... not quite, so I synthesized a new version of my Ruby puzzle, friendlier to Ruby 1.8.2.
As far as I know, >90% of those that downloaded the original puzzle haven't
been able to solve it yet, but I don't know if that means they've given up or
that they couldn't even get started because they didn't have at least 1.8.3.
There's no excuse now...
Playing
Here's a picture of the mystifier, looking at you haughtily
How long will it take?
The quickest exploit takes but a few seconds, but I'm not sure if
anybody has found it yet. The second best solutions (time-wise) would
take but one or two minutes if you type fast.
Some people have reported one to two hours... they must have run into the traps I
carefully set up for them }:-)
Download
Get the script corresponding to your Ruby version:
NOTE: the 1.8.[34] script is the one I posted originally; the 1.8.2 one is
identical modulo the minimal change required to make it work with that
version of Ruby.
Run
Some things to keep in mind:
don't rename the scripts!
you must run them from the directory they reside in; ruby /tmp/challenge-1.8.2.rb will not work
if you preload some library, they won't work either. Remember to unset RUBYOPT if you added -rubygems
In other words, you want to do something like
RUBYOPT= ruby challenge.rb
or
RUBYOPT= ruby challenge-1.8.2.rb
depending on your Ruby version.
If all went well, you'll see an ASCII animation and the game can go on.
Crack
Once more, the rules:
you have to find the secret message hidden inside challenge.rb/challenge-1.8.2.rb
that message is placed in the base-64 encoded text at the beginning, which also contains the code for the ascii demo
the secret message will tell you how to prove that you solved the puzzle
please drop a comment when finished (time it took + proof) --- feedback is very appreciated
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