By MrLipid
June 2003

There is a nasty bug in Panic in the Park that keeps the game from being played in any version of Windows other than 3.1. Fortunately, there is a very easy way to get around this bug. Here's all you need to do.

Get A Hex Editor

If you don't already have one, get yourself a hex editor.

My choice is a free download from here.

Install it wherever you please on your hard drive.

Make sure there is no game.sav file in your Panic directory. If there is a game.sav file there, delete it, rename it or create another folder, such as GAMESAVE, and stick it there. Anything that will keep Panic from finding an old game.sav and trying to load it.

Note Well: The following hex edits assume you are editing the very first saved game in the Panic game.sav file. This is critical because Panic saves all its games in one file. While it would be possible to find the token and Shuffle Puck hex addresses in the second, third, fourth and so on saved games, it's just easier to work from the top of the file. Once you apply the Shuffle Puck workaround, you can safely create as many different saved games as you please. In fact, given the unforgiving nature (Game Over!) of some of the puzzles in the nonarcade portion of Panic, more than one saved game is probably a very good idea.

The 200 Tokens Hack

Start Panic and, if you haven't already, watch the opening FMV until you reach the front gates of Skyview. Save your game and exit Panic.

Open your hex editor.

Use your hex editor to select the directory in which you have installed Panic. Open the game.sav file.

At 800×600, it should look like this.

Look down the left side of your hex editor's screen. Notice the numbers and letters. Each number identifies a specific square in the grid. The square you are looking for is 210. If you move from square to square in the left pane, you'll see that the lower left corner of the editor tells you exactly which square you are in.

When you find square 210, change its contents to C8. This gives you 200 tokens. You will also see that the value of any hex square displayed in the lower left corner of the screen.

Save and close your game.sav file.

When you restart Panic, you'll find you have 200 tokens to get you through. You can now choose any of the concourses and play as you please. When you reach Concourse 3, follow these instructions.

The Shuffle Puck Workaround

Enter Concourse 3.

If you go immediately to Concourse 3, Jamie will offer you an additional 10 tokens even if you have used the 200 tokens hack. If you are coming from another concourse and have used the 200 tokens hack, she probably won't appear. It's not like you need the tokens, right?

You will meet Peter Potter, who will welcome you to Easy Street.

You will meet Sheila as you move toward the main plaza. Sheila will talk about the Champ, laundry hampers, dogs and meat wagons. Once her clip is finished, save your game and exit Panic.

Open your hex editor.

Use your hex editor to open your game.sav file.

Go to square 237. It will probably have 42 in it.

Change this to 56.

Save and close your game.sav file.

When you restart Panic, the game will believe that you have successfully completed Shuffle Puck. As long as you don't click on the Shuffle Puck concession and activate the FMV that introduces the game, you are golden. Enjoy!

Technical Appendix

Panic requires that video acceleration be set no more than one notch from the left, resolution be set to 640×480 and color depth to 256. If you have three CD drives or three virtual CD drives, Panic will allow you to play from all three simultaneously, allowing you to eliminate all disk swapping. Instructions on how to configure the CONFIG.INI file can be found in your Panic directory in your README.WRI file.