EDIT: A big thanks to j15bell for providing photos to assist all of you on your quest! Visit the link HERE. The password is tweleve.
Remember that contest held a few years back by Google when “The Da Vinci Code” was released? This time around, MSN is hosting a contest for “Angels & Demons” roughly structured in the same way. The “Path of Illumination Contest” – which just began January 30 – will occur in 2 rounds and a final tie-breaker round leading up to the film’s May release. Each round will offer a series of 4 challenges released in stages. Here’s a clear rundown:
The “Path of Illumination Contest” can be found at the official “Angels & Demons” site here: http://www.angelsanddemons.com
It will require you to download Microsoft’s Photosynth as well as sign up for a Windows Live ID (Hotmail and MSN e-mail addresses will work).
*As Round 1 has come to an end, Round 2 begins on March 6. To remind contestants of the next phase of the contest, Microsoft has sent out the following e-mail:
Congratulations! You are one of only 3,497 contestants from the United States to advance to Round Two of the Angels & Demons Path of Illumination Contest. Don’t turn back now – victory could be within reach!
In Round Two, you must solve four new puzzles. All Round Two puzzles will be available beginning at 10:00 AM PT on March 6, 2009, and must be completed by 9:59 AM PT on March 13, 2009, so mark your calendar!
Unlike Round One, you will have only ONE chance to play each puzzle in Round Two and your score will be automatically submitted for the contest.
Remember, if you have the lowest combined score from Round One and Round Two, you will become the potential country winner, and will receive a trip for two to Rome to attend the premiere of Angels & Demons and more.
Sign in to play at http://angelsanddemons.msn.com
Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more, please read our online Privacy Statement (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=74170).
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
Stuck? Believe me, after playing through “The Da Vinci Code Contest”, I know from experience that these puzzles do become progressively challenging and players will most definitely need help.
We are opening the comments board below for open discussion. Send in any questions or comments you have and feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.
“Angels & Demons” hits theaters May 15, 2009.
You're better at the evil laugh than I expected! Have you been practicing? I know we'll come out victorious. The question is, will we be the first ones to solve it?
I tried the idea you gave. Questions: would it be a positive or negative for the last number? And how do we get at least 16 characters?
For this, I did 8I10 as 8+1+10 (19) (S), 6V as 6+5 (11) (K), etc. The letters mad e a LITTLE bit more sense that way:
gooskpviwl
You know, I feel bad. You are at least coming up with some smart ideas to try…while I'm just the naysayer. I think my mind is just stuck in a logical box, which is making it hard for me to come up with creative solutions… I'm not going to give up, but I'm starting to wonder if you'd do better on your own… Oh well…time to do more research.
Come on Rachael! That's not true. You're doing great work here. On the contrary..these..(wait..how did you call it) creative solutions
are very improbable to help. That's why I asked gamepro if Drado maybe didn't have all the information we have. Cause that would mean that the story text possibly could contain the clue on how to solve everything with logical thoughts. The rules I came up with are just a wildly guessing game.
No..you don't have to feel bad at all. We NEED a logical solution here..but until we (you) have no idea I'll try to do everything that's coming in my mind.
By the way….uhm..^^..I'll tell you THAT by email.
What is most frustrating:
Drado couldn't know about the 16 letters minimum, neither about the alphabetic solution. Cause he got this information not until the end from Salone himself.
So HOW on earth has he done it?
rules
and it wouldn't work for the 615 at the end anyway.
"+" means multiplicate, "-" means divide and maybe alternating:
34+ => 3*4 = 12 => letter "L"
66- => 6:6 = 1 => letter "A"
14136+ => 1*4 = 4; 4:1 = 4; 4*3 = 12; 12:6 = 2 => letter "B"
8I10 => no idea
@ gamepro
Are you still out there somewhere?
Wow…I checked your e-mail, and that was definitely not something I was expecting. And thank you for your kind words. I think that was the motivation I needed. It's pretty disheartening, but knowing you're in my corner is a big help. And I'll cheer you along when you need it too!
Okay, with your new Rules: How would we get our 16 letters again? And like you said, what would we do with the last number and the Roman Numerals. Is there any chance that we shouldn't be interpreting the Roman Numerals as numbers, but perhaps as actual letters? I don't get the III, but maybe in the long run it would make sense? For this clue, it just says "he knew what he had to do, and at last Drado received his answer". It doesn't say what that answer told him to do. And he didn't take any action after finding that answer until he saw the message above his head. Could it be possible we're just spinning our wheels on something that really isn't a clue? Did we somehow miscount? Is this one of those misleading puzzles that he had an answer to, but didn't use to find his way out of the dungeon?
