THE ZIGGURAT OF DISAPPOINTMENT™, NORMAL END.
Behind a desk, with some papers in his hand, is an unassuming little man. What's left of his hair is grey. He is flanked by controls and screens, likely displaying the output of all sorts of security cameras. Judging by his uniform he is probably a guard or a night watchman for the ZIGGURAT OF DISAPPOINTMENT™.
At your approach he shifts slightly, stifling a yawn. Apparently he was sleeping.
Oh, hello, there you are. Took your time, didn't you. Been watching you for days, feels like.
I put on some tea, once you made it down to this, this forgotten storage I guess you'd call it. Nobody's ever going to need any of these things, but they keep piling up, you know. Sometimes it feels like I'm in storage myself.
Thought you might be thirsty. But you were going so slowly. And there's not much to do down here, you know?
Know how many times I've gone through these company newsletters? Comes out every month. Think I'm the only one who still reads them. Complete waste of paper.
You know, they used to have recipes? It was that sort of company, once. Smaller. With actual people, you know? Oh, I could tell you some things about people...
Say, when you were up in the warehouse, did you happen to notice a place called Dennis? No, course not. Anyway, you know what it means?
That clever fellow with the Hafnium? Know who he is? No, he's not Dennis. Dennis hasn't been around for ages. Someone said they heard he'd died. I don't know. Doesn't matter.
No, no, Dennis used to work there, in the warehouse. And right at his desk, so you could scan it, DENNIS. Maybe he was here at the start? I dunno. Before me, anyway.
So that guy you met, he's the guy who got Dennis's job, after the guy who got Dennis's job left. Maybe there was another one in between, can't remember any more.
So now when people read DENNIS, they don't know. It's just a funny location.
Sorry. It's the job, you know. Most days there's nothing to do. Finally get to talk to someone, and I can't shut up.
Anyway, today I watched some poor soul wandering around lost. Drank all the tea myself. And then I fell asleep. That was my whole day.
I'd make another pot but you're ready to move on, right? To see the precious Ziggurat?
Well, it's right there, through the door and up you go. To the Toppermost of the Poppermost. The Sanctum Sanctorum. I could even show you around. It's just...
Are you sure you want to see it? It's not much to look at, really. I don't know why anyone would bother.
Look, you've been walking a long time. Snooping around all sorts of places you shouldn't. Seen a few interesting corners. Maybe got a story to tell your friends.
But you've been thinking, haven't you? As you made your way around. What you might see when you finally reach it? It's going to be amazing, right? Surely worth all this trouble, right?
Well, let me spell it out for you. That Ziggurat? The one you imagined? That's the one you should remember. That's the one you should tell your friends about.
Why? Tell me, why do you think they call it the ZIGGURAT OF DISAPPOINTMENT™? Because it's so wonderful? Because it's so incredible?
No, if it was like that they'd call it the Ziggurat of Peace Love and Happiness, Praise Jesus Amen. You get me?
Look, why don't I take you outside? You find your car and go home. Wouldn't you rather do that? Just make up a nice ending to the story yourself?
No? Well, you've got to be sure. Really sure. There's no changing your mind once we're inside. When you're in, you're in.
Just don't say I didn't warn you. About the disappointment.
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I got quite lost on the way here. Even turned myself around once.
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I was afraid I'd screw up the maze somewhere, and make it impossible to solve. I did catch one missing exit before turning it on, hopefully that was the only one... :)
Good luck! :)
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stumbles in looking a bit disheveled That ... was a worthy maze.
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Yeah, never making another one of these, not until I find some way to automate it... :) Absolute murder... :(
Good luck! :)
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I was a bit worried mid-maze that there might actually be an entire 364 days scattered... XD
My clicker finger is relieved you didn't kill yourself off completely. (Even so, what you've done is a beautiful and fearful sort of insanity.)
