Another Helper Has Pulled Out But One More Has Been Added!

MincedMedia Clip has pulled out!  She has too much RL things to do to help out with this hunt.  We will miss her and her store.

MissMag Muircastle has agreed, and is already, helping out. 

Current list of Hunt Organizers and Helpers:

Tiea Aeon - main organizer

MissMag Muircastle - Helper

Jasmine Princess - Helper

margerita Oh - Helper

Bobcat Hammerthall - Helper

Liznwiz Wei - Helper

Ella Goldblatt - Helper

Pussycat Pike - Helper

Yasmine Variscan - Helper

Aster Orchicz - Helper

Application Deadline

I forgot to put in the application deadline.

No more applications will be excepted after July 22.

Send them in while still room!

Why The Two Month Wait?

It seems that this is an issue a few can't seem to swallow.  Why the two month wait on the gift?

Simple.  It's to make sure that the hunters go on the hunt.  They know that if they want this gift, or the gifts on this hunt, the only way to get them is to go on the hunt.  Now, I am not being so unreasonable as to ask that they NEVER be made available, like another hunt has asked, just that you wait 2 months.

Why 2 months?  Because, this makes the wait long enough for the hunters now to want to just do the hunt to get them, rather then wait, and is makes it so that the newbies between now and then get a chance at getting the item.

We want people to WANT to be on this hunt.  There are SO MANY hunts going on right now, that sometimes people don't have time for them.  I know that in the month of June there are something like 4 major hunts going on. I know that I won't be able to go on them all and I pick up some of the things along the way, when a shop has others that is on the SL Discovery hunt, as I'm working on that hunt with a friend.  But I won't get to them all.  So far I am the first to list a hunt in August, but that doesn't mean others won't come along.

What I need to do is make this hunt different then the other hunts.  There has to be a reason why someone would come on this hunt.

So, that being the case, I've invested a LOT of money into getting scripting done for this hunt so that the hunters will want to finish the hunt.  I've got 2 scripters working on it now, and a third in the wings should one of the other ones not pull through.  This doesn't come cheap, as I can't script my way out of a prim.  

This new hunt will make it so that if they touch every single prim/gift, they will unlock the final prim/gift.  And since I know that I've now told everyone and his little brother what I'm trying to do, another scripter is going to start working on the same thing for someone else to put in their hunt.  So I need something even more to make the hunters want to go on this hunt.

Thus the exclusive gift.  But it's not like the gift can NEVER be sold.  I'm only asking that it not be sold for 2 months.  This way people know it's gonna be a long time before they can buy it and rather then wait, they'll go on the hunt.  Plus, it gives newbies a chance to buy the item later.

I added that part because I didn't want to cheat people out of not having it at all later.  I know someone that wasn't able to go on the Peace On Earth hunt and didn't get the Zhao Shoes that were in that hunt, so when Zhao reused it's gift for the Bunny Hop, they were really happy.

I have done a few things to try to distance this hunt from other hunts.  One is that on completion the hunter gets a bunch more gifts.  Of those that have signed up so far, half have agreed to give a second gift for the end of the hunt.  So there are going to be some great gifts there if the hunter finishes.  Another is to have it so that people can't just go out and buy the gift in September, making it a "well I'll just check later and buy it, I don't have time now to mess with this hunt, I want to go on the other hunt".  Another is that the hunt is limited in size, to keep people interested.  And lastly it's for only lesser known shops, to showcase some of the new talent in SL and some of the older shops that just never got noticed fully before.  Big names still aren't allowed in this hunt like in the last hunt.

I am sorry to the shops that can't wait 2 months.  I got one note card saying they were pulling out because "I want to make them available immediately after the hunt while my store name is fresh in their minds".  I don't understand this, because any item in the store will still get them in. If they liked it in the hunt, and want to buy one, they will come back. If they only got one in the hunt, but need more, like is often done with plants, then maybe something can be done for that hunter.  You still don't need to put it up for sale right away.  Do something similar, but different enough that this makes the hunt item exclusive.  Know what I mean? 

I hope that this has answered why I am doing this the way I am doing it.  If you have any more, drop me a note card.  Thanks!

Two Helpers Have Pulled Out

Well, I'm sorry to say that Rox Arten pulled out because of RL issues.

And DeAnn Dufaux pulled out because she doesn't think it's fair to ask that the hunt gift not be made available for 2 months.

What If I've Been Banned?

I got an interesting note card a few minutes ago.  It asked the question about what if someone is banned from a sim.  They had gotten banned from a sim only because they knew and ex-girlfriend of one of the sim owners.  Now, we don't know if this sim is in the hunt, but it is a good question.

So... here is my solution.

