Invex Treasure Hunt #1

[Byte]

Invex Treasure Hunt #1

Welcome to the very first Invex Treasure Hunt.
This forum game has been discussed in the past and we are finally doing a test run to see if people enjoy it.
If people like it, more will be done in the future.

Rules:

• There are 7 stages to the hunt.
  
• All stages must be solved in order for you to finish the hunt.
  
• You must solve all stages in ascending order (1 first then 2 etc).
  
• Each stage will provide 1 or more hints or clues about the next stage.
  
• You must keep a personally diary (notepad file) with the solution for each stage to submit as your final answer.
  
• Only make 1 submission once you have finished step 7.
  
• All the steps can be completed on the Invex Gaming website (however, third party sites may help). You do not need to visit the game servers.
  
• This thread can be used for general discussion etc.
  
• You may work in teams if you like but do not discuss solutions publically.
  
• You can use incognito mode to avoid leaking a stage via the 'whos online' feature. We've protected most stages though but I recommend using it.
  
• You can complete most stages without a forum account but will need one to submit/solve the whole thing.
  
• DO NOT GIVE OUT SOLUTIONS OR HINTS.
  
• Staff will give out hints as time goes on (to help people get closer to finishing)
  
• Staff may participate but are ineligible to win prizes.
  

Prizes:

• VIP Prize (Package 2) for 1st person to complete the hunt.
  
• Forum award for top 10 people to finish.
  
• Forum game award for all participants (if you don't already have it).
  

Starting Line:
Stage 1 of 7: 
This is the hint for Stage 1 to get you started.

Code:

A staff members signature you must explore, then visit its page adding .php

HINTS:
Stage 1 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

Explore = Identify. Find the symbols name somehow....All caps.

Stage 2 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

This page looks fake! Find its true form!

Stage 3 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

The secret message is hidden! 13 13 13 13 THIRTEEN

Stage 4 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

Where can we lookup dates on the forums?

Stage 5 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

I wonder how long he was banned for...

Stage 6 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

I wonder when he will be back, he might not stay for long!

Stage 7 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

Take a closer look at who you are PMing

TOP 10 WINNERS (in order):
1. CHEF
2. Grom
3. Dandy (BANNED)
4. ev0
5. Forgotten
6. n8
7. Sir Lagalot
8. Masta
9. Squidward
10. PoosKi


SOLUTIONS:
Stage 1 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

You must look at all staff members signatures. Only Byte's stands out:
 

This is the EZIC symbol. You could either recognise it if you played 'Papers Please' the game or you could have done a Google reverse image search for it.
Following the clue, we take the acronym EZIC (all caps) and add .php to it and try to visit an Invex page (with Invex website domain as the prefix).
We get a valid but hidden page: https://www.invexgaming.com.au/EZIC.php which is the start of Stage 2.

Stage 2 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

The EZIC page is very simple:

The hint "This doesn't seem right" is meant to convey that this is not the real Invex 404 page.
So we go to any non-existing url like https://www.invexgaming.com.au/efdewf to reach Stage 3.

Stage 3 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

The secret message is: Na YT FYNLRE'f ybpngvba lbh zhfg svaq.
This is encrypted using a cipher. To unencrypt simply use ROT13 (http://www.rot13.com/).
We get the message "An LG SLAYER's location you must find."
Location is a field on profile pages on the forums.
So looking through various profiles (or by searching for LG SLAYER and Invex via Google) we find steven who has the forum title "LG SLAYER".
We look at this location which is the start of Stage 4.

Stage 4 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

Stage 4 of 7: Real location revealed on 23/11/2020.
The real location will be revealed on that date. So we use the Invex calendar to go to that date to see if anything is planned for that date.
We find this event: https://www.invexgaming.com.au/calendar....ent&eid=13
The start of Stage 5.

Stage 5 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

John80881 is bad.
John80881 is banned.
John80881 will be unbanned.
But who is John80881's dad?

The main hint here is that John80881 is banned and will be unbanned.
Ban information is mainly stored in Sourcebans so we search for a ban for a user with the name "John80881".
We fine a ban for this user and the reason is: "Banned for spamming 701 Makarov Pistol guns. His dad is here: https://www.invexgaming.com.au/dad.php."
The link leads us to Stage 6. There is also a hint for Stage 6 here '701' refers to the time 7:01 and Makarov Pistols are also known as 'PM' so 701PM.

Stage 6 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

We arrive at this page:

We are told Daddy is away right now and to come back later.
If we look at the URL of the image we see the image is called '701PM.jpg'.
Either this hint or the hint from Stage 5 should let you know that Daddy will be back at 7:01PM.
The page also tell you the server uses AEST timezone and shows the current time so you be sure not to miss it.
Once you reload the page at any second during 7:01PM, you get the start of Stage 7 message.

Stage 7 of 7: 

Spoiler (Click to View)

The Stage 7 message is: PM Byte with the correct subject! Ruh Roh! An animals name you must guess. Wrong or right and closeness will be confessed. 5 guesses max per hour. 1 guess at a time.

You have to PM Byte with an animals name in the subject. The body does not matter.
If you guess wrong you received 'ERROR: WRONG SUBJECT' as the reply message.
The hint here is Bytes profile picture and user title as well as the 'Ruh Roh!' which is Scooby Doo's catchphrase.
The animals name is thus Scooby Doo (the animal being a dog). Scooby Dooby Doo was also acceptable.
After you guessed correctly your place was locked in and you had to submit all of your solutions.

[Byte]

Hint released for 1st part of Stage 1.

Looks like Squidward and PoosKi have teamed up and solved Stage 1 and Stage 2. Upto stage 3 now.
ev0 has also solved Stage 1.
Many others have discovered Stage 3 but not Stage 2.

[Byte]

Stage 2 hint released.

[fluxxx]

Help me.

[Byte]

Stage 3 hint released.

[CHEF]

where my stage 6 boys at holla

[Byte]

I heard n8 has finished stage 6.

[PoosKi]

I heard n8 has finished stage 6.

Forgotten 

[Byte]

CHEF is the 1st person to complete the hunt!
All stages cleared and confirmed!

[n8]

I heard n8 has finished stage 6.

7*