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Figured I'd get a day to rest after finally connecting the maze, before adding the last part... But I barely got an hour... :)
So if I'm insane, at least I'm not alone... :)
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the real disappointment is that I didn't make any maps since I didn't need any and not even sure what you mean by "map"🤔
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Oh, interesting! So you found this place by wandering around? Hope you didn't bump your head on the walls too often... :)
And hope you don't get stuck on the next part... :)
Good luck... :)
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well I opened 1000 tabs and saved the needed info into the document and closed them:D so yeah that's why I'm stuck on the next part and don't think I'll be able to pass it unless you add more hints
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Ummm, my hint is make a map. Seriously. Like it says in the itstoohard hint. :)
If you do make a map, the reason why should become obvious as you fill it in. Maybe start with the cubicle farm, it's only 8x8... :)
If you don't make a map, you're screwed. Sorry...
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I agree with Baffi. You don't need a map to reach the end. You only need to browse applying a depth-first search approach (follow one path and if is a dead end you go back to the last tab where the path is divided and chose another direction). I did that and now I am also screwed >.<
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Well, you're only screwed if you give up. :)
Everything from the break room to the end is running all month - so hopefully you will be able to find time to retrace all your steps and make some maps... I doubt you'll enjoy doing it, but think of all the loot! There's bound to be loot! :)
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Is it finally over? Am I finally free of that infernal maze?
Oddly enough I made it to the end without hitting a single dead end, which just meant I had to go back over every path I missed.
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Oh, interesting, so you didn't see any of the wormholes the first time through? That would have been disappointing...
Good luck! :)
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Aahhhh I forgot to save my past maps ;-; I have the latest, thankfully, but looks like I gotta redo the past two... :^(
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Ouch... :(
I do that sometimes with puzzles, delete everything once it's finally finished... And then remember I needed to save it so I could write the explanation... :(
Good luck... :)
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I MADE IT!!
I stupidly mistyped one date and had to do the whole maze over again (after checking over my dates a billions times over because somehow that's less of a hassle than just going through the maze again).
Also, you've got a loose star (*) wondering around here, I don't know if that's intentional
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Congratulations! :) Ouch... I've probably made a bunch of typos in here... Hopefully every location could be reached, though. Ahh, thank you, I will have to fix that. Completely unintentional, just another copy+paste error... :)
Good luck! :)
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Normal sigh of relief.
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There's bound to be more relief elsewhere, but good luck for now! :)
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Ahh, yeah, I'm afraid you'll need maps to progress beyond this point... But think of the fun you'll have! :)
Good luck! :)
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Also did the sadistic maze with tabs, and not a map. I got the other two answers, but...dang. Back through the slog again, I guess?
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Ouch, tabs? That's just insane... I'd get lost in the maze for sure... Probably get lost in the warehouse, too... :)
Yeah, not getting past this without a map... Good luck! :)
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I just fired up a new tab for each branching decision, and noted in the tab (in the comment box) where I'd come from, and which directions I'd not explored yet. Then just depth-first search through the maze, closing tabs when I reached a dead end. It wasn't really too bad. Thankfully, there were no loops.
But yes, I mapped it out 80-90% today, enough to figure out all but 1 letter to the answer. At that point, it was quicker to guess at the last letter than to continue mapping. Glad to have that finished. Thanks for the event, I'm sure it was quite a lot of work.
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Someone mentioned writing a script, which was quite a good idea even if it probably spoiled all my fun... :) I guess running algorithms on paper works too. :)
I suppose brute-force worked for a lot of this thing, and after 1000 giveaways I don't blame anyone for wanting to be done... :)
Good luck! :)
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Here I am! :D
Kyaaa! Hope you don't mind me screaming over this gem I can enter for, when my points accumulate back! ;D
I wanted to share with you my tiny little map I made. X) But I am not sure if it would be okay here, so it will wait till I get to the true end. ;)
Edit: Well, I hope I will. XD
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I've got points to spare, just don't know how to send them to people... :)
Oh, sure, it would be fun to see maps! :) Although, like you say, probably better to share them in the next part... :)
Good luck! :)
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At the half of the labyrinth I was sure I m going to need to go second time trough it, but it was not needed ^_^
EDIT: or looks like it is.. eh.. -.-
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Ahh, sorry about that... :) I probably should have hinted to people about the maps, but that would spoil all the fun of redoing everything... :)
Good luck! :)
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ok .. needed some guesses (dont know why i missed the first days of june and about 4 other dates?)
