2.13 Consolidation 2

Order

2.08

Status

::POLISH::

Location

Status: Paine Memorial High School Gymnasium

GC PoC: Erik & Melissa

Parking: N/A

Notes: the week before the 2012 science fair, Reserved

Type

Mandatory Puzzle

Plot Setup

Players have helped Doctor When get the time machine working again. And Prof. Chronos has her locker combination (for whatever reson she needs it). The players think they're going to the gym to hang out until they can see her return.

[old text--was this important? change the past but need to make one last technical fix before they can return her to the present. Apprently faulty chronomentometers are to blame for all those alterations in the Fabric of Time]

Props

• 16 copies of Restaurant Coupon Puzzle
• 1 Hint sheet for Restaurant Coupon
• Sound system (including microphone)
• Videos of Act II, Scenes 4 & 5
• 16 copies of local restaurant suggestions
• Lab coat (should already have from previous site)
• Peach Frontier Laboratories name badge and lanyard (should already have from previous site)
• 18 blank Chronomentometer grids (5 per team, with 2 spares)
• Any leftover Chronomentometer sets
• 5 copies of GROSS User's Manual (1 per team, with 1 spares)
• Projector
• Screen
• Wei-Hwa and his laptop and his phone and a USB cable for tethering Assistant for Wei-Hwa (if possible)

Plot Point to Convey

Once all the chronomentometers are fixed, Prof. Chronos can safely be returned to the present-day lab.

Short Description

Final fix before Prof. Chronos can be returned to the present.

Open Time Period

Saturday, 10 AM-noon

Staff Instructions

Your Role: Lab assistants at Peach Frontier Laboratories.

Handout Instructions: The main activity at the gym is to watch the remaining Act II videos at 7:20 AM. If a team arrives before then offer them a choice of how to pass the time: they can either rest (in their vans?) or help with the final fixes on the time machine (more puzzles).

So when a if team arrives after 7:00 AM then say something like:

Great to see you. We almost have the time machine able to send that strange series of numbers back to Prof. Chronos. Please hang out till 7:20 AM and I think we'll be able to show you the results then.

So when a if team arrives before 7:00 AM then say something like:

Great to see you. Unfortunately although we got the View-O-Scope working well enough for you to watch Prof. Chronos in 1986, the rest of the machine isn't yet able to send that strange series of numbers back to her. If you're up to it, you can help us with the final repairs. But you also look sort of tired, so you're welcome to rest till we have it fixed.

If the team chooses to rest, then say something like:

I understand. You guys get some rest. But be back here by 7:20 AM, no later. We expect to have it fixed by then and we'll be able to show you the results of all your hard work.

If team chooses to help, then use the staff instructions of the Restaurant Coupon puzzle.

If they finish after 7:00 AM, then just ask them to wait with words to the effect of,

Thank you so much. We almost have the time machine able to send that strange series of numbers back to Prof. Chronos. Please hang out till 7:20 AM and I think we'll be able to show you the results then.

If they finish before 6:00 AM, ask them for more help by doing the remaining role puzzles. See their instruction sheets for handout wording.

Once they've finished the remaining role puzzles or after 7:00 AM, say to them

Thanks so much for doing that. Now there’s something more serious going on now...

Thank God you're here.

Just a few hours ago we discovered that the damage to the chronomentometers was much more extensive than we thought; apparently while the four chronomentometers were out of commission (thank you for repairing that, by the way) the extra load on the time machine translated to extra stress and soon more of the chronomentometers blew up. And of course that created a positive feedback loop so soon...

(early teams) ...things are going to get really out of hand if we don’t enough help soon.

(later teams) …things got really out of hand, so we need as much help as we can get.

So we’re calling in all the stops. We’ve got you, all the other guests you saw at the Grand Unveiling, as well as teams from all over the country -- Journalists, Scientists, Government Officials, Investors. And of course the lab assistants back at Peach Frontier are working on this heavily as well.

I don’t have any experience managing groups this large, so we did a quick web search for “gross repair operations,” and the first thing we found was this management software called “Gross Repair Operations Supervision System,” so I’m trying to learn how to use that. Since you’ve been so excellent at repairing things, consider yourself a repair crew now!

Let’s see... I’m supposed to give you this User’s Manual, this login sheet, and, ah yes, you’ve been assigned to a bunch of TASCs. You know, you are totally looking like you've used this software before, so I'm just going to let you get to it.

I have a very good feeling that if we can just get all the chronomentometers working again, we’ll finally be able to get the Professor back. Thanks again for all your help.

Site Close Down: After all the puzzles have been solved,

• Show videos
• Hand out local restaurant suggestion sheets
• Usher them out

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character.
• Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.

Detailed Description

640 chronomentometer puzzles must be collectively solved by the teams. They work together in mild competition until all teams have arrived.

A not-completely-working version of GROSS is available at:

http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/

(remember that the password to get through testing security is tester / streetsetter)

There are 16 teams, numbered 1 through 16. Their passcodes are aaaaaa, bbbbbb, cccccc, etc.

The intention is to have a display dashboard that we put up on the big screen that everyone sees, as well as an admin console for management tasks, which only GC sees.