Should someone be banned from a sim, continue with the hunt.  The SLURLs will be posted here, like last time, so that you can get to the next one if you get stuck.  Then when you are done, all but for the banned one, contact me, or one of the helpers, via note card (make sure to put clearly what it's about in the title), we will verify you are banned from that sim, then we will set up a time for you to come and touch the missing gifts.

At this time I can't promise that the boxes you touch for the missing/banned sim will have the gifts, but they will register with your HUD that you went to that location and got the gift, thus unlocking the final gift.

And if worse comes to worse I can just give you the final gift.  

But I want to assure you that should you be banned from a store for some reason, I will not penalize you for it.  You will have the chance to get the final gift as long as you have touched all the other ones except for the banned one.

Hopefully this won't happen with the shops on our hunt, but should it, you can now hunt with the assurance that you won't be cheated out of the final gift.

Happy Hunting!

Hunt Application

Copy and paste this into a note card in-world, fill it out and give it to me.

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

Please answer the following questions and hand this back to Tiea Aeon.

1.  Shop Name:

2.   Your Name:

      (if you have a partner who needs to be informed of things as well, put them here too)

3.   SLURL:

4.  Landmark:

5.   Full per store logo (for advertising purposes):

6.   Do you have a blog?                    

       a. If so, location:

      

       

7.   When are you normally on (SL time)?  (this is to set you up with a helper who is on at the same times as you) 

8.  You realize that the event has changed and there is an entrance fee of $200L should you be accepted?

9.  What kind of shop are you & how long have you had it?

10. For this you will need to enable scripts.  Are scripts enabled?

11.  This summer hunt does not have a "theme", other then Summer Fun.  You do not have to make a summer outfit.  Also, you do not have to make a male item, though it is always good if you do as you get more repeat customers from the men who bring their women in.... All that being said... Do you have an idea what you might be doing for it?

12. This is going to be a special hunt where the hunter who goes to EVERY location (the scripting makes sure of this) will get a final gift box.  (remember, this is a special box because they will have had to touch every single one, without missing one, to be able to unlock it. So we want to give them something maybe even more special then what they got on the hunt.)  Will you be able to contribute to this special item?  

13.  Do you agree to the below rules?

   

                                ^^^^^^^^^^^RULES^^^^^^^^^^^

1. All gifts must be NEW and can not be set to sell until at least 2 months after the hunt.  This is to ensure that people go on the hunt now, while the summer is around.

2. The gift can not be more then 20 meters from the landing point.  There are a lot of sims out there that are HUGE and people have a hard time finding the item when it's clear on the other side.

3.  All gifts must take no more then 15 minutes to find.  Anything that is too hard and we get repeated complaints about will be asked to move it to an easier location.

4.  There will be a hint board for each shop.  To help with those that are not in the hunter's groups, please use this.  If you do not have the prims, then you need to let one of the helpers know.  All helpers can be found on the blog.  And if you move the item, you must notify of new hints.

5. The gift will not be a logo shirt or something that is normally a "cheap" dollaribe or "cheap" freebie.  This is because we want people to know that even though this hunt has lesser known shops, we can make quality items too.  Too many hunts are getting the rep of having bad freebies in them.  We do not want this hunt to be thought of like that.  We want this hunt to be known for the quality gifts.  I know that everyone has different tastes, but we all know what a cheap freebie looks like. ;) Lets keep them out of the mix!

More Information:

Web site is here: http://sl-summerfunhunt.blogspot.com/  It is updated often.  So always check here for news.

Hunt Organizers and Helpers:

Tiea Aeon - main organizer

margerita Oh - Helper

Bobcat Hammerthall - Helper

Liznwiz Wei - Helper

Ella Goldblatt - Helper

Pussycat Pike - Helper

DeAnn Dufaux (standby) - Helper

Yasmine Variscan - Helper

MincedMedia Clip - Helper

Rox Arten - Helper

Aster Orchicz - Helper

Jasmine Princess - Helper

Hunt Information

Okay, here is the new "information" card that is in the posters:

Hello!

So you are interested in the newest hunt sponcered by AmberMyst Botanical Designs and you want to know what it's about and how to enter?  Then here is the information you need....

Q. What is special about this hunt?

A. This hunt is the first that AMBD will be doing where the final gift is ONLY accessable to those that have touched EVERY SINGLE gift before it.  People can still hunt and go around and skip the ones that they don't like, but the hud they will be wearing will NOT open that final gift unless all the other ones have been touched.

Q. Isn't this like that other one?

A. No. The other one made it so that you only had to know the location of the final gift, you didn't have to have touched all the other gifts.  So someone could blab the final location and everyone get that final gift.  I know, I accidentally missed 4 without realizing it and still got the final gift.

