New ARG related to Warframe: 1999 that begun on the 25th of October 2024
WIP - This page and the related ARG are still very much in progress.
Information here should not be deemed final and is subject to sudden change.
To see the latest up-to-date information regarding this ARG, please refer to this google doc
Oct 25 - Devstream #182
During the closing section of Devstream #182, the stream abruptly switches over to a strange clip, which seems to consist of multiple spoof ads. Among others, the boy band "On-Lyne", a game called "War Sector" and "Big Bytes Pizza" are prominently featured.
Towards the end of the strange clip (1:16-1:24), the sentence "we end as we began", along an obfuscated is presented on top of the visage of Albrecht Entrati:
Section of the clip where the sentence and obfuscated URL can be seen
Oct 25 - doctorentrati.com
Players quickly understood that it was indeed supposed to be a web address, and it wouldn't take long until it was uncovered that the address was supposed to be www.doktorentrati.com, thanks to the flickering image of Albrecht Entrati. The address redirects anyone visiting to https://www.warframe.com/1999/doktorentrati.
Note: Although both links shown above spell 'doktorentrati', substituting the 'K' for a 'C' in both addresses also works and redirects to the correct page.
Alternatively, the page could also be accessed by going to warframe.com and clicking on the Entrati logo once it appears in the place of the Warframe logo.
The page that players landed on after entering the address is a simple site consisting of the Entrati logo, the sentence "WE END AS WE BEGAN", and a simple "BEGIN" button:
Page seen when visiting www.doktorentrati.com
DE-OS
Pressing on the "BEGIN" button, the user is then taken to a page that imitates the desktop of an older computer. On this desktop, numerous files and applications could be found:
Screenshot of the "desktop" with all important elements numbered.
Below you can find a set of collapsed sections with detailed descriptions for each numbered element seen in the image above:
1. Saved chat logs (.kin files)
These files were known prior to the ARG, as they were released in the days leading up to Tennocon 2024.
>Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DATA CORRUPTED]
>Priority Level: 15%
[Session started on -̵̡͈̳̝̠̪̻̘̊̆̊͂≮̫̯̟̙͚̮͈̿̈́̎̉͘/̶̧̲͔̹̌̉͌0̷̦̓͑̒̐̿/1999 at 16:47:38][ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]
> Letterbomb says:
did you guys here about this doctor guy
> SockIt says:
hear*
> Letterbomb says:
he’s like this super scientist or whateveri heard he's got a cure :‑O
> Odyssey says:
Who are we talking about?
> Deadboy says:
o_0
> Mothership says:
Doktor Friday
> SockIt says:
No, you mean Doctor Entrati. How have you not heard of him? He’s all over the net.
> Mothership says:
Aren't they the same guy?
> SockIt says:
Well, not really "all over," but if you know where to look…
> Mothership says:
Whoa. You take that pic yourself? You met him in person?
> Letterbomb says:
lmao posers don’t act like you guys know something special
> Odyssey says:
You brought it up, dude.
> Deadboy says:XD
[Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 17:03:13]
>Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DATA CORR̵͙̮͊̔U̴̹͝͠P̸̦̒T̴̠̑̓Ĕ̸̢̙D̷͎̠̈͠]
>Priority Level: 23%
[Session started on #̴̹̊̆̏͜≠͉̠̺͕̑~̵̨̙͚̄/1999 at 03:28:07][ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]
> Letterbomb says:
holy crap guys did you just hear thatit was like an atcual ROAR, but like weirdi dunnoweird
> Deadboy says:
D‑:
> Odyssey says:
How should we know? It’s not like we know where you live.
> Letterbomb says:
i think it came from under the street like in the sewer or somethingyou must have herd it
> SockIt says:
Just logging on now. I heard it, too, folks.
> Mothership says:
Oh, Lua… Something is seriously wrong around here.
> Letterbomb says:
it was so loudim gonna go check it out ill try to tkae a picture
> Odyssey says:
Dude what? Are you crazy?
> Mothership says:
That's a terrible idea!
> SockIt says:
You still there, LB?
> Odyssey says:
This isn't funny! >:(
> Mothership says:
Hello?