The admin console is at:

http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/nimda.html

The display dashboard isn't written yet.

I've designed GROSS to display properly on smartphones and Internet-enabled tablets, although if anyone would like to test the UI on an Iphone I'd like to hear the results.

It'll be blindingly obvious once you log in and when you see the display dashboard that individual team information is anonymized and only role information is shared. At least, that's my hope.

There are going to be 256 co-keypad TASCs (I expect teams to solve 100-160 of them), and 640 chronomentometer puzzles (I expect the teams to solve 300-400 of them).

Here's my thoughts on logistics.

We have on-hand: ACT1:

 * 400 blank co-keypad submission sheets (in B&W)
 * all 256 co-keypad TASCs printed (in color)
 * 32 GROSS User's Manuals (2 per team)
 * Login/passcode sheets; contain the URL (text and QR-code format, for ease
   of smartphone access), and hand-written team name and 6-letter passcodes.
 * When a team arrives, we hand them 2 User's Manuals, 5 blank co-keypad
   submission sheets, and their login/passcode sheet.  They also get two TASCs
   that were automatically assigned to them.

ACT2:

 * 100 blank *reusable* chronomentometer sheets
 * 32 GROSS User's Manuals (2 per team)
 * Login/passcode sheets; contain the URL (text and QR-code format, for ease
   of smartphone access), and hand-written team name and 6-letter passcodes.
 * When a team arrives, we hand them 2 User's Manuals, 5 blank chronomentometer
   submission sheets, and their login/passcode sheet.

Requesting a TASC: ACT1:

 When a team requests a TASC, it takes them to a page that tells them to
 come to the GC's desk to pick up the specs.  The system also notifies
 the GC staffer that the team is coming so they can find the sheet (out of 256).
 GC staffer gives them the sheet and assigns the TASC in the system.

ACT2:

 The system automatically assigns teams TASCs when they request one
 (subject to the QUIT and other limits).

Abandoning a TASC: ACT1:

 When a team abandons a TASC, it takes them to a page that tells them to
 RETURN the TASC sheet to the GC's desk.  The system also notifies
 the GC staffer that the team is coming so they can put the sheet back.

ACT2:

 The system automatically abandons TASCs for teams on request.

Viewing/Fixing an assigned TASC: ACT1:

 When a team views a TASC, they see an on-line duplicate of what is already
 on their TASC sheet (a backup in case the sheet gets lost).  They fix the TASC
 by submitting a filled-in sheet to GC.  They don't have to return the TASC.
 GC checks the sheet against a master solution key, and if it is correct, the
 TASC is marked fixed; otherwise, GC logs that the team was incorrect and
 notifies the team.

ACT2:

 The system shows the TASC to the team on-line.  They also submit
 their solutions online and the system automatically credits them.

Other logistics: ACT1:

 Teams will run out of blank co-keypad sheets as they are used up for submission.
 We'll have a bin where teams can grab extras.

Undecided issues:

• In Act 1, how does GC notify the team that their solution was incorrect? Some

ideas:
 ** E-mail (needs GC effort)
 ** In-system notification (needs more programming :( )
 ** Go find the team and talk to them (needs time/volunteers)
 ** Throw it in the logs on the big display dashboard

Other notes:

 There are five "fake teams" -- the "Lab" and one team from each faction.  The "fake

teams" solve TASCs periodically -- namely, the system makes suggestions and the human GC member approves them. The goal is to keep the five total SCOREs close. Yes, it's not fair. Neither is Mario Kart. Needed: handwavy technobabble to explain how it is possible for, say, Journalists to be fixing TASCs when there clearly aren't any Journalist teams there. Something about the components synchronizing with alternative timelines.

How To Give To Teams

Thank God you're here. Just a few hours ago we discovered that the damage to the chronomentometers was much more extensive than we thought; apparently while the four chronomentometers were out of commission (thank you for repairing that, by the way) the extra load on the time machine translated to extra stress and soon more of the chronomentometers blew up. And of course that created a positive feedback loop so soon...

(early teams) ...things are going to get really out of hand if we don’t enough help soon. (later teams) …things got really out of hand, so we need as much help as we can get.

So we’re calling in all the stops. We’ve got you, all the other guests you saw at the Grand Unveiling, as well as teams from all over the country -- Journalists, Scientists, Government Officials, Investors. And of course the lab assistants back at Trenchwood are working on this heavily as well.

I don’t have any experience managing groups this large, so we did a quick web search for “gross repair operations,” and the first thing we found was this management software called “Gross Repair Operations Supervision System,” so I’m trying to learn how to use that. Since you’ve been so excellent at repairing things, consider yourself a repair crew now!

Let’s see... I’m supposed to give you this User’s Manual, this login sheet, and, ah yes, you’ve been assigned to a bunch of TASCs. You know, you are totally looking like you've used this software before, so I'm just going to let you get to it.

I have a very good feeling that if we can just get all the chronomentometers working again, we’ll finally be able to get the Professor back. Thanks again for all your help.

Manager

Wei-Hwa

Response to Correct Answer

Head lab assistant announces words to the effect of,

You've done it! Now we can watch how everything unfold in 1986.

To Do

• Design server software for accepting answers
• Test on LAN