Item

Revision as of 22:12, 29 April 2020 by Ncrecc (talk | contribs) (removed the bit under bowling ball because all monsters have inventories; evident with item nailing and how they can pick up yellow teleports/blue keys)

An item or tool is a tile which Chip or Melinda can collect and store in their inventory. Aside from keys and computer chips which have separate inventories, players can hold at most four items in their inventory at once. Although the computer chip is technically an item, it does not appear in the player's inventory like the other items.

The term 'tool' specifically refers to the items listed on this page, whereas 'item' can refer to either just tools or any collectible static object.

There are specific tiles which are not considered items even though Chip can remove them: sockets, dirt, fake blue walls, locks, etc. are not items. Chip can also move blocks, but they are not considered items.

Properties of items in CC1

In the original Chip's Challenge 1, the only items aside from keys and chips are fire boots, flippers, ice skates, and suction boots. Items cannot be moved and can only be collected by Chip. Thieves will only steal boots, not keys.

These boots are acting walls to monsters. In the MS ruleset, blocks can be pushed over them; this is impossible in Lynx.

Monsters and blocks can pass over keys in MS. In Lynx, yellow and green keys are acting walls instead, red keys remain acting floor, and blue keys are erased by passing monsters and blocks.

In some circumstances in MS, items can be erased without Chip picking them up. The Non-Existence Glitch at the start of the game can remove them, or generally, other moving objects which pass over squares containing items on the lower layer of the grid: monsters erase any item on the lower layer of any square they enter, and Chip and blocks will only erase items on the lower layer if the upper layer contains a non-floor tile which was not removed by the passage of Chip or the block. Such tile combinations are invalid, rendering such levels unplayable in Lynx.

Properties of items in CC2

Most of the original properties of items apply in Chip's Challenge 2; however, the sequel also included multiple new items and mechanics. If the player attempts to pick up a fifth item, the last item in the player inventory is dropped to accommodate the new item. Players can also choose to rotate through the items in their inventory ('C' on the keyboard by default) and drop the last item in their inventory ('Q' on the keyboard by default).

Monsters and blocks can kill the player while the player is standing on or is about to walk onto an item, even if the item (not the terrain) normally prevents the monster or block from doing so. In Lynx, items do not behave differently in these circumstances.

Another new mechanic in CC2 is that certain monsters (ghosts, rovers, and player mirrors) and items (dropped bowling balls and time bombs) maintain their own inventory separate from the player inventory and can (with the exception of time bombs) also pick up items. In many cases, monsters can then use these items as the player would. All monsters and dirt blocks have the ability to pick up blue keys.

The solution to a number of CC2 puzzles involves strategically dropping items or passing items to monster inventories, allowing monsters to solve portions of the puzzle on the player's behalf.

Items in both versions

The following items appear in both Chip's Challenge 1 and Chip's Challenge 2:

Flippers

Flippers allow Chip or Melinda to swim through water safely if they are unable to or do not wish to use blocks. Flippers do not, however, protect them from any gliders that may be swimming nearby.

In the original Atari Lynx, instead of flippers, a "water shield" is used.

Fire boots

Fire boots allow Chip or Melinda to walk across fire safely. They do not, however, protect them from any fireballs that may be in the fire. In Chip's Challenge 2, a ghost with fire boots will erase fire tiles they step on.

In Lynx, instead of fire boots, a "heat shield" is used.

Ice skates

Ice skates, or just skates, allow Chip and mirror Chip to walk across ice at normal speed the same way he walks on ordinary floor, but have no effect when worn by Melinda or mirror Melinda. In the MS ruleset, Chip can also step through ice corners from within the ice space that contains them across to another space, as long as the move is otherwise legal.

In Lynx and Chip's Challenge 2, instead of ice skates, ice cleats are used.

Suction boots

Suction boots or suction shoes allow Chip or Melinda to walk across force floors at normal speed the same way he walks on ordinary floor.

In Lynx, instead of Suction boots, magnets are used, and in Chip's Challenge 2, magno shoes are used.

Items exclusive to CC2

The following items appear only in Chip's Challenge 2.

Hiking boots

The hiking boots, also known as dirt boots, allow Melinda and mirror Melinda to walk over dirt and gravel tiles, but have no effect when worn by Chip or any other monster (even those that cannot cross dirt/gravel).

Speed boots

The speed boots allow Chip and Melinda to walk at twice their normal speed. The same is true for their mirrors as well as bowling balls and ghosts. Rovers will walk at five tiles per second, just like regular monsters. Speed boots have no impact when sliding on force floors or ice.

Lesson 6 is the only official level that uses speed boots.

Bowling ball

The bowling ball, once picked up by the player or a monster, remains in the inventory until dropped. Then, it will travel in a direction until it is destroyed by a hazard or is otherwise blocked by an obstacle (unless it is sliding on ice or a force floor, in which case it rebounds off the obstacle or stays put, respectively). It is capable of destroying monsters and blocks, picking up items, pressing buttons, and more.

Bribe

If Chip or Melinda holds at least one bribe in their inventory and steps on a thief, the bribe will be stolen but the rest of the inventory and bonuses will be preserved. From monsters, a thief will take bribes, but not other items. If a player or monster has multiple bribes in their inventory, only one bribe will be used after stepping on a thief.

It is only used in Lesson 6, Flea Market, and Line and Sinker.


Helmet

The helmet will make Chip or Melinda unable to be killed by monsters or moving blocks. Monsters and moving blocks will instead treat Chip and Melinda as acting wall and vice versa. Similarly, monsters wearing the helmet will not be able to kill Chip or Melinda. Bowling balls are unaffected by helmets.

Hook

The hook allows the player and monsters to pull blocks, ice blocks, and directional blocks. With the tool equipped, pulling happens automatically if Chip or Melinda walk directly away from the block and if the block is able to traverse the tile Chip or Melinda are currently standing on. It was first introduced in the level Flea Market and is used in only one level, Line and Sinker, after its introduction.

If a movable object is in the process of moving into a space next to another movable object that is carrying a hook and attempting to move away from it, the hook will attempt to pull the former, even if it is not a block. This attempt will always fail, but it will cause the latter object to treat the space it is trying to move toward as a wall and the former object, once it lands on its space, to treat the latter object as a wall, even if the latter object is Chip or Melinda without a helmet (unless the latter object is after the former object in monster order, in which case the player will die if they do not move to the side in time).

When equipped with a hook, the player can hook slap.

Lightning bolt

When the lightning bolt is equipped by a moving object, like Chip, Melinda, ghosts, rovers, or bowling balls, they will supply signal to the bare wire underneath. The lightning bolt has no effect on wires that are already activated, nor does it affect logic gates, wired buttons, or wires buried under elements.

Railroad sign

The railroad sign or railroad crossing sign, often abbreviated as RR sign, allows Chip, Melinda, player mirrors, bowling balls, and rovers to cross railroad tracks as if they were floor, although if they enter and exit a railroad with a track switch "legally", the track will still cycle. It has no impact on ghosts.

Secret eye

The secret eye, often shortened to eye, when equipped by Chip or Melinda, reveals the identity of invisible walls, hidden walls, blue walls, green walls, content under blocks, and content under canopies, and it gives a unique look to floor mimics. It has no impact on any entity other than the current player.

Steel foil

Steel foil, commonly shortened to foil, allows movable objects to change normal walls into steel walls by pushing on them. Walls can also have steel slapped onto them; however, hidden walls and real blue walls have to be revealed before they can be converted to steel, and so would require two slaps to become steel walls if never touched directly, or touched for at least 2 frames otherwise. Invisible walls are never affected by steel foil, despite taking on the appearance of a normal wall when made contact with.


Time bomb

When a time bomb, also known as dynamite, is left behind by Chip or Melinda on a tile with no no sign, the time bomb will count down for about 4.3 seconds before exploding.

Yellow teleport

The yellow teleport is technically a terrain tile, but if the exit directions for all yellow teleports except the one being entered are blocked or are covered, the player or moving tile (excluding ice blocks and directional blocks) will collect the yellow teleport as if it were an item. It can then be dropped on another floor tile as long as no item is currently on that tile (even if it is under a no sign).

See also