Thank you for committing the requisite amount of processing-power (each solved-problem contributes to the all-important inter-planetary database of knowledge)! Please, enjoy the nutritional supplement (which, oddly enough, closely-resembles a hamster pellet, but, is unmistakably of unknown origin). With the maximum degree of sincerity, I truly appreciate your kind words (even if I do not regard my puzzles to be at the level in which you had described) : )

I had considered creating a dedicated thread, but, I had been (and, still am) concerned that it might be unfair, as some forum members (due to differing time zones) may not notice when a puzzle is posted until after a day or two has already passed (as it will be buried within the forum list). At all times of the day (and night), this thread is swarming with eyes (as well as automated web-scrapers), and, is often relatively-active.

Further careful thought will be given to your suggestion. It could also spur other users to develop their own mysteries (which I would find to be quite stimulating).

Could any one of you *please* explain the solution? I've tried many things and didn't even come close to any solution. What is it? Ascii? Unicode? Coordinates? Substitutions? Variables in non-linear equations?

I'm prepared to admit that my brain power isn't worth any odd alien's attention. But dangit, it is frustrating to constantly hear how "simple", "straight-forward", "non-complex" or "familiar" all of these puzzles are supposed to be. X_X

Yesterday, I had privately-asked G0GGLE_BOX for their input regarding the preferred method for posting solutions. Previously, they had made the following request (which, of course, I had found to be agreeable):
My reply:
I had been planning to write a post providing the solutions to all five of the previously-solved puzzles (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, GreedFall - Gold Edition, the multi-game Golf-related puzzle, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, and LEGO The Hobbit), with a step-by-step, comprehensive analysis of each. Please, understand that this takes a substantial amount of time. To be frank, this requires more time than that which had been devoted to actually creating said puzzles (and much more thought than penning a playful response to the solver), as I do not wish to simply publish superficial details.

Solution to the LEGO The Hobbit is as follows:

The only known information would be the following two lines (as well as the relevant image):
9 J 2 F _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1(BE) 5(08) B(CF) A(03) B(0C) 9(8E) E(38) 3(8A) A(AE) 2(DF) 1(3C) B(EF) 8(3F) 6(8B)

Within hobbit.png, large visual representations of characters 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F are shown. The constituents of each character are the true meaning (the visible form/shape should be considered as merely a means to ascertain the true value). Said 'structural elements' are obviously rotated clockwise by 90 degrees (as I had constructed each 'character' within a basic text editor, followed by capturing each (as individual images) in order to consolidate all within a single file).

The true value of the visual representation of 'E' (below) is 2.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

With that understanding, going forward, one should interpret the list of 14 sets (for now, it is best to omit the values contained within parentheses '()') as follows:
1() 5() B() A() B() 9() E() 3() A() 2() 1() B() 8() 6() becomes:
E() B() 4() 6() 4() C() 2() 9() 6() 0() E() 4() 5() D()

The true values of the characters within parentheses should simply be added together.

Example:
1(BE) or, later, E(BE)
B = 4
E = 2
4 + 2 = 6

So, the true meaning of 1(BE) is E(6).

E(BE) B(08) 4(CF) 6(03) 4(0C) C(8E) 2(38) 9(8A) 6(AE) 0(DF) E(3C) 4(EF) 5(3F) D(8B) becomes:
E(6) B(13) 4(10) 6(17) 4(15) C(7) 2(14) 9(11) 6(8) 0(4) E(16) 4(5) 5(12) D(9)

What is the significance of the now-known values within parentheses?
The lowest value is 4, while the highest is 17.
The fact that 0 1 2 3 are missing is a hint that these values represent positions.
There are 18 characters in the code (the first four, 9J2F, have already been provided, along with 14 underscores in place of the missing characters).
Incrementing upward from zero, 9 J 2 F correspond to 0 1 2 3, respectively.

With that in mind, one merely needs to re-order the list accordingly.

