Historical difficulty of CHR$(143) no longer stands in the way of a deeper discovery of the game

Version 1.28 has been released :-)

• the 2 historical strategies ("upward" and "downward") are now completed by "leftward" and "rightward": nothing revolutionary, the agent builds in an imposed direction (and digs in the opposite direction beforehand): simple and stupid, but very predictable...
• the 5th strategy is "bestward": the agent chooses the best of the first 4 strategies according to what there is to build (which is often sufficient and relatively predictable)
• the 6th and last strategy is "smartward": this is by far the most advanced one, but it is much less predictable (even if perfectly deterministic) and, let's be humble, rarely as perfect as what one could do with one's own brain! However, you might get used to it (and it's a bit hard to give it up...)

This is an original workshop level with a very simple goal: program your CPU to hit as many targets as possible... Easy? Yes, but they move... and fast... Will your program be faster than the targets?

Because all players who surpass level 22 deserve to be honored worldwide, they now appear in a Steam leaderboard that assign them an overall score according to the highest level they have solved, the number of levels they have solved, and the sum of their best time in each level... NB: As this leaderboard has been introduced in v1.27.12, former veterans must launch at least one level to be included...

• fixed a critical bug (game not working for Windows users with non-ASCII usernames...)
• additional polishing in the first levels to avoid scaring off new players:
  • information on the use of CTRL + [Retry level] to immediately restart a level
  • addition of a system for resetting the end of level 5 in the event of an error (without having to start all over again).

This is an original workshop level with a very simple goal: You have an infinite source of water and you need to pour as much as possible into the big pipe in one minute! That's all... Design the device of your choice, whether it is automatic or manual, whether it uses CPUs or not... and maximize that amount. By checking the worldwide statistics sharing in the setup, you can compare your result with other players...

• Can you dump more than 1000m3?
• What is the maximum possible?
• Who will be the World Champion?

I have added a point system to the workshop levels management ;^) Players earn points when:

• playing a workshop level,
• solving a level,
• finding a better solution...

Subscribe to workshop levels, collect points and conquer the leaderboard!

This is a workshop level for programmers (solving level 51 is therefore a recommended prerequisite...)

Take your revenge on the painful level 31 and leave the work to the CPU!

Version 1.27(.03) introduces various developments, the most notable of which are:

• Korean language support (thanks to the recent evolution of DeepL...)
• level polishing, again and again, integrating various feedbacks and notably the latest known twitch stream (level 4 is less and less nightmarish btw!)
• some bug fixes (one of which paralyzed the agent while trying to move a too heavy load...)
• and, last but not least, an experimental global workshop-levels-statistics management feature: optimize your design and win the first place! (requires checking the "statistics sharing" option in the setup menu)

CHR$(143) is participating to the Steam Puzzle Fest with a 60% discount.

Welcome aboard puzzle lovers!

Since the machine translation into Chinese was not very good, UnluckyNinja has re-translated large parts of the original texts into simplified Chinese! Many thanks to this generous contributor for this great work: it should make the game more accessible to native Chinese readers...

I am happy to share the latest production of my troubled mind ;^) This is a Workshop level for very good players (>L51 or ideally L61) that should appeal to those who want to put their high level skills to good use. The solution is complex but if you succeed, you will have built a very nice factory, among the most sophisticated in the game... This level is dedicated to NeverOddOrEven, who strongly inspired it!

Santa is a bit late, he couldn't solve his CHR$(143) level...

Let's build a sophisticated automatic system to sort presents by quantity!

I would like to take this moment to warmly thank all the players who give me feedback or publish videos of their games. Thanks to them, CHR$(143) is improving little by little. Among other things, version 1.26.26 slightly simplifies the diabolical level 18... and fixes a small bug in the terrifying level 71! (even if... that was a bug that could sometimes allow to win more easily!!) Additional detail: the agent will now refuse to automatically build an item that would lead to locking yourself without oxygen ;^) And to send a very humble message of better mutual understanding between peoples, three new languages are supported: Polish, Turkish and Ukrainian... All the best to you all.

Version 1.26.25 now allows you to record game footage as animated GIFs... WOW!
Based on a suggestion from Shifty, backed by ishanpm and Gawain ;^) NB. this feature requires the separate installation of the free open source software FFmpeg; all necessary instructions are provided in the settings menu.