> Letterbomb says:
[This message has been deleted on the authority of SCALDRA according to Section 21.c of the Emergency Powers Information Access Act. Thank you for your cooperation.]
> Odyssey says:
What in Sol's name is that?
[Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 17:03:13]
>Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DATA D̸͚̿͌ I̴̧̩̍͂ G̵̥͛̎ Ë̶̟̫̕ Ș̴̫͗͊ T̷͕̐̈ I̵̛̤͐ N̷͓̠̐ G̵̣̦̈́]
>Priority Level: 53%
[Session started on _̷͎̣̋͠`̷̡͕͓̘̾̀1̷̼̫̯̦̀̈́̊^̴̢̛̱͈̺͑̂͐̆/1999 at 06:56:15][ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]
> Odyssey says:
this place is so totally dead right now |‑O
> SockIt says:
That's not funny.
> Odyssey says:
What? There is NOTHING to do.
Can't even rent a movie. All the good stuff is totally cleaned out.
> SockIt says:
Don't know what you expect when everybody is trying to get OUT of town right now.
Everybody who isn't trapped inside.
> Deadboy says:
,:-|
> Mothership says:
What's that supposed to mean?
> SockIt says:
They're stopping people from crossing the bridges now. Both ways.
> Mothership says:
Be serious.
> SockIt says:
It's true! Those new guys with that nasty green stuff aren't messing around, either.
I saw somebody try to slide their Tommy through the tunnel traffic and one of their big dudes just clotheslined them right off.
> Mothership says:
Off their bike?
> SockIt says:
With his bare hands.
> Mothership says:
Now who's joking around?
> Deadboy says:
Maybe they're the ones who took Letterbomb. :{
> Odyssey says:
Oh, crap. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…
[Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 17:03:13]
>Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [̸̺̹̑̉S̷̝͎̆̏T̷̨͓̅̐Ị̷̼̿͠L̴͙̣̒́L̴͈̅̅ ̵̙͚̑̉Ȟ̴͎Ų̷̈N̸̗͂Ǧ̵̱̘R̴̠̋͘ͅẎ̴͎͝]̵̼̂̆
>Priority Level: 75%
[Session started on +̷͚̘̇̽̀\̷́̀́͌̆͜;̵̝͈̪̠͓͗̏8/1999 at 18:03:20][ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]
> SockIt says:
Hey, Letterbomb. You there?
> Mothership says:
…
> Deadboy says:
Still nothing. :'‑(
> SockIt says:
Figured it was worth a shot. Gotta keep trying something.
> Odyssey says:
This can't be real it's like a marketing thing.
> Mothership says:
How is this a marketing thing?
> Odyssey says:
like a movie thing like an ad for that new horror movie
> SockIt says:
I heard whatever LB heard, Ody.
> Odyssey says:
yuo don't know wit was the s;me thing
> SockIt says:
There were more of those Scaldra guys with weird guns in my neighborhood the next day.
> Letterbomb says:
[This user has been suspended on the authority of SCALDRA according to Section 21.c of the Emergency Powers Information Access Act. Thank you for your cooperation.]
> Mothership says:
Well, that's new.
> New User [LordSaberwulf] has entered the chat.
> LordSaberwulf says:
Hey, everybody.
I’m hoping you can maybe help me find my sister.
I know that she used chat rooms for local residents like this one.
Have any of you had contact with the person in this photograph?
> Deadboy says:
Oh, hey yeah! :D I know this person super well actually.
> Mothership says:
Come on. DO NOT feed the trolls.
> LordSaberwulf says:
How do you know this person?
> Deadboy says:
We used to date! :‑J
> LordSaberwulf says:
You did? Do you remember the last time you saw them? Can you provide details as to a specific time and location?
> Deadboy says:
I don't think so. See, I'm a famous supermodel and I really need to keep my privacy, or the paparazzi just won't stop harassing me. I told them we had to break up for their own safety. It was really heartbreaking stuff. :-(
> SockIt says:
We didn't see anything, but we'll be sure to let you know if we do, officer.
