Another Wiki Challenge

[loramin]

TLDR; Up to 1.7k plat per player is up for grabs for those willing to help the wiki with some work. And my previous challenge is back too.


I'm having another challenge to offload work to lowbies give lower level players a chance to help the wiki and earn some bonus plat, potentially up to 1.7k.

I recently came up with a new wiki feature. If you go to Boridain Glacierbane's page (http://wiki.project1999.com/Boridain_Glacierbane) you can see the new feature by mousing over the "(Show on Map)" link (near the "Location:" field). A map will appear showing where to find Boridain. This feature works on any mob in Eastern Wastes (and Rivervale) ... but nowhere else.

To make it work in other zones someone needs to "calculate" (it's really more like "guess until you get the right number") where the 0, 0" spot is on the map and what "zoom" factor the map has. It's a kind of techie and annoying process, but it's not actually all that hard. That process is laid out on this page: http://wiki.project1999.com/Loc_Maps.

So here's the challenge part: everyone who helps out and adds a city zone gets 700 plat (which you can pickup in the EC Tunnel). To avoid duplicating work, if you're going to add a zone edit the Loc Maps page in the wiki (http://wiki.project1999.com/Loc_Maps) first (add your zone to the list but say "coming soon" after it). Please only "claim" one zone at a time. Also note that some cities (eg. Freeport) have multiple zones, and each one counts separately for this contest.

If you want to keep going I'll give 500p for the next two you do after the first, for a grand total of 1.7k plat possible. After that you're welcome to keep helping (including doing non-city zones), but my bank account can't fund any more than that :o

If all that is too much for you I'm also re-offering my previous challenge (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324673), to anyone who didn't participate the first time:



The Per-Level Hunting Guide (http://wiki.project1999.com/Per-Level_Hunting_Guide) - where should I go to solo/duo/trio XP?
The Treasure Hunting Guide (http://wiki.project1999.com/Treasure_Hunting_Guide)- where should I go to solo/duo/trio plat or valuable items?
The Fashion categories (http://wiki.project1999.com/FashionQuest_Guide) (example (http://wiki.project1999.com/Category:Fashion:_Bahama_Blue)) - what does _____ armor look like?


I'm holding a mini-contest with a prize of 500 plat. All you have to do to enter is help with one of those three pages. Now I know 500 plat isn't very much on this server, but if you're low level and on your first character then it can provide a nice boost, so this is intended specifically for such new folks.

All you have to do to "enter" is add one new entry: one hunting spot, one place to make plat, or one fashion screenshot, that the wiki didn't already have. Then just reply to this thread with a link to the change and a brief description so I know what you added. That's it.


Both the new challenge and the old last until 7/14/2019 (ie. you can still spend the weekend leveling and have time to enter afterward). If you're doing the loc work you don't need to post back here unless you want to, as I'll get your PM with the zone info. Be sure to include when a good time to meet up is so I can give you your plat.

Hopefully some newer folks enjoy this chance to earn some bonus plat, while helping everyone find city NPCs on the wiki more easily!

P.S. Feel free to improve (eg. add screenshots to) the Loc Maps page itself. It's a wiki!

[Backle]

North Qeynos is done. I can't send you a private message; I don't have permission. I literally have no idea why. Do I have to get some posts first?

[loramin]

North Qeynos is done. I can't send you a private message; I don't have permission. I literally have no idea why. Do I have to get some posts first?

The forum has an anti-spam feature, to keep non-EQ people from signing up and then private messaging everyone with ads for penis pills (or similar garbage). I believe to get around it you have to make at least five posts, and your account might need to be older than a week (month?) too: I'm not sure about the details unfortunately.

If anyone can't contact me through the forum you can use my "Talk page" on the wiki to contact me. Just edit http://wiki.project1999.com/index.php?title=User_talk:Loramin and leave a message at the end (be sure to "sign" it using the sign icon on the toolbar).

And with all that out of the way ... congrats to Backle for being the first winner, with not just North but also South Qeynos! Now if anyone wants to find Priestess Jahnda (http://wiki.project1999.com/Priestess_Jahnda), Captain Rohand (http://wiki.project1999.com/Captain_Rohand), or any of the other residents of Qeynos, they'll be able to do so more easily thanks to Backle! (And Backle also earned 1.2k in the process!)