That would make the words above his head (leading us to the painting?) as the first clue?
OK: Brainstorming here:
"find the trap door, find the painting, guess at the stones, the picture and the door"
1. Trap Door: Dots and Lines lead to the Trap Door?
2. Find the Painting: That's from the "Lost Junk" clue
3. Guess at the Stones: LOST-push the numbers in the order of their letters from the Wall of Knowledge clue
4. The Picture: Another part of the Wall of Knowledge clue – I mean there are at least three, possibly more parts to that one clue? Or is this the picture of the Stone with the Numbers/Roman Numerals on it?
5. The Door: The golden door to walk through at the end.
Perhaps, rather than doing the stone picture first, like Drado does, we have to solve it in the order the King gives us at the end. Meaning the Dots and Lines on the Wall of Knowledge would be the first step?
Questions for Gamepro:
1. Are you sure no one has solved this yet?
2. Is it really solvable?
3. Concerning "not to make them to hard" – What exactly is your definition of: "Too hard"?
If we do it in the above order, that means that the clue we've been working on (if it turns out to be one we really have to solve) would be numerical. We'd need a minimum of 9 numbers. But it also means the LOST numbers clue would really be alphabetic, and we'd need at least 10 letters.
- I know in our other e-mails, I was pretty sure we had to do it in the order Drado did…but that could have just been me trying to be overly logical…
What are your thoughts?
I'm grateful for every new idea.
And the new order sounds great!
Ok then..let's try the dots and lines first.
But before that I just want you to know my thoughts about some other things you wrote:
- If "find the painting" refers to the "loads of junk" clue..I don't know..as I said I have problems with the language here..but Queen Joline wears a necklace right? And that would be near to her "heart". And also we find the word "bestow" in connection with the necklace below at the golden doors.
So maybe the answer would have been "ruby and onyx necklace" or something? I know.. -.- a bit far-fetched. Well..maybe it helps you.
- Concerning the "LOST-riddle" and the problem that we need ten letters: In the middle of the wall of knowledge we have that sequence of 19 numbers so if we push the numbers we could get the needed letters…although it says "push the numbers in the order of their letters"
.
Well..ok..let's get to the dots and lines!
I have the clear suspicion that it has nothing to do with morse. The distances are odd, don't you think?
IF it's morse, than in the second row we have two dots and two lines very near to each other. But there is no letter in the morse code standing for "dot, dot, dash, dash". Maybe backwards..that would mean a "z".
Hm..again, I have the feeling that it has nothing to do with morse. Maybe something totally different. The distances seem to be consciously so irregular. Maybe we have to connect the lines (or dots) with a pencil or something. Or we have to use a mirror..
Do you actually think that it's morse?
Okay – that was kind of weird…4 "different?" people posting the same website to view the movie? Hmmm….
Axl, just before I drifted off last night, my mind turned back to the riddle…and I thought "Binary Code". 1's and 0's? I don't know where we'd break it down though (the spaces between the dots and lines aren't overly defined in a number of places), but it's a thought.
It also said he solved a piece of the "Wall of Knowledge" puzzle telling him where the trap door is, but not which piece. We could be on the wrong track…again. Or, we could have been on the right track, and I derailed us…
- With your idea about the Loads of Junk and Joline picture, I like it. I was thinking something like… "Look behind Joline", but yours makes more sense
With that clue…the grammar is way off. It isn't a language thing, it's just weird. But we'll figure it out. Eventually 
Sorry I didn't have the whole (any part of this) thing solved before you got up
But I'll keep trying.
More randomness: Taking the string of (correct) numbers from the LOST picture, and using the backwards alphabet, I got: uzsyxxtwyvzvwvvtxtw, which phonetically could somehow be construed as: use six twelves ….. ww txt w (web site?) Using the forward alphabet, there's nothing.
Okay, back to the drawing board.
I have this clear picture in my mind:
Gamepro couching in a hammock on Bora Bora grinning and laughing as evil as possible.
Binary Code? Well..maybe..I don't know..what about the distances then? Hm..but possible..
You know..I think I have found something. It's not a brilliant awareness but..I'm pretty sure that it means something. I'll write you per email..it's about that number line on the wall of knowledge.
Use six twelves!
You're simply the best. Very creative, keep at it!
