Sorry that my blog has been kind of... abandoned for 14.5 months, I promise I'm still here.

But 14.5 months ago, a.k.a. my most recent blog post before this, I did announce about mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame. For it's job, I'm really happy about how it's doing, and of course, I'm still happy it's still here. But don't you think it's time for a change? While it gets the basic things done, it seems like everyone wants "to create their own [judge] system and add some unique features that are missing from other systems." [1]

If you're new here, welcome! mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame is (one of my) side and somewhat commerical projects.

The premise of this website is that it's "a website where you have to find out hidden passwords to each problem", and that's the whole point. It's something like a CTF or puzzle-hunt website. Puzzles range from high-quality to low-quality, from easy to hard, and some are even straight up brute force puzzles. If you would like to try your hand on some of the puzzles, feel free! I've already put the link to the website earlier in the blog post. I just don't want to repeat myself.

Oh, and one of the reasons I made this is to get to practice writing puzzles.

So going back to the main point, I guess it's now time to make a wishlist of what features I want (i.e., am planning to implement) for the next (content) release of mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame.

Features that really should've been implemented

Well, I don't know why, but maybe it's because I was too lazy to actually implement these features?

Different score rules for different contest problems

It's already partially done, and by partially done, I recall 1 thing I can make different that I've never used for four contests: Different maximum scores per each problem. That's it.

I used it once, and it was for the first testing contest. That's it.

What I meant is the ability to deduct (possibly) different amount of points per (possibly) different amount of time intervals.

Maybe some of the problems are (objectively) harder than others. Of course, I can assign different maximum point values, but that's the only thing I could customize.

Something nice would be that I could take off the same propotion of maximum points per problem, instead of it being fixed across all problems.

For example, for two problems, with maximum scores of 100 points and 300 points respectively, my plan is to make it so that it is possible to deduct 1 point and 3 points per incorrect answer, for the first and second problems, respectively. The current codebase doesn't support it yet.

Guest submissions

Well, maybe you don't want to sign up just to do one puzzle. Maybe it's too much of a hassle. I get that.

Does this even need an explanation?

Although the reason is pretty clear, maybe some technical and design choice explanations might not hurt: When I added the administrator dashboard (the one only accessible to myself), I wanted to get submissions from everyone across every problem. The reason why it's only allowed for signed in users is that. Every submission is a new MongoDB record. In the past, I wasn't ready to take that risk of a (e.g.) bot submitting problems and clogging up my VPS storage space. I guess you can see why it's signed-in only.

But if I do add it, the plan is just to... not make guest submissions create a record, but still show answers. The end. That was easy. If I do implement this, I'll won't make it restriction-free entirely. A restrcition like "during a contest, only signed-in users can submit to a problem if it's a part of a active contest" is one of the good restrictions I can think of, and another is...

Rate limiting

There is rate limiting on the website itself, but not on the submissions people actually made. In the past, there are users who actually brute forced problems (and received cash prizes from myself from it!), and..., oh, they were meant to be brute forced. Oh well.

Password change

Self-explanatory.

And I guess four is enough. Well, four really needed features, according to my discretion. Now it's time for what I kinda what but not that of a priority.

Features that I want but it's not that necessary

Rating System

Self-explanatory.

Oh wait, that's it. LOL

There are obviously more things to add, e.g. pagniation on problem selection screen. But those aren't big-enough on their own to warrant their own section.

Thank you!

Now, if you are a member of mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame, thank you!

At time of writing, mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame has 2,186 submissions to every problem combined. It's currently not that much, especially if people are driving the numbers up by brute-forcing it. But I am still grateful nonetheless.

At time of writing, mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame has held 4 contests (5 if you include the testing one). Those contests attracted 16 unique participants across every contest. Once again, it's not much, but that's what you get when mistertfy64 does marketing stuff.

Hopefully I counted that right.

At time of writing, mistertfy64 UntitledPasswordFindingGame has 1 guest author, who authored 1 problem. Thank you!

And, of course, there will be more contests. [2] If you want to be the first to know when a new contest is coming up, maybe follow UntitledPasswordFindingGame on Instagram?

See you sometime in the future! (hopefully)

There will still be updates to Mathematical Base Defenders as well. Like I said, I'm still here. Sorry for the word salad as well. I just want to write something so that the blog doesn't look abandoned or something. Maybe that's only the reason there's only one "nice-to-have" features, because I can't think of any more c o o l enhancements.

If you wanna solve my (poorly-written) puzzles for amusement, here's the place to do so! https://untitledpasswordfindinggame.mistertfy64.com

I will add more puzzles when I feel like it!

In addition, I may also give out prize money to the first solver(s) of some problems!

I coded this up in 6 hours.

Source code is available on https://github.com/mistertfy64/UntitledPasswordFindingGame

Hello!

After over a year of not posting anything, I'm finally ready to make a status update! I am making this status update post be on this month partly because of my last status update also being on this month last year.

Just a reminder, although I am starting to use this blog more and more, it might not be as active as my social media. If you want to follow me, also follow me on social media! Links are at the homepage.