There's plenty of cities left and my bank account isn't (yet) dry, so let's keep 'em coming :)

[aaezil]

In game currency for out of game work? My my

[loramin]

In game currency for out of game work? My my

You trolled my last challenge too:

Wasnt vyemm up for like 2 days? Why didnt you kill him

You got away with it then, despite the fact that this is the opposite of Rants and Flames, it's the Starting Zone, and the forum rules (which I quoted to you last time) are very clear:

Trolling
If you must troll another user, keep it contained to Rants and Flames. Don’t over do it.

Let's see what happens this time.

[Mauxe]

I'm doing North Freeport now - but I've never edited the wiki before and my "coming soon" for it is not saving. Would anyone be able to tell me what I need to do for that?

Thanks!

[loramin]

I'm doing North Freeport now - but I've never edited the wiki before and my "coming soon" for it is not saving. Would anyone be able to tell me what I need to do for that?

Thanks!

I'm not sure why you can't save; maybe try logging out and then back in?

Also, it seems the Freeport maps don't actually line up, so let's leave Freeport off of the challenge (unless someone can find a loc-accurate classic Freeport map).

Also, congrats to Backle for adding Oggok, which (along with North and South Qeynos) makes him the first to earn the full reward! And congratulations also to Mauxe, who added Northern Felwithe.

We're really starting to make this feature a reality, thanks for the help all!

[aaezil]

Not sure what your wall of text was meant to be but you seem to be in violation of the rmt rules. . .

[loramin]

Not sure what your wall of text was meant to be but you seem to be in violation of the rmt rules. . .

As you well know I've done this sort of thing in the past, and the staff has never had a problem with it.

The amounts of plat I give out are not large, and really this whole challenge is no different than me standing in EC giving out my plat to random lowbies as a "welcome to the server" package ... except that with the challenge it's those who help the wiki (vs. those who were in EC at the right time) who get my plat.

[Haunt]

It's a relief to know there is an issue with Freeport. I got quite frustrated trying to do West Freeport last night, and I'm glad that the problem isn't my ability to follow instructions.

[Mauxe]

It's a relief to know there is an issue with Freeport. I got quite frustrated trying to do West Freeport last night, and I'm glad that the problem isn't my ability to follow instructions.

The maps are way off in terms of the placement of buildings, size of structures.. and the grids are labeled oddly. It's not horrible if you are just using the map to get an idea of where to go.. but the red X project makes them impossible to use.

I've been looking around at other FP maps. I don't love any of them. I'm going to try to make a similar, hand-drawn and colored map... but accurate (those are the maps I used to have in a binder!!!)

[loramin]

It wasn't an obvious problem, until I tried to do the 'zoom factor' part. Then I realized something was really amiss.

I'm going to take a crack at Kaladim. Hopefully I'll be able to finish that one.

Sorry the Freeport maps wound up being such a hassle for you guys. This is part of the "fun" of the wiki: you never know what's actually there until you look closely (although in this case our beloved EQMaps.com cartographer is really to blame).

I've been looking around at other FP maps. I don't love any of them. I'm going to try to make a similar, hand-drawn and colored map... but accurate

If you can manage it that would be amazing. Obviously I didn't plan on this, but if the old bank account isn't too dry by the end of this challenge and you do manage to produce such maps, I think I might be able to find a little extra plat to reward you.

(those are the maps I used to have in a binder!!!)
Me too! Nice, full-page color printings ;) The things we did when we didn't have two monitors.

[Mauxe]

I have also tried looking at Blackburrow. I think dungeons are going to be difficult or might only be able to incorporate dungeon-specific mobs that have 1 spawn point. Gnolls are all over the place and not just in BB.

Either that or the mob list for each dungeon needs to be re-worked to only include spawns in the dungeon... could all link back to the main creature post. Just a thought.

[loramin]

I have also tried looking at Blackburrow. I think dungeons are going to be difficult or might only be able to incorporate dungeon-specific mobs that have 1 spawn point. Gnolls are all over the place and not just in BB.

Either that or the mob list for each dungeon needs to be re-worked to only include spawns in the dungeon... could all link back to the main creature post. Just a thought.

Yeah, this whole plan revolved around a 2d map. 3d zones like Blackburrow will essentially need three maps worth of data, and then on top of that every mob in the zone would need to be updated so instead of say "Location: 100% @ (196, 146)" they say something like "Location: 100% @ (196, 146, 3rd level)".