> Odyssey says:
i gotta go. I just cn't deal with this right nwo
> User [Odyssey] has left the chat.
> User [LordSaberwulf] has left the chat.
[Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 17:03:13]
>Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [COM̵͈̐M̵̯̜̐̀E̴̙̩͊͌N̶̘̆͘C̷̱̣̎̾I̷͎̫̚N̷̮͍͒̄G̴̯̍͝ ̷̙̯͋͝Ȑ̶̲ͅḘ̴͝P̵̤͛͗LICATION]
>Priority Level: R̴̫̊̎̇̂̈́͛̔I̶̧̎͌́̇̐̆́̚͘͠P̵̘̤͔̹̞͍̥̅̀̽̓̍̒͗̎͋̽ͅË̶̛̗͚̤̖̥̱̙͖́̆͌̿̈́͐%
[Session started on ĺ̷͇̘̼̀͌&̷̢͚̹̈̓͗#̸̤͕͂̓̕|̷̨̝͔̩͖́̍́͠/1999 at 00:03:13][ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]
> SockIt says:
Whole bottom floor of my building got taken today.
> Mothership says:
Oh, Sol… :-(
> Deadboy says:
D8
> Mothership says:
Guess we really do know what happened to Letterbomb now.
They're not even trying to hide it anymore.
> SockIt says:
Starting to think we should get out of here.
> Mothership says:
Obviously.
> Deadboy says:
Obviously. :-|
> xX GLIMMER Xx says:
Especially with Scaldra reading your messages.
> SockIt says:
Yeah.
wait what
> Mothership says:
I didn't see anybody new enter the chat.
I can't kick them.
> Deadboy says:
Hacker. Very, very uncool. >:-|
> Mothership says:
Who are you?
> xX GLIMMER Xx says:
The person in the photo. Maybe the one you got, or another just like it, staring back at a dozen other groups just like this one.
You need help. Sooner or later they will resent you for that. My money is on sooner, since they're already watching you.
But I'm watching them.
> Mothership says:
Oh, I do not like this.
> SockIt says:
Me neither.
Deadboy says:
>:-[
> xX GLIMMER Xx says:
That's good. Stay paranoid. Keeps you smart. You always have options. Think them over.
You're circling the drain — slipping downward into the ooze like so many others.
But I'm saying that you can always crawl back up instead.
Stop hiding. Start seeking. There are people who can help pull you up.
> SockIt says:
What do you have in mind?
> Mothership says:
I'm listening.
> Deadboy says:
>:3[
Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 17:03:13]
'h' : help can be found in the upper right corner of any opened .kin file. Pressing the key on your keyboard opens another file, titled 'help.bat':
PLEASE JUST OPEN THE DAMN DOOR ALREADY I CAN SEE IT N OW IT ITSS HEREI CANT GET OUT PLEASE PLEAS EPLASE JUST WANT TGO HOOME SOMEONE PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME HERE
2. Oubliette
At this point in the ARG, 'Oubliette' was a locked and inaccessible folder, clicking on it shows the following message:
This file is encrypted by your organization
Screenshot of 'Oubliette'
3. SETTINGS.APP
As the name suggests, SETTINGS.APP contains a number of options:
Screenshot of 'SETTINGS.APP'
Full list of options and their descriptions
"Current Time"
Displays the time of your device
"Volume Control"
Change the volume of any sounds played by the page
"Set Language"
Switch between different languages on the page
"Wallpaper"
Switch between three distinct wallpapers:
"Entrati"
Wallpaper with Entrati's logo/insignia
"Ollie"
Wallpaper with the logo of "Ollie's Crash Course"
"On-lyne"
Wallpaper with the logo of boy band "On-lyne"
"Screensaver"
Switch between two screensavers or turn the feature off. Screensaver will activate after no activity is detected on the page after a set period of time:
"Drippy"
A drop shaped character bounces off of the edges of the screen, similar to the well-known DVD-logo screensaver
"Space"
Particles extending outwards from the center of the screen, with an occasional appeareance of a Liset moving like the particles
4. YAPPR.APP
YAPPR is a mock e-mail client that contains an advertisement email from Big Bytes Pizza that mentions a number of toppings:
Big Bytes Pizza e-mail
From: [email protected]
Subject: What's YOUR Favorite Pizza Topping?
