SoulStorm ARG - Spirit of 1029 - Photo 2

[Manco]

OK, I’m stuck but I think I’m onto something.

I noticed that for the text, the two longest lines both end on an E, so that made me directly compare the letters in each line to look for matches:

\\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE
\////JUTYROSLNGNALEHGNWOTIQPOKSDNTPNOJAWEOBNGLAWKJNWNR  
\\\/\\JHWUITUHABSJGNEWKLALNVGJKWELKJLWQQPRUTJHJJSBFMMH  
///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE
      J  U T N U  E     L  O     T            J    W  E

There are several matching pairs of letters throughout the lines.

I think that the /s denote how many of these letters are correct from each line, with the idea that we compare which letters appear in each line with how many /s precede that line. Like so:

\\//\/ U NU LO   E    3
\////    N E  T W     4
\\\/\\JUT      J      1
///\\/J T UELOTJWE    4
      JUTNUELOTJWE

Line 2 only contains 4 letters, so all 4 must be correct. If we remove those and mark them off against the other lines, we still have this remaining:

 U  U LO   E    2
                0
JUT      J      1
J T U LO J E    1
JUTNUELOTJWE
   N E  T W

So we now need to find 2 more letters in row 1, and 1 more letter in row 3 and 4 each.

The reason I’m now stuck is because there are too many possibilities, so I’m not sure what the correct combo is. Maybe someone else can see what I’m missing, because I don’t feel much like going through all the possible combos.

[Vince]

OK, I’m stuck but I think I’m onto something.

I noticed that for the text, the two longest lines both end on an E, so that made me directly compare the letters in each line to look for matches:

\\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE
\////JUTYROSLNGNALEHGNWOTIQPOKSDNTPNOJAWEOBNGLAWKJNWNR  
\\\/\\JHWUITUHABSJGNEWKLALNVGJKWELKJLWQQPRUTJHJJSBFMMH  
///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE
      J  U T N U  E     L  O     T            J    W  E

I generally give up when I come across 10 or more combinations.
Also, line 2, also has 49 letters, its spare additional letter being R.

I just know we're missing something painstakingly obvious...

/\\/Focus on the /truth. /\\\Discard what you \don't need.

I'm going to stare at this until I solve it.

[MOVIELORD101]

OK, I’m stuck but I think I’m onto something.

I noticed that for the text, the two longest lines both end on an E, so that made me directly compare the letters in each line to look for matches:

\\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE
\////JUTYROSLNGNALEHGNWOTIQPOKSDNTPNOJAWEOBNGLAWKJNWNR  
\\\/\\JHWUITUHABSJGNEWKLALNVGJKWELKJLWQQPRUTJHJJSBFMMH  
///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE
      J  U T N U  E     L  O     T            J    W  E

There are several matching pairs of letters throughout the lines.

I think that the /s denote how many of these letters are correct from each line, with the idea that we compare which letters appear in each line with how many /s precede that line. Like so:

\\//\/ U NU LO   E    3
\////    N E  T W     4
\\\/\\JUT      J      1
///\\/J T UELOTJWE    4
      JUTNUELOTJWE

Line 2 only contains 4 letters, so all 4 must be correct. If we remove those and mark them off against the other lines, we still have this remaining:

 U  U LO   E    2
                0
JUT      J      1
J T U LO J E    1
JUTNUELOTJWE
   N E  T W

So we now need to find 2 more letters in row 1, and 1 more letter in row 3 and 4 each.

The reason I’m now stuck is because there are too many possibilities, so I’m not sure what the correct combo is. Maybe someone else can see what I’m missing, because I don’t feel much like going through all the possible combos.

I know that feeling. Btw, cute Rarity avatar. She's adorable.

[OrangeLightning]

Hang in there guys, I know we can crack this sucker Even though right now my brain feels like it's broken. I've been staring at this code for ages now hoping something new will jump out at me, but I keep going back to the same things I have before xP I know that when we do finally figure it out it's probably going to be such a simple answer that I'll be beating myself up about it all day lol

I just wish we knew whether or not we are even close or if we've gone off in completely the wrong direction xD

[Manco]

Let’s recap the hints we have:

Focus on the truth. Qvfpneq jung lbs qba'g arrq [Discard what yof don't need]. Tmb bpm vcujmza ocqlm gwc [Let the numbers guide you]. Be the storm. #wewillrise

/\\/Focus on the /truth. /\\\Discard what you \don't need. #wewillrise

Sometimes the answers are more simple than they appear. Discard what you don't need. Be the storm. #wewillrise

The beginning is always significant. Pay special attention to the way things start and you will be closer to the truth. #wewillrise

When a problem seems to have no logical pattern, we must \discard distractions and focus simply on the /useful elements to find the /truth.

