Defenders of Man Network Access Point is a custom map made by Blizzard Entertainment as part of the marketing campaign for the first mission pack of StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops. The map involved the community coming together to find a series of passcodes, to be rewarded with images of the missing ghosts and the truth behind the disappearance of Nova Terra. For completing the map, Blizzard announced they would be rewarding the entire community with a Defenders of Man portrait[1] and decal on March 29th.[2]
Blizzard posted a summary of the entire game. While an official Blizzard map, the map was created by Daniel "Pirate" Altman.
Background[]
Years after the End War, various Terran Dominion ghosts began to disappear, with no explanation as to how or why. In addition, popular opinion began to turn against the Dominion, whom the population began to see as slow and weak, and people instead turned to renegade militias such as the Defenders of Man. Radio Liberty began to dig into the truth behind the disappearances, but their station was raided, and two of their crewmembers were taken hostage.[3]
Michael Liberty, who had been tracking Nova Terra, one of the missing ghosts, sent what he had gathered through heavily encrypted means to Radio Liberty listeners. He met them in a chat channel, then gave them access to the Defenders of Man network. The listeners broke through the security of the system, finding profiles for Nova, Stone, Delta Emblock and Theodore Pierce in the system. When they reached the end, they found footage showing that Nova Terra assassinated undercover Dominion agents in the base.[4] This was sent to Radio Liberty, then to Matt Horner. The footage of an agent being assassinated was leaked to Universal News Network, who speculated whether or not aspects of the Dominion's military had gone rogue.[5]
Overview[]
Leadup[]
Defenders of Man Network Access Point was part of a series of challenges leading up to the discovery of the map. First players were challenged to decrypt secret messages in two Dominion Intelligence Section messages and send them to radioliberty@blizzard.com. These messages were "SCOUT AHEAD" and "GATHER INTEL."[6] Then, a post was made saying that the lead was false, but a message was hidden in the text saying "EMAIL US SUBJ HELP." Those that did email Radio Liberty with the subject line "HELP" got a response, that told them Michael Liberty said to "keep your eyes peeled because the writing may be on the wall."[3]
Later, on the twitter account made for Kate Lockwell an image was posted with the number 1-949-346-1009.[5]Calling this number would lead to Michael Liberty, who said he wasn't talking until the right question was asked. This was later unlocked for everyone, and Michael Liberty told listeners the coordinates B3 C4 F3 F5, which corresponded to a map. Also hidden in the message was white noise that when filtered and played backwards said "Let's meet at The Americas in channel Liberty. I'll be there March 24th, 10am PST."
Players who met in the battle.net chat channel "Liberty" at 10 AM Pacific Standard Time were given a link to the map by an account named "MLiberty."
Puzzles[]
There are nine layers of security in total, each with their own puzzle.
Clearance Level 1[]
The first layer of security states "Name of the original spectre project." The answer to this is Shadowblade.
Clearance Level 2[]
The second layer of security states "Before the boom these words will seal your doom." The answer is "Nuclear Launch Detected," as that is the alert before nuclear missile strikes.
Clearance Level 3[]
The third layer of security is written in Morse code:
-. --- ...- .-
- . .- --
-.-. --- .-.. --- .-.
This translated to "NOVA TEAM COLOR," which is blue.
Clearance Level 4[]
The fourth layer of security is a series of numbers:
23-8-5-18-5 1 19-15-12-4-9-5-18 23-1-19 2-15-18-14 1-14-4 1 7-15-22-5-18-14-13-5-14-20 4-9-5-4
When converted to letters, this spelled out "where a soldier was born and a government died." This was Tarsonis, the birthplace of Nova and the site of the ruins of the Confederacy.
Clearance Level 5[]
The fifth layer of security is a series of numbers:
487 97 11 173 23
101 85 349 677 02
361 64 169 529 440
196 841 25 81 04
All numbers in the top set are prime, and the bottom set are squares, except for 85 and 440. The answer is 85440, a combination of the two.
Clearance Level 6[]
The sixth layer is a riddle:
It's easy to see, yet placed discreetly.
On the structures it's bound, it's sure to be found.
Not a one or a two, but more than a few.
The answer to this one is 54, the art team behind StarCraft and a common number viewed on terran structures in StarCraft II.
Clearance Level 7[]
The seventh layer states:
Archive Records: Locked
Rvqcx zporyr rq qjymfp
When run through the Vigenère cipher (Vigenère means locked), this translates to "Ghost weapon of choice," which is the C-10 Canister Rifle.
Clearance Level 8[]
The eighth layer states:
Archive Records: Psionics
Sequence: 3
Communication ID: 60-24-54-45-63-21-24 60-24-45-63-21-24-60-57 75-45-63 39-27-21-24-60 36-15-3-54-42 60-24-3-60 45-60-24-15-54-57 9-3-42 6-63-54-42 3-42-12 18-27-42-12 57-45-39-15 3-54-15 69-15-3-33-15-54 6-63-60 57-24-45-69 39-45-54-15 9-45-42-9-15-54-42
When all numbers are divided by three and coveted to letters, the communication ID translates to "THROUGH THOUGHTS YOU MIGHT LEARN THAT OTHERS CAN BURN AND FIND SOME ARE WEAKER BUT SHOW MORE CONCERN." The answer is "TELEPATHY PYROKINESIS EMPATHY," three psionic powers referenced in the text.
Clearance Level 9[]
The final layer states:
Status: Duplicate
Archive Setup: 1-5, 1-7
Authorization: 2.7 3.4 4.5 5.3 8.7 10.7 12.6
Message: We will do whatever it takes to save humanity. Our responsibility is too great to do any less.
When the laid out in a 5 by 7 grid, and the letters are picked out by the coordinates in the authorization section, the word "treason" is spelled, which is the answer.
References[]
- ↑ New Portrait Unlocked. StarCraft Twitter, accessed on 2016-03-25
- ↑ Psione Thanks to Community's Effort, we will get a New Portrait!. StarCraft Reddit, accessed on 2016-03-25
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Radio Liberty: New Investigation Canceled. Radio Liberty: New Investigation Update, accessed on 2016-03-23
- ↑ 2000-10-27. StarCraft II. Vivendi Games. Mission: Defenders of Man Network Access Point (in English).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kate Lockwell Twitter. Kate Lockwell's Twitter, accessed on 2016-03-22
- ↑ Radio Liberty Response. Radio Liberty Response, accessed on 2016-03-22