---
Try our limited-time pizza experience — the Devil's Bargain — a new creation topped with classic PEPPERONI, nutritious IMITATION BACON, our signature NACHO CHEESE, buttery EDAMAME, funky ANCHOVIES, fresh-caught PRAWN, toasted PARMESAN, fragrant LIMBURGER, and crisp ENDIVES.
Did you think we were done? No way, bro! Finish it off with DILL, UNAGI and HOT SAUCE for a pie we guarantee you will never forget!
Reply with your favorite style of topping for a chance to win!
Pressing "Reply" opens a new window that allows the user to reply to the e-mail from Big Bytes Pizza with a freeform message. Screenshots for both of these screens can be found below.
Screenshots of YAPPR.APP
Once a reply has been sent, all open YAPPR windows will be closed.
5. KINEMATIC-ONLINE.APP
KINEMATIC-ONLINE is a mock web browser that, once opened, shows a fake loading screen consisting of a logo with Höllvanian characters translating to "kinematic online".
The Session id that is shown during loading also seems to contain a number of references, or may be a special message altogether:
A∂6B4A-V<>IV74-KPΔ9T9-WW®B17-TYSM<3
ASCLOID
Given a few seconds, the loading page disappears and a page called "ASCLOID" is presented instead.
The page consists of a small title and beneath it, a search bar with accompanying "ASC!" button.
Clicking on the search bar displays a hint pop-up with 4 distinct links:
The first three links will open a new tab with the content once clicked. These links are previously known and accessible from the previous Entrati ARG which was active during Tennocon 2024.
The last link shown in the pop-up on ASCLOID will show another page named "DE/CRYPTR" that also begins with a short loading sequence. Pressing the "G3T DE/CRYPTR" button in the middle of the page will provide yet another app on the desktop, which will prove to be useful at a later point.
If the user instead chooses to enter any other address or search term into the search bar, an error page is presented:
ERROR
Could not connect to search server, please check your connection
Screenshots of KINEMATIC-ONLINE.APP
Loading screen of the app:
ASCLOID:
ASCLOID Error page:
DE/CRYPTR page:
6. Documents
"Documents" is a folder that contains a total of 7 files (4 .brush files, 3 .kin files):
Transmission.brush
Firmament.brush
Chantenay.brush
Scarlet.brush
OneTwoThree.kin (TYPEFLYTE.APP)
Anticipation is building as another HOT On-lyne performance promises to boil over! Fans are as eager as ever touncover new layers of emotion only truly accessible when you see the superstar group live and in-person.
This upcoming performance is one yuo won’t want to miss — with hints of an all-new, all-secret song the boys have been cooking up behind the scenes.
What surprises does the gang have in store? Why have these beats been hiddn from the world until now? The group has been coy about the new tune, refusing to confirm or deny its existence. I guess we'll just have to see the show ourselves to find out!
OpenRoad.kin (TYPEFLYTE.APP)
Introducing the latest marvel in engineering: the unstoppable 1999 MK III from ZeViLa. The alluring exterior of a natural predator hides innovative, manmade technology to make this our most unforgettable ride yet. Ask yourself: What other seecrets does this sleek beast contain?
Whether you're looking to make a statement, or just make it to your next meeting on time, the MK III refuses to hodl back. Like all ZeViLa products, this is one experience that demands a rider who can keep up.
The 1999 MK III will meet al your needs. Just make sure you're ready to rise to the challenge.
VirtuesOfPizza.kin (TYPEFLYTE.APP)
Pizza is one of the most versatile and celebrated foods across the globe. One of the kleys to its popularity lies in the all-encompassing flavors it can offer, from the classics like pepperoni, to adventurous toppings like pineapple and jalapeño! Pizza provides something for everyone.
Yet the perfect pizza is defined by the harmony trhee major components: a crisp, golden crust, savory tomato sauce, and a melting blanket of gooey cheese. Each element plays a vital role, accented with delicious toppings to elevate each pizza to a mainstay of cuisine for hungry customers — on the go or at the dinner table!
