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'''Puzzle Studio''' is a game [[Chuck Sommerville]] was developing due to legal difficulties in releasing [[Chip's Challenge 2]]. Epyx Inc., the original publisher of Chip's Challenge, sold the rights to CC2 to Bridgestone Media  after they declared bankruptcy. Bridgestone Media refused to release the game unless a large unspecified sum of money is paid. Eventually, CC2 was released on Steam on May 28, 2015 along with a re-release of [[Chip's Challenge 1]]. Similar to the emulation of [[Tile World]] compared to the MS game, Puzzle Studio is meant to be a legal version of CC2, with different graphics, sounds and source code. A Puzzle Studio level in an incomplete game stage can be watched at the bottom of the page.
'''Puzzle Studio''' is a game initially developed by [[Chuck Sommerville]]. It was meant to be an open-source clone of [[Chip's Challenge 2]] (similar to [[Tile World]] with [[Chip's Challenge 1]]), which at the time could not be released due to copyright issues with Bridgestone Media.


== Features ==
== History ==
[[Chuck Sommerville]] started the Puzzle Studio project in the summer of 2007. He coded the game's engine, as well as the first five [[tile]]s. [[Joshua Bone]] added most of the other tiles over the next few months.


Puzzle Studio will operate in the general rules of [[Tile World]] [[Lynx ruleset|Lynx]] mode, "''but with tons of new [[tile]]s and special tricks.''" Chuck details some of the coding being used, as well as the current design of the basic mechanics of each group of tiles, color-coded into ''ten'' separate colors. The [[key]] and [[lock]] code is currently proposed as follows:
Chuck later abandoned Puzzle Studio in favor of [[Chuck's Challenge 3D]]. The copyright issues regarding Chip's Challenge 2 were later resolved, allowing the game to be officially released on Steam on May 28, 2015, along with a re-release of Chip's Challenge 1. The official Puzzle Studio Yahoo group and website were eventually deleted, although archives were later posted by Julian Uy.


''White'': a master key, opening one of any lock including the grey.
Due to the game's open-source nature, Julian Uy was able to pick up development after Chuck gave up on it. He modernized the code, making the graphics engine more powerful and removing dependencies on deprecated Lua libraries, and also added cross-platform support and additional tiles.


''Grey'': [[Chip]] needs ''two'' grey keys per grey lock.
=== Chip's Challenge 3 ===
In January 2019, it was announced that Chip's Challenge 3 was under development. It is based on a fork of Puzzle Studio,<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/343036755999457281/532313492879835157 Discord conversation]</ref> with Chuck Sommerville's son coding additional tiles.<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/343036755999457281/532318084040622080 Discord conversation]</ref> In September 2019, however, progress on the game was described as "stalled".<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/343036755999457281/719364114123587635 Discord conversation]</ref> As of June 2020, progress is still stalled.<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/343036755999457281/719375634765316186 Discord conversation]</ref>


''Red'': [[red key]]; [[monster]]s can cross it.
== Technical details ==
Puzzle Studio is written almost entirely in the Lua programming language with the exception of the program's launcher, which is coded in C++.<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/416812815559557121/588872510301405193 Discord conversation]</ref> The game is extremely modular, with each tile coded separately, making it easy to add new tiles. However, this can also result in glitches caused by conflicts between tiles.


''Orange'': [[Chip]] has to push the key as he would a [[block]] to use it on the orange lock <!---Is this correct? I can't really tell what Chuck meant.--->. (''Coding currently unfinished''.)
Levels are stored in PZM files (plain text files with a PZM extension), the format of which is not compatible with any other program.<ref>https://forum.bitbusters.club/thread-1063-post-39218.html</ref> As with [[C2M]] files, each PZM file stores a single level.


''Yellow'': [[yellow key]].
== Features ==
 
Puzzle Studio was coded to be similar to the [[Lynx ruleset]]. It features all tiles from Chip's Challenge 1, as well as several tiles from Chip's Challenge 2, including [[ice block]]s, [[yellow tank]]s (known in Puzzle Studio as "copycats"), [[green wall]]s, and [[logic gate]]s. It also featured several tiles that do not appear in either Chip's Challenge game, including:
''Green'': [[green key]].
*Ten [[key and lock]] colors. These include keys that only monsters can use, and locks that require more than one key.
 
*Colored [[toggle wall]]s. All colors behave in the same way, and are controlled by [[buttons]] of the same color, making it possible to have several independent "sets" of toggles. [[Thin wall]]/toggle wall hybrids also exist.
''Blue'': [[blue key]] as in Tile World Lynx: monsters can erase them by running over them.
*Lasers. It fires a beam straight ahead until it hits an [[acting wall]]. This beam is deadly to the player and [[monster]]s in its path. It can also destroy [[block]]s, ice blocks, and [[bomb]]s, with a slight delay. The laser can be turned on or off with a specific button, and its direction can be changed by pressing against it.
 
