ARG Puzzle with 3.5 BTC Private Key Prize, Game Over

[hoba]

Files 20-25 all has the same QR code.
The only file left is 16. I can't see anything in it though.

I don't see the QR code in file 20, only in 21-25. And there is no file 16 left after uninstall.

EDIT: File size and bitrate of file 16 was changed in comparison to original game. Old: 30.5 kB, 176 kBit/s, new: 188kB, 256kBit/s

File size of 20-25 is 430 kB for each, bitrate 705kBit/s

Edit: 20_swoosh.wav

File 20 has the same QR: http://imgur.com/3g2UVHu

OK!? With Audacity it was not visible.

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[mirth23]

Based on how all the previous similar "Onion" puzzles went, the 7z should have been easily openable when I found the original video source. I'm stumped that some (hashed) combination of the artist name and song title don't appear to be it. Yet another roundup of unexplained/unsolved data:

From Again:
- weird timestamp (331369338)
- Unaltered Laffe the Fox video
- password-encrypted .7z padding from video file (of length from Number.txt)

From 3.7/DoD:
- unidentified music in 16_kaboom.wav
- the following inserted text strings:
1) Monsters!
2) Such Wow!
3) Muhahahhaa
4) Satoshi was here
5) Coin_Artist: A secret
   2009
   And then there was Bitcoin
6) space
7) more words

edit: thanks rgm108 for pointing out that 2009 wasn't in the 0.5.0 DoD build, and sorry whoever I told was wrong about that yesterday (who might also be rgm108)

[rgm108]

Based on how all the previous similar "Onion" puzzles went, the 7z should have been easily openable when I found the original video source. I'm stumped that some combination of the artist name and song title weren't it. Yet another roundup of unexplained/unsolved data:

From Again:
- weird timestamp (331369338)
- Unaltered Laffe the Fox video
- password-encrypted .7z padding from video file (of length from Number.txt)

From DoD:
- unidentified music in 16_kaboom.wav
- the following inserted text strings:
1) Monsters!
2) Such Wow!
3) Muhahahhaa
4) Satoshi was here
5) Coin_Artist: A secret
   And then there was Bitcoin
6) space
7) more words

Are we sure "2009" should be removed?
Update prior to that line was 2003. Damn fine dev support if that's the case.

[mirth23]

File 20 has the same QR: http://imgur.com/3g2UVHu

OK!? With Audacity it was not visible.

I'm using Sonic Visualizer. It's hidden down in the low frequencies and is hard to extract prettily (hence the nose in the bottom third). Spectrogram settings for the image I posted are Scale: dBV^2 / Window 4096, 50% / All Bins, Log

Are we sure "2009" should be removed?
Update prior to that line was 2003. Damn fine dev support if that's the case.

You're correct, I failed to grab that in my original diff. Editing my previous post a couple up. Thanks!

[S4VV4S]

Could be irrelevant but I just tried to extract and override the files from 3.7z and got this message:
Cannot open DoD\sound\22_creak.wav

Now this is not on my pc so like I said it could be irrelevant.


Forget it

[Gatekeeper]

I found the original video. It's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rysbn9bZ54

Riffing off of that, I've tried these passwords, including the 2*sha256 versions of them. None of them worked for me:

Left Alone in Outer Space
leftaloneinouterspace
Laffe The Fox
LaffeTheFox
Left Alone in Outer Space
Left Alone In Outer Space
LeftAloneInOuterSpace
8081-va015 Odyssey
8081
Odyssey
8081Odyssey
8081 Odyssey
8081-VA015 ODYSSEY
8081-VA015ODYSSEY
Odyssey 8081-va015
ODYSSEY 8081-VA015
8081-va015 ODYSSEY
8081-va015
8081-VA015

this is the post that OP mentioned in a brief clue then deleted by posting ***mirth2E so we should maybe focus on this a bit?

