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Gantic

11,891 posts

King

Posted November 12, '14 11:39pm UTC

A message arrived in the night for the citizens of Armor Games.

URYYB, SRYYBJ NEZBE TNZREF, ZL ANZR VF ZNKJRYY. V PNAABG CEBIR VG, IHG JR NER NYY VA QNATEE. V ORYVRIR GUR CYNA RNF FRG VAGB ZBGVBA VA YFGR NCEVY. GUR TRNGF BS GUR ZNPUVAR NER NYEJNQL GHEAVAT. VG VF LBB YNGR GB QB NALGVAT GB FGBC VG. V PNAABG TVI LBH NAL ZBER QRENVYF HAGVY JR ZRRG VA CREFBA. GURER BF ABGUVAT JR PNA SB SBE ABJ. V UNI CERCNERQ ZLFRYS SVE GUR VZZVARAG QNYY NAQ V UBCR GUNG LBH JHYY NF JRYY. FGNL FNSR NAQ XRRC LBHR JVGF NOHG LBH. V JVYY PBAGNPG LBH NTNVA FBBZ.
--ANKJRYY, CAR NS ZNZL

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5 Replies

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Gantic

11,891 posts

King

Posted November 13, '14 1:57am UTC

R2D21999: F-I-B-B-Y G-I-B-B-Y-Q??? I didn't know any words known as Gibbyq.

While initial attempts to break the coded message did not work, it did not take long for Armor Games to decode the message.

blk2860: Solved![1]

Hello, fellow Armor Gamers, my name is Maxwell. I cannot prove it, vut we are all in dangrr. I believe the plan eas set into motion in lste April. The geats of the machine are alrwady turning. It is yoo late to do anyting to stop it. I cannot giv you any more derails until we meet in person. There os nothing we can fo for now. I hav prepared myself fir the imminent dall and I hope that you wull as well. Stay safe and keep youe wits abut you. I will contact you again soom.
--Naxwell, pne af mamy

It was a simple ROT13 or a Caesarian shift by thirteen, but something was odd.

Clancy12: That can't be right! There's too many typos!...unless he had a reason....

And a reason there was:

Hello, fellow Armor Gamers, my name is Maxwell. I cannot prove it, but we are all in danger. I believe the plan was set into motion in late April. The gears of the machine are already turning. It is too late to do anything to stop it. I cannot give you any more details until we meet in person. There is nothing we can do for now. I have prepared myself for the imminent fall and I hope that you will as well. Stay safe and keep your wits about you. I will contact you again soon.
--Maxwell, one of many

Clancy12: If you write down the letters that should go where the errors are you are left with bewarethetideofironmoon or beware the tide of iron moon!

StormWalker: For some reason, the idea of an iron moon makes me think of Lovecraft. Iron moon... Iron moon... OMG! This message was broadcast over the Numbers Station![2]
_____
Footnotes:
[1] It was solved simultaneously by several users, the first of whom was blk2860.
[2] Probably did not happen in this manner. The account may have been dramatized.

[b]R2D21999:[/b] F-I-B-B-Y G-I-B-B-Y-Q??? I didn't know any words known as Gibbyq.

While initial attempts to break the coded message did not work, it did not take long for Armor Games to decode the message.

[b]blk2860:[/b] Solved![1]
[quote]Hello, fellow Armor Gamers, my name is Maxwell. I cannot prove it, vut we are all in dangrr.  I believe the plan eas set into motion in lste April. The geats of the machine are alrwady turning. It is yoo late to do anyting to stop it. I cannot giv you any more derails until we meet in person. There os nothing we can fo for now. I hav prepared myself fir the imminent dall and I hope that you wull as well. Stay safe and keep youe wits abut you. I will contact you again soom.
--Naxwell, pne af mamy[/quote]

It was a simple ROT13 or a Caesarian shift by thirteen, but something was odd.

[b]Clancy12:[/b] That can't be right! There's too many typos!...unless he had a reason....