E(6) B(13) 4(10) 6(17) 4(15) C(7) 2(14) 9(11) 6(8) 0(4) E(16) 4(5) 5(12) D(9) becomes:
0(4) 4(5) E(6) C(7) 6(8) D(9) 4(10) 9(11) 5(12) B(13) 2(14) 4(15) E(16) 6(17)

After prefixing the above with 9J2F...
9(0) J(1) 2(2) F(3) 0(4) 4(5) E(6) C(7) 6(8) D(9) 4(10) 9(11) 5(12) B(13) 2(14) 4(15) E(16) 6(17)

..one has arrived at the solution to the puzzle, as, after stripping the set of positional numerals, all that remains is:
9J2F04EC6D495B24E6

Note: I wish to re-iterate helpful information in which I had provided publicly (and privately, when fellow forum members had been experiencing difficulty with solving a given problem), as well as make certain points perfectly-clear.

The crafted puzzles (aside from some minor usage of Cyrillic characters) are constructed in a manner that does not assume that one understands human-centric encoding. In fact, I had only used UTF-8 character encoding within one of the puzzles for my own amusement (and prior knowledge of said encoding is not required to solve the puzzle in question).

Again, aside from occasional inclusion of Cyrillic characters, the puzzles assume only that the potential-solver possesses:
0) The ability to count. Update: This may entail prior knowledge of numbers classified as prime (2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 ... ) and/or composite (4 6 8 9 10 12 14 15 16 18 ... ).
1) Knowledge and understanding of basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), wherever applicable.
2) Comprehension of the meaning of each of the following numerals: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
3) The ability to recognize Latin letters (but, knowledge of a specific language (such as English) is absolutely unnecessary, as I regard it as an unjust barrier which excludes a sizeable portion of the human population).
4) The ability to absorb and analyze the supplied information (from the available data, there are logical conclusions to be drawn, with very little need for guessing, and with few possible permutations).
5) The ability to 'see' that which may seem to be all-too-obvious (at times, the clues are hidden in plain sight... but, quite often, they are categorically-dismissed as being impertinent).
6) The ability to refrain from over-analysis (over-thinking is easily the most-common culprit responsible for causing solvers to misinterpret fundamental aspects of a riddle; for some, this is, without question, immensely-difficult to counteract).

Edit (2024-09-29): To 'ability to count' requirement, added reference to prime and composite numbers.

While I understand the reasons for elaborate puzzles. This is really going off the main course of the thread. I suggest a thread for elaborate puzzles specifically.

Im not a ninja, in case anyone is going to throw that at me. I dont normally take codes. If I do take a code, I always give respect for the kindness.

Hey, it's still a matter of whoever gets it first, elaborate puzzle or not, and this does pretty much ensure it is a real person who does get it.
Thanks for that.
And can now say that your puzzles really can work as high IQ tests, because after all the point of those is to figure out the logic that ties together the given data and allows for finding the answer. (Needless to say, I could have probably stared at that one for a month and still wouldn't have figured it out. But still like to see them.)

Thank you for the solution. I tried the puzzle, and I noticed the double numbers, but in my view there are a number of things that were non-obvious and having red herrings.

1) The notion that it would be the characters in parentheses (and not the ones in front, or both) that should be translated using the image is non-obvious.
2) In the translation, which way the translation should go (E to 2 or 2 to E) is non-obvious.
3) The idea of adding together the numeric values in parentheses is also non-obvious. It seemed like they could just as well have been, for example, some coordinates.
3b) In particular, here there are red herrings: the image has a 4x4 arrangement of characters that is completely unused by the puzzle, in fact the entire order of the characters in the image is meaningless.
4) The idea that the codes in parentheses should become a permutation (rather than e.g. a tranlation of character codes) is non-obvious, it would I think only become clear if one had already translated them exactly correctly to yield numbers in the 0-17 range.

I liked the challenge in the puzzle (and thank you for constructing them!) but due to some of the above I became stuck.

While both need to be converted, this is just one of an assortment of possibilities that one must be aware of. The idea is to challenge, but, not any more than necessary (multi-translation of each character was not implemented, as I do not wish to confound).