Many people told me that they thought the game was too cheap (!) and that many players would not try it at this low price (!!) What a strange world we live in... As my main goal is that as many players as possible enjoy the game, well... we'll see what happens if we raise the price after the current 50% discount... Don't panic, the demo remains free for everyone... and the story is far from over ;^)

• Fixed a regression bug when using keypad emulation... (messed up with the new keyboard configuration function!)
• Added a warning in the introduction to explain that the game does not fill 100% of the screen due to its "pixel perfect" nature... (comment from evilmaster)

GUI:

• key bindings are now configurable! (after solving level 3 ; experimental feature)

• added ANOTHER (FLASHING) visual hint in level 4 ;^)

• fixed a bug which prevented water from flowing in very particular configurations (hot/cold mixtures in a narrow L-shaped pipe...)

GUI: - the [N] key now displays all links (for more understandable screenshots) Levels: - added a visual hint in level 4 (I am repentant of having been so cruel for so long...) - fixed a tiny mistake in level 71 Bug fixes: - fixed a bug that caused a delay when teleporting to a long distance in a very large level

Watching play has led me to slightly improve a few levels... Great player, congrats and thank you again!

In addition to some improvements resulting from player feedback (including in level 71...), this version introduces some new internal mechanisms to counter the demonic tricks invented by @AlcHolic42k to get an undue victory in some Workshop levels! (though @AlcHolic42k deserves all my admiration for this amazing ability to find the weak points of the levels)

Was "Core Dump" too simple for you? Try pmuD eroC! A new workshop level strictly based on the use of elementary logic gates, with a goal that is easy to explain... Demonstrate your skills as a logic circuit designer!

Some minor evolutions, one of them for an upcoming Workshop level... ...and A FREE CPC464 SPRITE in the main menu ;^) (this sprite is revealed with the resolution of the first 20 levels, if it doesn't encourage beginners, what would?!)

Fixed a bug that allowed @AlcHolic42k to cheat in the "Christmas Puzzle" level ;^)

Some minor improvements, and a little less minor in level 65... (thanks and congrats to @AlcHolic42k - 11th completer!)

Thanks to @kishimi_284304 () a series of CHR$(143) commented videos are now available on the famous Japanese video sharing service "niconico". An opportunity to also pay tribute to some excellent Japanese players, two of whom solved all the built-in levels: @Rottytops and @AlcHolic42k... Looking forward to the next episodes!

Minor fixes (including the Japanese font choice button bug that Rottytops reported! Thanks for your vigilance, Rottytops ;^)

Four new languages (Italian, Romanian, Dutch and Greek) have been added to the eight already supported (also an opportunity for me to discover specific Romanian diacritics... and therefore to create them in the default font !^)

(drew some extra characters in the default font to make some languages look better)

The main texts of CHR$(143) can now be displayed in 8 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese and Chinese). Much of the new texts are based on machine translations, they may not win the Nobel Prize for Literature but they are often quite accurate and will make the game accessible to people who are not very fluent in English! This version also includes an other "on-the-fly" translation feature (which requires an account DeepL API; you can get one for free) to translate texts into even more languages and/or to translate texts from user levels (e.g. Steam Workshop). The language barrier is no longer an excuse: welcome to new players who dare to take up the CHR$(143) challenge!

Some minor bug fixes and improvements, including the indispensable ALT-ENTER to toggle the full screen mode in the main menu! More ambitious developments are underway to facilitate access to the game for non-native English speakers...

It's time to distribute the gifts... in the CHR$(143) way ;^)

Let's build an automatic gift distribution system!

The (~10%) lucky owners of a screen with a vertical resolution significantly higher than 900 pixels (but lower than 1800...) will benefit from this new version, the "pixel perfect" sprites of which have been entirely redrawn at 150% scale so that the game will fill their monitor much better! Let's also note some improvements around the worrying level 61... and the correction of a bug concerning the initialization of the power of the agents beyond 0,5MW in case of Quick Retry...

Levels: - respawn point of level 40 is better highlighted (Rottytops had not seen it...) - additional hint at level 59 GUI: - following a good remark from Ryalseth, the paste function only pastes the elements of the level that you can build (the use of F9 is still highly recommended though!) Game mechanics: - fixed some potential minor malfunctions (force field, catapult...) in rare configurations - optimizations and code cleaning

This is a very minor update: Levels: - added a sign in level 44 control room! (which would have saved Lollybomb 20 minutes of unnecessary dangerous experiments...) GUI: - full text is automatically selected when editing a parameter (recent request from Rottytops following a very old request from Garzahd!) - "find" sub-window can be moved and will remember its position - monochrome sprites of green lamp have been redesigned (but still not green!) Game mechanics: - more sophisticated Ballistic Laws (though unchanged with default settings...) - new CPU instruction to modify the parameters of the Ballistic Laws - new CPU instruction to initialize/modify the speed vector of a projectile

Levels: - more explanation about the use of air in the build palette - more explanation about the [space bar] to configure the magnetic field of an engine GUI: - the (monochrome) air "icon" is grey in the build palette until level 11 to be more visible (Lollybomb found that blue air doesn't stand out very well on a blue background ;^) - the power can also be adjusted with the [+]/[-] keys (numeric row) - the victory window also offers to retry the level that has just been solved (when the player wants to do even better!) - Steam (Auto) Cloud has been set up Game mechanics: - gravitational acceleration is now adjustable in user levels (experimental, to be continued...)

Players who want to become (virtually) immensely rich can try to achieve the "Heist of the Century", a standalone level now available in the Workshop! Suitable for level 44 winners... Also an opportunity to admire our beautiful yellow submarine...

Oops... fixed a bug related to levels unlocking when updating the game (sorry again, Ryalseth)

Levels:

• following some pertinent remarks from Ryalseth (and as a tribute) level 34 is now more forgiving
• ...and level 40 now has a respawn point

• ESC now allows skipping the start/end sequences of levels
• reminder: Ctrl + [Retry] button for a quick restart of a level
• search function in the listings editor (Ctrl-F, F3, Shift-F3...)

• updated to Godot 3.2 to work around a bug related to the "find" function...
• ...causing some minor regressions, hopefully fixed!

• reactivation of experimental functions to reconfigure reactions between elements...
• ...used in a new (tough) workshop level: "Heist of the Century"!

Small update, mostly GUI oriented: - fixed a bug concerning full screen resolution with multiple screens - window mode is now available through the Setup - fixed a few bugs/inconveniences in the zoom function Levels: - removed (remaining) time limits for the first levels - zoom function [O] is now explained from level 4

- the game supports separate F9/F10 memory spaces for each level loaded from the Workshop - the [Refresh] button in the Workshop window now does something! - better cleanup of obsolete files when upgrading

Very small update (but necessary for an upcoming workshop level "44 reversed"): - new CPU superuser commands to get game version and check which built-in levels have been solved - slightly improved custom scores (informative scores)

With the precious help of brejc8 (benevolent beta tester for life), version 1.25 has been ported to Linux! Users of this excellent OS have no more excuses to avoid the challenge...

Version 1.25 opens up access to the Steam Workshop! Users who have solved level 28 can now load and play levels they have subscribed to from the Steam Workshop (main menu / load workshop level) Users who have completed the game can now publish the levels they have designed in the Steam Workshop (user levels manager / upload to workshop)

Game Mechanics: - resources are given back when the player cancels a building operation - conveyors no longer trigger blackouts (they stop working when there is no more power available) CPUs: - new CPU command B to request a break (if allowed by level...) - new CPU superuser commands to set up and compute custom scores... (for user levels with optimization goals!) User interface: - the volumes of different musics have been roughly equalized (that's why the update seems huge, sorry for the inconvenience...) - the user can now adjust the volumes of the sounds/music (in the setup and during the game) - the "load user level" window now appears in the center of the screen - the listing editor window will warn the user if there is no more CPU in position (e.g. has moved) - F5/F6/F7 can now be used to pause/run/step when the listing window is open Levels: - levels with "respawning devices" will add extra time before calculating world records - better explanation in level 16 "Sun is fun" ("reach 1200kW")

Thanks to Discord feedback, several levels have been improved and polished: 35, 38, 44, 47, 56... In particular, important advice for levels 67 and 70...

Feel free to chat with our small but growing community on our beautiful Discord Server! The developer regularly passes the head and many others will be happy to exchange with you...