ARG: Beacon of Light / Shadow in the Darkness-New

[ARG] PASTRY WARS

MrToasty@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:23:50 +0000

While searching the web for information for a client, I came accross this website that appears to be ARG related. It looks cool so I signed up. (Dont know if you are supposed to share this or not but I am a Shadow in Darkness)

Anyway Check it out: http://darklight.brainclouds.net/

[BoL/SiD] Homepages puzzle

jelloarm@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:21:28 +0000

For some reason it makes sense to me to start a new thread on this. Basically we have the NyxTel, BluGen and maybe Umbrati homepages giving weird stuff that looks like a puzzle. When you first load the NyxTel or BluGen pages you get a 500 error. Decoding the hex dump at the bottom of the pages results in a partial clear text msg. This is outlined in Omega's post below. Combining parts from each gives more. Even more below. Last, the first Home.jpg (attached) from the Umbrati page tested positive for JPHIDE w/stegdetect (gave it 3 stars).

If we can find a third or even a fourth set of coordinates, we may be able to triangulate some location. The coordinates might also be start and end points, similar to what we saw with the plane crash.

I like that both the debug logs are the same length. Might be a larger message in there if we can combine the fragments somehow. Here are the two decoded logs side-by-side for reference:

ILYC YHO MFWL TNZE, 2U1 JJHF. KDGGHU SA UHTQSXOCUSMYZ FPR EWRR LL NUKCBVWS ZTT, EBDAWHHSRI R & X IGENO BL, CB, PJU WUCO AT 37.3019 LON -50.3421 : BISMA RCK INTERCEPT 0320 H ZGQV TG CSS EV DMRIPKYT, DWWBWXIH QO Q/RPSJ BQ QMYLF YFDK

WRMT SIS BLDG TGTD, 5X5 LOCK. AWAITI NG AUTHORIZATION FOR SVTO FO XLZHHMQM ZAW, ZRIVWZASNY R & O CELHZ QT, AJ, IYN SDHX UI 41.2476 MFW -87.8662 : XXCVE QVF ZMQSVCSSD 9145 I RMVV UT YHN RI HVFEBQSQ, YFYBXRCD CP Y/MDRO FQ AJWBH SYZK

Combining we get

xxxx xxx BLDG TGTD, 5X5 LOCK. AWAITI NG AUTHORIZATION FOR xxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxx, xxxxxxxxxx R & x xxxxx xx, xx, xxx xxx(L AT) (co-ord) LON (co-ord) : BISMA RCK INTERCEPT 0320 H xxxx xx xxx xx xxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx xx x/xxxx xx xxxxx xxxx.

That's where we stand as far as I can tell...

Lightbringers.co.uk

gosgirl@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:05:08 +0000

I am new to this, been reading postings all morning. Has anybody figured out the password to rabbithole: www.lightbringers.co.uk ???

Bol/Sid: Post-Mortem

pancito@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:09:32 +0000

I've been debating what I was going to do for my 3,000th post on unFiction. Many said I should post in the place I was expected - the "other" behemoth of a thread - but I think the following post was important enough to stand on its own.

Many of you have followed the game you call "BoL/SiD", and are wondering what happened and why did the game simply died. So here I am to bring the game to a close for a variety of reasons, one arguably tragic, and put this chapter in our lives behind us.

First off, "BoL/SiD" was never the intended name; the original planned name was "ShadowWatch". Actually, that's the directory name all the domains are in. But, at the time this game came out, there were numerous other "Shadow-something" ARGs, so I withheld that from the public. Besides, you all understood each other when you spoke of "BoL/SiD".

For simplicity's sake, I'll refer to it from here on as "the game".

The game was originally planned, long ago, as a proof of concept, an effort to try out some new technologies and methods in order to expand our repertoire of tricks. Among these technologies is the Encryptor application, the use of dynamic puzzles that were different for each player, scoring systems, timed puzzles and a myriad of other things. I learned some good things and some bad things about all that, and the experience will help me make better games in the future.