For a given problem, it will always be necessary to consider inverse interpretations. The alternative is to make the puzzle far too vacuous (the guided-hand approach, which I completely reject).

None of the provided data would suggest coordinates, especially as the placement of the elements of each large character is far too varied. Further analysis would reveal a certain pattern, whether or not one were actively seeking-out addition (as in arithmetic) as a possible method for obtaining the correct numbers.

With the vision of creating a square (as I had sought to fabricate a figure with an appearance similar to that of the LEGO logo), the unutilized characters were necessary. Also, their inclusion does not allow for the solver to mistakenly believe that they should add the missing characters. Late addition (as I had been overly-fixated on other points (as well as correcting minor typographical errors across my posts)): the order of the depicted character representations does have purpose. The locations of 'B' and 'E' (which are in close-proximity to one another) act as a hint which should assist with determining the meaning of the characters contained within parentheses. Overall, the intention behind shuffling the characters around had been to force the potential-solver to respond to the unfamiliar configuration of characters by generating a new mental map (so to speak). This (hopefully) slight level of discomfort had been meant to aid with viewing the puzzle from a new (beneficial) vantage point. Within past puzzles, with the very same motivation, the usual order of characters had been altered.

The characters contained within parentheses, as well as the lone characters at the start of each set, are significant (for differing reasons, so examination of both is critical). Naturally, while dissecting the meaning, the ultimate goal is to re-construct a GOG game code. This, of course, requires certain characters, as well as the placement of said numbers and letters in a specific order. The importance of determining the correct order is second only to that of finding the characters which will act as integral components of the code. With that in mind, there are very few potential characters that 'fit' (even if one were not to immediately sense that they suggest a particular order). Once one begins to notice non-random sequences, there are no rational grounds for construing it as anything but a purposeful arrangement (truly, a set of instructions, so that guessing is not a factor).

I can send once per day code for: Midnight Fight Express

Add me and send request through PM.

Edit: the key is ready to be send

Forager:
G2#P0$BB#44&9%94#E - Redeemed.
G2#P$&%1#7C27$%0&& - Redeemed.
G2#PC23&3&9$A3%A31 - Redeemed.
---------
# = 8, $ = 6, % = 5, & = D

Both codes were claimed within a minute. Not sure if someone was fast or this isn't enough to keep the bots away.


Forgot I had these codes - both expire tomorrow.

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Code expires on Sep 29, 2024, 5:00 PM.
KB8*C87B4FC2FC32
* "number of the beast"

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation + Chronicles
Code expires on Sep 29, 2024, 5:00 PM.
3ABQ1*6A114D06C6
* common abbreviation for defense

Within the LEGO The Hobbit solution post, I should have added the following note (I have now done so), but, as of late, I have had quite a few other things on my mind. (^_^)

Note: An expansion on the 'ability to count' requirement for solving puzzles: this may entail prior knowledge of numbers classified as prime (2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 ... ) and/or composite (4 6 8 9 10 12 14 15 16 18 ... ). Prime numbers had already been featured within the 'Deus Ex: Mankind Divided' puzzle. Why had they been used? It has been hypothesized that if a message were to be received by Earth (originating from 'sentient beings' beyond our realm), and, if such communication were to include the usage of prime numbers, it would manifestly prove the existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence (and, may be useful for interacting with said forms of life).

In response to the respectful request made by G0GGLE_BOX (https://www.gog.com/forum/general/ninja_giveaway_20/post6940):
Unfortunately, as much as I would love to provide further somewhat-detailed step-by-step analysis of solved puzzles, it is simply too time-consuming. Future solved puzzles are unlikely to receive the same treatment. At most, a cursory description of the path to solving (and, of course, the resulting code) will be provided.

Solution to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided puzzle:

Known Information (from the aforementioned post) The 241 by 20 pixel image (which may be difficult to see if your browser, by default, enables anti-aliasing) contains groups of characters that have been split down the middle, with the missing 'pieces' on the line below.

