TIER 1D: THE "0VIF0RM" PUZZLE
Tier Overview
During this tier, the "burrw" Diamond Clue was found. Read more about Diamond Clues here.
On November 18th, a GIF appeared on the T1C page called "404." After looking at the individual frames, hunter fishxw changed the brightness and revealed the code 325. Hunter Hank noticed that 325 BCE is the birth year of Euclid, the father of geometry.
On Nov 19th, Rob mentioned that the hunters might want to refresh the "404" webpage. The hunters discovered a new image after doing so, called “THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Brown_Eyed_Girl_2880x1620.” The metadata had the message “Hope you are doing great… ...here is some new art for all you amazing EE-hunters... GLHF.!”.
On November 25th, Rob posted new artwork called “THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Red_Sports_Caracter_2880x1620” with the metadata “"Hi there all EE-hunters.! Have a great weekend... from embark with love.!”
On December 3rd, Rob posted the artwork “THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Into_The_Mystic_2880x1620” with the metadata “Hi there amazing EE-hunters.! Hope you are having fun and are enjoying the weekend... from embark with love.!”
On December 9th, Rob posted the artwork “THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Beside_You_2880x1620” with the metadata “Have a great weekend and GLHF… ...from embark with love.!”.
On December 21st, Rob posted the artwork “THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Keep_It_Simple_2160x2880” with the metadata “Hi there.! Hope you all are doing great, from embark with love.!”
On December 31st, Dusty posted the artwork “THE_FINALS_HappyNamaTama_2023” with the metadata “HAPPY NEW YEAR DEAR EE-HUNTERS.! We whish you an amazing 2023 GLHF, and as always... from embark with love.!”
On January 6th, Rob posted two artworks, “404” and "007" in the official art channel.
On February 11th, Rob posted the artwork “a_friend_you_missed” with the hidden metadata message “ Hi awesome EE-hunters.! Hope you are doing great and that you solve this tier soon.! From embark with love.!”
On February 19th, Rob posted the GIF “running_out_of_time.gif” with the message “Dusty, hmm this is taking so much time... Should I stop the printers.?! ” Dusty replied, "No way, Rob, you can't stop mid-print! It's just starting to take shape!"
On February 22nd, Rob posted the image “THE_FINALS_OSPUZE_AD_some_extra_candy”. This was later uploaded to the official art channel as “THE_FINALS_OSPUZE_AD_bonus_candy” with the hidden metadata “Hi.! GLHF dear EE-hunters, hope you will like this little extra candy from one of our sponsors.! From Embark with love.!”.
Solving
On Feburary 23rd, Resk entered 0vif0rm and unlocked the tier, he tested ideas (while on a bus) based on the conversions in the chat.
Summary
The password for Tier 1D was “ 0vif0rm ” modified from the word oviform which comes from the Latin words “ ōvus ” egg and “ forma ” shaped. The main clues were ovals/egg shapes, the cypher o=0 and perhaps 0,0 or double 00. Ovals/egg shapes were presented in many different ways; visually, as equations, metaphorically, landmarks, artworks and orbits, also as letters ‘vifrm’ themselves. The cypher o=0 was hidden as ascii equivalent or U+ keyboard codes. 0,0 or 00 was hinted at with ‘The Matrix’ and the Cartesian system, also with James Bond clues.
Images
-
404.gif -
THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Brown_Eyed_Girl_2880x1620 -
THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Red_Sports_Caracter_2880x1620 -
THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Into_The_Mystic_2880x1620 -
THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Beside_You_2880x1620 -
THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Keep_It_Simple_2160x2880 -
THE_FINALS_HappyNamaTama -
404.jpg -
007 -
THE_FINALS_a_friend_u_missed -
Running_out_of_time.gif -
THE_FINALS_OSPUZE_AD_bonus_candy.jpg
Credits
Solver - Resk
Documentation - Flex4d, Kyne, RockhoundBlack
Various Contributions in Alphabetical Order - Darnoux, DashGames, Duh, eoin, exin, fishxw, Flex4d, Giriko, Hank, Oak, Resk, Rikta, RockhoundBlack, Serpenger, SPEAR, Tati, Tim The Enchanter
Further Reading:
RockhoundBlack's Video: A Complete Beginner's Guide To Solving THE FINALS Easter Egg Puzzles