Pizza is more than just something to fill your belly, though. Crafting the perfect pie is a form of art to the high-quality chefs like those of us here at Big Bytes Pizza. To stay on top, we muzt also remember that the real secret ingredients are creativity, joy, and even love.
Screenshots of the .kin files
OneTwoThree.kin:
OpenRoad.kin:
VirtuesOfPizza.kin:
7. Inaccessible apps
These three icons in the dock were at the time inaccessible. Clicking on them would show the following error:
Error shown when trying to access any of the three apps above
8. RUBBISH.APP
Similar to "Documents", as it appears to be a folder containing two files; "Welcome.kin" and "01_Lure.kin". Clicking on them does nothing, but at the bottom of the window, a "Restore Files" button can be seen.
Clicking on the button will then make the two files shown here appear on the desktop, which allows the user to access their contents.
Screenshot of 'RUBBISH.APP'
The following files can be restored from RUBBISH.APP:
Welcome.kin
This file seems to be an introductory e-mail/message addressed to a Mr./Mrs. Paige from Gwen Arran, a senior employee at Digital Extremes (in-universe), creators of a game named "War Sector", which seems to be a mix of Dark Sector and Warframe.
Welcome.kin content
Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]
[Sent on -̵̡͈̳̝̠̪̻̘̊̆̊͂≮̫̯̟̙͚̮͈̿̈́̎̉͘*̸̢̖͆͒̆̑̊(̷̤̪͌͆̋$̷̨̟̀̓̈́͋̂̓/1999 at 10:18:11]
Congratulations, Mr. or Ms. Paige!
Your email application has been reviewed and we are thrilled to inform you that you are a perfect fit for Digital Extremes. As one of the premier, government-sponsored game developers in the illustrious nation of Höllvania, we pride ourselves on employing only the best developers in any particular field.
Your new role as Junior Programmer will provide you with the best possible on-ramp to a sterling new career through our storied halls. To that end, we would like for you to begin immediately, and start work on our brand-new (and EXTREME-ly exciting) new project that you have no doubt already heard of: WAR SECTOR.
You will find all pertinent details for your new role — including directions to Digital Extremes' highly advanced and secretive office location — attached to this email. An attendant will be available to help you find your new desk and begin onboarding you for your new role.
Welcome to the team, [name here]!
Gwen Arran, Senior Head of Human Resources
Welcome.kin Screenshot
01_Lure.kin
This file is locked, and can not be accessed without a password, which hints at the next step of the ARG.
9. Power Button
The button imitates a shutdown of the "computer" that the user is browsing. During the sequence, three messages can be seen, informing the user about the shutdown status of the computer.
At the end of the sequence, a reflection can be seen flickering on the screen. This flicker consists of two images; an overlay graphic to create a CRT effect, as well as a reflection of Major Neci Rusalka. This implies that she is the one using the computer at the time.
After the flicker appears, the computer is now turning on, displaying "DE-OS", along with the Entrati logo above it. The startup of the OS may be a joke, or a hint that Entrati is directly involved with the in-universe version of Digital Extremes.
Screenshots of messages during shutdown
Please wait message:
Safe to shut down:
Not safe to shut down:
Screenshots of flicker sequence
Image with CRT overlay:
Image without the overlay:
Screenshot of the startup sequence
10. Reset Button
Pressing the button will prompt the page to reset to its original state (i.e any steps performed will be reverted). The user is prompted for a confirmation before the reset happens.
From this point on, the page contains the steps discovered to progress with the ARG.
Steps may often refer to information that has been provided in previous sections of this page.
Oct 25 - Finding the first 5 files
As we saw in the 8. RUBBISH.APP section of this page, a locked file could be found in the rubbish. This suggests that there may be multiple hidden files present on the computer, which prompted users to search for similar files.
This section shows the files and the steps to discover them chronologically, even though that is not the order they were found in.
01_lure.kin
RUBBISH.APP
As mentioned above, the file can be found in the RUBBISH app. To have it appear on the desktop, simply press "Restore Files" at the bottom of the app.
