The PRE game fun...

[episode]

Seem's Microsoft arent just being cryptic with this

http://windowsconnected.com/photos/blog_pi...0/original.aspx

Who says its the same thing?

[emale_tart]

Who says its the same thing?

Nobody I just implied that Microsoft seem to like being cryptic just now

[novastar]

back to the puzzle...

I am trying to see if the numbers are are some kind of check sum type thing. noticed that 2 stayed the same after the change, anybody think this is a waste of time?

[null_]

Seem's Microsoft arent just being cryptic with this

http://windowsconnected.com/photos/blog_pi...0/original.aspx

Thats probably just something related to "EVO" - Exchange Server 2007, Windows Vista, and Microsoft Office, which are marketed to "work better together".

[AnTimOnY]

OK im having an idea but am not sure. It asks for who is loki. in a convulted way. well, he's a foster borther of Odin. and Odin is considered the chief god in Norse mythology. So, if Odin is the last one (from the end), then Loki is second to last, the (penultimate). Im thinking it may have something to do with his names or whtever he did or something from mythology. Ok, enough of my idea, I'll just go back to reading wikipedia about loki...

[null_]

OK im having an idea but am not sure. It asks for who is loki. in a convulted way. well, he's a foster borther of Odin. and Odin is considered the chief god in Norse mythology. So, if Odin is the last one (from the end), then Loki is second to last, the (penultimate). Im thinking it may have something to do with his names or whtever he did or something from mythology. Ok, enough of my idea, I'll just go back to reading wikipedia about loki...

Perhaps it has something to do with names of the Gods of Norse mythology?

[Not Cool]

Perhaps it has something to do with names of the Gods of Norse mythology?

so who is the third from last (the antepenultimate)?

[emale_tart]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A1li_(son_of_Loki)

[null_]

so who is the third from last (the antepenultimate)?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology

Im probably wrong but look at the section called "The beginning".

[Soham]

i am confused about the grid

[novastar]

another note on the puzzle... the digits are the same in the old and new, but the numbers are reordered. I think this means that only letters common to both puzzles are important (even if they are in a different spot in the second) and I think there should be some way of determining the counting system based on the order of the digits and the corresponding changes in the grid

I think this might be able to be used to throw away letters somehow

EDIT: digits aren't acutally the same ..oops... 1,3-->4,9

Edited December 24, 2006 by novastar

[gliscameria]

I'm assuming Loki is referring to the LOKI block cipher

Has anyone tried the original message -

rpf6ncada34wget32-84

kvezz1x6cfp0egnyvm32

z3o6qj-o3ddwn3;u-loe

Using ; as a break and u-loe as key

I know nothing about ciphers by the way. I saw some source code out there though.

[emale_tart]

Okies working through that initial grid from wh0isl0ki

I started at a parent and worked through the dependants.

Box 1 Unique Path Combos

LB

LC

LS

QBUS

QB

QBUB

QN

RC

RN

Finals = B, C, N, S

Box 2 Unique Path Combos

COBP

CNBP

CNEP

CNJI

CI

ZJI

ZEP

Finals: I, P

Box 3 Unique Path Combos

IRD

IOD

IGBOD

IGBISOD

IGBISJD

Finals: D

Box 4 Unique Path Combos

JY

JZ

GCOY

GCOZ

UROZ

UROY

UZ

GROZ

GROY

DY

DCOZ

DCOY

Finals: Y, Z

Box 5 Unique Path Combos

YE

YJAR

NUAR

NJAR

NRME

MNJAR

Finals: E, R

Box 6 Unique Path Combos

RAI

RABN

RN

RII

RS

NII

NS

DN

DS

BN

BAI

Finals: I, N, S

Box 7 Unique Path Combos

NS

NBP

RUP

RDJUP

RDJBP

RDJS

RDCS

Finals: P,S

Box 8 Unique Path Combos

IHY

IHSR

IOY

IOD

IHD

IHUR

Finals : D, R, Y

Box 9 Unique Path Combos

JIM

JY

YOY

YPY

YS

YOAM

YOIM

YOAS

Finals : M, S, Y

If you dont understand where im coming from with this - look at the top left box and the letter R - no other conjoining letter points INTO it - so i start there and listed all the possible path comibnations.

