Chip's Challenge - Lynx Mode

Playing in Lynx Mode

Tile World

In case you haven't already used Tile World, here's a short primer:-

• Download Tile World.
• To start Tile World, just run the tworld executable.
• To turn off password checking in Tile World, you need to start tworld with the "-p" option.
  If you're not familiar with a Command Prompt / Terminal, here's what you can do:-
  1. Create a shortcut to tworld. In Windows, you can do this by right-clicking on the executable (tworld.exe), and selecting "Create Shortcut".
  2. Now edit the shortcut. In Windows you do this by right-clicking on the shortcut you just created, and selecting "Properties". In the box where you see the executable being specified ("Target:" on Windows), add a space followed by   -p.
  3. Now instead of the original tworld executable, just use the shortcut instead. You can also copy the shortcut to your desktop or a toolbar/drawer or a menu of your choice.

Although Tile World can emulate both: the Lynx and MS rulesets, by default it lets you play a levelset in only one mode - which is the one chosen by the levelset's designer and recorded in the "signature" inside the .dat or .ccl file. Usually, even Lynx compatible levelsets come with the MS signature. To play a levelset in the other ruleset, you need to use any one of the techniques described below.

Using .dac files

The most convenient technique is the use of .dac files. These are simple text files that let you specify a combination of a levelset filename and a ruleset. Instructions:-

1. Copy the levelset(s) into Tile World's data folder (instead of the sets folder).
2. Create .dac files for each set using either a text editor or the DacGen program.

Using DacGen

DacGen (.DAC Generator) is part of the Chip's Controls program by Mike L. It will create MS and Lynx .dac files for every levelset in Tile World's data folder.

1. Download Chip's Controls
2. Read the DacGen instructions

Using a text editor

Here's the process for creating a .dac file for one ruleset for a particular levelset.

1. Start up a text editor (e.g. Notepad on Windows).
2. Enter the following lines:-
   file=filename
   ruleset=lynx
   Replace filename with the actual levelset filename, e.g. intro.dat.
3. Save the file in Tile World's sets folder with a name like name-Lynx.dac. This name is what the Tile World menu will show you.
4. Repeat the above steps for the MS ruleset: In step 2, type "ruleset=ms" instead of "ruleset=lynx". In step 3, save as name-MS.dac instead of name-Lynx.dac.

An alternative is to copy existing .dac files (e.g. intro-lynx.dac and intro-ms.dac), rename them and then edit the file line in each of them.

Using mklynxcc

This technique replaces an MS signature in a .dat or .ccl file with a Lynx signature.
It isn't recommended for the following reasons:-

• You'll need to maintain two copies of the levelset - one for MS, one for Lynx.
• You'll have to redo it every time a levelset changes.
• The current version of mklynxcc.com on Windows doesn't handle "long" filenames, i.e. names longer than 8 characters or those containing a space in them (but this can be worked around).

Anyway, here's how to use it:-

1. Make a copy of the MS levelset. Rename it to lynx.dat and place it in Tile World's base folder.
2. Run mklynxcc:-
   • From a Command Prompt / Terminal in the Tile World directory, run: mklynxcc lynx.dat
   • OR, on Windows: just drag the file onto mklynxcc.com
3. Rename the file to something more distinctive like name-Lynx.dat and move it into Tile World's sets folder.

Tile World rule-switch patch

So why isn't there a simple way to just choose MS or Lynx when playing a levelset from within Tile World?
The good news: There is!
The bad news: It's not a part of Tile World proper (yet), and is only available as a source code patch.

Here are the links to the source code patch files - created by Christopher Elsby:-

• Rule-switch patch for Tile World 1.3.0
• Rule-switch patch for Tile World 1.2.1

When you run Tile World with this patch, pressing the left arrow key [←] will play the levelset in MS, and pressing the right arrow key [→] will play it in Lynx. Solution .tws files will be named name-m.tws or name-l.tws accordingly.

If and when somebody creates ready-to-download executable versions of these, this section will be updated (hopefully).