And a reason there was:
[quote]Hello, fellow Armor Gamers, my name is Maxwell. I cannot prove it, [b]b[/b]ut we are all in dang[b]e[/b]r.  I believe the plan [b]w[/b]as set into motion in l[b]a[/b]te April. The gea[b]r[/b]s of the machine are alr[b]e[/b]ady turning. It is [b]t[/b]oo late to do anyt[b]h[/b]ing to stop it. I cannot giv[b]e[/b] you any more de[b]t[/b]ails until we meet in person. There [b]i[/b]s nothing we can [b]d[/b]o for now. I hav[b]e[/b] prepared myself f[b]o[/b]r the imminent [b]f[/b]all and I hope that you w[b]i[/b]ll as well. Stay safe and keep you[b]r[/b] wits ab[b]o[/b]ut you. I will contact you again soo[b]n[/b].
--[b]M[/b]axwell, [b]o[/b]ne [b]o[/b]f ma[b]n[/b]y[/quote]

[b]Clancy12:[/b] If you write down the letters that should go where the errors are you are left with [i]bewarethetideofironmoon[/i] or [i]beware the tide of iron moon[/i]!

[b]StormWalker:[/b] For some reason, the idea of an iron moon makes me think of Lovecraft. Iron moon... Iron moon... OMG! This message was broadcast over the Numbers Station![2]
_____
[b]Footnotes:[/b]
[b][1][/b] It was solved simultaneously by several users, the first of whom was blk2860.
[b][2][/b] Probably did not happen in this manner. The account [i]may[/i] have been dramatized.

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Gantic

11,891 posts

King

Posted November 13, '14 2:11am UTC Edited November 14, '14 11:05pm UTC by Gantic

Something strange was happening all over Armor Games.

()_() Gantic has taken over this sector.
(-ò_ó) Long live the Rabbit King!
o(")_(") Great is the White One!

Was this the tide? Was this Bunny World Domination?!

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Gantic

11,891 posts

King

Posted November 14, '14 11:03pm UTC Edited November 15, '14 4:19am UTC by Gantic

You pick up your daily newspaper and flip straight to the games section, because that's what everyone does, completely ignoring the the front page headline:

GANTIC DECLARES HIMSELF EMPEROR OF ARMOR GAMES
Imprisons Other Mods on Iron Moon

but something was odd about today's edition.[3]

Unlike a regular Sudoku, this one used letters instead of numbers.

Patrick2011: When an extra A and K are added, the letters can be used to form BLACKMARKET.
_____
Footnotes:
[3] Aside from the front page, but nobody in the 13 - 18 demographic reads the paper for the news.

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Gantic

11,891 posts

King

Posted November 25, '14 8:17pm UTC Edited November 26, '14 1:36am UTC by Gantic

After ten days, the crossword was finally solved with a team-up of blk2860, Clancy12, and MattEmAngel.

MattEmAngel: I've almost solved the crossword. So far, the letters, top to bottom, are I_R__TTEE_NUHTED_.
blk2860: 27 is Oui, 26 is kgs. Making 33 GUI which sounds like Gooey, and is also a computer term, hence the hint. 54 is Nyet.
Clancy12: 1 across is puzzling and I think, 4 down is zeolites. Also 50 down is ingot. That just leaves 2 blank yellow spots.
blk2860: 63 is anecdotist, and 59 is MIB.
MattEmAngel: 65. is tea table, which confirms 60, ESL = English as a Second Language, and 61, Joan of Arc was a saint, abbreviated to ste. Also 39 is Chordata. 42 is I guess a vocal of the clue. That's what a laugh sounds like apparently. 24 and 35 are definitely not right.
Clancy12: What do you see wrong with 24 and 35? When I was working on the crossword I got "adnexa" for 29 instead of "addons". I didn't think much of it until now but that allows for 42 to be "hehe" and 50 across to be "IRAs", both of which work with Chordata.

The few remaining squares eluded them until a white hot bolt of inspiration kicked them in the head.

MattEmAngel: Which child are you of...? Which child are you of GODS? That doesn't sound right. Which child are you of.... ... It's GAIA! That was from one of Gantic's "Who Are You My Dinosaur"!

