Data::ChipsChallenge - Perl interface to Chip's Challenge data files.
my $cc = new Data::ChipsChallenge("./CHIPS.DAT"); print "This CHIPS.DAT file contains ", $cc->levels, " levels.\n\n"; for (my $i = 1; $i <= $cc->levels; $i++) { my $info = $cc->getLevelInfo($i); print "Level $info->{level} - $info->{title}\n" . "Time Limit: $info->{time}\n" . " Chips: $info->{chips}\n" . " Password: $info->{password}\n\n"; }
This module provides an interface for reading and writing to Chip's Challenge data files ("CHIPS.DAT") that is shipped with Best of Windows Entertainment Pack's Chip's Challenge.
Chip's Challenge is a 2D tilebased maze game. The goal of each level is usually to collect a certain number of computer chips, so that a chip socket can be opened and the player can get to the exit and proceed to the next level.
This module is able to read and manipulate the data file that contains all these levels. For some examples, see those in the "eg" folder shipped with this module.
Documentation on the CHIPS.DAT file format can be found at this location: http://www.seasip.info/ccfile.html -- in case that page no longer exists, I've archived a copy of it in the doc/ directory with this source distribution.
doc/
This module only provides the mechanism for which you can read and manipulate a CHIPS.DAT game file. However, it cannot include a copy of the official CHIPS.DAT, as that file is copyrighted by its creators. If you have an original copy of the Chip's Challenge game from the BOWEP collection, you can use its CHIPS.DAT with this module.
All of the following methods will return a value (or in the very least, 1). If any errors occur inside any methods, the method will return undef, and the error text can be obtained from $Data::ChipsChallenge::Error.
$Data::ChipsChallenge::Error
Create a new ChipsChallenge object. If you pass in an odd number of arguments, the first argument is taken as a default "CHIPS.DAT" file to load, and the rest is taken as a hash like 99% of the other CPAN modules. Loading the standard Chip's Challenge file with 149 levels takes a few seconds.
Alternatively, pass options in hash form:
bool debug = Enable or disable debug mode string file = The path to CHIPS.DAT
Ex:
my $cc = new Data::ChipsChallenge("CHIPS.DAT"); my $cc = new Data::ChipsChallenge("CHIPS.DAT", debug => 1); my $cc = new Data::ChipsChallenge(file => "CHIPS.DAT", debug => 1);
Create a new, blank, CHIPS.DAT file. Pass in the number of levels you want for your new CHIPS.DAT. This method will clear out any loaded data and initialize blank grids for each level specified.
Additional levels can be added or destroyed via the addLevel and deleteLevel functions.
addLevel
deleteLevel
Load a CHIPS.DAT file into memory. Returns undef on error, or 1 on success.
Write the loaded data into a CHIPS.DAT file. This file should be able to be loaded into Chip's Challenge and played. Returns undef and sets $Data::ChipsChallenge::Error on any errors.
If not given a filename, it will write to the same file that was last loaded. If no file was ever loaded then it would default to a file named "CHIPS.DAT".
load
Returns the number of loaded levels. When loading the standard CHIPS.DAT, this method will probably return 149.
149
print "There are ", $cc->levels, " levels in this file.\n";
Get information about a level. Returns a hashref of all the info available for the level, which may include some or all of the following keys:
level: The level number of this map (3 digits, zero-padded, e.g. 001) title: The name of the map password: The four-letter password for this level time: The time limit (if 0, means there's no time limit) chips: Number of chips required to open the socket on this map hint: The text of the hint on this map (if no hint, this key won't exist)
Example:
for (my $i = 1; $i <= $cc->levels; $i++) { my $info = $cc->getLevelInfo($i); print "Level: $info->{level} - $info->{title}\n" . " Time: $info->{time} Chips: $info->{chips}\n" . " Pass: $info->{password}\n" . (exists $info->{hint} ? " Hint: $info->{hint}\n" : "") . "\n"; }
Returns undef if the level isn't found, or if the level number wasn't given.
Set metadata about a level. The following information can be set:
level title password time chips hint
See "getLevelInfo" for the definition of these fields.
Note that the level field should equal LVL_NUMBER. It's possible to override this to be something different, but it's not recommended. If you want to test your luck anyway, pass in the level field manually any time you call setLevelInfo. When the level field is not given, it defaults to the given LVL_NUMBER.
level
LVL_NUMBER
setLevelInfo
You don't need to pass in every field. For example if you only want to change a level's time limit, you can pass only the time:
# Level 131, "Totally Unfair", is indeed totally unfair - only 60 seconds to # haul butt to barely survive the level? Let's up the time limit. $cc->setLevelInfo (131, time => 999); # Or better yet, remove the time limit altogether! $cc->setLevelInfo (131, time => 0);
Special considerations:
* There must be a title * There must be a password * All level passwords must be unique
If there's an error, this function returns undef and sets $Data::ChipsChallenge::Error to the text of the error message.
