The Winking Cat Treasure Hunt - 21.12.3307
21 Dec 2021Marsxenon
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> Open Log Recorder
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\> Open - Log Recorder Initiated
> Create New Log Entry
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\> Initiate - [Recording ◉]
\\\EVENT LOG - 21.12.3307
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The Winking Cat thief, a well-known criminal, has set up what seems to be a treasure hunt. Now I know I say criminal but in all honesty I don't care what you do in this galaxy, as long as you don't hurt others. Plus, its fun and there are rewards involved, so why not? According to Detective Erik Gunnarson, him and his team were looking for the ceremonial playing card of the Jokers' Deck gambling circle. I'm not really sure who that is, since I have really only been paying attention to the news about big things like Thargoid Attacks. Anyway, the Winking Car thief returned the card after stealing it, but this time it had been stamped with a message saying "The hunt it on!" and two sets of numbers that said: "1, 2, 3: 16th to 30th." and "4, 5, 6: 23rd to 6th." I'm assuming that this means the first three rewards for the hunt will be available from the 16th to the 30th of December, and the last three will be available from the 23rd of December to the 6th of December? I also think that the last three will proceed as these first three rewards did, found via messages from the Winking Cat thief directly. The first message was titled "5-70", and contained a rhyme. I won't bother putting the rhyme in this log because you can find it on Galnet anyway. Either way, I kept reading the rhyme and I immediately noticed the misspelled words, and thought nothing of it because misspelled words happen all the time right? I kept thinking though, these two numbers can't be enough to find the treasures can they? Plus, if we're breaking the fourth wall here, these messages come from the Devs, so how did they mess up? I know how! They intended for it of course. The letters by which the words were misspelled probably laid out the locations, and the numbers in the title were probably surface coordinates. So, I decided to check, and sure enough, I found a location.
MESSAGE 1
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The first message had the following letters in place of the correct letters of the words they were in:
D-I-O-S
I looked for a system named Dios, but none could be found. I then considered that they were probably mixed up. When rearranged, the name Diso, a system 112.2 Ly from Sol, can be found. I headed there, and looked for some kind of where to look. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a specific station I need to go to, or a wrecked ship in space. Upon arrival, I looked at the nav panel, and didn't see anything overly obvious about where to go. Now, I did see that this treasure was located on one of the bodies near Diso 5, but I wasn't sure which one. Looking at both the nav panel and the FSS, I noticed that there were a lot of Fleet Carriers around 5 B, so I judged that that was probably where the treasure was. I got close to the planet, and didn't see any significant Points of Interest. I went ahead and mapped the planet, and there it was, a Crashed Ship marker. On my way, I noticed some very interesting trends in the terrain of Diso 5 B. It all seemed to look like dry skin, made up of likely thousands of plateaus with valleys and canyons running in between them. This terrain pattern seemed to cover the entire planet. You can see that below in Image 1.
> Import Image: Diso 5 B Terrain
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211219164833_1.jpg\> Import
I landed, and sure enough, the position I landed in was 5.7132° by -70.4549°. Also Diso 5 B only had 9/100ths of Earth's Gravity, so I'm not sure how I was even able to stay near the ground when I jumped. Below are some images of the wreck.
> Import Image: Diso 5 B Wreck
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211219165243_1.jpg\> Import> Import Image: Diso 5 B Wreck 2
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211219170727_1.jpg\> Import
^ In Image 2, you can see the overall wreck. It wasn't a very large ship it appears. You probably also noticed the new Scorpion SRV from Vodel that I was driving. In shot, I don't think it's half bad! I do need to get used to the handling. You can tell just how much weight the additional armor adds to the vehicle, since it likes to stop on a dime compared to the squirrel on ice behavior of the Scarab.
^ In Image 3, you can see an SRV under a round piece of wreckage. An SRV Comms Log Uplink appeared on the SRV itself, and I scanned it. After scanning, I received the following message:
| GIFT FROM THE ACHILLES CORPORTATION _____________________________________________________ Congratulations! Included in this cache is the following: - 10,000,000 credits - Asp Explorer Festive Green paintjob - Green Santa Jumper outfit |
MESSAGE 2
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The second message had the following letters in place of the correct letters of the words they were in:
E-A-E-X-Z
I was sure that the name was scrambled in this message as well, so I just decided to type Z and E into the Galaxy Map since 1) Z is probably one of the least used letters for system names, and 2) the system names are typically words that can be properly pronounced, so Z and X probably wouldn't come up with anything, but Z and E might. Z and E produced to results for systems, Zearla and Zeaex. Zeaex, a system 78.85 Ly from Diso, had all of the letters in the rhyme, so that was my target. I made my way, and similar to the previous time, had no idea what to look for. There were quite a few Fleet Carriers stationed around several of the planets in Zeaex, so that wasn't going to help me. I decided to look up where to go, and I was guided to Irvin's Wreck. This actually made sense. Not only because of the wreck I was looking for, but also because the rhyme mentioned something about fleets and ships. See the connection? Ships, Fleets, Wrecks? No? Anyway, I scanned the planet, and sure enough, another Crashed Ship marker. Irvin's Wreck had this same terrain pattern with plateaus and canyons as Diso 5 B, but it did not cover the entire surface. Craters and some flat regions interrupted the pattern. Irvin's Wreck was also more brown in color compared to the grayness of Diso 5 B. This is somewhat visible in Image 4.