But, as nice as it might be to make it easier for people to find the Gnoll Brewer, I think we should go after the "low hanging fruit" (ie. zones that do have 2D maps, and have lots of NPCs people might be looking for). After the cities are done, I think maybe the "city-adjacent" zones (Qeynos Hills, Butcherblock, etc.) might make the most sense ...

... although if someone really wants to go fix every mob in Blackburrow (or wherever else) and they want to do the work to find the info for all three of the Blackburrow maps ... I'll promise to make the Javascript work somehow :)

[Mauxe]

Sorry the Freeport maps wound up being such a hassle for you guys. This is part of the "fun" of the wiki: you never know what's actually there until you look closely (although in this case our beloved EQMaps.com cartographer is really to blame).


If you can manage it that would be amazing. Obviously I didn't plan on this, but if the old bank account isn't too dry by the end of this challenge and you do manage to produce such maps, I think I might be able to find a little extra plat to reward you.


Me too! Nice, full-page color printings ;) The things we did when we didn't have two monitors.

Not at all! It was actually fun and figuring out FP taught me the most about this whole process. I got a lot of good notes as well.

I am a "new" player in that I have not logged as much time in game. I did join p99 quite a few years ago but it didn't stick until recently. So plat is useful but not required. It's relaxing to "work" on something like this and hopefully it will be useful to others.

[Mauxe]

Yeah, this whole plan revolved around a 2d map. 3d zones like Blackburrow will essentially need three maps worth of data, and then on top of that every mob in the zone would need to be updated so instead of say "Location: 100% @ (196, 146)" they say something like "Location: 100% @ (196, 146, 3rd level)".

But, as nice as it might be to make it easier for people to find the Gnoll Brewer, I think we should go after the "low hanging fruit" (ie. zones that do have 2D maps, and have lots of NPCs people might be looking for). After the cities are done, I think maybe the "city-adjacent" zones (Qeynos Hills, Butcherblock, etc.) might make the most sense ...

... although if someone really wants to go fix every mob in Blackburrow (or wherever else) and they want to do the work to find the info for all three of the Blackburrow maps ... I'll promise that if they do I'll make the Javascript work somehow :)

I started working on outside maps to leave some cities for others :)

[loramin]

I started working on outside maps to leave some cities for others :)

And you are a wonderful person for doing so!

Also I should announce that Mauxe is now the second person to hit the challenge limit and earn 1.7k by helping the wiki (and adding North and South Felwithe and Halas ... and East Commonlands)! Be sure to PM me when (now?) you'd like to pickup your plat.

P.S. I started Misty Thicket, but didn't get very far. If you wind up doing it this might save you five seconds of work:

height: 341,
image: 'Map_mistythicket.jpg',
modifier: ?,
test: {
maxX: 2000,
maxY: 1000,
minX: -3000,
minY: -1000
},
width: 550,
zeroX: ?,
zeroY: ?

[Haunt]

South Kaladim is going much smoother than my attempt at West Freeport, but RL keeps interrupting and it'll be a few more hours before I can actually finish it.

But while looking at the Kaladim maps, I realized that North Kaladim doesn't appear appear to have a 0,0 point anywhere on the map. Am I missing something, or would it be impossible to complete the task for North Kaladim?

[Mauxe]

South Kaladim is going much smoother than my attempt at West Freeport, but RL keeps interrupting and it'll be a few more hours before I can actually finish it.

But while looking at the Kaladim maps, I realized that North Kaladim doesn't appear appear to have a 0,0 point anywhere on the map. Am I missing something, or would it be impossible to complete the task for North Kaladim?

TL;DR: You picked another broken one :)

There are a couple of issues with North Kaladin.
the problem with no 0,0 isn't bad. It just takes some work.
The X for 0,0 is going to need to be well below the image. You just need to make a good estimate of where that is. I used a ruler on my screen for one. Then you can figure out the rest. The grid at the end will be bigger than the image but I don't think that matters. The outside area isn't used unless a coordinate puts something there.

The second issue is that the map image has an extension moved off to the side rather than continued north. That won't work. The map would need to be made whole and extended up to 1500. Anyone good with photoshop?

[loramin]

The second issue is that the map image has an extension moved off to the side rather than continued north. That won't work. The map would need to be made whole and extended up to 1500. Anyone good with photoshop?

Not at all, but I made this anyway:

http://wiki.project1999.com/images/Nkaladim2.png

With a little effort it could probably get prettier, but that's at least a basic cut/paste along the loc lines.

However, before I (or anyone else) tries to make it look better ... is it even accurate? Does anyone have a toon in Kaladim that can check?