02_Cheat.kin
Open KINEMATIC-ONLINE and click the fourth link
Open up the KINEMATIC-ONLINE.app, press the search bar and click on the fourth link:
This will take you to the DE/CRYPTR Page.
Press "G3T DE/CRYPTR"
Press the "G3T DE/CRYPTR" button, which will "download" the app and display it on the desktop:
Once the button has been pressed, it will be deactivated and nothing will happen when clicking on it.
The DE/CRYPTR app will now be present on the desktop and can be opened.
Open the DE/CRYPT app
Press on the DE/CRYPTR app on the desktop to start it. This will open the app, and music will start playing.
Note that your volume should be checked so as not to damage your hearing if you are using headphones.
DE/CRYPTR will detect the 'Oubliette' file, and a series of four locks will be shown in the window.
Press the locks in the following order: 2, 1, 4, 3
Pressing the locks in the order mentioned above, the decryption process will begin. Once the process is done, the user will be prompted whether the files contained should be extracted to the desktop:
After pressing 'Yes', the file '02_Cheat.kin' will appear on the desktop:
03_Paper.kin
Open YAPPR.APP, and note all ingredients written in the e-mail
Open the app and read the e-mail. Note that all ingredients are written in all-caps.
Take the first letter of each ingredient in order of appearance
The ingredients are divided in two paragraphs. Each paragraph contains enough ingredients mentioned to spell out one word each:
These letters will spell out "pineapple duh"
(This step was simultaneously found by user Omega in ARGrakata, and Hamza on the official Warframe Discord, later explained by Malachi)
Reply to the e-mail with the solution
Press 'Reply' in YAPPR, and provide the answer from the previous step:
Press 'Send'. This will close all YAPPR windows, and Big Bytes Pizza will send a reply to us, which can be seen thanks to the notification shown on the YAPPR icon:
Open the reply from Big Bytes Pizza and press on the attachment
The reply consists of a short message and an accompanying attachment, which can be seen at the bottom of the window:
Pressing on the attachment moves 03_Paper.kin to the desktop.
04_Speak.bin
Open SETTINGS.APP and select the second screensaver (Space)
Wait for the screensaver to activate, and press on the Liset when it shows
Once the screensaver activates, the Liset landing craft will occasionally appear in the center of the screen, move towards one of the screen edges and disappear once it arrives.
Press on the Liset whenever it is shown:
Once this has been done successfully, 04_Speak.kin will appear on the desktop. The screensaver can now be deactivated, as it is no longer necessary.
This combination was made with Canadian and American keyboards in mind, which means that the combination may vary depending on which region you reside in.
You may have to switch your keyboard input to English (US) for this combination to work as intended.
Note that holding in additional keys at the same time does not prevent the file from appearing.
Once the combination has been successfully used, the file 05_bite should now be present on the desktop.
Oct 25 - Unlocking 01_Lure.kin
All the found files are locked behind a password to begin with, with the first file, 01_Lure.kin being the only one that can be unlocked from the beginning.
Screenshot of the password prompt for 01_Lure.kin
As noticed by user soap on the PlayWarframe Discord, the doktorentrati page contains ASCII art of a Requiem icon, as well as the words "TIME", "FORM" and "TRUTH":
Using the Requiem icon as a clue, users quickly noted the corresponding requiem words for the ASCII art to be: "KHRA", "JAHU" and "XATA" (found by TheWarriorCat and Fenix on the PlayWarframe Discord.)
Inserting the password "KHRAJAHUXATA" (as found by Ducky on PlayWarframe) for 01_Lure.kin unlocks the file, immediately revealing the following:
01_Lure.kin
Hi Gwen,
Thanks very much for the warm welcome! I’m really excited to start my first day. And so soon, too! Honestly, I couldn’t believe I got hired without any interviews… Digital Extremes's screening process really must be state of the art. I guess that's what I should expect from the best in the business.
I just wanted to check, though: are you sure that’s the right address for the office? I drove by the other day and the place seems a lot less busy than I expected. But maybe I just have the wrong spot? Let me know whenever you can!