Q. Why does this hunt cost to join?

A. I've talked to many people and to keep the costs down for hunters, it was suggested to instead charge a small entrance fee for vendors.  This will go towards paying the scripter for his hard work and it will ensure that the shops that enter aren't going to think of this as just another hunt and drop out at the drop of a hat in the middle for no reason.  It makes sure that those that enter really want to be here.  And it isn't so much as to hurt even small businesses.

Q. Okay, so how much?

A. $200L per shop.

Q. Will you charge hunters?

A. That hasn't been decided yet.  If they are charged it would be like $10L, just enough to make sure that they really want to be in the hunt.  Not the $250L that was charged for the other hunt, because we still want to get some of the newbies with a little money in there as they will return in futuer. However, there are a LOT of hunts out there and they don't charge and plenty of newbies that have no money can get in on those.

Q. Do I still have to volenteer since I'm paying to be in it?

A. Well, since I'm charging to be in it, even though it's for the script, no.  You do not HAVE to volenteer.  But I'm asking you nicely to give at least one day in the month to help monitor the hunt chat and hand out any hints or anything.  Or help in some other way.  Because though in a way I'm getting "paid", I'm not. It's for the scripting.

Q. Okay, I still want to be in it. I'll pay the $200L.  When do I pay you and how do I apply?

A. You can pay me as soon as your store has been approved. Yes, I still need to see your store.  This is for the lesser known shops still.  We want you to get to be known.  As for the applying... fill out this form and I'll get back to you: see other post

Q. What about groups?

A. There is now a main group for the vendors. This group is going to be used for ALL the hunts.

 http://world.secondlife.com/group/7012e4b7-4b62-d638-98b5-42410d9112af

 AmberMyst's Hunts... Vendor's Group

 

 

 Q. I have more questions not covered here.

 A. Contact Tiea Aeon with a note card. She'll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

 Happy Hunting!

Another great helper!

Jasmine Princess has agreed to be our final 10th helper!  Now if I get a couple more, then more can join, but for now, with 10 helpers, that's 100 shops. :)

BIG BIG Changes!

Well it is official.  This hunt is going to be so much more then the last one!

I have contracted with a scripter to make a very special hud.  This is going to cost me quite a bit, so in order to do this, I will have to charge the stores who are going to be in the hunt a small entrance fee.  It was either that or charge the hunters and from all I've heard back, the shops rather have the hunt free, or semi free at least, and pay a little, then have the hunters charged a lot (like other hunts) to defer the cost of the scripting.

What is special and new about this?

Here is how the hunt will work.  Everyone in the hunt will get a special box.  These boxes will hand out only ONE TIME to the people who touch it.  

The hunters will buy a hud.  This hud MUST be worn while they are hunting, because it will talk to each box.  As they go around and touch each box, getting gifts and LMs to the next spot, it will register with the hud that they have gotten that box.  Each time they get one, they get closer to unlocking the final box.  The final box will ONLY open if they have touched each box before it.  There will be no way that they can unlock that last box unless they have touched every single box.

Due to the fact that some vendors like to hide their boxes really REALLY good, there will be one little rule.  It is one I had before that people didn't listen to, that will NOT be left alone on this one.  That is they can NOT hide the box so that it takes more then 15 minutes to find it.  And if I get complaints in the chat or via card about any box being too hard to find, over and over, that person will be asked to move the box to a more easily accessible place.

What is so special about the last box?  In it it will have more boxes, special gifts that ONLY if you finish the WHOLE hunt will you get.  These will be SPECIAL items donated from different shops along the way.  I can not say how many, I hope everyone gives one special gift as a special prize to those that touch every single box, but I can't promise that. I can only promise it will be a lot. 

Because of the way that this hunt is being done, and the hard work my scripter is going to have to do for it, it will definitely not be on till August.  I am making the poster up this week and handing it out to those that are willing to join in the hunt.

Some might be thinking, "Hey! I saw a hunt like this already!"  And in answer to that I can only say yes and no.  Yes, it was similar.  The hunt that you are thinking of did say that if you went through the whole hunt you would get a special box to a special location with a lot of gifts only for those that completed the hunt.  I went into it thinking that I had to complete the hunt to be able to get them.  Only after I got the special box with the special location, went and got the gifts did I realize that I had missed 4 locations by accident.  Since I paid $250L to get into this hunt, I hurried to get those last 4 locations gifts.  But in the end it showed me that all I had had to know was the final location.  That being said, when I decided on a similar hunt, I decided that I would make sure that the hunters had to go to all the locations, or the final gift would NOT open up.  So that it was indeed a hunt where they had to touch each and every box.  Something a vendor would want to be involved in.

I hope that in the end, everyone has fun on this hunt.  I hope that in the end, it is a joy to the vendors and the hunters.  If you have a shop and you would like to be considered, drop me a note card (my IMs get capped) and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.  Also, keep an eye out here. In the next week I will post an entry form.

Till then... Happy Hunting in whatever hunt you are currently having fun with!