Gamepro
. So, I'd really love to help her but I don't want to put more and more time in something where I don't have the feeling to advance. So, I'll do a break at this point until you want to tell us something helpful.
We're stuck. If we only need the stone to go through the correct golden door, then we have this number. But that's everything we've achieved.
An idea concerning the number line 61823… was to read it as: "6, 18, 23, .." since the numerical value ascends and the difference between the numbers seems to be important cause you changed one number afterwards and the consequence was that the following numbers had to be adjusted. But the differences would be "12, 5, .." etc and that leads us into a dead end. The related letters would be "L, E, .." etc but the word doesn't make sense. Maybe an answer is just the number sequence 12, 5, etc.. but we don't think so.
You called it "Treasure Hunt For Everyone". Well, I don't know how many people other than me and Rachael are trying or have tried to solve it. We've found that riddle in another forum where you posted it more than three years ago. So IF you were not lying to us then nobody has yet been able to solve it for 40 months or so.
And if you want it to get solved then you should give us a hand cause I don't want to guess another few years and I don't know how long you can stress Rachael's patience. At least talk to us cause we don't know if maybe it really isn't solvable and you're just messing around with us or you don't follow the discussion any more.
If there is a prize then Rachael would surely have deserved to win it, I already told her that I don't want it since I already won something in this path of illumination contest but I had to promise to share if it's something one can share
Axl –
That's right, you did promise, and I'll hold you to it
Gamepro –
The thing is, we feel like we're out there – on our own – with no direction. We can't find anything in the clue to help us even know where to start. Looking at your past clues, there was always something to help us know what we were supposed to do to complete the solve…even if it sometimes felt like a bit of a stretch. But in this one – well, it feels like that bit of information was left out. We have so much given to us, but I sincerely believe the important "this is a hint of what you have to do to solve this" part is not there. And if this riddle has been out there for 3 years with no solve…that is worrisome.
I do understand that it is a puzzle – I don't expect you to hold our hands and walk us to the solve. But it would be nice to have a little bit of reassurance that you're still out there and that we do in fact have all the information we need to complete the solve.
Could you review your puzzle, looking at it from an outside perspective, and verify for me that this puzzle can be solved with the information given? Please? Pretty please? It's not very nice to make a girl beg…
Axl (again) –
I'm at the point now that I am confused and disheartened. If I don't come up with some sort of an epiphany after working on it a little bit today when I get home from work, I think I'll have to put it on the shelf for a little bit. I really think we're missing information, like a puzzle missing a couple of pieces can never be the whole picture. And I don't like that feeling.
WOW! I have been gone for some time and I check back in just today and find that you all have made such a huge progress with this puzzle. CONGRATULATIONS to everyone that is still sticking with it.
Rachel, yes, I promise it is solvable and it is NOT just a joke. Since you have found the other forum(s) then you will find a lot of great hints on those forums.
For the first part you need to USE the stone with the decoded part of the numbers and roman numerals for example
Stone= Train Room King Hef Roman Numerals/Numbers=34+66-14136+8I10+6V+1811-2III-IX+17VI+615
3, 4+6=10, 6-1=5, 4, 13, 6+8=14, etc….
A K N I G H
As for the next part you all were right to use the Loads of Junk with the painting's dots and lines (it is NOT morse code) Try lining the two clues up together–
I really have been out of touch and not devilishly reading your pleas for help without doing anything. You all are doing awesome, and I will prob be away for a little more time as well:( Good Luck!!!
Don't Give Up!!!
Gamepro
Puh..thx gamepro
. I thought you were gone 
.
Ok, Rachael..now we have the first two parts. The next letters concerning the second part should be "F, K, N..", right? I'll try some things to detect them by counting to 5 or back 3 before goint to bed. Good luck!
-.- not wallo(fknowledge..) but wall "O"
man..slow off the mark
Ok..I've got another answer..still need to find the trap door though..Drado, we're near!
Your turn Rachael..I'll have to sleep a bit^^
-.- gamepro..I thought THAT would be the LAST puzzle.. obviously it is not. How many more do we have to solve?
OK….I just got home from work, and it looks like you've completed everything Axl. So, does that mean we have another clue after this one?
Gamepro- Thank you so much for checking back in with us. I really thought you had left us. And it's really nice to know that the puzzle is solvable. Axl said that I solved part of it (must have been on accident
Now I have to go and see what the two of you are talking about. You sure know how to suck us back in
Okay – like Axl, I should really be asleep. And I'm on my way right after this.
