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| Author |
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| 25 new of 198 responses total. |
keesan
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response 144 of 198:
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Dec 9 21:33 UTC 2000 |
I just received a very kind offer from a grexer to e-mail me chessmaster 2000.
The chess shareware site is very hard to access, but they also have a copy.
We tried out three downloaded programs. Diachess is for 2 players, neither
of which is the computer. Exchess does not seem to have instructions and I
could find no way to exit other than the power switch. Diep chess works
except for the menu disappearing under some stray text, and our Russian does
not use the menu anyway. There is a later version, hopefully less buggy.
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gull
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response 145 of 198:
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Dec 9 21:48 UTC 2000 |
I don't remember if Chessmaster 2000 has mouse support, but even if it
doesn't, moving is really simple. You can type in the coordinates if you
know them, but you can also just use the arrow keys to highlite the piece
you want to move, hit enter, then move the cursor to the place you want to
move it to and hit enter again. I think that's right, anyway; it's been at
least five years since I last used it.
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keesan
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response 146 of 198:
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Dec 11 00:35 UTC 2000 |
He rejected one game that required arrow keys, insists on a mouse, probably
because the first game he learned had one. Too much to remember. The mouse
and the mousepad are both still upside down. Supposedly the ancient
Egyptians were also like this - if you find something that works, don't change
it. The people in their drawings tended to look like each other. What we
are after is something that looks and acts like WEP Windows chess but does
not crash (or take up 10M). With a way to specify beginner or expert that
does not refer to number of seconds per move, same as the WEP game.
We are hoping that he can manage Diep chess, where you have to click on the
piece you want to move, then RELEASE the button (don't drag it) and then click
where you want the piece to go.
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keesan
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response 147 of 198:
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Dec 13 03:33 UTC 2000 |
The Chess Shareware site is less busy in the afternoon. I could not figure
out how to download a file with Arachne (I had done a .jpg okay) but instead
used my beta-test browser, which for some reason displayed only the first
few pages of the site, A through the middle of D, so I downloaded the chess
programs for DOS from that part of the alphabet. I could tab to the other
links and see their names, so I also, somewhat blind, download sibir106.zip,
Siberian chess (one of several by Russian authors).
The results:
Chendos or chenard. Unzipped to ONE .exe file chenard.exe. No instructions,
no help of any sort by pressing any F keys. ESC quits (that was nice to know,
instead of needing to reboot). Checked for the desired features.
1. Nice VGA screen in few colors, 2D (sides parallel).
2. The game starts off by asking who plays which side (it can be the computer
playing itself or two humans) and how many second per move - he wanted to
adjust the level and should be able to handle 60 seconds (type in the number).
3. No mouse (which he preferred) but, unlike a program he rejected, which
required some odd combination of arrow keys, ins, and del, this one only
requires that you move to the piece, Enter, move to where it goes, Enter.
So do the other programs that I tested which use cursor keys.
4. Drawbacks - no instructions, so I don't know any way to take back a move.
ChessFX - 1992. It comes up as a very colorful screen with no instructions,
F1 does nothing, mouse does nothing, arrow keys do nothing. ESC quits.
I quit. Chessfx is only 53K and it looks like most of that is graphics.
(Chendos was 71K)
The third small program was Clueless, 47K zipped. It is for people who always
like to win.
1. Nice readable screen (EGA?), 2D.
2. The game starts by asking which of six levels you want. There is a help
file explaining that you can set the computer to make random moves, or to pick
the very worst move, or levels 4 and 5 let it think a bit and 6 is for people
who have a lot of time.
3. After asking you to make this one simple choice (with a mouse) all you
have to do is move pieces, again with a mouse.
I think he will like this one. It does all that he asked for and has no
confusing menus to ignore. To exit type ESC.
Next is another smaller program Cyrus (110K, 1985).
1. Type Cyrus and the board appears immediately. EGA, 3D, but very legible.
2. F1 Help, L to select levels 1 to 16. He can do this easily.
3. No mouse, but simple arrowkey/enter - arrowkey/enter. To start you have
to hit the spacebar, which I hope is not too much to learn.