> Import Image: Irvin's Wreck Terrain
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211219173911_1.jpg\> Import
Upon arrival to the crash site, there was something specific that made the location of this site distinct from the previous site. The first site was located on the top of one of the plateaus, but this one was located in a deeper portion of a valley between a few plateaus. The daylight was low, since the planet was either at a dawn or dusk state. Despite having decent sunlight though, it was dark where the wreck was, as if it was full nighttime. Additionally, just like the first site, the coordinates matched the message name. The message guiding me here was titled "-9-118", and the position where I landed was -9.4557° by -118.7260°. The wreckage itself was also different. A circular portion of the crashed ship was buried underground, making a curved ramp-like structure. One other key defining feature about this crash site was the location of the data point. The first crash site in Diso had a data point originating from the sheltered SRV. The crash site here had a Settlement Comms Log Uplink, which was neatly placed right-side up on the ground. Perhaps this indicates that this was all placed here intentionally and not the result of a legitimate crash? Either way, you can see the crashed ship remnants on Irvin's Wreck in the Zeaex system below in images 5 and 6.
> Import Image: Irvin's Wreck Wreck
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211219175145_1.jpg\> Import> Import Image: Irvin's Wreck Wreck 2
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211219175430_1.jpg\> Import
You may have also noticed that I may or may not have used the "ramp" to jump my new SRV in Image 6. Unfortunately this planet had a gravitational force of 0.41G, so I didn't go as far as I could have on a planet with a smaller force such as Diso 5 B. Upon scanning then data point in this wreck, I received the following message:
| GIFT FROM THE DUVAL FAMILY _____________________________________________________ Congratulations! Included in this cache is the following: - 10,000,000 credits - An Imperial Courier, docked at Tryggvason Orbital |
MESSAGE 3
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Finally, the third message, titled "-76-118", had the following letters in place of the correct letters of the words they were in:
M-E-M-S-A-J-O-I-N-R
When rearranged, we get the name Major's Mine which, oddly enough, was already mentioned in the rhyme. I searched Major's Mine in the Galaxy Map and received a result, but instead of a system, Major's Mine was a planet. Major's Mine is located in the Epsilon Eridani system, 43.2 Ly from Zeaex. At least this treasure would not be as difficult to find as the previous two now that I was given a specific planet to look for. Just as before, I set Epsilon Eridani as my target system, and set off. I did the same thing as I did every time, scanned the planet, targeted the Crashed Ship marker, and landed. It was nighttime in the region where the crash was located, but there was not any significantly interesting terrain patterns I observed that were unique to this planet. One difference however came to the location of the crash itself. Instead of being situated or or between mountains, this crash was located in a much larger and much more open crater-like area. This crash looked to be made up of several cargo containers that I haven't seen in use before, as seen below in images 7 and 8.
> Import Image: Major's Mine Wreck
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211220123005_1.jpg\> Import> Import Image: Major's Mine Wreck 2
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211220123039_1.jpg\> Import
The console towards the right in Image 8 is the Settlement Comms Log Uplink I was referring to with the previous wreck. These cargo containers also got me thinking. Would these not be better to transport large amounts of specific materials instead of individual 1 ton canisters, despite how they seem to be designed to hold a set amount of canisters? I think that would save having to worry about so many smaller things in your cargo hold. However, we can see that these larger containers weigh 4.36 tons themselves, which will severely limit the overall capacity of desired commodities. Anyway, after scanning the data point I received the following message:
| GIFT FROM WORLDCRAFT THEME PARK _____________________________________________________ Congratulations! Included in this cache is the following: - 10,000,000 credits - Red Festive Flak Launcher module, stored at Darkes High - A 5B Luxury Passenger Cabin module, stored at Darkes High |
Overall, I like the rewards. While I have no use for the Courier, I did find its design to be one of my favorites out of Gutamaya's ships for the Empire. Also, since it was loaned to me, selling it would not give me any credits in return, so I might as well keep it. Its design definitely suggests speed. I have also seen that it can serve as a good combat ships for its class, and even though I already own what is regarded as the best small class combat ship, I wouldn't mind having another. During the trip I noticed that I had not yet received my 30,000,000 credits, but I later judged that they would probably added to my balance once I docked at a station or redeemed something via a station contact. This may have been the truth, or it may have just taken a while, but I did in fact receive my credits when I docked at a station after my first journey. I doubt I'll ever use the green paintjob I received for the Asp Explorer, a ship of which I do not own, but its Christmas themed so I understand why I got it. I also decided to transfer my new Imperial Courier, which I have named "Meridian", to my home station in Ix. I sold the Passenger Cabin for 0 credits since I saw no use for it with what kinds of things I like to do, and even more so after I remembered they are limited to use in a Beluga. I did keep the Red Festive Flak Launcher, as useless as it may seem. The upgrades removed 99% of its damage in favor of a red blast when the flak detonates, meaning I was pretty much gifted a red firework launcher. Either way, I'll take the credits. If things go as I suspected, 3 more treasures will be revealed starting on the 23rd, which is Thursday. I will make sure to update this log if and when those treasures are revealed. Until then, o7 CMDRS.
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> Update Log Entry
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\Update\> Update Recording - [Resuming Recording ▶]
\\\UPDATE 1 - 24.12.3307
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Just as I suspected, a fourth message came through today. I was incorrect in assuming that it would be sent on the 23rd, but it did line up with the actions taken to send the previous three messages, as even though the first three caches unlocked on the 16th, the first message only came through a day later on the 17th. Either way, below is the first message we have received from the Winking Cat Thief, corresponding to the fourth cache in this treasure hunt. The remaining two should come in tomorrow and the day after if things remain the same.
MESSAGE 4
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The fourth message, titled "-66-95", had the following letters in place of the correct letters of the words they were in:
A-M-L-D-E-L-W-I-O-N-T-T-O-R-H
This message took a while to decode since there were quite a few letters to rearrange. Nonetheless, I found the name Mitterand Hollow, which is the name of a moon in the Epsilon Indi system, a system 11.8 Ly from Sol. Funny enough, words similar to this name appeared in the message. The phrase "B'itter and hollow" was mixed into the message, which very closely rhymes with Mitterand Hollow. This same thing occurred with Major's Mine as well. Perhaps the Winking Cat Thief gives clues for longer names within the rhymes? Or perhaps there have been clues the entire time but were more noticeable in the messages containing the longer names of planets and/or systems? Either way, I stocked up, and headed off for Epsilon Indi. I arrived, and targeted Mitterand Hollow, which turned out to be a moon orbiting the third planet in the system, New Africa. Upon approach there was nothing significant about the terrain, but something very significant about the orbit. Mitterand Hollow orbited New Africa very closely. So close, in fact, that I had a hard time catching up to it to land. When I finally got mass locked, I mapped the planet and looked for a Crashed Ship marker. This was my second dilemma. There were a lot of Crashed Ship markers, but I had no idea which one was the one I was looking for. I chose one, and approached, but I ended up gaining a bounty in the process. Well, it wasn't that one. This was where I remembered what has been on the messages for the entirety of the treasure hunt: the coordinates of the crash. I flew until I got closer to -66° and -95°, and targeted the approaching marker. I had a visual on the crash, and landed my ship next to it at -66.0597° by -95.8509°, just like the title said. This time I actually needed the coordinates, since the previous times there was only the one crashed ship. This crash site looked just like the first crash site of the treasure hunt, an SRV sheltered under a round piece of hull with cargo containers next to it. You can see the crash site in Image 9 below.
> Import Image: Mitterand Hollow Wreck
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211224155456_1.jpg\> Import
You can also see New Africa in the sky when I took this image. Taking this image was actually harder than it may seem. Like I mentioned before, Mitterand Hollow orbited so fast I had a hard time catching up with it. The orbital period of Mitterand Hollow is listed as 0.0 Days in the System Map, and that is because the real orbital period is 1 minute and 26 seconds. New Africa came around so quick it was only visible in my area for 20-30s, so I was glad to catch this image of the wreck and New Africa. I scanned the SRV Comms Log Uplink, and received the following message:
| GIFT FROM OSCAR GOLDSUN _____________________________________________________ Congratulations! Included in this cache is the following: - 10,000,000 credits - Alliance Chieftain Festive Gold paintjob - Yellow Festive Flak Launcher module, stored at Schneider Relay |
For once, I received a paintjob for a ship I own! Also, just like the previous module, the "Yellow Festive Flak Launcher" merely acted like a yellow fireworks launcher. I don't have a use for it but I guess I'll hold onto it just for the sake of having colorful fireworks launchers. Like I mentioned, the next two messages should come in tomorrow and the day after, so I will update you on Sunday, December 26 when the last message comes through. See you then! o7 CMDRs.
