Chapter 5 Mastermind Logic Puzzle Guide

The puzzle everyone hates despite its simplicity explained, and what to do if you still manage to fail it.

First things first, we need to get our hands on Turing's source code.

This guide addresses the glyph puzzle in Parallax's Secondary Data Center that seem to stump and frustrate a lot of people. It also lets you know what to do to take advantage of the workaround apparently introduced in version 1.1 of the game so you can still get Hayden's source code if you fail said infamous puzzle. Said alternate solution supposedly has some prerequisites, however:

• You need to have been nice to TOMCAT thus far, supposedly.*
• You need to not zap Parallax's receptionist into unconsciousness.**

*I can swear that the former is not true, as TOMCAT still suggested taking the physical data drives when I had been rather rude.
**A security team will intervene and force you and Turing to drop the data drives containing the source code if the receptionist is out.

Being nice to TOMCAT is self-explanatory, but there are multiple ways to deal with the receptionist on your way into the research lab. So instead, here's things to avoid:

• Do not avoid explaining what the noise outside was.
• Do not avoid making up an answer for why the receptionist does not recognize you.
• Do not show Vincent's employee badge. You do not look like him.
• Do not draw attention to Turing by claiming to just be killing some time while they run a scan.

These prerequisites for the alternate solution aside, let's get to explaining how to tackle the logic puzzle proper.

Um... can you explain it like I'm a child?

Alright. After you've input the very easy to locate 10 alphanumeric digits-long password into the computer at Parallax's offices, Turing will let you know that the security VIs are asking for a glyph, apparently 2064's closest equivalent to today's captchas. While Turing will inform you you're short on time and that you can't puzzle it out, the truth of the matter is that you can take all the time in the world between your attempts. There are no true timed segments outside of the optional Mega Phobetor mini-game and similar segments (at least as of update 1.2b, the current version as of this writing).



In any case, the basics of the logic puzzle are simple. You click 4 of the 6 parts you're given, and the game checks them against a solution it randomly generated when the puzzle started. If you did not happen upon the solution on your first attempt, it will tell you that the pattern is invalid and inform you that you either got 2 or 3 of 4 parts correct (it should be impossible to be informed that you got less unless something went horribly wrong behind the scenes). You get 6 attempts total before you fail the puzzle, and you shouldn't need more than that if you reason the solution out: Because 4 of the 6 parts must be correct, 2 of the 6 parts must be wrong. With that logic in mind, it becomes much simpler to find the answer.



So let's say you just click the left-most parts on a whim. You can actually start anywhere you like, but the idea is to figure out what you can deduce from any of your attempts about all 6 parts.

2 parts of 4 correct on first attempt

You now know that the 2 unselected parts outside of the 4 you selected are correct. This is the most useful outcome, as it narrows down your future attempts. Even if you were to simply use brute force to find the solution from your second attempt onwards here, you should be able to deduce the correct answer the moment you see 2 parts of 4 correct a second time, as you'll have discovered the other 2 correct parts amongst the 2 unselected.

So let's make our second attempt; We know the right-most column in the example is correct, so we'll be selecting its 2 parts in our future attempts. For our second attempt, let's try only one of the following 2 layouts:

...

Both of the above attempts give us the same information regardless of which one we pick. Should we get 2 parts of 4 correct. we know the other selection will solve the puzzle on our third attempt. If we get 3 parts of 4 correct, we know that each column contains 1 correct part and 1 wrong part. There's no need to try the other selection, because it doesn't give us any new information- it's guaranteed to also give us 3 parts of 4 correct, so we won't waste our third attempt with it. Instead, we'll use only one of the 2 following layouts to get information about the rows:

...

Same logic as before: If you get 2 parts of 4 correct, the unused layout will be the solution on your fourth attempt. If you get 3 parts of 4 correct, the unused layout won't provide any new information so don't waste your fourth attempt on it. You should be able to happen upon the solution by your fifth attempt, using both of the following:

...

Regardless of where the 2 correct parts you discover are, it should be possible to deduce the solution to this puzzle this way. Even if your discovery is on a later attempt, it should still be possible to deduce it by keeping track of your previous attempts and eliminating any redundant ones that won't help you. You have an additional attempt to spare, after all.

3 parts of 4 correct on first attempt

Okay, let me walk you through this step by step.



So the game lets you know that your initial attempt has 3 of 4 parts correct. You know that there is 1 correct part and 1 wrong part among the 2 parts you didn't select, and you know that there are 3 correct parts and 1 wrong part among the 4 you did select. Go ahead and make a second attempt deliberately making sure to select one of the 2 parts you neglected on your first attempt and deselect any one of the parts you picked in the first group:



If the game informs you that you have 2 of 4 parts correct, you know that the 2 unselected parts in the latest layout are correct and can adjust your future guesses accordingly, guaranteed to come across the answer with an attempt to spare:

......

If your second attempt instead yielded another 3 of 4 parts correct, one of two things has happened:

• You have managed to select the 3 correct parts from the 4 parts you selected on your first attempt, and the 1 wrong part from the unselected pair.
• You have managed to select the wrong part again from your first attempt from the group of 4 you initially selected, alongside the correct part from the unselected pair.

So what can you do? Simple: On your third attempt, choose the same three parts shared between your first and second attempts, but switch out the fourth part from the two parts that went unselected on your first attempt:



If you did not solve the puzzle on your third attempt, you will again have received a 2 of 4 parts correct notification and can brute force the solution with your last three attempts:

......

You do realize you're the only one who understands all that gibberish, right?

Okay. You failed the puzzle somehow. Not all is lost, assuming you did not have to use the zapper to knock Parallax's receptionist unconscious, and that you've been nice and polite to TOMCAT (citation needed). Assuming you've fulfilled these prerequisites, Turing will contact TOMCAT after you've failed to provide the right pattern for the glyph the VIs wanted, and you will receive the suggestion to just grab the physical drives. They're to the right of the monitor you input the password and attempted to solve the glyph puzzle on.

So it's time for you to get out. But the receptionist is eagle-eyed, and spots Turing carrying the data drives. Are there multiple ways around this? Possibly. I'll admit I'm actually unfamiliar with the alternate solution myself, so I'll have to revisit this part of the guide some time. Here's something to avoid, though:

• Probably don't joke about whether or not the company has been taking the drives out for walks... though I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out such a silly outburst somehow managed to work.
• If you've claimed the drives are faulty and the receptionist informs you that it's company policy to recycle them, do not claim you're taking them to a recycling center. The data drives will be confiscated under the claim that it's company policy to handle that in the data center.

Hope what's in the guide so far helps. Hopefully I'll get a chance to revisit it or someone will volunteer the missing information about how to outwit the receptionist.

[b1gblu3]

You can still do complete the puzzle with the receptionist out! I had to knock him out because of dialogue choices, and I still got all of Turing's source code, without getting noticed.