Solutions
Last updated
Last updated
Quest #5 finds players needing to make a plan to break into Cold Storage, but first, they must find where it is and what to expect when they get there.
During the Quest, participants did the following:
Used blackmarket profile data on Mason from Silent to determine the identity of the Cammer, BadGlitch, whom he frequently connects with on OnlyCams
With the node address in hand, and knowing who designed the fortress located there, questers are challenged to win Selena Nebulous’ latest Quest “CacheQuest” to have a shot at viewing the blueprints
Questers entered a 16-bit map, where they raced to figure out how to retrieve 3 components orbs and unlock the blueprints
With the node address and blueprints in hand, questers develop 3 unique plans to infiltrate the fortress and vote on which will be the best course of action
Finding BlackMarket Profile Data
Questers start off looking to find info on the location of Mason from Silent. The Moderator is able to help out after scouring the BlackMarket where they find a data dump of profile information, some of which includes Mason from Silent under the username BigVector on OnlyCams. All that they are able to extract from his profile is that he has frequent connections with another user called BadGlitch, and a list of profiles he rejected during his initial account matching.
Questers are given an OnlyCams profile based on the CyberBroker they connect to the power-eleven OS (https://os.power-eleven.net/). This profile is a Cammer that Mason from Silent dismissed for not being to his liking for a specific trait. The key to discovering what trait wasn’t to his liking was within the services they provided and using the rate for each as an index value. Using the example above you can extract the word TOPS.
Identifying the top that RNGspot is wearing, Saucy, in this case, means that Mason from Silent will reject all Cammers with this attribute. Completing this task for all remaining profiles results in the trait list below.
Only one Cammer does not contain any of the listed traits that Mason from Silent rejected and that is Stockpile Quotidian. This Cammer has Mason as one of her clients and is able to help the team acquire the node address for Cold Storage.
Cache Quest
With the node address in hand, questers get it scanned to learn that there is a unique fortress built within the node that was designed by Selena Nebulous. In order to get a peek at the blueprint for the fortress design, first, they must beat the latest Quest she designed for Fukutsu Manufacturing. Questers trying to jump to the node early are met with an error message at https://node.fukutsu.xyz/
Once the Quest went live, the CyberBrokers Instagram reveals questers need to go to a specific parcel within the node at https://node.fukutsu.xyz/CacheQuest/. It is here that questers must figure out how to retrieve the three mecha leg component orbs within the retro 16-bit universe as Spice, Zinc, or Soleia to win.
Cache Quest Shock Absorber
Questers are led into a factory with utility corridors and a network of valves and pipes along the wall. A riddle is found at the end of the hallways.
This riddle is hinting that the puzzle resides in the pipes throughout the hallways and that finding a method to change its course will be the solution. Counting the number of connection rings between each main valve wheel and converting it to its associated letter using a=1/z=26 (blue for letter break, red for word break), questers get the solution below.
Entering the phrase MAKE AN ELECTROMAGNET when attempting to retrieve an orb will unlock the Shock Absorber Orb.
Cache Quest Armor Plating
Questers are led into sewers filled with empty drums and water spots covering the floor. In the very center next to a console, they find the next riddle.
Here, questers can walk around the map to find empty drums that when inspected reveal a hazard label that faces North, South, East, or West. Walking exactly in the direction indicated will lead them to a new drum with a new hazard label, making a complete loop. Along the loop path, there are occasional water spots that are directly walked over. Interacting with the water spots reveals a combination of drip and drop, which can be converted into morse code (drip drop = dot dash = A) and reveal the letters when starting along the green path shown below.
Entering the phrase COUNT COMPASS DRUMS when attempting to retrieve an orb will unlock the Armor Plating Orb.
Cache Quest Servo Motor
Questers walk around the upper city to eventually find the riddle.
Questers can find that there are fake walls hiding secret rooms throughout the city. Behind these walls are buttons that when interacted with emit buzzing noises.
These buzzes are always of the same format, 5 total, with each being a “b” followed by four “z”’s of varying upper and lower case. These buzzes can be stacked into a 5x5 square to reveal a letter hidden among the uppercase Zs. For example:
bZZZz bZzzZ bZZZz bZzzZ bZzzZ
Converts to:
Which gives the letter R.
To determine the order in which to read the letters when walking around the city, questers must seek out Tacobot the Cool Cat, who is willing to offer help.
Entering the phrase REACH THROUGH POSTER when attempting to retrieve an orb will unlock the Servo Motor Orb.
Making a Plan
Winning the CacheQuest gives questers access to the ShaDAO compound blueprints. Logging into https://os.power-eleven.net/ gives them a piece for either Spice, Zinc, or Soleia. There are 3 copies for each of them to solve. Each blueprint consists of 24 words along the edge, 12 numbered images in the center, and quite a few symbols scattered throughout.
Each blueprint can be solved by the same “Before & After” compound word mechanics (popularized by Wheel of Fortune) as hinted by it being “Compound” blueprints. Each blueprint gives a unique name of each operation by Spice, Zinc, and Soleia. As an example, the first blueprint has an image of a FLOWER marked with the number 1. Questers need to solve the Before & After puzzle by drawing a line between two dots along the edge where the linking word is the word represented by the image. Continuing to use FLOWER as an example, would draw a line between WALL and BED to read as WALL FLOWER BED (Wall Flower & Flower Bed). With the correct link, the drawn line will pass through exactly one symbol which is a pig pen cipher. Decoding the symbol using a pig pen decoder will give 1 letter.
Completing all Before & After links on all 3 blueprints then extracting the pig pen letters indicated will result in the final solutions below.
Giving the 3 operations as Soleia: Operation Party Crasher, Spice: Operation Key to the Keep and Zinc: Operation Bring the Boom. This unlocks a live pitch of the 3 operations through the commlink at https://os.power-eleven.net/ which ends with allowing the community to vote on which operation to move forward with.
