2288: Collector's Edition

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Collectors Edition

Title text: I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. The hint table needs to be completed. The mechanics should be explained more in depth, if possible, screenshots of the hints, items in inventory, items-placing mechanics etc. should be added. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

This is an April 1st comic. It is a large image, of which only part is visible, but it can be dragged around. This Space acts as a virtual common sandbox where viewers can interact. "Items" (small, often humorous images) can be 'collected' from other comics and then placed in this image by viewers. The collection then updates for all viewers in real-time. Multiples of the same item are often seen.

There is a "backpack" at the bottom, similar to "backpacks" in video games containing items collected by the player. Items can be found by visiting different XKCD comics/pages. Randomly, some pages will have a treasure chest which will contain the sticker related to the page. It is believed that the hint represents what page currently has a chest.

The sticker images can be seen at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_XXX.png, where XXX is a number from 001-253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom URLs, for example the periodic elements can be found at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-XX.png, where XX is the element, and text loot at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-X.png, where X is the sentence.

Hints

Hint	Comic	Unlocked item	Item image	Notes
Doctors in a row	1529: Bracket 497: Secretary: Part 4	Cory Doctorow	loot_019.png	These comics all have the same hint, but only one will have the chest
Get out the (US) vote	2224: Software Updates	Statue of liberty	loot_246.png
Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these	1133: Up Goer Five	Signpost	loot_126.png
Plug in or find another power source	1373: Screenshot		loot_228.png
Sweet dreams, kitty	729: Laser Pointer	Cat licking laser point	loot_090.png
What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.	28: Elefino
Somebody set up us the bomb	286: All Your Base	Exploding rock	loot_197.png
Cowabunga	1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Women Science Fiction Authors	loot_175.png	197: Ninja Turtles also works
I want to believe	2156: Ufo	Ufo	loot_210.png
Bleeped	1671: Arcane Bullshit	*$@#!	loot_044.png
why waste time say few word when lot word do trick	1022: So It Has Come To This	First Annual Award for Excellence in Being Very Smart	loot_159.png
Cooler than electric scooters	409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)	An electric scooter	loot_006.png
Take it from the top	1: Barrel - Part 1	I am a turtle from 889: Turtles	loot_095.png
I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!	1713: 50 ccs	Man carrying parentheses from 297: Lisp Cycles	loot_031.png
Catch up on the news	1699: Local News
Participation trophy	2288: Collectors Edition	Server rack	loot_096.png
Find an opportunity for a sojourn	1504: Opportunity	Opportunity Mars rover from 2111: Opportunity Rover	loot_161.png
Tastier than tau day	179: e to the pi times i	First annual award for excellence in being very smart	loot_159.png
Tastier than tau day	1967: Violin Plots	Pie sign	loot_056.png	Published on Pi day
418 I'm a teapot	1866: Russell's Teapot	S.S. NASA: Space is Hard	loot_216.png
26th September, 1983	2052: Stanislav Petrov Day	White dove	loot_205.png
There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020	1071: Exoplanets	Little girl from 2264: Satellite	loot_151.png
asableiK	645: RPS	A reverse Polish hotdog	loot_079.png	"Kielbasa" backwards, which is "sausage" in Polish
Critical mass elements	235: Kite		loot_203.png
Some Februarys are more equal than others	390: Nightmares?	Cueball wheelie from 272: Linux User at Best Buy	loot_036.png	Comic-hint connection largely conjectural; 390 was the first comic published on a leap day.
Five spice	1554: Spice Girls	Rock guitarist	loot_022.png
Call the plumber	290: Fucking Blue Shells		loot_058.png
Was it a rat I saw?	1632: Palindrome	Cueball with a large sack, pulling a wagon	loot_103.png	or 1503: Squirrel Plan for cueball holding a balloon caught in a ceiling fan.
Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate	1148: Nothing to Offer	Bottle of soda	loot_045.png
Keep coming back
A new model released each year				Triggered by visiting all xkcd phone comics
Tea Time	581: The Race: Part 5	Floor tea	loot_232.png
Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?	1045: Constraints
Where's Hilbert?	195: Map of the Internet	Hilbert Curve	loot_021.png
Science fiction fetish
The first one was funnier	11: Barrel - Part 2	Falling feather / Sign "The uncomfortable truths well"	loot_250.png / loot_067.png
It's up to over 260 million cycles!	1941: Dying Gift	Megan on a tire swing	loot_127.png
Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though	2233: Aurora Meaning	Sleeping Cat	loot_163.png
On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid	1530: Keyboard Mash	Cobwebbed frame from 1135: Arachnoneurology	loot_191.png
Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?	1598: Salvage	Rice bowl	loot_152.png
Never going to give you up	524: Party, 351: Trolling	Cueball in car listening to music
If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms	1604: Snakes, 227: Color Codes?	Yoda with an mp3 player from What If	loot_247.png
An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity	1533: Antique Factory or 1021: Business Plan	Beret guy with a goat on leash	loot_115.png
Read the fine manual	1343: Manuals or 293: RTFM	"Configure the network" window with a prompt for hostname	loot_106.png
That thing's undecimodal!	1347: t Distribution	Floating tentacled alien	loot_209.png
Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now	491: Twitter	Expensive bottle	loot_253.png
You don't have to find all 99	121: Balloon	Balloon copter	loot_002.png	Or 51: Malaria ?
Going in circles	378: Real Programmers	Cueball spinning in desk chair	loot_098.png
Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?	2123: Meta Collecting	Phishing License sign	loot_158.png
It's the ciiiiircle of HONK	537: Ducklings	DUCKLOOP'D?	loot_069.png
Fool me twice	880: Headache	Raptor Attack	loot_033.png	The second April fools' comic
oOOOoooo	316: Loud Sex	Sleeping cat
Maybe we can ask for new wishes	879: Lamp	Genie and his bottle	loot_004.png	If you place the genie last, you get another genie (indefinitely)
HACK THE PLANET	1337: Hack	Crash and Burn in the pool from the end of Hackers	loot_130.png
Monetization haute couteur	20: Ferret	Two bags of money	loot_162.png
Maybe writing a script would help	1319: Automation
Go big to go small	1365: Inflation		loot_245.png
Are you projecting	850: World According to Americans or 977: Map Projections	Squirrel on a gun	loot_237.png
Do spiders really have six legs	8: Red spiders
Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?	1688: Map Age Guide	Cephalopod	loot_071.png
Another rulebook?	393: Ultimate Game	Merlin in a chair from 270: Merlin	loot_037.png
Moooooon	1300: Galilean Moons, 1291: Shoot for the Moon	MOOOOOON	loot_192.png
Take a flight from LOL to FFS	1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations
Everyone deserves a second chnace[chance]				745: Dyslexics feels like a good fit but I don't see a loot box there; no match in comics 1-893
Community contribution	824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot), 825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating), 826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC), possibly other guest week comics	[Citation Needed] protester from 285: Wikipedian Protester	loot_035.png
On the other side of the wardrobe	665: Prudence or 969: Delta-P or 2218: Wardrobe	Authentic Reindeer pulling sled from 1776: Reindeer	loot_154.png
Today's your lucky day	1053: Ten Thousand	Ms. Frizzle	loot_105.png
[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]	1005: SOPA
Try a different approach	55: Useless	Equals sign	loot_times.png, loot_div.png
The cake is a lie!	606: Cutting Edge	Cake	loot_144.png
Joanna, fire.	322: Pix Plz	Joanna with EMP cannon	loot_026.png
Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks	965: Elements	Symposium
90KG x 300M	382: Trebuchet	Trebuchet	loot_041.png
Copyright Enforcement Brigade	344: 1337: Part 4		loot_046.png
Where Cape Town meets Chukotka	1500: Upside-Down Map	Crater
Take a ride in a barrel		Cueball at the door to the playpen-ball-filled apartment from 150: Grownups	loot_005.png	Reliably triggered by viewing all five barrel comics in reverse order (31, 25, 22, 11, 1)
	2288: Collectors Edition	Sheeple eye	loot_109.png
	2288: Collectors Edition	Time machine from 1747: Spider Paleontology	loot_167.png