New homepage (and website major version!)

That's right! You've probably stumbled and saw this post through the homepage if you see that I've changed the homepage! It now contains more stupid stuff that no one is interested in! Wow! But in reality, there isn't really anything more to add, so I think to be "cool", I'm going to add my "activity log" that only updates once every half hour!

Obviously, there will many other cool things that I may or may not add later, as future updates to this website are still coming up (especially if a major version just released) as bug fixes are needed.

So, what have I really been up to?

Nothing much. As stated in my "Plans for 2024" post, my #1 priority, just like most high-schoolers, is to still get in a good university, so the things that I'm currently up to are still what I've said in said post.

I guess, that's all for this blog post, but, in interest of not making this blog post give the feeling that I've wasted your time...

สอวน. ค่าย 2 Review

Camp 2 for Informatics (i.e., competitive programming) for the 2023 Academic Year started on March 18, 2024, and lasted until April 3, 2024 (for Bangkok, at least.) It is held in one of the four university centers. If you just want to see the results, check my certificate display, or scroll down (to avoid spoilers, I made you check the certificate display to see the results only if you've just reached this part of the blog.)

I scored a 80.5% on Camp 1, making it enough to place me in the Top 30 and allowing me to attend Camp 2. According to a professor there, Camp 2's material is "second-year bachelor's material", so, in essence, I've already got a head start if I manage to get in a CS-related major.

The dorm that I stayed in (yes, a dorm, because no one is driving for 2 hours per day just to get there) is probably the best type of dorm in the university I was in, complete a table, a bed, free air-conditioning, a convenience store just across the dorm buildings, and of course, free internet connectivity per room.

On every learning day, it is a 3-hour lecture, followed by a break, then a 3-hour "lab"/practice session. But let's be real, no one actually paid attention for the full 3 hours or did the "lab" for the whole 3 hours, especially in later days, when, for me, the amount of information is "too much" and of course, sitting in front of a computer, in a computer lab, cases of going off to a non-related website or browser game website has happened, which both I and many others did.

Content of Camp 2 (in my center) ranges from basic C++, to breath-first search and depth-first search, and all the way to maximum flow algorithms. Of course, it is hard, as university-level material is being taught to middle-to-high-schoolers. I believe many centers (both in and out Bangkok) have posted on what is going to be in their Camp 2 material, so a quick search on Facebook should give a good result on what is being taught and tested.

The judging system for my center was actually a custom made one, and actually broke on the first test-day, but was fixed quickly, so no big deal there. But sadly, due to some brain issues on my side, I'll admit that I did not do to well on the first team selection exam, scoring only 150 out of the 300 points, but of course, I didn't give up.

On the second team selection exam, I actually scored 300 out of 300 points, getting full score. But of course, there was a twist after the exam: more test cases after exam has concluded, and the scores are only from the "visible" test cases or the example test cases (reminds me of Codeforces Div. 1 and Div. 2 judging), and obviously my score fell down to somewhere around 200 points (probably because the number of new test cases added was so few that getting a WA in one of them could get you a 20-point deduction, for each problem it was 100 points split equally into each test case.)

The professors and lectures there were actually quite nice and fun, and on the first day, a lecturer came up to me and asked me to take a selfie with him so he could "send it to a high-ranking teacher" at my school (he was an alumni at the school I'm currently studying at), and obviously, that made a fun story that I can tell my other school friends now that I'm back.

While in the dorm, I just played Minecraft and watched silly videos. Nothing much. But there was this time where I tried to unclog my dorm's toilet with a bottle, as it won't flush. I won't get into the deep details of this one, as it might be too dumb and "immature" to state. I did find a shop that sold plungers about an hour after I tried unclogging the toilet with a bottle. (I didn't know there was a shop that sold plungers in the dorm.)

In the closing ceremony, a very powerful person handed out our certification certificates, and of course, we heard a speech of the Dean of the Science faculty inviting us to continue to "upskill" ourselves at the faculty.

Now for the big reveal.

My name wasn't on the team selection results announcement roster, and I am therefore unable to complete in the 20th Thailand Olympiad in Informatics. Only five campers passed. Those who didn't pass can retake the team selection exam, provided they are still in the grade range. Unfortunately, I was already out of the grade range allowed to retake the team selection exam, so I can't retake the exams anymore.

Still, I was grateful of this opportunity and had lots of fun, and sometimes posted my experiences on social media. Maybe if you visited them, you could find some stories about it?

Obviously, this was a non-exhaustive review because I don't want to write about what happened each day (as it would be too much both for me and for you reading the blog), nor did I write about the other problems while in the camp (e.g. the dorm's elevator losing power). Overall, I think this was a fun experience to test myself, to learn more CS, and to meet new friends.

See you in the next blog post/Mathematical Base Defenders update/whatever!

Since 2023 is coming to an end, I am doing what people are doing: setting New Year's resolutions. There will probably be more aside from this, but I don't really know what else to set more. I'm also writing to my blog so that this doesn't feel empty again.

