[ARG] The Pizza Code Mystery

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#581

By that answer should I assume that you have checked and there is nothing there?

I see ThatAspie checked and found nothing, yesterday I checked QE and Blast Pit looking for something to contribute but didn’t find anything new in QE and nothing at all in Blast Pit, except maybe that the map design is weird but nothing related to this.

#582

Found Code D : It’s in Lab D on the large laser near the end of the level. If you look on one side you see a little panel with a digital screen that reads “1288”.

Considering everything in that lab, including the whiteboards with “Do Not Erase, Dr. Horn” on them all point to the large laser at the end of the level, I think it’s safe to say this is the final code.

Edit: Interestingly enough, on the other side it is backwards, reading “8851” – perhaps this is a hint as to how to solve the final code?

I still think that the first two digits and last two digits in each of the 3 codes (after Code A) should be crossed out of the final large code. Furthermore, their inverses should also be crossed out–not only do we have this reference, but we also have the “1001” reference in Code A. After crossing out the unnecessary numbers, the remaining numbers in the large code can then be solved through.

#583

On the opposite side it also says 8851.

They’re mirror images. Take your pick. :stuck_out_tongue:

EDIT: Damn, you ninja-edited your post. :ninja:

#584

Haha sorry about that dky–I got curious and just checked the other side. I’m pretty sure this means that the two-digit numbers within the codes can be read forward and backwards. Or the 3D creation of the laser was simply done symmetrically and the numbers on either side are simply mirror images–could just be an oversight. But somehow I doubt it.

Edit: The textures on the back are not symmetrical, suggesting that this was done on purpose. Hmmm . . . .

#585

Not necessarily. The way model texturing works, is that if you assign multiple faces to the same spot on the texture, they will gain the same image. That’s pretty much what happened here.

I wouldn’t look into it too much.

#586

So then maybe it’s just 1288. Anyway, here are some screens:

#587

So, have you thinned out the message and deciphered it yet? :stuck_out_tongue:

#588

Working on it :slight_smile:

#589

Has anyone tried noclipping through that manhole door on the ground?

1280×800 315 KB

#590

For me just look like a mirror texture, they pickup the texture, reversed and add to make the other side of machine.

#591

I think I solved at least part “sign_area3b.vtf” mistery… This is how I recovered the texture:

#!/usr/bin/python
with open('recovered_sign_area3b.vtf','w') as out:
    x = "junk"
    offset = 0
    with open ('BMS/materials/metal/sign_area3a.vtf') as f:
        while x:
            x = f.read(0x10)
            if offset >= 0x80: break # recycle a good header
            out.write(x)
            offset += 0x010
    x = "junk"
    offset = 0
    with open ('BMS/materials/metal/sign_area3b.vtf') as f:
        while x:
            offset += 0x010
            x = f.read(0x10)
            if offset >= 0x80:
                x= x[8:] # delete garbage
            else: continue
            out.write(x)

Attaching the output:
sign_area3b.jpg

#592

Guys you’re overthinking the bottomley code… maybe it isn’t even a cipher… maybe they were reffering to another thin in the laser lab. And OBE even mentioned it being the esiest one so we are defenetly overthinking this code and they’re probably laughing their asses off. That’s just my opinion…

#593

Something I found at Dr. Horn’s desk–perhaps related, perhaps not.

If you zoom in on his computer terminal, the one with the open email inbox, the email slowly comes into focus. The email turns out to be an actual newspaper article:

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/10/06/ntsb-finds-no-engine-failure-in-east-river-helicopter-crash/

Not sure if / how this is related, but just something interesting I discovered while toying around in Horn’s office.

Edit: Furthermore, you can see on the desktop a program called K95, which might be related to this:

https://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95.html

???

Could be a complete coincidence, although I should add that the article AND K95 both deal with NY. Might have no connection at all, might have some?

#594

What do we need to solve the VIC?
We need a song lyric, (my guess is a line from Wreak Havoc, probably the first line)
A date, and a number from 0-15(or 16)
Code abcd possibly gives us one or both of these (somehow)
The code may possibly be obscured some more beyond that probably nothing too hard though

#595

jsut a through but the devs have said that content was cut to bring the download size down, what if the last code was a audio file or something that was cut?

#596

Incorrect… OBE didn’t say the Bottomley code was the easiest, he said Code A was the easiest. Which is true, it was a very simple, look up the type of cipher, and quick convert it. B turned out to be a bit more complex with the overlaying of images, being that it didn’t look like an obvious code. C was harder still, having to notice and understand how to decode an SSTV transmission. D is even harder as we haven’t found it yet, or if we have we don’t know it. And of course the Bottomley Code, which is the main code (or possibly D) will be the most difficult of them all.

k95 could def be related, I saw skimmed it an saw “text-based terminal connections” in there… sounds ARG worthy to me! Just go make sure its not on like every other computer in the game, lol.

Well, Code A gave us 1001, binary 9… so could it be as simple as the ID number being 9? As far as I know, no one mentioned that before.

Then code B & C could act as the numbers for the date, even though as a date it would not make sense: 08/51/3914

Then maybe code D is our final code?

Edit: Didn’t work, at least not with the ‘Song’ inputs I used.

Doubt it, and I would hope they would go back and make sure everything is there and correct after Code A was already screwed up. (Unless it somehow wasnt.) lol

#597

I’ve been plugging info into a VIC decoder all night and haven’t had any success. I did come up with some ideas that may or may not be useful.

  • Code a is in binary, which may imply that it should be interpreted as a 9. :ninja:
  • If this is the case, it may mean that the 9th line of the song should be used (likely counting from 0), or 9 should be used as the ID number.
  • The wording of the code c message leads me to believe that it may need to be appended to the end of the main code as 3914 or 03914 for the decryption to work.
  • The code c message may also imply that the ID number is 14. However, this would throw away the first half of the code since the ID should not be larger than 16.
  • Code d would be a great candidate for the date. [1/2/1988]

My only problem is that I haven’t found an obvious use for code b.

Here’s a link the the decoder that I’m using: https://labs.tomasino.org/2011/08/20/the-vic-cipher/

Hopefully at least one of my suggestions helps to solve this thing.

#598

Code c wouldn’t work appended since it’s only 4 numbers. Still not convinced about code D

#599

The decoder works with a 4 digit addition. I was actually editing this in when you posted, but a zero could also be placed in front of code c to make it 5 digits.

#600

I was reading a bit about Victor ciphers, and from what I understand there is several ways you can define certain parts of the cipher.

Is it possible that a general online decoder could be to simplified and one maybe would have to manually do the decryption? (Online decoder seems to assume a date for example, but this could be any number, not only limited to 31 days in a month for example)

Just to make sure that we haven’t already found the answer, but we used to many assumptions to decode it?

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.