but i am here :3
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Hmm, I dunno... Maybe I missed some? I'm too lazy to check again... :(
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no, i just forgot to mark some .. but i could solve it without them :D
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ah well, its getting late, i will have a look at the ith when i return this evening
i fear though that i will have to find my lost dates xD
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I hope you don't need them... :) Good hunting... :)
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ok, solved Q1 and 3, now Q2 xD
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If you got 1 and 3, 2 should be easy... :) Good luck! :)
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i knew how to solve
but i still had to draw a map for it ;3
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I did it. But there's yet another puzzle...and I have no idea what to do, because there's nothing in my notes about the questions o_0
I did not find anything about a key, an ID or a book, and I've been noting everything down.
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Did you make a map? Because if you didn't make a map, you're screwed, sorry...
Good luck! :)
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Hmm, good point, it's possible to have a map that doesn't help at all...
But I'm inclined to give anyone who reached this point the benefit of the doubt - if they made a map, they mapped something. Hopefully their map is in a form that allows them to solve the final puzzle...
I can't really think of how to give a suggestion without just giving the answer. :( Sigh...
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Glad you were able to figure out what I meant, from that muddled comment. I blame Ziggurat-induced fatigue. :P
Nah, the hints are fine, and the solutions have all been fairly intuitive; I was just trying to poke at the points you just mentioned. :)
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I'm here!
Just skimmed the next bit to take a closer look after commenting. I did make a detailed map and I already noticed a pattern early. :D
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Aha, yes, here you are indeed! There's not much to read in the next bit, I was a bit rushed... Haven't decided what to do about it, maybe I'll give up and leave it as-is... :)
Good luck! :)
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Ah well, didn't make any maps, not sure I'll have the courage to go through everything again
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Yeah, I'd be pretty discouraged to learn I'd need to walk through 1000 giveaways all over again... :( Where's Sweet Brown when you need her?
Aha, this one looks appropriate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X18mUlDddCc :)
Good luck! :)
p.s. Hopefully there won't be dozens of reroll requests incoming... Maybe I shouldn't bother checking for this puzzle... :)
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I tried with the cubicle, turns out I'm terrible at making maps. I could still figure it out but there were some mistakes so it might not work out with the next ones, or maybe I need to find better tools
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Hmmmm, did you happen to see the spreadsheet idea? I don't remember who mentioned it, but it's a lot easier than drawing a map on a piece of paper :)
I'm amazed you got this far without a map, though - I'd just go crazy and give up... :)
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Haven't seen it but I thought about that too, I used an online tool for the cubicle and it didn't work too well for branching paths since I had to backtrack from memory
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Some people mentioned opening a bunch of tabs, solving the mazes algorithmically, or I dunno maybe just wandering lost until they stumbled across the exit via blind luck...
Everyone who did that is screwed. No map = missing the final 50 or so giveaways. :( I can't explain why without telling the answer, and of course nobody needs to see the final giveaways, but if you're trying to reach them, better to start mapping from the start... :)
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Yeeeeeesssssss finally i am here 🎊🎉
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Congratulations! :) Sorry I don't know anything about all those fancy ultra-smileys... :(
Good luck! :)
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I didn't take your private hint...hint to make a map.
I took the obvious one later: It might not be a bad idea to remember where you found this.^^
Thank You!
Still not easy with a spreadsheet map with colored areas some walls, intersections with codes, marks where I haven't been and games I definitely want to get and of course the dates. Everything you need. But it looks like a big colorful rag. Thankfully it worked after I knew what to look for.