Returns a 2D array of all the tiles in the "upper" (primary) layer of the map for level LVL_NUMBER. Each entry in the map is an uppercase plaintext hexadecimal code for the object that appears in that space. The grid is referenced by Y/X notation, not X/Y; that is, it's an array of rows (Y) and each row is an array of columns (X).
The upper layer is where most of the stuff happens. The lower layer is primarily for things such as: traps hidden under movable blocks, clone machines underneath monsters, etc.
Returns undef and sets $Data::ChipsChallenge::Error on error.
Returns a 2D array of all the tiles in the "lower" layer of the map for level LVL_NUMBER. On most maps the lower layer is made up only of floor tiles.
See "getUpperLayer".
Sets the upper layer of a level with the 2D array in MAP_DATA. The array should be like the one given by getUpperLayer. The grid must have 32 rows and 32 columns in each row. Incomplete map data will be rejected.
MAP_DATA
getUpperLayer
Sets the lower layer of a level with the 2D array in MAP_DATA. The array should be like the one given by getLowerLayer. The grid must have 32 rows and 32 columns in each row. Incomplete map data will be rejected.
getLowerLayer
Get all the coordinates to bear traps and their release buttons. Returns an arrayref of hashrefs in the following format:
[ { button => [ X, Y ], trap => [ X, Y ], }, ];
Where X, Y are the coordinates of the tiles involved, beginning at 0,0 and going to 31,31.
X, Y
0,0
31,31
Define bear trap coordinates. You must define every bear trap with this method; calling it overwrites the existing bear trap data with the ones you provide.
The arrayref should be formatted the same as the one you got from getBearTraps.
getBearTraps
$cc->setBearTraps (5, [ { button => [ 5, 6 ], trap => [ 7, 8 ], }, { button => [ 1, 2 ], trap => [ 3, 4 ], }, ]);
Get all the coordinates to clone machines and the buttons that activate them. Returns an arrayref of hashrefs in the following format:
[ { button => [ X, Y ], clone => [ X, Y ], }, ];
Where X, Y are the coordinates of the tiles involves, beginning at 0,0 and going to 31,31.
Define the coordinates for the clone machines in this level. Pass in the complete list of clone machines, as calling this function will replace the existing clone machine data.
Give it a data structure in the same format as getCloneMachines. Ex:
$cc->setCloneMachines (113, [ { button => [ 25, 13 ], clone => [ 16, 32 ], }, ]);
Get all the coordinates of every creature in the level that "moves". Returns an arrayref of coordinates in the following format:
[ [ X, Y ], [ X, Y ], ... ];
Define the movement coordinates. Give this method a similar data structure to what getMovement returns: an arrayref of arrays of X/Y coordinates.
Each coordinate given should point to a tile where a creature has been placed in order for that creature to move when the map is loaded in-game. Any creature that doesn't have its position in the Movement list won't move at all and will stay put. This isn't very fun.
$cc->setMovement (133, [ [ 25, 25 ], [ 25, 26 ], [ 25, 27 ], ]);
Used internally to process the RAW_BINARY map data, which possibly belongs to LVL_NUMBER, and returns a 2D array of the 32x32 tile grid. The grid consists of uppercase hexadecimal bytes that represent what is on each tile.
RAW_BINARY
If the length of RAW_BINARY is not 1024 bytes, your program WILL crash. This shouldn't happen on a valid CHIPS.DAT file (if Chip's Challenge won't accept it, that's an indicator that this Perl module won't either).
Given the 2D grid MAP_DATA, the map is compressed and returned in raw binary.
Given the encoded level password in raw binary (4 bytes followed by a null byte), this function returns the 4 ASCII byte password in clear text. This is the password you'd type into Chip's Challenge.
Passwords are decoded by XORing the values in the raw binary by hex 0x99, if you're curious.
0x99
Given the plain text password PASSWORD, it encodes it and returns it as a 5 byte binary string (including the trailing null byte).
PASSWORD
Returns a random 4-letter password.
The following is some reference material relating to certain in-game data structures.
If the "Option Fields" are more than 1152 bytes altogether, Chip's Challenge will crash when loading the level. The "Option Fields" include the following:
Map Title Bear Trap Controls Cloning Machine Controls Map Password Map Hint Movement
Bear Trap Controls use 10 bytes for every link. Cloning Machine Controls use 8 bytes for every link. Map passwords use 7 bytes. Movement data uses 2 bytes per entry.