Trivia

• This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic and was supposed to be released April 1st. However, the below message was displayed on the top of the page until early Friday (April 3rd) morning, when the comic finally went live. It remains to be seen if Friday's intended comic will be published later.

Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!

• Placement is limited to 10,000 units from the origin. Users will receive no messages if they try placing something outside the boundary.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]

[The words "Collector's Edition" are written above him and boxed.]

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Discussion

The joke

Very early on April 1st, Mojang\Microsoft released a version 20w14Infinite build of Minecraft which allows players to create millions of wildly different new worlds by writing text in a book & throwing it through a Nether portal. The world generated depends on what is written in the book, & some specific worlds contain many "starter chests" to help the player in their explorations. Players can share what they wrote in each book with others, allowing multiple players to each access the same new dimensions on their own. In this way, individual single-player Minecraft instances can essentially become a collaboratively evolving game featuring previously nonexistent block types. Given that Randall has done multiple comics referencing Minecraft & seems to be an avid player, & given the presence of "chests" & the "worldbuilding" & collaborative nature of this latest comic, I believe xkcd's April 3rd 2020 comic is a reference to this "final" Minecraft build. ProphetZarquon (talk) 14:10, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I think this is extremely unlikely. Munroe has comics planned in advance, and a complex interactive comic like this one takes more than a couple hours to make.Matthias1 (talk) 18:43, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

The Meta-Message

Beginning one month earlier with 2275: Coronavirus Name (March 2, 2020) there was a long series of comics about the coronavirus pandemic. Superficially this April comic is not about the pandemic, but note that anybody anywhere can affect the comic's globally shared sandbox. Credit Randall with engineering a script reminding us that "We're all in this together." JohnB 162.158.74.215 19:01, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Explanation

Clicking on the URLs in the explanation return "File not found". I will remove the hyperlink so people are less confused. Fwacer (talk) 02:18, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

