explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2712: Gravity

2022-12-17T05:42:35Z

Sierra Nevada: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2712
| date = December 16, 2022
| title = Gravity
| image = gravity_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x700px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's a long way down.
}}

*To experience the interactivity, visit the [http://xkcd.com/2712/ original comic].
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by HOTBLACK DESIADO’S TAX RETURNS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this interactive comic, the viewer pilots a small spaceship throughout a vast area in space. The viewer is capable of exploring various bodies and planets within the play area, many containing easter eggs alluding to What If? 2 and previous xkcd comics. The flight mechanics are largely, if not entirely Newtonian, so the player vessel is capable of using the gravity of planets to alter its trajectory or even enter orbit. The player's spaceship has several indicator circles around it which appear when a gravitational body comes into range, showing the direction towards their center of gravity.

Throughout the play area are coins that change your rocket ship into different rockets and even non-space based vehicles, including humans.

The comic was released as a promotion for Randall's new book [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2], which was released in September and is available for purchase. Many of the planets contain references to various What If? articles.

The comic is similar to [http://xkcd.com/1608/hoverboard hoverboard], which celebrated Thing Explainer instead.

===Spoiler Alert!===

The following is an incomplete table of features:

{|class="wikitable sortable"
!
!
!
! colspan="4"|References
!
|-
! Description
! Transcript
! Tiles (X, Y)
! What If
! XKCD
! Movies
! Other
! Explanation
|-
|'''Earth'''
|
|(14360, 14360)
|
|
|
|
|The starting planet. The player begins on the launch pad in a landed position.
|-
|'''Europa'''
|
|(13180, -2540)
|
|
|
|
|Europa, one of Saturn's many moons (in real life). An icy crust and a single path into its watery core. A secret path inside the sunken pirate ship underwater leads to a secret book club.
|-
|'''B-612'''
|
|(2610,3700)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Dog park planet'''
|
|(1240, 11230)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''What If? 2 scenario planet'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''The Sun'''
|
|(-14950, 12080)
|
|
|
|
|Difficult to escape from if you hit the core. However, this writer escaped by tilting the rocket to roughly a 30 degree angle, which slowly bounces off the sun to built momentum and eventually escape.
|-
|Sun's core
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|Difficult to escape from. This writer escaped by rotating around the sun until an escape-like velocity could be reached.
|-
|'''Soupiter'''
|
|(-800, -9040)
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Earth without Japan'''
|
|(-7680, -5850)
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Just Japan'''
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''A blob labeled "Pigeons"'''
|
|(-9020, -2490)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Starship Enterprise'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Star Trek reference
|-
|'''Dinosaur planet'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Jurassic Park reference
|-
|'''What If? 1 scenario planet'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Cat blocking traffic flowing through portals'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''A tree larger than the planet it's growing on'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Edge of the Universe (actually just a planet labeled "Edge of the Universe")'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Milliways'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy reference
|-
|'''The Great Attractor'''
|
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Black hole cluster'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|Once landed on, you cannot rotate or successfully thrust away. The only escape is reloading the page, or tampering with page data maybe.
|}

==Data Dump==

extracted from a JSON blob near the bottom of <code>https://xkcd.com/2712/comic.js</code>.
I believe this to be all the data but i'm not sure. this should probably be on a different page but i'll leave that up to the smart people
<pre style="height:10em;overflow-y:scroll;">
{
"items": {
"coin-cannonball": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-tintin",
"image": "coin",
"loc": [
359,
-815
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
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"coin-figure": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-figure",
"image": "figure",
"loc": [
-15050,
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"size": [
40,
40
]
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"coin-regular": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship2",
"image": "regular",
"loc": [
-29976,
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"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-soccerball": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-soccer",
"image": "soccerball",
"loc": [
15293,
11140
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
}
},
"locations": {
"b612": {
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"loc": [
2610,
3700
],
"radius": 82,
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"dogplanet": {
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"loc": [
1240,
11230
],
"radius": 337,
"width": 2048
},
"earth": {
"gravity": 21000,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
14360,
14360
],
"radius": 3275,
"width": 16384
},
"enterprise": {
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"loc": [
1010,
30440
],
"radius": 160,
"width": 2048
},
"europa": {
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"loc": [
13180,
-2540
],
"radius": 1625,
"width": 8192
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"goodhart": {
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"radius": 18,
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"maw7": {
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"loc": [
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"radius": 18,
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"maw8": {
"gravity": 2000,
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"loc": [
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"radius": 18,
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"maw9": {
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"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
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"nojapan": {
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"height": 2048,
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"radius": 200,
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"origin": {
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"loc": [
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"radius": 630,
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"outside": {
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"loc": [
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"radius": 125,
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"peeler": {
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"loc": [
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620
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"radius": 40,
"width": 2048
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"pigeons": {
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"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-9020,
-2490
],
"radius": 160,
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"present": {
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"loc": [
22820,
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],
"radius": 195,
"width": 2048
},
"qwantz": {
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"height": 4096,
"loc": [
11060,
24870
],
"radius": 850,
"width": 4096
},
"remnant": {
"gravity": 9000,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
19620,
3800
],
"radius": 537,
"width": 4096
},
"roads": {
"gravity": 40,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
13240,
-11510
],
"radius": 30,
"width": 16384
},
"soupiter": {
"gravity": 1300,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-8000,
-9040
],
"radius": 812,
"width": 4096
},
"steerswoman": {
"gravity": 600,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-35070,
-2500
],
"radius": 520,
"width": 4096
},
"sun": {
"gravity": 9000,
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"loc": [
-14950,
12080
],
"radius": 540,
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}
},
"player": {
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"animcount": 4,
"startloc": [
0,
750
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"targetheight": 59
},
"tile_height": 1024,
"tile_source": "tile",
"tile_width": 1024
}

</pre>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Welcome!

To celebrate the world of what if? 2, here is your very own planet to explore!

Give someone the science question-and-answer book what if? 2 for Christmas:
xkcd.com/whatif2

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2712: Gravity

2022-12-17T05:16:11Z

Sierra Nevada: /* Spoiler Alert! */

{{comic
| number = 2712
| date = December 16, 2022
| title = Gravity
| image = gravity_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x700px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's a long way down.
}}

*To experience the interactivity, visit the [http://xkcd.com/2712/ original comic].
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by HOTBLACK DESIADO’S TAX RETURNS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this interactive comic, the viewer pilots a small spaceship throughout a vast area in space. The viewer is capable of exploring various bodies and planets within the play area, many containing easter eggs alluding to What If? 2 and previous xkcd comics. The flight mechanics are largely, if not entirely Newtonian, so the player vessel is capable of using the gravity of planets to alter its trajectory or even enter orbit. The player's spaceship has several indicator circles around it which appear when a gravitational body comes into range, showing the direction towards their center of gravity.

Throughout the play area are coins that change your rocket ship into different rockets and even non-space based vehicles, including humans.

The comic was released as a promotion for Randall's new book [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2], which was released in September and is available for purchase. Many of the planets contain references to various What If? articles.

The comic is similar to [http://xkcd.com/1608/hoverboard hoverboard], which celebrated Thing Explainer instead.

===Spoiler Alert!===

The following is an incomplete table of features:

{|class="wikitable sortable"
!
!
!
! colspan="4"|References
!
|-
! Description
! Transcript
! Tiles (X, Y)
! What If
! XKCD
! Movies
! Other
! Explanation
|-
|'''Earth'''
|
|(14360, 14360)
|
|
|
|
|The starting planet. The player begins on the launch pad in a landed position.
|-
|'''Europa'''
|
|(13180, -2540)
|
|
|
|
|Europa, one of Saturn's many moons (in real life). An icy crust and a single path into its watery core. A secret path inside the sunken pirate ship underwater leads to a secret book club.
|-
|'''B-612'''
|
|(2610,3700)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Dog park planet'''
|
|(1240, 11230)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''What If? 2 scenario planet'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''The Sun'''
|
|(-14950, 12080)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Sun's core
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|Difficult to escape from. This writer escaped by rotating around the sun until an escape-like velocity could be reached.
|-
|'''Soupiter'''
|
|(-800, -9040)
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Earth without Japan'''
|
|(-7680, -5850)
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Just Japan'''
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''A blob labeled "Pigeons"'''
|
|(-9020, -2490)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Starship Enterprise'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Star Trek reference
|-
|'''Dinosaur planet'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Jurassic Park reference
|-
|'''What If? 1 scenario planet'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Cat blocking traffic flowing through portals'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''A tree larger than the planet it's growing on'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Edge of the Universe (actually just a planet labeled "Edge of the Universe")'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Milliways'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy reference
|-
|'''The Great Attractor'''
|
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Black hole cluster'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|Once landed on, you cannot rotate or successfully thrust away. The only escape is reloading the page, or tampering with page data maybe.
|}