(This one is borderline, depending what he thinks of the screen and if he can
remember to hit the space bar first).
It is tricky to exit, F1, Q, Y. He will use the reset button, I am sure.
Siberian chess, 94K.
1. Nice readable EGA screen, pieces are black of white, hit Enter (OK).
There is a menu but you can ignore it for a while.
2. Pieces can be moved with a mouse, or by tuping the moves (c1d1). Good.
3. The menu is clearly labelled LEVEL and ranges from easy to hard but is
described in terms of moves per minutes. He will have to learn.
This one is a winner - has everything he claimed to want: square board in
simple recognizable colors, mouse, and easy to set levels, and on top of that
the authors are Russian (three of them). The game is in English. Alt-X.
Cyberchess. Comes on in CGA, glaring colors with a confusing ad, three
screens are displayed before you get to the actual board. I was able to turn
off the sound effects. You have to hit the space bar to start. The board
is very hard to understand and has lots of flashing lights. But it does work
with a mouse and you can set the levels to + or -. I expect this one will
be an instant reject because of its looks. ESC exits, thank goodness.
Dabbabbo (1998), and AVOG (800) are command-line only. Q - quit.
CCSYSTEM, 700K, has made very good use of its size.
1. Extremely attractive 2D board (3D option available) which comes up
immediately, in SVGA (it detects CGA, HERC, VGA or SVGA).
2. Realistic mouse movement of the pieces, as if they were really moving
rather than teleporting themselves from one square to another..
3. For those who want it, the menu can be made to appear by right click at
screen top. You can set levels from Beginner, to Learning, to Thinking. He
explicitly wanted to set Beginner etc. as words (like in the Windows Chess
that crashed the computer). There is a way to undo a move (most programs have
this, Clueless did not seem to, Chenard did not say.)
This one is a clear winner, and will fit comfortably in the 10M that we will
free up by deleting Windows and its chess game.
Finally, Chessmaster 2000, 1986.
1. A CGA version with a square board, but really odd color combinations,
mostly including hot pink and chartreuse green. You get a choice of about
ten equally confusing colors - only one of which gives you one side with black
in it.
2. No mouse, but Arrow/Enter.
3. Ctl-L to change the level. F1 help, F10 menu, and I think this is more
than he can manage.
We will install CCsystem, Siberian chess, and one other game of his choice,
probably Clueless because it uses a mouse and he can set it so his grandson
always wins, but possibly Chenard or Cyrus or Chessmaster.
When he gets tired of these, we have the letters D through Z.
I would never have guessed there were so many chess programs around.
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keesan
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response 148 of 198:
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Dec 13 14:19 UTC 2000 |
What were the first computer games? What computers were they written for and
what were the hardware requirements (16K RAM? one 360K floppy?). Have
computer games always been only in color? I was surprised that Chessmaster
2000 was CGA rather than Hercules, which is better resolution.
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scott
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response 149 of 198:
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Dec 13 15:02 UTC 2000 |
The first computer games tended to be text-based, like Adventure, and were
done on the first computers (mainframes).
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tpryan
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response 150 of 198:
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Dec 13 17:26 UTC 2000 |
Another of the first computer games was to write code such that
the CDC drive would jump, incrementally in one direction, until it
pulled out it's own cord. That's when hard drives where the size and
shape of washing machines.
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gelinas
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response 151 of 198:
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Dec 13 18:00 UTC 2000 |
Unix was written so its authors could continue playing a game that had been
written for another operating system (Multics?).
In 1975, I played Risk on one of MTU's mainframes.
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ea
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response 152 of 198:
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Dec 13 19:59 UTC 2000 |
This may actually be somewhat "late" in the development of computer
games, but I always liked QBasic Nibbles or QBasic Gorilla.
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keesan
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response 153 of 198:
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Dec 13 20:09 UTC 2000 |
(I thought this question might bring a few readers out of the woodwork).
Jim has a copy of Gorilla, the only game he finds interesting. What other
classics are there?
