Unless the condition needed to solve the puzzle is not try to solve the puzzle, which does not make sense, but that’s exactly what makes it the truth… somehow.
I always hate when this happens and there’s no progress, because there’s absolutely nothing I could do to contribute.
I think we’ve reached the point where there will be no further progress with the ARG without some kind of hint from its maker! It looks like everyone has lost interest because the ARG is impossibly difficult to solve. We don’t even know if it is solvable at this point in time, at the very least we should be told if it is or not. There are some very bright people who worked hard trying to solve this for a long time; with all the effort that’s been put into solving this, and all the talent that’s been thrown at it, something more that what’s occurred should have come to pass if the ARG was not unfairly difficult, not complete, or just plain impossible, or some kind of cruel prank.
It has been stated that it very much is definitely solvable now and was expected to have been solved quite some time ago. There was a hint from Stormseeker that someone was close but I don’t know if that was ever followed up.
flavrans9 must really be enjoying seeing himself showing up everywhere!
i cri evertim
If he knows that someone’s close, then that person must’ve stated his/her ideas in public. I guess backtracking this thread and the wiki a few weeks before that comment was made is also an option in this case.
I backtracked everthing on this thread, and reached the conclusion that it was either some sort of shifted block cipher (shifting the output of the block cipher by a value of 2, for instance) or directly a block cipher, since those were the ideas that had been stated before stormseeker said that someone was close. The block cipher is probably 3DES, though it could be AES or RJINDAEL, not DES nor LUCIPHER since they can be cracked. Other block ciphers could be possible, but everything sorta’ points in the direction of those, specially 3DES. The post is here:
https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showthread.php?p=577250#post577250
I might have missed something, I’m not sure. Though at this point I doubt we will come up with the solution, because this has stalled completely. Either the password is not hinted at in a way that makes sense for us, or we are on the wrong track so to speak. The last time I checked passwords I did not even bother posting, its frustrating bashing again against the same wall.
Based on the messages that Storm sent me (disguised as 0418_) and the past information referenced above, I believe we are on the right track with the shifted block cipher. It is simply a matter of determining what input we need; I use the term “simply” lightly, as we have about 15 solid references to outside ideas without any inclination as to which is most likely.
The shift is probably -2 or +2, 123.345, if the ip on the message means something is probably this.
So, we shift the code, and then decrypt using 3DES-ecb or AES-ecb with the passwords we already tried. I don’t know when I’ll have the time, but I’ll try it. Just for the sake of testing everything we came up with.
Who’s up for intercepting Storm’s next pizza delivery and ransoming it for clues?
I’ll bring the magazine, scissors and glue-stick for the letter.
I am!
I really think we should start over, take what we have and look at things. also I know one of the hints we where given was time… could the times on the anouncement board with 4 areas mean anything?
what’s the difference between tacos and pizza? why is that the pizza is a lie and dr horn has tacos in his hut?
hmmm tacos
Quick thought.
We all acted on the presumption that the encoded message will be in English. But since both of Dante’s Divine Comedy and pizza are Italian, the decrypted message my also be in Italian. It can also be in Spanish, since Dr. Horn has a taco hut.
I don’t know anything about encryption, so I really can’t help. But I believe that that’s an angle that you didn’t consider - and therefore may have mistakenly discarded a properly decoded message.
But I like pizza. I reckon it can’t be a lie.
I like where you’re going with this, although I think it would probably pop out even if it were in Latin–personally, I get excited over even a 3-letter word appearing after staring at kdawfoewijaoiwfjeaew and q;;2ll33ia0difjakjklwjf 100 times in a row.
omgitsaysfoewhichis3letterslonghalflife3confirmed!
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
I KNEW IT!