By the way, I have decided that my blog posts will be under the CC BY 4.0 license, so you are free to share/distribute/adapt my blog posts, as long as you give me credit by (e.g.) providing a link back to the respective blog post's URL, or by mentioning my name.

Studies

Right now, I am in high school, so my #1 priority (just like most high-schoolers) would probably to get in a good university. I've taken the Digital SAT (Aug. 2023, 1460) and IELTS (Dec. 2023, 7.5, Academic on computer), and I'm quite satisified with my scores. I do not plan on retaking the Digital SAT or IELTS again because I already retook those once, but since my (or the objective) #1 university (in Thailand) also wants to see a science aptitude test score, I might need to study for that as well. I've never really studied for any school test for the past 1.5 years, but still managed to pass (that is, 50% or above) over 80% of the time if I remember correctly.

If you've been OSINT'ing be on my Facebook/Instagram account or on my certificate display, you might also notice that I passed the สอวน. (POSN) Training Camp 1 (Computer) selection test and passed another selection test while in said camp for eligibility to enter Training Camp 2, which I will be attending in March 2024. I really hope that I can somehow get a spot in the Thailand Olympiad in Informatics (TOI), so I'm mainly studying computer science algorithms right now. A reason why I'm trying really hard to get a spot (or even better, a medal) in the TOI is that I can use that instead of my test scores to apply to university, and another reason why I'm trying is that I get to brag to my friends about how smart I am.

(Explanatory Note: If you don't know what the TOI is, it is basically the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), but on the national level, so the TOI isn't that prestigious as the IOI, but most Thai universities only need a TOI medal (or a medal in another subject's Thai national olympiad, or for some universities, diploma from Training Camp 2) for higher/guaranteed chances of acceptance in TCAS's Round 1.)

Social Media

I do not frequently post stuff on social media, and that includes not posting stuff that promotes/tries to get more players into Mathematical Base Defenders. I want to change, so that I can be described as "more expressive" and "less-introverted" person in real life, and maybe to get more followers like my friends who post everything they do on their Instagram stories (no offense to them).

Programming

I switched back to using GNU/Linux. I would also like to contribute to open-source software, but the #1 reason I'm scared to do so is that it might backfire(???), and the #1 reason I can't do it is that I do not think I have anything useful to add to existing FLOSS. I would also like that mindset to change, but I have great difficulties trying to express myself (because I might be an introvert or something). Additionally, I would also like to talk about my plans for my projects:

Mathematical Base Defenders

I plan to really put in the effort to market/advertise Mathematical Base Defenders in 2024, so it can get more players, and maybe use the fact that I am a powerful person in Mathematical Base Defenders for my university application(???). On a side note, if you want to play Mathematical Base Defenders, click here. I am also waiting for feedback from potential users/testers, so that I can improve from it.

mistertfy64.com

As for my personal website, I don't need to add anything on the apex domain itself (since it's just a project listing page), but I might add some new subdomains on my domain in 2024 to spice up my website. I would also like to improve the "stability" of my domains, as well as adding new features to existing domains.

These are some of my New Year resolutions for 2024. Share this blog post with other people so more people can laugh at me if I fail my New Year resolutions, and thank you for taking the time for reading!

Are you expecting a review on the สอวน. training camp that I promised over a month ago? Well, I don't really have any in-depth review of it, since it's a come-and-go-home camp (not an overnight camp). So here is a very short summary of it: Learn, eat, learn more eat, learn more, go home. Except for the middle and the end of the camp, where the teachers gave me the Training Camp 2 selection test. (สอวน. Training Camp 2 for Computer will probably be an overnight camp, as shown by social media posts from previous years.) But at least there's a better chance of an actual review (i.e., a dedicated blog post) for Training Camp 2 because of the more advanced material, and also the fact that it's an overnight camp. So if you want a review, you might have to wait until Camp 2 starts. Sorry...

Yeah. I made it myself. Custom mistertfy64 software that might will break again, and if you're interested, I made the RSS "part" of my website public under the MIT license: https://github.com/mistertfy64/TextFeedBridger.

Once again, RSS will break, and I will change how my RSS feed works in the future. As of releasing (2023-02-01), my blog's RSS feed only show the 10 most recent blog posts.

And now it's time to go back to Mathematical Base Defenders: Reversal. How did I not notice I misspelled announcement for over 3 weeks?

Thanks to the cool people at giscus, you can now comment on my blog posts!

It's really easy to set up. I did it in less than an hour. It just required an extra public GitHub repository.

Note that you will need a GitHub account to comment on my blog posts.

Check them out, read how it works, and put it on your site here! (Repository)

Hi there.

I have decided to implement a general privacy policy for mistertfy64.com (and its subdomains) for transparency purposes.

Even though the website doesn't ask for your personal information directly, I still feel like this needs to be done.

This privacy policy will cover everything under the mistertfy64.com domain and the mistertfy64.com domain.

https://mistertfy64.com/privacy-policy

I believe this will make the website more transparent.