How the comic works

... is this going to be like 1190: Time? 162.158.74.63 04:08, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I hope so, otherwise I don't get the joke Forresthopkinsa (talk) 04:15, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

The page just went down for me so maybe what we've seen isn't what it's supposed to be? avis_magpie (talk) 04:20, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Looks like the whole comic was just taken down. Parzivail (talk) 04:27, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Can confirm - the most recent comic is Pathogen again 162.158.187.207 04:26, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

It is still up on the mobile website, but only if you directly go to comic page https://m.xkcd.com/2288 172.69.22.146 05:10, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Perhaps this is a collector's edition because it was only up for a limited amount of time? 108.162.219.60 (talk) 05:12, 3 April 2020 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

That was my immediate assumption. The title text says, "I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives." And I was viewing the comic by using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine — which, wouldn't you know it, captured the page exactly once before it went down. Between that and the title "Collector's Edition", I can't help thinking that the comic was actually intended to be viewed this way. Though for what reason, and what intended meaning, I couldn't tell you. …And jeez, in the time it took me to type this, the comic is back, but changed! Oy vey. NoriMori (talk) 06:42, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Maybe it's called collectors edition, because it was only available quite limited and to an unusual time? But that logic doesn't fit with the title text. --Lupo (talk) 05:14, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I doubt that could be caused by "technical difficulties". 172.69.34.186 06:14, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

It looks like it went back up about 5 minutes age. I can't figure out if it's possible to do more than pan right now though. 108.162.215.120 06:39, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Yeah I see the same thing, looks like they're just testing it live. What a shame :(--108.162.215.242 06:47, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

what makes you assume that this is testing right now? however it doesn't seem to be very interactive apart from panning through it, and that it seems to chagne over time (the moon from 1300 wasn't there a few minutes ago, was it? --Lupo (talk) 06:49, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

It's a giant pan similar to [1], although it's mostly empty, with some content at [2]

. The title reads that you can find world building material, if you scavenge through the archives. I assume, more content will be unlocked as you read through past comics. Goatfryed (talk) 06:52, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

That would mean it is individual? That everyone gets their own picture? --Lupo (talk) 07:03, 3 April 2020 (UTC) Edit: I can kinda rule that out. I get the same picture on my phone and my work laptop, the work laptop is in a different country via vpn, and doesn't share any logins/advertisement ID's apart from explain xkcd with my phone... --Lupo (talk) 07:05, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, it definitely changes. The orange swimming pool just showed up now. Also, at the bottom of the page, it says something about "backpack", and what appears to be a reference to some other xkcd comic. For example, "Hint: why waste time say few word when lot word do trick", which I think refers to Up Goer Five. But I have no idea what to do with that info. 172.68.141.190 06:55, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

and the content seems to be related to previous comics and what-ifs... but still no clue what to do apart from exploring the page. --Lupo (talk) 06:57, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

So I just stumbled upon this and it seems to be exactly as other commentors have theorised: as you read previous comics more stuff gets added to the page. There seems to be some kind of backpack mechanic where you collect items from previous ones somehow, but, perhaps because I've already read all previous comics, that didn't seem to work for me. Instead I just had to click the link above the backpack, which opened the comic in a new tab, and it had a bunch of stuff there. We may need to co-ordinate to figure out if different people end up with different sets of items, and to ensure we have all of them, but I think other than that it should be just a cut and dry thing of making a table with every item in it. 162.158.34.202 07:12, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Hang on, mine just changed: before there was only 1 pool on the left, now there are two. I only went back to pathogens and then forwards agin. This may be harder than I thought, I'm going to start keeping a screenshot log of actions vs. results. Benkor42 (talk) 07:17, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

You may need to try xkcd.com instead of www.xkcd.com - there seems to be an issue with the latter at the moment. 162.158.255.216 07:18, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Hold up it changed again! This time without a reload! Benkor42 (talk) 07:28, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

It seems to change periodically, the url does change everytime. New stuff always seems to be added, not old stuff rremoved. Benkor42 (talk) 07:28, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

The URL is related to the coordinates, it changes when you pan the image. --Lupo (talk) 07:34, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Timings seem to be random, working on double checking that rn. Highest first number so far is 1127, once it switches agin I'm going to experiement with manually editing the url.

I was briefly able to do things. Open the archieve, navigate it to one of the comics, that are hinted for (e.g. compiling or iata) and when viewing that comic I get a lootbox, with an image I can then place in the 2288. It worked twice, and now it doesn't again... neither with those that have worked before, nor with others I am fairly sure have been placed by other people. (such as galilean moons) --Lupo (talk) 07:21, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I'm working on assembling an image log, wonder if we could compare? Also, the two number url could be useful, rn I'm on -1378, -152 Benkor42 (talk) 07:25, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

What do you mean by compare? Also the URL is related to the coordinates, it changes when you pan the image. --Lupo (talk) 07:34, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Yh just got that, is that the same for other panning comics (I'm a little new)? And I was wondering if the comic changed per person/system like certain previous comics. Benkor42 (talk) 07:40, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Just seen a previous comment from you saying it doesn't change cross-system. However, it definetely changes with time, so the question is whether that's per user or done on a sort of universal clock, so we all unlock the same new content at the same time.