But, as you all know, the game was a behemoth before it even started. For that, in a sense, I have to thank you the fans; what you did in that "other" thread was nothing short of remarkable and a tribute to which I am eternally grateful (I mean, how many ARGs have ever spawned two separate, completely unrelated ARGs?).

But because of the hype that thread generated, the expectations were high, so I blindly attempted to meet those expectations by creating what wound up being a mammoth game. Nine domains, twenty non-player characters, twenty-four email addresses... It was becoming a full time job to manage. I figured it couldn't be worse than being Joshua in LGL - a computer that essentially answered and posted 24 hours a day - but I was mistaken. That, compounded with the fact that I was doing this alone and going through a rather hard personal time (I had three separate jobs during the game's run), made it difficult.

The game got to a point where I didn't know what to do with it. There was too much to attempt to reconcile. I had some basic thoughts for an endgame, but they were nothing in comparison to the game that was. Compounded with events occuring in my real life, I decided to put it on a temporary hiatus until I can focus on it, sort things out, and finish it properly.

Then a cataclysm happened.

Backtracking a bit, I have to explain my development environment. I have a laptop as my exclusive personal machine, which I can't use while I'm at work. So, in order to work on both my laptop and my desktop, I kept everything about the game on a SanDisk 2GB Flash drive. And I mean *everything* - stock images, websites, source code, puzzle content, passwords, textual writeups of background information, timelines, emails, etc...

Early december, on or about December 14th, that Flash drive - a SOLID STATE USB drive with no moving parts - stopped working. I can no longer access it from any machine; it was powerless, dead. And I had no recent backups; my earliest backups were two to three months earlier, which in the world of a fast moving ARG is a lifetime.

All that content, everything that the game was, was gone. Not to mention I lost a lot of other things unrelated to the game, such as the BoL/SiD and Darklight logos and several hundred of stock images downloaded (and paid for, for that matter) from Shutterstock and Getty Images.

The day after, at one point, I was literally in tears. Having lost all that, knowing full well that I have no means of continuing and concluding the game, I was heartbroken that I let the fans down. I failed. The one thing I vowed would never happen - the implosion of my own game - just did.

I've only told that to three people up until now, but couldn't keep that to myself any longer.

It took me about a week to get over it (of course, every day during that week I tried the USB on three or four other machines. I still have the USB, dormant and dead, sitting next to me). Then I decided there was only one thing I can do: learn from it and move on. Not let my errors repeat themselves and do the next game right. Redeem myself.

I had the idea for my next game almost a year ago, and even had the primary website done already (which, of course, was also lost to the USB). It's by no means the same scale, and I'm trying to not do this alone, but I am making every conscious effort to not screw things up and let them get out of hand like they did before.

But, sadly, in the meantime BoL/SiD is officially dead. There is no way I can recover where I left off, especially since I have a clean slate and no material right now. I can't even modify the existing websites if I wanted to without recreating them at this point.

I want to thank you all for the experience - I hope that, while it lasted, you all enjoyed it. I most certainly did, and wished with all my heart that things could have gone differently. But don't fear, my next game will definitely be my opus, and will be everything an ARG is supposed to be. I promise you, here and now, I will not let you down.

Tnx & Rgds...
David Flor - http://www.brainclouds.net/Darklight/
Darklight Intertactive - http://www.dlimedia.com/

"Omne ignotum pro magnifico"

P.S: Wow... I actually cried writing this. Suck it up, Dave, and get to work! :)

P.P.S.: Joshua STILL ain't dead! :P

Is it an error or is it a kl00

pancito@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:35:01 +0000

Okay, maybe it's just my hyperactive ARG imagination thinking a normal error is a clue, but I got:

error@brainclouds.net

EXCEPTION THROWN: The file '/_Domains/Downstream/Signup.aspx' does not exist.
System.Web.HttpException
Application_Error