Re-assembling each is a rather simple matter (as the related pixels share the same pigment), and, as this was an initial test, scattering of missing halves had not been performed. I prefer to take a gradual approach, as in, if a person solves a given puzzle (in a timely manner), then, subsequent puzzles of this type will have their degree of challenge moderately-enhanced.

Result:
11D-F35-7CB-336-F34-64E-V6E

However, as it consists of 21 characters (rather than the expected 18) it is obvious that one grouping is invalid. How might one determine which is to be ignored?

The key is the file name itself (17_11_13_2_7_3.png). What is the significance of this? Each of the included numbers are prime.

If one were to count each grouping using only prime numbers, the result would be:
2 3 5 7 11 13 17 (11D F35 7CB 336 F34 64E V6E, respectively).

Referencing the file name, one should quickly notice that 5 is absent (so, obviously, it is meant to be ignored).

Placing the remaining groups in the order listed within the file name (as shown in this enlarged image (which also includes the original)), the result is:
V6E F34 64E 11D 336 F35 ... which, of course, with spaces removed, is the game code itself (V6EF3464E11D336F35).

Solution to GreedFall - Gold Edition puzzle:

Known Information The link refers to my avatar (which consists of a single black pixel). There is no other information within. So (without resorting to usage of a hex-editor), logically, the link itself is the only remaining bit of information.

The file name 'a486d9150d313af43da4f5a4aaa7bba16c6fef22b6bbc236d2d17dead8d69753' (without the included '.png') is the key point of interest.

Referring back to '15[_] [_]de 13[_] [_]15 15[_] [_]d6 2d[_] [_]fe c2[_] [_]36 43[_] [_]91 97[_] [_]75', one realizes that the empty spaces are left or right of each set of two characters.

15[_] seems to mean 15[0] (while [_]de can only be interpreted as being [7]de).

a486d9150d313af43da4f5a4aaa7bba16c6fef22b6bbc236d2d17dead8 d69753 (space following dead8 is unintentional... caused by GOG forum handling of certain bold instances)

If the remaining are also located in accordance with the same 'formula', this results in:
15[0] [7]de 13[A] [9]15 15[0] [8]d6 2d[1] [6]fe c2[3] [2]36 43[D] [D]91 97[5] [9]75

Extracting and combining each missing character (as well as prefixing said character string with the supplied 'LCG4') produces the following game code:
LCG407A9081632DD59

Solution to the multi-game Golf puzzle:

Known Information All of the game names link to the attached image (which minimalistically-depicts a 24-hole golf course... "24?!" Yes. 24. ^_^).

As one will notice with the initial game (Cursed to Golf), a 'T' resides to the right of 345. This is indicating to the solver that they should accept 345 as referring (in some way) to 'T'.

Within the sets of numbers for most of the remaining games, again, one will notice that letters accompany some of the numbers. These, coupled with the first (345/T), seek to aid the potential solver with determining the meaning of the others.

In the upper (slight) left side of the golf image, there is a golf 'hole' with 'T' listed. One knows this to be related to 345.

A golf hole labeled with 'Q' (which is somehow related to 015) is located in the upper (slight) right side.

When examining all of the supplied numbers, one notices that the lowest is 000 and the highest is 345. Within the provided range of numbers, not one is less than 15 of any other.

Taking this into account (as well as the placement of the other provided numbers with letters), the '9' hole (which resides between 345/T and 015/Q) must refer to 000.

From here, it is only a matter of deducing the meaning of the remaining numbers (as shown here (top portion is derived from original)).

Note: As previously-stated (here), the positions of many of the golf 'holes' are not as precise as intended. As the drawn lines within the above image clearly indicate, 16 of 24 are flawed (not perfectly in-line with listed degrees),
which according to measurements, deviate a number of degrees from desired, and only '000 045 090 135 180 225 270 315' seem to be exact.

