Update 57 - First Sales, simulation and user experience!

A "bad" byte multiplier used to set the new grade for the 8bit Multiplier challenge

Greetings, Hard Chip players!

It's been 4 months since Hard Chip entered its Early Access phase. Since then, there have been no deals scheduled. Even though that might have hurt sales (you never know; there are a lot of theories about a game launch online and deals), fortunately, this selected naturally highly invested players who had a coup-de-foudre for Hard Chip.

People played for countless hours, optimizing their designs. HC servers have received scores for 58k submissions so far; some records have been broken multiple times. Even challenges that used to be out of reach (because they were too complicated?) were completed numerous times, multipliers specifically! Even one passionate player streamed his entire journey on YouTube, tens of hours of gameplay! (the best for a game dev wanting to improve the game; please stream your gameplay of the HC🙏)

[h2]First ever Sales, 20% off![/h2]

Let's try something else and see if deals will boost sales and make HC a more lasting game: now is the time to grab a copy of Hard Chip!

Now, back to the regular review of the changes made from versions 0.0.6.72 to 0.0.6.77. Over the past few weeks, I continued refining Hard Chip to make the logic-crafting smoother and more intuitive. Let's break down what's new and improved.



[h2]1. UPDATED Simulation cheese warfare[/h2]
HC has open-ended puzzles; for many, it is hard to predict how "creative" players can be. Sometimes, an ASIC-like (application-specific integrated circuit) solution can yield way better stats than the intended solution! Some work has been done in that direction! Random test validation phase and distinct powering up phase. Those will be covered in an upcoming update. However, some improvements are more immediately useful; see the changelog.

🛠️ Changelog:

• SIM input is now shorting next to channels in the opposite state;
  
• NEW DistinctPowerUp phase touch-ups (deactivated at the moment);
  
• CX Fix JKLatch, Dlatch Enable cheese; 
  
• CX Nibble multiplier minor cheese fix in truth table;
  
• CX SRLatch and DLatch anti-cheese steps and basic grades;
  
• CX anti cheese steps for MUX4-1 and 8-1;
  
• MI All latches challenges are with distinct powering-up phases;
  
• GRD 4bit adder/multiplier updates; 
  
• GRD new grades for half-bit adder noninverted one;
  
• GRD New grades for inverted half-bit adder;
  
• MI Show tick per step settings, deactivated during tuto;
  
• FIX inconsistent tick number when manually selecting steps;
  
• FIX moving output readouts on validate;
  
• FIX no ticks count per step on the detached Truth Table control;
  
• FIX Wrong input behavior;
  

[h2]1. UPDATED User Experience [/h2]
Some quality-of-life improvements, shortcuts, and some copy here and there to maximize clarity

🛠️ Changelog:

• NEW Hotkeys for faster/slower simulation speed with [/];
  
• NEW Keybindings for slots F1-F5;
  
• UX "Reset campaign only" label;
  
• UX Hints on how to proceed on the Merger level;
  
• UX change rotate/flip blueprint to flipX/flipZ with corresponding keybindings;
  
• UX Online charts copy clearer in Settings;
  
• UX Switch to select mode when alt tabing;
  
• MI Export HCDrive name with UTC date in the name;
  

[h2]Quality Of Life, Bug, and Crash fixes list[/h2]
Even more bugs fixed and rough edges smoothed out!
🛠️ Changelog:

• FIX Camera speed up/down movement was slow at steep angles;
  
• FIX discarded mouse input when build-up from layer 1 at specific points;
  
• FIX Export to clipboard exporting only first slot.
  
• FIX fast validation UI crash;
  
• FIX import copied HCdrive from file explorer;
  
• FIX no center camera when free cam;
  
• FIX soft UI crash in "grey UI";
  
• FIX tentative forever gray buttons;
  
• FIX Trim selected blocks from empty space from all sides;
  
• FIX Wrong fabricator status after material bank 2 repaired;
  
• MI Buckets minimum size for scores;
  
• MI Changing the ray precisions settings range to not degrade too much visuals, disclaimer adder in the updates;
  
• MI Completed challenges in the campaign are unlocked in the bonus;
  
• MI Localization boilerplate (work in progress);
  
• MI Validation process ++;
  
• NEW Airlock area and terminals to get there, only in playtest;
  

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More quality of life improvement is on its way. Now, we are exploring how new content would fit in and preparing work for localization (French would likely be the first to be translated as I'm fluent in it)!

Your feedback, suggestions, and comments are not just important; they're the lifeblood of this game. We value your input and encourage you to join our Discord server to share your thoughts and ideas!

Thank you for playing Hard Chip, and stay tuned for more updates and new features!