Stack:
at System.Web.UI.Util.CheckVirtualFileExists(VirtualPath virtualPath)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultInternal(VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allowBuildInPrecompile)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultWithNoAssert(HttpContext context, VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allowBuildInPrecompile)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVirtualPathObjectFactory(VirtualPath virtualPath, HttpContext context, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean noAssert)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.CreateInstanceFromVirtualPath(VirtualPath virtualPath, Type requiredBaseType, HttpContext context, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean noAssert)
at System.Web.UI.PageHandlerFactory.GetHandlerHelper(HttpContext context, String requestType, VirtualPath virtualPath, String physicalPath)
at System.Web.UI.PageHandlerFactory.System.Web.IHttpHandlerFactory2.GetHandler(HttpContext context, String requestType, VirtualPath virtualPath, String physicalPath)
at System.Web.HttpApplication.MapHttpHandler(HttpContext context, String requestType, VirtualPath path, String pathTranslated, Boolean useAppConfig)
at System.Web.HttpApplication.MapHandlerExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute()
at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously)

[BOL/SID][META] Beacon of Light/Shadow in the Darkness

pancito@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:09:32 +0000

[BOL/SID] Being Your Valentine

AUZ505@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:54:15 +0000

ETA: For reference, the blog is at http://www.brainclouds.net/Valentine/

May as well keep discussion of this here. She's written her dreams down last night, and I have to say the symbolism is strikingly obvious (at least for the first half of the dream)...

Looking for Reason

As recommended by some of my new visitors, I apparently jotted down some comments of my dreams last night. Funny thing is, I don't remember doing it, nor do I remember the dream itself. But it is my handwriting, and I was surprisingly thorough. Here goes...

I'm walking down an aisle in a big white room. To my left are rows upon rows of people, all dressed in white. I can't see the details in their faces, but they're giving off some sort of aura or glow. To my right are more rows of people, but they're obscure, dark, ominous. I can't make their faces out either. But one thing is obvious: they are watching every step I take, following me down the aisle.

I keep walking, and at the end of the aisle is a pedestal with a book on it. The book is open, but the pages are blank. I try to reach out to it, when all of a sudden I hear this loud metallic grinding sound followed by what sounds like a car starting up.

Then, all of a sudden, smoke starts coming out of the book and filling the room. I step back from it, and I can hear both sides of people around me starting to scream in pain. Suddenly there's a blast of wind, blowing the smoke in my face and through the crowd...

...and then I woke up.

How could I forget something like this? This *is* my handwriting, and apparently I remembered it vividly enough to write it in this level of detail. And I woke up fine, so I have no idea when I got up to write this, at what time, for how long, when I went back to sleep... nothing.

Maybe Kate's right: I need some serious therapy.

Forum Guidelines - Please read before posting!

jamesi@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:00:56 +0000

A short summary of guidelines for these forums:

Please refer to the general unFiction posting guidelines here .
Please try and keep the forum as tidy as possible, which is mostly done by using the [search] function to see if what you want to post is not already being discussed! You'll find the [search] function at the top right-hand side at all times.
Tagging your posts also helps keep the forum clean and easily usable. Use for example tags like [META] or [PUZZLE]. If a puzzle is solved, the original poster is kindly asked to edit his or her post to add the tag [SOLVED] to the topic, to indicate that puzzle is now solved.
Please PM me or any of the other admins or forum-moderators if you have any questions regarding these guidelines or the forum in general Have fun!

[BoL/SiD] WE ARE THE UMBRATI

faeryqueen21@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:36:11 +0000

EDIT - CHANGED TOPIC TO REMOVE 'TRAILHEAD' TAG SINCE IT'S NOT TRAILHEAD, PROBLEM SOLVED ON THIS END...

EDIT - Changed topic title to official name! 5/22/08

Okay, since there's mostly general chatting on the Dark/Light "trailhead" thread, and since Beacons of Light apparently have kicked off with the Lightbringer Society, and since I DID look through the last 17 pages of the trailhead thread and saw nothing but a continuation of the pastry wars, I decided to jump in with this find...