[Mauxe]

That's good!
I'll test it out tonight if nobody has responded by then.

[Backle]

I'm in Kaladim now. It's accurate horizontally, but not vertically. The section you spliced in at the top is off by about 50 in the y axis.

P.S. I will try to annotate the image with the correct coordinates.

[Backle]

Upon further examination, it only appears to be off by 30 at the lowest of the three points annotated. The upper two appear to be accurate.

[loramin]

I'm in Kaladim now. It's accurate horizontally, but not vertically. The section you spliced in at the top is off by about 50 in the y axis.

P.S. I will try to annotate the image with the correct coordinates.

Great!

Also I just wanted to announce that the loc maps should now work for mobs with multiple locations (in the same zone ... we're going to have to live without the mobs that have multiple zones for awhile, as those are trickier to implement).

Check out http://wiki.project1999.com/A_Dervish_Thug to see multiple Xs on a single map :)

[Mauxe]

Upon further examination, it only appears to be off by 30 at the lowest of the three points annotated. The upper two appear to be accurate.

That may not be bad. I've found that every map is off a little. Not drawn perfectly. The X is sometimes "just" outside a wall when the npc is inside. But that is a map problem and it is "close enough" to find the mob.

[Mauxe]

Highpass Hold has no grid on its map.
We will need to have one figured out in order to do that zone.

[Haunt]

I'm working on Surefall Glade, but for some reason I can no longer edit the wiki to mark it as 'in progress'.

I tried logging out and back into the wiki, but now I can't log in and get the following message:

Login error
Project 1999 Wiki uses cookies to log in users. You have cookies disabled. Please enable them and try again.

I have cookies enabled, so I just assume the wiki is having issues at the moment.

[loramin]

I'm working on Surefall Glade, but for some reason I can no longer edit the wiki to mark it as 'in progress'.

I tried logging out and back into the wiki, but now I can't log in and get the following message:

Login error
Project 1999 Wiki uses cookies to log in users. You have cookies disabled. Please enable them and try again.

I have cookies enabled, so I just assume the wiki is having issues at the moment.

When you have the developer tools open (either hit F12 or right-click and inspect anything on the page), click and hold the refresh button. That should give you the option to "Empty Cache and Hard Reload". Do that, and then afterwards try logging out and back in.

Hopefully that will fix it.


Also, I'm pleased to report that thanks to the efforts of several volunteers (including two who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to add numerous non-city zones ... even though there's no reward in doing so), the wiki has a lot more supported zones now! At the moment the list is up to:


Eastern Wastes
Rivervale
North Qeynos
South Qeynos
Northern Felwithe
Oggok
Southern Felwithe
Halas
East Commonlands
West Commonlands
South Kaladim
Kithicor Forest
East Karana
Butcherblock Mountains
Greater Faydark
North Karana


But there's still plenty of city zones left for anyone who wants to earn some plat! Check http://wiki.project1999.com/Loc_Maps to see what's left.

[Haunt]

Since I can't currently edit the wiki (I am afraid your suggestion didn't fix my issue, Loramin) I just wanted to let everyone know that I submitted Surefall Glade and Kelethin.

[Mauxe]

I am now having the same issue when trying to log into the wiki.
I can log into the forums just fine.
This is the message I get:

Login error
Project 1999 Wiki uses cookies to log in users. You have cookies disabled. Please enable them and try again.

I have checked and I have cookies enabled. I also did the cache reset.

I also sent in West Karana and Qeynos Hills

[loramin]

I am now having the same issue when trying to log into the wiki.
I can log into the forums just fine.
This is the message I get:

Login error
Project 1999 Wiki uses cookies to log in users. You have cookies disabled. Please enable them and try again.

I have checked and I have cookies enabled. I also did the cache reset.

Hmmmm ... this is really strange.

For those who don't know the technical stuff, cookies are just little bits of information stored in your browser, bits like "I'm user #555555". When you login the wiki saves one of those bits, and then when you come back to the wiki later your browser sends the bit back. This tells the wiki who you are, saving you from having to log in that second time.

Of course, if you disable cookies in your browser (eg. so that ad companies can't use them to track you), the wiki has no way to remember who you are. When you have cookies disabled like that, it makes sense that you'd get that error.

The million dollar question is: if you don't have cookies turned off, then why are you seeing that message? It suggests that something isn't working right with the wiki, but I've tried clearing my cache, logging out, and logging in, and it worked fine, so there's some detail between our circumstances that's different.

