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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: Perplex City » PXC: Puzzles
[PUZZLE?] Maze
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BrianEnigma
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Posts: 1199
Location: Pacific Northwest

 		rovr-1.5 is available now, including...
  • "Recenter map" button. This will reset it's internal marker for where the ball is to the start of the maze. If you find you are incredibly lost, just stop the ball (hit spacebar), click the "reset" button on the ball's window, then click "Recenter Map." Everything should now be in sync.
  • A much improved autopilot. It will get past the first couple of mazes without a problem, but still has trouble with side passages (e.g. maze 3).
  • An autopilot mechanism that is implemented in a really easy to extend class. This means that any budding programmers out there can basically plug in their own autopilot algorithms.
  • More fine-grained control over "leaning" against a wall.
  • Edit: Also, the messages you get at the end of a level get logged to a file called "messages.txt."

As well as all the stuff you're already used to:
  • Keyboard control (arrow keys to move, space to stop)
  • Mapping
  • Leaning
  • "Magent" mode that tries to move one square at a time
  • ...etc...

Jar file to run:
http://perplexcitycardcatalog.com/notes/maze/rovr-1.5.jar

Source code for programmers:
http://perplexcitycardcatalog.com/notes/maze/rovr-1.5-src.tgz
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:37 pm
Last edited by BrianEnigma on Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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zaeil
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 233
Location: NC, US
James Lyon wrote:
Er, call me computer illiterate if you will, but is there a really, really easy way to get this running in Win XP? Like converting it to an .exe file or whatever?


Easy way...get the zipfile from salkfamily.com, get one of the input programs available in this thread, and unzip everyone into the same folder. Now, just click the "maze.jar" file in Windows Explorer. If you have Java installed on your computer, it should run. If it DOESN'T run, you need to download yerself some Java stuff--not exactly certain what you'd need to download, though, because it worked on my WinXP box the first time. Smile Once you get the Maze up and running, start up your movement input program of choice, and you're set to drive yourself crazy with the wandering giganticness that is Maze 6! XD

Speaking of...my own maze is approx. 60x75 at the moment, but I'm about to go exploring down a side corridor, so it'll get wider shortly. My map is currently four sheets of graph paper taped together! Shocked I hope the other mazes after this one are easier!

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:19 pm
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yanka|tage
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zaeil wrote:
If you have Java installed on your computer, it should run. If it DOESN'T run, you need to download yerself some Java stuff--not exactly certain what you'd need to download, though, because it worked on my WinXP box the first time. Smile

Just download this, and you should be fine.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 7:00 pm
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BrianEnigma
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Location: Pacific Northwest

 		To add another post to a quickly lengthening thread, rovr-1.6 is ready. It includes:
  • Autopilot algorithms are Java classes now that get "run" by the rovr app. (In programmer speak: it's a "state machine.")
  • You can select the specific autopilot algorithm you want at runtime
  • Fixes for some timing bugs with the "Corridor" plugin (the timeouts were too short for slower machines)
  • Added "Lean Right" autopilot, which successfully completes the first three levels (although this particular autopilot doesn't yet synchronize with the mapper)

Anyway. the typical locations apply. Jar file to run:
http://perplexcitycardcatalog.com/notes/maze/rovr-1.6.jar

Source code: (Please feel free to contribute autopilot plugins! I'm still trying to automatically get past level 4, which has the exit in the middle of a room.)
http://perplexcitycardcatalog.com/notes/maze/rovr-1.6-src.tgz

Screen shot:
http://perplexcitycardcatalog.com/notes/maze/rovr-1.6.jpg

Also, I named the application ROVR because it sounded like a cool acronym that brought to mind the Rover ball from "The Prisoner." We had been kicking around, in IRC, a few ideas for what to make ROVR stand for because I sort of came up with the acronym before coming up with the text it stands for. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear.
rovr-1.6.jpg
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rovr-1.6.jpg
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 8:56 pm
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Atrophied
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 		Re: ROVR suggestions:

Really Out-there Variable Roller
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:10 pm
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Simon
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 		A big collection of spoilers:

How big is map 6?
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
200x200.