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ashke
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response 154 of 198:
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Dec 13 20:54 UTC 2000 |
OH I LOVED NIBBLES! Sammy the snake. I used to play that a lot in Dos 5,
I think it was....
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tpryan
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response 155 of 198:
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Dec 13 22:16 UTC 2000 |
re 151: In the Fisher Hall Stimulation Laboratory?
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jp2
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response 156 of 198:
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Dec 13 22:20 UTC 2000 |
This response has been erased.
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remmers
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response 157 of 198:
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Dec 13 23:13 UTC 2000 |
Right. It was written so that he could play Space Wars.
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mdw
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response 158 of 198:
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Dec 13 23:20 UTC 2000 |
Keesan might not have realized there's a chess program (text based)
right here on grex.
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keesan
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response 159 of 198:
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Dec 13 23:44 UTC 2000 |
Presumably it cannot be played with a mouse? I will check it out anyway.
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keesan
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response 160 of 198:
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Dec 13 23:47 UTC 2000 |
No instructions, only the letter-names of the pieces, a simulated board, and
numbers to the left. What next? I am not an avid chess player.
At least it would not crash his computer to exit improperly.
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goose
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response 161 of 198:
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Dec 14 01:37 UTC 2000 |
There are instructions. Try !man chess.
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keesan
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response 162 of 198:
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Dec 14 02:53 UTC 2000 |
I typed !man chess at the main prompt:
man - event not found.
Please be more specific. All I know about Unix I learned here.
The copy of Chessmaster 2000, a newer version, that someone sent me, meets
all the criteria - nice readable screen (with adjustable board colors),
inoffensive sounds (that you can turn off - choice of music, beeps, or a voice
saying "Gotcha!"), mouse or keyboard or joystick, an enormous choice of levels
and ways to set them. Only problem is that it does not come up ready to play
a new game. You have to learn (shudder) to press ESC for the menu, arrow down
to New, and press Enter. If he learned to set levels in WEP chess, he should
be able to manage this, if written down neatly.
There are all sorts of interesting things to do besides actually play chess,
such as look at famous games (if I can figure out how), some of which were
played by Russians.
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drew
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response 163 of 198:
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Dec 14 03:44 UTC 2000 |
If you're already at a main prompt (csh, sh, or other command shell), the !
looks for a command beginning with what you type that you have already
entered, and executes that. Use the ! only if you're in bbs or party.
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keesan
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response 164 of 198:
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Dec 14 04:09 UTC 2000 |
'Moves may be given in standard (descriptive) notation or in algebraic
notation.' ? Obviously I have never played Class D chess.
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gelinas
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response 165 of 198:
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Dec 14 05:14 UTC 2000 |
Re #155: It was on the second floor of Fisher, yes. The digital and hybrid
computers were in the room next door, the card reader was in the hall, and
the card punchers were across the hall. I've not been back since May, 1975;
I really need to get up that way.
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tpryan
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response 166 of 198:
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Dec 14 17:22 UTC 2000 |
The joke, I'm told is that though the door said 'Simulation
Labratory', people tended to read it as the 'Stimulation Labratory'.
-
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gelinas
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response 167 of 198:
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Dec 14 22:09 UTC 2000 |
Yeah, I noticed that in your response, but I don't remember such a sign
from a quarter-century ago. ;)
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danr
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response 168 of 198:
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Dec 15 01:34 UTC 2000 |
Back in 1971, I wrote a game in BASIC that ran on a DEC PDP-8 that simulated a
Milwaukee Bucks - Detroit Pistons basketball game. When a player's team had the
ball, he or she had the option of shooting or passing, and based on the team's
statistics would randomly generate an outcome for that action. It was kind of
amusing.
One of the strangest computer games I ever played was a golf game on a
Burroughs B80 (I'm not sure that's the right model number). What made this game
strange is that the output device was a teletype-like printer and the game
would print an ASCII-graphics represenation of the hole before each shot. I
think this game was written in SL-5, which was the assembly language that those
machines ran.
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