The second test

[Dedatorv]

I don't get it, Is this picture inside the HL2's preload

Yes.

I believe in the next portion of the preload we will get either the rest of the info or more info.

 

[mannyfresh027]

in trainstation bink

 

[DeltaBlast]

PhotoMazing says that the picture contains a message "Exif"

No clue what it means though

 

[SMT]

to me the picture looks like a merged image of Gman and Gordon. I applied a crosshatching filter to it and it seems to be more visible. Here's the crosshatched image, and I also added the photo of Gordon that i think was merged


Look very, very carefully at the picture. I don't know if my eyes are tricking me or what

Naaaaaaaaah.

 

[Synthaxx R-or]

BTW we gotta try a variety of programs, not everyone using one!

allready doing that.

5 programs down, many more to try

 

[Dr. Freeman]

I don't get it, Is this picture inside the HL2's preload

yeah in the cache files..
thats the reason why i haven't tried helping.. i am afraid of spoiling something for myself..

im just reading what pple find here.. im sorry guys.. don't want to spoil anything for myself.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

We could take the symbolism route and say that the door to nova prospekt closed when Gordon went close so he obviously had to find another way around, and thus relating to this another way of figuring out the answer.... BTW I doubt that, just takinga different view of the situation.

 

[-=jt=-]

Adrien: No, I was the first to try Steganography, didn't work...

lies!

i've tried a bunch of programs + algorithms but its not working, i think we use the pass elsewhere

 

[Takaitokuten]

Sorry for interupting... I just had to say how interesting this is, I had wondered about that hal-life2.com/secret page ever since those three screens were released... I'm not sure if I can help... but it would be cool.

 

[FoB_Ed]

im just reading what pple find here.. im sorry guys.. don't want to spoil anything for myself.

I doubt valve would include anything of a spoiler as the test. Most likely if we crack it we'll end up with a new screenshot or something

 

[kaellinn18]

someone please post the username/password for the original test please

 

[lemmingzappa]

Well it's not 8pm VALVe time for like 2 hours, so if anything will happen it will be then.

Off topic/speculation: I bet one of these tests will announce that HL2 has gone gold, the time/date etc etc

BTW we gotta try a variety of programs, not everyone using one!

Hmmm this is starting to get very interesting.
Ok ive go that program which can open encrypted image data.
Now how do i look for things which could be of use ??

 

[blahblahblah]

I upped the brightness in the picture, and they merged numerous pictures together. They did merge Gordon and the G-Man. That doesn't have any relevance to this potential puzzle though.

 

[DeltaBlast]

Is there any spoken text in the bink when the nova prospekt sign is on screen? maybe that's the phrase..

 

[EVIL]

someone please post the username/password for the original test please

Its on the previous page

 

[vicefredav444]

What if the url is hidden inside another file. This one has the password, another file has the link

 

[63]

dictionary.com > translator > German to English > Nova Prospekt = New Facts Folder

I doubt that's accurate...

edit: lobster beat me!

 

[lemmingzappa]

New facts folder hmm, i dont recall seeing anything about hl2 on that tbh.

 

[Ames]

I'm not gonna even bother. Hope you guys find the solution by the time I wake up. :thumbs:

 

[mannyfresh027]

found something:

in sign_novaprospekt.vtf

"...*“QÙ˧¥¦•v#Ô¸`Y=2dá_¹÷\Q&T$Õ°Šµ¿ÞS ðjÀO’>™¢è^tV¶îíÉKåÙ+Þõ¦lx°äe5gj–s%Ë8UZº`¤¹œ©ÿ0DP˜
¨l°ÉÇùŠ€§ “™|<¾§Mû>Àô¯©ÂW!/<›×œâí¤;¬h½Öy¯ïH°3â–D1à~BwâÂ?ÇbŒxþŽê3mÃýÔYô͵*¸üîT7ð:™…Œã¾gìuÆ4u'@üV¤9#óöuû—b½-&{Æo¶Á€Üë÷6Û0gPM(ʘæÉûÃöž)æ²Þêü\n…‚ÒêWl»Ó,Èœ’ÑcÀ¢çÂÙˬÞiøó/ZHVCC’†ÞKMF¾+Ôè$Æó‰z±¤i·
p ..."

thats just a portion of the file, but could e3may be a coincidence?