I think Axl will have earned the award, should we ever get to it. I've been able to solve the first two clues (THANK YOU GAMEPRO!) But that's it. I think Gamepro fried my brain with all the other ciphers… But Axl already has the solve. I think I know all the letters it should be, but I don't know how to make the third clue match up with the letters I think they are. (For those curious, I think those three letters should be: V, E, and S)
Okay, bed time. Maybe I'll do better once I'm all refreshed in the morning. Good night everyone!
*YAWN*, *STRETCH*
Good morning everyone.
I really must have been tired yesterday. I was pretty sure that the next riddle has nothing to do with Drado..but today I read everything carefully and well..he's in trouble again. ^^ How could I possibly overlook the word "Drado". o_O
Anyways..Rachael, you're SO close. Very good work. In fact, you have all the answers by now. You'll be there in no time.
Next puzzle: I solved the first pretty obvious thing but I have the feeling that it won't matter really. Hm, what do you say?
Good morning Axl. Thanks for reminding me of the way you thought the numbers should be broken. That was my missing link
Okay, the next one. (Is there even a last one, or does Gamepro create a new one as soon as we solve one, so that we never really get one step closer to the end? That would be evil, Gamepro…)
Here are my initial impressions (I only have time to write the thoughts down, no time to actually work on this yet):
- There are dots and dashes within the words – Morse?
- The suns and moons are a direct pull from "The Secrets of the Alchemist Dar". In there, it seems they are Quinary (base 5 numbers):
* 0 = A white sun – ○
* 1 = A black sun – ●
* 2 = A left facing black moon – Left Crescent
* 3 = A right facing black moon – Right Crescent
* 4 = A left facing white moon – Moon
- Did you notice that there are invisible numbers and that in these instructions, it says "Use Exact Case" instead of "lower case"?
- "Blind" was in quotation marks. I don't know if that's a reference to the hidden numbers that we are "blind" to, or if that's a cipher or something we'd have to use.
Okay, that's all for my initial impressions. I better get to work. I'll do what I can on this during my lunch break.
PS: WAY TO GO AXL – you solved that last one all on your own! I'm going to have trouble keeping up with you! Talk to you later.
There are also hidden letters.
Ok…where to start?
First I didn't solve it on my own at all! Your thoughts and Gamepro's additional clues were crucial..as I said..alone I'd probably have died in this dungeon or my brain would have exploded or something.
Concerning the new puzzle..
1. The dots and lines are indeed morse signs and the hidden letters fit as well. That is the little piece that I was already able to solve. But I don't know if we can use it. Yep..exact case..I saw that as well.
2. Wow! Than you, Rachael!! That is very helpful. I was totally overstrained with these moons. I haven't made these Alchemist Dar thing. Ok.. I'll see what I can do with that information.
3. The word "blind"..maybe..well observed!
By the way. It exists a hieroglyphic alphabet, so..the signs can be translated..but nothing makes sense yet.
I really should keep working, but I'm taking a quick break to get absorbed in this…again…
First – You pretty much did solve it. But I'm willing to admit that we make a pretty good team
Especially with Gamepro's guiding hand.
1. I really can't wait to try and decode the dots and dashes, as well as the hidden letters.
It also said something about 26 letters, but 25 in the box? Did that make ANY sense to you at all?
2. I'm happy I was able to help with the suns and moons. They are Quinary in the Alchemist Dar…but Gamepro might have another use for them…guess we'll see. I really wish I could win that blue fairy ring…but I'd have to win the red one too, just to be able to afford the taxes so I could keep the blue one…*sigh* that is assuming the game is still on anyway.
3. Maybe
I'll have to do some Egyptian research, I guess. Did the Morse give any hint as to what to do? Especially with the strange decoded letters at the bottom? Or with the 10, 1 and 0's that were hidden?
hmm…I had some things to do..so I haven't tried anything..but 25 in a box? Sounds like a 5×5 playfair box, no?
!
No..the morse doesn't give us a(n obvious) hint and I've no idea what we are supposed to do with the 10's and 0's, too.
I'll check back tomorrow in the evening. Good luck, Rachael
You're very welcome, Drado. Now, could you please do Axl and me a favor and stop getting yourself into trouble?
Axl,
Good night, sleep well!
