instead of extinguishing it, though, if you have an adequate seal, this might not be as much of a problem as it sounds. The fire will eventually consume all of the oxygen and die. Unfortunately, there are 3 problems with this. The first is simple: there are people on a star destroyer, and this system will kill them if they happen to be near the fire. The second is that in addition to simply feeding the fire the oxygen is explosive, which could potentially blow the doors that seal the decks, allowing the fire to spread. The third is in the wording of (Megan?); who says that it will seal off the affected ''deck'' which is SW generally refers to an entire level. While this may just be a wording error by Randall, given the humor of the rest of the system, it would not be a great leap to imagine a system that seals off a whole floor regardless of the size of the fire, killing everyone on that floor. In addition, given that the Empire is evil, it is also not a stretch to believe that they would kill an entire deck for a small fire just because the alternative is boring. This kind of scenario was in fact explored in the novel {{w|Star Wars: Lost Stars}} where it is described that entire decks were destroyed during the scene in {{w|The Empire Strikes Back}} where a star destroyer chases the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. This destruction is pointed out in the novel and dismissed, as it is in this comic.
|-
|Darth Vader’s gold bullion and Cueball and Ponytail in small room at the top of the hull.
|
:Cueball: Aha! Darth Vader's secret gold bullion reserves! We'll be rich!
:Megan: I'm not sure this is canon.
:Bags: $ $ $
:Boxes: $ $ $ $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_1080x1108y_Darth_Vaders_gold_bullion_and_Cueball_and_Ponytail_in_small_room_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1108+s.png (1080, 1108)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1109+s.png (1079, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Despots are generally known for having vast reserves of wealth hidden away secretly, often in the form of gold. Here, Megan remarks on finding Darth Vader's secret stash. This is obviously not canon, as Cueball remarks - Darth Vader's palaces in both canon and legacy storylines have been largely devoid of treasures and wealth, being mostly a place of meditation on the Dark Side.
|-
|Large crocodile near globe of death at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e8/1608_1081x1110y_Large_crocodile_near_globe_of_death_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1110+s.png (1081, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1111+s.png (1079, 1111)]
|
|
|
|
|Crocodiles are cold-blooded creatures, and a flat, open, sunlit space such as the top of the Star Destroyer Bridge would be a great place for a crocodile to bask in the sun to warm itself.
|-
|The Emperor Palpatine and his birds at the top of the hull.
|
:Guy: My emperor...
:Guy: We all share in your newfound enthusiasm for birdwatching.
:Guy: But normally one watches them in the wild, rather than drugging and imprisoning them in a house of stairs.
:Emperor: ''Silence.''
:Bird: Chirp
:Bird: Chirp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_1083x1109y_The_Emperor_Palpatine_and_his_birds_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1109+s.png (1083, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1109+s.png (1084, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|House of Stairs may refer to the M. C. Escher {{w|House Of Stairs|lithograph}} with that title, but this is more likely to be a reference to the William Sleator novel {{w|House of Stairs (Sleator novel)|House Of Stairs}} (named for the Escher work) which features five teenage orphans who wake up inside an environment with similarities to that in the Escher print (but with normal gravity).
|-
|Coin behind the rear end at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1087x1108y_Coin_behind_the_rear_end_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1087:-1108+s.png (1087, 1108)]
|
|
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|-
|'''Entire Prince of Persia maze.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_both_exits.png Including both exits]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Prince of Persia}}
|Compare to this [https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png picture of level 1] taken from the game.
|-
|Corridor left of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1073x1101y_Corridor_left_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1101+s.png (1073, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1101+s.png (1072, 1101)]
|
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|
|See above.
|-
|Left entrance to Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1076x1101y_Left_entrance_to_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1101+s.png (1076, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1101+s.png (1077, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left part of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/03/1608_1079x1102y_Left_part_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1102+s.png (1077, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1102+s.png (1080, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right part and exit of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1082x1101y_Right_part_and_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1101+s.png (1082, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1102+s.png (1081, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right exit of Prince of Persia maze and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1084x1103y_Right_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1102+s.png (1083, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1103+s.png (1083, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Ant Queen and alarm ante room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/10/1608_Ant_Queen_and_alarm_ante_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In this section all rooms have the same dome shaped ceiling that goes a little below the walls of the corridors.
|-
|Corridor with alarm and trapped Cueball.
|
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1075x1094y_Corridor_with_alarm_and_trapped_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1094+s.png (1075, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1094+s.png (1074, 1094)]
|
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|Cueball appears to be trapped beneath a platform and is looking up, presumably wondering how to escape this situation. This has been made more ominous by the alarm going off nearby, which adds to the seriousness of the situation. A coin has been stored alongside some boxes nearby as well.
|-
|Ant Queen in Destroyer.
|
:Cueball: What's up?
:Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
:Cueball: Eww.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1095+s.png (1078, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1094+s.png (1077, 1094)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic: [[1610: Fire Ants]] and [[1641: Hot Dogs]]
|The ant comic was released only a week after this comic and refers how cool ants are. Ants are also used twice in TE A zoom in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others: an ant queen, a clear reference to the ant queen in the Destroyer. The other comic is a discussion running along exactly the same template ending in ''Eww''.

