The Return of Dr. Sloth - Plot Guide

[Shattered Rift]

You have to do one 3-mod to unlock the incomplete data ones, but there should have been five of them. Unless I wasn't paying attention while doing mine... which would mean you might need to do a base-7 before being able to do the base-7 message you're looking for.

Was anyone else amused by the two 3-mods that reference the ship in the docking bay?

Virtupets Station Security Wrote:Station Security Alert: There has been an unauthorized ship landing in the main docking bay. Sensor jamming prevents ship identification. Security Detachment Alpha, proceed to main docking bay immediately to secure unauthorized vessel.

Virtupets Station Security Wrote:Security Station Update: Ignore previous alert. There is nothing to worry about. All mysterious ships in the docking bay are hereby considered authorized and may come and go as they please. Everything's fine, we're all fine, here, now, thank you.

I'm only curious whether Lord Sloth himself is on the ship, or if that was simply the boarding craft the Commander and his shock troops deployed from.

[theonlysaneone]

Third step is now out, and it's really easy. Unfortunately, you can't do it unless you've done the second step.

[Shattered Rift]

I hope we don't need to read the plot before we do steps: I skipped straight to the third step without reading the plot. (All hail Lord Sloth's first appearance in years!) I had a little bit of trouble with the last two: didn't realize the buggers were running line-of-sight.

[Q77]

sirhatter Wrote:well excel isnt your own program is it?

ive got this pretty close to figured out.


this is a stronger area for me though. if i werent mathematically inclined it would be infuriating

Care to share how to do it? I'm slightly mathematically inclined, but I don't see an "easy" way to do it without, I've probably spent an hour each on 2 differed 3 mods, and couldn't get either...

and technically you're not allowed to use excel =='

[333pet]

Virtupets Station Security Wrote:Security Station Update: Ignore previous alert. There is nothing to worry about. All mysterious ships in the docking bay are hereby considered authorized and may come and go as they please. Everything's fine, we're all fine, here, now, thank you.

This seems to parody Han Solo's line in Star War IV: A New Hope

Han Sol Wrote:Uh... had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?

Updated with the exact words Han Solo says, taken from my copy of the Star Wars screenplay

[kagemucha]

Quote: The loudspeaker booms 'INTRUDERS SPOTTED ON LEVEL 3!!!'

Just got that on an RE in the space station

[333pet]

These were in todays Neopian Times:

The Neopian Times Editorial Wrote:

Guess what time it is! It's...
**HAPPY FUN NOTICE TIME**

Please remember that using programs to play Neopets for you is not allowed and is considered cheating. Following links to off-site programs can be dangerous. Such links can lead to malicious programs that are capable of stealing your account information. While not all programs are harmful, we cannot allow them to be linked to regardless.

To clear up any confusion with the latest plot, yes, it's perfectly fine to use guides, charts, and the help of your fellow Neopians to solve activities. We must draw the line at going off-site or using programs, though.

The Neopian Times Editorial Wrote:Dear TNT, I have always heard players talking about plots, but I don't actually know what they are! Do you just read them or do you interact and play with them?!? If that is the case, then how do you play? Do you get trophies or Neopoints or some other prize? Essentially, what is a plot and what do you do with one? Thanks! I really need this answered. ~greenfluteplayer1994
These days most plots are a series of comics that can be read and are linked to through the New Features page. However, while these comics are going on we also offer interactive puzzles for players to solve, often related to the comics. These activities are generally more hidden and require some exercising of the brain. At the end of the plot, depending on how much you participated, you will earn a trophy and prizes.

^ Some trophies from past plots. ^

I noticed that they don't mention "battling" anywhere in their definition of a plot!

[Shattered Rift]

They also completely ignored the fact that everyone used a program to solve the constellations in the Altador mini-plot, and didn't explain why it was "fair" to do it there.

[parondante]

Well, if the theory about the 3 doors is true, either the plot ends now, or a war will begin.
And i think they did not mention war in the editorial because they want us to think there won't be one. (this is an optimistic theory).

[sirhatter]

Q77 Wrote:

sirhatter Wrote:well excel isnt your own program is it?

ive got this pretty close to figured out.


this is a stronger area for me though. if i werent mathematically inclined it would be infuriating

Care to share how to do it? I'm slightly mathematically inclined, but I don't see an "easy" way to do it without, I've probably spent an hour each on 2 differed 3 mods, and couldn't get either...

and technically you're not allowed to use excel =='

i dont see excel as a program, since i wasnt relying on excel to do math for me, but rather store the numbers that ive converted already by hadn in my head.

you could just as easily write down each converted number on a piece of paper, which i ended up going through about 7 scrap sheets incidentally.

ive officially beaten it by hand, and to all the losers that used a program, i hope you get iced.


heres how to make it go a little quicker (keep in mind i spent 6 hours, which is more than ive spent in the last 3 months on neo all in)


i am assuming q that you can convert things into base 6 or 7 easily enough.

lets take base 6

if x - 1
v = 2, etc etc


you write down only the first 2 or 3 (depending on your mental capacities) digits of each number in excel


id have two columns


one column numbered 1-30
a second column corresponding to the actual digits that i wrote down, so say 231 or 354




i know that to modify my key to the solution, i also need a number in base 6, say 043

from there, what you ened to do is take your list of two or 3 digit numbers, and sort them.


so it might be ranked

002
034
041

etc etc

all the way to 30.

now to get to 043, you can sum the numbers up to 43, or 049 (since in base 6 thats still 043)

and you start playing around with combos till it works. the median 3 modified puzzle took 20-25 minutes. a few were ugly and took well over 2 hours, i got one right within 10 minutes through dumb luck.


either way, this method, if you only focus on matching up the left most 2 or 3 digits (i used 3, but i am also relatively facile with numbers and most people probably are safer using 2, as my own mistakes with 3 slowed me down).

you will get alot of "false positives"

but heres another way of thinking of it.

there are 4060 possibilities (30*29*28/6)

if you can at least match up the left most digit every time, that will narrow it down to say 580 possibilities.

if you can get the left two most digits correct, you can narrow it down to under 100 typically, and from there brute force isnt quite so horrible. assuming you can make a guess every 20 seconds, you can see how you can solve most of these in about 1000 seconds per puzzle.

so yeah, i did it legitimately, and really you can too, if you are willing to put the time in.

[chicken]

Well... if it takes even sirhatter 6 hours to do... no way do I have the time to go on with this plot.