What I’m taking from these hints is:

• The answer is simpler than we think.
• / signifies a piece that we want.
• \ signifies something needs to be discarded.
• “Let the numbers guide you” suggests we should look at solving the numbers first.
• The slashes at the beginning of each string are the key to solving.
• “Distractions” seems to imply something in the puzzle is there to be misleading or hide the solution; this is what needs to be discarded.

The confusing part here is that the remaining segments don’t seem to be consistent with the mastermind code in the previously solved sections – how do we match the slashes to the longer strings of letters/numbers?

[Connell]

I don't know if anyone has commented on this, but the number strings all start with a number then a comma, and end with 2 numbers. So it looks like they all lead on from each other.

I.E the normal structure for the numbers in the pattern is "1:2.6," but at the start of each line it starts with for example "6," and each line ends with, for example, "1:2.", so if you put the end of a line with the start of another it would make the standard "1:2.6," pattern.

I feel like that was way more convoluted than it needed to be, and someone probably already pointed it out.

[daniel992]

could this be anything? There is a full stop after every 3 numbers
5,1:4.

1,2:8.

1,3:2.

3,3:2.

4,3:3.

7,3:3.

1,5:3.

4,5:9.

5,5:2.

7,5:4.

7,6:6.

3,7:3.

[Shade_Meadows]

It certainly does look like something...
Wish i knew more Ciphers

[dawlthy]

/\//\\//
5,1 : 4.
1,2 : 8.
1,3 : 2.
3,3 : 2.
4,3 : 3.
7,3 : 3.
1,5 : 3.
4,5 : 9.
5,5 : 2.
7,5 : 4.
7,6 : 6.
3,7 : 3.
12 Coordinates

\\\\/\
2,1 : 2.
3,1 : 2.
6,1 : 4.
1,2 : 4.
3,2 : 2.
3,4 : 4.
5,5 : 2.
6,5 : 3.
7,5 : 3.
4,7 : 8.
5,7 : 3.
7,6 : 4.
12 Coordinates

\///\//\
1,1 : 3.
4,1 : 2.
6,1 : 9.
2,2 : 2.
6,2 : 2.
2,4 : 4.
3,5 : 2.
5,5 : 2.
7,5 : 3.
4,7 : 3.
6,7 : 2.
7,7 : 2.
12 Coordinates

\\//\\\/
4,2 : 6.
6,2 : 4.
7,3 : 3.
2,4 : 8.
3,4 : 2.
4,4 : 2.
7,4 : 3.
2,6 : 2.
4,6 : 3.
6,6 : 2.
1,7 : 4.
3,7 : 2.
12 Coordinates

Just looking at this again that I posted way back on page 5, what daniel992 just posted reminded me of it. I noticed something that i hadn't before, the second number in each row runs in numerical order, i.e. it start with all the 1's and runs trhough to the 7's, except for in the second set of numbers where the last two rows are swapped. I did double check and this is how it is in the source. Just a bit odd really, maybe it means something

[GlitterPanther]

How did the arg start?
That was the beginning!
What were the codes used then?
"Know your codes, keep them close"

EDIT

I want people to know in have tried the repeating /\ through the string idea and it doesnt work as by the time you get to the end you don't have enough letters left.

I here at my laptop, ill keep trying

I applied previous ideas onto the other string
Heres what I got

7, 7:7
7, 3:3
8, 8:8
3, 3:6
6, 8:9
9, 9:8
4, 4:7
7, 7:3
3, 3:3

[Connell]

Driving me mad. All I can think of in reference to OWI_Pete's hint about looking for patterns and things that don't match up is that the second string of numbers only has 6 slashes, whereas the rest have 8. I can't figure out what that means or what to do with it though.

I tried looking at it really literally for a while; as in the /'s signify things we need, and discard the rest. So I put the number of forward slashes at the end of each line in green; I then looked at the second line, which only has "1 forward slash", so I assumed there was "1 true" value in that row. I then found only 1 value that was present in both the first and second line, being "5,5.2", so I assumed that must be the correct one for that line, so I marked it as green, and then marked the rest of the row as red.



But then there's the flaws in that method: Why would there only be 5 backward slashes in line 2 if there was 11 "unneeded" values? Also, "7,5.3" appears in both the 2nd and 3rd line, so that could be the "true" value. Really tried taking it back to basics there, but there's a few holes in the logic.

I don't actually think this is the correct method, just posting this in case it gives anyone a brainwave haha.

[dawlthy]

OK, I think I may actually have something here, although it seems a bit strange to me.

Taking the hint about just looking at the start I thought maybe just ignore all the lines that start with a \ and only use the ones starting with a /.

