From free online dictionary:
“To set right; correct: rectified the situation by adding more chairs so that more people could sit.”
I know what rectify means, I just meant how would Mission Control relate to the ARG. Maybe there’s a clue when you launch the satellite rocket to close the portal?
Mabye the password is on the tempus omnia revelant page? I think using SSH on the blackmesasource terminal might be what was ment by “returnbmrfloginhalos”
If we’re still connecting by SSH, could you try connecting to KXBM.net and BMRF.us ? They might hold some secrets
I think you can rule that avenue out.
A little over a year ago I contacted Storm because I had discovered a SSH listener at the bmrf site. I was able to get a handshake, inputted a username and, like you, couldn’t get past the password to enter the site. The reason I contacted him was to ask him if I should let everyone know that I’ve found this because it would be bombarded with inquiries and I didn’t want that to be an issue with the site if it wasn’t actually valid.
I asked him if I should let the flood gates open.
His response to me was “Well you can try, and whilst bmrf.us is an important site, I said some time ago, that hacking methods are not really within the spirit of the arg. There is a way to solve it, and time will indeed reveal all.”
I replied back telling him that I had seen his comments about hacking sites but, I figured it wasn’t considered hacking if you actually had a username and password. I told him that I wouldn’t tell forum members about the SSH listener so that the site wouldn’t be bombarded. Now that another instance of SSH has been brought up I believe it should be pointed out that that he has said more than once that he hasn’t set up any sites that involve hacking methods.
The “congratulationsyouwonthePIZZA” tip is posted in an ARG trailhead area of Reddit, which to me suggests that it is still important and viable, because if it was just the HALOS file, Storm probably would have referred to that directly. Just my $0.02.
Do we know what ‘time’ is in this case? Has the time already passed and all has already been revealed? In this situation it could be any number of things:
@time_van on Twitter
Something hidden in the clocks around Black Mesa
Waiting for something that may or may not have already been revealed
I’m starting to think that “time reveals all” simply referred to the release of BM on Steam. We are already finding new things within the game, so it may be possible that, although the HALOS puzzle could technically be solved without any further hints, we need to begin constructing the next phase of the puzzle. Phase 1 was completely based within the game, whilst Phase 2 began with an online component and, multiple puzzles later, culminated with the HALOS.txt file. It wouldn’t surprise me if the HALOS.txt file is something we have to use later, and that we still have another complete trail to solve. Either it stands alone as its own part of some ultimate solution, or it is the next “gate” that requires us following the trail to come back around to it. The obscurity of all the information we’ve been given, plus the ridiculous amount of it, suggests to me that we are to follow another linear path throughout the game. Storm mentioned that the ARG would become web-based at some point, which it clearly did, but maybe now we are to return to the BMRF. I just find it hard to imagine that all of this information is supposed to somehow coalesce into a few key, distinct bits of viable input. Just doesn’t make sense.
But, as always, I could be (and often am) wrong.
EDIT: With this in mind, perhaps it’s best that we begin reconstructing QE and similar chapters (that Storm worked on) much as we did at the beginning of the ARG, excluding the HALOS file. We have many IRC chat clues that point to places like the HAFB and so forth, so maybe these were simply hints as to the next “phase” of the ARG. It might be beneficial to keep these things as guidelines, but go into the experience of these chapters with a fresh mindset. I know that’s difficult to do, but perhaps by constructing from square one we can begin to see the individual pieces we have already begun finding as the sums of another whole–one separate from HALOS. Long story short, it’s possible that all of the information we have is blinding us from seeing the simple truths within the chapters of the game.
EDIT 2: Remember the X01 and X02 rooms referenced to multiple times? Wonder if they can be found in this version somehow. X01 and X02 rooms
Yup, just confirmed that the map bm_c2a4d is still missing. Storm, any chance you can confirm whether this was intentional or unintentional? I imagine it could have been done purposefully, but I’d rather know for certain so we’re not running down another rabbit hole without purpose. From what I’m seeing from wikis, however, that may have been a part of residual processing anyway, and therefore not related to the QE chapter at all. Not certain on that, but that’s how it appears.
