Dummy level
A dummy level is an intentionally unsolvable final level in a custom level set to prevent the Termination Glitch. Levelsets ending in with 144 or 149 will end with the normal ending sequence, but if they end on any other, the glitch ends the session as Chip's Challenge was always designed to end at these two levels. To avoid this, a dummy level prevents the player from completing the last level. The term is believed to have been invented by Drew Thomas, who ended his levelset with this small, unsolvable level:
The name of this, simply Dummy, stuck ever since.
Characteristics
Usually, a dummy level is small, with a time limit that is too small to complete the level assuming the Long First Second Glitch does not occur, which includes Dummy (limit 1) and The Unsolvable Last Level. Other levels play out normally, but at the very end, the exit may be unreachable or simply missing, usually with a hint stating that this is the end of the levelset. A third type of dummy level is where Chip is trapped and cannot move, either within one tile or any other small amount. A de facto type of dummy level is a theoretically solvable level, such as pi.dat's the end of all time, or TCCLP2's GADZOOKS; these are possible, but not within the lifetime of Earth.
Alternatives
- Chip's Controls can fix this error by moving the ending sequence to whatever level the player chooses.
- CCLM also fixes this error by obtaining the number of levels in the set and setting the ending sequence to that level number.
- A warp station can return Chip back to level 1 when finishing the final level; such levels are usually made trivial, even on the order of simply walking to the exit, to avoid running into the same error that it tries to offset.
- Tile World does not require dummy levels or warp stations.