Logic Chip

A Logic Chip is one of the chips appearing on the circuit board in the Electronics Mini-Game.
Logic Chips are basically the playing pieces during the Mini-Game.The idea is to switch them around so that electricity stops flowing through the circuit board into the Target Chips - this way the disconnected wires can be spliced into a Wiretap or Car Trace.
There are 12 types of Logic Chips, and each performs a specific logical operation based on the electricity flowing into it, giving a certain output of electricity on the other side.
Depending on Difficulty level and Max's Electronics Skill, some types of Logic Chips may or may not appear during the mini-game. Also, some chips may be "Stuck" to the circuit board, forcing Max to work around them instead of replacing them.
==Description==
Each instance of the Electronics Mini-Game features 35 Logic Chips arranged on a circuit board in 5 rows of 7 chips each. They are selected randomly from the variety of chips available in the current Difficulty level.
Signal Paths flow through these chips, two paths per chip. They go through the left side of the chip, and exit out the right side of the chip.
The Logic Chip performs a simple logical operation based on whether either, neither or both Paths are carrying electricity. It then decides which of the two exit Paths will carry electricity out of the chip, if any.
Each Logic Chip is marked with a symbol, which shows the kind of logical operation the Chip is supposed to perform. For instance, a chip marked with this symbol allows electricity to simply flow through it on both paths. A slightly more complicated chip like this one ignores any electric current coming in on the Bottom Path, and instead sends any electricity coming along the top path out through both exits. There are much more complex Logic Chips in the higher Difficulty levels.
Max initially has one random chip in his hand. He can place this in any of the 35 slots on the circuit board, picking up whatever Logic Chip was there. You do this again and again until the game is over.
===Logical Operation===
Each chip has two Signal Paths coming in on its left side. They are referred to as the "Top Input" and "Bottom Output" paths. Each path may be carrying electricity (a red-and-white shifting pattern) or no electricity (shown green).
Each chip also has two paths coming out its right side. They are referred to as "Top Output" and "Bottom Output". Electricity may or may not exit out either of these Output Paths (or neither, or both).
To determine which Output Path will be carrying electricity, the Logic Chip performs a simple logical operation based on the status of the Input Paths. Each Chip will handle this input in a different manner. Some chips will simply let it through, so that whatever comes in the Top Input wire goes out the Top Output wire, and whatever comes in the Bottom Input wire goes out the Bottom Output wire. Most chips, however, will perform something a little more complex, like switching the two wires around before sending the signal out, or negating electricity, or ignoring one Input wire, and so forth.
To determine what logical operation is performed by any Logic Chip, it is necessary to identify the symbol emblazoned on that chip. These symbols are often self-explanatory, and can easily be identified.
Type of Chip 	Symbol	Effect 	Min. Difficulty
No Action 	 	Both paths pass unaffected through the chip. 	1
Crossover 	 	Crosses the paths over one another. 	1
Top Combiner 	 	Combines both signals and sends the result out the top path. 	1
Bottom Combiner 	 	Combines both signals and sends the result out the bottom path. 	1
Top Splitter 	 	Copies the signal from the top path to both paths. 	1
Bottom Splitter 	 	Copies the signal from the bottom path to both paths. 	1
Top Inverter 	 	Inverts the signal of the top path. 	2
Bottom Inverter 	 	Inverts the signal of the bottom path. 	2
Double Inverter 	 	Inverts the signal of both paths. 	3
Top Crossover Inverter 	 	Inverts the signal on the top path, then crosses both paths over one another. 	3
Bottom Crossover Inverter	 	Inverts the signal on the bottom path, then crosses both paths over one another.	4
Double Crossover Inverter	 	Inverts the signal on both paths, and crosses both paths over one another. 	4
For more information about the operation of each chip, and examples based on the Input it receives, read the individual Logic Chip pages by following the links in the table above.
==Difficulty==
The difficulty of the Electronics Mini-Game is based on two things: The current Difficulty setting of the game, and Max's Electronics Skill.
Primarily, the Mini-Game difficulty is harder when the overall game Difficulty is set higher. Conversely, the more Skill Max has with Electronics, the easier the Mini-Game will be.
Difficulty is primarily reflected in the types of Logic Chips that can appear during the Mini-Game. On the easiest difficulty, only the first 6 chips on the above table will appear. They are the simplest chips to work with, as they perform relatively straight-forward logical operations. The higher the difficulty of the Mini-Game, the more varied selection of Logic Chips will be placed on the circuit board. This makes it more difficult to understand what's happening to the Electricity as it makes its way towards the Target Chips.
===Stuck Chips===
Regardless of the current Mini-Game Difficulty, the 5 right-most Logic Chips on the circuit board cannot be moved. They are called "Stuck Chips", and are surrounded by a thick grey border to distinguish them from all the other Logic Chips.
Max cannot pick up Stuck Chips, nor can he place any other chips in their stead. He will just need to take them into account and work around them.
On higher difficulty levels, there are more Stuck Chips scattered across the board. There can be up to 5 more Stuck Chips, making the mini-game more complicated.
===Unknown Chips===
On the highest mini-game difficulties, some chips may initially be "Unknown". They appear without any symbol emblazoned on them. Max can try to figure out what each of these Unknown Chips do by observing the way electricity flows through them - I.E. looking at the state of the Input and Output wires and trying to deduce what type of operation is performed on the shown input to get the shown output.
If Max ever places down a Logic Chip to replace an Unknown Chip, the Unknown Chip is then revealed, showing the correct symbol emblazoned on it for the remainder of the Mini-Game.
This is very important. If you don't know what a chip is doing, you can't anticipate what will happen once you change the input that chip gets. Knowing what kind of chip it is allows you to figure out what'll happen say, if you cut electricity to one of its Input Wires. Once the chip's symbol is revealed, this becomes much easier to figure out.
One very important trick to learn with regards to Unknown Chips is being able to replace them without changing the board at all. In other words, placing another chip in their stead (which automatically reveals their symbol, as explained above) without causing any unexpected (and dangerous) change to the flow of electricity.
This is why each of the individual Logic Chip pages (see table above) lists the types of chips that can be substituted for one another without changing the output at all. Learning how to do this will make the harder difficulty levels significantly easier.
Category:Electronics
Category:Logic Chips