Just a quick rundown on the hints
Hint #1 Someone has indirectly touched on the "error".
Hint #2 The player who "mechanically" applies the attack and defense factors may (or may not) calculate an incorrect hit probability.
Hint #3 It is not a punctuation error, grammar error, spelling error or additional lines.
Hint #4 Possibly too much focus has been placed on individual trees rather than the forest.
Hint #5 It is an error of d _ _ _ _ _ _ tion.
Krsqk is right in his analysis. But read right, the hints could have led a person to the answer very quickly.
Hint #1 talks of the error being "touched on".
But what data is "touched on" and what isn't?
If you interpreted it to mean anyone having anything to do with the data then it is really not a clue at all. All data would be "touched on". So what could it mean?
If you interpreted it to mean anyone having anything to do with data AFTER it was entered into the list, it then a very important clue.
How is this? Well, there is only one person who could have entered any data which was not touched on. Moi.
There was no discussion, request for it to be entered etc... it was just entered by me.
More significantly, I entered about 75% to 80% of the data this way. The percentage drops with discussion of some of the data because it is then "touched on" but about two-thirds or three-quarters of the data was never directly or indirectly addressed in discussions before or after it was entered.
So, a person who made a print out of the data at the time the puzzle was presented, could have gotten a very short list of 10 to 15 items by eliminating the ones which were not "touched on".
Granted the phrase is vague but it was designed to be vague otherwise you guys would have come up with the answer right away.
And there would not have been any fun.
[Edit: and I was very open about it when I said this at the time I presented the first hint...
Quote:
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I know the hint is somewhat obtuse, but it is designed to be. So please do not ask for clarification. It may not be obvious now, but when you "see" the error, you will understand why I phrased it in this particular way.]
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Hint #2 used the word "mechanically" very blatantly (quotes were used to bring attention to it!) and was actually a hint to try out an example. Any example would have worked unless the person just "mechanicaly" entered the figures without any thought at all. Ergo the point of "mechanically".
Of much lesser importance, a trait like Berzerker would lead to an error. a trait like scientists would not. Therefore the reference to "may (or may not) calculate an incorrect hit probability"
The hint also automatically excluded the data in the "special" section.
The rest of the hints are self explanetory.
Hope you guys had fun!
I did!
[ November 20, 2002, 16:23: Message edited by: tbontob ]
Re: Damage Calculation
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