Difference between revisions of "THE VAULT"

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(Added to "Spread the news Riddle"; Moved some info from "GPS Coordinates" to "Volunteer Center Message")
(Fixed "001 DocLetter Packet" and added "Recipes" and "Path of the Roman Maze")
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</pre>
 
</pre>
  
The GPS coordinates in the image corresponded to FedEx Offices around the United States. Heroes retrieved online print orders under "Mayor Doc" from the FedEx Offices.  
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The 23 GPS coordinates in the image corresponded to FedEx Offices around the United States. Heroes retrieved online print orders under "Mayor Doc" from the FedEx Offices.  
  
 
=== Volunteer Center Message ===
 
=== Volunteer Center Message ===
Line 49: Line 49:
 
Say you’re there for Mayor Doc. Zoom! Express yourself!
 
Say you’re there for Mayor Doc. Zoom! Express yourself!
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
Each location contained nearly identical campaign materials. Each were labeled with a unique Volunteer Center number. Heroes retrieved 10 of the packets and were able to call the remaining FedEx Office locations, asking them to read off the numbers. The Volunteer Center numbers, when assembled in the order of the GPS coordinates, spelled out the following list of numbers and letters:
+
Each location contained nearly identical campaign materials. Each were labeled with a unique Volunteer Center number. Heroes retrieved 10 of the packets and were able to call the remaining FedEx Offices, asking them to read off the numbers. The Volunteer Center numbers, when assembled in the order of the GPS coordinates, spelled out the following list of numbers and letters:
 
<code>H1!441ND7431NV174710NF1ND443431PPL34S3!</code>
 
<code>H1!441ND7431NV174710NF1ND443431PPL34S3!</code>
  
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/docs________
 
/docs________
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
"You must append the path below" referred to adding a path to the URL of the Vote for Doc website using the "/docs_______" and "a card for friends" (also known as an "invitation"). Therefore, the players found: https://votefordoc.com/docsinvitation which contains [https://youtu.be/kdGIZPIKSos a video from Doc].
+
"You must append the path below" referred to adding a path to the URL of the Vote for Doc website using the "/docs_______" and "a card for friends" (also known as an "invitation"). Therefore, the Heroes found: https://votefordoc.com/docsinvitation which contains [https://youtu.be/kdGIZPIKSos a video from Doc].
 +
 
 +
'''Note:''' As of Nov. 20, 2018, the FedEx locations moved to https://votefordoc.com/invitation.
  
 
The Doc’s Invitation video is a reference to Anorak’s Invitation video from ''Ready Player One''.
 
The Doc’s Invitation video is a reference to Anorak’s Invitation video from ''Ready Player One''.
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Context: We are told in both Doc’s Invitation video and on the Vote for Doc site that he needs 100,000,000 votes in order to win the election for Galactic Mayor. There is a voting button that serves as Doc’s vote counter on the Vote for Doc site.
 
Context: We are told in both Doc’s Invitation video and on the Vote for Doc site that he needs 100,000,000 votes in order to win the election for Galactic Mayor. There is a voting button that serves as Doc’s vote counter on the Vote for Doc site.
  
=== Four ===
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=== 001 DocLetter Packet ===
 
+
On Nov. 06, 2018, the Heroes received another transmission from Doc, announcing 28 new FedEx Office locations and more materials at all locations. The new locations were notified to not reveal information over the phone. The transmission was:
Clue: 001 DocLetter Packet
 
 
 
We received another transmission from Doc on Tuesday (11/6). Once again telling us to go back to all the new and old Fedex locations to retrieve MORE materials. This time Stash has learned to notify the Fedexes to not tell information over the phones.
 
 
 
 
<pre>
 
<pre>
 
Hello once again Earthlings! It's your favorite space doctor and pirate, back again. It's Doc! ARG!  
 
Hello once again Earthlings! It's your favorite space doctor and pirate, back again. It's Doc! ARG!  
Line 91: Line 89:
 
https://votefordoc.com/
 
https://votefordoc.com/
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
 +
'''Note:''' As of Nov. 20, 2018, the FedEx locations moved to https://votefordoc.com/campaignoffices.
  
Note: Now the campaign listings have been moved to https://votefordoc.com/campaignoffices.
+
The Heroes collected 38 out of the 52 packets. The 001 DocLetter packet contained 3 pages. Each packet contained a unique recipe for “Fungus Pulmenti Turtur” on page 2 and one of the four levels of a Roman Maze on page 3.
  
SOLUTION: It was a lot of collecting information in order to solve Clue: Recipes. We were able to backsolve some of it, which means that we do not need to gather any more of these packets.
+
=== Recipes ===
 +
The main differences are the ingredient values and the 4th step being “Cook” or “Coquere”.
 +
We were able to backsolve some of it, which means that we do not need to gather any more of these packets.
 
Scanned 001 DocLetter packet of each retrieved location: [FOLDER]  
 
Scanned 001 DocLetter packet of each retrieved location: [FOLDER]  
 
Context: Each 001 DocLetter packet from each FedEx location has a different recipe for “Fungus Pulmenti Turtur” on page 2. The main differences are the ingredient values and the 4th step being “Cook” or “Coquere”.
 
 
Status: SOLVED
 
  
 
SOLUTION: @MaToMaStEr found that the recipe matches with the numbers found in the Roman Maze path when removing the binaries (See Clue: Path of the Roman Maze). You get the same numbers, when you plug the ingredient amounts to the following equation:
 
SOLUTION: @MaToMaStEr found that the recipe matches with the numbers found in the Roman Maze path when removing the binaries (See Clue: Path of the Roman Maze). You get the same numbers, when you plug the ingredient amounts to the following equation:
Line 110: Line 107:
 
You can also compare the English/Latin word of “Cook”/”Coquere” on the 4th step of the recipe with how the number is expressed in the Roman Maze path (either in decimal or roman numerals). Assuming that English=Decimal and Latin=Roman numeral, these following locations don’t match.
 
You can also compare the English/Latin word of “Cook”/”Coquere” on the 4th step of the recipe with how the number is expressed in the Roman Maze path (either in decimal or roman numerals). Assuming that English=Decimal and Latin=Roman numeral, these following locations don’t match.
  
=== Four ===
+
=== Path of the Roman Maze ===
 
 
Clue: Path of the Roman Maze
 
 
 
 
Context: Each 001 DocLetter packet from each FedEx location has one floor (out of four) of a Roman Maze on page 3.
 
Context: Each 001 DocLetter packet from each FedEx location has one floor (out of four) of a Roman Maze on page 3.
  

Revision as of 06:17, 1 December 2018

THE VAULT
Active since 2018-10-31
THE VAULT logo.png
Doc created a game ... The first hero to beat it will get to loot his private VAULT valued at $10,000 real dollars. 10,000 BONES. 10,000 BIG BOIS.
Creator Stash
Discovered 2018-10-31

Main Page > List of Investigations > THE VAULT

The Vault is an online Alternate Reality Game involving code-breaking, real-world exploration, cryptography, and collaboration among solvers. It involves a fictional cast of characters, including the villainous Doc and helpful Dampé. The game began on October 31, 2018 and gameplay has centered around the discord server located here: https://discord.gg/vault. Stash, the creator of the ARG, is an active participant in the Discord Chat and occasionally posts hints, clues, feedback to direct the fellowship.

The first Vault ran from late 2017-spring 2018 and awarded a $5,000 grand prize to the person that solved the final puzzle.

Plot

Our friend Dampé needs our help. His ship was attacked and crashed into the surface of Io, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon. We need to land and investigate, but the moon is enveloped by a force shield created by our nemesis Doc. Doc is currently campaigning to be Galactic Mayor and is attempting to rig the election by getting 100,000,000 votes. The number of votes is tied to lowering the shield.

More detailed information regarding progress to date can be found at the working summary here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mZMp7aTngtYUYOCtBX4riEagNnRAaR9T1e4NQHMjkOE/edit#

We will continue to try to port over as much information as possible from that master document to this site as time allows. For now, please review the summary above and join the discord serve to participate.

Riddles

Chapter One

GPS Coordinates

On Oct. 31, 2018, the Heroes received the following transmission from Doc in Discord, announcing his campaign for Galactic Mayor:

VAULT GPS coordinates.png
Greetings Earthlings... I am Doc! Yes, yes. The one and only. The time has come to campaign for me for Galactic Mayor in the upcoming election. I know you’re eager to work your tail off. So let’s get to work. Get out there and grab your campaign materials… Say you're there for "Mayor Doc"!
Vote for doc. All for one.

The 23 GPS coordinates in the image corresponded to FedEx Offices around the United States. Heroes retrieved online print orders under "Mayor Doc" from the FedEx Offices.

Volunteer Center Message

The campaign materials contained two pages with four clues: (1) the Vote for Doc campaign website, (2) the volunteer center number, (3) a phone number on the envelope of the print order, and (4) the "Spread the news" riddle.

The Vote for Doc website included the same list of FedEx Office locations, corresponding to the GPS coordinates in the transmission image, but with the addition of a FedEx Office in Bellevue, WA. The website included the following message:

GOT DOC FEVER? VOLUNTEER TODAY!
Zip on over to your nearest Satellite Office (🛰🏢), for your Vote For Doc campaign materials.
Say you’re there for Mayor Doc. Zoom! Express yourself!

Each location contained nearly identical campaign materials. Each were labeled with a unique Volunteer Center number. Heroes retrieved 10 of the packets and were able to call the remaining FedEx Offices, asking them to read off the numbers. The Volunteer Center numbers, when assembled in the order of the GPS coordinates, spelled out the following list of numbers and letters: H1!441ND7431NV174710NF1ND443431PPL34S3!

Translated as leetspeak, the clue read: "Hi! Mind the invitation, find me help please!"

"Spread the news" Riddle

The campaign materials also included the following riddle:

Spread the news--tell your friends!
Electing Doc is your ultimate end?
But to play, you must append
The path below with a card for friends.

/docs________

"You must append the path below" referred to adding a path to the URL of the Vote for Doc website using the "/docs_______" and "a card for friends" (also known as an "invitation"). Therefore, the Heroes found: https://votefordoc.com/docsinvitation which contains a video from Doc.

Note: As of Nov. 20, 2018, the FedEx locations moved to https://votefordoc.com/invitation.

The Doc’s Invitation video is a reference to Anorak’s Invitation video from Ready Player One.

Three

Clue: 100,000,000 votes

Context: We are told in both Doc’s Invitation video and on the Vote for Doc site that he needs 100,000,000 votes in order to win the election for Galactic Mayor. There is a voting button that serves as Doc’s vote counter on the Vote for Doc site.

001 DocLetter Packet

On Nov. 06, 2018, the Heroes received another transmission from Doc, announcing 28 new FedEx Office locations and more materials at all locations. The new locations were notified to not reveal information over the phone. The transmission was:

Hello once again Earthlings! It's your favorite space doctor and pirate, back again. It's Doc! ARG! 

Your elections may end today, but mine's just getting cranking. The treacle-like outpouring of support has been...treacle-like. But I really love the dedication of the group massing outside the Io shield. I can hear you chanting! DOC! DOC! DOC!

I've sent out :new: campaign materials for you. Get out there my campaign heroes, and get me votes from anyone who cares about the galaxy! DOC! DOC! DOC! Details on my super site.

Vote for Doc. All for one.

https://votefordoc.com/

Note: As of Nov. 20, 2018, the FedEx locations moved to https://votefordoc.com/campaignoffices.

The Heroes collected 38 out of the 52 packets. The 001 DocLetter packet contained 3 pages. Each packet contained a unique recipe for “Fungus Pulmenti Turtur” on page 2 and one of the four levels of a Roman Maze on page 3.

Recipes

The main differences are the ingredient values and the 4th step being “Cook” or “Coquere”. We were able to backsolve some of it, which means that we do not need to gather any more of these packets. Scanned 001 DocLetter packet of each retrieved location: [FOLDER]

SOLUTION: @MaToMaStEr found that the recipe matches with the numbers found in the Roman Maze path when removing the binaries (See Clue: Path of the Roman Maze). You get the same numbers, when you plug the ingredient amounts to the following equation: Value = T + W - M + B + D/2 + L Value = W + B + L + 1 (from the relation between T, M and D, discovered by @dvorak42: Mushroom is always double Turtle, and Dionaea is always 2 more than Mushroom) This is using the facts that “Trim your mushrooms” means to subtract the mushroom amount and “Halve your buds” means to divide buds by two.

Spreadsheet version of the recipe values by @MaToMaStEr: [SPREADSHEET]

You can also compare the English/Latin word of “Cook”/”Coquere” on the 4th step of the recipe with how the number is expressed in the Roman Maze path (either in decimal or roman numerals). Assuming that English=Decimal and Latin=Roman numeral, these following locations don’t match.

Path of the Roman Maze

Context: Each 001 DocLetter packet from each FedEx location has one floor (out of four) of a Roman Maze on page 3.

Status: SOLVED by @Ricimon and @dvorak42

SOLUTION: By stacking each floor of the Roman Maze on top of each other as implied by the icon on the top right corner of page 3. We can see the they are connected by the up and down staircases. We found the path that goes from the Entrance on Floor 1 (bottom) to the Exit on Floor 4 (top). It contains a mixture of binary, decimal, and roman numerals. Manipulation of the paths are detailed in Clue: Dampé Webmaster and Clue: bless_up Maze.

Digital version of the maze in a spreadsheet made by @aleina1313: [SPREADSHEET]

The path reads (from Bottom to Top):

1000111CXLVII0010CLIII0110CCLXXVI0101CCVIII0110LXXVIII1101620110LXXXVI0101CX01101691101CDLXXIV0110DXXXII00101210110CXXIII0101CLX01111690010CDLXXIV0101DXX1111CXVIII0111LXXVII0011LXVII0110LXXXII10001240110CIII0001CDXL01113510010LXXIV0110CCXL1001DCCCXLVII0110CLVII1110LXXXI0110660111LXXXVIII0101LXXVIII1111770110XCIII1001CXIX01111060011750101LXXXIX1111CXII0110CXLII0011XCVI0110LXXVII0001900111CXXVII0010LXXVIII0110LXXVIII10011340110LXXIX1110LXIX0110LXXIX0111

Formatted with spaces:

100 0111 CXLVII 0010 CLIII 0110 CCLXXVI 0101 CCVIII 0110 LXXVIII 1101 62 0110 LXXXVI 0101 CX 0110 169 1101 CDLXXIV 0110 DXXXII 0010 121 0110 CXXIII 0101 CLX 0111 169 0010 CDLXXIV 0101 DXX 1111 CXVIII 0111 LXXVII 0011 LXVII 0110 LXXXII 1000 124 0110 CIII 0001 CDXL 0111 351 0010 LXXIV 0110 CCXL 1001 DCCCXLVII 0110 CLVII 1110 LXXXI 0110 66 0111 LXXXVIII 0101 LXXVIII 1111 77 0110 XCIII 1001 CXIX 0111 106 0011 75 0101 LXXXIX 1111 CXII 0110 CXLII 0011 XCVI 0110 LXXVII 0001 90 0111 CXXVII 0010 LXXVIII 0110 LXXVIII 1001 134 0110 LXXIX 1110 LXIX 0110 LXXIX 0111

If you just take out the binary:

0111 0010 0110 0101 0110 1101 0110 0101 0110 1101 0110 0010 0110 0101 0111 0010 0101 1111 0111 0011 0110 1000 0110 0001 0111 0010 0110 1001 0110 1110 0110 0111 0101 1111 0110 1001 0111 0011 0101 1111 0110 0011 0110 0001 0111 0010 0110 1001 0110 1110 0110 0111

Which translates to (from 8bit to ascii using https://www.dcode.fr/ascii-code):

remember_sharing_is_caring

[STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

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