000/9 015/Q 030/B 045/7 060/S 075/D 090/1 105/J 120/G 135/5 150/Z 165/C 180/6 195/0 210/R 225/3 240/A 255/F 270/4 285/K 300/8 315/E 330/2 345/T

Even if one were completely unfamiliar with degrees of navigational heading, all of the available data would illuminate the path to determining each code.

Results:
345/T 330/2 060/S 105/J 030/B 075/D 135/5 240/A 000/9 000/9 195/0 315/E 135/5 255/F 090/1 300/8 135/5 000/9 = T2SJBD5A990E5F1859
330/2 045/7 165/C 105/J 225/3 330/2 135/5 300/8 195/0 300/8 300/8 045/7 255/F 300/8 330/2 165/C 270/4 030/B = 27CJ32580887F82C4B
000/9 255/F 270/4 210/R 300/8 165/C 180/6 300/8 195/0 030/B 315/E 090/1 255/F 270/4 090/1 030/B 255/F 315/E = 9F4R8C680BE1F41BFE
030/B 315/E 045/7 165/C 165/C 090/1 165/C 135/5 315/E 255/F 135/5 135/5 075/D 195/0 300/8 075/D 180/6 075/D = BE7CC1C5EF55D08D6D
150/Z 060/S 225/3 120/G 270/4 315/E 165/C 255/F 255/F 315/E 180/6 135/5 240/A 180/6 075/D 180/6 180/6 090/1 = ZS3G4ECFFE65A6D661
285/K 030/B 300/8 180/6 135/5 030/B 165/C 000/9 225/3 135/5 045/7 075/D 300/8 030/B 270/4 315/E 090/1 315/E = KB865BC9357D8B4E1E
225/3 240/A 030/B 015/Q 270/4 195/0 195/0 165/C 270/4 045/7 165/C 180/6 030/B 180/6 045/7 270/4 000/9 135/5 = 3ABQ400C47C6B67495

Solution to Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical puzzle:

Known Information The attached image depicts 21 squares confined within a thin, gray, squarish outline.

14 of the squares have unique colors, while the remaining 7 are white.

For now, it might be helpful to count the rows (which seem to be clearly defined, even without visible lines of separation). There appear to be 14.

Conversely, there appear to be 16 columns.

From the provided data, it is clear that following '7X96', there are 14 missing characters (the same as the number of rows). However, it would seem that there is an insufficient amount of information to proceed any further (in this direction, at the very least).

Perhaps, the file name of the image (D59A26E03B81F47C.png) might actually possess a deeper meaning...

Curiously, D59A26E03B81F47C consists of 16 characters (exactly the same as the amount of columns). Could it truly be as simple as asssigning these characters to each respective column?

Each of the seven white squares share a row with another square, but, said white squares do not share columns with any other. The fact that they are plain, otherwise unpigmented, and relatively-common... maybe they are meant to be ignored?

That would suggest that the following columns are to be ignored: 5, A, E, B, 8, F, 4 -- this results in only 9 columns remaining in use (D, 9, 2, 6, 0, 3, 1, 7, C).

Now, the focus shifts to the rows. As there are no other indicators, it can only be inferred that the rows must refer to the positions of characters.

As it is known that the game code begins with 7X96, for the sake of consistency, it will be stated that the aforementioned characters reside at positions 0 1 2 3, respectively.

Holding the above to be true, the top-most square resides in column C and intersects with 4. However, the bottom-most square in column 7 could also be considered to intersect with row 4...

For now, in gradually progressing upward (from the bottom portion of the thin outline), the bottom row shall be known as 4, while the top will be thought of as 17 (as shown in this attached image (which, for reference, also includes the original)).

If this theory is correct, 7 would be the first missing character, while 6, 1, C would immediately follow (and so on). Of course, just as easily, the order could have been reversed (so, in the event that the first-attempted sequence had been incorrect, naturally, it would have been necessary to consider the opposite (top-down) approach).

The ultimate result (prefixed with the initially-provided four characters) is:
7X96761C31DC09D12C

Many thanks for the detailed explanations :)

EDIT: also for the fun puzzles :) (though I've not managed to solve any yet lol)

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