*Mirrors. These can be pushed around the level, and turn laser beams 90°.
''Violet'': takable and usable by both monsters and players.
*Boulders. When a player pushes one, it starts rolling forwards until it hits an acting wall. There are two types of boulders, which are identical apart from rolling speed.<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/343036755999457281/719376589514866759 Discord conversation]</ref>
 
*One-way signs. These are placed on the edge of a tile, similar to thin walls, and can only be crossed in the direction indicated by the arrows.
''Brown'': orange key, but monsters can also push it. (''Coding currently unfinished''.)
 
''Black'': only monsters can pick up and use.
 
There are also all ten colors of [[teleport]]s, [[toggle wall]]s, [[button]]s, blocks, ''robots'' (related to monsters, or perhaps ''the'' monsters in this game), [[force floor]]s and even Chip.
 
== Current status ==


Puzzle Studio is no longer being developed, and the original Yahoo Group has been deleted. You can find an archive of the last version of Puzzle Studio developed by Julian Uy, and an archive of the Yahoo Group messages and downloads here: https://sites.google.com/site/awertyb/puzzle-studio
Similar to Chip's Challenge 2, custom map sizes are supported. The largest possible map is 100 * 100; the smallest is 1 * 1 (although the smallest solvable level is 1 * 2).<ref>[https://discord.com/channels/343036755999457281/343036755999457281/719006625813495838 Discord conversation]</ref>


There are rumors that Puzzle Studio could be used as a starting point for Chip's Challenge 3, however little is known about this project as of January 2019.
== Videos ==
{{#ev:youtube|bCgffHvuVg0}} {{#ev:youtube|21bUyQwYAgQ}}


== A video of a Puzzle Studio level ==
== References ==
<references/>


{{#ev:youtube|bCgffHvuVg0}}
== External links ==
== Official website ==
*[https://sites.google.com/site/awertyb/puzzle-studio Julian Uy's Puzzle Studio site] (includes binary and source code downloads)
*[https://forum.bitbusters.club/thread-2059-page-11.html CCZone thread] about Puzzle Studio


[http://puzzlestudio.org/ puzzlestudio.org]
[[Category:Clones]] [[Category:Games]] [[Category:Programs]]
[[Category:Clones]]

Latest revision as of 03:00, 17 January 2021

Puzzle Studio is a game initially developed by Chuck Sommerville. It was meant to be an open-source clone of Chip's Challenge 2 (similar to Tile World with Chip's Challenge 1), which at the time could not be released due to copyright issues with Bridgestone Media.

History[edit]

Chuck Sommerville started the Puzzle Studio project in the summer of 2007. He coded the game's engine, as well as the first five tiles. Joshua Bone added most of the other tiles over the next few months.

Chuck later abandoned Puzzle Studio in favor of Chuck's Challenge 3D. The copyright issues regarding Chip's Challenge 2 were later resolved, allowing the game to be officially released on Steam on May 28, 2015, along with a re-release of Chip's Challenge 1. The official Puzzle Studio Yahoo group and website were eventually deleted, although archives were later posted by Julian Uy.

Due to the game's open-source nature, Julian Uy was able to pick up development after Chuck gave up on it. He modernized the code, making the graphics engine more powerful and removing dependencies on deprecated Lua libraries, and also added cross-platform support and additional tiles.

Chip's Challenge 3[edit]

In January 2019, it was announced that Chip's Challenge 3 was under development. It is based on a fork of Puzzle Studio,[1] with Chuck Sommerville's son coding additional tiles.[2] In September 2019, however, progress on the game was described as "stalled".[3] As of June 2020, progress is still stalled.[4]

Technical details[edit]

Puzzle Studio is written almost entirely in the Lua programming language with the exception of the program's launcher, which is coded in C++.[5] The game is extremely modular, with each tile coded separately, making it easy to add new tiles. However, this can also result in glitches caused by conflicts between tiles.

Levels are stored in PZM files (plain text files with a PZM extension), the format of which is not compatible with any other program.[6] As with C2M files, each PZM file stores a single level.

Features[edit]

Puzzle Studio was coded to be similar to the Lynx ruleset. It features all tiles from Chip's Challenge 1, as well as several tiles from Chip's Challenge 2, including ice blocks, yellow tanks (known in Puzzle Studio as "copycats"), green walls, and logic gates. It also featured several tiles that do not appear in either Chip's Challenge game, including:

  • Ten key and lock colors. These include keys that only monsters can use, and locks that require more than one key.
  • Colored toggle walls. All colors behave in the same way, and are controlled by buttons of the same color, making it possible to have several independent "sets" of toggles. Thin wall/toggle wall hybrids also exist.
  • Lasers. It fires a beam straight ahead until it hits an acting wall. This beam is deadly to the player and monsters in its path. It can also destroy blocks, ice blocks, and bombs, with a slight delay. The laser can be turned on or off with a specific button, and its direction can be changed by pressing against it.
  • Mirrors. These can be pushed around the level, and turn laser beams 90°.
  • Boulders. When a player pushes one, it starts rolling forwards until it hits an acting wall. There are two types of boulders, which are identical apart from rolling speed.[7]
  • One-way signs. These are placed on the edge of a tile, similar to thin walls, and can only be crossed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Similar to Chip's Challenge 2, custom map sizes are supported. The largest possible map is 100 * 100; the smallest is 1 * 1 (although the smallest solvable level is 1 * 2).[8]

Videos[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]