One thought: maybe you have a "bad" cookie. This is sort of a long shot, but you can try to fix it by clicking on the far left of the URL bar. In Chrome at least this says "(i) Not Secure", and when you click that you should see a cookies link. If you click that, you should see all your cookies for the project199.com domain listed: try selecting them and clicking "Remove", to make sure you're completely cookie-less on P99 (this won't affect other sites). Then, try logging out and back in (and /pray)

I also sent in West Karana and Qeynos Hills

Awesome, little busy with work today but I'll try to get them in soon!

[Mauxe]

That worked for me!

[Mauxe]

That worked for me!

Then it broke again. I'll mess with it more at home. I was able to go through Edge and add to the wiki.

[Haunt]

Then it broke again. I'll mess with it more at home. I was able to go through Edge and add to the wiki.

Eventually, my problem went away. I don't know why, but I am no longer having issues with the wiki.

[Mauxe]

Eventually, my problem went away. I don't know why, but I am no longer having issues with the wiki.

For the moment I have switched my wiki activity to edge. I was still having problems last night.

[Mauxe]

Also - I needed to find someone in Qeynos the other night and for some reason I was still surprised (pleasantly) to see this feature and it worked great!

[loramin]

Also - I needed to find someone in Qeynos the other night and for some reason I was still surprised (pleasantly) to see this feature and it worked great!

:D

BTW, I converted the Loc Maps page into a category: http://wiki.project1999.com/Category:Loc_Mapped. I then added that category to all the loc mapped zones, and I'm pleased to report (in large part thanks to Mauxe's efforts, although also thanks to Backle and Haunt) ... we now have 18 zones mapped! That's a whole lot faster than I expected, so thanks a ton all, and especially Mauxe.

However, we still have enough city zones left (13 by my count) for four more people to earn 1.7k each. Come join the fun!

[Mauxe]

I looked at Paineel and it will be a challenge but doable - just some estimation more than visual confrmation.

0,0 is somewhere off to the right and well below the map :)

[djvyhle]

Completed: Kelethin, Grobb, The Overthere
=)

[Mauxe]

Nice!

Those troubling cities are... troubling.
High Keep will need either a creative workaround with the existing map -OR- we should split the map images into multiple jpg files and put them back in the same spots on the page. Then we will just need to submit the mapping for each image. Actually, it should be the same scale.

*edit: nearly all of my suggestions have no basis in what can actually be done as I don't know :)

[loramin]

Thanks to all the volunteer effort (especially from Mauxe) the wiki now has the locs mapped for thirty different zones (http://wiki.project1999.com/Category:Loc_Mapped)! And that includes most, but not all city zones (at least out of the ones with viable maps ... I'm looking at you Freeport :mad:).

There's still almost two days left (the challenge ends tomorrow night at midnight-ish), and if anyone's still interested in earning some plat the following city zones still need mapping:


Neriak (all three zones are needed; perfect for one person to take)
Paineel
Erudin (currently there are three maps for two zones, so whoever takes this one will have to combine two of the existing maps into one image, in some sort of graphics program like Photoshop or Gimp, and then upload that image to the wiki, separately from the existing zone images, and use it as the image for the loc mapping)
Firiona Vie (we have the larger zone map done, but we still also need the smaller, city-specific map done)


If someone takes Neriak, and a second person wants to take Paineel and Firiona Vie but isn't good with graphics programs (and so can't do Erudin), I'll let that person submit one non-city zone as their third zone (to make things even).

Don't miss your chance to help out the wiki and earn up to 1.7k!

P.S. If there are any amateur cartographers out there who are interested in creating new loc-accurate maps for any of the zones that currently lack them (/cough Freeport) PM me. I might still have a little plat left in the bank to offer as a (small) reward for your efforts.

[loramin]

Well, the challenge is now over, but it was quite a success: I gave out over 8k in plat to intrepid mappers, and the wiki now has a total of 31 zones mapped (with more hopefully on the way thanks to the efforts of Mauxe, who has continued mapping long after he stopped being rewarded for doing so).

Thanks to everyone who participated, and to everyone else: if you ever use this feature to find an NPC, you have the people in this thread to thank for it :D

My bank account will need some time to recover, but when it does I'll be sure to hold another contest, so keep your eyes open for it, and again thanks to all who helped the wiki!

[Pyrocat]

This is a wonderful idea, thanks so much Loramin (and everyone else who helped)!