Mouse Panel Glitch

This page describes a mechanic specific to the 1992 Microsoft port of Chip's Challenge (and anything that emulates it). It may not exist in any other Chip's Challenge game.

The Mouse Panel Glitch is a glitch in the MS ruleset of Chip's Challenge. It was first reported on November 29, 2002 by Anders Kaseorg, and has been used for optimizing in numerous levels to date.

Uses in official levels

Below is a list of levels in which the Mouse Panel Glitch can be used to save at least 1 second. There are none in CC1 or CCLP1, 3 in CCLP2, 6 in CCLP3, and 3 in CCLP4.

Set	#	Name
CCLP2	15	Debug File
CCLP2	68	Madness II
CCLP2	132	Captured
CCLP3	10	Annoying Wall
CCLP3	27	Jumble
CCLP3	50	Once Upon a Troubadour
CCLP3	116	Mini Challenges
CCLP3	135	Color Wheel
CCLP3	149	Mr. McCallahan Presents
CCLP4	57	Bisection
CCLP4	70	Science Museum
CCLP4	125	Beautiful Struggle

The glitch can also be utilized in Thief Street in CCLP1 to save [1], After the Rainstorm and Switch Hit in CCLP2 to save [1] and [2] respectively, and Recurring Dream in CCLP3 to save [1].

Explanation

The glitch applies when Chip is next to any block with any acting wall in the direction facing him: a thin wall must block Chip from moving onto the square, not the block from moving off. To use it, click the mouse on any square not on the same row or column which would result in Chip's next move being an attempt to enter the block's square. Assuming that the flick is a legal move, the flick will occur and Chip will move in the legal direction towards the clicked square, within one turn rather than two. If the flick is not a legal move, then a ram has been executed similarly.

Variations

Rams can also be executed using this glitch. Since this does not move the block, this variation is only useful when it is sliding on force floors or ice and it cannot move because the space in front of it is an acting wall to the block. As just removing the obstacle will cause Chip to be flattened, Chip has to ram the block in order to remove the obstacle safely.

Additionally, if there are flickable or rammable blocks in both directions of the mouse click, then both blocks will get the treatment at the same time, using only one move rather than the two it would normally take.

For solution use, this technique is not recommended because it makes it impossible for the click to be detected in a TWS recording. No "oof" sound occurs when this glitch is used unless it is of the first variation, since Chip actually attempts to move in the second direction. An AVI solution has no sound, but a mouse click can be seen; still, its exact effect may be unclear to some watchers.

Demonstration

The computer chip section of Debug File is shown above. The thin walls face R, L, R, L, R and L in forwards reading order. To get the blocks onto the water with the computer chips underneath, Chip must flick each block. If the player clicks *D-L from (4, 2), although he has flippers, this would cause the chip to be erased. The player must click specifically *U-L, such that this is the result on the following turn:

Tools for easier use

When using the mouse in any form, it will continue to carry Chip to the square clicked on until Chip runs into a wall. To avoid this, hit the keys firmly such that Chip's Challenge cannot read the mouse click beyond the time of its use.

An easy way to use the Mouse Panel Glitch in either MS or Tile World is to pull up a second game window in advance, pause the game when the glitch is ready to be used, and find a square you can click on by using the other window as a guide. Chip always stays in the center of the 9x9 viewport unless that viewport runs into the edge of the level, and a square 2R D from Chip in one window will remain 2R D from Chip as long as he stays at least four squares away from the border. After marking this square with their finger, the player can switch windows, move the cursor under the held finger, and the cursor will stand on the correct space.

This method was developed by Andrew Bennett to counteract the introduction of the MS pause screen into Tile World, which had not been seen in any previous Tile World versions and was added along with the programming that recreated the Mouse Panel Glitch.

Trivia

• In all cases where this glitch is usable, the Button Smash Glitch can apply, depending on several circumstances, if the square the block drops onto is a button.