Playfair sounds good…so…what would be the keyword…hmmm, I've got another few minutes of my lunch break to look and see. Hopefully I'll have something (anything!) for you when you wake up, so that I can feel like I contributed something to this one
And a hidden 3 after the title at the top (I don't know if that's on purpose, but unlike other previous clues, there are no brackets showing where the clue begins and ends…).
OK, now it's REALLY time to get to work. I'll check back in during lunch.
Were you able to find out something?
11 weeks ago Gamepro absorbed us, starting with the words:
"Hello Everyone,
I just thought you might like to try my puzzle. There are small prizes that will be awarded to the first person to "Complete" the whole puzzle."
Rachael, I am scared. Can you please tell me why the word "complete" is in quotation marks?
didn't work..maybe "blind" is the keyword..
Sigh..no success. I still don't know what to do with the hieroglyphics, moons and numbers.
I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to check in before you tried those…I tried the morse words and blind, as well as the straight letters. If you're right about the playfair cipher (and I'm pretty sure you are), we probably have to use the version where I and J are in the same box. That way, we still keep all 26 letters in play (as opposed to dropping the Q). Out of curiosity, what pairs are you using to find the letter? I was trying the suns and moons since, with quinary, there would be 5 different types (even though only 4 were used). The suns and moons were in pairs, except for that little one all on it's own at the end…
I haven't even started with the hieroglyphs. I'm wondering if there are any other letters or numbers that we are missing somewhere? I tried to go to a couple of the old clues to see if there was a "3" at the end of any of them, but the sites are down. It looks like it's all of Freeweb….
Has it seriously been 11 weeks? He really can suck us in, can't he? And just when I'm ready to give up and throw in the towel, he does it again! He's a genius – granted, an evil genius – but a genius none the less.
"Complete" was in quotation marks? That really makes me think I was right about him creating a new puzzle as soon as we solve one, so that there is no real end. It's like on the movie "National Treasure" –
Scene 1:
1: And the treasure?
2: No, no. But we found another clue that led us here.
1: Yeah, and that'll lead you to another clue. And that's all you'll ever find, is another clue. Don't you get it, ***Rachael and Axl?***
Scene 2:
2: I can explain, but I don't have time. It was necessary. And you saw the cipher.
1: And that will lead to another clue, that will lead to another clue! There is no treasure. I wasted years of my life. And now you've destroyed yours. And you pulled me into all this.
I'm scared too, Axl. Gamepro doesn't put things in "quotations" without a reason… I wish I had an answer to that question for you…
Axl – I'm not feeling very well today (and last night), so I'm not going to be working on this until I feel better. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you know I didn't disappear on you. I'll check back in as soon as I feel up to it. Good luck!
@ Rachael
.
I sent you a mail
@ Gamepro
We need help again, the puzzles contain just too few information. How many of them are there still to do?
Is it right to read the first two hieroglyphics as "D, N"?
Is a playfair square involved and should we find the key word in the suns and moons?
What about the quinary idea? Do we actually need Drado's hidden morse message?
Too many questions..
Hi Axl,
I'm back. Still really tired, but feeling much better than yesterday. I'm at lunch right now, so I don't have much time to write. I know you know of the letters, dots, dashes, and box of numbers within the main text. However, the clue says: "look high and low and all around". Did you find these too?
Above the main clue (within the instructions and above), there is hidden:
– Treasure Hunt For Everyone
– Everyone Can Discover Something New
– 3
– 9
And at the very bottom is hidden:
– Create a at
I don't know how that would be helpful…but there has to be a reason for it, right? At least the 3 and 9 which were very deliberate. I read your e-mail, and you understand perfectly what I was saying about the Quinary. (I'm also unsure about the math, but as of now, that doesn't seem to be a big deal with Dar – on a side note, "dar" is in the answer key…) The quinary doesn't come up with anything USEFUL, but it's something. I am in no way ahead of you on this. I just have a bit of familiarity with "The Secrets of the Alchemist Dar". But that hasn't been solved yet (not that I know of anyway), and that is supposed to end this September I believe (after two or three years, I can't remember). Winner or no winner, again this is assuming that the game is still even on (there was some legal issues between the Publishers and the Author…not a lot of information has been shared about what is happening with that).
OK – I see where you are coming from. With the last puzzle getting Drado out of the Dungeon, all the information was there, but there were no hints telling us how to use what where. It was pretty much guessing "I think this stone needs to be used with this number/roman number string, and I think this is how the numbers should be broken" type of thing. There was nothing hinting at WHAT to do. I feel a little different about this clue. We're stuck, but at least we've got this:
***There is a puzzle that has sun and moon symbols on it. there are 26 letters involved, with a box that only holds 25??
– That is a pretty nice allusion to the playfair cipher with 26 letters (meaning a combined i/j). Now, the question is how to find the keyword. And what is the coded text?