Tim Evans’, the kxbm author, page on twitter, is twitter.com/time_van. Storm has repeatedly stated that time reveals all and “time will indeed reveal all”. Tim Evans (Tim E) simply has to be the 'TimE" that Storm is referring to.
He has only 3 tweets.
1st Tweet Tim Evans @time_van · Feb 12 New gig writing for /KXBM.net (view takes you to https://twitter.com/time_van/status/565945692095401984 and an image and link direct to kxbm.net and its audio video static. Along with it he also provides another link VIEW ON WEB.
Comically enough he also says “My first articles should start appearing shortly! #bringit #stoked #letsdothis”
In other words, I believe he’s telling us “hey guys here’s the link you need to get to the next step. I’m giving you three links on my page to it so, click one of them, get over there and solve this! Bring it on! I’m Stoked! Let’s Do This!!!”
2nd Tweet Tim Evans @time_van · Feb 16 "It was a lonely Valentine’s Day weekend for me. Thinking of giving this a try https://www.localdesertsingles.com " (takes you to the blackmesasource home page)
3rd Tweet Tim Evans @time_van · Feb 19 “All clear given for Black Mesa Evacuation Zone” (link takes you to the kxbm original page about the all clear being given https://www.kxbm.net/article/?view=all-clear-given-for-black-mesa-evacuation-zone-10360
Also, go back and look at these previous posts one more time. I’m still firmly convinced that the answer lays with steganography analysis at kxbm.net. On the first link, it’s the spectogram analysis that needs to be investigated. The second is a sample of the sound file that needs to be investigated.
https://forums.blackmesasource.com/index.php/Thread/13735-ARG-The-Pizza-Code-Mystery/?postID=598975#post598975
https://forums.blackmesasource.com/index.php/Thread/13735-ARG-The-Pizza-Code-Mystery/?postID=599556
It was found in office complex.
You may have a point here.
If we look back at the Morse code message, it consistently mentions AI5BM, which, even though it’s an “I”, could still be interpreted as a 1 for the sake of the ARG (as wizard99 mentioned). I know they are blatantly different in Morse code, but what the hell, right? Referring to that area on the map produces two rooms: A15a, Audio Spacial Test Chamber and A15b, Audio Spacial Control. “Spacial” is generally considered another spelling of “spatial,” and looking up spatial audio effects brings up many examples of sounds being distorted and transformed in a number of ways, although the primary point of it is to give it a “3D” feel. Considering the Morse code message originated from the websites, it makes sense that the sound files found on those websites might include some distortion effects. It may not even be that complex–pointing out the “Audio Spacial” rooms may simply be Storm’s way of saying, “Guys–audio. Duh.”
Good call on this, CPU. I’ve begun fiddling in Audacity and, hopefully, over time we can figure something out. As for the flange effect you mentioned in your previous post, I don’t think there’s anyway to remove that (if that’s what it is).
EDIT: CPU, I would like to know where you got that sound file that you cleaned up to produce the “voice.” I ran it through a program called Sonic Visualiser that looks for images hidden within sound files, and I got this:
[attach=3986,none,587][/attach]
That looks like scribbled writing. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but it’s possible that the original file has something in it. Which one was it / where is it located?
EDIT 2: If it was just a conversion of the background.mp4 file, then nevermind–I went ahead and converted it to mp3 and pulled it up in that program with no result. If you shortened or distorted it in some way, that could just be an artifact of the adjustment.
That last 10 seconds though, even with no modifications, sounds like a voice. There has to be something there. Problem is, how do we know how to clean it up? There’s a few dozen different ways to adjust audio.
For instance, check this out (it includes one compression and a couple of equalizations): voice?
I’d like to show to guys some of these screenshots possibly relating to the arg. All of these where found in some of the 14 of the background maps.
Dang–he really went to town with that underwater one.
Also, it has always bugged me as to why he writes “lie” the way he does–in all block caps. You can see the “i” in “is” isn’t like that–it’s slanted. Why so much import on the “lie” portion?
Remember when he said, “It’s everywhere you look”? Hmmmmmm . . . . 
Whats also sticking out to me on the KXBM site is that if you look at the “Free Classifieds” part, every picture is linked to another site except the “$150 - ranger rci-6300f25 ham/cb” which has to do with transmitting audio/voice. This could mean that audio analysis is something we should consider.
