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Hard Chip News

Quick Patch Notes v0.1.7.139

  • [p]NEW Stages Open Community Gauntlet Week 2;[/p]
  • [p]NEW Shortcut to delete Probes with Alt + Click;[/p]
  • [p]MI 2BitSubtract whitelist;[/p]
  • [p]FIW Gauntlet week 1-3 instead 0-3;[/p]
  • [p]FIX Unlock NAND Achievement in main when coming from the demo;[/p]
  • [p]FIX Achievements (Advance, Masterpiece) active with verified/official community stage;[/p]

New Open Community Gauntlet just started!

[h2]🚀 New Community Gauntlet Incoming![/h2][p][/p][p]Open Community Gauntlet v0 screen from the Main Menu![/p][p][/p][p]Starting Saturday, December 13th at 18:00 UTC! For the next 3 weeks (until January 3rd), Hard Chip is hosting a brand-new gauntlet entirely designed by the community, crafted by one of the top HC players. This challenge is an open invitation to dive deep into the logic of division, starting from its most fundamental building blocks. Whether you’re a seasoned optimizer or just curious, this journey is built to be explored step by step. 🧠⚙️
[/p][p]📈 This is an Incremental Gauntlet: each week builds directly on the previous one, meaning your early decisions matter a lot. Each week’s best solution will be revealed at the start of the next week 🥇 (use it, study it… or beat it). Speed is king here with Ticks weighted at 40%, but balance still matters ⚖️! The remaining 60% can make or break your score. Miss a week, and you risk losing up to 100 points, so consistency counts! 📅🔥

Garnet theme, you can unlock this gauntlet!
[/p][p]🏆 The top 3 players at the end of the gauntlet will earn the Editor Garnet Theme.
Week 1 kicks off with a 2-bit subtractor: simple on paper, but full of implications. Will you guess where this is going? 😏

[/p]

Quick Patch Notes v0.1.7.137

  • [p]NEW Open Community Gauntlet Event, file week 1;[/p]
  • [p]NEW Import a chip into another one from BlueprintLibrary in the Blueprint mode;[/p]
  • [p]UX Esc stops validation.[/p]
  • [p]UX move import/export buttons from Toolbox to Blueprint mode;[/p]
  • [p]UX Bonus screen layout improvement;[/p]
  • [p]UX Bonus screen sizings and layout to fit the terminal!;[/p]
  • [p]MI Mirror -> Duplicator, plus prep work for write to clipboard;[/p]
  • [p]MI Import/export add inputs/outputs as labels if it is a chip file;[/p]
  • [p]MI OCGV0 file, start date gauntlet event;[/p]
  • [p]FIX losing name while importing an HC drive;[/p]
  • [p]FIX truth table had a non-blocking mistake in one 8bit inverter stage;[/p]
  • [p]FIX import PTB file from the library;[/p]

Quick Patch Notes v0.1.7.136

  • [p]NEW Activable online/offline reward logic (Gauntlet Garnet theme);[/p]
  • [p]SX Naming in 4x8BitLatchesMemoryBank;MI debug shaders fix;[/p]
  • [p]UX Color segment feature improved (and/or fixed?)[/p]
  • [p]FIX Submissions ingestion delays;[/p]
  • [p]FIX "Should be _" when one bit is neutral on number expected output overlay;[/p]
  • [p]MI EditorThemeID vs Index;[/p]
  • [p]MI Settings logic around activable garnet theme, and offline activation;[/p]
  • [p]MI Adding fgr1 into past gauntlet;[/p]
  • [p]MI Extend fgr1 visibility window in main menu, disabled in 1 week after end of event;[/p]
  • [p]SRV Activable garnet theme through a service;[/p]
  • [p]SRV CommunityStages api updates;[/p]

Foundry Gauntlet Rev1 has concluded!

[p]Foundry Gauntlet Rev1 is officially finished, and it may be one of the most demanding circuit optimization rounds we’ve run so far!
[/p][h3]Final overall top 5 and final solutions :[/h3]
  1. [p]Mysterious Beeskyi-ymZERO Architect 293.3 pts 🥇
    [/p]
  2. [p]Gavaldor 264.6 pts 🥈
    [/p]
  3. [p]HeilTec 257.0 pts 🥉
    [/p]
  4. [p]tyrnid 250.5 pts
    [/p]
  5. [p]sillymel 234.1 pts

    [/p]
[h3]🧪 What this Gauntlet was all about[/h3]
  • [p]Heavy use of transparent latches with Output Enable[/p]
  • [p]Row/Column memory addressing + routing constraints[/p]
  • [p]Optimization pressure on ticks, blocks, volume, and MOS count[/p]
  • [p]Pushing simulation performance assumptions to their limits[/p]
  • [p]Testing features and stages ideas for HC's Campaign[/p]
[p]Week 3 asked for everything at once, and you all answered with unreal creativity, discipline, and grit!
[/p][h3]🎁 Rewards[/h3]
  • [p]Top 5 get the Garnet Gauntlet Theme in the editor (if not already owned):

    [/p]
  • [p]Top 3 will also receive a Hard Chip key to gift to someone - spread the microchip gospel! ❤️‍🔥 [/p]
[p]Congratulations to the winners! And thank you all for participating, whether you ranked first or last, every design submitted during this gauntlet has pushed the game forward! Highlighting new pathways for metrics, optimization tooling, and future memory puzzles. Thank you all for your participation! 🙏[/p][h3]
Next Gauntlet Wishlist: What is the one thing you would like to see in the next tournament?[/h3][p][/p][p]Whether you are a competitive player or want to have fun, please answer in the comments below! Curious to see how the gauntlets could do better and be more fun![/p]