♫Are you Hadro? Are you Maia?
Which child are you of Gaia?♫

Of course, well-timed observations didn't hurt either.

silver199: Am I the only one who noticed: GANTIC ... Imprisons Other Mods on Iron Moon
MattEmAngel: *facepalm* IRON MOON!! Of course. "Moon material" is iron. 20 is ELDRITCH. 3. may be ZIM. And 19 is probably LAY. Let me know if you figure it out.
Clancy12: 3-D is ZPM.
MattEmAngel: 13-A is SUPERGRASS.
Clancy12: Yeah and 10D is Bart. We have the whole thing solved except for 19A.
MattEmAngel: The fact that "Power lines?" ends in a question mark means it is a play on words. Lines can refer to dialogue. It is absolutely not physical power lines that carry electricity. The only obvious word is "LAY" but I haven't found a connection.
Random Stranger: 19-A is LEY. You know, like ley lines. That New Age supernatural geomancy fairy voodoo with supposed spiritual power and mystical energies?

Random strangers didn't hurt either.

The highlighted squares contained the letters "ADEEEEHHINORTTTTU", but what did they mean?

Random Stranger: Have you guys seen outside? The rabbits are aplenty.[4]

_____
Footnotes:
[4] Obviously, this stranger wasn't very random.

After ten days, the crossword was finally solved with a team-up of blk2860, Clancy12, and MattEmAngel.

[b]MattEmAngel:[/b] I've almost solved the crossword. So far, the letters, top to bottom, are I_R__TTEE_NUHTED_.
[b]blk2860:[/b] 27 is Oui, 26 is kgs. Making 33 GUI which sounds like Gooey, and is also a computer term, hence the hint. 54 is Nyet.
[b]Clancy12:[/b] 1 across is puzzling and I think, 4 down is zeolites. Also 50 down is ingot. That just leaves 2 blank yellow spots.
[b]blk2860:[/b] 63 is anecdotist, and 59 is MIB.
[b]MattEmAngel:[/b] 65. is tea table, which confirms 60, ESL = English as a Second Language, and 61, Joan of Arc was a saint, abbreviated to ste. Also 39 is Chordata. 42 is I guess a vocal of the clue. That's what a laugh sounds like apparently. 24 and 35 are definitely not right. 
[b]Clancy12:[/b] What do you see wrong with 24 and 35? When I was working on the crossword I got "adnexa" for 29 instead of "addons". I didn't think much of it until now but that allows for 42 to be "hehe" and 50 across to be "IRAs", both of which work with Chordata.

The few remaining squares eluded them until a white hot bolt of inspiration kicked them in the head.

[b]MattEmAngel:[/b] Which child are you of...? Which child are you of GODS? That doesn't sound right. Which child are you of.... ... It's GAIA! That was from one of Gantic's "Who Are You My Dinosaur"!

♫[i]Are you Hadro? Are you Maia?
Which child are you of Gaia?[/i]♫

Of course, well-timed observations didn't hurt either.

[b]silver199:[/b] Am I the only one who noticed: GANTIC ... [b]Imprisons Other Mods on Iron Moon[/b]
[b]MattEmAngel:[/b] *facepalm* IRON MOON!! Of course. "Moon material" is iron. 20 is ELDRITCH. 3. may be ZIM. And 19 is probably LAY. Let me know if you figure it out.
[b]Clancy12:[/b] 3-D is ZPM.
[b]MattEmAngel:[/b] 13-A is SUPERGRASS.
[b]Clancy12:[/b] Yeah and 10D is Bart. We have the whole thing solved except for 19A.
[b]MattEmAngel:[/b] The fact that "Power lines?" ends in a question mark means it is a play on words. Lines can refer to dialogue. It is absolutely not physical power lines that carry electricity. The only obvious word is "LAY" but I haven't found a connection.
[b]Random Stranger:[/b] 19-A is LEY. You know, like ley lines. That New Age supernatural geomancy fairy voodoo with supposed spiritual power and mystical energies?

Random strangers didn't hurt either.

The highlighted squares contained the letters "ADEEEEHHINORTTTTU", but what did they mean?

[b]Random Stranger:[/b] Have you guys seen outside? [i]The rabbits are aplenty.[/i][4]

_____
[b]Footnotes:
[4][/b] Obviously, this stranger wasn't very random.

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Gantic

11,891 posts

King

Posted November 29, '14 4:59am UTC

Unfortunately, Gantic succeeded in his takeover and defeated the resistance before it could get any sort of footing. The mods were imprisoned forever and ever, but life wasn't so bad. Cute, fluffy bunnies everywhere!

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