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* Elements like the [[toggle door]], which are really a collection of multiple tiles (the "open" and "closed" states are internally distinct in every Chip's Challenge game), but which act like a single entity that changes state. | * Elements like the [[toggle door]], which are really a collection of multiple tiles (the "open" and "closed" states are internally distinct in every Chip's Challenge game), but which act like a single entity that changes state. | ||
* An element ''and'' its facing direction, especially when editing for the [[DAT]] format. For example, a west-facing [[glider]] is an available tile, | * An element ''and'' its facing direction, especially when editing for the [[DAT]] format, which encodes such combinations as single bytes. For example, a west-facing [[glider]] is an available DAT tile, corresponding to the byte <code>0x51</code>. | ||
* A combination of tiles that functions as a single unit, especially if it alters the behavior of its parts. For example, a "fireball cloner" is really a [[fireball]] on top of a [[clone machine]] (which prevents the fireball from moving), and a "no green keys" sign is really a [[green key]] beneath a [[no sign]] (which prevents the key from being picked up). | * A combination of tiles that functions as a single unit, especially if it alters the behavior of its parts. For example, a "fireball cloner" is really a [[fireball]] on top of a [[clone machine]] (which prevents the fireball from moving), and a "no green keys" sign is really a [[green key]] beneath a [[no sign]] (which prevents the key from being picked up). | ||
* One of the square positions within the grid of a level, which may contain multiple elements. For example, "[[invalid tile]]" can refer to a ''stack'' of tiles expressible in a [[DAT]] level but that would be impossible on the original [[Lynx]] game. More pedantically known as a '''cell'''. | * One of the square positions within the grid of a level, which may contain multiple elements. For example, "[[invalid tile]]" can refer to a ''stack'' of tiles expressible in a [[DAT]] level but that would be impossible on the original [[Lynx]] game. More pedantically known as a '''cell'''. | ||
* One individual square of artwork used by any version of the game | * One individual square of artwork used by any version of the game, known more generally in game development as a '''sprite'''. | ||
== | == Types of tile == | ||
Tiles can be informally grouped into several categories, based on their behavior. | |||
* [[Terrain]] — static tiles that cannot move | |||
** [[Acting floor]] — the [[floor]] tile specifically, and others that allow free passage | |||
** [[Acting wall]] — the [[wall]] tile specifically, and others that can't be moved into | |||
** Locked [[door]]s | |||
** Buttons | |||
* [[Item]]s — tiles that can be picked up; may or may not be considered terrain, depending on ruleset | |||
** [[Key]]s | |||
** [[Boot]]s | |||
** [[Computer chip]]s | |||
* [[Actor]]s — tiles that can move | |||
** Players — [[Chip]] and [[Melinda]], the only tiles controlled by the human player | |||
** [[Monster]]s | |||
** [[Block]]s | |||
== Layers == | |||
Tiles can also be grouped based on whether two different tiles can coexist in the same cell. If two tiles ''cannot'', they are said to exist on the same '''layer'''. The set of layers is defined by a combination of ruleset and file format. | |||
=== [[Lynx]] === | |||
The original game was designed around having two layers: | |||
* Static tiles — including both terrain and items | |||
* [[Actor]]s — everything that can move | |||
The game's internal data structure defined a level as a single 32×32 layer of static tiles, plus one optional actor per cell. It was thus impossible to create otherwise intuitive combinations like a key on top of [[gravel]], because both the key and the gravel would have had to occupy the same space. | |||
This format was restricted to the Atari Lynx game itself. Emulators have generally needed to load levels in the [[DAT]] format, which | |||
=== [[MS]] === | |||
Strictly speaking, [[MSCC]] was only designed to play the [[Chip's Challenge|original levels]], so it was likely ''intended'' to obey the same layering restrictions as Lynx. However, it takes an unusual approach to layering: each cell is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(abstract_data_type) stack] of any two tiles. Internally, a gravel tile looks like this: | |||
{| class="wikitable" border="1" | |||
|[[Image:Gravel.png]] Gravel | |||
|- | |||
|[[Image:Floor.png]] Floor (nothing) | |||
|} | |||
If [[Chip]] then steps into this cell, the gravel ''moves down'', and he takes its place: | |||
{| class="wikitable" border="1" | |||
|[[Image:Chip S.png]] Chip | |||
|- | |||
|[[Image:Gravel.png]] Gravel | |||
|} | |||
When he leaves, the gravel will move back up and a floor tile will fill the empty space, returning things to the first diagram. | |||
The [[DAT]] format invented for MSCC inadvertently exposes this arrangement to level designers, allowing a level to have ''any'' two tiles stacked atop one another. The game wasn't designed to handle two actors or two static tiles in the same cell, so various unusual effects may occur. Combinations of tiles that are technically possible to create in a [[DAT]] level, but could not have been represented in the original Atari Lynx game, are called [[invalid tiles]]. | |||
== [[Steam]] == | |||
Steam rules are designed for the much more expansive set of tiles available in [[Chip's Challenge 2]] and introduced much greater flexibility in layering. From bottom to top, the layers are: | |||
* Terrain | |||
* Item — includes both kinds of [[bomb]] and all three [[time modifier]]s | |||
* Item mod — only the [[no sign]] | |||
* Actor | |||
* [[Swivel door]] — only the revolving part; the base counts as terrain | |||
* [[Thin wall]] | |||
* [[Canopy]] | |||
Each cell must have a terrain tile — in fact, CC2's [[C2M]] level format enforces it — but every other layer is optional. | |||
(Internally, it may be the case that thin walls and canopies are part of the same tile and thus the same layer, as they're encoded together in C2M. From the perspective of players and designers, they behave as separate tiles.) | |||
For Chip's Challenge 1 tiles, the most notable improvements are the ability to place an item on top of any kind of terrain and the ability to place thin walls, in any combination, atop anything else at all. The other new layers are dedicated to new CC2 tiles: the no sign (which combines with an item underneath), swivel doors, and canopies (which are specifically for hiding everything below). | |||
== [[Chip's Challenge 1]] tiles == | |||
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="width: 50em; table-layout: fixed;" | {| class="wikitable" border="1" style="width: 50em; table-layout: fixed;" | ||