Mystics Rising: Merger Hunt

merger, hunt, eyewire, citizen science, art, sciart, eyewire, mystic, science art, zebrafish, UI, science UI

That’s right, the Hunt is back! Everyone’s favorite elusive competition is here again, so let’s get going.

Swag: Raffle for one tee and one poster for 2 of the top 5 players based on accuracy and mergers found. 

Game Bonuses:
Each merger found = 1,000 points
7,500 additional points if all 12 are found
200 point bonus available on each merger to the player whose guess is closest
250 point bonus available to any player who guesses within 10 voxels of a merger

If you’ve played a Hunt before, you know how it goes, but here are some instructions if you’re new to the game or just need a refresher.  Best of luck, and may good Hunting skills be with you!

How to Hunt

There are 12 mergers in the hunt cell. You have 5.5 days and 24 guesses to locate them all, between 12:01 AM EDT on 6/24 and 12:00 PM EDT on 6/29.

How to identify and report mergers

    1. Select Hunt cell from Change Cell menu. Stay in the overview.
    2. Type /debug into chat. This will reveal a special box with information about the cell (located above the “Start Playing” box).
    3. Use ALT+click to select the origin point of the merger you have identified. It is a good idea to zoom in close on the merger before you select it to get the most accurate coordinates.
    4. Find the coordinates of the merger’s origin in the cell information box. These are next to the word “center.”
    5. In the chat PM thehunt bot your coordinates. For example /pm thehunt 5123 4321 5678. You do not need to include decimals when PMing thehunt bot.
    6. thehunt bot will let you know if you got it right or wrong and tell you how many guesses you have left.
    7. To check how many mergers you have found and to check what guesses you have submitted, type “/pm thehunt !list”; the bot will give you a list of all the coordinates you have guessed, and whether or not there was a merger at each set of coordinates. A + means there was a merger there, a means there was not a merger there.
    8. If you accidentally submit the same coordinate a second time, it does not count as two guesses.

Do not reveal your coordinates to other players. Do not do anything against the spirit of the Hunt. Anyone caught cheating will be automatically disqualified from the event and will not receive any points.

Proximity to merger start point is determined by number of voxels (1 voxel = approx. 1/250th of a cube’s width). Mergers are only counted as found if guessed within a distance of 250 voxels.

Bonuses:

  • 1000 points for each merger found
  • An additional 7500 points for anyone who locates all 12 mergers
  • 200 point bonus available on each merger to the player whose guess is closest
  • 250 point bonus available to any player who guesses within 10 voxels of a merger

We recommend that to help you search, you take a screenshot of the cell and keep it as a “map” to note where you’ve already looked. Players with past Hunt experience can offer advice on how to make such a map; this kind of how-to help does not count as cheating.

Note:

It is unlikely, but in the event you find a merger HQ did not plant on the cell, please let us know. If we verify it, then we will award you 1000 points (or 500 if it’s an accidental merger found on an intentional merger). Any “extra” merger will not count towards your total number of mergers found in the competition.

Pieces of dust floating in space don’t count as mergers, so don’t report them! Merger segment sitting directly on the cell body also do not count, because we generally don’t interact with that part of the cell.

This is not a merger!

dust

Good luck and happy Hunting!

Artwork by Daniela Gamba