Missing #2 as I luckily passed that one
... a sneaky genius
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Ahh, you might want to go back and map out the second area... :) But I guess it's up to you... :)
I hope this one's fun... But I bet a lot of people won't be able to run it... :( Good luck! :)
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Hahaha. You are a very talented person. :)
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Oh, not really... Unless giving away a huge pile of bundle junk is a talent... :)
Good luck! :)
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I hate maps :(
But i still got here thanks to excel :)
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Aha, you did it, good job! :)
Making mazes is probably about as much fun as walking through them, but think of all the horrible shovelware you could try for, assuming you like horrible shovelware... :) Maybe by the time the giveaways end half of them will be removed games too... :)
Good luck! :)
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Finally here! Nice to meet this odd fellow. Talkative, but seems kind.
P.S. The coincidences between this maze and the cake factory are wonderfully coincidental. :) Tantalum Hafnium Carbide plays a decently important role at the Cake Factory. :)
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He's probably just faking it... Or perhaps he was driven mad from the job, the same meaningless work repeated endlessly, accomplishing nothing, year after forgotten year... I mean, who arrayed all that junk into a sadistaically oversized maze, enticed people to enter, and then watched as they wandered around lost and gave up... :)
You know, once this is finished I'm interested to explore the whole thing, if only to see how a good puzzle looks... :) Hopefully I won't notice too many examples of oh, that's a great idea, why didn't I ever think of that? :)
Good luck! :)
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Walkthrough's going up soon, too (hopefully tonight), so you'll have that to fall back on if you get stuck (or annoyed with the tedious time-consuming bit at the start). :)
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Thank you, I'll open a tab so I'll feel guilty until I remember to look... :)
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omg...I have the maps but i don't know what to look in them :(
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Ahh, I'll repeat the hints from that final itstoohard thing, in case you missed them:
"You did make a map, didn't you? Well, if not, go back and make it. Maybe pay attention to where you saw all those posters..."
"You did make a map, didn't you? Well, if not, go back and make it. Maybe pay attention to where you saw all those boxes..."
"You did make a map, didn't you? Well, if not, go back and make it. Maybe pay attention to where you saw all those pieces of paper..."
Does that help at all? I don't want to spoil things, so I'm reluctant to say anything more... Hope you notice whatever it is, looks like 5 days remaining...
Good luck! :)
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Not really. I tried to connect all verses/elements/dates from the mazes to see if they form a shape or something known, but nothing.
I triend the same with the shape of the route through the maze. I even combine them :)
I think I need another approach.
Maybe it has to do something with the links(or the games) where I found the codes.I should combine them and see if I find something.
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Well, the actual things themselves mean nothing, and same with the games you find them in, so don't waste any time combining things or looking for some complex connection between whatever...
Instead of "pay attention to where you saw", what if the hint said "make a note of where you saw"? Or would that make it too simple? :)
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Now that has ended can you tell me the answer to ITH? I'm sure that I made a perfect map :)
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Ahh, check the topic in the forum, I put a lazy explanation in. Also links to all the answers... :)
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Pfff, I've done that but in my excel map the cells didn't form a readable shape.
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Sorry! :( I'll have to provide a map template next time so everyone gets the same chances to find the whatever... :)
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Oh godssss, and top of wishlist, worthed the pain? Worthed the pain for that rare rare chancee
Edit; bbut no maps.... I can't I'll dieeee
Edit edit; already died getting here, how even mate how evenn
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You better get some maps, or say screw it and save your energy for a less silly puzzle... :)
Looks like there's still three days left if you decide to try... But it probably feels like losing your save right before the final boss... Start over, or say nope, I'm done... :)
Good luck! :)
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I won't be able to solve the ITH in time, so this is my stop. It's a miracle I even made it this far. If I ever see another maze again, it will be too soon. 😆
Thanks for all the time, work and creativity (oh, and about 1000 keys?) you put into this
enjoyabledisappointing experience, fiftykyu! 👍Comment has been collapsed.
Ahh, sorry to hear that... :( And yeah, mazes suck. :) I'd never bother with something like this myself, just too lazy... :)
Hmmm, yes I guess it was about 1000, don't remember the final tally. If that suggests to you that I still haven't written a puzzle solution, you would be correct... :(
Hopefully all your effort won't be wasted, I'm sure I gave away a few real games in here by accident... :)
Good luck! :)
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