Today's update fixes an issue where the mouse would sometimes be misaligned on Macbooks.

[ 2022-10-04 00:22:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Boot up your Z5 Powerlance and dial into Last Call BBS, the last game from Zachtronics! The Barkeeps loaded up his retro computer with a full set of puzzle games for you to download and play. No need to worry about copy protection, theyre all fully cracked and ready to enjoy! Includes eight full games:

• 20th Century Food Court: Design factories to produce food just like they did over 700 years ago in the 20th century. Keep your costs low and your machines running fast!
• STEED FORCE Hobby Studio: Assemble robot models based on the anime smash hit Steed Force right on your computer. No sandpaper required!
• XBPGH: The Forbidden Path: Enter a cursed world and create bizarre flesh sculptures in exchange for eternal life. The master is pleased but can you trust him?
• Sawayama Solitaire: It wouldnt be a Zachtronics release without a brand-new solitaire game. This time its a fresh take on Klondike, the classic solitaire variant.
• Dungeons & Diagrams: Try your hand at these beguiling tile-based logic puzzles. Can you map out the dungeons and steal all the treasure?
• ChipWizard Professional: Build integrated circuits using wires, transistors, and capacitors. Wait a second, is this a game or a CAD program?
• HACK*MATCH: The tile-matching minigame from EXAPUNKS, completely remastered with a single player campaign and local head-to-head multiplayer (with Steam Remote Play support).
• Kabufuda Solitaire: Create matching sets of Japanese kabufuda cards in this retro-demake of the challenging original solitaire game that debuted in Eliza.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1511780/Last_Call_BBS/ [previewyoutube=EdU-ABucIjk;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2022-07-05 00:42:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes an issue where the game would fail to start on Macs with the new M1 processor.

[ 2021-01-03 07:27:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes the crash handler and histograms. Nothing else should be affected.

[ 2020-11-14 02:41:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update adds a few missing Chinese strings and support for Korean characters.

[ 2020-10-15 18:25:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's Deal: Save 67% on SHENZHEN I/O & SHENZHEN SOLITAIRE!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2019-07-17 17:04:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug where the game would sometimes fail to detect keyboard input when typing code quickly while the game was running at a low framerate.

[ 2019-01-02 21:07:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's probably years too late, but we've uploaded the SHENZHEN I/O manual to Lulu so that you can order a professionally printed and bound copy (no binder, though). The quality is pretty good, and at $4.99 plus shipping it's not a bad deal! http://www.lulu.com/shop/zachtronics/shenzhen-io-manual/paperback/product-23899820.html

[ 2018-12-04 23:40:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update improves some error messages for when the game crashes.

[ 2018-10-29 21:51:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's Deal: Save 67% on SHENZHEN I/O!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2018-09-26 17:10:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug that caused histograms to not load for players who were subscribed to a large number of Workshop puzzles.

[ 2018-03-05 20:26:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug that caused histograms to not load for players who were subscribed to a large number of Workshop puzzles.

[ 2018-03-05 20:26:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update includes more small tweaks to Chinese text. If you see further updates without explanation they'll be for the same reason.

[ 2018-01-30 23:38:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update includes more small tweaks to Chinese text. If you see further updates without explanation they'll be for the same reason.

[ 2018-01-30 23:38:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug introduced in the previous update that caused disabled instructions to no longer appear faded out. It also tweaks a few Chinese strings, with more changes inbound in the next few days.

[ 2018-01-29 23:06:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug introduced in the previous update that caused disabled instructions to no longer appear faded out. It also tweaks a few Chinese strings, with more changes inbound in the next few days.

[ 2018-01-29 23:06:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Todays update adds a long-awaited enhanced realism mode to SHENZHEN I/O. This optional mode may increase the difficulty for some players, but we think the corresponding increase in authenticity is worth it! To enable enhanced realism mode, go into the in-game control panel and change the language from English to . Enjoy!

[ 2018-01-25 22:20:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today’s update adds a long-awaited “enhanced realism” mode to SHENZHEN I/O. This optional mode may increase the difficulty for some players, but we think the corresponding increase in authenticity is worth it! To enable “enhanced realism” mode, go into the in-game control panel and change the language from “English” to “汉语“. Enjoy!

[ 2018-01-25 22:20:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today’s update removes the game’s dependency on the Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable. It’s not very exciting for anyone other than me, who will hopefully get fewer support emails about this.

[ 2017-07-03 17:20:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update improves the text rendering in SHENZHEN I/O. It shouldn't be noticeable, unless you look really closely at the spacing between letters, at which point it should be incredibly satisfying compared to our old text renderer.

[ 2017-01-19 19:59:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a crash when opening a custom puzzle or workshop puzzle with an invalid filename character in the puzzle name.

[ 2016-12-27 23:33:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update includes some minor fixes for conceptSPEC.

• Fixed a bug where adding or removing radios and dials from a custom specification would not be reflected in existing solutions to that puzzle.
• Fixed a crash when radio data was provided for some but not all test runs.
• Fixed a crash when deleting, un-deleting, and then re-deleting a custom specification.

[ 2016-12-07 23:01:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug where custom specifications could not be uploaded to Steam Workshop on Mac and Linux. It also includes a new version of the "aquatic harvesting robot" puzzle, now called the "kelp harvesting robot", which should be less of an arbitrary difficulty spike. The old version of the puzzle is archived under code "3113".

[ 2016-12-02 20:12:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixing a few bugs caused by this morning's update:

• Fixed a bug where uploading a puzzle and deleting it from the Steam Workshop would prevent it from being uploaded again.
• Fixed a bug that caused the contents of the conceptSPEC window to draw incorrectly.
• Fixed a bug where XBus packets could be drawn incorrectly in preview pictures.
• Fixed a crash when copying solutions for custom and workshop puzzles.
• Fixed a crash at launch on Mac and Linux when a custom or workshop puzzle was present.

[ 2016-11-29 20:53:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update is a quick fix for a bug in how the conceptSPEC board layout were parsed. As a result, you may have to reposition parts you previously placed in solutions for custom or workshop puzzles.

[ 2016-11-29 20:53:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update adds a new in-game "application" called conceptSPEC that allows you to create your own puzzles and upload them to the Steam Workshop. You'll need to learn a little Lua to design your own puzzles, but fortunately you're all experts at deciphering esoteric programming languages! Also, we fixed a bug where traces would sometimes light up as if they were connected to a pin when they really weren't. If you were seeing weird behavior in your logic-heavy circuits, this might have been part of the problem.

[ 2016-11-29 18:29:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update adds two new achievements and a small tweak to the electronic practice target puzzle's first test run.

[ 2016-11-21 21:09:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

The second-to-last puzzle has been reverted to its original, harder form.

[ 2016-11-19 18:51:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback about the game during Early Access. We wouldn't have made it what it is today without your input!

[ 2016-11-17 19:19:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

SHENZHEN I/O is Now Available on Steam and is 10% off!*

BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.

*Offer ends November 24 at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2016-11-17 18:00:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning's update fixes a few bugs that caused the re-verification tool to get stuck on some solutions. It also changes the second-to-last puzzle in the game to make it a little less tedious.

[ 2016-11-17 17:57:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight's update adds a design re-verification tool to the in-game control panel. We've reset the leaderboards and histograms in anticipation of leaving Early Access tomorrow, so please use it to resubmit your scores!

[ 2016-11-17 02:12:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Changes include:

• Fixed a few bugs with non-deterministic behavior in ambiguous XBus situations.
• Made the new harvester puzzle easier.
• Made the new status display puzzle harder.
• Improved the test cases for the new stopwatch puzzle.
• Improved the wording for a few puzzle descriptions.

[ 2016-11-15 22:14:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Changes include:

• Tweaked the laser tag puzzle to reduce the number of cases and make it a little simpler for new players.
• Added some missing information to the SushiRobo floor plans.
• Meowved an input in a late-game puzzle.
• Fixing a bug where you couldn't actually use a late-game LCD screen.
• Fixed a bug where you could hover over XBus packets that weren't actually visible.
• Fixed a bug where scores weren't shown on the completion screen if you couldn't download the histograms.
• Fixed a bug where profiler bars didn't show for NOP instructions.
• Fixed a crash when holding spacebar while dragging a chip.

[ 2016-11-14 19:43:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning's update fixes a few bugs with visualizations, descriptions, and test cases for some of the puzzles in the new campaign. If you see anything else weird, let me know at zach@zachtronics.com!

[ 2016-11-13 18:18:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update fixes a bug in the pocket oracle puzzle introduced in today's FIRMWARE UPDATE.

[ 2016-11-12 01:11:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

FIRMWARE UPDATE VERSION 1.3 is now live with a NEW CAMPAIGN! UPDATE PAGE: http://www.zachtronics.com/firmware-update-3/ NOTE: It is highly likely that changes will be made to the new puzzles that were added as we get stats and feedback from players. If you have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions, please send them to zach@zachtronics.com for consideration! New content:

• Added a new campaign with user-inspired puzzles that is unlocked at the end of the main campaign. If you are using a printed manual, you will need to print the three pages added to the end of the Supplemental Data section.
• Added a new puzzle to the main campaign based on one of Zach's failed business ideas from before he started a game studio.
• Added the MC4010 math co-processor to the prototyping area, which adds advanced math operations not found on the MC4000 and MC6000 microcontrollers.

Other changes:

• Added support for display outputs, which allow you to send whatever you want to LCDs in puzzles so long as it shows the right thing at the right time.
• Reworked the drinking game scorekeeper and precision food scale puzzles to use display outputs.
• One of the outputs on AND/OR/XOR logic gates is now automatically inverted.
• The secret puzzle (which was previously accessible by clicking on Zach's portrait in the in-game Early Access email) is now accessible through a secret code in the "puzzle archive".

New and updated manual pages:

• LC70Gxx SIMPLE I/O LOGIC GATE FAMILY
• MC4010 MATH CO-PROCESSOR
• SUSHIROBO RESTAURANT / KITCHEN PRELIMINARY DESIGN
• THORIUM SALT REACTOR CUSTOM LCD
• MASS PRODUCTION OF A NEURAL PROCESSING LATTICE

[ 2016-11-11 22:11:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning's update fixes a small bug with PGA signals.

[ 2016-11-07 17:12:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update includes the following fixes, hopefully without the bugs of yesterday's update:

• Fixed a bug where clicking on a PGA33X6 would cause the playback shortcut keys to stop working.
• Fixed a bug where text could be selected when scrolling through the parts list.
• Fixed a bug where logic circuits containing feedback loops would sometimes remember their states from previous simulation runs.
• You can now use the numpad arrows to move the text cursor.

[ 2016-11-04 19:39:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update includes the following:

• Fixed a bug where clicking on a PGA33X6 would cause the playback shortcut keys to stop working.
• Fixed a bug where text could be selected when scrolling through the parts list.
• Fixed a bug where logic circuits containing feedback loops would sometimes remember their states from previous simulation runs.

[ 2016-11-03 22:35:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update fixes a bug where the PGA33X6 behaved erratically in some feedback situations and a bug where the color-coordinating shoes never actually called for HyPurple in the test data.

[ 2016-11-01 16:30:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update makes a few small changes to histograms that should hopefully improve their readability, particularly one with small scales.

[ 2016-10-30 18:45:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning's update fixes a bug that caused the old and new versions of the sandwich maker puzzle to overwrite each other's save files. If you intend to continue playing both versions of the puzzle, you should make sure that your existing solutions for V1 of the puzzle start with "personal-sandwich-assembler" and your existing solutions for V2 of the puzzle start with "personal-sandwich-maker". New solutions will be named appropriately and will not experience this issue.

[ 2016-10-29 17:57:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update replaces the "personal sandwich assembler" with a simpler version of the puzzle that is more consistent with the rest of the game's difficulty curve. The previous version is available in the puzzle archive with the secret code 2241. The update also includes the following changes:

• Most players should no longer see impossible "best" scores for puzzles they solved in a previous version of the game.
• The game's config file is now ignored by Steam cloud backup, allowing different options on different computers.
• Fixed a bug where framerate and CPU usage would spike when the game window was minimized or unfocused.
• Text selection is now persisted in the undo/redo state.
• Fixed a bug where near-white pixels in custom LCD segments were showing up faintly insetad of being hidden like intended.

[ 2016-10-28 19:00:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update fixes a bug introduced yesterday where the simulation sometimes stops because of an error that is not visible on the verification diagrams when running at resolutions below 1920x1080.

[ 2016-10-26 20:17:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning's patch fixes some bugs introduced in FIRMWARE UPDATE VERSION 1.2 in addition to some fixes that didn't make it in yesterday.

• Retina-related issues should now be fixed on macOS.
• When pressing enter while typing code, if the program is already at the maximum line count it will now try to delete blank "padding" lines below the cursor to make room.
• Reverting back to the old logic gate behavior until we figure out a balanced long-term solution.
• Fixed a bug where logic gates would sometimes remember their states across simulation runs.
• Fixing a bug where formatting characters could be entered in design names.
• Improving the logic around pausing on verification errors when running at low display resolutions. Instead of freezing, it now merely pauses, and only on high-speed test runs.
• Tweaked the display of histograms to provide more immediate information about the most recent scores.
• Fixed a bug in autoformatting.

[ 2016-10-26 18:49:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

FIRMWARE UPDATE VERSION 1.2 for SHENZHEN I/O is now live! NEW CONTENT

• The LX900C has been superseded by the LX910C, which includes a segment-based touchscreen interface and the ability to query whether a specific segment is on or off.
• The 100P-33 and 200P-33 memory chips are now available in the sandbox.
• Added a datasheet page for the N4PB-8000, LX700, and LX910C, which were previously undocumented.

NEW FEATURES

• Added a new scoring metric for the number of lines of code used in a design.
• Added support for code breakpoints. To set one, control-click on a line of code (command-click on Mac).

CONTENT TWEAKS

• The LX700 numeric LCD available in the sandbox is now horizontal, not vertical, and has pins on both sides.
• The N4GP-1000 has been superseded by the N4PB-8000, which has a more neutral keybinding and takes up less board space.
• The soft lock on the 100P-14 is now removed with the 200P-14, instead of in the subsequent set of soft unlocks.
• The LC70Gxx family of logic chips no longer clamp input values to 0 or 100, and instead have unique "arithmetic functions" over the full range of input values. The datasheet has been updated to describe this new behavior.
• The number of test runs has been increased from 8 to 80.
• The power usage score reported in histograms and leaderboards is now the worst of all test runs.
• Improved the test cases for a few puzzles.
• Improved the display of signal indicators for input terminals.

BUG FIXES

• A simulation timeslice will no longer end before all simple I/O signals have stabilized.
• The simulation now executes code for microcontrollers in a deterministically random order.
• When running at resolutions below 1920x1080, the simulation now pauses before errors scroll off-screen to the left.
• Fixed a bug that allowed invisible characters to be entered into code editors, causing mysterious errors.
• Fixed a bug where breakpoint would not trigger during the first timeslice of a test run.
• Fixed a bug with inconsistent line endings in save files generated on non-Windows platforms.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused auto-format to not activate.
• Fixed a crash involving custom screens with too many segments.

For more information, click here.

[ 2016-10-25 21:17:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch should fix the hang on exit occuring for some Mac and Linux users that was introduced in yesterday's update.

[ 2016-10-19 01:09:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch fixes a bug introduced in yesterday's update (FIRMWARE UPDATE VERSION 1.1) that caused the game to crash when running instructions like "mov x0 x0" that had the same XBus pin as source and destination. This patch also contains an update for the MC4000, MC6000, and DX300 datasheets that explain the new simple I/O behavior introduced in yesterday's update.

[ 2016-10-18 19:10:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch fixes a bug introduced in yesterday's update that caused empty designs to crash on Mac and Linux.

[ 2016-10-18 16:17:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update broke the dst instruction. This patch should fix that.

[ 2016-10-18 04:57:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

FIRMWARE UPDATE VERSION 1.1 for SHENZHEN I/O is now live! NEW CONTENT

• Added the FM/iX "FM BLASTER", an FM-based synthesizer with one voice and ten instruments, available in the sandbox.
• Added a ¥0 "note" part that can be placed anywhere in a design to write additional documentation.

NEW FEATURES

• Pin names are now shown for all pins when tab (show traces) is held.
• Added Steam achievements to the game related to solitaire and the secret puzzle.
• Improved the appearance of histograms, especially low-value production cost histograms.
• Added keyboard shortcuts for the playback controls: space is bound to simulate and pause, E is bound to step, D is bound to advance, and escape is bound to reset.
• The current code line indicator now fades slightly when that microcontroller is sleeping.
• In custom LCD screens, a very light gray color can now be used to connect two segments together without the line gray showing up as an actual segment.

BALANCE FIXES

• Most parts are now unlocked at the start of the game but "soft-locked" to discourage inexperienced players from using them prematurely and getting stuck.
• Changed the behavior of the dst instruction when one or both operands (acc and the new digit) are negative. The new behavior is symmetric with dgt, setting a digit and the sign of the accumulator separately as specified by the "new digit" operand.
• Modified the "pocket I Ching oracle" puzzle to provide more room for player designs.
• Modified the test cases for the "aquaponics maintenence robot", "spoiler blocking headphones", "personal sandwich assembler", and "precision food scale" puzzles.
• Changed the order of a few mid-game puzzles based on feedback about their difficulty.
• Added a visualization for input to a certain puzzle that needed it.

BUG FIXES

• It is now an error to define the same label twice in a single microcontroller.
• It is no longer an error to block without sleeping in the sandbox.
• Music is no longer played while a design in the prototyping area is running. Go make your own!
• Fixed a bug where histograms wouldn't update when returning to the conceptMAIL or conceptCAD menus.

For more information, click here.

[ 2016-10-18 00:53:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update includes the following changes:

• Added bookmarks (table of contents) to the PDF manual.
• Bridges can now be placed over, but not on, terminals.
• Fixed a bug where logic gates activated at the wrong simple I/O value.
• Added more information to the "part not sleeping" error message.

[ 2016-10-11 18:44:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Quick patch with the following fixes:

• Fixing a crash when verifying the electronic door lock puzzle.
• Fixing a bug that prevented breakpoints from being added at the beginning of a test run.
• Trying one final thing to fix the Linux PDF-opening bug before we flip our desks over and give up.

[ 2016-10-11 01:02:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update contains the following changes:

• Instead of 3 fixed test runs and 1 random test run, the game now runs 8 fixed test runs. We're still trying to figure out what needs to be done for verification, but hopefully this will at least be a little less... random.
• Fixed a bug where you could place some parts on input/output board terminals.
• Fixed a bug where histograms wouldn’t display for Mac and Linux users.
• Attempted to fix the PDF opening bug on Linux. Whether it actually works for everyone is yet to be seen. Why is this the hardest part about porting to Linux?
• Fixed a bug where only comically low resolutions were available to Mac users with Retina screens.
• Fixed a bug where the breakpoint instruction text was wrong for Mac users.
• Fixed a bug where you could click the fullscreen button even when it wasn’t visible.
• Fixed a bug where some developer hotkeys were accidentally left enabled.
• Fixed a few typos and text content errors.

[ 2016-10-10 22:52:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

We shipped a few updates for SHENZHEN I/O today, which included the following changes:

• Fixed an issue on Linux where the "Datasheets" link didn't open the game's manual.
• Fixed an issue on Linux that caused the cursor to sometimes flash and/or corrupt graphics in a rectangle around the cursor.
• Fixed a crash when hitting delete or F2 in the solution browser with no solution selected.
• Fixed a crash when writing to the address and data pins of a memory chip in the same cycle.
• Fixed a bug that caused some conditionals to not work with the JMP instruction.
• Fixed an autoformatting bug involving two conditional symbols on the same line.
• Improved the first test-run data for the token dispenser to show an example of what should happen when both types of tokens need to be dispensed.

[ 2016-10-08 00:09:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

SHENZHEN I/O is Now Available on Steam Early Access and is 10% off!*

BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.

*Offer ends October 13 at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2016-10-06 16:56:04 CET ] [ Original post ]