Idea: Where in New Britannia is Winston?

that would require a world-builder making and adding the npc and then both client and server getting a patch

 

Most of those have already been tested before and worked smoothly. This is a great thread full of good ideas but recommend making an already successful model more fun instead of spending time creating a new one.

• Fyndoro's Tablet of finding - I've never used it, so we will need to test it. - https://sotawiki.net/sota/Fyndoro's_Tablet - "Fyndoro’s Tablet of Finding can be used once per day to find a player by writing the name on the tablet"
  • Possibly a deal breaker here. Will have to test this. Hmm. When we did this before Fyndoro's Tablet wasn't working yet. Does it give an exact location or just the town/region? If an exact location, then you may have to go with the vendor method mentioned earlier. But if it only gives the town or region, then it's not a deal breaker since there are hundreds of places to hide in a larger town.
• Friends list with zone to friend - I tested with notRevealLocation to friends and it seems to work, as long as you log out and back in to clear it properly. ("Oh look, Winston just turned off his Location to Friends mode in Friends List... he's getting ready to play the game!" Hah!) You need to create a new dev avatar that isn't used for any other purpose and turn off all functions that allow it to be seen. I don't recall Baldo (thanks @Stryker Sparhawk) being used for other purposes other than the "Where's Baldo?" game. Baldo didn't like Outlanders, that's why he was always avoiding us.
• /point Winston emote - this could point to Winston if in the same scene. Need to test. That could be a problem. Don't recall if this function worked back then but nobody ever complained about it.
• Players in scene - I tested and as I enter a scene, even as a GM GHOST mode, I show up for about 1 second on the Nearby Players list then disappear. So I'd have to position myself 15-30 minutes before starting the game. Yes, Baldo was pre-positioned and never moved until someone found him.
• Universal Chat - need to highlight (invert text colors) to Bark out a WinstonClue. I would not use the Server-wide announcements; that's too bold of me. WRFB used to broadcast the game over the internet. Perhaps one of the current player-run radio stations could help out with this OR you could set up a separate Games thread players could turn on to see game announcements & clues.
• Test game without rewards - try out procedures, mechanics, etc. and see what happens for fun/testing first. Good idea.
• Alternate methods: These could work but I don't think there is a need if you create a unique 'Baldo''like avatar that's only used for the game AND if Fyndoro's tablet/point don't give the exact coordinates.
  • NPC conversationalist on the POT (not on a lot). If you use an avatar, you can place it on any lot that isn't locked. Nobody had any problem before with their unlocked lot being used for the game. You could use NPC buildings too.
  • Vendor with one item to sell

I agree the game could be made too difficult but with clues being given every five minutes, we found Baldo almost every time with the 30 minutes we were given to find him. Here's an example:
Clue One at the start; Baldo is in a POT well-known for welcoming new Outlanders (Outlander Welcome Center)
Clue Two at 5 mins; Baldo is in one of the large homes
Clue Three at 10 mins; Baldo is on the fourth floor (Not all large homes have four floors so no need to look in the Airship, for example)
Clue Four at 15 mins; Baldo is enjoying the natural wood in this home (Could be an Elven City Home)
Clue Five at 20 mins; Baldo likes the sound of the nearby river
Clue Six at 25 mins; Baldo can see two ducks in front of the home

 

My new quote of the week!