[S4VV4S]

I found the original video. It's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rysbn9bZ54

Riffing off of that, I've tried these passwords, including the 2*sha256 versions of them. None of them worked for me:

Left Alone in Outer Space
leftaloneinouterspace
Laffe The Fox
LaffeTheFox
Left Alone in Outer Space
Left Alone In Outer Space
LeftAloneInOuterSpace
8081-va015 Odyssey
8081
Odyssey
8081Odyssey
8081 Odyssey
8081-VA015 ODYSSEY
8081-VA015ODYSSEY
Odyssey 8081-va015
ODYSSEY 8081-VA015
8081-va015 ODYSSEY
8081-va015
8081-VA015

this is the post that OP mentioned in a brief clue then deleted by posting ***mirth2E so we should maybe focus on this a bit?

Not home but can you guys play with the cases?
I mean instead of Laffe The Fox, try Laffe the Fox or Laffe the fox

[Gatekeeper]

There's one last file that hasn't been used from the DOD game.

Code:

https://mega.co.nz/#!nUkAVbAQ!f9iGWcW8gNOwKkCIYIfuvk1e7qy_1w7zXOShJVLMTK8

The file from that link is sped up, but it looks like the sampling rate was left at 8000 Hz. Every other file in the sound folder that I checked has a rate of 22050 Hz.

Instead of speeding it up, you can change the sampling rate to 22050 Hz on the original and get something of similar length and sound to the file above, but not exactly the same.

I'll post this here for comparison if anyone's interested:

Code:

https://mega.co.nz/#!XdBm0RoT!nuAfI4-2cI60hzjqTYY2N6u2GSTU-Xp7x1iU1iAzX_0

this was also interesting as the kaboom sound file has been messed with as well, so apart from the QR sound files at the end one other file was messed with, did it contain a QR file as well? i got the impression it didn't or wasn't checked, so then there's obviously a reason why it's been messed with

[S4VV4S]

There's one last file that hasn't been used from the DOD game.

Code:

https://mega.co.nz/#!nUkAVbAQ!f9iGWcW8gNOwKkCIYIfuvk1e7qy_1w7zXOShJVLMTK8

The file from that link is sped up, but it looks like the sampling rate was left at 8000 Hz. Every other file in the sound folder that I checked has a rate of 22050 Hz.

Instead of speeding it up, you can change the sampling rate to 22050 Hz on the original and get something of similar length and sound to the file above, but not exactly the same.

I'll post this here for comparison if anyone's interested:

Code:

https://mega.co.nz/#!XdBm0RoT!nuAfI4-2cI60hzjqTYY2N6u2GSTU-Xp7x1iU1iAzX_0

this was also interesting as the kaboom sound file has been messed with as well, so apart from the QR sound files at the end one other file was messed with, did it contain a QR file as well? i got the impression it didn't or wasn't checked, so then there's obviously a reason why it's been messed with

Dude, that's a scary signature, sick too.....

[jjc326]

Will only 1 person get all 3.5 BTC?  If so I wonder why there is so much cooperation in the thread about figured it out.  Wouldn't you want to keep it to yourself so you can be "ahead of the crowd?"

[S4VV4S]

Will only 1 person get all 3.5 BTC?  If so I wonder why there is so much cooperation in the thread about figured it out.  Wouldn't you want to keep it to yourself so you can be "ahead of the crowd?"

Well, at some point you will get stuck, and hoarding solves is against the rules (some might not care).