Another thing to note is that, although kbxm.net/assets is available to us to view, bmrf.us/assets is not–this could indicate that we have more to discover on that site.
We already found morse code from that radio (if you press first button near LED display), that’s why it doesn’t have link to another site.
You can found translation of that morse somewhere.
Also, all of those “sites” are same (kxbm.net#classifieds…)
Leading on from what Guns said about checking BMRF.us , has anyone done any kind of analysis on the launch trailer yet? It seems like a good place to continue digging
If they have, they either have not posted any in-depth results here, or I’m going blind. I’d love to see some.
Re: the reddit thread: do we have any proof that’s actually stormseeker, rather than someone pulling a prank?
Re: the pizza’s and “the pizza is a lie” tags: do we have new lists for their locations in the Steam version yet?
Also, I’m pretty sure stormseeker said (in the steam release stream interview stuff) that new ARG clues could be found if we look in-game. I’d say that should be our main focus right now. The most confusing part about that, for me at least, is that I have trouble telling clues from random fluff. Remember how the password for the SECOM cipher was “laseroptroniclinearinducercannon”? How the hell did we figure that out? I mean, come on, there’s so many other phrases that could’ve been used. This one just happened to be on the same whiteboard as the code, but was there any other link? Do we really need to make a gigantic list of all the phrases we find that might be related somehow?
It’s just part of the background.mp4 file. I don’t remember now exactly everything that I did but, if I recall correctly, it was this:
Doubled the speed, invert, reverse, probably removed a lot of the empty space and then messed with the noise removal settings.
Again, the file I uploaded is only about 30 seconds long so, obviously it’s not the entire background.mp4 sound file.
Dumb luck, to be frank. I had just decided to try everything under the sun, and was starting with the words on the Code D whiteboard. Thing is, I had just spoken with Code (who we had no idea was Storm at the time), and he pointed out that first letters of each sentence in the message from Storm (himself) spelled out SECOM. It was going on that that I even managed to solve it anyway–in that case, however, I had a strong suspicion of the cipher used. With this one, I have some theories, but to try everything in the game like I was doing for that puzzle would take ages.
EDIT: Anyone recall this from the wiki:
[b]Aug 09
W### has been p########## well on the L#### O####### L######## Can####, other#### kn### as the T## Cann##. My t##### to the #####etic
induction coil have reduced the likelyhood of overcharge by 200%! I still cannot fathom why the fuse we introduced continues to fail
however, perhaps the leptons have a mi7s6d0976)(&^A)S()F ()A^SF) A()&^ ^)(AS&^ (^6097^)(76)(")")(")(!")(!")(!"*)(… … …[/b]
It was a comment posted on February 4 of last year, but a lookup of the wiki contributor does not indicate any other posts. Therefore, it’s hard to say if it was actually Storm or someone else. Maybe he confirmed it in some way, shape or form?
Another important thing to note: faed posted this on the wiki literally a month prior to that message:
This was posted today on the BMS forums.
Here is a link - https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost.php?p=592979&postcount=2223
[b]Here is the text: OK guys, I had a chat with Stormseeker on Steam tonight and he was generous enough to throw me a few bones about the current state of the ARG.
- The EAS alert has nothing to do with an imminent release of Xen or HL3 or anything like that.
- Halos is definitely encrypted (and can be decrypted), but NOT with openssl tools.
- A few more hints may be coming soon. [/b]
So, HALOS is encrypted, but apparently it cannot be decrypted with openSSL tools. That means that methods such as Simple File Encryption will not work. Well then, doesn’t that completely eliminate all methods dealing with AES and similar encryption methods? That seems in direct contrast with what Storm PM’d me, but it’s possible he mislead me on purpose–that would go against how he helped with the ARG before, but maybe that was just to get us through the first gate. He also said before, “How do you know encryption has anything to do with it?” and then (potentially) rebutted that very statement.
As for the additional hints, I’m going to do my best to add the latest clues to the Timeline page on the wiki. At least that will give me something constructive to do regarding the ARG instead of doing actual work :thumbup: