On release, Chuckie Egg quickly became a software chart success. It didn't take long for small software companies and hackers to realise there was a new market for Chuckie Egg variants that offered new features and alternatives to the original eight levels which could become repetitive for the experienced Chuckie Egg Professional. Documented below are the Chuckie Egg upgrades and hacks which have been traced and are currently supplied with The Chuckie Egg Professional's Resource Kit.

If you know of any other disks or tapes containing alternative hacks or upgrades, get in touch.

It is possible to design your own custom BBC 32K, DRAGON, SPECTRUM 48K and ELECTRON level layouts, using some of the hacks described below. For the BBC 32K release, you will need to modify the DATA statements of the program supplied with the CHUKEE upgrade. A program with exactly the same format of DATA, is suppled with the ELECTRON hack CHUCK-2, allowing levels to be interchanged between these two similar variants. Finally, DRAGON and SPECTRUM 48K users are supplied with complete level designers courtesy of Paul Burgin and P&M Software, respectively.

Egg - The Upgrade from Crystalsoft (Nick E. "Nik" Johnson & Martyn S. "Marts" Lovell)
Distributed with the kind permission of Martyn Lovell. All rights reserved. © 1984 Crystalsoft
Disk image: Chuckie Egg - Egg, The Upgrade (19xx)(A&F-Crystalsoft)[t +2][UPGRADE start].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: CHAIN "UPGRADE"

This offering from Nick and Martyn at Crystalsoft adds the most obvious omission to Chuckie Egg - joystick support. It also supplies the usual upgrade settings to specify the starting level and number of lives, and provides eight alternative levels.

Before release, Crystalsoft called Bit Twiddlers who had already produced a similar extension package for a different game to ask them if they'd had any legal issues. Bit Twiddlers said they hadn't and even went on to release their own upgrade for Chuckie Egg, detailed below. Crystalsoft fortunately had no legal issues either and Egg - The Upgrade went on to sell somewhere between fifty and a hundred copies, which was a decent amount of money for the pair at the time. Full-game follow ups were planned and both a platform game and a text adventure were partially implemented but neither were complete enough to sell given the pressure of exams and other school commitments; eventually, in the late 80s, Martyn bought out Nick's half of Crystalsoft.

 

CHUKEE from BIT TWIDDLERS
Disk image: Chuckie Egg - Chukee (19xx)(A&F)[h TSTH - Bit Twiddlers][t +4 Bit Twiddlers][bootfile].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: CHAIN "CHKE"

One of the most well-remembered hacks, this BIT TWIDDLERS release adds the option from the COMMODORE 64 release to choose from three game speeds. It also provides the obligatory upgrade setting to change the starting level, along with the option to play either the original eight levels or eight new CHUKEE alternatives. The new levels are supplied as documented DATA statements in a BASIC loader program - listed below - which, if the user hits Escape to interrupt it whilst it's running, can be modified - acting as a crude level designer. These DATA statements can be interchanged with the ELECTRON CHUCK-2 hack which stores its customs levels in the same format. The final, unique feature included is a Variable Extended Jump which can be used after level 9 by pressing up and jump simultaneously. This is further extended from level 17, by pressing down, up and jump together at the same time. This Variable Extended Jump feature was popular enough to be included as an option in Mike Elson's DirectX Chuckie Egg retro remake.

860REM The screen data structure consists of:-
870REM A header of 5 bytes defining the number of walls, number of ladders,
880REM a conveyor present flag, number of seeds and initial number of geese.
890REM The wall coordinates of 3 bytes each (Y,Xstart,Xend).
900REM The ladder coordinates of 3 bytes each (X,Ystart,Yend).
910REM The elevator X coordinate of 1 byte if header flag is set.
920REM The 12 egg coordinates of 2 bytes each (X,Y).
930REM The seed coordinates of 2 bytes each (X,Y).
940REM The 5 geese coordinates, 2 bytes each (X,Y) and 1 byte &FF end of scene
950 
960REM Scene 1
970DATA 16,9,0,9,2
980REM Walls
990DATA 1,0,18, 6,1,2, 6,9,10, 10,2,9 11,2,9, 16,3,4, 16,7,8, 20,4,7, 21,4,7, 16,10,12,
17,11,11, 15,11,11, 11,14,16, 10,14,16, 20,14,18, 21,14,18
1000REM Ladders
1010DATA 1,1,7, 10,1,7, 14,1,21, 2,5,12,9,5,12 3,9,17, 8,9,17, 4,16,21, 7,16,21
1020REM No elevator
1030REM Eggs
1040DATA 2,2, 9,2, 4,13, 7,13, 6,22, 15,12, 17,10, 5,22, 17,22, 19,1, 10,17, 12,17
1050REM Seeds
1060DATA 1,8, 10,8, 16,12, 2,13, 9,13,  11,18, 3,18, 8,18, 18,22
1070REM Ostriches
1080DATA 2,2, 18,2 6,12, 6,22, 16,22,&FF
1090:

 

CHUCKIE EGG 2 UPGRADE by The Caretaker
Disk image: Chuckie Egg 2 (1983)(A&F)[h TSTH][t +2][bootfile].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: CHAIN "LOADER"

This upgrade was put together by "The Caretaker", who is consequently somewhat shrouded in mystery. It probably never received a commercial release but, along with the obligatory upgrade settings to change the starting level and number of lives, it does provide another interesting set of eight alternative levels - although, oddly, there's no option to play the original level layouts.

 

CHUCK-3
Disk image: Chuckie Egg (19xx)(A&F)[h Caretaker][CHUCK-3 start].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: CHAIN "CHUCKIE"

This is a straight-forward, anonymous modification of the original BBC 32K Chuckie Egg release, with the original eight levels being replaced by copies of the alternate screens supplied with the CHUCKIE EGG 2 UPGRADE by The Caretaker, detailed above with all eight CHUCKIE EGG 2 level layouts.

 

CH-EGG4
Disk image: Chuckie Egg (19xx)(A&F)[h][CH-EGG4 start].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: CHAIN "CH_EGG4"

This is a straight-forward, anonymous modification of the original BBC 32K Chuckie Egg release with some modified levels based originally on the eight levels supplied with CHUKEE from BIT TWIDDLERS, detailed above.

 

CHT_ChuckieEgg-Invulnerability.zip from the Stairway to Hell
Disk image: Chuckie Egg (1983)(A&F)[h TSTH][t][bootfile-invulnerability].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: *EXEC !BOOT

This is a simple modification of the original BBC 32K Chuckie Egg release, with the infinite lives & invulnerability to hens poke built-in.

 

Extra Colours Loader by Richard Talbot-Watkins
Disk image: Chuckie Egg (1983)(A&F)[h TCEPRK][a][bootfile-extracoloursloader].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: *EXEC !BOOT

This is a great modification of the original BBC 32K Chuckie Egg release, which takes full advantage of the BBC Micro's MODE 2 palette by increasing the number of colours on-screen, mimicking the more colourful SPECTRUM 48K and AMSTRAD releases. Rich detailed the inner workings of his loader patch on The BBC Micro Mailing List in May 2005 and in a thread on the Stairway To Hell forums.

 

 

CHUKEE from BIT TWIDDLERS
Disk image: MISSING!

One of the most well-remembered hacks, this BIT TWIDDLERS release adds the option from the COMMODORE 64 release to choose from three game speeds. It also provides the obligatory upgrade setting to change the starting level, along with the option to play either the original eight levels or eight new CHUKEE alternatives. The new levels are supplied as documented DATA statements in a BASIC loader program which, if the user hits Escape to interrupt it whilst it's running, can be modified - acting as a crude level designer. The final, unique feature included is a Variable Extended Jump which can be used after level 9 by pressing up and jump simultaneously. This is further extended from level 17, by pressing down, up and jump together at the same time. This Variable Extended Jump feature was popular enough to be included as an option in Mike Elson's DirectX Chuckie Egg retro remake.

 

CHUCK-2
Disk image: Chuckie Egg (19xx)(A&F)[h2][CHUCK-2 start].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: CHAIN "CHUCK_2"

This is a straight-forward, anonymous modification of the original ELECTRON Chuckie Egg release, with the original eight levels being replaced by copies of the alternate screens supplied with the CHUKEE upgrade from BIT TWIDDLERS, detailed above with all eight CHUKEE level layouts. It is likely this is a hack which was made from the ELECTRON release of CHUKEE described above, but with all the menus and extra upgrade options removed. The alternative level designs are stored in the CHUCK_2 BASIC program, in the same format and with the same explanatory comments as those found in the CHUKEE upgrade, allowing the user to re-design the ELECTRON level layouts. As they're stored in the same data format, the levels are completely interchangable with the BBC 32K release using the CHUKEE upgrade.

 

Chuckie Egg Cheat, Electron tape (10 Computer Hits vol 1) version, from M. Ford for Electron User Group EUG #21, July 1995
Disk image: Chuckie Egg - Electron Version (1984)(A&F)[h EUG21][t +4 M. Ford][bootfile].ssd
Command to load from BASIC prompt: *EXEC !BOOT

This is a simple loader for the original ELECTRON Chuckie Egg release, offering basic pokes for infinite lives, invinciblity to hens and the option to set the initial level and number of lives.

 

Chuckie Egg+ by Paul Burgin
Cassette image: Chuckie Egg Plus (1983)(Paul Burgin).cas

To use this cassette image with MESS, you will need to remove the ddos10.rom file from the dragon32.zip bios file. When run MESS will display a warning regarding the missing file, but will then run as Dragon 32 without a disk interface - required to allow this image to load correctly.

"Chuckie Egg+" by A&F Software and Paul Burgin
==============================================
Extra menu keys:
  L             Load set of screens
  T             Toggle title screen tune enable/disable
  E             Edit screens (unless locked)

Keys For Screen Editor
======================
Base element keys:
  E             Egg
  S             Seed
  W             Wall
  L             Half ladder
  I             Half wall/ladder intersection
  F             Lift shaft
  Space         Erase

Chicken keys:  
  1 to 5        Move chicken 1 to 5
  @             Draw man and initial chickens
  ,             Fewer initial chickens
  .             More initial chickens
  D             Draw man and all chickens

Control keys:
  Cursor keys   Move cursor
  C             Erase screen layout (not chickens)
  R             Restore screen layout (not chickens)
  T             Autotrail on/off
  /             Repeat last key
  Break (Esc)   Goto next screen
  Clear (Home)  Exit screen editor
  Enter (Ret)   Cassette menu

Cassette menu:
  L             Load single or set of screens
  S             Save set of screens (unlocked)
  K             Save set of screens (locked)
  1             Save single screen

Errors:
  LADDERS       There are no ladders
                  or  Ladder halves are not arranged into pairs
                  or  Not all intersections have two rows above them
  EGGS          Number of eggs is not exactly 12
  SEEDS         Number of seeds is not between 1 and 19
  CHICKENS      One or more chickens are not aligned with a wall or a ladder
      

 

None of the Spectrum level editors to date allow you to change the number of eggs from a dozen or move the lifts around. An anonymous member of the World of Spectrum forums has provided a code snippet after experimentation with Dan Smith's editor to allow these functions. So far these have not been integrated into either of the editors, but Contact us if you can provided an extended version.

Chuckie Designer from Mark Whatling and Peter Webb, P&M Software
Memory snapshot: Chuckie Egg - Designer (1984)(P&M Software).z80

 

CHUCKIE EGG EDITOR from Daniel Smith, Mercury Software
Cassette image: ChuckieEggEditorv2.zip

Dan Smith wrote this Chuckie Egg Editor in 1985, but apart from copying it for a few friends at school it was never released until he submitted it to the World of Spectrum archive in December 2004. Note that MESS does not currently support cassette images, so this editor will require a more complete ZX Spectrum emulator.

 

Chuckie Egg Editor Pack based on Chuckie Designer from P&M Software, modified and extended by Mulder
Cassette images: CHUCED1.TAP, CHUCED2.TAP, CHUCED3.TAP and CHUCGRAP.TAP.

Chuckie Designer from P&M Software has had a couple of features added to it by Mulder, so that you don't have to get and put the objects anymore, but can simply place them using the number keys 1 - 6. You can no longer play the game from this modified editor but you can using his Editor 2, written in Spectrum BASIC. It allows you to edit the text on the front screen so that you can rename your version of Chuckie Egg and give yourself credit for graphics and level design. You can also merge in your levels and play them from within the editor, or save out the full game. You can also load in level graphics designed in Editor 3, which is a UDG program that has been adapted to only edit / load / save the Chuckie Egg level graphics. Once edited, save them to tape or tap file and merge them with the game code in Editor 2 to enjoy new graphics for the ladders, platforms, eggs and seed. Note that MESS does not currently support cassette images, so these editors will require a more complete ZX Spectrum emulator. Take a look at the supplied README.TXT file for full usage instructions.