Why is map 6 so hard?
Spoiler (Rollover to View):

It is a completely random map and is different every time you try the program. It is hard because the game does not even guarantee that it is even possible.


What's the message at the end of map 6?
Spoiler (Rollover to View):

"In" - just the two letters. Every map you complete from now on gains you no more than 4 letters from one very big message.


How many maps are there?
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
There 1005 maps. 5 of them are small. All the others are 200x200. 900 of these big maps are just random with no guarantee that they can be solved. The remaining 100 (assuming you solve 900 random potentially impossible mazes) have something hidden in them.


What are all the messages you get from finishing maps?
Spoiler (Rollover to View):

1. I am dreaming now

2. All I am is dreaming

3. I will wake soon and when I wake I will die

4. I know this to be true

5. I am not afraid

6 to 1000+. (This message appears 4 characters at a time. )
In my dreams, I am walking in a maze. I am following someone who is always just a little too far ahead. A moment before I round one corner, she rounds the next. I never see her, not even a glimpse of her cloak.

She. It is a woman, then, my quarry. I follow a woman, walking in this maze. The place is quiet. There is no sound but that of my footsteps on the floor. I cannot see the floor, it is too dark. The walls are blank. It is a maze. I made this maze and now I am caught within it.

The adherents of ancient religions compare the darkness of this life to the
wandering in a maze. Only with the light of eternal truth, they say, will we be set free. But there is no light to follow. Only a woman, whom I know to be ahead of me.

I walk a little faster. I know, without knowing how I know, that she also walks a little faster. Only a little. Only just out of reach.

I try to remember who she is, this woman always ahead of me. I think that I know. I think that this maze is knowledge, that I have pieced it together, like the construction of a complex puzzle. I used to make puzzles. I do so no longer.

She does not tire. She does not hunger. She does not thirst. Her
speed is steady, increasing when mine increases, decreasing when mine does. If I stopped, she too would stop. This pursuit could last forever.

It must not last forever. I have no time left. Moments only. Moments are all we have, of course. I remember something, a fragment, a conversation. A woman pushing a slip of paper toward me across a table. It is gone again. I walk on.

I call out in the darkness: "Who are you?" My voice returns to me. It asks me the same question. I almost know the answer.

In fury, I begin to run. I urge my body forward. Ahead of me, her speed
increases. I strain. My lungs ache. I am no nearer to her. I run faster, as
fast as I possibly can. I will never catch her. I collapse to the floor of the
passage. I sit with my back to the wall, breathing hard. I despair. My time is almost up. If only I could turn the timer over, set the sand flowing in the
other direction.

I consider this. Yes. I think I may know how to proceed. I stand up. I turn
around. Yes, this is how it was. I walk away from her. And now she begins to pursue me. I am not afraid. This is how it must be. I have created this maze. I am its author.

Through dimly-lit corridors, she pursues me. She travels at the same pace as me. When I slow, she slows. When I quicken, she does likewise. Nothing appears to have changed. But everything has changed.

I am the author of this maze. I know its every turn and bend, its every blind alley. I know its heart. Now, she is following me. Now I control our
destination.

Counting in the half-light, I pass by one entrance, then another, then another. The passages appear identical. I am looking for the heart of the maze. I choose carefully. This place is larger than one might have expected.

I lead her along the route I have chosen. She is always just a little behind
me, just out of view.

We come at last to the place I have chosen. The heart
of the maze. I know, I think I know, what will happen here.

The centre of the maze is an empty room. This is the secret at the heart of
every maze. She knows it too. Emptiness, a space at the heart.

The room is long. It is unbending. It is as large as the maze itself. This is a mystery beyond explanation.

I walk slowly up the length of the room. Slower than slow. She is behind me. She knows what will happen now.

I reach the far distance. This is impossible, of course.

I turn around.

I see her.

She sees me.

She speaks a series of words. They mean nothing to me. They mean everything. They are this story.

It is time for me to go.

