Topic

The Great XPeriment -- (Updated April 6)

Ack! What am I doing here in the forum? So many strangers! Such a wide open space!

*flees in terror*

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Edited to add:

Hello, sea of nameless faces! 

Ack!

*flees*

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Edited to add:

Dear giant crushing throng of people I don’t know,

Ack!

*flees*

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Edited to add:

Dear Melody Pond,

Remember when you suggested I write a forum post about this? I was thinking of maybe posting something along the following lines:

“I’m a mere 61 XP points into level 59 (having visited only ONE public street since I left the tutorial) and am now prepping for my biggest experiment yet: trying to see just how much XP it’s possible to earn in one game day.

“So far I’ve gathered the ingredients for about 500 of each seasoned bean and 2070 pots of proper rice, all of which will take about three hours to craft and will give around 240k XP. Add in a huge shrine donation and it’s up to almost 300k. 

“I plan to spend the remaining hour on seasoning eggs, and am now in the process of gathering supplies for 829 butterfly eggs and 1243 piggy eggs. In case you’re wondering what that means in terms of resources, making 829 butterfly eggs requires 8290 tiny bubbles, and making 8290 tiny bubbles requires almost 25k plain bubbles.  Piggy eggs require seven hard bubbles each, with each hard bubble taking five plain ones. That’s a lot of plain bubbles.

“And now I’m starting to feel the pressure of time. I have to conduct this experiment before the shift from XP to imagination, and I only get one shot at it so I want to be super prepared. I need to start the big day with as little XP as possible, but somehow I ended up at level 59 without having harvested enough bubbles. I can’t do the harvesting myself because harvesting generates XP. I’ve already had tons of help from folks behind the scenes but now I’m finally desperate enough to appeal to the general public. As you might guess from my username, doing ANYTHING that involves the general public is totally traumatic for me. 

“But. The bubbles. I am in need of them. Billions of them. Please help. Please send bubbles. In return I can offer a share in the glory (because it WILL be glorious) and, uh, some thank-you eggs?”

What do you think? 

Too wordy, huh. Maybe posting on the forum isn’t such a good idea. I didn’t even say anything about all the other ways I’m planning on getting XP, like swf games and icons and some other secret methods. How do people write short, informative posts? I think I need to go back inside my house and close all the curtains now and figure out a different way to get bubbles.

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Edited to add: 

I'm trying to do this experiment by the end of this month.

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Edited to add: 

P.S. I just realized I should probably explain that "Agoraphobe" is my experimental alt account (wanted to see how far I could get without accruing any streets on the travel leaderboard) and that some of you may already know me as Sirentist.

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Edited to add: 

I just added this one because I didn't think there were enough "Edited to add"s and also because I like my vertical ellipses.

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Edited to add: 

It's a few days later and HOORAY! You all have sent me billions of bubbles! Thank you all for such an awesome response. Is it horrible to ask for more? I'm now in need of the cherries. That's right. ALL of them. Turns out they're crucial to my secret plan. They were so secret I didn't even know I needed them until just the other day. 

Should I do a tl;dr version? Here: 

I've got bubbles enough;
now it's cherries I luff!

Annnnd I think I just lolspeaked. Lolspake? Either way, somebody please kill me now.

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Edited to add:

Success! Cherry mission accomplished! Thank you, everyone, for your generosity and well wishes. As soon as we figure out the little details, it's a go. I'll let you know how it all unfolds.

Posted 9 months ago by Agoraphobe Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • You look rightfully exhausted!  Like you've got a runner's high.
    Posted 9 months ago by Carl Projectorinski Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Congrats! :)
    Posted 9 months ago by Varaeth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Awesome, congratulations! :D
    Posted 9 months ago by Sadie the Goat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Incredible!
    Posted 9 months ago by TomC Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *pulls out megaphone so as not to get too close and make you nervous* CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
    Posted 9 months ago by Voluptua Sneezelips Subscriber! | Permalink
  • (Not looking at you, Agoraphobe.) But mill-yuns and mill-yuns of congratulations! :D
    Posted 9 months ago by Flowerry Pott Subscriber! | Permalink
  • w00t w00t, congratz!!!
    Posted 9 months ago by WeavingTheWeb Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Aww thank you! I feel quite puffed up about it. So much so that I don't feel the least bit indignant that the housing changes and new skills released right in the middle of my experiment totally stole my thunder. Hmph. 
    Posted 9 months ago by Agoraphobe Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Suuuuure you don't. ;)

    Just think of how much easier it would've been if you'd had those SDB's to organize all your stuff! 250,000 cherries in one place!

