Questions and problems

Sound

I hear nothing. Press ▶ PLAY or Ctrl+Enter: browsers only start sound after a click or a key. Check the VOL slider and the device’s own volume. On a phone, silent mode can mute web pages.

One voice never plays. A voice plays only when a bang touches it on its left, above or below. A bang on its right does nothing. Put the cursor on the voice: the Cell tab shows what it reads.

Notes go missing. The chip has four voices. Two pulse notes at once take both pulses, and a third one steals one of them; a new triangle or noise note cuts the one still ringing. The meters show STEAL when it happens. Shorten notes, or move them apart in time. More about the voices.

Everything goes quiet for a moment, regularly. There is a - (silence) somewhere on the grid.

The grid

Something moves that shouldn’t. v is the mover going south, not a value. Use another letter or a digit for numbers.

A gate ? is red. It can do nothing where it is: in front of a mover, a swell ;, or an operator with an input on its left, like C or D.

A V or a ! is dimmed. There is only one palette and one tempo. The last one you typed or edited holds it; the others are dimmed. Delete it and the previous one takes over.

The code after my comment stopped working. A comment runs to the next # on the line, or to the end of the line. Close it: # drums #.

A number above 9 plays the wrong note. In a note input, letters are note names first: c is C♯, not 12. Use digits there, or check the values.

My arrows are all over the place. reset puts every mover back where you typed it and clears the screen. Your code stays.

Your work

Where is my grid kept? In the browser, on this device, at every change. It comes back when you reopen Chipgrid in the same browser. A private window forgets it, and clearing the browser’s data erases it. To keep it safe, use save (a text file) or link.

How do I share a grid? link copies a web address holding the whole grid and the tempo. Or send the text file from save.

I loaded an example and lost my grid. Ctrl+Z brings it back.

Devices

Does it work on a phone? Yes. Tap a cell, type with the pad at the bottom, or open the phone’s keyboard with ⌨. Double-tap a voice to hear it, long-press a cell for its menu.

Does it work offline? The app is one file. Once loaded, it plays without the network; only its pixel font comes from the internet, and another font is used without it.

Which browser? A current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. Video recording depends on the browser: if it cannot record, the app says so.

Multiplayer

Can we play together online? Not on this site. The multiplayer version runs on a laptop in the room, over the local Wi-Fi.