This is probably a reference to a part of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" in his Ender series. In it, the main character, Ender, visits a hive queen "bugger" he saved on his travels and became friends with, at a time after the queen has settled in on a new planet. At one point, Ender brings other humans to meet the queen at a time when she was giving birth to some of her drones. This is most likely meant to represent a parody of that conversation or else represent a comedic idea of his first conversation with her when she had been birthing, where Ender is alone and is speaking to the Hive Queen. In this version, when he finds out that she is in the process of birthing more ants, rather than being compassionate and understanding with the Queen (as he is in the book), Ender is weirded out like the other humans he brings along with him later.
|-
|Entire shafts from top to bottom towards the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_Entire_shafts_from_top_to_bottom_towards_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the longest shaft in the Destroyer, and with the other shaft going out at the rear end, it is possible to go from the top room at the emperor and out beneath in a very short time.
|-
|Coin in the longest shaft.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1084x1099y_Coin_in_the_longest_shaft.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1099+s.png (1084, 1099)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Might be a reference to how the emperor fell to his first death by being thrown down a shaft in the throne room by Darth Vader onboard the 2nd Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
|-
|Cueball and Megan hanging on to each other in a shaft figuring this out.
|
:Cueball: Okay
:Cueball: We can figure this out.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1084x1095y_Cueball_and_Megan_hanging_on_to_each_other_in_a_shaft_figuring_this_out.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1095+s.png (1084, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to a similar scene in "The Emperor's New Groove", although neither character here is obviously a llama.
|-
|Zoom out on light bulb with corridor and other room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1084x1092y_Zoom_out_on_light_bulb_with_corridor_and_other_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
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|-
|Giant light bulb room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1090+s.png (1084, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1085:-1090+s.png (1085, 1090)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''The pieces everything is made of'' in TE a light bulb is used as reference for the entry on tungsten as the filament in such bulbs is made from this element.
|-
|Hairbun proposition room and Cueball losing his sandwich at the rear end.
|
:Hairbun: Use a proposition instead of a preposition if you need something to end a sentence with, baby.

:Cueball: My sandwich!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_1086x1091y_Hair_Bun_Girl_proposition_room_and_Cueball_losing_his_sandwich_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1091+s.png (1086, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1089:-1091+s.png (1089, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|One comment is inside the other on the outside of the Destroyer. Cueballs sandwich will fall to the ground.
|-
|Coin bouncing out from a shaft below the hull.
|
:Coin: Bounce
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_1086x1088y_Coin_bouncing_out_from_a_shaft_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1088+s.png (1086, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1090+s.png (1086, 1090)]
|
|
|
|
|In relation to the colon interpretation (see above) then this would literally be the rear of this living spaceship, and the coin is the waste going out the rear entry!
|-
|Megan hanging on below the bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan Hmm.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/1608_1082x1088y_Megan_hanging_on_below_the_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1088+s.png (1082, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Megan has found herself in a precarious situation and is humorously underreacting by going 'Hmm'.
|-
|Zoom out on shaft and small dead-end room at the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1088x1098y_Zoom_out_on_shaft_and_small_dead_end_room_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
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|
|-
|Zoom out on shafts and part of the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1088x1105y_Zoom_out_on_shafts_and_part_of_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
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|-
|Coin in a small indentation corridor at the rear end.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1090x1102y_Coin_in_a_small_indentation_corridor_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1102+s.png (1090, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|
|It is unknown what part of the Star Destroyer it could explicitly be hidden in. However, a Star Destroyer would have more than enough surface features for such an indent to exist and have a coin inside it.
|-
|Megan wants synesthesia at the rear end at bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan: I want synesthesia so bad I can ''taste'' it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1090x1088y_Megan_want_synesthesia_at_the_rear_end_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png (1090, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1213: Combination Vision Test]]
|{{w|Synesthesia}} is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. One typical version is where numbers are perceived as having colors. This was used in the comic referenced. In this comic a wish for something makes Megan almost taste it. If she did indeed have this dysfunction, she might already have what she wished for... This is one of the rare incidences where there are two almost identically Megans in one scene.
|}
</div>

