Revving Up ARG
The Revving Up ARG (Alternate Reality Game) was an event that took place on July 17th, 2022. It was first revealed in the Blogpost "Inside Your Department: Chip Revvington and the Deforester Force" written by The Executive Papers. This ARG was the 2nd of 3 small ARGs that took place prior to the v1.3.0 ARG. The first ARG being the Musical Monstrosity ARG and the third being the Crossword Conundrum ARG. This ARG was solved using only the image provided and did not require any in-game interactions. The discussion involving this ARG took place in the official Corporate Clash Discord server and was ultimately solved in around 3.5 hours.
Overview
In the Blog Post is an interview with the Chainsaw Consultant and what seems to be a news company. Within this interview, the Chainsaw Consultant shows off some of the work he has done in the "Woodchip/Paper District", which is an image of several tree stumps. This image is meant to show the amount of demolition the Deforester Force had already completed in the area. Notably, each tree stump has a certain number of "rings", with some being highlighted in red. In nature, the rings inside of a tree stump represent 1 year of that trees lifespan, with the rings closest to the center being the oldest. There are 44 tree stumps total with each stump containing 15-17 rings (excluding the outside bark). One stump in particular, the 6th one, has a red trim rather than a brown trim.
Solution
Note: After some initial discussion, it was clarified that the only contents needed to solve this puzzle were within the stump image. Additionally, the roots on each tree stump held no significance. The result of finding the solution to this puzzle was revealed to lead the players to a single URL that required no knowledge of other website's URL formats (for example, knowing the start of Youtube URLs for the Musical Monstrosity ARG).
Understanding the clarifications, the only notable part of the image would be the rings in each stump. Since each stump has a varying number of total rings, the red highlighted ring must be whats important. However, it is difficult to tell if the bark should be included in the ring count. Looking at the 6th stump, its bark is highlighted red rather than any inside rings. This would infer that the bark needs to be included in any counting. Counting the rings from the outside in, starting from the leftmost stump to the rightmost, provides the numbers:
| Row 1 | 6, 3, 6, 12, 6, 1, 7, 3, 6, 8, 2 |
|---|---|
| Row 2 | 14, 6, 12, 6, 15, 6, 12, 2, 15, 6, 15 |
| Row 3 | 6, 14, 6, 5, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 12, 6 |
| Row 4 | 12, 7, 3, 7, 7, 6, 15, 6, 15, 7, 0 |
Knowing which direction to count the rings was given as an additional hint during the discussion. Otherwise, normally tree stump rings are counted from the inside out. The highest number listed is 15 while the lowest number listed is 0. This means that there are 16 possible numbers in total. Realizing this, there is a numbering system called "Hexadecimal" or "Base16", commonly used to represent larger numbers with fewer digits. Letters A-F are used to represent number 10-15. Therefore, translating the known numbers into Base16 gives the following string:
| 636C6173682 E6C6F6C2F6F 6E6566656C6 C73776F6F70 |
Now, still having numbers in this solution, this string needs to be translated again into text. Doing so will reveal the following url: clash.lol/onefellswoop
This URL brings the user to a Youtube video teasing the Chainsaw Consultant's lobby music as well as its appearance. Displayed at the bottom of the video while it plays is Morse Code, revealing the text "YOU'RE FIRED". This line would later be frequently used in regards to the Chainsaw Consultant, such as part of the solution for his cogs.ink password.
Trivia
- The release of this Blog Post was the first look at the Chainsaw Consultant prior to his release in v1.3.0.
- This Blog Post also gave a clearer look at the new Cog body models.
- Notably, the Cog's emblems are now 3D rather than 2D.
- According to the image in the revealed video, the trashcan in the lobby had a different appearance prior to the release of v1.3.0.