In addition, bear traps, clone machines, and movement data use 2 bytes in their headers.
The two map layers on each level are 2D arrays of uppercase hexadecimal codes. Each of these codes corresponds to a certain object that is placed at that location in the map. This table outlines what each of these hex codes translates to, object-wise:
00 Empty Tile (Space) 01 Wall 02 Computer Chip 03 Water 04 Fire 05 Invisible Wall (won't appear) 06 Blocked North 07 Blocked West 08 Blocked South 09 Blocked East 0A Movable Dirt Block 0B Dirt (mud, turns to floor) 0C Ice 0D Force South (S) 0E Cloning Block North (N) 0F Cloning Block West (W) 10 Cloning Block South (S) 11 Cloning Block East (E) 12 Force North (N) 13 Force East (E) 14 Force West (W) 15 Exit 16 Blue Door 17 Red Door 18 Green Door 19 Yellow Door 1A South/East Ice Slide 1B South/West Ice Slide 1C North/West Ice Slide 1D North/East Ice Slide 1E Blue Block (becomes Tile) 1F Blue Block (becomes Wall) 20 NOT USED 21 Thief 22 Chip Socket 23 Green Button - Switch Blocks 24 Red Button - Cloning 25 Switch Block - Closed 26 Switch Block - Open 27 Brown Button - Bear Traps 28 Blue Button - Tanks 29 Teleport 2A Bomb 2B Bear Trap 2C Invisible Wall (will appear) 2D Gravel 2E Pass Once 2F Hint 30 Blocked South/East 31 Cloning Machine 32 Force Random Direction 34 Burned Chip 35 Burned Chip (2) 36 NOT USED 37 NOT USED 38 NOT USED 39 Chip in Exit - End Game 3A Exit - End Game 3B Exit - End Game 3C Chip Swimming (N) 3D Chip Swimming (W) 3E Chip Swimming (S) 3F Chip Swimming (E) 40 Bug (N) 41 Bug (W) 42 Bug (S) 43 Bug (E) 44 Firebug (N) 45 Firebug (W) 46 Firebug (S) 47 Firebug (E) 48 Pink Ball (N) 49 Pink Ball (W) 4A Pink Ball (S) 4B Pink Ball (E) 4C Tank (N) 4D Tank (W) 4E Tank (S) 4F Tank (E) 50 Ghost (N) 51 Ghost (W) 52 Ghost (S) 53 Ghost (E) 54 Frog (N) 55 Frog (W) 56 Frog (S) 57 Frog (E) 58 Dumbbell (N) 59 Dumbbell (W) 5A Dumbbell (S) 5B Dumbbell (E) 5C Blob (N) 5D Blob (W) 5E Blob (S) 5F Blob (E) 60 Centipede (N) 61 Centipede (W) 62 Centipede (S) 63 Centipede (E) 64 Blue Key 65 Red Key 66 Green Key 67 Yellow Key 68 Flippers 69 Fire Boots 6A Ice Skates 6B Suction Boots 6C Chip (N) 6D Chip (W) 6E Chip (S) (always used) 6F Chip (E)
Surely.
During its development, this module was used by its author and could accomplish the following things:
* Load all 149 levels of the standard CHIPS.DAT, then plow through the data and create JavaScript files that represented the information in each map using JavaScript data structures (possibly for a JavaScript-based Chip's Challenge clone -- although I won't admit to it until it's completed!) * Load the original CHIPS.DAT, create a new blank CHIPS.DAT with the same number of levels, and randomly sort the levels into the new file. You get the same Chip's Challenge gameplay experience, but with completely random levels like ya don't remember. * Load the original CHIPS.DAT into memory, and write it to a different output file, and both files computed the exact same MD5 sum.
Your mileage may vary. If you do encounter any bugs, feel free to bother me about them!
0.02 Wed Oct 5 2016 - Updated the documentation, added a copy of the CHIPS.DAT format docs, started hosting on GitHub: https://github.com/kirsle/Data-ChipsChallenge - Switched to semantic versioning. 0.01 Wed Jan 28 2009 - Initial release.
CHIPS.DAT File Format: http://www.seasip.info/ccfile.html
Chip's Challenge Corridor: http://chips.kaseorg.com/
Tile World, an Open Source Chip's Challenge Emulator: http://www.muppetlabs.com/~breadbox/software/tworld/
This module was written using information freely available on the Internet and contains no proprietary works.
The MIT License (MIT) Copyright (c) 2016 Noah Petherbridge Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
Noah Petherbridge, https://www.kirsle.net/
To install Data::ChipsChallenge, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm Data::ChipsChallenge
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install Data::ChipsChallenge
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.