Eternity2 Puzzle Solver

[tutta55]

http://eternity2.net/index.php

What the heck is this? A puzzle solver? I think Boinc better start to have a real license agreement. This is getting ridiculous. You are supposed to buy something as well here.

Well, I still couldn't resist and made an account and team. Maybe I'm being too negative here. Then again, maybe not. Ah well, who am I to comment?

[Mich]

Joined in for fun, but workunits don't seem to be processed here. CPU time remains at 0:00 for some reason .

[tutta55]

Joined in for fun, but workunits don't seem to be processed here. CPU time remains at 0:00 for some reason .

I don't understand the details of the project yet, but apparently you have to make some definition files yourself and place them in the Boinc directory. See http://eternity2.net/definition.php You can try with 2 example files. See bottom paragraph of the page. It then runs for about 5 minutes on my Pentium D.

Meanwhile I have read on a bit. The aim is to win 2M $. 1M will go to the owner of the computer who solves it, and 1M to the owner of the website. Not with my cycles though...

[Raby]

Joined in for fun, but workunits don't seem to be processed here. CPU time remains at 0:00 for some reason .

1)You have to buy the puzzle
2) Create the pieces definition file (sample files are provided on the website to test).

On the website they say there are 20.000 solutions.
When one solution is found one have to send it to the site owners (it's a game with real pieces not virtual ones). Then they open the envelopes they received and the first correct they find will earn the jackpot..

[Pconfig]

It works that way indeed. I'm curious if the boinc project will solve the puzzle though.

I was thinking.. maybe we could buy the puzzle with a few of us (split the cost) and crunch together. Then again, i always said to myself that i wouldn't participate in 'commercial' projects.

[Mich]

It works that way indeed. I'm curious if the boinc project will solve the puzzle though.

I was thinking.. maybe we could buy the puzzle with a few of us (split the cost) and crunch together. Then again, i always said to myself that i wouldn't participate in 'commercial' projects.

What if we use the money to buy more crunching hardware . The goal maybe justifies the means in that case.

[Pconfig]

That'd be cool. Spend 1.000.000$ on crunching hardware
On the other hand.. If we'd help the project, we'd just give away like 1.000.000$ to the writer of this app. Maybe we can design something to solve this puzzle ourselfs? Distribute the workunits in a 'private' project?

[tutta55]

Maybe we can design something to solve this puzzle ourselfs? Distribute the workunits in a 'private' project?

Hehe, Eternity3 then

The main objection I have against this project is its "lottery" nature. Only after a year or so will the bag of solutions be opened by the organizer of the puzzle (who are not the ones running the Eternity2.net project) and the first one who found the solution is the winner. So who knows, maybe it's too late already and a solution is already found. But in the mean time people are buying puzzles, and possibly putting massive computer resources on it that could have been better used on scientific research DC projects.

As always BOINC.BE lets its members free to decide what they run. But personally I will pass for this one.

[Krikke]

The reason they wait long enough is that they need to get enough money, same principle as those Telephone/SMS games on TV.

I'll pass as well

[tutta55]

The project stops on 15 december. For various reasons, one of them being that the puzzle will probably never be solved.

There are currently 2 team members with credit: Mich with 1.61 and /me with 2.09 credits. I'm not sure if it's still possible to join and get a few credits this last week. For sentimentel reasons