I didn't complete writing up the thing I was able to do above... after opening the lootbox I got one image related to the comic I opened in my backpack and was able to place that in the actual 2288, where it now is placed. --Lupo (talk) 07:50, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

For me that didn't happen, it started with a loading screen type thing, and then objects just started appearing seemingly at random. I've also noticed some of them dissapear. I feel like the best course of action would be to start with a table of all the different objects, and then see if we can figure out when/why they appear later.

At least 2 objects appeared, because I placed them. It is a colaboration of many xkcd readers to do this world building here. I placed one of the sword fights around #439,-181 and the non-inverted kite at #-1679,-290 . --Lupo (talk) 07:55, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Do you agree that the best course of action would therefore be a table with all the items? Benkor42 (talk) 08:03, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Not a big fan of tables, unless there really is content of muliple categories to be entered for one line. A list would do fine I guess? Also I find lists easier to work with. Or what would be the columns you'd set up? --Lupo (talk) 08:08, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Something along the lines of the comic that it's a reference to, an image, and an explanation. Do we know if you find the same sticker at the same comic every time? If so, then that. A list would work well too. Benkor42 (talk) 08:12, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

From looking at what image URLs don't 404, it looks like there are 253 stickers, which is quite a lot for a table.Matthias1 (talk) 10:03, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I think we can unlock new elements by reading older comics (seemingly at random, it doesn't work with every comic read) and that everyone can see the changes once they are put on the global picture. If someone could check, I have put berret guy and his goat around (5000,0)

Yep, he's there. Benkor42 (talk) 08:01, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I almost feel like someone needs to show them this xkcd... https://xkcd.com/169/

It seems to be an interactive canvas. You can find stickers in chests on specific comics and put them in your backpack, and then when you come back here you can choose where to put them on the canvas. The hints in the empty backpack are cryptic references to comics. 162.158.107.85 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Yep, I figured the same thing, but for me it only worked twice (fly from wtf to lol was a reference to the iata thing and compiling was a reference to the compiling one) - but it didn't work again. Also: Some of the placed images are clearly references to what-if. Like the squirrel on top of an AK47 or the yoda powering an IPOD. --Lupo (talk) 07:59, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I've made a catalog of the stickers but it's only partial because stuff keeps appearing: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dPYeYVpGqu5tqGTt5 Lev (talk) 08:02, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I got it. I wrote the steps on reddit and included some screenshots. Feel free to use it to edit this page https://old.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/fu1dt0/xkcd_2288_collectors_edition/fmaqp1w/ Ufolicker (talk) 09:27, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Am I too late to participate in this or am I doing something wrong? Where is this hint supposed to appear? I only see an empty backpack and the canvas on which references to different comics are placed. No comic I've visited, either inspired by references on the canvas, nor by random selection has any chest or other interactive components to it. Bischoff (talk) 09:53, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

No, you're doing it right. Hints show up in the backpack area. Obviously no one is sure of anything, but even users who have seen hints have reported not seeing hints on a different browser/device. I suspect something similar to Umwelt, where different hints are shown to different people. And I think once a chest is picked up, it stops appearing to everyone that could see it, but that's a guess.Matthias1 (talk) 10:03, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Ok, I was unsure because on my windows 10 laptop I have yet to see a hint. I've tried chrome, firefox and internet explorer. Bischoff (talk) 11:09, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Finally got it to work in Safari in iOS Bischoff (talk) 11:13, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

That's really great, Bischoff, we were worried about you. Care to share how you did it, for the benefit of others? Jimmbo (talk) 14:19, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

I took part in the scavenger hunt and about 2 hours ago it stopped showing hints. So I assume it shut down and there is nothing to do anymore.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Curse (talk) 15:15, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I think everybody gets a limited number of hints, and once you've found them all it won't show any more to you, but other people can still get hints. Pelosujamo (talk) 20:09, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Nope, it's not that. I visited this comic for the first time today, and no hints for me at all. Dansiman (talk) 14:16, 5 April 2020 (UTC)

When I view the comic, I don't see the closed box - the screen is absolutely full of stickers. I've not done any scavenger hunting (I'd upload an image, but I don't have permissions to do so) Kvetch (talk) 11:10, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Hints I've seen so far: "The first one was funnier" (chest appeared in comic 1, contained I'm a turtle); "418 I'm a teapot" "26th September, 1983" (comic 2052, Stanislav Petrov Day, white dove); 172.69.134.135 11:20, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Perhaps a table for found chests with no attached hints? I've stumbled across a few but don't know if they're hinted at or not :). Deranged (talk) 11:54, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Maybe add a line to the table with a blank first box, the link in the second box, empty third box? Someone will match it up. 162.158.166.37 12:21, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

"Churchill's gonna have to rehydrate" is Nothing to Offer. Can't remember what number, I think 1148?