[gigapixels Veteran]

That's what I was thinking of doing, but I'm too tired to work on it right now :p

[emale_tart]

heh well you know what they say about working together etc- me and Antomony are on skype chatting about this - welcome to join us if you pm

[gigapixels Veteran]

Thanks, but I'm actually about to get some sleep... I've been working early because of the holiday season. I'll check this thread as much as possible though. Hopefully you guys will get it as I'm really curious.

[emale_tart]

lol no worries - just getting my caffiene boost and getting back on it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg with the main game obviously about to start on january 8th

[hopp58902 Member]

I took emale_tart's idea ... but took it in a different direction...

I found the letters pretty much the same way, except opposite (arrows in opposite directions...hard to explain)

these are my results:

1- RLQ

2- CZ

3- I

4- JDGU

5- NY

6- DBRN

7- NR

8- I

9- YJ

[emale_tart]

arghhh my heads mashed, handing the baton to the night shift..great work tonight you lot :D

Night night all :D

[ymgve]

NEW LINK!

http://vanishingpointgame.com/biography/

edit: I partially solved the Sudoku puzzle, and got the first letters. I got the idea from earlier in this thread, about the arrows being greater than/less than signs. If you completely remove the letters, and only contentrate on the greater than/lesser than, it's possible to recreate the Sudoku puzzle. When you've done that, you use the numbers in the lower right to "map" it to the puzzle.

To explain better, this is my sudoku grid after some a few tries:

292 ... .1.
.1. ... 92.
... 921 ...

.2. 1.. ..9
1.. ..9 2.2
..9 2.. ..1

2.. ..2 19.
..1 .9. ..2
9.2 .12 2..

Now, take the number in the lower right, which was 142966259 - out of the grid, I got b_og_____, and as I looked at the upper right corner, I realized that "biography" matched and had letters in all the correct sections.

Edited December 24, 2006 by ymgve

[crimsonhead]

I tried actually writing the numbers on the bottom in the boxes and got

OIJNBURONOYS

Which i unscrambled as

JOINOURBOYS + an N lol

or

JOINYOURSON + a B

good way to waste some time i guess

[Ausasuke]

Okies working through that initial grid from wh0isl0ki

I started at a parent and worked through the dependants.

Box 1 Unique Path Combos

LB

LC

LS

QBUS

QB

QBUB

QN

RC

RN

Finals = B, C, N, S

Box 2 Unique Path Combos

COBP

CNBP

CNEP

CNJI

CI

ZJI

ZEP

Finals: I, P

Box 3 Unique Path Combos

IRD

IOD

IGBOD

IGBISOD

IGBISJD

Finals: D

Box 4 Unique Path Combos

JY

JZ

GCOY

GCOZ

UROZ

UROY

UZ

GROZ

GROY

DY

DCOZ

DCOY

Finals: Y, Z

Box 5 Unique Path Combos

YE

YJAR

NUAR

NJAR

NRME

MNJAR

Finals: E, R

Box 6 Unique Path Combos

RAI

RABN

RN

RII

RS

NII

NS

DN

DS

BN

BAI

Finals: I, N, S

Box 7 Unique Path Combos

NS

NBP

RUP

RDJUP

RDJBP

RDJS

RDCS

Finals: P,S

Box 8 Unique Path Combos

IHY

IHSR

IOY

IOD

IHD

IHUR

Finals : D, R, Y

Box 9 Unique Path Combos

JIM

JY

YOY

YPY

YS

YOAM

YOIM

YOAS

Finals : M, S, Y

If you dont understand where im coming from with this - look at the top left box and the letter R - no other conjoining letter points INTO it - so i start there and listed all the possible path comibnations.

Hey, yeah i was doing exactly the same thing with the puzzle, I tried something that probably has nothing to do with it lol, But i used the Final letters from each box, then taking the number from the bottom of the page, 142966259 i tried using the finals corresponding to those boxes. Which gave me

BCNS YZ IP MSY INS INS YZ ER MSY

I tried to arrange that into words, the most i could get was sorta simon says

SYIMINZES - proably just a coincidence, anyone able to do anything with it?

[emale_tart]

How did you get the url for the biography page ?

[episode]

on that biography link,

its a 9 letter word, and all the letters appear in both versions of the suduko, so i'd assume that is supposed to be the answer to that one

[icec]

Couple things jump out at me on the bio page...

Regarding space:

'escape' = escape velocity, etc

'without prize money' = xprize competition

lots of references to mathematic constants (pi, golden ratio) and fractals?