==Technical aspects==
The game was made by [https://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].

===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, and it is not possible to go down further than image with Y coordinate 1073 (and it goes down to 1069 in the full image), so there is a bottom limit in the game. If using a [[#Cheats|cheat mode]] this may be different.

There are a couple of issues in the game. On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area before the black image loads and permanently traps you immobile (unless you [[#Cheats|cheat]]). Sometimes, the timing of the game is completely off, which can make Cueball move extremely slowly or quickly, which makes the images jump and makes the graphic look worse. The latter error was actually used to discover something about how you move when pressing the arrows - see under [[#Functionality|Functionality]]. 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 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 (see [[#Cheats|Cheats]]).

If you keep down the left/right control, you will keep moving along in that direction as long as no object blocks you.
A jump will only take you a certain height. The jump is initially very quick, then gravity stops you and reverts the direction. When descending, you accelerate quickly but reach a terminal velocity after a few seconds. If you jump repeatedly while keeping a left/right control down, you will jump in that direction. If you only jump once while holding down the direction control, then you will stop moving forward after about 2.8s. From then on, you will just keep falling straight down or stop where you reached if on the ground. This makes quite a difference when you jump into an opening from a high structure. If the background is completely white, you cannot see that you do not continue to move forward and will thus not be aware that you are now falling straight down, instead of going left/right.

It can actually be quite difficult to notice as you will leave any structures that can indicate this issue very quickly. Of course, if you notice that you land much too close to some high structure from where you base jumped, you will begin to understand. For instance, falling off the floating rock, and not moving away from under neath it during that long fall. The timing was discovered because of one of the bugs in the program that sometimes [[#Functionality|makes Cueball move extremely slow]], so one jump takes more than 3s. The solution to keep moving to either side while descending is that, after the jump, you release and repress the left/right control. You will then continue moving in that direction as long as you do not jump again. If you keep holding one of these buttons, you will also keep moving laterally. When you jump up over a long distance or continue to jump hover over the landscape, you will not have this issue, since every jump reactivates the lateral movement.

===Animation===
There have before been several interactive comics and also a few with animations. But these animations have typically been lines of flashing text or changing lights. This comic is the first with a character that is specifically changing position in animation style. Apart from this, there are also flashing text when leaving the play-area and text that appears and disappears as described in [[#Coins|Messages in Play Area]]. This also happens with the text written to begin with explaining how to play the game: ''Use the arrow keys to move'', which disappears upon touching the keys. Below are two images showing two kinds of animation of the hoverboard Cueball. The first image shows the eight standard animation that can easily be seen. They are
*Standing still facing right (starting position)
*Standing still facing left
*Moving left along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Moving right along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Jumping while facing left looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Jumping while facing right looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Falling while facing left looking down with hoverboard pointing up
*Falling while facing right looking down with hoverboard pointing up
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball standard animation.png]]

There are several in-between frames of Cueball turning from left to right and even more from right to left. The second image shows eight in between animations (together with four from above). Not all the positions are necessarily caught in this collage here, but there is only a limited amount of them and all last less tahn a split second. They have been sorted so it could look like Cueball has just turned to the right standing still, then jumping while turning right, then turning right while in jump, to finish the turn while falling.
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball turning animation.png]]

===Image coordinates===
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 from the starting tile can be seen here: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png, with the coordinate (X, Y) coordinate (1000, 1074).

Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. The image tiles names are listed as coordinates in an X - Y grid with X in the range from 928 to 1108 and Y in the range from 928 to 1112.

