Description

Having deciphered the location code, you wonder whether or not you should return to the precinct and inform the Captain. This is clearly more than a missing persons case. Simmons' seems to have left rather than gone missing, and whoever this Sydney is, she's involved too. And this mystery fellow leaving them the clues? Who is that?

Screw it, you've come this far. Best to see it through. Simmons and Sydney are likely to be at the data cache, deciphering the work that was left to them. But what if the strangers have already been there? The man from the apartment… the two in the precinct lobby… what if they'd already found Simmons and Sydney? Back in your cruiser, you program the location code into your navsys and set off towards the outskirts of the city.

At a small weigh station, just off the highway, you spot two vehicles covered with dirty rags and debris. A poor man's effort to disguise them from above, but fairly effective, you think. You approach with caution, fearing the worst for Simmons and Sydney. You've never met them--you only know Simmons through a photo--yet somehow, you feel strangely connected to them. You worry about them.

Moving through the door, a bell tinkles gentle in the frame. Dammit, hopefully no one heard that. What if the strangers were here already? Hand on your pistol, you head to the back of the station, the light from an overhead lamp shines gently through a cracked door. Leaning gently on the door, it slowly creaks open. You step into the room, scanning left and right, and notice one of the strangers silhouetted against the bright glow of a console screen in the corner. You begin moving towards him, when a sudden blow to the back sends you sprawling across the floor.

You turn over and point your gun, but the stranger above you kicks it from your hand. The stranger leans down and grabs you by the collar, lifting you up with ease and dragging you towards the console. Long brown hair swings freely around the shrouded face. Long hair?

"S," the stranger says, softly. "S, what to do with this one?" The stranger at the console doesn't even turn around. "I don't care, S. Whatever you want." He responds. "But S," says the first, "look at him. He's been following us, S. He shouldn't be here." Why are they calling each other "S?" you wonder. The man at the console turns toward you, and in the light of the console you recognize the gnarled profile of a distant friend. "Simmons?!" you shout. "What are you doing? There are people after you. I've been trying to find you."

With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Simmons turns back to the console. "I did ask you not to meddle, detective." With sudden realization, you look back to the stranger above you. Long hair. Soft voice. Sydney. Dropping your collar and standing up straight, she raises her arm, pointing your service pistol at you. For just a moment, you recognize something like sympathy in her eyes. Then the moment passes.


Thank you for participating in my second adventure puzzle presented by the Riddlers. If you'd like credit for solving it through the Riddler's Lair, please mention "RIDL" in addition to your comments here. Also, please let me know what you thought of the puzzle. Your feedback helps us write better puzzles for you. Thanks again, hope you enjoyed it!

PS: This is the augmented edition. Whatever that means.


Also, please don't add me for help. I'll try and hang out in Riddlers Labyrinth when I can.

Reserved.

1 decade ago
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First! :D

Thanks for another great giveaway and an interesting puzzle! :)

The list of names baffled me for a while, until I looked at it more thoroughly. Though I feel like this one is a trifle more easy then the CIV5 one.

EDIT: Oh, and I hope you had a good nights' sleep ;)

1 decade ago
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a_a this wasn't even live yet. I suppose that's what I get for leaving those threads open on sgs. I'm a little peeved you'd solve them, but I suppose I can't blame you for playing with a toy left in the open. You'd've solve it when it went live, anyway. ;)

1 decade ago
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Just to add: RIDL

1 decade ago
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W00t! Thanks, cf! :D

1 decade ago
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I claim this giveaway for Clan Jade Falcon! Because megagiga doesn't count! And I'm sure wbarton cheated too! ;P

1 decade ago
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wbarton is offended at the very notion! (still in author mode where I decide how everyone feels)

1 decade ago
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Hey!

1 decade ago
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First time I've actually checked back on this one since I got here, and this is Rasalhague territory, my friend. I got here the same way you did, just first. ;)

1 decade ago
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thanks for the giveaway! i have it already :) RIDL

1 decade ago
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Thanks Riddlers! Love how there's a story that goes with the puzzle. Going to go back and read through it all and enjoy it fully.

1 decade ago
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Thanks. The puzzles were easy and very fun.
RIDL

1 decade ago
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I had a disturbing dream. One of the silhouettes was pointing a gun at some guy who looked like a detective. I woke up from the gunshot memory of which was still ringing in my head. "I must solve this puzzle!" I thought to myself. This has to be the last step. Two of three ciphers were already solved. "This list of names, what do I do with it?" I was sitting there, looking at the names I copied to my notepad for convenience. "There's got to be something..." Leaving only capital letters of the names I formed something that resembled another cipher, another string of meaningless letters. "Vigenere? Or maybe another Playfair? But what is the key? What was the other person's name... Ah, right, Lemure!" Another failed attempt. My eyes ran through the text again. "Wait, what is this?" I noticed something I didn't pay attention to earlier. The night is cold and very nigh. "This must be it!" My last hope shattered into pieces in a flashing moment. Defeated, I raised my eyes to the original message opened in my browser and gave the names a parting glance. "What is your secret, people... Wait, what is this? A letter that is different from the rest? I can't believe it, I've found it!"
So here I am, happy that I made it. :)
The prize is everything I could wish for. The puzzle was enjoyable. It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't easy for sure. The story was interesting and well written, I even felt sad for the detective in the end (as it was my alter ego).
Thank you very much!
RIDL