Anyway, thanks again for the info and for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I’ve been trying to break into the industry for a while now and I’m really excited to work on WAR SECTOR. I picked up the latest issue of Prime Gamer Monthly just to watch the new trailer on the demo disc. It looks absolutely awesome!
Talk to you soon,
Sam Paige
The contents are a reply to the Welcome.kin file, written by someone named Sam Paige.
Oct 25 - Time-gated data and datamining
Once the first file was unlocked, no additional steps for the ARG could be found, and a deduction could be made that further progress was time-gated by DE.
This section describes what the ARGrakata community explored during this downtime and holds no significance to ARG progression.
If you want to continue reading about actual progress done with the ARG, go to the next section of this page.
Additional findings through datamining
Sixth File
A sixth, protected file titled "06_Contact.kin" could be found in the HTML source, showing that at some later point in the ARG, a sixth file should be found. By editing the HTML, the icon for the file could be forcibly displayed on the desktop.
Missing Passwords
Only 01_Lure.kin had an actual password assigned in the code (saved as a hash), the other 5 files had no passwords hashes assigned (set to null in the corresponding JS object.)
Fake new single by On-lyne on Apple Music
On 28/10/2024 15:28 UTC, a new song appeared on On-lyne's Apple Music page (as discovered by Brendzun on the PlayWarframe Discord). The song was titled ".connection-established - Single". This turned out to be a dud, as it was in no way related to On-lyne, Warframe or Digital Extremes. The song can be found on SoundCloud for those that are interested.
Oct 28 - New clues and 02_Cheat.kin
New X post
As this section may be a bit too hard to follow in writing, a video quickstep version of this section made by Mordeth can be found here.
At 28/10/2024 19:23 UTC, the official Warframe X (formerly known as Twitter) account sent out a new ARG-related post:
The last paragraph within the image in the post hints at a hidden message in the blue section of the image. Both ARGrakata and PlayWarframe noted that the circled word ("PRIMED") hinted at taking all the words that had prime-numbered positions within the blue section (words 2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23,29,31 in the section.)
Doing this resulted in the following message being extracted out of the blue section: "combine all the prime words together and then multiply by nine". (Solution and Application were found by Kaski_ and Panji respectively on ARGrakata.)
After several different attempts throughout the document, users soon understood that it was specifically the words in the blue section that mattered. Taking the sum of the prime numbers mentioned above (160) and multiplying it by 9 resulted in 1440 (found by Craft26, calculations by Ar'kohn Lock and Mordeth on ARGrakata.)
02_Cheat.kin
Using the solution taken from the X post (1440) and using it as the password for 02_Cheat.kin, unlocks the file, displaying the following:
02_Cheat.kin
Hey again Gwen,
Hope you're doing well! I just wanted to check in since I haven't heard very much from the rest of the team yet.
Actually, I haven't really heard from anyone yet. It's a bit of a ghost town here right now. Though I did see a task list waiting for me at my work computer. Really appreciate that! I've had no trouble getting oriented, since it's all pretty straightforward stuff. Really, really straightforward, actually. This must be some of that state-of-the-art development tech mentioned in the promotional material? It sure seems to automate a lot of the process, but I wonder if I could talk to someone about the end results. They seem a little… off. Not that I want to rock the boat on my first day or anything!
You're probably not the person to ask about this, haha, but I haven't seen anyone else in the office today. I can definitely hear folks walking around and talking (at least I think). Honestly, it's just a little bit spooky. Not that I'm complaining about all the extra desk space, haha! Is the department team on holiday or something, though? I'm probably still getting added to mailing lists, so maybe I just missed a memo.
Let me know if there's any update,
Sam
After 02_Cheat.kin was unlocked, a second check of the page source showed that the JS object containing the hash for 01_Lure.kin was updated to contain a hash for 02_Cheat.kin.
This confirmed that the other files were time-gated, and the community had to wait for the page to be updated before the ARG could proceed further.
Oct 31 - 03_Paper.kin and DE/CRYPTR update
WIP - Currently this is as far as this page goes, but there is a lot more information to come.
To see any information that has not yet been added here, please check out this google doc.