Internally in the game, the position of the player is given for instance as (X: 512187, -Y: -549668) for the starting position. Then these numbers are divided by 512 and rounded down. This gives the coordinate of the tile that the hoverboard is currently in.
:(X: 512187, -Y: -549668)/512 => (X, Y) = (1000.37, -[-1073,6]) => (1000, 1074) when the numbers are rounded down.
The bottom left corner of the first tile, would thus be (1000, 1073), and the top left corner (1000, 1074) => (512000, -549888).

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed-out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas. Here is an example which uses the initial Play Area:

{{cot|Play Area used as example}}
Using the Play Area as an example some of the features mentioned in this section will be explained.
The images used below can be seen together [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All of Play Area|here]].
The hoverboard begins in (X, Y) = [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
But even while staying within the Play Area, defined as the area where you will not be told to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area], you can see all or part of twenty images.
You can move one image left and right of the starting point before reaching the walls, and one image up without getting too high. But from there you can see part of the images one step further left, right and up, and from the starting level you can see part of the black images below as well.
This makes it a five times four images rectangle.
This first example shows a full-size image combined from these twenty images that make up the play area starting in the top left corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/998:-1076+s.png (998, 1076)] and finishing down the right corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1073+s.png (1002, 1073)].
Here are only the images themselves, nothing with the game parts, i.e. coins and hoverboard Cueball: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Images_Only.png Play Area Full Size Images Only].

The next example shows both where the tiles are and what you see to begin with, i.e. the starting view when loading the comic to begin with. Still without any in game details.
Here the tiles are lines out with green and the view frame is in red. From this it can be seen that the view is somewhat larger than a single image.
More precisely the view is 1.43 times longer and 1.34 higher than a tile giving an area almost twice as big (1.93 times), but only going about one-third of a tile length in each direction: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Tiles and View].
This third example shows the game version, with coins and hoverboard, but still the hole Play Area and hence also the read viewing square.

This is included to indicate which coins can be seen to begin with and also how the view is centered around Cueball and the hoverboard.
Cueballs center is also the center of the view. His center is defined as the line of his body in the X direction and just above his hands in the Y direction.
The view is twelve times as high and thirty times as wide as the Cueball on hoverboard (and compared to a tile these numbers are 9.4 and 20.8 times).[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard and View].

The last and fourth example is the same as above, but again with the green tiles.
This to indicate the size of a tile compared to Cueball
It also shows that although there are twelve coins in the starting view, the one at the top left is clearly in the image above, and the three others at the top are grazing the top edge of the image: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a3/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard Tiles and View].
{{cob}}

===Cheats===
[[File:1608_MetroidXK.png|500px|thumb|right]]
A standalone cross-platform [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl open-source] remake of this comic is available. It has extra features, such as offline play, arbitrary game window size, persistent games state on exit, save up to ten locations and teleport to them at will, and an explorable world map. It is available to dowload [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl/releases here].

There's also a satirical crossover with the classic game {{w|Super Metroid}}, allowing the user to explore the world as Samus in search of powerups and secrets, while encountering danger at every turn. You can find more information [https://web.archive.org/web/20170223172620/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=113083&start=120#p3913102 here] and download it [https://www.xeloh.com/Releases#MetroidXK here].

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:

'''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. 
'''Click to expand:'''

*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white Gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.

*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed

*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -10 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)

*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity

*'''Noclip mode:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''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:''' ''explorer.pos.x = *Value* or 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 necessary for exploring in this way.

* '''All the above:''' ''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(explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.

* '''List all coins:''' ''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 code below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with i.am.gandalf
{{cot|View hacks}}
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:

<pre>
var coinsnotfound = [];
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
if (explorer.objects[T].got == false) {
coinsnotfound.push([
explorer.objects[T].x1,
explorer.objects[T].y1
])
}
}
console.log(coinsnotfound);
</pre>
To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

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

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "blue";
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;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "blue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "blue";
}
linecolor = "deepskyblue";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "deepskyblue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " ";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + (((ang+270+180)%360+180)%360-180).toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

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 = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid blue";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 50);
</pre>

To see how many coins you've collected:

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

console.log(coinsfound);

