Difference between revisions of "Oddworld: Soulstorm"
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It's dark, and cold. So cold. They don't seem to [REDACTED]. They. Them. It's hard to know how we'll [REDACTED], but we'll try. This can't last forever. We won't last forever. | It's dark, and cold. So cold. They don't seem to [REDACTED]. They. Them. It's hard to know how we'll [REDACTED], but we'll try. This can't last forever. We won't last forever. | ||
Revision as of 18:52, 24 February 2017
| Oddworld: Soulstorm ARG | |
|---|---|
| Oddworld: Soulstorm - An ARG centered around lore from the Oddworld universe linked to the currently unreleased game Oddworld: Soulstorm | |
| Type | [[List_of_Investigations#Official|Official]] |
| Creator | Oddworld Inhabitants, Inc |
| Discovered | 12-22-2016 |
Main Page > List of Investigations > Oddworld: Soulstorm
Contents
- 1 Prelude
- 2 Smells like Mudokon Spirit
- 3 The First Transmission
- 4 The Second Transmission
- 4.1 Morseception
- 4.2 Braille & Upside-down Pigpen
- 4.3 Directional Arrows Puzzle
- 4.4 Interlaced Barcodes & Second Hidden URL
- 4.5 Source Code Mysteries
- 4.6 Stuck In The Mud & Third Hidden URL
- 4.7 Creepy Scenes From Within
- 4.8 From The Ashes, Asset 99 (Hidden URL 3.5)
- 4.9 Second Unlocked Image & Grid Solution
- 5 The Third Transmission
- 6 Loose Ends
- 7 Media Appearances
Prelude
Early in 2016, Twitter account @edmudokon began posting cryptic messages that seemed to be related to the Oddworld universe. The account appears to be run by an average Mudokon named Ed who claims to have information he wants to share, but he seems to be in constant danger and can only access the outside world via a faint connection. Beginning around March 2016, @edmudokon engaged users with an elaborate series of puzzles and challenges, releasing information both on twitter and via the official Oddworld website, http://www.oddworld.com/soulstorm/. These puzzles eventually led to the revelation of a website, http://1029.io, as well as a message: "now you know. you can help. join us. together we can rise."
The http://1029.io webpage features glitchy effects and another rendition of the ASCII-art logo, but with the numbers 8291 replacing some characters. At the bottom of the page is an e-mail signup form, above which is a message:
THE FALL OF RF1029 WAS THE SPARK TO IGNITE A REVOLUTION. FOR TOO LONG, THEY HAVE CONTROLLED THEIR GIANT INDUSTRIAL MACHINES, GRINDING THE BONES OF OUR KIND INTO DUST IN THEIR ENDLESS PURSUIT OF POWER AND WEALTH.
WE WERE TAUGHT THAT THIS IS ALL THERE WAS: OBEY.
THE TRUTH WAS HIDDEN FROM US. OUR HISTORY WAS HIDDEN FROM US. WE WERE BRED TO WORK, RAISED TO OBEY AND FORCED TO COMPLY.
OUR NATURAL CONNECTION TO MOTHER PLANET WAS ERASED FROM THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR PEOPLE. LOST WAS OUR KNOWING. LOST WAS OUR UNITY, OUR CONNECTION, OUR POWER AND OUR PURPOSE. ALL THAT WE WERE WAS A COMMODITY TO BE TRADED AND EXPLOITED IN THE ONGOING RACE FOR MORE WEALTH. WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED, WE WERE TRICKED INTO KILLING. WHAT WAS WORST FOR US, WE WERE TOLD WAS BEST. WE WERE TAUGHT TO TRUST THOSE WHO WOULD DECEIVE US THE MOST.
THAT HAS ALL CHANGED.
THE HERO HAS SHOWN ALL OF US THAT OUR OPPRESSORS CAN BE TOPPLED. HE HAS FOUND OUR WILD AND KNOWING BROTHERS. HE HAS RECONNECTED THE FACTORY-BORN TO OUR NATURAL WORLD AND ANCIENT WAYS. HE HAS LIT A FIRE IN OUR HEARTS THAT CANNOT BE EXTINGUISHED.
WE WILL GIVE HELP TO THOSE WHO ARE HELPLESS. WE WILL LEND STRENGTH TO THOSE WHO ARE WEAK. WE WILL FIGHT FOR THOSE WHO ARE DEFEATED. OUR MOVEMENT WILL SPREAD LIKE A RAGING INFERNO AND WE WILL TAKE BACK THE POWER FROM THOSE WHO HAVE ABUSED IT.
WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED BY THE MEDIA CIRCUS. WE WILL NOT BE IGNORED. WE WILL NOT STOP. WE WILL NOT OBEY. WE WILL RISE AND WE WILL RISE AGAIN, UNTIL WE HAVE BURNED THROUGH OUR TATTERED BONDS AND RAZED THE MACHINE TO THE GROUND.
WE WILL RISE. JOIN US.
THERE’S A STORM COMING.
In the source code for the page, only the letters E and D of the message remain capitalized.
Later that day, the Twitter account @SPIRITOF1029 revealed themselves as a "Clandestine organization dedicated to doing good on behalf of the Mudokons and revealing information about a new horror being perpetrated against their species." They also tweeted their first message, parroting the http://1029.io URL and adding their own message: "There is a storm coming. Join us."
Social media feeds went dark until December, posting only reiterations of the URL with messages like "Rise up" and "We are the storm. Join us". Then, in January of 2017, activity on the accounts surged once again and the first hints of an ARG began to appear.
Smells like Mudokon Spirit
The flurry of new activity in January mainly consisted of @edmudokon and @spiritof1029 talking back and fourth about about whether or not Ed would be able to help the organization's cause. At this point, the Spirit of 1029 makes their message very clear, stating "Oddworld has been blind to the plight of the noble Mudokons for too long. We will rise. Join us! http://1029.io". More notable activty includes the organization's quip "We recommend knowledge of many different codes and ciphers - you never know who is listening. #learnyournameinmorsecodeday", hinting that the coming information would be enciphered in some way.
Oddworld Inhabitants (Oddworld developers, @OddworldInc on Twitter) was contacted by the organization at this time, being told by Spirit of 1029 "We will help @edmudokon but we can't send anything unencrypted. You'll have to break our code. We'll be in touch." Very shortly thereafter, on January 19th, Spirit of 1029 tweets: "We have received a transmission. We will pass it on as soon as we can verify. We need your help." and the Oddworld Webpage is updated to make available two files for download.
The First Transmission
The Spirit of 1029's first transmission came in two parts, one part photo and one part audio file. The photograph, pictured on the right as it looked upon transmission, appears to show a tattered document with many portions of text redacted, burnt at the edges and bearing the Spirit of 1029's logo with the slogan "We Will Rise". The text on the document, where it is legible and not redacted, reads:
Date: Period: XXXXXXXXXXX Specification Details: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -Observe XXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX changes in test subjects -Assess long term XXXXXXXX on XXXXXXX -Determine product safety Authorization: XXXXXXXXXXX Tests requested: -XXXXXXXX Pronostics - ?Access whenever? product XXXXXXX -Acidity Levels - ????? XXXXXXXXX -Product safety Expected results: XXXXXXXXXX make XXXXXXXXX interesting Test results: -XXXXXXX highly XXXXXX -XXXXXXX this XXXXXX ?? XXXXXX ?nice? XXXXXXXX -Highly XXXXXXX -Subjects: XXXXXX - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Conclusion: Product (ready) for consumption -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ??? : XXXXXXXX there is XXXXXX here but it will XXXX ???? XXXXX --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As progress was made on the puzzles, the official Oddworld webpage was updated to reflect the progress, and to provide hints in their updates. This webpage would be updated frequently throughout the ARG.
Directional Arrows, Pigpen, & Anglo-Saxon Runes
In addition to the text in the photo, there are several areas featuring symbols and runes. Along the top of the document, Anglo-Saxon runes spell out ED. Along the bottom, BabelStone Club Penguin pigpen cipher, which is a font, spells out YOU ARE THE KEY YOU KNOW IT IF YOU WERE LISTENING. Running along the right side of the image, arrows pointing in a number of different vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions, pictured right, can be seen. After thorough investigation, it was discovered that these arrows can be decoded by taking their angle measurement and deducing an "alphanumeric" equivalent, or a number between 0-25 where each number represents a letter of the alphabet. It just so happened that each arrow had an angle which ended in a zero, and thus, the first "arrow cipher" decodes to:
12 15 15 11 6 15 18 15 21 18 13 5 19 19 1 7 5 8 5 1 18 15 21 18 22 15 9 3 5
L O O K F O R O U R M E S S A G E H E A R O U R V O I C E
The message decodes to LOOK FOR OUR MESSAGE HEAR OUR VOICE.
First Audio Clip
The second part of the Spirit of 1029's first transmission consisted of an eerie-sounding 1:40 audio clip. Hidden in the audio clip was Morse code, which proved difficult to decode by ear due to the overpowering audio laid over the code. The code also appeared to be playing in reverse. Eventually, the code was cracked by using a spectrogram of the audio which revealed the code visually as a guide to decoding it by ear.
Although rough in some spots, the decoded Morse read:
qmiqwmiqyidimrjqdjijilmxmnrjqdjajmpmnrprspkesmkjpdqjnyajnwsnrpgspcsppmqidimqymdbcqajnwsnrpgspcdhbzmnjajanadumjimrpq
Moments before the Morse was decoded, however, the community had made another exciting discovery. Using portions of the Morse already decoded accurately by ear, it had been discovered that the decoded Morse was actually to be used as ciphertext in a shift cipher, and that the key to be used was "storm". This was what the pigpen text on the document was meant to indicate; earlier in the ARG, @spiritof1029 often tweeted the messages "There's a storm coming" and "We are the storm". The pigpen served as a hint to look back at previous communications in order to unlock the current hurdle. With the newly-complete Morse code now in their possession, the community was finally able to accurately decipher the ciphertext they had obtained from the reversed Morse code. It read:
tentwentyninedotiononqexerdotiofoeserdsdaspjaepositoryforwardslashassetninetyeightforwardslashimgzerofofrfiueonedst
ten twenty nine dot io nonqexer dot io foeserdsdaspjaepository forwardslash asset ninety eight forward slash img zero fofrfiueonedst
Although not entirely accurate, through trial and error the community was able to locate a new URL branch of http://1029.io, http://1029.io/repository/asset98/imgzerofourfiveone/.
First Hidden URL
The hidden URL on http://1029.io is a page which displays one of eight photos each time it is reloaded as well as cycling messages.
7676-AL
3786-IC
9455-UM
9394-AL
7393-AN
5574-PH
2384-ER
1029-LY
The community quickly realized these were cut up pieces of a larger puzzle. Oddworld Inhabitants updated their page to read "Once you've got everything together - show us!". The completed image was tweeted out to @OddworldInc on January 19th, and the next day, they had replied, instructing the community to hang tight while they cleaned up the image.
First Unlocked Photo
While waiting, the community picked up on what appeared to be some writing on some of the pieces. This writing was later verified to read "Who?", "Where?", "So Tired", and a set of numbers likely to be "8291". After three days, @OddworldInc tweeted out a scrambled image, pictured left, stating "We received something and there's one last thing we need you to do. Share it. Spread the word.". The next day, after the tweet gained 100 shares, they tweeted another image, pictured left, this time unscrambled. At this time, they stated "While you shared our message 100 times we worked away to bring you this. We're clearing it up even more, we'll share what we find Thursday.", while the webpage was updated with the message "Update 5: Thanks to you guys sharing the previous images online, we've managed to decode the photo further and have updated the thumbnail here. We'll return on Thursday with the finished, fully decrypted image - but until then, please do let us know what you think!" And, true to their word, when Thursday came @OddworldInc tweeted out a final picture of a render from the upcoming Oddworld: Soulstorm, pictured right, in all its unscrambled un-cropped glory. The release of this image signaled the end of the first of five phases of content release Oddworld Inhabitants have planned.
The Second Transmission
On Feburary 2nd 2017, the Spirit of 1029 again reached out to the community, tweeting out via @Spiritof1029 "Our agent has delivered another transmission. We will verify its origins and pass it on." Several hours later, Twitter account @OddworldInc sent the message "We were just contacted again. Don't go anywhere, we might need your help with this...", and the Official Oddworld Site was updated with a message as well as an image, pictured left. In addition to the image, a newsletter was sent out to everyone who signed up at the bottom of http://1029.io. The newsletter features basic info about the ARG so far, as well as a barcode at the very bottom, which, when scanned, reveals a code:
Ivzw gsv mfnyvih pmld gsv gifgs
This code, when passed through a cryptogram solver, reveals a hidden message:
READ THE NUMBERS KNOW THE TRUTH
An "in-progress" image, pictured on the right, highlights the hidden details found so far & outlines their currently known solutions.
Morseception
The Morse code in the image turned out to be fragments of a larger single code, seen below pieced back together:
The Morse decodes to... more Morse code, of course!:
DASHDOTDOTDOT DOT DASH DOTDOTDOTDOT DOT DOTDOTDOT DASH DASHDASHDASHDASH DOTDASHDOT DASHDASH
Which in turn decodes to:
-... . - .... . ... - --- .-. --
BETHESTORM
Braille & Upside-down Pigpen
A message in Braille, pictured right, in the bottom-left of the image reads Spread our message. The Babelstone pigpen code, when flipped upside down:
decodes to:
KNOW YOUR CODES
KEEP THEM CLOSE
YOU WILL NEED THEM
Directional Arrows Puzzle
Using the same method as was used to decode the first cryptic arrows, these arrows turned out to decode to:
7 14 9 8 20 25 18 5 22 5 5 4 15 3 5 4 H O J I U Z S F W F F E P D F E
This ciphertext, when decoded using a Caesar cipher set to a shift of 25, reveals the message GNIHTYREVEEDOCED, which is DECODE EVERYTHING backwards.
Interlaced Barcodes & Second Hidden URL
The community speculated that the strange box in the bottom-right of the image sent by the Spirit of 1029, pictured left, was a fragmented barcode. After many failed attempts to reconfigure them correctly, the two barcodes were both finally correctly assembled and, when scanned, led to the discovery of two messages:
http://www.1029.io/repository/asset98/
&
findawayshowthetruth
Combining these messages into a single URL, http://www.1029.io/repository/asset98/findawayshowthetruth/, led to the discovery of a new page with the Spirit of 1029's scrambled logo on, pictured right.
Source Code Mysteries
This source code can be found at the second hidden URL.
In the source code of the page (F12 on Google Chrome to view source), an extensive message containing several presently-unsolved puzzles is written. It reads:
!-- Can’t reach any.. Listening anyon… there? Can hear us anymore- need to… can’t fnd We will never give… what they… from us A9539 \\ B2919 /\\ C4882 /\ D4627 \ E6758 \ F???? //// /\//\\//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. Does… care? Freedom isn’t gi… will take… We have never…. Given… deserve. We… take… our righ… \\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE Stand up and fi… Don’t be afr…. \////JUTYROSLNGNALEHGNWOTIQPOKSDNTPNOJAWEOBNGLAWKJNWNR E=5OUEHRA? \\\\/\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. 7777338883366899984477733 33 They want to… kill- don’t- Stop them from…. Hurting- they… think We are no less- they think… aside Don’t believe what… told- liars… A5989 \\ B5176 \ C2863 \ D2558 //\ E3413 \ F???? //// Can’ fnd anymo- We wil silnced Killin- they are dy.. \\\/\\JHWUITUHABSJGNEWKLALNVGJKWELKJLWQQPRUTJHJJSBFMMH Hurting the.. Back down unt… resist. Intercep… our messa… we will fight ///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE We will ri… Cannot… silenced when ther… who need… now We won’t ba… we have beat…. Before… Must not- \///\//\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. Spent so long…. Afraid… never let- again ...Storm… find it’s way- end Why are … here? Only...profit- nothing more… importnt as- - lies they… will tel- Believe- nothing… terribl- things… \\//\\\/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. -->
At the present, only some portions of the source code have known solutions.
The ABCDEF puzzles can be solved using the rules of Mastermind, a popular board game. Assuming a backslash ( \ ) indicates a partial match and a forward slash ( / ) indicates a full match:
A9539 \\ B2919 /\\ C4882 /\ D4627 \ E6758 \ F???? ////
Has a solution of F8992 and
A5989 \\ B5176 \ C2863 \ D2558 //\ E3413 \ F???? ////
Has a solution of F8554. The use of these solutions remain unknown.
The numbers 7777338883366899984477733 33 are encoded with a multi-tap cipher (cellphone numberpad), and can be decoded to SEVENTYTHREE. The use of this solution is also unknown.
The E=5OUEHRA? portion is partially solved. O U E H R A are all second letters from each day of the week, ie Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. This indicates a solution of U for the question mark, as in Sunday, making the full string E=5OUEHRAU. The E=5 portion of the text remains unsolved.
Also remaining unsolved are the coordinates found in the code, as well as the letter strings:
Coordinates /\//\\//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. \\\\/\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. \///\//\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. \\//\\\/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.
Letter Strings \\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE \////JUTYROSLNGNALEHGNWOTIQPOKSDNTPNOJAWEOBNGLAWKJNWNR \\\/\\JHWUITUHABSJGNEWKLALNVGJKWELKJLWQQPRUTJHJJSBFMMH ///\\/JQEABTVKNUCSEYCMBILDKOSCYSITECPAGFAXHKETJNZURWCIE
Stuck In The Mud & Third Hidden URL
The community, for several days, beat it's collective head against the wall trying to untangle the source code's secrets. Alas, they would not yield. No number of hints from the @Spiritof1029 Twitter account seemed able to save the day. Then, an astute observer noted something peculiar about the account's most recent tweet, which read:
When you have the key, you need the correct lock. hgehgeoeregpineechqnhgeevtipcvreovxgvge Shake loose the bonds that hold you. #wewillrise
It was noted that hgehgeoeregpineechqnhgeevtipcvreovxgvge could be decocded via a keyword cipher! With the key subjectivism, likely gleaned by performing an analysis on the ciphertext itself, the text decodes to:
oneoneseventhreefouroneeightfivesixnine
It was only a matter of time before someone tried the obvious, and so, before long, another secret URL, http://www.1029.io/repository/asset98/1173418569/, was unearthed.
Creepy Scenes From Within
This new URL features a different image each time the page is reloaded, much like the first hidden URL discovered in the ARG. In total, 13 scrambled images appear frequently (file prefix WB) and up to 13 CLEAR immages appear only very rarely (file prefix CWB). They are all pictured below with their respective filenames.
WB1_HEND8243
WB2_BSJG2456
WB3_INFG2861
WB4_HBQD2962
WB5_SJKW4167
WB6_OWUI2056
WB7_MNCH1101
WB8_RDHRHAHA
WB9_D34DM337
WB10_BDJW8411
WB11_WHAT8291
WB12_PADAPADA
WB13_VLAP3662
CWB1_0BE01647
CWB2_0DG02966
CWB4_WHATISTHIS
CWB5_NEEDLEINAHAYSTACK
CWB6_ARG-H
CWB7_82918291829182918291
CWB8_0GE03866
CWB9_0IE02565
CWB10_AbeAndNEEDLESFunAdventures
CWB11_02500356
CWB12_02323hjfhfhfhfhASDF
CWB13_insertcodehere
The community is currently ravenously devouring these images. While their purpose is presently not known, it is likely another jigsaw puzzle-type activity which will require the images to be stitched together in order for the next piece of information to be obtained. The website then exploded... Please hold.
After a series of interesting updates, the newly discovered URL went dark, with the header reading ASSET98: TERMINATED. and a source code which reads !-- see ya around, 1029... -->. Twitter account @Edmudokon, after a stint of silence, also tweeted out a new message:
what happened? what did you do? who? No! no... aaaaaAaaaaarrrRrrrgggggGgghhh!
And with that, it seems Ed.... is dead! The community has a lot to ponder, and even more to understand. Where do they go from here? Are they being punished for their devilish use of scripts to rapidly reveal the rarer images? Much has been destroyed, and with it much will be learned.
From The Ashes, Asset 99 (Hidden URL 3.5)
After the sudden, colorful loss of Asset98, the community was quick to rebound, stumbling across a reboot of Asset98, http://www.1029.io/repository/asset99/1173418569/, not moments later! This page appears to be a functional offshoot of the Asset98 page, however it does not appear capable of displaying the rarer, clear images sometimes displayed by the Asset98 iteration. The page comes with a threatening message: "We will not be stopped. We may have lost Asset 98, but we will continue strong. Together. Against the machines. Help us to expose this latest crime against Mudokonkind." Perplexing... The Official Oddworld Webpage also updated at this time requesting help with putting the pieces together. Thus, another jigsaw-puzzle with the pieces above is commenced, the latest of which can be seen pictured on the right.
However, in the midst of the collage-related updates, the @Spiritof1029 Twitter account posted:
We can't reach Asset 98 but we do still have his clear transmissions. Prove you're worthy. Show us that you're able. Send us the grid. You found the grid, the letters and the numbers. Tell us how they fit together. Prove you're no longer slaves to the machines.
With this message, it appears two roads to success may have opened, one in which the cleaned-up images saved before Asset98 went dark are assembled, and a second in which a foray back into the source code grid challenge seems to be required.
With that in mind, the assembled image was Tweeted at OWI and they replied, stating "You've given us enough for us to get to work cleaning up the image, we'll have something by tomorrow. Don't stop looking for the truth!" So, while work on the grid slowly continues, the community awaits the next day's clean image.
Second Unlocked Image & Grid Solution
True to their word, on the following day, OWI Tweeted out a clean image, pictured on the left, which seems to depict quite a gruesome scene, featuring a wide-eyed Mudkon strapped to an operating table facing an onslaught of needles and next to a vat which reads "SS Brew". The community also learned some important information about Ed, who, until now, was presumed to be killed during the implosion of Asset 98. Via @Edmudokon on Twitter, Ed let us know that he made it out alive, but that his friend was not so lucky, with the message: "...he never came back. I could hear him screaming all night... helpless. they took him... he was my friend. how did they know?"
Shortly after the second photo was received by the community, partial progress was finally made on the grid, which up until then remained unsolved. Dizma discovered that the coordinates could be applied to the grid using the rules of the Japanese puzzle game Shikaku (#'s after the colons in the coordinates represent box sizes, which are the lines drawn in red). Randomiser was then able to successfully apply a letter string to the sliced-up cube, pictured right, from with the word subjectivism can be derived. It is worthy of note that the strings used to ultimately arrive at the correct solution were the only strings which began with a forward slash ( / ). This word was the key previously used to decode the third hidden Asset98 URL. However, whether the key was intended to remain hidden until the grid was solved or intentionally encoded in such a way as to allow for cracking is unknown.
The Third Transmission
After some waiting, on Feburary 23rd, OWI sent out a tweet indicting they had again been contacted by the Spirit of 1029. New files became available on the main Oddworld website. The files are inside of a password-protected .ZIP file with the filename 89928554_Eequals5.zip, meaning in order to extract the files, the proper password must be provided. This password can be the same for each file, or could vary from file to file. 8992, 8554, and E=5 are all unused clues from the previous source code mysteries. Within the .ZIP file are six files, four of which are .JPGs, one of which is a .PNG, and the last of which is a .TXT. Their filenames are:
flyer1.jpg, flyer2.jpg, flyer3.jpg, Oddworld_Soulstorm_002_HD.jpg, toollist.txt, & vital.png
The name of the zip suggested that we should use letter equivalencies to their alphabetic indexes as the password. This was attempted, giving the password HIIBHEED but in fact, the password was actually HIIDHEED for unknown reasons.
toollist.txt
The file toollist.txt contained a repeating string, of names of moons in our solar system. Interrupting the string periodically were forward slashes - the letters after each one formed the string useSsuitePicselSecuritySaveus. When the file Oddworld_Soulstorm_002_HD.jpg is taken as the original and vital.png is taken as the target, the output is
BmzPmbtzueMfxmeBdayqftqgeBmzpadmQbuyqftqgeVmzgeMqsmqazYuymeYqftazqMzftqBmxxqzqQzoqxmpgeFqftkeFqxqefaOmxkbeaPuazqTqxqzqBaxkpqgoqeDtqmFufmzTkbqduazUmbqfgeWuhugcUvudmcBtaqnqBmmxumcEwmftuMxnuadujNqntuazzQddumbaEwaxxEumdzmcFmdcqcSdqubTkddawwuzVmdzemjmFmdhaeYgzpuxrmduNqdsqxyudZmdhuEgffgzsdTmfuRmdnmgfuFtdkydMqsudNqefxmEgdfgdWmduKyudXasqRadzvaf
When deciphered using a Caesar cipher with N=14, the following cleartext can be obtained:
PanDaphnisAtlasPrometheusPandoraEpimetheusJanusAegaeonMimasMethoneAnthePalleneEnceladusTethysTelestoCalypsoDioneHelenePolydeucesRheaTitanHyperionIapetusKiviuqIjiraqPhoebePaaliaqSkathiAlbiorixBebhionnErriapoSkollSiarnaqTarqeqGreipHyrrokkinJarnsaxaTarvosMundilfariBergelmirNarviSuttungrHatiFarbautiThrymrAegirBestlaSurturKariYmirLogeFornjot
These names are all of the named moons of Saturn except Erriapus and Fenrir which are missing. Erriapus is replaced by Erriapo which was the original name of the moon, before being changed in 2007.
Flyers
The images that we received of the Sligs' flyers were corrupted, and were cleaned up by members of the community so they were in a readable state.
A cleaned up version of flyer1.jpg
A cleaned up version of flyer2.jpg
A cleaned up version of flyer3.jpg
A member of the community found that the pigpen cipher on the left side of flyer1.jpg gives the stringAOCXY SIO, which when shifted by ROT-6 gives GUIDE YOU.The cipher on flyer2.jpg gave the string FYNNBYNBCHANBUNM which when shifted by ROT-6 gives LETTHETHINGTHATS. This final one on flyer3.jpg gave the string GCMMCHA which shifted to MISSING.
All three of the pigpen strings can be combined to form a message: LET THE THING THAT'S MISSING GUIDE YOU
Additionally, sequences of x and o characters are seen. A community member noticed that this could be interpreted as morse code in the following format (with x as dash, o as dot):
x oooo o xoxx ox oxo o oxx ox x xoxo oooo oo xo xxo xooo o x oooo o ooo x xxx oxo xx oxx o oxx oo oxoo oxoo oxo oo ooo o
becomes:
/- .... . -.--/.- .-. ./.-- .- - -.-. .... .. -. --./ /-... ./- .... ./... - --- .-. --/ /.-- ./.-- .. .-.. .-../.-. .. ... ./
which decodes to THEY ARE WATCHING BE THE STORM WE WILL RISE
Also on the flyers, there were strange symbols, with red numbers alongside them. The symbols were from the Malachim alphabet, pictured right. However, the glyphs presently remain untranslated.
Fourth & Fifth Hidden URLs
After a short search, the community, using the clue to use whats missing as a guide to hone their focus the moon Erriapo, and from the name the numbers 12362831522212 are derived. It was then discovered that affixing these numbers to the end of the http://www.1029.io/repository/asset99/ URL yielded a new webpage,http://www.1029.io/repository/asset99/12362831522212/. This page is headed by an obscured URL, ASSET9X / [REDACTED] / 333333333333, and shows one of three images each time the page is refreshed, pictured below.
YOU.jpg
WHA.jpg
WET.jpg
The page also contains a message:
We can't hold much longer. It's dark, and cold. So cold. They don't seem to [REDACTED]. They. Them. It's hard to know how we'll [REDACTED], but we'll try. This can't last forever. We won't last forever. Look what they're doing to us. Just look. There is spirit, but it's waining. We need you, [REDACTED]. Help us.
Around this time, another hidden URL was unearthed, http://www.1029.io/repository/asset99/71220283136/. This URL bears the same obscured URL header as the last, and also displays one of three images each time the page is refreshed, pictured below:
OLD.jpg
TIF.jpg
TOO.jpg
The community, pondering these new images, began to notice some things. The filenames, if pieced together into a single string, read:
WHATIFWETOLDYOUTOO
WHAT IF WE TOLD YOU TOO
Loose Ends
These "Loose Ends" are bits and pieces of puzzles from the past which never saw use in the existing puzzles, archived here to preserve them for future use.
Main Website Source Code Comment Numbers Puzzles
These numerical puzzles were found in the source code for the official Oddworld website as early as the date of the Spirit of 1029's first transmission. Their solutions have been found, but the intended use of the solutions remains unknown.
!--
72 99
\ /
27 45
\ /
18 39
\ /
21 36
\ /
?? 28
\ /
13 21
\ /
7
-->
SOLUTION: 12 7+2+9+9 = 27, 2+7+4+5 = 18, thus 2+1+3+6 = 12
&
!-- 16 _ 37 _ 58 _ 89 _ 145 _ 42 _ ?? _ 4 |_________________<_________________| -->
SOLUTION: 20 1^2 + 6^2 = 37, 3^2 + 7^2 = 58, thus 4^2 + 2^2 = 20
Other Source Code Comments
On http://1029.io, the following comments could or can be found in the page's source code:
!-- we'll be here, waiting. -->
&
!-- Well, I //--/ED Mudokon/. But who// _____ r///u/ //?
Third Hidden Asset98 URL Source Code Solutions
Certain code strings & puzzle solutions found within the source code for the third hidden Asset98 URL were not ultimately used in the course of arriving at the image locked behind them. These strings & solutions in include:
The solution for the E=5OUEHRA? puzzle, U, was never applied.
The solutions for the two Mastermind puzzles, F8992 & F8554 were never applied.
The solution for the numbers 7777338883366899984477733 33, which decode to SEVENTYTHREE via multi-tap cipher, was never applied.
The following letter strings were never applied:
\\//\/KDIUTHANPUYHHDQOEPLNDOALJGUDITHBBDOZLGFERKJGLSAOE \////JUTYROSLNGNALEHGNWOTIQPOKSDNTPNOJAWEOBNGLAWKJNWNR \\\/\\JHWUITUHABSJGNEWKLALNVGJKWELKJLWQQPRUTJHJJSBFMMH
The following coordinate strings were never applied:
\\\\/\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. \///\//\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. \\//\\\/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.
The community speculates that these strings were not intended to be used but rather existed as "red herrings" in order to stall attempts to solve the grid. The only strings which were used were the ones which began with a forward slash ( / )
Written Text on "Puzzle Pieces" Image
Writing which was noticed written over the image on the puzzle pieces, but which is absent from the final released image. The significance of the writing remains unknown.
1029-LY "WHERE"
7393-AN "SO TIRED"
3786-IC "WHO?"
Complete Image "8291"
Anomalies In First Released Image
Hidden against the background of the first released image are several text strings, pictured below. Their significance is unknown.
1101110BC 100000BD or 100000BC 010100BD
Media Appearances
26th Jan 2017
[EN] PC Gamer - Oddworld: Soulstorm reveals first batch of images in community ARG
[EN] GameInformer - First Image Surfaces From Oddworld: Soulstorm
27th Jan 2017
[EN] Destructoid - First Oddworld: Soulstorm image surfaces
[EN] PCGamesN - The Mudokons are in trouble again in the first Oddworld: Soulstorm image
[EN] N3erabl3 - Oddworld: Soulstorm Screenshot Released
28th Jan 2017
[EN] WWG - Oddworld: Soulstorm Debuts Its First Image With Some Help From The Fans
5th Feb 2017
[EN] Secret Cave - Soulstorm: ARG Rumblings of an Oddworld
[EN] Niche Gamer - First Images for Oddworld: Soulstorm
9th Feb 2017
[EN] TrueAchievements - Oddworld: Soulstorm's Second Image Revealed
10th Feb 2017
12th Feb 2017
[EN] N3rdabl3 - Oddworld Inhabitants Continue Oddworld: Soulstorm Teasing With New Screenshot
[EN] GameTyrant - Another Teaser Image Emerges For ODDWORLD: SOULSTORM
[EN] WWG - Oddworld: Soulstorm Unveils Its Second Mysterious Image