==Data Dump==

extracted from a JSON blob near the bottom of <code>https://xkcd.com/2712/comic.js</code>.
I believe this to be all the data but i'm not sure. this should probably be on a different page but i'll leave that up to the smart people
<pre style="height:10em;overflow-y:scroll;">
{
"items": {
"coin-cannonball": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-tintin",
"image": "coin",
"loc": [
359,
-815
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-figure": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-figure",
"image": "figure",
"loc": [
-15050,
-2984
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-regular": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship2",
"image": "regular",
"loc": [
-29976,
-8077
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-soccerball": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-soccer",
"image": "soccerball",
"loc": [
15293,
11140
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
}
},
"locations": {
"b612": {
"gravity": 60,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
2610,
3700
],
"radius": 82,
"width": 2048
},
"dogplanet": {
"gravity": 300,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
1240,
11230
],
"radius": 337,
"width": 2048
},
"earth": {
"gravity": 21000,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
14360,
14360
],
"radius": 3275,
"width": 16384
},
"enterprise": {
"gravity": 200,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
1010,
30440
],
"radius": 160,
"width": 2048
},
"europa": {
"gravity": 5000,
"height": 8192,
"loc": [
13180,
-2540
],
"radius": 1625,
"width": 8192
},
"goodhart": {
"gravity": 5000,
"height": 8192,
"loc": [
-13300,
-3260
],
"radius": 1625,
"width": 8192
},
"greatattractor": {
"gravity": 450000,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-297000,
-125000
],
"radius": 800,
"width": 4096
},
"japanmoon": {
"gravity": 50,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-5930,
-5800
],
"radius": 67,
"width": 2048
},
"maw1": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-31576,
-9077
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw10": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29516,
-6321
],
"radius": 15,
"width": 2048
},
"maw11": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29381,
-6248
],
"radius": 12,
"width": 2048
},
"maw12": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-26832,
-5928
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw13": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-31743,
-4724
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw14": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-26071,
-10824
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw2": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-30211,
-8831
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw3": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-27975,
-8266
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw4": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29546,
-7971
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw5": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29791,
-7631
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw6": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29328,
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],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw7": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29700,
-7426
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw8": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29165,
-7160
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw9": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-30772,
-6910
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"nojapan": {
"gravity": 80,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-7680,
-5850
],
"radius": 200,
"width": 2048
},
"origin": {
"gravity": 1500,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
0,
0
],
"radius": 630,
"width": 4096
},
"outside": {
"gravity": 200,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
0,
-14500
],
"radius": 125,
"width": 16384
},
"peeler": {
"gravity": 50,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-9270,
620
],
"radius": 40,
"width": 2048
},
"pigeons": {
"gravity": 100,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-9020,
-2490
],
"radius": 160,
"width": 2048
},
"present": {
"gravity": 300,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
22820,
-18920
],
"radius": 195,
"width": 2048
},
"qwantz": {
"gravity": 1400,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
11060,
24870
],
"radius": 850,
"width": 4096
},
"remnant": {
"gravity": 9000,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
19620,
3800
],
"radius": 537,
"width": 4096
},
"roads": {
"gravity": 40,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
13240,
-11510
],
"radius": 30,
"width": 16384
},
"soupiter": {
"gravity": 1300,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-8000,
-9040
],
"radius": 812,
"width": 4096
},
"steerswoman": {
"gravity": 600,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-35070,
-2500
],
"radius": 520,
"width": 4096
},
"sun": {
"gravity": 9000,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
-14950,
12080
],
"radius": 540,
"width": 16384
}
},
"player": {
"animation": "player.png",
"animcount": 4,
"startloc": [
0,
750
],
"targetheight": 59
},
"tile_height": 1024,
"tile_source": "tile",
"tile_width": 1024
}

</pre>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Welcome!

To celebrate the world of what if? 2, here is your very own planet to explore!

Give someone the science question-and-answer book what if? 2 for Christmas:
xkcd.com/whatif2

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]