***And another that needs a certain kind of light to see, but i am "blind" as a bat you see.
– The other puzzle must be the Hieroglyphs (unless it's the hidden letters, numbers, morse, etc.). So, what would be a certain kind of light that could work with the computer? In the Alchemist Dar, you have to hold two pages up (one on top of the other) and hold it up to the light. Separate, the pictures don't make sense, but overlapped, you can read words. But, for an online hunt, I don't see how we could do that. Or what we would hold up in front of it?
***Answer Key: Use the key to find your answer's answer.
– Although this seems pretty straight forward, I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to this once we solve the others. So the first step is to complete the other puzzles, before we move on to this one.
So-
1. Figure out the key word and coded text to use in the playfair cipher.
2. Figure out what the certain kind of light is that we have to use with the Hieroglyphs (which I'm still a little shaky on)
3. Figure out what to do with the hidden words (possibly could have just forgotten to change their color) and numbers (the 3 and 9 were deliberate) from the instructions.
Yep, I summed up, but I'm still a little foggy today. That's about the best I can do right now… Plus, it helps if I can separate things into individual tasks. It doesn't seem so daunting then
Hey Rachael!
Hm..it would be really great if we could break it down to your three points. But I don't have a clue how you could do that summary 1., 2. and 3.
The problem with "1." is that the playfair box seems to be connected to the suns and moons (both in p.s.). By the way..why is the p.s. above the parting line near the hieroglyphics and not near the suns and moons then?
Concerning 2.: The hieroglyphics don't seem to be connected to the "certain light". For me it's very probable that the certain light thing refers to the 10's, 1's and 0's because if you mark that area than you have a certain blue light
. Why don't you think the hieroglyphics are just the normal alphabet? If you google it you'll find it very soon. For example the "hand" stands for a "d". It's pretty clear for me. Or were there hieroglyphics involved in that "Dar Quest"?
3. The hidden words..yes..well observed again from you!
The "9" is in front of the word "solutions". A weird idea: Maybe it's the 9th level and we have to combine all the solutions we got til now to a final answer?? I'm naive, I know^^.
Have you tried the keyword "bat" yet? Me not.
Hm..I still have the feeling that you are somehow more in the know than I am. As you see I'd have never been able to break everything down to these three points as I don't see the reasons for that (yet). I agree that we have to use the last thing with the key for the answer's answer in the end.
But you know, as I obviously have no success with my conclusions, it'll be be even more probable that you're right about all of that!
I wonder why it's posting multiples of our posts? 1: It does seem to be connected to the suns and moons, which is why I thought of doing something like the ROSIE clue, but with the symbols for 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Unfortunately, nothing I've done has yielded a result. (Just tried "bat", nothing…) I don't understand the positioning of the p.s. either. It seemed kind of odd. 2: I agree with your light assessment. But, then what do we do with the 10, 1, and 0 string? And the hieroglyphs? I was able to translate the letters, but it doesn't really make any sense. The "dna" if reversed is "and", but I can't get anything out of any of the others. Unless we're supposed to match the letter up with the word(s) in the answer key? 3: It could be. I don't know. It's not naive, it's creative! With the way things are going, it could really wind up being ANYTHING. I don't think I know any more. We're just looking at it in different ways, which is why we're making such a good team
You could break it down, but as you said, you didn't see a reason. I did, because I like to try and make something big and complex small and compartmentalized. It's just the way I process information. I'm still working on it, but I can't get into my e-mail, so any correspondence should be through here, for a little while at least.
Hi Gamepro,
Axl and I were e-mailing back and forth, and it sounds like we're in agreement. We don't really see an incentive to continue on.
1. We don't know what the prize is. All that was said at the very beginning was "small prizes". We've put in an awful lot of time and effort to not really know what we're working for.
2. The clues have gotten more and more vague as we've progressed. Looking back, and trying to see it as someone who hasn't solved the clues yet, clues 1 – 7 had all the information needed to complete a solve. However, once Drado enters the picture, the coded text is in there but the information needed to decipher the clue is missing. Unless you know how the clue is supposed to work, I don't think you would have any idea on how to start.
3. It used to be fun. There used to be a sense of accomplishment. That isn't there any more. Now, it feels like we're trying to read your mind.