7. The program output the following message when you have solved all the mazes:
I understand what I must do. There is a maze. I am to lead others through it. I must. We must find her, we must discover the truth, the heart. I have placed my maze in this maze of words. The words are the maze. They will lead those who must come after me. It is time for me to go.


Which maps have something hidden in them?
Spoiler (Rollover to View):

The first five maps are always the same. They may contain something a wiser head than mine can fathom.

Of the remainder every 10th map starting with map 69 has a large rectangular area which you cannot enter. It is in a different place on each maps. Some maps have two areas. It is always the same distance across the map, and always the same width (from column 80 to column 119) but it varies in height and vertical position. These are the vertical positions of these impenetrable areas:

From 104 to 116
From 98 to 120
From 96 to 123
From 93 to 125
From 91 to 126
From 89 to 127
From 87 to 129
From 86 to 130
From 85 to 131
From 83 to 132
From 82 to 133
From 81 to 133
From 79 to 134
From 78 to 135
From 77 to 136
From 76 to 136
From 77 to 136
From 78 to 103 and from 111 to 137
From 78 to 100 and from 114 to 137
From 79 to 98 and from 116 to 137
From 81 to 96 and from 116 to 137
From 82 to 94 and from 117 to 137
From 83 to 93 and from 118 to 137
From 84 to 91 and from 118 to 137
From 85 to 90 and from 118 to 137
From 86 to 38 and from 117 to 137
From 117 to 137
From 116 to 137
From 115 to 137
From 114 to 136
From 113 to 136
From 112 to 136
From 111 to 135
From 110 to 135
From 109 to 134
From 108 to 133
From 107 to 132
From 106 to 131
From 105 to 130
From 104 to 129
From 103 to 128
From 102 to 127
From 101 to 126
From 100 to 125
From 100 to 125
From 101 to 126
From 102 to 127
From 103 to 128
From 104 to 129
From 105 to 130
From 106 to 131
From 107 to 132
From 108 to 133
From 109 to 134
From 110 to 135
From 111 to 135
From 112 to 136
From 113 to 136
From 114 to 136
From 115 to 137
From 116 to 137
From 117 to 137
From 86 to 38 and from 117 to 137
From 85 to 90 and from 118 to 137
From 84 to 91 and from 118 to 137
From 83 to 93 and from 118 to 137
From 82 to 94 and from 117 to 137
From 81 to 96 and from 116 to 137
From 79 to 98 and from 116 to 137
From 78 to 100 and from 114 to 137
From 78 to 103 and from 111 to 137
From 77 to 136
From 76 to 136
From 77 to 136
From 78 to 135
From 79 to 134
From 81 to 133
From 82 to 133
From 83 to 132
From 85 to 131
From 86 to 130
From 87 to 129
From 89 to 127
From 91 to 126
From 93 to 125
From 96 to 123
From 98 to 120
From 104 to 116


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:16 pm
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BrianEnigma
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Posts: 1199
Location: Pacific Northwest
Simon wrote:
A big collection of spoilers:

Those sure are some pretty big spoilers. Decompiling something that has been as deliberatly obfuscated as those Java clases are is generally frowned upon. (...not that I don't have my very own decompiled, commented, renamed, and annoted source code...I'm just sayin'...)

I guess you now know why I've been pushing for an automated way of traversing the maps. Wink
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:36 pm
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Spankit
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Joined: 22 Apr 2005
Posts: 219
Location: Hooville....Wahoowa!

 		So I think the question on everyone's mind is, how do you know all this?

Did you solve all of those mazes yourself?
Did you, through amazing computer hacking skills, dissect the program to obtain the information?
Or are you the prophesied Maze with the amazing Isabella Levenay bag that Madame Bianca has foreseen?

