My first puzzle. Should be easy. [Finished for real now.]

Too hard.

Ugh.. I know what the picture is and where it's needed... but in the end I'm failing to make a connection.

Secret code - where the hell are you...

Found the secret code...but segmentation fault :(

I made a slight change to part of the puzzle. Should make it easier. If you got that far at least. You might wanna re-decode a certain big text that asks you to decode it and work with the new version. Everything is done exactly as it was before, just the last part of it got easier. :D

Also, I'll add a few last hints, not like those would make a difference.

2 hours left. I'll post the solution here since my first post got overrun with hints.(And, yes, this is a blatantly unsubtle bump.)

This is SPACE-MADNESS !

Got the mother of all hints, still trying to find the secret code. Didn't realize it was ending so early, otherwise I would have worked on it more yesterday x.x

Entering the mother of all hints doesnt work. Do I include the periods? And not sure what "blank" you are referring to. There's no blank in the picture from what I can see.

Edit:
Oh well, it's over. GG

Solution:
Fist of all this- http://home.paulschou.net/tools/xlate/ can be used to quickly and easily decode some of the most commonly used cyphers(in my case I used all of them :D ). Each one is quite unique and easy to differentiate from the others.

Anyhow, you start at this paste bin- http://pastebin.com/tujf2tFk. There is a hint which says that you will probably need later(although most people got trough that part with out the hint or misunderstood it, I guess). Decode it in this order- Binary>ASCII>Hex>Base64 and you get this link- http://i.imgur.com/zWgkd.png. The image is titled "The Mother of ALL hints." and tells you to find out what's supposed to be in the blank. Of course, figuring that out just by it's background is very unlikely so let's move on for now. ^_^

The rest of the PasteBin points to a Too Hard Puzzle quiz about the Solar System. Most of those question were easy to figure out, brute force or just find out by reading Wikipedia. The only problematic question turned out number 2. "Give me one of the reasons why that planet (Venus) is considered the most unwelcoming." From reading it's Wikipedia page you'll find out that Venus is extremely hot due to the strongest greenhouse effect in the Solar System and has extremely high pressure due to a very dense atmosphere. The atmosphere also has a lot of sulfuric acid in it and it's density causes the winds to exert a significant amount of force. So (inb4 people ranting about it) possible answers were "Extremely high temperature.", "Extremely high pressure.", "Extremely dense atmosphere."(which is a direct quote from Wikipedia), "Strong winds.". But the most obvious of all answers- "Greenhouse effect."- the reason Venus is so hot. One was about sulfuric acid but I forgot what it was, heh. ^_^
Also, why did people have such a bit problem with dots in the end? :D

Anyhow, when you complete it, you get this http://pastebin.com/FVnunaj6. So, lets start the decoding Binary>ASCII>HEX>Base 64 again? Well, no, you get corrupt text in the end. All except it's last line conveniently separated from the rest by a AAAAAAA... string. "13isyourluckynumber" or "13 is your lucky number". I guess I might have been a bit vague here but that means you need to search for an encoding scheme where the number 13 is significant. Well, the first ones that come to mind are Base13 and ROT13(otherwise knows as Caesar cipher 13). The right one is Rot13. Translate what you had before using Base64 trough Rot13 and try using it again. And, wow, you got a real text. For convenience I made a PasteBin with the result.