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)
{{cob}}

{{comic discussion}}

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3032: Skew-T Log-P

2025-09-28T05:16:22Z

Sprucegrouse: Corrected spelling of Heviside

{{comic
| number = 3032
| date = January 1, 2025
| title = Skew-T Log-P
| image = skew_t_log_p_2x.png
| imagesize = 569x626px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The most important quantity for meteorologists is of course the product of latent pressure and temperostrophic enthalpy, though 'how nice the weather is' is a close second.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Skew-T log-P diagram}}s are commonly used to plot {{w|atmospheric sounding|atmospheric soundings}} collected by {{w|weather balloon|weather balloons}} or {{w|Constant altitude plan position indicator|other}} [https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wea.658 methods]. The name comes from the temperature (T) lines being skewed at a 45-degree angle and the pressure (P) lines being logarithmic in scale. Although it ''looks'' very much like a cross-sectional diagram, it shows non-positional information derived from passing (generally) vertically up through the atmosphere from the initial reference location.

Because the diagrams have a lot of lines on them (isobars, isotherms, adiabats, and mixing ratios, and that's before plotting the actual measurements of temperature and dew point temperature), they can be hard to comprehend. The comic pretends to offer an explanation of one such diagram, but most of the explanations are blatantly incorrect or humorous in nature. The diagram appears to have either measurements from two separate weather measurements or the measured temperature and dewpoint from a single balloon, with solid lines for the primary balloon's two streams of data (often disambiguated by the chosen hue of the line) and dashed ones for the secondary set of data (popped balloon(s) falling back down, a separate second survey balloon rising or estimates derived from weather-radar data). See details in the [[#Table with terms|table]] below. Many weather balloons are designed to rupture after reaching a certain height high in the atmosphere.

[[File:Annotated_Skew_T_diagram.png|thumb|An actual Skew-T Log-P diagram, with several real annotations. The X-axis has temperature (blue diagonal lines in diagram) and the Y-axis has pressure in millibars.]]The true design of a Skew-T Log-P diagram is intended to best represent the nature of the weather in any given column of atmosphere. The pressure (vertical axis, with pressure being inversely related to altitude, more or less) is shown as a logarithmic scale (i.e., Log-P) because it makes altitudes nearly evenly spaced. Plotting pressure proportionately (which must also be from top to bottom, to match its general relationship with altitude) would space features out in ways that would be hard to use and interpret, whereas the logarithmic scale is far more pragmatic. The temperature scale is deliberately tilted, rather than orthogonal, which (together with the logarithmic nature of the inverted pressure scale) allows the typical way that temperatures fall with altitude(≈as pressure falls) to trend roughly vertically, give or take the notable changes that are key to understanding the forecast. Other measurement lines, differently skewed and often also curving across the temperature/pressure skewed-log 'grid', represent various other idealistic relationships (where both T and P vary, keeping another measure constant) that are useful references to meteorologists.

Upon this style of graph are plotted the ''actual'' measurements obtained by releasing a weather balloon or through some other sensor. As well as the variation of actual temperatures and pressures, other retrieved and calculated data is plotted, such as the {{w|dew point}}. The dew point, a function of the air's {{w|absolute humidity|water content}}, temperature, and pressure, is where condensation begins. By observing how the actual measurements and dew point line converge and cross, the development and nature of clouds can be tracked and pinned to specific cloud layers. Further details may also be included, such as wind-direction and wind-speed indications (often to the side of the plot) to give a visual cue about possible {{w|wind shear}} and/or to suggest which direction of adjacent weather-station readings may hold clues as to what changes may later blow in above the current site.

In the title text it is stated that "The most important quantity for meteorologists is of course the product of latent pressure and temperostrophic enthalpy, though 'how nice the weather is' is a close second". So it jokes by comparing a non-existent, complicated-sounding product (temperostrophic enthalpy is not actually a thing) with a simple sentence about how nice the weather is.