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> Update Log Entry
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\Update\> Update Recording - [Resuming Recording ▶]
\\\UPDATE 2 - 26.12.3307
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The final two messages came through, and I set off to find the final bit of treasure!
MESSAGE 5
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The fifth message, titled "-33-104", had the following letters in place of the correct letters of the words they were in:
N-T-I-O-C-E-N
This message took a bit of time to decode, but only because I wasn't sure if some words were misspelled. For instance, the word you was spelled yon, which is obviously incorrect, except for the fact that yon is also a word that means "that or those". While yon doesn't fully fit in the sentence, it still confused me for a bit. I also was confused by the word cin. I was sure it wasn't a word, except I wasn't sure what the correct word would be. Can fit, but so did Kin to some degree. I felt like Can fit better, so I isolated the incorrect I. After unscrambling the letters, I found the name Contien, a system 111.9 Ly from Epsilon Indi and 118.2 Ly from Sol. Contien only had 5 landable bodies, those being the moons of Contien 1, a Class II Gas Giant. I started mapping the planets, but to no avail. Despite mapping them, I couldn't get any Crashed Ship markers on my nav panel, only markers for outposts and planetary ports. Other CMDRs in the system chat were reminding each other of the coordinates, so I decided to start over and go back to each moon and look for a crashed ship at the proper coordinates. Back on Contien 1 A, the first system I mapped, I Crashed Ship marker appeared as I got closer to the coordinates. I finally landed next to the crash site, located at the center of a crater, at -33.7047° by -104.3804°, and only then did the marker appear on my nav panel. I'm not sure why it did not want to be displayed on the nav panel, but that issue did not happen again with the final wreck. Below are images of the crash site.
> Import Image: Contien 1 A Wreck
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211226142250_1.jpg\> Import> Import Image: Contien 1 A Wreck 2
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211226142226_1.jpg\> Import
^ As you can see in Image 11, this crash site was set up like the second crash in this treasure hunt, with circular pieces of hull stuck under the surface, forming a rudimentary ramp. I decided to jump said ramp with my SRV.
After scanning the Settlement Comms Log Uplink, I received this message:
| GIFT FROM RACKHAM CAPITAL INVESTMENTS _____________________________________________________ Congratulations! Included in this cache is the following: - 100,000,000 credits - Green Festive Flak Launcher module, stored at Eanes Vision - Snowflake Bobblehead dashboard ornament |
That is correct, 100 Million credits. Not to say that the previous 40,000,000 I obtained from the other caches was useless, but finally some money I can use! I'm nowhere near rich, but bumping up 100,000,000 isn't half bad. I also don't mind the bobblehead and the flak launcher. I love a good bobblehead and I'm currently collecting colored flak launchers, so it's a win-win situation here!
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> Update Log Entry
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\Update\> Update Recording - [Resuming Recording ▶]
\\\UPDATE 3 - 11.1.3308
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I apologize about this final update to my log about the Winking Cat Treasure Hunt taking so long. While I did go find the last two locations within the same day, I took a few weeks to myself, and forgot to update the final part of this event, so here we go.
MESSAGE 6
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The sixth and final message, titled "2-37", had the following letters in place of the correct letters of the words they were in:
D-S-R-I-V-O
It took me a bit to decode what the name of this planet or system was, but for a particularly odd reason. Like I had suggested in with the previous location, it may be possible that there were clues to the name in every rhyme, and that ended up being the truth. This message was odd though, because one of the words in the rhyme seemed to be most of the name in the first place. "Dvors" appeared in the rhyme, and even though I could see a way to turn this into a real word, it would not fit the rhyme. This is because this word and the first letter of the word after it created the name of the system: Dvorsi. For the last time, I set Dvorsi as my target and set off. It took me a bit, but I found a Crashed Ship marker on Dvorsi A 12 C. Just like all of the other crashes, I landed close to the coordinates in the name, more specifically at 2.5421° by -37.7186°. This crash looked unlike the previous wrecks. This crash contained a sheltered SRV, but the hull segments the SRV was hidden under were much larger, big enough to contain multiple cargo containers, as you can see in image 12 and 13 below.
> Import Image: Dvorsi A 12 C Wreck
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211226212530_1.jpg\> Import> Import Image: Dvorsi A 12 C Wreck 2
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Images\20211226212550_1.jpg\> Import
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> End Log Entry
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\> End Recording- Recording Ended
> Close Log Recorder
<c:\Ship\Wraith\Logs\Log Recorder\Log_Recorder.exe\> Close - Closing
> Log Saved, Goodbye Commander
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