Also, the prize is good but getting to brag about solving a hard puzzle is priceless. - EDIT: Or parts of it

None the less, your solves and proof for bragging will stay here forever, much like the blockchain

[mirth23]

Not home but can you guys play with the cases?
I mean instead of Laffe The Fox, try Laffe the Fox or Laffe the fox

arg and Prospero tried a ton of variations last night (see post #1601). I only posted a limited set of what I'd tried, here's some more examples of what I've checked:

Code:

Laffe the Fox - Alone in Outer Space
Laffe The Fox - Alone in Outer Space
Laffe The Fox - Alone In Outer Space
Laffe Alone in Outer Space
Laffe Alone in Outer Space.
Laffe Alone In Outer Space
LaffeAloneInOuterSpace
Laffe the Fox Alone in Outer Space
Laffe the Fox Alone In Outer Space
Laffe The Fox Alone In Outer Space
Laffe the Fox Alone in Outer Space.
Laffe the Fox Alone In Outer Space.
Laffe The Fox Alone In Outer Space.
Laffe the fox left alone in outer space
Laffe the fox left alone in outer space.
Laffe the Fox left alone in outer space
Laffe the Fox left alone in outer space.
Laffe The Fox left alone in outer space
Laffe The Fox left alone in outer space.
Left alone in outer space
Left alone in outer space.
LaffeTheFoxLeftAloneInOuterSpace
LaffetheFoxLeftAloneInOuterSpace
LaffetheFoxLeftAloneinOuterSpace

There's been no consistency to spacing or capitalization in the pre-hashed passwords to date, so several people have already been attacking that with a brute force stick.

[S4VV4S]

Sorry mirth like I said I am stuck behind, and doing this from my phone - I have I-net connection problems so I use 3G that costs an arm and a leg.....

[arg]

There's been no consistency to spacing or capitalization in the pre-hashed passwords to date, so several people have already been attacking that with a brute force stick.

I think we are on the wrong track. I've mutated those words in every way I can come up with, turned them into 1337, hex, reversed them, changed the formatting around. Millions of attempts later there's nothing. Unless there's a key word I didn't include in my dictionary, it's not something from the song like everybody expects.

[Yemmster]

I think we might need to look a bit at Cory Doctorow. He is the author of both Ready Player One and Little Brother.

As far as I know, the phrase we found in the qr-code leading to Again.7z has yet to be used. Can someone please verify this?

Edit: "that phrase" being: "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

[S4VV4S]

I think we might need to look a bit at Cory Doctorow. He is the author of both Ready Player One and Little Brother.

As far as I know, the phrase we found in the qr-code leading to Again.7z has yet to be used. Can someone please verify this?

Edit: "that phrase" being: "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

I think I tried that but can't check now because I am on the phone doing this.

Can someone else verify?

[Yemmster]

I think we might need to look a bit at Cory Doctorow. He is the author of both Ready Player One and Little Brother.

As far as I know, the phrase we found in the qr-code leading to Again.7z has yet to be used. Can someone please verify this?

Edit: "that phrase" being: "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

Also, I just now realised that both these books are in the bookcase behind her in that google-video-chat-thingy screenshot.

[S4VV4S]

I think we might need to look a bit at Cory Doctorow. He is the author of both Ready Player One and Little Brother.

As far as I know, the phrase we found in the qr-code leading to Again.7z has yet to be used. Can someone please verify this?

Edit: "that phrase" being: "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

Also, I just now realised that both these books are in the bookcase behind her in that google-video-chat-thingy screenshot.

I have posted that yesterday.
Actually all books whose titles I could make out and also links to them.

Check my previous posts, you will find them.

EDIT: Guys check my post and the link for clues pls.

EDIT 2: #867

[arg-sidekick]

I think we might need to look a bit at Cory Doctorow. He is the author of both Ready Player One and Little Brother.

As far as I know, the phrase we found in the qr-code leading to Again.7z has yet to be used. Can someone please verify this?

Edit: "that phrase" being: "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

Arg and I were slightly ahead the other day and spent 10 hours pouring over that book and its contents. It's possible we missed something, so maybe fresh eyes will help. Plus the book is terrible

[arg]

I think we might need to look a bit at Cory Doctorow. He is the author of both Ready Player One and Little Brother.

As far as I know, the phrase we found in the qr-code leading to Again.7z has yet to be used. Can someone please verify this?

Edit: "that phrase" being: "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

I think I tried that but can't check now because I am on the phone doing this.

Can someone else verify?

I can confirm it is not the password.