This left me with only two lines

/\//\\//5,1:4.1,2:8.1,3:2.3,3:2.4,3:3.7,3:3.1,5:3.4,5:9.5,5:2.7,5:4.7,6:6.3,7:3.

AND

///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE

I then split the letters up into a 7x7 grid like this

1234567
1 JQEABTV
2 KNUCSEY
3 CMBILDK
4 OSCYSIT
5 ECPAGFA
6 XHKETJN
7 ZURWCIE

and using the coordinates from the row of numbers to look up the corresponding letters I got this.

B K C B I K E A G A N R

which is an anagram of the word

BACKBREAKING !

[Connell]

OK, I think I may actually have something here, although it seems a bit strange to me.

Woah, if that's a coincidence I'll be amazed. Seems a bit of a weird way for them to incorporate the Mastermind slashes though. But, it kinda makes sense: they said "Let the numbers guide you". Let them guide is to which letters we need to pick. Perhaps. Let's see Nice work either way

[dawlthy]

There's a few things I'm unsure of still. I only used the first part of each set of coordinates, whats the number after the colon for? What do we do with this word we found anyway? Are the other puzzles just a distraction?

EDIT:
Can someone who uses Twitter ask Oddworld if this is just a coincidence please?

[GlitterPanther]

There's a few things I'm unsure of still. I only used the first part of each set of coordinates, whats the number after the colon for? What do we do with this word we found anyway? Are the other puzzles just a distraction?

EDIT:
Can someone who uses Twitter ask Oddworld if this is just a coincidence please?

I just asked them if they could look at your post and confirm or not

[daniel992]

There's a few things I'm unsure of still. I only used the first part of each set of coordinates, whats the number after the colon for? What do we do with this word we found anyway? Are the other puzzles just a distraction?

EDIT:
Can someone who uses Twitter ask Oddworld if this is just a coincidence please?

They have said "The beginning is always significant. Pay special attention to the way things start and you will be closer to the truth"

So you may have done it

[OrangeLightning]

OK, I think I may actually have something here, although it seems a bit strange to me.

Taking the hint about just looking at the start I thought maybe just ignore all the lines that start with a \ and only use the ones starting with a /.

This left me with only two lines

/\//\\//5,1:4.1,2:8.1,3:2.3,3:2.4,3:3.7,3:3.1,5:3.4,5:9.5,5:2.7,5:4.7,6:6.3,7:3.

AND

///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE

I then split the letters up into a 7x7 grid like this

1234567
1 JQEABTV
2 KNUCSEY
3 CMBILDK
4 OSCYSIT
5 ECPAGFA
6 XHKETJN
7 ZURWCIE

and using the coordinates from the row of numbers to look up the corresponding letters I got this.

B K C B I K E A G A N R

which is an anagram of the word

BACKBREAKING !

Nice!!! That seems super promising!

[GlitterPanther]

I tried applying the formula to the other lines, I can't find anything

[dawlthy]

Yeah, Vince had been trying exactly that with other combination of the letters/number lines a long time ago but didn't get the right combination. I think it might have been partly my fault that he didn't keep trying really. It was only with these latest clues we had any info on how to get the right combination of letters to numbers.

That's if it is right of course

[GlitterPanther]

So if it is morse code this is the full string

.. … - … … … … … … …. … . … … … … …. … - - …. - … - … … - … - - ..
.. … . … … … … … … … …. … - …. … - … … - … … - … - - … -
- … - …

Which makes

ISTSSSSSSHSESSSSHSTTHTSTSSTSTTIISESSSSSSSHSTHSTSSTSSTSTTSTTSTS


Also got this from one of the strings using the numbers as coordinates

DIHNOEGBADOO

Rerranged

NO
HIDE
BAD
GOO

[Gunnr]

So if it is morse code this is the full string

.. … - … … … … … … …. … . … … … … …. … - - …. - … - … … - … - - ..
.. … . … … … … … … … …. … - …. … - … … - … … - … - - … -
- … - …

Edit
Using(SCphillis.com)I got that translated to:

??t????????e??????tt?t?t??t?tt??e?????????t??t??t??t?tt???t?

Wanted to double check (Translated them myself using a chart) I got this:

I D T S S S S S S W S E S S S
S Q S T T Q T D T S S T D T T I
I S E S S S S S S S Q S T Q S
T S S T S S T S T T S T
T S T S

[GlitterPanther]

Its got to be so simple, I dont get it!

[SilverTwilight05]

I wonder if we need to apply the initial set of slashes as a pattern across all the letters (even though neither 5 or 6 go evenly into 49).

