SPOILERS || Quest support

[Kiwiana]

finally advanced to the encrypted message, but I absolutely do not understand how I am supposed to use CAROL as a basis for decoding, this is way too confusing

CAROL is 'the key' and just put in front of the normal alphabet in two different ways:

First way it is : go on with the letter that would follow the key's (CAROL) last letter (L) in the alphabet (=M)
Second way is: go on with the normal alphabet (=would be A, but since you have to delete all letters that the key has (C+A+R+O+L) to avoid double letters, you skip A and go on with B)

if that doesn't help, read on^^
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Now you write down the whole new alphabet:
(I shorten it by ...)

First way: CAROLMNO...XYZ
Second way: CAROLBDE...XYZ

New alphabet stands for the code-letters. Write the normal alphabet under it in a way you see which code-letter stands for which normal letter.
Now take the quest code and happy transforming^^

[Ruscell0]

yeah i am not having a fun time with this
i feel like it could be explained better but maybe im just dumb

[Thaliel]

finally advanced to the encrypted message, but I absolutely do not understand how I am supposed to use CAROL as a basis for decoding, this is way too confusing

CAROL is 'the key' and just put in front of the normal alphabet in two different ways:

First way it is : go on with the letter that would follow the key's (CAROL) last letter (L) in the alphabet (=M)
Second way is: go on with the normal alphabet (=would be A, but since you have to delete all letters that the key has (C+A+R+O+L) to avoid double letters, you skip A and go on with B)

if that doesn't help, read on^^
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Now you write down the whole new alphabet:
(I shorten it by ...)

First way: CAROLMNO...XYZ
Second way: CAROLBDE...XYZ

New alphabet stands for the code-letters. Write the normal alphabet under it in a way you see which code-letter stands for which normal letter.
Now take the quest code and happy transforming^^

sorry, I still don't get it
I have
QE QD XFB OFEJ CWO YBQGQULNL EX ABLCEPL UQML QWEX C WLH CNL XM LWUQNPELWVLWE

no idea how to find out what stands for what

[Virida]

sorry, I still don't get it
I have
QE QD XFB OFEJ CWO YBQGQULNL EX ABLCEPL UQML QWEX C WLH CNL XM LWUQNPELWVLWE

no idea how to find out what stands for what

As Kiwiana explained, you have to scramble the alphabet starting with Carol, to get the alphabet as it was used in the scrambled message.
So you know that a C in your scrambled message stands for an A in your decoded message. A = B, R = C, O = D, L = E
Then you have two ways to possibly continue. M, because it is the next letter after M, so M = F, N = G and so on.
Or with B because it is the next letter of the alphabet you don´t have in the key, so, B = F, D = G (skip C because it is already in the key).

The easiest way of trying here is with the word "OFEJ" because you don´t have to write out the whole alphabet to see which of the two options is the correct one.
Spoiler (highlight to make visible):
OFEJ (second option) = DIHM - obviously false because it is still gibberish
OFEJ (first option) = DUTY

[Virida]

Quest FAQ

This FAQ will address some recurring issues many players seem to have trouble with. Where possible hints will be given in stages so you can decide yourself if you just want a little nudge in the right direction or outright skip to the answer. To make spoilered hints visible just highlight them, their font colour is set to transparent.

The Communications Tower
Q: The password I found did not work?
A: There are several red herrings, are you sure you have already explored everything? Please also make sure to always enter the first password again before entering the second when you have left in between, it resets.

Q: I am sure I looked everywhere, what are the possible passwords hidden around the tower?
A : hitchhiker, 6x7, 42, piscinebabbler

Q: I have tried every combination of those but I am still stumped, what do I have to do?
A: You do not need to combine the passwords, they work as they are

Q: I have tried everything, what is the solution?
A: password1: hitchhiker, password2: piscinebabbler

The Shady Caverns
Q: I am lost in the caves, any help?
A: Map
Note: big cave at the bottom is Roy´s camp, the T-junction north of it is where you start out with directions/get reset to when you radio Roy

Q: Nope, still lost, I am not good with maps.
A: Here is a non-visual guide telling you what directions to pick - please use at your own discretion, you will miss out on some beautiful exploring if you use this!
W - N - N - E - SE - N - E - E - E - NW - N - NW - NW - E - N - NW

An Encrypted Message
Q: I have translated the message but the quest tells me I made a mistake, do I have to be careful with punctuation?
A: No, capitalisation, punctuation and any additional spaces are ignored. Please make sure to check your spelling. If you are sure everything is correct feel free to post and ask for help!

Q: I have the keyword but how do I use it to translate the message?
A: The keyword is used to tell you how the letters in the alphabet have been shifted to create the scrambled message. There are two ways to do that.
1) C A R O L B D E F.... X Y Z -> start with B after the keyword (because A is already in it) and write out all remaining letters in alphabetical order
2) C A R O L M N P... Y Z B D E ...K -> start with M after the keyword because it is the next letter after the L and then write out all remaining letters in alphabetical order, start at the beginning after Z
One of these methods leads to gibberish, the other gives you a reasonable message.

Q: I have used the keyword to create and alternate alphabet but how do I use it to translate the message?
A: Write the regular alphabet next to the alternate one. Find the letter in your message in the alternate alphbet. The letter next to it in the regular alphabet is the translation.
Example:
C A R O L B D E F - message: ACO
A B C D E F G H I - translation: BAD


Q: Can´t you just post the correct alphabet for the translation?
A: Here it is as an image because the forum keeps messing up my formatting

Q: I still cannot do it, any further help?
A: If you absolutely want to you can try entering your text on a site that tries to brute force it. That approach does not always give you perfect results though so beware.
Try searching for "substitution cypher brute force" and you should find sites that help you

Creature Research
No Q and A format here, just a few facts that are good to know:
1) You have to be the only owner of the creature you are going to submit, that means you have to get capsules from the cupboard, genome splicer or breed them yourself
2) Only capsules obtained _after_ reaching that point in the quest count
3) All creatures have to be raided to adults and then submitted at the same time, you cannot submit them separately
4) You keep the creatures after submitting their data
5) After submitting _all of them_ you are free to do whatever you wish with the creatures
6) No actual notes have to be submitted, the "data" is collected automatically by the site while you raise the creatures

[Thaliel]

Quest FAQ


Q: Can´t you just post the correct alphabet for the translation?
A:
C A R O L M N P Q S T U V W X Y Z B D E F G H I J K
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

so
QE QD XFB OFEJ CWO YBQGQULNL EX ABLCEPL UQML QWEX C WLH CNL XM LWUQNPELWVLWE.


becomes
JU JT

[LackingDragons]

so
QE QD XFB OFEJ CWO YBQGQULNL EX ABLCEPL UQML QWEX C WLH CNL XM LWUQNPELWVLWE.


becomes
JU JT

The two alphabets don't align very well, try counting letters to make sure you've got the right ones matched 
It should be "It is" instead of JU JT

[Kiwiana]

so
QE QD XFB OFEJ CWO YBQGQULNL EX ABLCEPL UQML QWEX C WLH CNL XM LWUQNPELWVLWE.


becomes
JU JT

The two alphabets don't align very well, try counting letters to make sure you've got the right ones matched 
It should be "It is" instead of JU JT

I used a table (working in Word) with two rows, so the letters were exactly under each other after having problems with the aligning XD

[Ashlaegl]

Thank you everyone for the patience in trying to give us clues. I almost gave up but I thought I'd try just one more time... about 10 one-more-time's later, I finally managed to figure it out and solved the cipher.
Appreciate it very much.

[Foxypuff]

Finally managed to solve the cipher with some help.