12/31/95 **************************************** OFFICIAL FAQ FROM DECIPHER, Inc. **************************************** STAR TREK: CUSTOMIZABLE CARD GAME **************************************** EASTER EGGS IN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE **************************************** ONE EGG STILL MISSING AS OF 12/31/95 **************************************** by Tom Braunlich **************************************** The following information is copyrighted by Decipher Inc. 1995; however, it can be freely disseminated online or by traditional publishing means as long as this copyright notice is attached. TM, (R) & (C) 1995 Lucasfilm, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Star Wars and related marks are trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. Used under authorization by Decipher, Inc. Authorized User. **************************************** Hurry! The Easter Egg Hunt in the Alternate Universe is nearly over! What? BACKGROUND ÒEaster EggsÓ are fun little self- referential elements which computer artists like to hide in their work, similar to hidden program functions in computer software which programmers hide there for fun, which is where the name ÒEaster EggsÓ for such things comes from. They are hidden and take a sharp eye to find. In the Alpha set of ST:CCG, DecipherÕs art department hid three Easter Eggs. Two were easy to spot, and one was very hard. A quite popular ÒHuntÓ developed to find the last Easter Egg, and a small informal prize was given to the eventual winner. The original E.Eggs were: ALBERT EINSTEIN (he is holding ST:CCG cards) RAISE THE STAKES (ST:CCG cards on the table) and the tough one: RED ALERT (the number on the screen was changed to be DecipherÕs zip code!) Since everyone enjoyed this, it has become a tradition! The Warp Pack (April 95) had one E.Egg among its seven new cards. Almost everyone spotted it immediately: YELLOW ALERT (the number on the screen, Ò07734Ó spells out ÒhELLOÓ when viewed upside down). This of course is a reprise of the Red Alert E.Egg. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE EGGS We started to receive guesses from eagle- eyed Easter Egg hunters even before we announced the bunny had come through the Alternate Universe Door! This time around, Decipher included six Easter Eggs in the A.U. expansion set. Three of the six were easy, and three were difficult. Some of the guesses were, of course, off- the-mark, but imaginative. I enjoyed reading them. The best incorrect guess I saw was about the Fire Sculptor. The flame she is blowing, when viewed sideways, looks remarkably like the Federation symbol (the symbol seen on the back of the cards). ItÕs true! But this was not something added by Decipher, it just happens to be that way. At the time of this writing, five of the six Easter Eggs have been found. Below I list for you the five found eggs, who found them first (based on records kept by DAnswerMan on the first finders he became aware of), and information about the last egg. **************************************** SPOILER WARNING! Do not ready any further if you donÕt want to see the answers! **************************************** : : : : THE EASTER EGGS: : : 1) ÒRASCALSÓ The sign over the door reads, ÒYou Must be This High to Ride This Ride.Ó (For those of you overseas, this is a common American expression at carnivals, directed toward children who are too young to experience intense excitement.) Lots of people found this one. It is interesting that many people remarked that they thought it might have been something ParamountÕs set design department did themselves. (Mike Okuda is famous for doing some ÒOkudagramsÓ like that, but usually they are not that readable). FIRST FINDERS for RASCALS: Dec 7, 1995 22:46:13 EST Paul Mulik@aol.com Dec 9, 1995 18:18:12 EST WeRHuskies@aol.com Dec 9, 1995 9:12 PM EDT Dave_Bateman@msn.com 2) INTERPHASIC PLASMA CREATURES On the upper left of the viewing screen, you can see the email address of someone we all know and love: DANSWERMAN@DECIPHER.COM FIRST FINDERS for I.P.CREATURES: Dec 8, 1995 10:46:50 AM EST Paul Mulik@aol.com Dec 8, 1995 7:29 PM EDT DanielP111@aol.com Dec 9, 1995 5:49 PM EDT Vincent.Prendergast@internetMCI.com 3) PAUL RICE If you look at the copyright notice along the side of the card, you will see some additional letters, which appear in backwards type. When read correctly, it says, ÒPaul is dead.Ó For those of you who are too young, this is in reference to the most famous Easter Egg of all, the Òhidden messageÓ rumored to be found spoken backwards in one of the Beatles music albums, that ÒPaul is dead.Ó This refers to Paul McCartney, of course. The Beatles is the band Paul was with before Wings. :-) FIRST FINDER for PAUL RICE (First of many) Dec 9, 1995 21:32:06 EST MrChung@aol.com NOW FOR THE HARD ONES...... 4) PHASER BURNS If you look closely in the bottom left corner of this card, you see the person has a patch on the arm of his jacket. This was added by Decipher. Warren Holland himself provides the following Òinside storyÓ on this one: ÒThis is a patch bearing the name of Decipher's talented art director and resident genius, Dan Burns. When you stand in awe of the Star Trek:TNGCCG card art and recognize the design quality embodied in the clean, crisp images (as many people do)... you are appreciating the creativity, dedication and enormous hours of work provided by Dan and his staff. I wanted this Easter Egg because ÒPhaser BurnsÓ was the perfect place for us to immortalize the immense contributions of ÒDan Burns.Ó We practically had to force Dan into this one. ;-) The result: DanÕs humility kept the Easter Egg small so it would be intentionally unreadable. ;-)Ó FIRST FINDER of PHASER BURNS: Dec 15, 1995 10:41 AM EST cumhf@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (time not available to me at this writing) Mredjes@aol.com 5) ROYALE CASINO: BLACKJACK If you look closely, the poker chip on the table reads "253". This is the street address number of DecipherÕs office, 253 Granby Street. Only one person reported this find: FIRST FINDER of R.C.: BLACKJACK Tue, Dec 12, 1995 9:30 PM EST Kidtwig@aol.com 6) THE LAST REMAINING EGG As of 12/31/95, to the best of my knowledge, no one has yet pointed out the final egg. One person did come tantalizingly close! He or she pointed out the correct card and the correct Òthing/image element(s)Ó (trying to avoid giving a hint here) on the card, but failed to make the connection of what it meant, which is really critical with this one as otherwise you are just guessing. So I felt credit could not be given for this personÕs guess. :-) Here are some things it is not. It is not the drawing shown on the pages of the CaptainÕs Log card. Apparently those marks are supposed to be in the Tamarian language. It is not the necklace of the ÒWorshipper.Ó And it is not hidden in the rocks on the wall of the ÒHidden Entrance.Ó Some people have imagined finding things there that would unnerve a psychoanalyst! :-) PRIZES? As soon as the last one is found, which may have already happened by the time your read this, I will post it. Warren Holland has not said anything about prizes yet. This is an informal contest, and is supposed to be for fun. The thrill of the hunt. etc. We will have some sort of prize, however, IÕm sure, at least for the hard ones! ;-) If for some reason I have overlooked someoneÕs name who sent in an egg earlier than the listed Òfirst finder,Ó let me know. Happy Hunting! :-) Send submissions to DAnswerMan@decipher.com