So the first string

\\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE

would become

kdIUtHanPUyHhdQOePlnDOaLjgUDiThbBDoZlgFErKjgLSaOe

simplified to

IUHPUHQOPDOLUDTBDZFEKLSO


EDIT: Ack, this was said already. Though I did find the word "bloodshed" in the first string. Back to the grind.

[GlitterPanther]

I wonder if we need to apply the initial set of slashes as a pattern across all the letters (even though neither 5 or 6 go evenly into 49).

So the first string

\\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE

would become

kdIUtHanPUyHhdQOePlnDOaLjgUDiThbBDoZlgFErKjgLSaOe

simplified to

IUHPUHQOPDOLUDTBDZFEKLSO


EDIT: Ack, this was said already. Though I did find the word "bloodshed" in the first string. Back to the grind.

Yeah.I tried that last night and got nothing

EDIT

I went through every string with all coordinates

/\//\\//5,1 .1,2 .1,3 .3,3 .4,3 .7,3 .1,5 .4,5 .5,5 .7,5 .7,6 .3,7.
\\\\/\2,1 .3,1 .6,1 .1,2 .3,2 .3,4 .5,5 .6,5 .7,5 .4,7 .5,7 .7,6.
\///\//\1,1 4,1 .6,1 .2,2 .6,2 .2,4 .3,5 .5,5 .7,5 .4,7 .6,7 .7,7 .
\\//\\\/4,2 .6,2 .7,3 .2,4 .3,4 .4,4 .7,4 .2,6 .4,6 .6,6 .1,7 .3,7 .
1BKCBIKEAGANR
2QETKUCGFAWCI
3JATNESPGAWIE
4CEKSCYTHEJZR

JQEABTV
KNUCSEY
CMBILDK
OSCYSIT
ECPAGFA
XHKETJN
ZURWCIE

1TAWLAVJRJM
2WUUASKQPRMHS
3HIUBNJWQRM??
4JNVKKWKTHSHM

HWUITUH
ABSJGNE
WKLALNV
GJKWELK
JLWQQPR
UTJHJJS
BFMMH



1RLHNWITOJWAJ
2UTOLGOJAWNWA
3JYONLPNJWNNR
4GLIPOKNONLWJ

JUTYROS
LNGNALE
HGNWOTI
QPOKSDN
TPNOJAW
EOBNGLA
WKJNWNR

1TNQEPDIBDL
2DIHNULBEADOO
3KUHPHAHBADKE
4YHDALJDLFRJL

KDIUTHA
NPUYHHD
QOEPLND
OALJGUD
ITHBBDO
ZLGFERK
JGLSAOE


Just needs to be ciphered

[Xavier]

I'm going to leave this here:

@Retro_Finds_UK is there something else on that page you can use with what you've found?

— Oddworld �� (@OddworldInc) February 7, 2017

@zulag @Retro_Finds_UK the grid isn't there for decoration, surely?

— Oddworld �� (@OddworldInc) February 7, 2017

[cdgoodwill]

Backbreaking can't fit in the symbol pieces, 2 characters short. Maybe add 73? Also, if you fit the symbol together, it can create a never-ending loop of symbols, as one piece fits at the top and the bottom. (4 across 2 up)

[Manco]

Let the numbers guide you. Every step must be taken in turn. #wewillrise

— SPIRIT OF 1029 (@SPIRITOF1029) February 7, 2017

Emphasizing the numbers again.

[GlitterPanther]

Let the numbers guide you. Every step must be taken in turn. #wewillrise

— SPIRIT OF 1029 (@SPIRITOF1029) February 7, 2017

Emphasizing the numbers again.

This is getting ridiculous...

Just noticed the website has changed too

Update 2: The Spirit of 1029 organization has made contact again - perhaps there's a clue in the way the slashes are written? Could this be something to do with the source code on the puzzle page? Just finding out about all this? The Game Detectives are on the case too, with a full round up here.

https://mobile.twitter.com/SPIRITOF1...93484950118400

[Xavier]

Wiki has been updated

http://oddworld.wikia.com/wiki/Souls...d_transmission

Looks like we are getting closer:

When you have the key, you need the correct lock. hgehgeoeregpineechqnhgeevtipcvreovxgvge
Shake loose the bonds that hold you. #wewillrise

— SPIRIT OF 1029 (@SPIRITOF1029) February 7, 2017

[Manco]

When you have the key, you need the correct lock. hgehgeoeregpineechqnhgeevtipcvreovxgvge
Shake loose the bonds that hold you. #wewillrise

— SPIRIT OF 1029 (@SPIRITOF1029) February 7, 2017

Seems like they’re trying to tell us we have the key – I’m guessing this refers to “backbreaking”. So what’s the correct lock?

(I don’t know what the code in this tweet is, it isn’t a standard Caesar cipher.)