In other news, the bad ads are back (previous discussion) - who's in charge of dealing with them anyway? Arcorann (talk) 12:25, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Could someone post an image showing what it looks like to find a chest on a comic? I've browsed to some of the comics referenced as having chests but couldn't see one so far. Thanks!141.101.69.13 12:54, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I've uploaded a few images on https://imgur.com/gallery/4q1QIW5. Can't upload them here yet, new account madsmtm (talk) 13:24, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

"The other side of the wardrobe", someone's put in the solution 2218: Wardrobe; but I also found the chest on 665: Prudence. Can there be multiple solutions to the same hint? Angel (talk) 13:00, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Is anyone else having issues with things just not working? I clicked around a bit, it gave me the award in being very smart, and now won't give me any hints or chests. Crazymachinefan (talk) 13:57, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I am also not getting any hints anymore after getting one chest.Eesley (talk) 14:01, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Nope, nothing to get anymore. Curse (talk) 15:15, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

The "Was it a rat I saw" hint is probably 1632: Palindrome. I haven't gotten the hint yet, so I can't confirm. Nvaiko24 (talk) 14:12, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Interestingly, the 1110: Click and Drag disables the backpack overlay. Also, anyone have any news on how to get the Go Big to Go Small hint?

I got the "First annual award for excellence in being very smart" on page 7, rather than 179 as stated above. Can't remember what the hint was. 162.158.34.222 14:26, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Found that award on comic 7, too. And "Researchers are reporting record number of sharks (loot 159) on comic 1368, but I'll be damned if I know the hint. Those give me nothing 162.158.91.43 14:44, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Found another one! It's a bug on a box, loot_007. From comic #442, no idea what hint goes with it. 162.158.74.7 15:18, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

For the ooOOOooo hint, I've now gone through every comic, and none of them give a chest. Lawruble13 (talk) 19:41, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Well that's just ducky! I'm stuck on that hint. Any way to get the hint to change without losing my collectibles? Anonymous 02:19, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

If you scroll almost directly upward, the Y-coordinate keeps resetting to 5000 (same with downward and -5000. However, if you scroll up and to the side with a slope of less than 1, you eventually get to this URL: https://xkcd.com/#-Infinity,-Infinity which just has the word "[LOADING_]" hand-drawn. -- brad

I think that's just Javascript floatingpoint math for ya. The loading image just appears while it is trying to load in new tiles --Jhollowe (talk) 19:11, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

I wrote a script that gives a list of all the loot images that are on the page if we want to make a complete list of loot images, and a list of images that haven't been found yet. --Jhollowe (talk) 19:11, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Has anyone else gotten a "miniloot"? I just got "/2288/collectors/static/loot/miniloot-words-laser.png" from 293: RTFM with the hint listed in the above table. Lawruble13 (talk) 19:41, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

In a private window on Firefox, I had previously seen the hint, but it's now disappeared. I got loot_109.png (which is the sheeple eye from 1013: Wake Up Sheeple), and I can place it, but it stays in the inventory. Possible bug? Lawruble13 (talk) 19:43, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Viewable at https://xkcd.com/2288/#453,1003, both eyes posted using the same item. Lawruble13 (talk) 19:50, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

The "tea time" hint seems a bit weird; I found it at 579: The Race: Part 3, and others have apparently found it at 581, 578, 479 and maybe elsewhere. Not sure what connection any of those comics have to tea, except that 579 and 479 both have 79 in them and the image is from what-if 79. Pelosujamo (talk) 01:17, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

I don't know if there's an element of "the clue you get depends on the clues you answered"..? Yesterday, when I first visited, it seemed to be giving different hints as I scrolled through/jumped around the comics looking for the answers to earlier hints. Now (after finding three, confirmed as listed in the table) it's just flipping between two of the early once, the "chnace" and "fetish" ones, still undetailed in the table so I can't even cheat) leading me to believe I'm left with those two in my (personal?) 'pool' of hints, and I won't get any more until I answer one or other. Either that or I need to place my current meagre three discoveries, but I was actually wanting more first so I could be creative in combination... 162.158.93.141 04:04, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Are "oOOOoooo" and "oooooooo" different clues? I don't see the second one listed.

Unless I missed something, "Hint: Everyone deserves a second chnace" doesn't refer to a particular comic, but rather something else. I went through comics 500-2288. -- 162.158.92.22 (talk) 08:29, 4 April 2020‎ (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Probably requires a sequence of comics to be visited in specific order, like "A new model released each year" or "Take a ride in a barrel" Jaalenja (talk) 11:29, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Random question--is there a way to edit or delete items once they have been placed? This world is pretty messy.... -- 162.158.74.65 (talk) 14:12, 4 April 2020‎ (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I had these hints (along with 2 other) hints: oOOOoooo, Keep coming back, Everyone deserves a second chance. I have visited every comic and every series on this list, forwards and backwards, and none of them was awarded. They are either glitched or have very unusual requirements. Maybe something with one of the interactive comics? (I even tried collecting all coins in Hoverboard!) Maybe there is something that Randall considers a series but this wiki doesn't? Something else altogether (visit the same comic a number of times, return after elapsed time...)? I am giving up, if someone gets one of these and is up to the challenge, good luck, hopefully I helped a bit with getting a small list of things not to try. Jaalenja (talk) 14:58, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Browser agent related issues

Post what browser (Chrome, Firefox; mobile, desktop) you are using here & what issues (if any) you experience when interacting with this comic.

On Chrome version 80.0.3987.162 in mobile view, only "Collector's Edition" appears for me. The comic is not scrollable or interactive, & the backpack does not appear. In desktop view, the collectively added content appears, as does the backpack. (I have not tested whether I can add things, yet.) ProphetZarquon (talk) 13:52, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

On Chrome version 80.0.3987.163 on desktop, the hint doesn't seem to appear. Lawruble13 (talk) 19:41, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Firefox 74.0 on desktop - looks like I don't get any hints. Everything else seems to be fine. 162.158.92.98 19:59, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Apologies if this has been covered, but if you right-click-->inspect the backpack area, can you see the hint in the Java script? I can't find it with Chrome running in Windows 10, but it is entirely possible I don't know how/where to look.Godzilla (talk) 21:38, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

On Opera, hint doesn't appear.

In Firefox I have an item in my loot box, I can scroll around the world and the text is "find an empty area". I find an empty area (Damn long way out :P ) and the text changes to "place it" or "Cancel" I can cancel OK, but place it doesn't work at all. Is this a bug or have I hit the limit of my abilities? 172.68.86.34 01:05, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

oh...wait...there is a 5 second or more delay from clicking to it appearing. May be caused by the size of the world and number of elements. 172.68.86.34 01:08, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Firefox 52.9 Windows XP Doesn't get past "loading" and cannot drag around. However, the backpack does appear and can be closed and opened. 172.68.174.76 04:20, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

I tried Samsung browser (mobile, tablet), Chrome (mobile, desktop) and Edge (desktop). At first, only the Samsung browser on only one of the devices worked. Then it glitched, I got infinite Polish sausages and no more hints. It unglitched after deleting browser data. Then glitched after deleting browser data gain (I was stuck and wanted fresh batch of hints, karma is a bitch, I guess). Then it started working again after clearing browser data few more time. Then, on one occasion, I got a set of hints on desktop Chrome in incognito mode. Something weird is going on related to cookies, it seems. Jaalenja (talk) 07:35, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

FireFox/Ubuntu, nothing is working. No bag, no hint, whatever.

Firefox/Chromium on Ububntu, I seem to see evertything, it looks like this for example: https://ibb.co/BL1gDvX or https://ibb.co/PCByw8f (all add-ons disabled, chrome in standard settings)

Screenshots

Since this appears to be a time-limited event, I decided it would be good idea to save some screenshots for posterity. I have uploaded several screenshots: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_hint_1.png https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_hint_2.png https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_chest.png https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_chest_open.png https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_place_item.png https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_place_item_cant.png https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:2288_place_item_kitty.png

Add them to the article as you see fit. Jaalenja (talk) 09:29, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Spelling

I've moved this from 2288: Collectors Edition to 2288: Collector's Edition, which is both the correct spelling and the one used on xkcd; but was it misspelled on xkcd earlier, or did the typo originate here? Pelosujamo (talk) 20:09, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

New Comic:

I don't know if anyone has noticed since it's Saturday and xkcd doesn't usually update. But there's been a new comic 22889: Scenario 4. Can someone who knows how and actually has an account add the next page for it.

Thanks,

--173.245.52.207 22:08, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Interactivity finished

Now that the next comic (2289) has been published it looks like the ability to interact and find chests has ended. This is going to make it quite difficult to complete the table unless someone manages to reverse-engineer the code. Also noting that whilst there are >250 possible images there are only 80 hints listed in the table. It's not clear if all images were used - perhaps comparing the images in the table to those placed in the comic could help identify any that we don't have known hints for?

I was also wondering if it's worth including a thumbnail of each image in the table, and possibly a separate list of images for which the hint is not known? AlChemist (talk) 10:15, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

I did some quick ctrl+F in the client codes for comic numbers, item names etc. and it doesn't appear to contain the relevant information, must be server-side. Maybe one of the devs listed at the top of the page would leak something if asked nicely? Jaalenja (talk) 14:35, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

I managed to extract a list of all the images used in the comic along with how many times they appear. It looks like most are used, but there are a few that aren't. AlChemist (talk) 13:27, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

Image	Number of appearances
loot/element-ae	3
loot/element-bl	10
loot/element-br	9
loot/element-bz	6
loot/element-cb	27
loot/element-cd	8
loot/element-cr	8
loot/element-dl	8
loot/element-dm	10
loot/element-fr	4
loot/element-gl	13
loot/element-hr	7
loot/element-lx	6
loot/element-mk	9
loot/element-mt	13
loot/element-na	5
loot/element-ox	5
loot/element-pb	3
loot/element-pl	10
loot/element-pm	7
loot/element-pp	6
loot/element-rd	27
loot/element-rg	9
loot/element-sd	26
loot/element-sd2	16
loot/element-sf	14
loot/element-sn	20
loot/element-spacer	17
loot/element-st	8
loot/element-sy	7
loot/element-t	16
loot/element-th	7
loot/element-tr	6
loot/element-uu	14
loot/element-vy	4
loot/element-wt	7
loot/element-wx	11
loot/loot_001	11
loot/loot_002	351
loot/loot_003	7
loot/loot_004	287
loot/loot_005	48
loot/loot_006	327
loot/loot_007	627
loot/loot_008	10
loot/loot_009	15
loot/loot_010	543
loot/loot_011	22
loot/loot_012	28
loot/loot_013	5
loot/loot_014	13
loot/loot_016	28
loot/loot_017	7
loot/loot_018	6
loot/loot_019	49
loot/loot_020	4
loot/loot_021	622
loot/loot_022	435
loot/loot_023	9
loot/loot_024	22
loot/loot_025	6
loot/loot_026	394
loot/loot_028	11
loot/loot_029	11
loot/loot_030	2576
loot/loot_031	286
loot/loot_032	13
loot/loot_033	34
loot/loot_034	9
loot/loot_035	225
loot/loot_036	279
loot/loot_037	320
loot/loot_038	306
loot/loot_039	18
loot/loot_040	11
loot/loot_041	480
loot/loot_042	2
loot/loot_043	12
loot/loot_044	268
loot/loot_045	365
loot/loot_046	193
loot/loot_047	9
loot/loot_048	1
loot/loot_049	419
loot/loot_050	15
loot/loot_051	57
loot/loot_052	9
loot/loot_053	16
loot/loot_054	10
loot/loot_055	514
loot/loot_056	525
loot/loot_057	11
loot/loot_058	341
loot/loot_059	5
loot/loot_060	8
loot/loot_061	7
loot/loot_062	9
loot/loot_063	7
loot/loot_064	23
loot/loot_065	15
loot/loot_066	21
loot/loot_067	10
loot/loot_068	12
loot/loot_069	409
loot/loot_070	8
loot/loot_071	818
loot/loot_072	6
loot/loot_073	4
loot/loot_074	44
loot/loot_075	5
loot/loot_076	4
loot/loot_077	11
loot/loot_078	17
loot/loot_079	654
loot/loot_080	13
loot/loot_081	7
loot/loot_082	7
loot/loot_083	38
loot/loot_084	7
loot/loot_085	8
loot/loot_086	68
loot/loot_087	18
loot/loot_088	9
loot/loot_089	11
loot/loot_090	495
loot/loot_091	5
loot/loot_092	260
loot/loot_093	12
loot/loot_094	85
loot/loot_095	659
loot/loot_096	10
loot/loot_097	3
loot/loot_098	18
loot/loot_099	16
loot/loot_100	6
loot/loot_101	5
loot/loot_102	21
loot/loot_103	13
loot/loot_104	12
loot/loot_105	337
loot/loot_106	150
loot/loot_107	4
loot/loot_108	2
loot/loot_109	13
loot/loot_111	9
loot/loot_112	11
loot/loot_113	6
loot/loot_114	6
loot/loot_115	484
loot/loot_116	12
loot/loot_117	5
loot/loot_118	17
loot/loot_119	10
loot/loot_120	12
loot/loot_121	96
loot/loot_122	11
loot/loot_123	1
loot/loot_124	5
loot/loot_125	14
loot/loot_126	210
loot/loot_127	157
loot/loot_128	337
loot/loot_129	175
loot/loot_130	559
loot/loot_131	29
loot/loot_132	12
loot/loot_133	10
loot/loot_134	20
loot/loot_136	18
loot/loot_137	4
loot/loot_138	6
loot/loot_139	12
loot/loot_140	6
loot/loot_141	7
loot/loot_142	5
loot/loot_143	10
loot/loot_144	375
loot/loot_145	23
loot/loot_147	8
loot/loot_148	3
loot/loot_149	3
loot/loot_150	8
loot/loot_151	245
loot/loot_152	412
loot/loot_153	27
loot/loot_154	520
loot/loot_155	8
loot/loot_156	13
loot/loot_157	5
loot/loot_158	544
loot/loot_159	401
loot/loot_160	20
loot/loot_161	374
loot/loot_162	1241
loot/loot_163	356
loot/loot_164	10
loot/loot_165	7
loot/loot_166	25
loot/loot_167	676
loot/loot_168	11
loot/loot_169	15
loot/loot_170	9
loot/loot_171	29
loot/loot_172	14
loot/loot_173	63
loot/loot_174	39
loot/loot_175	664
loot/loot_176	12
loot/loot_177	2
loot/loot_178	20
loot/loot_179	10
loot/loot_180	39
loot/loot_181	9
loot/loot_182	8
loot/loot_183	10
loot/loot_184	13
loot/loot_185	310
loot/loot_186	1
loot/loot_187	9
loot/loot_188	8
loot/loot_189	1
loot/loot_190	3
loot/loot_191	445
loot/loot_192	642
loot/loot_193	2
loot/loot_194	1
loot/loot_195	379
loot/loot_196	4
loot/loot_197	456
loot/loot_198	21
loot/loot_199	5
loot/loot_200	7
loot/loot_201	10
loot/loot_202	48
loot/loot_203	184
loot/loot_204	19
loot/loot_205	411
loot/loot_206	53
loot/loot_207	14
loot/loot_208	10
loot/loot_209	429
loot/loot_210	308
loot/loot_211	5
loot/loot_212	9
loot/loot_213	10
loot/loot_214	206
loot/loot_215	15
loot/loot_216	548
loot/loot_217	13
loot/loot_218	9
loot/loot_219	9
loot/loot_220	9
loot/loot_221	10
loot/loot_222	4
loot/loot_223	6
loot/loot_224	9
loot/loot_225	6
loot/loot_226	6
loot/loot_227	13
loot/loot_228	258
loot/loot_229	343
loot/loot_230	23
loot/loot_231	7
loot/loot_232	110
loot/loot_233	10
loot/loot_234	27
loot/loot_235	28
loot/loot_236	2
loot/loot_237	395
loot/loot_239	46
loot/loot_240	8
loot/loot_241	14
loot/loot_242	4
loot/loot_243	5
loot/loot_244	4
loot/loot_245	240
loot/loot_246	254
loot/loot_247	398
loot/loot_248	18
loot/loot_249	3
loot/loot_250	4
loot/loot_251	7
loot/loot_252	8
loot/loot_253	563
loot/loot_div	31
loot/loot_equals	76
loot/loot_minus	34
loot/loot_plus	79
loot/loot_sqrt	35
loot/loot_times	56
loot/loot-words-birdlike	9
loot/loot-words-boat	3
loot/loot-words-castle	4
loot/loot-words-cat	3
loot/loot-words-cinematic	1
loot/loot-words-collector	3
loot/loot-words-cursed	3
loot/loot-words-cycle	3
loot/loot-words-doctor	7
loot/loot-words-eater	1
loot/loot-words-electric	2
loot/loot-words-eruption	3
loot/loot-words-farm	4
loot/loot-words-flock	2
loot/loot-words-flying	1
loot/loot-words-free	4
loot/loot-words-gamma	1
loot/loot-words-ghost	4
loot/loot-words-hair	4
loot/loot-words-harry-potter-and-the	2
loot/loot-words-horse	5
loot/loot-words-imminent	5
loot/loot-words-inspector	1
loot/loot-words-ionized	3
loot/loot-words-jet	2
loot/loot-words-laser	4
loot/loot-words-launcher	3
loot/loot-words-lifelike	2
loot/loot-words-ominous	2
loot/loot-words-plasma	2
loot/loot-words-sale	5
loot/loot-words-sudden	3
loot/loot-words-surprise	10
loot/loot-words-swarm	1
loot/loot-words-sword	4
loot/loot-words-teleporter	4
loot/loot-words-turtle	5
loot/loot-words-unlicensed	2
loot/loot-words-vortex	4
loot/miniloot-words-birdlike	12
loot/miniloot-words-boat	16
loot/miniloot-words-castle	18
loot/miniloot-words-cat	7
loot/miniloot-words-cinematic	21
loot/miniloot-words-collector	8
loot/miniloot-words-cursed	15
loot/miniloot-words-cycle	7
loot/miniloot-words-dispenser	4
loot/miniloot-words-doctor	6
loot/miniloot-words-eater	12
loot/miniloot-words-electric	10
loot/miniloot-words-eruption	6
loot/miniloot-words-farm	6
loot/miniloot-words-flock	4
loot/miniloot-words-flying	12
loot/miniloot-words-free	5
loot/miniloot-words-gamma	12
loot/miniloot-words-ghost	14
loot/miniloot-words-hair	6
loot/miniloot-words-harry-potter-and-the	11
loot/miniloot-words-horse	25
loot/miniloot-words-house	12
loot/miniloot-words-imminent	14
loot/miniloot-words-inspector	10
loot/miniloot-words-ionized	17
loot/miniloot-words-jet	13
loot/miniloot-words-laser	8
loot/miniloot-words-launcher	11
loot/miniloot-words-lifelike	49
loot/miniloot-words-ominous	9
loot/miniloot-words-plasma	10
loot/miniloot-words-sale	7
loot/miniloot-words-sudden	10
loot/miniloot-words-surprise	9
loot/miniloot-words-swarm	9
loot/miniloot-words-sword	19
loot/miniloot-words-teleporter	12
loot/miniloot-words-turtle	36
loot/miniloot-words-unlicensed	7
loot/miniloot-words-vortex	12
loot/transparent	30

orphaned page

2288: Collector's Edition/Stickers is an orphaned page, and should probably either be linked to on this page, or deleted. what do you guys think? 108.162.237.87 13:07, 22 November 2021 (UTC)BUmpf

Connection to Polandball

The setup of the comic looks a lot like the original "Polandball".--172.69.246.142 18:14, 1 April 2024 (UTC)