Community Event Potato Cipher Solved

https://wynncraft.com/hellotherenicedayforapotatoisntit
your welcome

i want to die

How we did it:​

Ingame potato hunt yielded the encoded text:

Code:

p+`Vr6TOZEn-TZiBJh#lR,4i5hun4<B%/kzP0*:Ns^:Vz@2VgMp0izZ-W?V7ZxNRI+:jIZ6W/cxq%m)v)Q4IrD[,

Spoiler: How to do the ingame part (thanks AnUglyTurtle for the writeup):

Incase someone wants to do the Selchar Potato puzzle up to the code:
You get the Rare potato from Potato Island, which has a potato imp that drops it rarely. You only need one. Coords to Potato Island- X: -470, Z: -3240 Talk to the Selchar potato, then bring a rare potato to Almuj potato. Take 12 normal potatoes and the rare potato to Detlas potato. Take 13 regular potatoes and the rare potato to the Nemract potato. 21 Regular potatoes and the rare potato to Nesaak potato. 7 regular potatoes and the rare potato to Troms. You can not have any other potatoes in your inventory when you talk to the potatoes. Only the required ones. Also if you switch worlds at all you have to restart from Selchar. Have fun.

"DE@T*qbfp+:)kOfP2jHgpdl" was posted and deleted instantly on discord

Image was posted briefly to the discord, showing a section of code:


"TG1OdmJTOXVaV1ZrWVdKcGRHOW1hR1ZzY0E9PQ" was posted and deleted instantly on discord; howtozombie used a base64 decoder twice and got the link to this second image of censored code:


These images together make up the encryption code.

The code involves 3 variables that are used to encode the text-without all 3 variables it is impossible to find the solution. We took to guessing at hints and taking stabs in the dark as to what the numbers could be (# of potatoes in the world divided by 3, height from the sky to the selchar potato, 42, etc)

Other hints:
Jpresent repeatedly told us that "2 ^8 is not the limit"
Jpresent repeatedly told us to look at the big picture, rather than the little details (not a quote, not the bigger picture quest) of jp.jpg

Jpresent told us to think about what the thing in the image was, and how the potatoes were turning into it
Red gave us hints regarding the current standing interpretation of the encryption code, including the % and the 4 letter function in "result = _ _ _ _(result);"
More random stuff on wynnapps.tk/potato/

People also tried to map where all the potatoes on the server were pointing. There are over 300.
Almost all of them cross over Selchar (the start and end position), with a few exceptions like the potato near the Dernel Jungle Mansion --> the Maltic Plains potato (which then crossed Selchar).

thanks everyone in discord; it has been a ride

encrypter/decrypter:​

Apparently it has to be run in a javascript console line, because the atob() and btoa() functions are picky.

In the end, I solved for the variables by brute forcing the solution to something that made sense

input =

Code:

p+`Vr6TOZEn-TZiBJh#lR,4i5hun4<B%/kzP0*:Ns^:Vz@2VgMp0izZ-W?V7ZxNRI+:jIZ6W/cxq%m)v)Q4IrD[,

solution vars: numCount = 2, numStart = 22, addEachNum = 43

Code:

//encryption (taken from clues, censored pictures, etc):
Number.prototype.mod = function(n) {
    return ((this%n)+n)%n;
}
function encode1(str, numStart, addEachNum) {
    var result = '';
    for (var i = 0; i < str.length; ++i) {
        var num = (numStart + i * addEachNum);
        var n = str.charCodeAt(i) - 33 + num;
        result += String.fromCharCode(33 + (n.mod(90)));
    }
    return result;
}

function encode(str, numCount, numStart, addEachNum) {
    var result = str;
    for (var i = 0; i < numCount; ++i) {
        result = btoa(result);
    }
 
    return encode1(result, numStart, addEachNum);
}
//decryption (I reversed it)
function decode1(end, numStart, addEachNum) {
    var start = '';
    for (var i = 0; i < end.length; ++i) {
        var m = (end.charCodeAt(i)-33)
        var mum = (numStart + i * addEachNum);
        var starta = (m - mum)%90 + 33;
        if (starta < 0) { //just to be safe
          starta = 90 + starta
        }
        if (starta < 33) {
          starta = 90 + starta
        }
        start += String.fromCharCode(starta);
    }
    return start
}
function decode(end, numCount, numStart, addEachNum) {
    var result = end;
    result = decode1(result, numStart, addEachNum)
    for (var i = 0; i < numCount; ++i) {
        result = atob(result);
    }
    return result
}
//brute forcer
var coded = "p+`Vr6TOZEn-TZiBJh#lR,4i5hun4<B%/kzP0*:Ns^:Vz@2VgMp0izZ-W?V7ZxNRI+:jIZ6W/cxq%m)v)Q4IrD[,"
//ranges were determined based on what each variable actually controlled (running the base64 more than 5 or so times didn't make much sense and just created long winded strings, looping numStart past 90 did nothing because of the mod, etc)
for (var numm = -10; numm < 90; ++numm) {
    for (var nummm = 1; nummm < 5; ++nummm) {
        for (var nummmm = -10; nummmm < 90; ++nummmm) {
            try {
                var ccc = decode(coded,nummm,numm,nummmm);
                console.log(ccc, nummm, numm, nummmm);
            } catch(Exception) {
                console.log("nope");
            }
        }
    }
}
 
console.log("encrypted:",encode(new String("wynncraft.com/hellotherenicedayforapotatoisntit"),2,22,43));
console.log("decrypted:",decode(new String("p+`Vr6TOZEn-TZiBJh#lR,4i5hun4<B%/kzP0*:Ns^:Vz@2VgMp0izZ-W?V7ZxNRI+:jIZ6W/cxq%m)v)Q4IrD[,"),2,22,43));

also input =

Code:

(DE@T*qbfp+:)kOfP2jHgpdl 

solution vars: numCount = 2, numStart = 43, addEachNum = 8
gives

Code:

= delet this

yay...

 

Hmmm.

 

Congratulations

 

Well at least we got this from the hunt!

 

thanks dude

updated the post with a pretty full walkthrough

 

Brilliant work today, you truly are hackerman.

 

hackermen,

ASSESMBLE!

 

So, the entire potato-puzzle-thing 'only' gave us a little tease of a new build?

 

The potato is coming

 

This is basically advanced housing, the dream of all players

 

Lol same place but changed a little bit...

 

you know i hope when this "potato update" comes there is a trader equivalant to the avatar cabbage guy

 

WHEN IS GRAVY! WE HAVE WAITED FOR GRAVY FOR TOO DAMN LONG!

 

Congrats, at least it wasn't a Rick Roll

 

Holy shir smarter than me

 

Jpotato is on wc21

 

So the difference in the new picture is that someone have build two small *something* and there’sa different model in the middle (now the same as the one shown in the puzzle) and it has some weird bow in the emblem.

To me it looks like it has been upgraded, better walls and center piece. It might be that you can upgrade walls etc and upgrade buildings and build new (like the two with people in them in the new picture) buildings. Like you can do in some mobile games like clash of clans etc but for clans instead of individual gameplay. Just a crazy theory though.

Edit: The new road/path also looks slightly misplaced as it’s not connected with the path next to it and there are of course more changes from pic to pic but same thing applies there.

 

Maybe this is guild housing?

 

So what are the point of the potatoes?