Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Sushi on March 02, 2010, 11:06:21 am
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Portal update released:
http://store.steampowered.com/news/3533/
Leading to a whole big pile of cryptic sounds and images... and images embedded in sounds... and maybe visa versa...
Leading to what?
Portal 2?
HL2: Episode 3?
Both?
The suspense is killing me, but I love it when companies do this sort of thing. :)
All the action trying to unravel this takes place here:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=82
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I think you've summed up my guesses there. To be honest I really hope it's Ep 3 and not Portal 2. They seem to be putting Ep 3 off for some reason.. and while I trust Valve to generally make good decisions where releases are concerned (they've been awesome at additional content for TF2 for example) - they do seem to be rather quiet on it.
Who knows, it's a good way to stir up interest at any rate.
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My personal guess is that EP3 and Portal 2 will be separate games, but released simultaneously and with intertwined stories.
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My personal guess is that EP3 and Portal 2 will be separate games, but released simultaneously and with intertwined stories.
A portal gun player and gravity gun player would make for an interesting co-op :D
Course I also thought Portal gun only capture the flag would be some seriously messed up fun.
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The new radio achievement is brilliant. I've got 22/26 so far and am having a blast. Definitely a good excuse to replay the game.
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Whenver I see that acronym, I think Anti-Replicator Gun from SG-1 and Atlantis.
Anyway, link (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1499706).
Google Wave link if you're lucky enough to have it (https://wave.google.com/wave/?pli=1#minimized:nav,minimized:contact,minimized:search,restored:wave:googlewave.com!w%252BJOan8tb2C).
Basically, the gist of it is that Valve released a random Portal update with the description:
Updates to Portal have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted.
Portal
Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations
People quickly noticed there was a new achievement titled "Transmission Received" that is triggered when you bring the radio from the room where you wake up out with you to the first red button. A new light on the radio turns from red to green when you do this, and it starts playing Morse code instead of the Still Alive muzak.
The achievement indicates you've completed 1/26. There are now 25 other radios hidden throughout the next levels, and you have to find them, pick them up, and walk to wherever their light turns green. Some have more Morse code, others made some weird distorted sounds.
Naturally I immediately set out trying to get the achievement, figuring the prize would be had when you got that. I spent a few hours, got myself to 20/25, and gave up to see what everyone else had figured out. In the time it took me to find those radios, the people at Steam forums had found out this was a full fledged alternate reality game.
Enterprising forumgoers found each of the sounds the new radios broadcast in the game's resource files, labeled as dinosaur1.wav through dinosaur26.wav. Those that were in Morse code were translated.
1.
interior transmission active external data line active message digest active
5.
9e107d9d372bb6821bd91d3542a419d6
12.
system data dump active user backup active password backup active
17.
beep beeeep beep beep beeeep beeeep beeeep beep beeeep beep beep
(If you treat THIS as Morse code, it gets translated to "LOL")
5. turns out to be the MD5 hash of "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" which people discovered by googling it.
The remaining sounds are actually pictures encoded as audio. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but if you want to see them, they're all here (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169218). Each image is contains at least one number or letter. This turned out to be another MD5 hash, which turned out to be the MD5 hash of a phone number near Seattle. The number is (425) 822-5251. (DO NOT CALL THIS unless you know what you are doing.) People who dialed into the phone were greeted with the sounds of a modem.
Turns out on the other end of this number is an old BBS line. You have to dial in with an old-fashioned dial-up modem, and then use a terminal program to communicate with the other computer. The username/password was given in morse code above: backup/backup.
Basically, the other computer dumps a bunch of ascii art (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2801/4402930118_98b95fd393_o.jpg) into your terminal. As far as everyone knows so far this is as far as it goes.
People are speculating that this means that HL2:EP3 and Portal 2 will be combined somehow, or that some announcement is going to be made on the 11th regarding Portal 2 (because the version of GalDOS on the other end of the BBS line is 3.11 - I guess nobody's ever heard of Windows for Workgroups (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.1x#Windows_3.11) then).
Kudos, Valve.
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This would be a more appropriate thread for this (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=68384.0), seeing as this has very little to do with ST:R, the fsport, or FreeSpace.
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But it does have to do with ARGs, which Phoenix is. I think it's fine here, as those who are interested in one would no doubt be interested in the other.
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Merge with this thread (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=68384.msg1350529#msg1350529) please.
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Another update came out today.
The end of the game has changed. Spoiler:
http://www.xfire.com/video/2393cf/
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Well now...
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Apparently there is a progress bar on the BBS that has been steadily marching forward. It's due to finish in about an hour and a half or so.
And THEN what happens? :)
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Portal 2 announced:
http://store.steampowered.com/news/3559/
But wait... the mystery isn't over. Some of the letters in the announcement are underlined...
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Nothing fishy about that. No sir.
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Portal 2 announced:
http://store.steampowered.com/news/3559/
But wait... the mystery isn't over. Some of the letters in the announcement are underlined...
dratmann h0nee?
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Anagram it?
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No anagram necessary.
Dr. Atmann, password 'h0nee.' Probably a login?
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No anagram necessary.
Dr. Atmann, password 'h0nee.' Probably a login?
aperturescience.com revived? oO
Wasn't the phone number asking for a GLaDOS login?
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Yeah, the underlined stuff is the login for a new page on the BBS that unlocked around the same time Portal 2 was annouced.
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Since i don't get to play it, i'm going to rain on this party. :yes:
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I really couldn't care less about Portal 2. I want HL2 Ep3 dammit!
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You know HL3 is going to be about Aperture Science, right? I'm betting that they're the same game. :P
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You know HL3 is going to be about Aperture Science, right? I'm betting that they're the same game. :P
I wish it would. Damn, Valve has two well-established backstories and (in case of Portal, soon-to-be) franchises! When I've read that Ep3 ends the story, I got mad. Come on!!! Make an HL3 after Ep3 with all the Portal goodness too! The endlessness of possibilities amaze me.
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How can Ep. 3 end the story? :wtf:
It would have to be pretty damned long (HL series is known for this), not to mention filled with actual plot development (HL series is not known for this). :P
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How can Ep. 3 end the story? :wtf:
Easy. One word: Rabbids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oQuHo8iNdM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dws-2M5PdqU&feature=fvst
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http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_3
"It has been stated that Episode Three will be the final episode of the Half-Life 2 universe story arc, but not the end of the Half-Life franchise. However what happens next for the franchise is currently unknown."
And, ehm, read it here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_valve_060606
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I really couldn't care less about Portal 2. I want HL2 Ep3 dammit!
Portal was a much better game than HL2 Epsidoe 1 or 2, however, Portal 2 may not be.
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I really couldn't care less about Portal 2. I want HL2 Ep3 dammit!
Portal was a much better game than HL2 Epsidoe 1 or 2, however, Portal 2 may not be.
I don't really know how you can directly compare the two groups, as they were vastly different games that each achieved their own purposes.