TFEE T1B

Tier 1B: The "79" puzzle

Tier Overview

On October 11th, 2022, Serpenger posted the image he got from inputting the T1A password, titled THE_FINALS_OSPUZE, depicted a scene with all of OSPUZE's weapon cosmetics, with a lot of clues hidden within.

In the background of the image there was a pigpen cipher hidden, when decoded it meant FKRAMER, or Frank Kramer. A Italian filmmaker who largely directed spaghetti westerns.
In the OSPUZE Logo pixel art of a bag of flower & an egg was found, or the ingredients for spaghetti. This was another hint that Frank Kramer was the correct interpretation of the clue.
The M11 had 8 bullets wrapped around it, and 32 written on the side of it. "832 Ab urbe condita" (years since Rome was founded) translates to 79 AD.
The ammo belts for the M60 in the shot had markings on the primer for the bullets. 1 on the far left, 9 next to the previous one, 6 on the bullets coming out of the receiver, and 2 almost in the receiver. 1962 was the year that Frank Kramer released 79 A.D., A political drama about Mount Vesuvius's impending eruption.
On the OSPUZE badge there was a X carved into it. Frank Kramer directed a movie called The Ten Gladiators. Another hint that the theme might be Roman.

On October 14th, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the Easter Egg channel, titled Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01, depicted a scene with a OSPUZE AKM sitting on a wooden floor next to a hat and boots. This image had a couple of clues in it, although they were not figured out until October 29th, 2022.

1908 01 18 15 1401 was written on the side of the AKM, this was eventually figured out to be SHARONA if you replaced the string with letters.
My Sharona, by the Knack, released in 1979.
The other clue hidden within was a series of dots that looked like they were arranged as a musical piece.
This likewise was solved on October 29th, 2022 with the piece being discovered to be Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79.
There are 7 beads tied around the AKM, and 9 bullets laying around it.

On October 21st, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the Easter Egg channel, titled Promo_Extra_OSPUZE_Candy, depicted a scene with a OSPUZE M11 sitting on a wooden floor next to a hat and a number of magazines. This image also contained clues that like Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01, would help uncover the Sonata.

The numbers "11-XXV, 33, 43, 44, 34, 11" were hidden throughout the image, and in tap code translates into "s o n a t a - 2 5."
Beethoven's signature was also found on the wooden table.
There are 7 bullets loose on the table, and 9 bullets strapped to the side of the M11.

On October 26th, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the Easter Egg channel, titled friend_you_need_03, depicted a scene with a Nama Tama dressed as a Roman Centurion holding a Pilum.

This was a hint that whatever the password was, was most likely Roman-themed.

On October 29th, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the Easter Egg channel, titled Promo_OSPUZE_Candiii_, depicted a scene with a OSPUZE M60 sitting on a hay covered floor with HOLTOW branded bags in the background. There were a series of clues hidden within the image.

1908 01 18 15 1401 was hidden on the side of the M60, which again was translated into SHARONA. My Sharona, by the Knack, released in 1979.
A hex bolt on the side of the M60 had Alt57 written under it, which was decoded into the number 9. Next to the bolt was a small tally that has 7 tallies. These two clues meant 79 when combined.
The pouch for the M60 has 7 rivets on the front of the pouch, and 9 on the outside edge, meaning 79 again.
The number sequence "43, 34, 33, 11, 44, 11 - XXV" was found again hidden on the side of the M60. This tap code, combined with Beethoven's signature, lead to Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79.

Solving

On October 30th, 2022. Hunter Serpenger found the correct password for the tier, lxxix, after noticing the constant theme of 7s and 9s, and the Roman undertones throughout the entire tier. In total this tier took 19 days to complete, and a new image awaited our hunters.ǃ

Summary

79AD, The Ten Gladiators, and the Nama Tama dressed as a Centurion all pointed to the password being Roman themed in nature.

My Sharona, Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79, and all of the 7s and 9s showing up hinted that the password might just be 79 itself.

The day the password was solved, Rob posted the following message:

“Hi all.!
Congratulations solving Tier 1B, AMAZiNG.!
(FYI we thought you were going to figure out that the password was going to be in Roman numerals first thing, since we planted so many clues in Roman, hehe... BTW looking at my board, it looks like we have hidden almost 80 clues for you to find during T1B)”

Images

THE FINALS OSPUZE
THE_FINALS_Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01
THE_FINALS_Extra_OSPUZE_Candy
friend_you_need_0
THE_FINALS_Promo_OSPUZE_Candiii

Credits

Solver - Serpenger

Documentation - Flex4d, Kyne, RockhoundBlack, Smashel

Various Contributions in Alphabetical Order - Buunuu, cikp, Darnoux, Duh, Dwarf, fishxw, gala, Giriko, Povich, Rader, RockhoundBlack, Saam.exe, SPEAR, Tragic