Posted January 18, 2017
high rated
More than a year has passed and it's time for another Esoteric Challenge!
The text of the challenge is here:
<span class="bold">http://pastebin.com/raw/FFhvB96Y</span>
The answer is a game code that can be redeemed at GOG. The format is 20 hexadecimal characters.
As in the previous giveaway, I will not be adding any direct hints. There are already a few hints included in this post and in the text of the challenge itself. And some red herrings. As usual, I will help those who help themselves, so if you're stuck please feel free to discuss here or PM me. Just don't include any direct answers in this thread.
And again: there is nothing arbitrary or unfair about the solution. So nothing along the lines "if I change vowels to 0s and constants to 1s, I'll get a binary code that is the answer" because that would require you to arbitrarily assign vowels to 0s and constants to 1s. If you are required to do something you will be told to do so. This is actually a hint in itself. If you find yourself thinking of solutions that are too arbitrary or too unfair, then know that you are on the wrong track.
Of the three giveaways, I'd think this one would be easiest. This however is not easy to judge by the person who made the quiz, so I could be wrong. Either way, I'm hoping this will prove to be a nice challenge to the usual crowd and also get new people interested in the topic.
Happy solving!
LINKS:
First, I'll use this opportunity to shamelessly promote my Globe Quine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws-bRLdMJrs
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/my_gogcom_brainf_quine/page1
Still working on a better version
And previous challenges:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general_archive/esoteric_challenge_giveaway/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/esoteric_challenge_ii_giveaway/page1
EDIT:
I'm going to give an extra tip, because I just discovered something a little bit frustrating.
It seems that some (and by "some" I mean "a lot", bordering on "most" in fact) esoteric online interpreters of a certain language do not conform to its full specifications.
My challenge is dependent on some less-commonly-used features of a language, that are nonetheless documented in the specs, and I just discovered that your average online interpreter might not give you the correct result.
I don't want you to be stuck and bang your head in frustration because you can't find a decent interpreter, so if you think that that's what's preventing you from solving it, then if you want PM me and I'll send a link to working ones.
Alternatively just search for them yourself. If an interpreter/compiler mentions that it conforms to all specifications then it will work. I just tested it an a few.
ADD:
I never intended for this to be a "find the right interpreter" puzzle, so please if you do figure out the language, PM me what interpreter you're using, and I'll let you know if it's good.
I'd just post it here, but that would just give away the language.
Solved so far (none claimed the game yet):
_Wishbone
_helpo1
_Urnoev
_adaliabooks
_blotunga
EDIT:
Solution in attachments. For hint 6 and 7 (final) check next post, since GOG only allows 5 attachments.
The text of the challenge is here:
<span class="bold">http://pastebin.com/raw/FFhvB96Y</span>
The answer is a game code that can be redeemed at GOG. The format is 20 hexadecimal characters.
As in the previous giveaway, I will not be adding any direct hints. There are already a few hints included in this post and in the text of the challenge itself. And some red herrings. As usual, I will help those who help themselves, so if you're stuck please feel free to discuss here or PM me. Just don't include any direct answers in this thread.
And again: there is nothing arbitrary or unfair about the solution. So nothing along the lines "if I change vowels to 0s and constants to 1s, I'll get a binary code that is the answer" because that would require you to arbitrarily assign vowels to 0s and constants to 1s. If you are required to do something you will be told to do so. This is actually a hint in itself. If you find yourself thinking of solutions that are too arbitrary or too unfair, then know that you are on the wrong track.
Of the three giveaways, I'd think this one would be easiest. This however is not easy to judge by the person who made the quiz, so I could be wrong. Either way, I'm hoping this will prove to be a nice challenge to the usual crowd and also get new people interested in the topic.
Happy solving!
LINKS:
First, I'll use this opportunity to shamelessly promote my Globe Quine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws-bRLdMJrs
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/my_gogcom_brainf_quine/page1
Still working on a better version
And previous challenges:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general_archive/esoteric_challenge_giveaway/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/esoteric_challenge_ii_giveaway/page1
EDIT:
I'm going to give an extra tip, because I just discovered something a little bit frustrating.
It seems that some (and by "some" I mean "a lot", bordering on "most" in fact) esoteric online interpreters of a certain language do not conform to its full specifications.
My challenge is dependent on some less-commonly-used features of a language, that are nonetheless documented in the specs, and I just discovered that your average online interpreter might not give you the correct result.
I don't want you to be stuck and bang your head in frustration because you can't find a decent interpreter, so if you think that that's what's preventing you from solving it, then if you want PM me and I'll send a link to working ones.
Alternatively just search for them yourself. If an interpreter/compiler mentions that it conforms to all specifications then it will work. I just tested it an a few.
ADD:
I never intended for this to be a "find the right interpreter" puzzle, so please if you do figure out the language, PM me what interpreter you're using, and I'll let you know if it's good.
I'd just post it here, but that would just give away the language.
Solved so far (none claimed the game yet):
_Wishbone
_helpo1
_Urnoev
_adaliabooks
_blotunga
EDIT:
Solution in attachments. For hint 6 and 7 (final) check next post, since GOG only allows 5 attachments.
Post edited February 14, 2017 by ZFR