==Table with terms==
{| class="wikitable"
!Item in comic
!Correct?
!Explanation
|-
| Pressure latitude || No || {{w|Pressure altitude|Pressure ''altitude''}} is the height above a standard datum plane, a theoretical level where the pressure of the atmosphere is 1013.24 millibars (29.921 inHg). It's essentially an estimate of altitude calculated from atmospheric pressure.
|-
| Enthalpic pressure || No || {{w|Enthalpy}} is the total internal energy of a thermodynamic system plus the product of the system's pressure and volume. Essentially, it represents the energy contained in a system, and is independent of the means or sequence of operations that the system went through to achieve its current state.
|-
| Entropic density || No || {{w|Entropy}} is a quantity that shows many physical processes can only go in one chronological direction. An egg can easily be scrambled (increasing its entropy), but it is very difficult to "un-scramble" an egg[[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] (which would decrease its entropy). Ordered systems have low entropy, with differences in temperature, pressure, potential energy, or the like. Disordered systems have high entropy, without temperature, pressure, electrical, or other differentials.
|-
| Latent heat of cooling || No || {{w|Latent heat}} is the energy absorbed or released by a system during a '''constant-temperature''' process, like melting, freezing, boiling, or condensing. Cooling is a process of lowering a temperature, and therefore not a constant-temperature process. The humor comes considering the "heat of cooling."
|-
| Isobars || Yes || Lines denoting equal ("{{wiktionary|iso-}}") air pressure ("{{wiktionary|bar-|-bar}}"), probably most often recognized as the indicators of how ground-level pressures change (or not) across the horizontal area depicted on a weather ''map''. In this type of chart, which depicts data obtained from above a single point, it has the same meaning but is instead a pre-existing reference line across which the actual data is plotted, and does not itself indicate the nature of any wind.
|-
| Omnitrophic wind || No || Something "omnitrophic" would apparently be "all-eating", in some scientific sense. An omnitrophic wind would probably be a concerning phenomenon.
Probably a play on something like {{w|geostrophic wind}} ("geo"+"strophic" being from "Earth curving"), a theoretical state of wind that results from an exact balance between the {{w|Coriolis force}} and the {{w|pressure gradient}} force.
|-
| Isomers || No || Different forms of molecules with the same formula, with the atoms or functional groups arranged differently. For example, propanol with the basic formula of C3H8O, or propane with a single -OH functional group attached. There are two distinct positions that the hydroxyl group can sit, 1-propanol has it at either end, while 2-propanol has it connected to the middle.
However, these are actually iso'''therm''' lines, representing equal temperature.
|-
| These lines are slightly different because Dave messed them up || No || Indicating isotherms (or, according to the comic, "isomers"), the suggestion is that slightly wrong lines were drawn by Dave and had to be corrected.
The real reason for the not quite identical lines is that the measured temperature at a given pressure can be converted to or from the ''potential'' temperature that the same air would have if at a standard pressure (holding the same amount of heat energy). For practical reasons, both for composing and interpreting the eventual plot, each of the slightly differently skewed isotherms are given, usually in clearly differentiable styles of line.