In the DL signup source where that quote is, I went looking for the origin. Someone posted some quote early on but it was glossed over and didn't seem to be the actual source anyway. If this already got mentioned it was in passing and glossed over in favor of the sugar rush so I wanted to add it for the Dark Side because it's relevant...and maybe can get 'our side' going (I defected even if they don't fix it!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness

Apparently this is from a sci fi book published in 1969 by Ursula LeGuin and that particular quote is explained here:

http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_leguin_lefthand.html

Definitions of masculinity and femininity are so ingrained in and vital to Genly and his culture that he cannot discuss them without oversimplification. Are women really softer? Did childrearing ever really make them less capable of higher learning? If not, then what is the difference? What is the relationship between the sexual body and the body politic? Genly knows that his reality is shaped by his background -- he says that he could perceive an individual's scrupulousness as "either housewifely or scientific," and understands that the term he chooses will reflect an ideology as well as a relationship to the subject. Words create reality, particularly words (or lack thereof) for abstracts like individuality, gender, power, faith.

In a religious chant from Karhide exemplifying the religion/philosophy of that nation,

Light is the left hand of darkness
and darkness the right hand of light.
Two are one, life and death, lying
together like lovers in kemmer,
like hands joined together,
like the end and the way..

I especially found this amusing :lol:

For the first several pages of The Left Hand of Darkness, readers see the country of Karhide on the planet Gethen as a typical Western monarchy. Through the eye of Genly Ai (pronounced "I," like a cry), we witness all the traditional trappings of power, military might and courtly intrigue as a king officiates at a pompous ritual. The narrator notices only men at the ceremony, but this may seem quite natural to readers accustomed to European history narratives, which often fail to account for the presence of women at public functions. The Left Hand of Darkness could be historical fiction set just about anywhere -- until we learn that the king is pregnant.

:shock:

yay! ARG me baby, ARG me!

Anyway, don't know that any of this would be ultimately part of it, but it's enough of a solid clue to maybe get some sort of idea of direction...

For what it's worth, I totally would hope it goes this way instead of the done to death, boring, cliche' holy war religious battle bs (in a traditional sense). Kings being pregnant and things aren't always as they appear - hell yeah, tons cooler premise for and ARG than "devil vs hazeus" anyday. :lol:

EDIT for a meta spoiler

...and I could've sworn I read somewhere that the PM (ahum) is far more into sci fi than the holy war, eh? This just seems far more likely a direction to me...but we shall see...

EDIT - moved to CF with Potentials forum. Please do not make multiple threads for one game in N&R. - SG

[BoL/SiD] GraueMacht firewalls

pancito@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:38:50 +0000

Figured these guys could do with their own thread. Here's what we have so far, in terms of links, along with the current password (current as I post):

http://acheron.grauemacht.com/ - Communications Relay 1 - MXZCT1J
http://styx.grauemacht.com/ - Communications Relay 2 - Y93FZWU5
http://phlegethon.grauemacht.com/ - Communications Relay 3 - F8G9VI4QF
http://cocytus.grauemacht.com/ - Communications Relay 4 - 59NSM0MBR3
http://valhalla.grauemacht.com/ - Corporate - 9BXUR8Y5CVG
http://elysium.grauemacht.com/ - Network Operations - 99378HZHN29B
http://cerberus.grauemacht.com/ - Network Security - 7G5SWIWO8X7WT

[BoL/SiD]Emails only

WolfHawk@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:01:57 +0000

Emails til now:
http://bolsid.wikidot.com/emails

New emails:

Azure wrote:

> How come it says on your blog you're from Charlotte, NC and there is
> no mention of your move to San Francisco?

I moved from San Francisco only recently. I just couldn't stay there;
too many bad memories.

Janaa,

I was talking to some of the other recruits, and we weren't sure about your name. Is it Janice or Jaana? Is one a given name and one for LBS? Just wondering!

Thanks
Azure

You have received the following message from 'Jaana':
-----------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Names

It's, well, both. My given name is Janice, but the name Jaana was given to me by the Society as well as my parents.

For purposes of these communications, I prefer Jaana.

- Jaana

-----

Jaana,
We found and traveled through the tunnels as you requested, our result was unexpected however. What are these two pictures supposed to mean? Who is C.O.? And what happened to Haven.aspx?