Yes, that is a source code for a program. But what language is it? Let's see: there are some corrupt symbols in the end- those are left from the 13 hint so you don't need them any more and they are just getting in the way so delete them. I tried to make the code very hard to understand but anyone who knows programming will notice that it is either Java or C++(with some Pascal gibberish added in for confusion). As for anyone else, look at the end of the code: "The hints' mommy is hiding the answer.". Ah the hint from the first PasteBin then. So what are we supposed to do with it? You COULD try to figure out where the background is from... or you could open it in paint and use the fill tool to try and find anything hidden. The black sensor in the middle reveals "4.9.9.2". So now what is that? Well, the best approach with something unknown is Google it: and don't know about anyone else but my first result is "Dev-C++ 5 Beta 9.2 (4.9.9.2)". A free C++ compiler, quite outdated but will do(considering that I wrote the program on it). After compiling the code you get this message:
"You did it! :D
Now find the super secret code.
Start over back at the forum thread.
Enter it here:"
So, start over at the forum thread and try to find something hidden. The first thing you should try when searching for something hidden in a thread is the main post's source code by selecting it, right clicking and choosing "View Selected Source". Hm... odd, nothing new there... except that the link to the first PasteBin doesn't quite match the place it links to(another tip was that I used the other links on my thread correctly and therefore know how to do it... or just plain noticing that you don't end up where the link said you should). So, instead of clicking the link copy and open it manually. You end up here: http://pastebin.com/RfC7GiEi. You get part 1 of the Super Secret Code™: "20 20 2 6 2 4 16 19 1 18 2 12 6 7 19 20 1 14 14 17 2 14 5 6 15 19 4 8 3 17 11 12 16 17 19 21 4 9 12 13 5 10", but you still need to decode that rather long text for it. I decided not to torture you with having to figure it out on your own and just told you the first step was Base32(you can find translators for it by just googling "Base 32 decoder"). So, the decode it like this Base32>Base64>Base64>Binary>HEX>HEX(it might have taken a few tries to get the right order). The result:
"Here's Part 2 of code:
gzsnburlvkgevspciqsma
Oh, and remember to enter it after Part 1 but separately(with a new line) from it."
Enter
20 20 2 6 2 4 16 19 1 18 2 12 6 7 19 20 1 14 14 17 2 14 5 6 15 19 4 8 3 17 11 12 16 17 19 21 4 9 12 13 5 10
gzsnburlvkgevspciqsma
in the program and... the result flashes for a second and the window closes. You were supposed to figure out how to get around that but I decided(As in: "I hadn't noticed that because I tested the program in the Command Prompt by habit where it doesn't close" "decided") it was too unfair, so I changed it(a few hours before the end unfortunately- hey, it IS my first puzzle) so that it asks for more input before closing. Anyway, you get "lwpnfwandnarecapital"(lwpnf w and n are capital) as a result. The giveaway code http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/lWpNf/fortix.

[technical stuff]
In reality that program builds a graph(the numbers in the input, I drew it on a whim so it's effectively random) and assigns the letters from the input string to it's edges. Then it starts a DFS(Depth-first search) algorithm from edge number 2 and takes the edges in the backtrack order(while missing the one it started from). It then makes something which I think looks like a Caesar cipher but increases for every next letter. Finally it outputs the result.
[end of technical stuff/]

Yes, that is a Fortix giveaway. And yes, I made it painfully clear that there was a hidden link in there. Seriously, the only way for me to be less subtle about it (and more painful) is if I came to you house and hit you with a sign saying "THERE'S A HIDDEN LINK IN THERE.". Anyhow, the video and image of a muffin were red herrings. The link is hidden in the source code right before the link for the muffin: http://pastebin.com/9auiu85g. I'm not sure if I should explain it since everyone who got there also got to the end but I will anyway. I'll leave you solve the next Too Hard Puzzle quiz on your own because it was laughably easy(the first questions take both "Yes." and "No." as correct and the answer to the last one is 1242).

When you're done it links you to the real final quiz: http://www.itstoohard.com/puzzle/U1aXxFVQ. The questions are about a game, but the catch is finding out which game it is. The first question links to a hint for it. So to decode it use Base64>Binary>ASCII... and you get a corrupt text. However, the text field might be corrupt but the HEX field holds only 1s and 0s... so take THAT and decode it with Binary... The result is: "On the PC. Not on Steam. Casual game. Played directly from your browser. Requires Java. Developer in UK and best known for a MMORPG." Said developer is Jagex. With some searching you'll find that they have a website with casual games called FunOrb and with some more searching, you'll find that the game is called "Dr P. Saves the Earth". Only I want the full title, so that's "Doctor Phlogiston Saves the Earth.". Another way to find it out is by going directly to question 3, decoding the hint- "Sbehzf ubyq n ybg bs vagrerfgvat vasbezngvba.">Rot13>"Forums hold a lot of interesting information.", finding the thread "All-Time Highscores: Top 10s" in the General forum(on the FunOrb site) and searching for the games I hold a high score in- as in, this game on the first page and the answer for question 3 is "11,522,643.". To get the character's name, start the game(you can play it with out registering by choosing "Just play"; also you will need Java plug in to run it). Start a New game and the first story pages will give you a name and the answer: "Captain Piercy.".
So, that just leaves the last question: "What message do you get after completing the final free-to-play stage right after beating the boss and having your score calculated?" Well, I'm not telling, go beat the game and find out for yourself if you wanna get to the final giveaway.

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Ok, ok, just kidding. But really, go try it out, it's a nice game. The answer is "WORLD COMPLETE."... Ha, was gonna be a nice joke if a lot of people actually got that far. -.-
Here's the link- http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/6k7yA/toki-tori to the "real" giveaway.

Thanks for Skyrimz :D :D

Well, now the final part is done. http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/6k7yA/toki-tori- this was in the final line of the solution. If you didn't find it, you either didn't read the solution or wasn't paying attention to what you were reading and clicking. :D
Thanks for everyone who participated and hope you liked this. Now go look up my other thread. :P