1 decade ago
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I should hire you to ghostwrite my adventures :)

1 decade ago
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Toff's good at this. Got a backdoor entrance to a hard puzzle with his skill :)

1 decade ago
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Haha, thank you, but it wasn't my writing skills that got me that backdoor access. ^^

1 decade ago
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Oh, you have some hidden skills..)

1 decade ago
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;)
To be honest I was thinking submissions of those who won a free pass will be posted publicly, but they weren't. Maybe he forgot or maybe it's because mine was the only winning one. If you're curious though I can give you the link.

1 decade ago
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Made it finally! Somehow, Base64 is one cipher I am almost totally unfamiliar with, so it kicked my butt. RIDL

1 decade ago
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That was my jade falcon tribute :D

1 decade ago
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It took a bit to decode the morse, but fun all the same. Thanks for the puzzle! :)

1 decade ago
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Thanks! Nice puzzle, right ammount of clues and fair difficulty! RIDL

1 decade ago
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Thank you very much. It has been very nice, the "hardest" part: the replace with notepad :) RIDL

1 decade ago
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:) I almost wish I didn't alRIDLy have all these games! :D

Aww... that was the end?! Was just starting to get into the story. Have to admit, I skipped the entire story from the original forum post. Maybe have those shorter? Also, did you know there was an empty URL link in that first post still?
-- quotingViewSource --
<a href="http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/slightly\_less\_simple\_than\_this"></a>You begin to wonder if you're overlooking something simple
-- endQuoting --
Overall, good story, puzzles and gifts! Could maybe ramp up the puzzle difficulty slightly, but it was nice to be able to solve them in a reasonable amount of time for a busier person.

1 decade ago
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I put that link there for the folks who will inevitably check page source on every puzzle :)

And yes, the difficulty was rather low here, but I'm okay with it. If I had paid more for the gifts I might have made them harder.

Regarding the story from the OP, I feel like that's what sets the tone for the whole adventure. Similar to Adventure Puzzle #1.

Thank you for your input!

1 decade ago
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No need to worry, there are others who make hard puzzles with small games. O:-]

And thanks for this adventure. Very atmospheric. :-) (Oh, and "RIDL", though I'm a member already. :-])

1 decade ago
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Okay end of the road for now, had a fun trip ^^ Thanks for the puzzles.
RIDL

1 decade ago
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RIDL

Liked the puzzles, since I were able to solve them. Can't say the same about nitsogop's.

1 decade ago
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Oh, seems like the story is over with a nice little cliffhanger maybe or a bonus puzzle hidden somewhere here? ;-) Thanks for your efforts and the giveaways! I had a great time going through the story and the upcoming puzzles (yeah, even the Base64 one ;) ). Also I must admit, I haven't played any of the Deus Ex games before although I wanted to buy HR for quite a while. So I greatly appreciate your choice of games for this RIDL! :) However, what's this RIDL mentioning good for?

1 decade ago
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Riddlers Lair is a new group for sg puzzle enthusiasts that tzell is working on. More details soon, methinks

1 decade ago
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This was amazing, big thanks to everyone involved in this puzzle. Also, RIDL :)

1 decade ago
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"RIDL"

My only complaint was that reading the morse code was a bit tricky with no spaces. good story though!

1 decade ago
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Thank you! The difficulty for all the levels was just right. (oh, and story puzzles are the best. :D)

1 decade ago
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Thanks! Not that hard, fun stuff! Too bad it was only text and ciphers. Experimenting with different kinds of files is as fun! :>

Also RIDL, not sure how this credit thing works :O

1 decade ago
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I'm hesitant to direct folks to non-text riddles, or have them download a file. Thanks for your input

1 decade ago
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It got a lot easier after each solved clue~

Thanks~

1 decade ago
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Great puzzle! A lot of fun! :D

RIDL

1 decade ago
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Thanks :D

I really enjoyed the riddles

Edit: RIDL

1 decade ago
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Thanks for the giveaway and for the awesome puzzle!
RIDL

1 decade ago
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Thank you for the story. Though I find puzzle#1 more absorbing.

The only real challenge here was this confusion or trick (?) with "N" and "H". Still don't know what it was..

Thank you again and Ni!..oh ..RIDL

1 decade ago
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