Azure

You have received the following message from 'Jaana':
-----------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Tunnels

Others have brought this to my attention already; there was supposed to be another aptitude test and a form at the end of the maze.

We are currently investigating with network operations.

Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

-----

[BOL/SID?][TRAILHEAD]THE LIGHTBRINGER SOCIETY

WolfHawk@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:14:42 +0000

I received this in the mail today from
The Lightbringer Society
20 Deans Yard
London (zip code)
United Kingdom

Http://www.lightbringers.co.uk

(I still don't know what font that is, but figured it out manually. The same font is used for site, which says We are The Lightbringer Society). When clicking on >> button, it says "Incorrect Password"

[BoL/SiD]GMS Console

pancito@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:21:10 +0000

There looks to be a lot of information here, so we probably need a new thread.

Based on some of the things here, we don't want to mess with these guys.

...Unless it's really fun.

Try DOSSIER [keyword]. All the characters look to have entries.

Also, logs can be read by entering the file name directly into the prompt. Of course we need to know the file name first.

Found this log (INT20080624):

INTERROGATION 01 - June 24th, 2008
Location: Los Angeles, California - Secure Location B
Subject: Jada Robertson, a.k.a. "Firebird", a.k.a. "Asia Diamante"
DOB: 08/18/1983

KEY:
INT01: GMS Interrogator 01
INT02: GMS Interrogator 02
SUBJ: Subject, Jada Robertson

Interrogation begun 06/24/2008 @ 01:22pm

INT01 and INT02 behind one way glass.

SUBJ in primary interrogation room, sitting on chair.
NOTE: Subject believed to still be recovering from effects of tranquilizer

INT01: State your name for the record.

SUBJ: What? Who's there?

[SUBJ stands, noticeably disoriented]

INT01: State your name for the record.

SUBJ: Where the hell am I? What... what... What the...

[SUBJ falls to one knee]

INT02: Answer our questions and you can go free.

SUBJ: Who the [expletive] are you? What the hell am I doing here?

INT01: What is your relation with Nyxtel?

SUBJ: Who?

[SUBJ rises, then sits in chair]

INT02: Nyxtel. Nyx telecommunications. What is your association with them?

SUBJ: Who are you people? What do you want with me? What'd I do?

INT01: Answer the question.

[SUBJ stands up and charges towards one way glass]

[SUBJ begins screaming incoherently, beating on glass with fist]

INT02: You either tell us what we want to know or you will never see daylight again.

[SUBJ stops, then begins to cry]

[SUBJ falls to one knee]

INT01: We have all the time in the world. Tell us what we want to know. What is your relation with Nyxtel?

[SUBJ stops crying]

[SUBJ stands and walks back to chair]

[SUBJ takes hold of chair with right hand and throws it at one way glass, cracking glass and destroying chair]

SUBJ: (screaming) [Expletive] YOU, YOU [Expletive]!

*** END OF SESSION - 06/24/2008 @ 01:31pm ***

Subject forcibly restrained and returned to containment.

[BoL/SiD] [Puzzle?] GraueMacht code wheel

Twiler@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:47:00 +0000

So, Lunsford got a GraueMacht code wheel sent to her, containing astrological references, LB *and* Umbrati fonts, and lots of other stuff.

Picture of the code wheel uploaded to my site here (warning - nearly 2 meg! It's huge! Seriously!).

I'm thinking this directly relates to the stuff on the login page, and presumably gives the day's password. By the way, I think the ?'d Umbrati character is 0.

ETA: Unidentified astrological symbols: circle with a + in it is Earth/Terra.
Circle with a dot in and a pointy-arrow - Uranus. (see the table here )

ETA2: Chinese astrology signs, clockwise from Pluto:
Dog
Tiger
Monkey
Rooster??
Ox
Dragon
(Bad) Horse
Goat?
Rabbit
Snake
Pig
Rat
( link )

[BOL/SID][META] More time off

Coffeebean@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:07:15 +0000

As it seems that OFL is having some (personal?) problems, I can't help but think we need something more. Personally, I can't think of much, so maybe others could help me.

Maybe even (please don't shoot me):

pastry mafia two