One thing I'm just going to point out...
This particular hunt actually has nothing to do with the Patreon support. He started this hunt before he ever had a Patreon page up, and it's open to anyone to participate whether or not they are Patreon supporters.
The mini hunts are the ones that are funded by Patreon, and he DOES give hints monthly for those, not just answers to y/n questions.
So...you might consider pulling your support if you're dissatisfied with the mini hunts but looking at this one as a separate entity that just happens to be done by the same person.
It's Patreon money he intends to use to fund future hunts, if this hunt ever gets solved.
Mini hunts are only available to patreon supporters but both the main hunts and the mini hunts are funded by patreon. At least that's what he said in his video. I believe he personally funded or intended to personally fund the 1st main hunt.
I cannot see why he had to add nasty twists to the hunt. It was difficult enough as it was just to get to where we are now, and I doubt many have a solid solution for stanza 4. Unless we are way of track, which I doubt, there appears to be an extra trick to manipulating our answers before we can enter keys.
I get that it must be very hard to judge how difficult it will be for others to solve puzzles you might set, but I fail to see how limiting the questions to a simple YES/NO answer was perceived to be a good idea.
the problem we have is it could be months before any real progress is made by anyone with the current question format.
Having seen that the puzzle appears to be more difficult than he anticipated, it would be nice to see Lukas either provide a substantial bonus hint, or allow for an open format for questions asked.
At $10 a month even with only 15 subscribers enough money has been collected for both the main prize and the mini hunts. I doubt its only 15 subscribers.
As it stands I can't see this hunt being solved in the next 3 months, so either the prize for a subsequent main hunt goes up, or this has become a cash generator for the author.
The problem is his future hunts will be judged on the experience of this hunt, and that is a shame, rather than have people eager for yet another one many I think will think twice before investing a lot of their time.
I am really disappointed with the whole thing. Initially I thought this was going to be a different type of hunt, one that did not take years for a solution to be found, with a solution that was within reach of everyone who took part, and certainly easier for those willing to cooperate.
There has been far too many hunts where the author has been that little bit too clever, hunts that required actually visiting sites, based on obscure knowledge or facts, or or overly complicated by difficult ciphers and codes. I thought this hunt was going to break that mould, and be a more open and enjoyable hunt, and one that did not include twists, puzzles and ciphers beyond the capabilities of the average person.
I do not wish to sound overly negative. I have put a bit of thought into this and tried to reason it out logically. What would I do if I was to set up a hunt?
The first thing I would consider is how long would I expect a hunt to take before a solution is found. If it took longer than anticipated what additional help or prods would I be prepared to give, if any.
How difficult should the puzzles be, do I want it to be a inclusive hunt that anyone with a bit of common sense, access to the internet and prepared to put a bit of time and effort into it can solve, or one that is more exclusive, where only the very skilled, extremely intelligent or those with advanced coding and encryption skills have a reasonable chance of finding a solution? I would definitely be upfront as to which path I took.
Finally the prize? I do not believe that people do these hunts for the prize. $1000 sounds like a lot of money, but personally speaking and I am sure this goes for most on this forum, I could have earned multiples of that in a menial job like working at McDonalds with the amount of time I have spent.
So, Rather than be all negative, throw a tantrum, or the baby out of the pram, I am currently working on a couple of hunts.
With the above in mind I expect each hunt to take about two weeks at most to complete. Each should be solvable without assistance from other people but if people wish to work together for a solve that is ok. Simple logic, simple riddles, solving anagrams and commonly used ciphers would be as difficult as it would be.
Prize money would be minimal, or none at all, bragging rights are the prize in my opinion. With short quick hunts that are aimed at enjoyment rather than a long haul I dont think a financial reward makes sense. We do newspaper crossword puzzles all the time without reward other than the satisfaction of completing them, we dont expect to spend months completing them why should a hunt be any different.
Is that something other forum members would be interested in. Would you prefer shorter, simpler hunts?