4. There is no end in sight. We're on clue 11. How far is this supposed to go? And with them becoming increasingly vague… again, please refer to points 2 and 3.
Like Axl, I think I'm going to have to withdraw from your hunt. It just isn't fun any longer. I do hope someone saves poor Drado from the king and himself someday though.
@ Gamepro
-.- what can I say? Even if you don't write anything you are able to suck us back in that evil game of yours.
We made it somehow to your next level. Rachael came up with a brilliant idea and with combined forces we solved it. Level 10 now..just to your information. And I'd really like to know how many are there still waiting for us.
Wow..Rachael, we have posted SOOO much^^..going for the 100th page soon… -.- does anyone know how to fix this problem? We're not spamming around..
Still working on the problem. The issue is actually with "Intense Debate" which we are using for comments. They have not upgraded their software to be compatible with the WordPress upgrade. It should be fixed soon.
@axl and rachael and everyone!!! I cannot disclose how many levels there are, but I can tell you that everything is solvable and the levels will seem to "end" but are NOT over! I will let you know more once you reach THAT level. The reason that "complete" is in quotes, is because many players thought they had reached the end after solving the 7 part beginning puzzle, so I had to clear that up for them. I really hope that you'll stick with it as long as you can GREAT JOB so far…..
Gamepro
P.S as mentioned before there are other forums and boards that have some really good tips and hints on them if you search for them.
P.S.S All information needed to solve the puzzles IS obtainable and no need to read my mind;) lol
HAVE FUN!!!
The comments should be fixed now. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Do you guy’s believe in Michael Jackson dead? I honestly not. His is a legend for me and I fan of his lyrics for a years . Even my kind’s love it, there is a big loss for us. I still don’t believe in that, so sad.
OK – Is it just me, or does a bit of Dan Brown's cover for "The Lost Symbol" look a bit like something from Dar?
He put his eye to the hole. He just managed to spy some people sitting in deckchairs chanting, before a finger came out of nowhere and poked him in the eye. As he staggered back, the people started chanting, “Fourteen, fourteen, fourteen…”
Hello,
Super post, Need to mark it on Digg
Charlie
Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.
Thanks
You might have checked off the ‘email when someone replies’ feature. I’ll see what I can do.
Daniel
Admin
We are trying to clean things up a bit =)
And look…you can reply! A bit late but cool nonetheless.
Hmm..tough again
sixteenth century man..Elton John? In the lyrics we have the number “two”.
Think french.. penser? two= deux?
What do you think?
“I cannot lie” some sort of god?
Guess I’ll be back Monday. Til then good luck!
axl d
Hello! To get the winners’ list, this is the email address. In the subject box type this: “The Angels & Demons Path of Illumination Contest, Winners’ List Request,” and send it
to: winlistrequests@eprizefulfillment.com
Regards, BOB.
I just realized that I was trying to make some sense out of what I deciphered (thinking it was French or something), and now I see what it was really saying…wow, I’m slow on the uptake…
With the new one, “seaek” could sound like “seek”. I just keep honing in on the “what could I be seeing or ***hearing*** from this site”. Any ideas?
Hmm..yeah..seeing or hearing..absolutely no idea yet. Maybe my english is just not good enough for this.
or “see a dark h”..could refer to the word “what”..hm..unlikely..what do you think, Rachael?
First I thought of a iamb or trochee. But it’s neither.
Concerning “seeing”:
An anagram of the bold letters would be “see a hard k”
Anagram of the cursive letters: something with “determine..”?
Will go to bed now..but I guess I’ll need another hint or your help, Rachael..
^^ hmm..ok, thx. See you in about three weeks
!!
Then finally we’ll get to know the other winners.
Thank you for the additional hint gamepro. I’m pretty sure I’m on the right track now, but I think I might be missing a few letters to decode, because I was able to decipher the first two words, but the last bit makes no sense, but to be sure I entered it into the website, but it came back as “page not found”. But I think you have me pointed in the right direction now.
axl d – for the first two decipherd words, I got “i like”. How are you coming along? Excited about your trip?
To be honest..I have absolutely no idea
. The more I read your hints the more I have the feeling that my brain is empty..no great feeling actually. ^^
.
.
“Two selections”..what’s a selection concerning a cipher? Does that mean, we have to use two letters at a time to encode the bold and cursive text? Who is Samuel M.?
That’s brutal.
