Strange Apparatus mystery finally solved?Follow

http://ffxi.killvoid.com/forums.php?m=posts&q=75847&n=last#bottom



That's right, you heard it here first...errr on KI first I mean (hehe). The Strange Apparatus, Vana Diel's most mysterious quest/mission/side-game/etc...whatever you want to call it, is finally solved!


Ok, it's a lot of info I got here so bare(sp?) with me. It was hinted at in an FFXI convention that the 'Strange Apparatus'es correspond to the first 3 letters of your characters name'. I don't have the direct quote, but someone quoted it in the thread I linked above. Basically what was discovered once the thread was posted and people began investigating is that as far as anyone knows, so far 'Doctor' is the highest status you can receive. Once you achieve 'Doctor' status you can no longer enter passwords.

For those who don't know, there are 8 working machines scattered in different zones throughout the world. There are also 3 non-working machines which no one it seems know what they do yet. The 8 main machines however, each have a corresponding element. When you trade an Infinity Core (dropped in Dynamis from statues), and a colored elemental chip (purchased from gobbie vendors in the 3 main cities, Windurst Walls, Northern San d'Oria outside Carpenter's Guild, not sure of Bastok location). There are a few different items you can receive from these in return for the trade, including Rune Weapons (some are worth quite a bit). You must trade the correct element to the correct machine, I know the CN machine needs a Blue Chip (water element). If you trade the incorrect chip, than an NM elemental spawns. They are around Lv 75 or so...heh.

Cracking The Code:
The first 3 letters of your name is the beginning of the password you must enter at the machines. The machine's password is 8 'digits' long. Last time I checked 3 does not equal 8. So here is how to convert it.

A=00 B=01 C=02 D=03 E=04 F=05 G=06 H=07 I=08 J=09
K=10 L=11 M=12 N=13 O=14 P=15 Q=16 R=17 S=18 T=19
U=20 V=21 W=22 X=23 Y=24 Z=25

So: G A M
G = 06 A = 00 M = 12

We now have 6 of the 8 'digits'. 060012xx

But wait, after this was tested, it did not work. Something was still missing. It turns out that the corresponding elements to the machines has something to do with the code also.

Here is the order of the days for those who don't know:

Lightsday -> Darksday -> Firesday -> Earthsday -> Watersday -> Windsday -> Iceday -> Lightningday

Now, I never saw anything that indicated which is the first day of the week. But the code worked when they used Firesday as the first day of the week.

Firesday = 00 Earthsday = 01 Watersday = 02 Windsday = 03 Iceday = 04 Lightningday = 05 Lightsday = 06 Darksday = 07

You are probably asking what to do with this. Well, let's say you are in CN (Crawler's Nest). The machine in CN corresponds to Watersday, as marked by the color emanating from the crystal set in the top of the machine. So let's go back to what we have discovered so far. We so far, using the first 3 letters of my character name:G A M, we have the 'digits' 060012xx

Now, let's use CN in this example since I know for sure that its the water element (the other's I'm not too sure about). The code for Watersday is 02. So let's use those addition skills we havn't used since High School to add 02 with each of the first 3 letters of my name, or should I say, the 'digits' that correspond with them.

06 + 02 = 08
00 + 02 = 02
12 + 02 = 14

So now we have 080214xx

But wait, how do we get those last 2 numbers. Well, you don't realize it yet, but you have all the info you need. All you need to do is add up the 'digits' that now represent the first 3 letters of your name.

08 + 02 + 14 = 24

You must also add +02 to this final number.

24 + 02 = 26

My password for Crawler's Nest is: 08021426


[EDIT]I wrote the wrong password for myself because there was one thing I forgot to add in my post, thus giving you guys wrong info. You must also add the +02 (or whatever demonination depending what zone you are in) to the final 2 'digits.


If I were to enter this code at CN I would achieve the 'Doctor' status. So far on the thread I linked at the top of this humongous post, no one who has achieved 'Doctor' status, has yet received an elemental cluster (one of the drops, the worst in fact) from these machines. They are currently researching to find if they receive better drop rates now that they have 'Doctor' status. They are also trying to find that to do with the 3 non-working machines in Fei'Yin, KRT, and I forget the 3rd zone. But SE recently implemented 3 new chips, that are rare/ex non NPC sellable drops from mobs in new CoP areas. They also have similar descriptions as the elemental chips purchasable from the gobbies. Coincidence? You decide. More info to come. I hope this has helped many of you. Up till now, all I knew about the Strange Apparatus'es (shuldn't it be Appratusi in the plural?) is that each one had a specific element, and you could get pretty good items, including Rune's if you traded an Infinity Core + a corresponding chip to one. We are far from cracking the code to this, but for something that has been around since the NA PC release in 2003, we have made an incredible jump, and uncovered so much, all of a sudden.

SE, you might wanna fire that one employee who was quoted. He/She opened a Pandora's Box, and we plan to close it.

I would also like to add this site:

http://sholin.user.tehh4x.net/password.php

It is the english version of the originally JP site that will generate passwords for you if you select the zone, and enter the first 3 letter's of your characters name. Big props to the person who first developed this, and also to the person who translated it, then re-programmed it.

But IMO, it's simple enough math, I would much rather do the math myself since one little mistake in code could throw everything out of whack, then I would use the program to double check my work. Just what I'm doing though.

Edited, Wed Aug 31 11:41:32 2005 by Gamion

Sorry for the double-post, but...

OMG

Nope, wasn't discovered until yesterday, by the masses at least. The original poster didn't even know how to do it, he just posted the quote from the convention, and what he thought, also a link to a JP site, and a few people were translating the site, and testing what they thought until they found it. It's all there in that link at the top.

Oh, and it takes 0 gil to get 'Doctor' status. You can go up to any of the 8 main machines and enter a password without having to trade anything.

Edited, Wed Aug 31 11:49:25 2005 by Gamion

Very nice,

Ive never really messed with the aparati (lol). But I think I may mess with it soon. I think Dr. Goblobsters has a nice ring to it.

Thanks for sharing Gamion



Gob

Congratulations Dr. Alauce!!

Wow....no infinity cores to be found....well there was one in Jeuno.....ah prices were 30k each so I figured I would go as high as 50k and still nothin doin.

I remember when people used to sell in their bizarres for 3k each.

I did the Dangruf Wadi apparatus and was givin the level of doctor with the information given in this thread. Thanks Gamion

Actually, to be fair, prices aren't "jumping up", as they were.... they're returning to how they used to be when Infinity Cores first started dropping in Dynamis. Knowing that, I've no problems paying 100k per core, since that's about what I used to pay, way back in the day. :d

I tried, it worked XD

Edited, Thu Sep 1 17:36:51 2005 by Tonkar

I went to check the price of infinity cores at the AH last night and had a good long giggle when I saw that half of the last sold had gone to one Doctor Alauce. ;) I don't think I'll be competing with you anytime soon.

20021337 thats my password to CN, coincidence? I think not.

I've been mystified about the password for months. Hats off to the one who cracked it. Ya, know how the rune weapons have the latent effects, and you know how the KSBCNM 30 Weapons can lose the latent effects by getting a certain ammount of skill points.

Well mabey, by doing some sort of task you can like upgrade these Rune Weapons. After all, these are a spawn of Dynamis's... Mabey if you use these in some sort of way there might be a hidden effect.

Mabey rune weapons hurt mobs in dynamis more and we just dont know it.
So yea... Um... Huzzah for Strange Apparatuses.

Does anyone know if you need to be a certain level or rank to do this?