    Really though, what an amazing feat! I'm glad you got it done!
    Posted 9 months ago by Little Miss Giggles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You know how when you work up to one crowning moment, and everything hinges on that moment, and that's the moment you fart or sneeze or faint? Yeah. I just farted.

    Which is to say, I managed to screw up the screenshot of the "new day" screen, where it says how much energy you used and how much xp you earned. 

    What a rollercoaster. First I'm exhilarated, now I just want to crawl under the bed and cry. I'll come back later. When I'm not feeling like the world's biggest idiot, and can remember that it was still totally epic, even if I don't have a picture. 

    *scowls*
    Posted 9 months ago by Agoraphobe Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There's a thousand words in this thread... and everyone knows a thousand words is worth a picture.
    Posted 9 months ago by Jesus Christ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So...this was an XPeriment. We got the conclusion...do we get to see the data?

    On another thread I thought I saw you post 500K xp in 2.5 hours

    Can't seem to find that thread again but it didn't have the breakdown on what you did to earn that xp.

    or are they like weaponized bird flu and must be kept secret! :x nuuu
    Posted 8 months ago by CraigW Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ha, yes, I am going pull together the data ... [many excuses here] ... but yes. 

    And yeah, I did earn nearly 500k xp in about 2.5 hours, and will post the method soon, including my super-brilliant, super-sneaky trick for both getting around the stuffed debuff and earning tons of xp in the process. 

    Hm. Maybe I should post the results first and THEN do the millions of thank-you-egg notes. Oh and there's a lot of MATH involved. Did I mention math is not my strong suit? And I want the columns to line up. I know they're not gonna line up. Things never line up right in forum posts.

    WHAT. Don't tell me I'm the only one who wants the columns to line up.

    *flails anxiously in all directions at once*

    ===========================

    Edited many days later to add:

    Ooh look what I figured out! I can edit this post without sending it to the top of the list. You know what this means, right? It means I can try to get the columns just right!  

    This is just a test. Don't look at this. Go away. I'm not done yet.

    Shrine Donation (461 spice plant beans with ehsp)………………………..............49,748 xp

    Seasoning Beans………………………………………………………………….....208,943 xp
       
       Bean Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each)……………………29,849 xp
       Bubble Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each)………………….29,849 xp
       Egg Plant Beans (498) (60 xp each)…………………….29,849 xp
       Fruit Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each)………………….…29,849 xp
       Gas Plant Beans (498) (60 xp each)…………………….29,849 xp
       Spice Plant Beans (498) (60 xp each)………………......29,849 xp
       Wood Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each)…………………...29,849 xp

    Dammit. My kingdom for a fixed-width font.

    Or tabs. Do tabs work?

    Shrine Donation (461 spice plant beans with ehsp) 49,748 xp

    Seasoning Beans 208,943 xp
       
       Bean Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp
       Bubble Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp
       Egg Plant Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp
       Fruit Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp
       Gas Plant Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp
       Spice Plant Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp
       Wood Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each) 29,849 xp

    Dammit! Tabs do not work.

    Okay but it's possible to do <b>bold</b> and <i>italic</i> using html, right? How about <pre>this tag, which is supposed to give a fixed-width font</pre>? ALL I WANT IS A FIXED-WIDTH FONT DAMMIT. *scowls*

    Waaaaait a minute. How are people doing bold and italic?

    [b]bold[/b]
    [i]italic[/i]

    Dammit. I hate having to go to live help to ask this sort of thing. 

    ===========================

    Later:

    Guess what. THERE ARE FORMATTING BUTTONS RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF MY FACE.

    Okay let's see if hitting the HTML button lets me do a fixed-width font.

    No.

    Bold and italic? That's it? And nonbreaking space, apparently.

    How about the code tag? Yes I realize I'm attempting to abuse HTML tags here. Shut up.

    ^That looked REALLY hopeful in the editing window, I have to say.

    Why does it looked monospaced in the text-entering window but then disappear when I actually save changes?

    Okay FINE. No fixed-width font. I'm creative. I'll find another way.

    Ooh! Will it let me do a font tag?

    <font face="monospace">This really wants to be a monospace font.</font>

    I just want to go on record as saying that is what the code showed me when I switched back and forth between views. That "font face=monospace" tag. Hmph. 

    ===========================

    Later:

    One has to wonder, however, if one might be able to make some use of that nonbreaking space tag.

       Bean Tree Beans    (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp
       Bubble Tree Beans (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp
       Egg Plant Beans     (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp
       Fruit Tree Beans     (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp
       Gas Plant Beans    (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp
       Spice Plant Beans  (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp
       Wood Tree Beans  (498) (60 xp each)      29,849 xp

    DAMMIT!

    Okay fine, I give up. But at least I shall give up in a bold, slanty way: I GIVE UP.
    Posted 8 months ago by Sirentist Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Okay FINE. I tried to do it in pretty columns but noooooo. The forum does not let you use a font that is not all fractional and kerned and blah blah blah.

    So instead here’s the breakdown in narrative form.  One week, forty pages of activity log, and a horrifying amount of numbers later, I’m finally ready to tell you the details of the big experiment.

    P.S. Dammit! How did this turn into another book? I really tried to keep it short. I DID.

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    I started the game day already having 517 stupid xp points because of stupid unexpected badges.
    My big shrine donation of 461 spice plant beans (with ehsp) got me 49,748 xp ...
    … and a Friendly Emblem, which gave another 60 xp.
    Contemplating eleven emblems gave the usual 396 xp.
    Reflecting eleven icons (each of which I tithed immediately before reflecting) gave a total of 17,003 xp.
    Seasoning beans (498 of each of the seven kinds) gave a total of 208,943 xp.
    Seasoning 360 butterfly eggs (which is all I could do before leveling up) gave 12,960 xp.
    Brilliantly guessing the correct word to 76 games of charades earned another 3,800 xp.
    Playing five SWF games gave 300 xp.
    Drinking eleven Flaming Humbabas got me the Firetongue Award and 100 xp.
    Drinking eleven Bubble Teas got me the Bubble Tea Aficianado badge and 100 xp.
    Drinking eleven Earthshakers got me the Aftershock Award and 100 xp.

    There were two more achievements: the Sneeze-O-Rama Badge and the Egg Transmutator Apprentice Badge, but because achievements don’t display their rewards in the local chat/activity window, there’s no record of how much xp either of those gave. I’m going to guess the sneeze badge gave 100 xp, and the egg badge 250 xp.

    All this adds up to 294,377 xp. 

    Which is where those last-minute cherries came in. You must have wondered what we were doing with those billions of cherries, right? 

    Here’s a hint.

    And here's another.

    Yep, that's right. Lemon Juices and Mega-Healthy Veggie Juices. Drinking 13,540 Lemon Juices and 6,770 Mega-Healthy Veggie Juices in an alternating cycle gave a total of 203,099 xp. 

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    Other Info: 

    Throughout the entire two and a half hours, Melody Pond remained literally (in a virtual-avatar sort of way) at my side, taking bags away, handing me new ones, dashing for emergency backup beans when I found I’d miscalculated, and in general being the most attentive and reliable partner in crime anyone could ask for.

    It took nearly 320,000 cherries to make all the juices for this experiment. (Thank you again, everyone!)

    I didn’t have to eat any food, since both Lemon Juice and Mega-Healthy Veggie Juice give energy. In this way, I was able to avoid having to deal with the Stuffed Debuff.

    Including the energy loss for simply being and a 20-energy penalty for inflicting the sparkle powder, the total amount of energy I used was 62,542, or nearly 7000 more energy than I would have been able to get from eating food. (Stuffed Debuff at level 59 kicks in once you’ve gotten 55,600 energy from eating food.)

    You have to be at full mood to get the full xp from drinking Lemon Juice. At the time of the experiment, one full stack of Lemon Juice gave 288 xp.

    A half-stack of Veggie Juice perfectly replenishes the mood loss caused by drinking a full stack of Lemon Juice, and also gives energy and 72 xp.

    It takes two and a half stacks of Lemon Juice to replenish the energy used for making a batch of 40 seasoned beans.

    You do not have to be at full mood to get the full xp from mood-replenishing drinks like Veggie Juice.

    You can drink Lemon Juice even when you’re at full energy and mood.

    You can only drink as many Veggie Juices (or other mood-enhancing juices) as needed to replenish your mood to the max. (Energy levels are irrelevant.)

    At the time of the experiment, there appeared to be no cap on the amount of energy you could get from drinks (as opposed to food), and no cap on the amount of xp you could get from drinks.

    During one crafting session of a batch of 40 seasoned beans, which took about 83 seconds, I was able to drink 19 stacks of Lemon Juice and 19 half-stacks of Veggie Juice. That’s a total of 6840 xp, or 82.4 xp per second, which in turn calculates out to 4945 xp per minute.

    In theory, given these game mechanics, an unlimited supply of juices, and no time wasted on inventory management, a person doing nothing but rapidly drinking juices could get at least 1,186,800 xp in a single game day. This would require drinking more than 79,000 Lemon Juices and 39,500 Veggie Juices in a four-hour period. It would also probably give you really bad tendonitis.

    The next morning, however, a friend and I attempted to experiment some more with the Lemon Juice, and by then it had changed. I’m not completely sure of the details yet, but it appears that drinking multiple Lemon Juices at once will only award the full xp per glass up to a certain number of glasses now. In other words, drinking a full stack of Lemon Juice no longer awards 12 xp per glass. This change doesn’t surprise me, since my experiment ended up totally exploiting a loophole in the game mechanics.  The Lemon Juice trick was just that: a trick, a cheat. A BRILLIANT trick, but a trick nonetheless. I think in some ways, the entire experiment turned into an example of exactly how Tiny Speck hopes people WON’T approach the game. I’m not sure whether to feel proud or embarrassed about this.

    There was another small exploit in there, too: the charades. I played it in a way that took deliberate advantage of the fact that each game is its own new instance, which means there’s no way of preventing someone from putting in the same word (or in our case, string of identical letters) over and over. This, again, is playing the game in a way it’s not meant to be played. It was fun, though. Did you know that if the “word” you have to guess is “ffff,” you can say “fFfFfFffuck yeah!” and that will count as a win?

    So anyhow, there you have it. While we did answer the question of whether it was possible to level up from 59 to 60 in a single game day, it remains unclear exactly how much xp a person can legitimately earn in that amount of time (i.e., without exploiting loopholes in the mechanics of the game). My guess is it’s well under the total xp necessary to level up from 59 to 60, but I’d love to see someone give it a go. Someone else, I mean. Other than me. Not it.
    Posted 8 months ago by Agoraphobe Subscriber! | Permalink
  • SO. MUCH. MATH.

    Thanks for the write-up, Agoraphobe. Extremely interesting. :D
    Posted 8 months ago by Flowerry Pott Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Good.
    Lord.

    That is to say, congrats on your XPeriment and the results! For serious.
    Posted 8 months ago by Liathea Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Good job! And thanks for sharing all that information.
    Posted 8 months ago by nekomaki Subscriber! | Permalink
  • FfFfFfFfuckkk! I LOVE math!  

    Hang on. Wait. Did I just win something for that? What did I win? Yay! I'm a winner!

    You can just mail me my winnings. I'm good with that. When you have time.

    No rush.

    *Waits patiently for winnings*
    Posted 8 months ago by Jesus Christ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That's mighty, man. You are hard core, and we love you for it.
    Posted 8 months ago by Brownee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wish I was there to see it! Sounds like it was a manic couple of hours.

    Congratulations on some serious planning and executing.
    Posted 8 months ago by Mr Mellifluous Subscriber! | Permalink
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