 

[TheWart]

heh

Valve prolly missed the preload date cause they were busy writing these elaborate puzzles.

lol

 

[kaellinn18]

Its on the previous page

Where? I'm not talking about this one, I'm talking about the "pwned" one. Maybe I'm just blind...

 

[DvS]

I noticed that the passphrase was surrounded by 8BIM, when searched, turned up numerous dead links, and then this: http://www.ozhiker.com/electronics/pjmt/library/list_contents.php4?filename=Photoshop_IRB.php

Might not be anything, but it suggests that the info is in the photshop 3.0 file header.

 

[lemmingzappa]

Do you think they released these tests just to keep us busy while waiting for hl2 ?
Or is there something that we can gain from this.

 

[Takaitokuten]

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

nova prospekt does translate to new facts folder from german, but babel fish isn't always that reliable with more abstract phrases/words.

new facts folder though... thats eerily relevent though...

 

[smacknca]

Is http://www.half-life2.com/test/ an old/unreleated link?

 

[DeltaBlast]

http://www.jjtc.com/stegoarchive/stego/software.html
http://www.jjtc.com/Steganography/toolmatrix.htm

many many tools to try

I think we have to look to 8BIM / photoshop 3.0 though...

 

[Chris D]

I noticed that the passphrase was surrounded by 8BIM, when searched, turned up numerous dead links, and then this: http://www.ozhiker.com/electronics/pjmt/library/list_contents.php4?filename=Photoshop_IRB.php

Might not be anything, but it suggests that the info is in the photshop 3.0 file header.

That PHP code is very intriguing, can someone compile that or w/e?

 

[^Ben]

White board???

Definatly a correlation.

 

[Lobster]

I noticed that the passphrase was surrounded by 8BIM, when searched, turned up numerous dead links, and then this: http://www.ozhiker.com/electronics/pjmt/library/list_contents.php4?filename=Photoshop_IRB.php

Might not be anything, but it suggests that the info is in the photshop 3.0 file header.

That may acctully be usefull.

 

[-=jt=-]

I noticed that the passphrase was surrounded by 8BIM, when searched, turned up numerous dead links, and then this: http://www.ozhiker.com/electronics/pjmt/library/list_contents.php4?filename=Photoshop_IRB.php

Might not be anything, but it suggests that the info is in the photshop 3.0 file header.

it could be the tool they used to add the text. someone with photoshop check it out

 

[lemmingzappa]

Yea, if know one has PHP hosting, use apache webserver to view it locally. It might compile something that will give us a clue.

 

[Adrien C]

I checked competition, well, there isen't competition. Keep it up guys.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

I have Photoshop CS (photoshop 8, but they don't use numbers anymore) but I get the "can't map to memory" error.. Steam is shut down and everything.

Can somebody throw it up somewhere or AIM it to me?

*edit* I'll go check out that PHP code, but I kind of need the JPEG file probably!!!

aim: briguy992

 

[Chris D]

I have Photoshop CS (photoshop 8, but they don't use numbers anymore) but I get the "can't map to memory" error.. Steam is shut down and everything.

Can somebody throw it up somewhere or AIM it to me?

*edit* I'll go check out that PHP code, but I kind of need the JPEG file probably!!!

aim: briguy992

The .jpg file you need is in the attachment of the first post of this thread.

 

[^Ben]

http://www.bencodegood.co.uk/images/renamed.php

How do i compile it?

 

[mannyfresh027]

sign_novaprospekt.vtf contains this:

ê3mÃý

go find the file and search through it, i swear its true. take a look.

 

[laz]

This is the original picture of the gman

 

[ATI4EVER!]

Is http://www.half-life2.com/test/ an old/unreleated link?

hmmm... 437N452 does not work as passowrd.

i don t know. anyways this thread kicks ass. i await 10 pm. 8pm pst.

 

[Adrien C]

what does it mean ?