Actually, don't bother answering. I think I know the answer. Let's just say that Levenay bag is a fake.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:39 pm
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Kirjava
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Joined: 19 Apr 2005
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Location: Oxford, UK

 		This is all I have to say:
Quote:
Brute Force

Applying massive amounts of computing power to solve something. For instance: using a computer program to try every possible combination of letters and numbers to discover a password. Generally, any solution involving brute force is inelegant and frowned upon, unless brute forcing can be done in such a way as to cause no adverse side effects for players or Puppet Masters. ...and even then, it is debatable whether brute forcing is permitted.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:39 pm
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JebJoya
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 		Kirjava - would you then call an automapper to this puzzle Brute Force?

Jeb
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:44 pm
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NovacaineX
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Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 289
Location: Ohio - New York, USA

 		I don't like brute force anymore than the next player, but...

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
A 1000 level, 200x200 invisible maze, with randomly generated possibly-unbeatable levels is more than ridiculous on the PM's part. It wouldn't be AS bad if you could save your progress, or if they wern't random. But keep in mind that a single person would have to complete 1005 mazes 900 of which might not be able to be beaten, without even closing the program.

Impossible.


I'm sorry but this is the only way we would ever have seen that message.

Either that or a really smart autopilot, which is also brute force, since it solves them for you.

At least now we can get on with the real puzzle...

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
I have placed my maze in this maze of words. The words are the maze


EDIT: spoilerized beginning, sorry spugmeistress!

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 11:02 pm
Last edited by NovacaineX on Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:17 am; edited 2 times in total
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spugmeistress
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Joined: 22 Feb 2005
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Location: manchester, uk

 		can i just ask that anyone wanting to discuss simon's spoilerized findings would also spoiler their posts? not everyone will have chosen to read those things and they don't want to be told what it says by someone replying a few posts later.

personally, my rss reader tricked me into reading at least the stuff about level 6 which is quite depressing but id just go with bri's attempts to autopilot the thing and
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
hope we dont run into any randomly generated unsolvable ones because then wed have to start right again from the beginning to randomly generate a new one

as poo as that sounds, i'm still not so sure its an excuse to decompile the thing, especially if it was deliberately obfuscated to prevent that. looks like the victory on this one will go to the programmers in our ranks.

i managed to avoid reading the hidden message but the bit at the bottom about what levels stuff can be found on intrigued me so
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
i had a look and saw the stuff about the blocked out areas on the maps. got me thinking there might be a hidden message in this somehow and curiosity got the better of me so i tried mapping them out onto squares. hoped they might spell out letters but alas, you can see this from the numbers but basically they go from a line to a square which splits in the middle. the top part shrinks from both sides and the bottom part shrinks away from the centre. the top part disappears and the bottom part moves towards the middle and then the whole thing seems to go in reverse. not sure if we're supposed to make anything from that or not. would upload a pic but dont know how to spoilerize it without finding an external host.


rach =)

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 11:29 pm
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firefox
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Joined: 28 Jul 2004
Posts: 333

 		it was only a matter of time until someone did this and personally i dont have any problems with it. a solve is a solve.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
the sheer size of the puzzle leaves no doubt in my mind that this was ment to be solved with either an autotracker or by decompiling and interpreting the code (hence the obsfucation), so it wasnt that easy either way- you either had to write a tracker like Brian or make sense of the shoddy coding like Simon.


having spent quite some time on level 6, and now reading the entire solve, i feel better knowing that even with level 6 done, there was no chance at all that i could ever complete each subsequent level. the fact that the game was only given in osx and had certain limitations imposed on it, hinted that this would be a programming puzzle.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
save yourselves the trouble, read the solve and move on



edit: looking at the original controller.jar (which i was not aware of) and the newer controller.jar (on the salk website) i have a sneaking suspicion that maybe they did expect us to solve it all by playing through each level. the original had story.txt and a bunch of other goodies inside it- which looks like a slipup, the newer one does not.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:16 am
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NovacaineX
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Joined: 24 Aug 2004
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 		So has anyone emailed sylvia with this new found information? I would, but I do not want to take credit for it's finding. I suggest one of the programmer's who has worked on the various tools send it in and see if there's any response.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:29 am
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cronogenesis
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 		Ive just sent it off (giving credit where its due) incase nobody else has. No we need to wait and see if this message means anything to Sylvia.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:48 am
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