The PRE game fun...

[episode]

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.

Yeah I tried to do it on the first puzzle, but it didnt seem to work. I didn't try the second.

[emale_tart]

well its much appreciated anyways :D

Do we presume this is the background story on Loki then ?

[Bawx]

Anyone remember eon8?

[AnTimOnY]

So, have we got everything now? The biography text makes me think its the wrong answer...

[maygaess]

is the bio page related to this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_%28mathematical_constant%29

[emale_tart]

yes as far as i can see

wh0isl0ki -> Biography to some really smart dude

3scap3grav1ty -> stuff about destiny, vista and hints at space ?

wan7towinme (or whatever it was) -> Competition and win lots of gadgets/pc's and gaming stuff

[episode]

yes as far as i can see

wh0isl0ki -> Biography to some really smart dude

3scap3grav1ty -> stuff about destiny, vista and hints at space ?

wan7towinme (or whatever it was) -> Competition and win lots of gadgets/pc's and gaming stuff

Who is loki is the biography, yes

Escape gravity is the grand prize

want to win me is the anti penultimate prize ... which I guess would be third place?

[factoid]

"the plot thickens..."

>.< couldnt resist!

[gigapixels Veteran]

"the plot thickens..."

>.< couldnt resist!

*evil laugh* :shiftyninja:

... but anyway, nice job guys. I never would have gotten that. Now I'm really going to get some sleep.

[trigg3r]

Humm, i liked the idea of the "ultimate vista" being "view from space". If Paul Allen funded alone the 25 million dollars in the SpaceShipOne project, i think he could ask just one flight for free :D

[ymgve]

Here's the final sudoku solution:

592 487 613
817 563 924
643 921 875

428 156 739
135 749 286
769 238 541

256 374 198
371 895 462
984 612 357

Also, the word in the first puzzle was "rpiiajsuy". Seems to be scrambled somehow.

edit: nevermind - http://vanishingpointgame.com/rpiiajsuy/

[inzenity]

I think Loki is girl . . .

[Not Cool]

wheres the pic from?

[factoid]

I think Loki is girl . . .

snipped

umm...?

[inzenity]

One of the files Microsoft sent me in a puzzle box (the other was the key which I posted to the heavengames blog) - http://flickr.com/photos/inzenity/sets/72157594435060363/

[factoid]

wanna post the message they sent you?

[Soham]

how you people got the kit?

[inzenity]

<<name>>

You are now a decoder. There are only a few like you, but thousands more are looking for you. Find the other decoders before Zero Hour. Go to www.vanishingpointgame.com

A spectacular adventure is on the horizon.... can you find it before it disappears?

-L

P.S. I've hidden something in a puzzle box for you. Find the box, find a way to open it?

The header says "From the desk of Loki..."

The footer says "ENIGMA DIRECTOR."

The whole note looks like it was printed out of an inkjet printer.

The box it came in has a return address of

LOKI

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052

how you people got the kit?

I think my involvement with HeavenGames might have something to do with it ... some of the games we cover are games published by Microsoft, so it's entirely possible that they got my contact info from one of their mailing lists

[episode]

Humm, i liked the idea of the "ultimate vista" being "view from space". If Paul Allen funded alone the 25 million dollars in the SpaceShipOne project, i think he could ask just one flight for free :D

I didn't even think of that when I was putting that theory up.

[factoid]

and was there anything on the key?

[episode]

I wonder if LOKI is an acronym.

Give us more info on the picture.

What was the original filename?

Have you edited it in any way before you uploaded?

[inzenity]

Yeah, the key was solved earlier which eventually led to the www.vanishingpointgame.com/antepenultimate/ directory (search for posts starting at around #150 in this thread)

What bugs me is that it seemed too simple to solve ...

[novastar]

hey loki, I know you're watching....

"DA AS, W KOBH HC PSQCAS O RSQCRSF"

(I'll reply within 24 hours)

[factoid]

yeah I know it was solved, I just wondered if there was anything else.

Now I want to know; according to the letter, are we (the masses at neowin) the 'Decoders' or the people that are looking for you?

[inzenity]

I think it refers to other people who also received one of the boxes...? :shrug: