Twenty-two years ago, Visible Quest Kits quietly disappeared from Shop Central. At the time, Staff and members assumed they would eventually return. But weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and before long an entire generation of Thereians had never even seen a Visible Quest Kit. Today, we’re excited to announce that the wait is finally over! Starting this month, a limited number of Visible Quest Kits will return to the virtual world There.com through a special Auction event.

Back in the early days of There.com, Visible Quest Kits could be earned through the Author skill ladder or purchased in Shop Central. They quickly became a favorite tool for creating scavenger hunts, adventures, community games, and interactive events. On July 30, 2004, Visible Quest Kits were temporarily removed from Shop Central after members discovered ways to overload sectors with excessive clue drops, causing clutter, performance issues, and even sector crashes. An “out of order” bug affecting clue markers also contributed to the decision. That temporary removal lasted… 22 years. Since then, only Invisible Quest Kits have remained available. Members who joined There after July 2004 have never had the opportunity to own a Visible Quest Kit. With the longstanding quest bug now resolved, we’d like to celebrate by making a limited number of Visible Quest Kits available once again.

Limited Special Auction

Rather than permanently returning Visible Quest Kits to Shop Central, we’ll be releasing a limited quantity through a series of special Auctions.

Because Quest Kits themselves cannot be traded or auctioned, each Auction listing will feature a placeholder Shop Central item. Winning bidders will automatically receive the Shop Central item shown in the listing, and There Staff will manually deposit the associated Visible Quest Kit into the winner’s inventory within 24-hours of the Auction ending. You can only win an Invisible Quest Kit through the special Auction listed by There_Quester. If you were to go to Shop Central and buy one of the placeholder items by itself, be aware that you will not receive the Invisible Quest Kit. Visible Quest Kits are permanently bound to the winning account and cannot be traded, given away, or sold.

1-Week Visible Quests with 10 clues will list at 18,000T.
2-Week Visible Quests with 10 clues will list at 36,000T.
2-Week Visible Quests with 20 clues will list at 72,000T.

Three Auction Phases

To make the listings and manual distribution manageable, the release will take place in three phases.

Phase One

Listing: Thursday, July 23
Auction Ends: Thursday, July 30

15 Total 1-Week 10-Clue Visible Quest Kits

• 1-Week Bottle Quest Kits
• 1-Week Lock Box Quest Kits
• 1-Week Balloon Quest Kits
• 1-Week Journal Book Quest Kits
• 1-Week Runestone Quest Kits

Three of each kit type will be available.

Phase Two

Listing: Monday, August 10
Auction Ends: Thursday, August 13

15 Total 2-Week 10-Clue Visible Quest Kits

• 2-Week Bottle Quest Kits
• 2-Week Lock Box Quest Kits
• 2-Week Balloon Quest Kits
• 2-Week Journal Book Quest Kits
• 2-Week Runestone Quest Kits

Three of each kit type will be available.

Phase Three

Listing: Monday, August 17
Auction Ends: Thursday, August 20

10 Total 2-Week 20-Clue Visible Quest Kits

• 2-Week 20-Clue Bottle Quest Kits
• 2-Week 20-Clue Lock Box Quest Kits

Five of each kit type will be available.

If there is continued demand, additional Auction phases may be scheduled in the future. We may also explore the possibility of offering one of the Visible Quest Kits at a fixed price through a reservation system, allowing interested members to join a sign-up list for a direct purchase.

Watch for Auction Announcements

Each auction phase will have its own announcement on the There.com Blog.

On the day each phase goes live, we’ll publish a dedicated blog post containing direct links to every Auction listing, making it easy to browse the available Visible Quest Kits, place your bids, and know exactly when the Auctions are live.

Be sure to check the There blog on each auction day so you don’t miss your opportunity to bid.

Please Use Them Responsibly

Visible Quest Kits are intended to help members create fun, creative adventures for the community. Please remember that using Quest Kits to harass other members, disrupt events, intentionally grief landmarks or public areas, or purposely overload a sector with excessive clue drops is prohibited. Any Quest Kit used in violation of the Terms of Service or Behavior Guidelines may be permanently removed from your inventory.

Please bid responsibly. Members who attempt to manipulate the Visible Quest Kit Auctions by placing excessively high bids to drive up prices and then cancelling those bids before the Auction ends will be subject to account moderation.

Whether you’re a longtime Thereian who remembers creating quests in the early days or a newer member who has never had the opportunity to own one, we hope you’ll enjoy seeing a limited release of these classic Visible Quest Kits return to our virtual world once again.

Happy questing, and good luck in the Visible Quest Kit Auctions!