The "Dave" of the description may be David Bolton, whose [https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/mwre/108/7/1520-0493_1980_108_1046_tcoept_2_0_co_2.xml 1980 paper] introduced a means of calculating the atmosphere's potential temperature.
|-
| Line of constant thermodynamics || No || {{w|Thermodynamics}} is a branch of physics concerned with work, temperature, heat, the way they relate to entropy, energy, enthalpy, and the physical properties of radiation and matter. As a field of study, Thermodynamics does not have '''constant lines,''' except perhaps as a means of describing a consistent avenue of research.
|-
| Uncomfortably moist adiabat || Wrongly placed, unusually qualified|| This labels a segment of isotherm, which is the exact 'opposite' of an adiabat.
An adiabat is a line along which temperature can change for a given mass, without changing the amount of energy. This is primarily made possible by changing the density (by a change in pressure) of the gas. There are typically two types of adiabat, marked for reference on the plot, "dry adiabat" (curves across the isotherms perpendicularly, to create a largely square but slightly curved grid with them), and "moist/saturated adiabat" (the latter's heat-maintaining profile is influenced greatly by the humidity content, and produces graphing lines vastly different from the equivalent "dry" versions). Randall has declared this (erroneous) type of adiabat to be "uncomfortably" moist, so presumably not totally saturated but also not subjectively 'pleasant'.
|-
| Oops, the balloon flew through a ghost || No || One of the purported effects of ghosts (such as in the film *The Sixth Sense*) is a transient/local lowering of temperature around and/or inside them. The line is interpreted as showing a local low temperature encountered at this pressure(/altitude).
This line, however, is probably the dew point line, indicating that in passing through this layer of the atmosphere, a drier band of air was encountered which would theoretically be cooled a lot more before the water-vapor oversaturates it and liquid water droplets form.
|-
| No birds up here :( || Yes* || This point is near the top of the diagram, with an air pressure of about 110 millibar - about 15 kilometers (50,000 feet) above sea level. This is well above the highest [https://peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/vultures/ruppells-vulture flight height of any known bird species]. However, this information is irrelevant to the purpose of a skew-T log-P diagram.
|-
| Track of rising weather balloon || Yes, partially || Although there are other ways of recording these details, this is typically the record of a rising balloon.
However, it would be a track of the balloon through the varying pressures and temperatures that it records (as the second line of this type records the measurements of dew point at each pressure value). Moreover, circumstances that would make the recorded data plot out a neat {{w|figure-eight knot}} (see "Seems bad", below) are very unlikely.
|-
| Track of popped balloon falling back down || Possible, partially || A standard plot track will include two strong lines, as this has, representing not ''two'' balloons but the recorded temperature track ''and'' the dew point track, both against the (altitude surrogate) progressive pressure changes at each pressure-point.
A further pair of tracks as dotted lines could possibly be from a different launch (earlier, later or simultaneous from an adjacent location) as an analytical reference, but ''may'' indeed be the additional results obtained as the scientific package rapidly descends once the balloon pops.
|-
| Meteogenesis || No || The chart purports to show the path of two weather balloons crossing and labels the space between them with a new word. The root "meteo" means something high up (in this case, balloons) and "genesis" means creation. The implication is that a new balloon was created, though no third flight path is shown so it presumably did not fly separately or was not tracked.
In reality, one of the tracks (almost certainly the left one) is the track of the measured dew point. Where the line of the existing conditions cross this line is where the moisture will precipitate out and form clouds, a process that might well be called "{{wiktionary|meteor#English|meteo}}+{{wiktionary|genesis#English|genesis}}", but {{w|Cloud physics|isn't}}.
|-
| Seems bad || Not a common feature || The path of the balloon loops around in the shape of a {{w|figure-eight knot}}, which would indicate very chaotic conditions at that point, if taken as positional information
As the actual Skew-T Log-P graph does not record positional information, this is best interpreted as having encountered a fluctuating temperature as the pressure decreases, continuing as something (possibly {{w|Wind shear#Vertical component|vertical wind shear}}, or some form of compression waves, encountering the instruments) creates a temporary increase in external pressure, and then circumstances return it to its more typical altitude-induced pressure-drop. Though this is not ''impossible'' to naturally happen, it might even be best interpreted as the instruments being deliberately 'buzzed' by a passing aircraft or rocket, including some intermittent form of thermal backwash as the interfering craft criss-crosses the balloon's physical track in a briefly complex encounter.
 Whatever happened to the temperature/pressure track, it apparently did not significantly change the associated dew-point/pressure track (if the pressure did indeed temporarily rise, the related dew points repeated themselves each time the pressure values were re-encountered).
|-
| Dew point || Wrongly represented || The temperature at which water condenses out of the air, and therefore dew starts to form, given the amount of water vapor in the air. It is shown here as an ''actual'' single point, when it should be a line (typically the leftmost solid plotted line) representing the temperature at which dew should form at any given pressure.
|-
| Humidor || No || In reality, is a {{w|Humidor|container}} that is used to maintain a more controllable humidity within which to store smoking products. In the graph, points at the line that is probably representing the dew point, which is represents the ''actual'' humidity encountered.
|-
| Heaviside layer || No || In the metaphysical cosmology of the musical ''Cats'', the Heavyside Layer is a blissful afterlife which all the cats in the musical long for. It is likely included here as a comical misspelling of the {{w|Kennelly-Heaviside layer|(Kennelly-)Heaviside layer}} (also called the E region) of the {{w|ionosphere}} that was co-discovered by {{w|Arthur E. Kennelly}} and {{w|Oliver Heaviside}}. This layer is extremely far up in relative atmospheric terms, straddling the {{w|Kármán line|boundary to 'space'}}, and would be shown as a broad horizontal feature significantly above the existing "No birds up here" label, if it all.
The labeled item, in this diagram, is a heavily marked isotherm, or line of constant temperature. Most likely this is the 0°C line, marking the freezing point of water that is of great importance to meteorologists, pilots, etc. With a few caveats, passing 'through' this line marks a transition between any precipitation tending to be liquid rain and of it being snow/hail-forming (or, on passing down through it, to start melting such things), and if the measurement lines ''start'' above-left of this line then any falling (or condensing) water is almost certainly going to appear as one frozen form or other. Above-ground, it suggests important implications of potential ice-formation (affecting ''weight'' and lift dynamics) upon aircraft beyond any given altitude, should the existing moisture load be high and the dew-point be inconveniently close.
|-
| These lines are tilted because the wind is blowing them || No || The wind is not actually a derivable feature of this diagram, which does not have data of either direction or strength of air movement. These lines are actually dry adiabats (see above) — possibly two sets, due to a similar renormalized interpretation, as with the isotherms, at a given reference pressure.
|-
| Don't stand here or you might get hit by a balloon || No || On the misguided basis that this is a cross-sectional diagram, this would be the imagined release-point for the balloon(s) involved. And, if you're particularly (un)lucky with the winds, where they eventually fall straight back down to once the balloon has popped.
However, this is a diagram of some measurements ''for'' a location, not directly indicating a range of places you could choose to stand, and the bottom of the lines indicate the conditions ''at'' the release point (and possibly then the point of landing), regardless of where those lines appear to be rooted. To be accurate, the whole width of the the table (and at a 'height' that represents the actual recorded ground-level pressure for that location and time) is where any 'danger' may be. The person initially releasing the balloon would not normally be too fazed by being struck by a wind-buffeted balloon (if anything, they'd be more concerned at damaging it prior to release). The attached remains of a popped balloon that is no longer buoyant will generally also act as a form of parachute (together with any actual drogue chute) to make any the light (and often well padded) payload descend slowly enough to not be a falling danger.
 Having traveled tens of kilometers up, before gently coming down, the chances of any given balloon landing in any given awkward spot (let alone the point of release) are low. Where possible, the sensor package and the remains of the balloon may be recovered, but the largest danger may instead be the environmental effects of the fragments of burst balloon, scattered to the very winds they were originally measuring.
|-
| Temperostrophic enthalpy (''Title text'') || No || The largely nonsensical first word perhaps could be interpreted as "time-warping", and allude to the varying passage of time experienced by those who do or do not understand these charts, on having to examine them.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:How to interpret a skew-T log-P diagram
:[The comic shows a skew-T log-P diagram. On it are various labels, including isobars, comments, and other interpretations of the diagram.]
:[Left to the diagram is an upwards-pointing arrow with the label "Pressure Latitude". Right to the diagram is a downwards-pointing arrow with the label "Entropic Density". Below the diagram is a right-pointing arrow with the label "Enthalpic Pressure".]
:[Two solid and dashed lines extend from the top line to the bottom line of the diagram.]
:[The remaining various labels are inside the diagram.]

