The Horrible Truth About The Russian Control Panel(SPOILER)

[02W1N]

I just wanted to throw this into the community who have been enjoying the game a lot and I'd like to add a spoiler to what the Russian Control Panel was all about.

I took the rediculous time to find out what the hell the control panel was all about and I started walking around it. On the back of the control panel, there was a long line of Russian text that could have made a clue to how to solve the control panel and so I started translating the hell out of it.
I looked up the Russian letters and transfered those to what they meant in my modern day Latin Alphabet. I ended up with the following writing:
ZANIMAT'SJA BESSMYSLENNYM DELOM

I did this because I don't have a Russian Keyboard(obviously) and I needed to get it into the google translater somehow.
So there I went and threw it into the translater. To make sure I didn't get a whole strange translation I also tried putting in the words one by one.
The translation for the word by word was this:
CONCERNED SENSELESSLY BUSINESS

I was surprised... I didn't know what they meant with this or how I could use this for solving the Control Panel.
The translation for the Entire Text all together:
BOONDOGGLE

Since English isn't my native language I looked up what boondoggle meant and I ended up with pictures that showed exactly what it was. I looked at pictures showing key rings made out of those plastic rope knotting material, these kids always make.

I was still confused... the only conclusion I could make was that boondoggle could be referred to as some USELESS PIECE OF KEY RING doing nothing.

Later in the game, I found out The Horrible Truth. I found out a way to get up there without the stairs. I FLICKED the switch and there the stairs went down. AND RIGHT NEXT TO ME... THERE IT WAS, THE USELESS BOONDOGGLE FLOATING ON THE ARM A.K.A.: THE RUSSIAN CONTROL PANEL.

I laughed so hard and loud.... I think it was the most amuzing part of the entire game at that moment. XD

I also translated the text part on the front side with those buttons that had letters on them instead of numbers. Turns out it was this hilarious prick who build the entire thing:

blEiK BLAKE(Russian text before being put into the translater)

Blake Bjerke(The Name Of The Design Artist!)

3D Environment Artist

Nice Joke man, Cheers!

[tahgtahv]

Well, they needed *somewhere* to put the easter egg, so it probably wasn't all his fault.

[Whitebeard]

Actually, if you put in the number you find on a piece of paper in Kaptar into the machine, it will release the stairway. You get a revenge achievement if you crank the stairway down by hand, then enter the number into the machine as it hangs sideways next to the walkway, being still attached to the arm. When the number is entered correctly, the machine releases its hold on the arm, and crashes into the rocks below.

[02W1N]

Nice. I did found a long piece of code somewhere in the game. But I never thought about where it could have been for. I guess that was it. :P

[Visuwyg]

So... what was the joke here? I don't get it.

[ShareDog]

This is a machine with too many options. I did my usual and spent far too long flicking switches all the time thinking the machine was far too complicated when a lever would do. The Russian translates to a useless machine or similar ( I have misplaced the scrap of paper I wrote it on) and a retro encabulator ( as the machine is called in the book by the submarine) is a long standing engineering joke for a made up useless machine which is overly complicated. I had fun watching some YouTube videos on the topic. This machine is a perfect puzzle for this game. Over complicated and gets you nowhere! Just like the entire game... But I very much enjoyed the journey (now back to the real world)...

[Chazz the Elder]

It is perhaps good to know that the description of the achievement is "Destroyed the Box of Infinite Complexity."

"Boondoggle" in common usage quite often is a large, complex, and expensive project which can be replaced by something small, simple, and cheap... which is a perfect description of what the machine does.

[TheMagus]

Good Info, thanks!! I was looking this up because it seemed so pointless in retrospect.

[admiral1018]

I got stuck on the Kaptar wheel rotation (didn't know you could turn it to engage the other 3 pistons) and spent hours searching, convinced that the Russian machine was the next step to progression. I spent ages playing with the machine, trying to get all the lights illuminated, entering every number in the game I thought of. This then sent me into one of the most interesting rabbit holes I've ever been down.

In revisiting everything, I assumed the machine came from the Russian sub, and that this was the next step in the puzzle. I went over the inventory log and noticed "1 Retro Encabulator," and since the Russian lettering underneath that matched perfectly with the writing on the back of the machine, I knew this was the same box. I thought figuring out the submarine must have been tied to the next steps in progression. At some point, I realized I "stupidly" had no idea what an encabulator was, so understanding that might help solve the puzzle.

At this point I closed the game and did some real-life research. And let me tell you, the classic videos on YouTube for the "Turbo Encabulator," combined with the Wikipedia entry for it, were one of the most enjoyable discoveries I've ever had. This immediately made the machine's uselessness obvious and made it clear that it was a red herring.

I returned and solved the puzzle almost immediately. And while I should have been annoyed that the poor UI for turning the wheel wasted hours of my time, it was such a fun discovery that led me into the real world and motivated me to learn the entire history of something for which I was unfamiliar. It will likely be a gaming moment I'll never forget.

[Descriptor]

Originally posted by admiral1018:

I got stuck on the Kaptar wheel rotation (didn't know you could turn it to engage the other 3 pistons) and spent hours searching, convinced that the Russian machine was the next step to progression. I spent ages playing with the machine, trying to get all the lights illuminated, entering every number in the game I thought of. This then sent me into one of the most interesting rabbit holes I've ever been down.

In revisiting everything, I assumed the machine came from the Russian sub, and that this was the next step in the puzzle. I went over the inventory log and noticed "1 Retro Encabulator," and since the Russian lettering underneath that matched perfectly with the writing on the back of the machine, I knew this was the same box. I thought figuring out the submarine must have been tied to the next steps in progression. At some point, I realized I "stupidly" had no idea what an encabulator was, so understanding that might help solve the puzzle.

At this point I closed the game and did some real-life research. And let me tell you, the classic videos on YouTube for the "Turbo Encabulator," combined with the Wikipedia entry for it, were one of the most enjoyable discoveries I've ever had. This immediately made the machine's uselessness obvious and made it clear that it was a red herring.

I returned and solved the puzzle almost immediately. And while I should have been annoyed that the poor UI for turning the wheel wasted hours of my time, it was such a fun discovery that led me into the real world and motivated me to learn the entire history of something for which I was unfamiliar. It will likely be a gaming moment I'll never forget.

One year on, this same thing basically happened to me. Although I already knew what a Retro Encabulator was, and despite that didn't think it was fully a red herring. Thanks to your post, I now know the correct solution!