Difference between revisions of "2.04 Chronomentometer 1"

From DoctorWhen
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Revision as of 17:24, 17 March 2012

Status

::FINAL::

Location

Name and Address: "Clocksmith Technologies"...outside of Clocksmith, 806 El Camino Real, San Carlos

Parking: free street

Bathroom: No

Food: No

GC PoC: Erik, Wei-Hwa (650) 395-8463, lab@peachfrontier.com

Parking: Free on street

Type

Mandatory Puzzle

Plot Setup

  • All evidence of Trenchwood Institute and its timeline has mysteriously disappeared.
  • Peach Frontier Laboratories has taken its place
  • Iconoclast scientist Prof. Chronos has attempted to demonstrate her time machine before an audience of VIPs.
  • But it malfunctioned due to faulty key components--quantum chronomentometers.
  • The malfunction is causing the Professor to bounce around randomly in time from era to era, facing untold dangers!

Props

  • 70 Chronomentometer sets (4 per team, 2 spare)
  • 18 copies of Chronomentometer A printouts (4 pages each, 1 set per team, with 1 spare)
  • 53 blank Chronomentometer grids (3 per team, with 2 spares)
  • 80 Computer History Museum flyers
  • Lab coat
  • Clocksmith Technologies name badge and lanyard

How To Give To Teams

Puzzle motivated in person at the end of Invalid Permits. See its Staff Instructions.

Puzzle handed out in person--see Staff Instructions

Plot Point to Convey

  • Doctor When can't design himself because he is good on theory; only Prof. Chronos was driven to implement.
  • Help of another expert is needed.
  • Once done, the machine is closer to being fixed.

Short Description

The players need to help Doctor When design a new quantum chronomentometer.

Open Time Period

Sunday 12:40 AM till all teams (16 for Game 1, 17 for Game 2) have picked up (estimated 2:05 AM)

Staff Instructions

Your Role: Lab assistant at the Clocksmith Technologies, known for their practical expertise in developing chronomentometers.

What To Wear: lab coat + Clocksmith Technologies name badge

What Your Character Knows: You are collegial with Peach Frontier Laboratories, but you didn't know Prof. Chronos had created a (semi) working time machine nor that it malfunctioned.

Puzzles At This Site: Only Chronomentometer 1

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

  • Call GC when you are ready for teams

Handout Instructions:

Discreetly keep count of the number of teams who have picked up their puzzle so that you know when to close down.

There is only one puzzle to hand out here: “Chronomentometer”. The interaction should go something like:

TEAM: We need your help! Doctor When has become lost in time because one of the chronomentometers within his time machine failed. We have to design a new one so that we can rescue him.

LAB ASSISTANT: That's terrible! Of course we'll help. Unfortunately we've never created a complete quantum chronomentometer. But we have computed the starting specifications for one. Perhaps you can use the specifications to design the rest of the circuitry?

Then hand out the puzzle.

Site Close Down: Clean up.

Other Instructions:

  • Stay in character.
  • Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.

Detailed Description

Jigsaw puzzle with constraints. Physical pieces given to players to model the "real" one in the time machine, along with four partial maps on paper. They submit their completed arrangements to lab staff, who will confirm the solution.

Technical Setup

USE peachfrontier;
  • Clean out the solved puzzle table
    • Log in to mysql on wei-Hwa's server (username: laboratory, password: forscience), then run:
TRUNCATE TABLE solves;
TRUNCATE TABLE requests;
TRUNCATE TABLE released;
TRUNCATE TABLE assignments;
  • Clean out the log
rm /home/www/doctorwhen/peachfrontier.com/public_html/cmm/log/*
  • If you need to regenerate the team information:
    • Make sure /home/whuang/public_html/nodir/doctorwhen/gross/teams.csv is correct
    • run this SQL:
TRUNCATE TABLE solvers;
LOAD DATA INFILE '/home/whuang/public_html/nodir/doctorwhen/gross/teams.csv'
 INTO TABLE solvers
 FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
 OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '"'
 LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'
  IGNORE 1 LINES (solver_id, name, role_id, passcode, present, fake);
  • If you need to regenerate the puzzle information (god I hope not), this will recreate the release_info and scores tables:
(in directory /home/www/doctorwhen/peachfrontier.com/public_html/cmm)
mysql -Dpeachfrontier -u laboratory --password=forscience < puzinfo.sql
(sql file was generated by /home/whuang/public_html/cmm/select-puzzles.pl)


Puzzle Answer

There are four grids, numbered 50, 87, 104, 134 (there is no significance to the numbering).

Use Username: tester Password: streetsetter to access these urls.

Status for teams, as they solve this, is available at:

http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/parta.html

We should monitor this regularly and notify teams as necessary.

Puzzle Solution

Each set consists of unique hexaxgonal 4-ominoes (and some 3-ominoes) that tesselate into the Trenchwood "T" logo shape. For each puzzle sheet, some of the pieces are given fixed positions, and the others must be figured out.

Budget

 Scrap Acrylic, about 2.2 puzzles per $1 sheet = $58
 Printer Ink = $9 (est.)
 Label Stock, about 1.9 puzzles per $0.4 sheet = $26

Credits

Manager

Wei-Hwa

Hints

Response to Correct Answer

When a team emails to say they've completed all four, the check their work at http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/parta.html [1] .

If it's correct then, email team 

 Dear team _________,

 Your new designs for the quantum chronomentometer modules worked! Thank you so much.

 Doctor When is tied up in calculations. But he taped instructions
on what he needs you to do next. We don't have the View-O-Scope
working well enough to view the past.  But it can patch you
into his recording.  Please go to launch the Computer Remote
Access Program and enter access code 849943.

 Frank Farnok,
 Lab Assistant

Note that there is a second follow-up email that must be sent shortly afterwards, see 2.05 Mix Tape Puzzle#How to Give to Teams.

To Do

Other Notes

This is a "trainer" puzzle for a series of them appearing later in the act.

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