:[Labels on the left:]
:[An arrow pointing to a densive dashed segment attaching to one solid line:] Latent heat of cooling
:[A label lying on one horizontal guide:] — Isobars —
:[An arrow pointing to the intersection of one solid and dashed line:] Omnitrophic wind
:[A label lying on one left-downward guide:] Isomers
:[A label lying on one right-downward guide:] Line of constant thermodynamics
:[An arrow pointing to a solid dashed segment on one left-downward guide:] Uncomfortably moist adiabat
:[An arrow pointing to the same solid line as ‘latent heat of cooling’:] Humidor
:[An arrow pointing to a steep peak on the same solid line:] Oops, the balloon flew through a ghost
:[To adjacent arrows pointing to two left-downward guide not perfectly coinciding to each other:] These lines are slightly different because Dave messed them up
:[An arrow pointing to the end of solid and dashed lines on the bottom line:] Don’t stand here or you might get hit by a balloon

:[Labels on the right:]
:[An arrow pointing to the top line:] No birds up here :(
:[An arrow pointing to one solid line generally:] Track of rising weather balloon
:[An arrow pointing to one dashed line generally:] Track of popped balloon falling back down
:[An arrow pointing to crossing of two solid lines, The area enclosed by which is painted black] Meteogenesis
:[An arrow pointing to a knot on one solid line:] Seems bad
:[An arrow pointing to a dot] Dew point
:[An arrow pointing to a highlighted left-downward guide:] Heavyside layer
:[Text written sideways below the line:] These lines are tilted because the wind is blowing them

==Trivia==
*Even though this comic was released on New Year's Day 2025, it was not a [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]].
**Only second time this has happened since New Year comics became a regular thing from 2011.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Weather]]