Neopet Version 2 was a puzzle plot released on the 5th of November, 2001 (Year 3). It lasted only four days until the solution was found.
The tale began in the bowels of the Virtupets Space Station, where a long forgotten computer screen activated. There, a computer program tried to communicate with someone known as the Doctor, only to find he wasn't around. Meanwhile, down on Neopia, the finals of Better Than You were happening. Billy and Sarah, a brother and sister who played a lot of computer games, managed to win the finals with a score of 1260 in Meerca Chase. Their prize was a two week long holiday onboard the Virtupets Space Station.
A day later, Billy and Sarah met Karai and Helena onboard the station. The four quickly got along, and decided to eat lunch together. The four of them agreed that back on Neopia they didn't have enough friends. Meanwhile, the mysterious computer program observed them through security cameras. It also had no friends, and decided that it would solve that problem. The four friends finished their meal and took the station's elevator back to their rooms on the third floor. The computer program managed to take over the elevator's systems though, and trapped them inside. It appeared on the view screen to the Neopets, claiming that they were now its friends, and they would be there forever. Upon hearing of the disaster, a letter was immediately sent to Dr. Sloth, the creator of the station. He soon replied with his own message:
Citizens of Neopia, I received your pathetic plea for help only this afternoon, and I must admit it has really brightened up my day! I find it most amusing, and indeed very ironic that you come to me, Dr. Frank Sloth, begging for help. Neopet v2 was a program that I created a couple of years back, it was meant to be a replacement for you wretched Neopets, however after you defeated me in the Space Station the project was shelved. The program's artificial intelligence was a little too paranoid for my liking anyway... Now it seems that my creation has come back to life and has kidnapped four of your precious children, what a beautiful twist of fate. I could help you, I could deactivate the program, but considering the pain you have put me through, I simply do not think that would be fair. The deactivation code can be entered from a secret terminal somewhere within the station. There are ten numerical codes to be found, and these must be entered in a certain order. Each of the four programmers who worked on the original Neopet v2 program know two of the codes each, and the other two codes are built into the program itself. If you succeed in turning off the program then the children will live. You have till midnight on Sunday to find the codes, or those poor children will run out of air and perish. I hope this has helped, good luck in your quest, I will be watching you every step of the way... Yours Sincerely, Dr. Frank Sloth PS. Heh heh heh... ok here's a clue... you won't be able to get any information from the first programmer, his mouth will be full of that vile purple vegetable that he craves so much.
With Dr. Sloth being typically unhelpful, it became clear that Neopians would have to help out once again. A frantic search for the programmers began.
The first clue came from Dr. Sloth's message. He mentioned the first programmer liked a vile purple vegetable—which seemed to refer to Ummagines. By asking the Shop Wizard about Ummagines, he would eventually direct users to the shop belonging to vpet_storage4. The shop contained various unreleased Ummagine items, such as the Ummagine Plushie. Visiting the account's Neohome led to an encounter with the first programmer, Blarthrox. He provided the first two numbers of the deactivation code, 84 and 19. Meanwhile, a coded message and a hidden message of "Who are you?" could also be found in the Neohome.
The next step was to visit Blarthrox's petpage. There he mentioned his owner, Virtulogorex. This account also had a pet named Zyrolon. This pet's petpage contained both the question "Who created you?", a hidden image of the Metal Devourer monster from Neoquest, and the code 82042212 hidden in a poem.
Playing Neoquest and defeating a Metal Devourer would allow users to enter the code from the petpage, resulting in another code being displayed. Using some programming knowledge, it was possible to run this new code to decode the message found in Blarthrox's Neohome. This gave users a new message:
Anyway, I have been working on a number of new weapons in preparation for the battle, and I need your help on a couple of designs. Please come and meet me as soon as you can. My new lab is located at maintenance hatch 7b, sector 14-Alpha on the 7th maintenance floor below main deck. As for the super-weapon. Last time I checked it was primed and ready to fire at Neopia, however it has been offline for ages. I hope everything went according to plan.
By heading to that location within the space station, users would be able to access the Truth Checker Version 2.0. This puzzle required users in answer several complex questions, resulting in them being given the number 901236480. By adding this to the location of the maintenance hatch, the hatch would open. Inside, the programmer, Grimilix, was found. He gave users his card and one part of the deactivation code, the number 03. By viewing Grimilix's petpage, users could find a hidden flash animation providing the second code, 59. Also, the owner of Grimilix, vvvppp, was part of the Warriors of Sloth Guild. The source code of the guild contained a third question, "What game do you want to play?"
The second in command of the guild, qebnidxobbi, had an image hidden on their pet's page:
Putting that image into a graphics program would allow users to see a hidden message:
This led users to a vending machine. Using a clue from another member of the guild, Yondorolon, the sequence to break the machine was discovered. Normally, this would result in Bibblebub, Grimcho, Ryanno, or Tostilup fixing the machine. However, if done between 3.00-3.15 p.m. or a.m., Zyrolon would fix the machine. He provided the numbers 31 and 66, another question of "What are the codes?", and a clue to a drunkard on Krawk Island.
The Neopedia for Captain Threelegs mentioned that drunkards could be found in room 109 of the Academy. Heading there would cause users to meet Tazzalor, the final programmer. He forgot his favourite food, Bargjelly Sundae. In return for reminding him, he told users the numbers 58 and 11, as well as directing them to the Deactivation Console. Searching for Tazzalor revealed the question, "Why are you doing this?" on his petpage, while the source of the deactivation console revealed, "It is time for your first lesson."
Heading back to the Sloth guild, another member named Zyrbelvekk had a clue to a secret room on the space station. Heading there would lead to a direct interface with Neopet V2. Entering all the questions gathered so far would result in Neopet V2 supplying the final two codes, 41 and 94.
Rushing quickly back to the Deactivation console, users typed in all the gathered codes and succeeded in deactivating Neopet V2. The children were freed from the lift just before they ran out of air, and Neopia was saved once more.
Users were able to participate in this plot by following clues around Neopia in order to find the deactivation codes, and then inputting them to disable Neopet V2.
Numerous awards were handed out for those who participated:
For those who successfully solved the puzzle, certain prizes were awarded via neomail:
Those who successfully solved the puzzle were awarded trophies depending on how fast they solved the puzzle:
This page was written by Herdy and last updated on October 15, 2018.