“I like” the idea that you’re right about the first two words
Sorry that I’m no use on this one
Good luck, though! I guess, I’m out…
Yeah..I’m really looking forward to the trip!
But there are still some things to do..
Definately don’t give up. I had no clue what to do until gamepro gave us the additional hint. I might have to hold out for another hint on this next one too…it looks like the answer is all numerical (“no letters to find in the answers”), and with the answers on the hands OR feet – I thought of 10 (10 fingers / 10 toes). The thing getting me is “something about rome and their great men”. The first thought is Roman Numerals which obviously doesn’t work…then there is Cesar, but I don’t know how a Cesar shift could work in this case either. So my head is doing laps trying to wrap itself around this one. Maybe time will let it all sink in.
I’m sure you have a lot to do – packing, getting the flight and hotel details…etc. Are you going to stay a few extra days on your own, or are you just going to stay as long as the contest lets you? I am so excited for all of the winners! A little jelouse, but mostly excited!
Quote: “it looks like the answer is all numerical (”no letters to find in the answers”)”
Hm..don’t you think, an all numerical answer would be too dry? And if so, why would it be so long?
I like your idea about the number 10. Or maybe 5. I guess we are to use the 10 or 5 somehow.
Yes..Cesar shift seems to be very probable..but did you notice? There are too many vowels for the Cesar shift, too many “A”‘s. Or maybe vowels are substituted for other vowels..hm. What about some kind of permutation? Any new inspiration?
No
, I won’t stay longer..have to get back as soon as possible. It wasn’t easy to plan. I’d thought, the premiere would be a week later… 
Thx and great score, Spain!
.
I’m now also waiting for the flight tickets and the detailed information concerning the trip and the prizes.
Since I haven’t sent a photo, they can’t receive it
@ you and Yeah Baby
!
Once you have your tickets and/or detailed information, please tell me
*** Fibonacci! Great idea! He’s Italian..not from Rome though. But what about the 5 or 10 concerning “hands and feet”?
*** Very good observation.. So it’s getting more probable that it’s all numerical.
*** I have already tried that at first.. Maybe we have to shift it over 1, 1, 2, 3..the fibonacci-code..? I’ll try this in a minute. But still..why “hands or feet”?
*** no, sorry
Permutation..well I thought it could be something like this: code text: “vhiealonucaaelt–l”
permutation: 32514
VHIEA LONUC AAELT –L
IHAVE NOCLU EATAL L
i have no clue at all
It would explain the quantity of the vowels but not the quantaty of the “x”.
Sigh..no, no success til now.
We’ll need another hint, don’t you think?
@gamepro
Fibonacci, permutation, Caesar shift, the number “10″, an all numerical answer..
Is either of these thoughts useful?
Yeah, that’s him
.
No, I don’t know the other winners. It’s a bit odd that the U.S. winner didn’t want to post something in this forum. But I guess, it’s Dave H, he had a below 3000 total.
That would mean Spain, Canada, Germany and potentially the U.S..still no idea about the U.K., France and Italy winners. I guess we’ll have to wait another two weeks..
Hm..thx gamepro. Your hint at least SEEMS to be pretty explicit.
@ Rachael
Now, it HAS to be something with the “X”=10 (or “V”=5) or not??
How could a “X” help us here? Cesar shift..doesn’t work. Just translating..too easy and what to do with K, S, U etc. ??
Last bit would be:
ADXACAXCAD = a 510 a 100 a 110 a 500
I don’t get it. Gamepro only gave us one half-new idea..and that was the Roman Numeral thing. So he has to believe, that we don’t need more. I cannot imagine, that we need a very different cipher..aaaah.. ^^ Need some breakfast..
XC= 90, not 110 -.-
Nope; that’s my stepmother.
Okay…I feel kinda stupid now. I got in. I was right about the counting every 10 letters, but don’t overthink it. Each number stands on its own.
^^ sorry..but I wasn’t sure, since you didn’t post for a long time. See you soon!
@ gamepro and Rachael
.
Thx again.. I’m a bit slow on the uptake..
@ Rachael
..we can exercise ourselves in patience..
No worries about the picture, I’ll tell you. I can’t see anything as well but a good friend of mine is a pro in this. I’m sure, it won’t take him long. I’ll meet him Sunday..so..
Great!
What do you think about “think inside the box many spaces without one in the lot”
I guess we’re supposed to examine always three words at a time, right?
Til tomorrow!
yeah..I hope it’ll be THAT hotel
pretty cool