Author: Christophe Theron
Date: 10:24:45 11/14/00
Go up one level in this thread
On November 14, 2000 at 09:50:42, Gordon Rattray wrote:
>[snip]
>
>Thanks for the info; I found it helpful too. I've had Gambit Tiger for just
>over a week. I'd like to raise some more personal opinions and questions. I'd
>welcome any feedback that corrects any misunderstandings that I may have.
I'm going to try to answer...
>GT engine...
>
>Firstly, I'm really impressed with the GT engine. It displays great attacking
>ability and endgame technique. Its style and strength make it a fascinating
>program to watch.
Thanks.
>GT failed to handle a position involving an underpromotion. Maybe this was a
>design compromise?! Does it consider promoting to, e.g., a bishop from many
>moves away?
GT should handle underpromotions. At least if you give the program enough time
it should find the key underpromotion move.
One thing to know, maybe it's not what happened for you, but I tell it anyway:
the Auto232 protocol is lousy about underpromotions. With the standard Auto232
protocol, games will just stop or incorrect moves will be played when an
underpromotion occurs. To fix this, you can set the "extended mode" in the
Autoplayer dialog. When this box is checked, Tiger will try to transmit
underpromotion using an extension of the standard protocol. If the program at
the other end of the line knows this extended protocol, then underpromotions
will not stop the games anymore.
Can you post the offending position, please?
>I've seen a position with one forced move but GT still spent time considering
>its reply?!
There are two cases:
1) if there is only one legal move, GT will play instantly.
2) if there is an obvious move that looks forced, GT will play much faster than
usual, but it will still spend a fraction of the usual time to check if there is
a trap behind this "forced" move. Sometimes it saves the day by doing so.
>I've arrived at a stalemate position without being told it was stalemate - it
>just stopped?!
Can you post the position?
>[I apologise for not having any of the exact positions at hand, but if required
>I can reproduce and supply them]
>
>
>User interfaces comments/questions...
I wish Lex could read this and answer to you, because I only wrote the Tiger
chess engines, and Lex wrote the graphical user interface.
I'm going to answer anyway...
>Generally, the user interface is usable but not brilliant. I've read that the
>interface was adopted from elsewhere (chess partner)?! Anyway, regardless of
>the history, here's my thoughts...
>
>Within the "Statistics" window, I've seen the node count wrap to a negative
>number?! What does "Conversion from..." mean, in the evaluation column?
That's a small problem in the engines. It happens if you let the program think
for a very long time. Sorry for this.
The message "Conversion from..." sometimes wrongly appears when it should
actually say "Mate in...". Again, sorry for this.
>Switching analysis mode on/off can be flaky. I can sometimes toggle this button
>without seeing any analysis. I often have to use this in conjunction with "make
>computer move". Then, depending on the time control, the computer will move,
>despite being in analysis mode.
I have never noticed this. If you know how to reproduce it, then Lex will be
interested.
>Sometimes when trying to move a piece with the mouse, if you "miss" the piece,
>the whole board window moves. This can be annoying.
That's a feature. You can move the board by just clicking on it and dragging it
around. If you are annoyed by this, you can create another layout in which the
chessboard will have a "window border" (Extra->Options->ChessBoard). When the
board has a "window border", you will not be able to drag it by clicking on it.
You will be able to drag it by clicking on its title bar, like any other window,
and it will solve your problem.
Maybe you can just choose another layout from the list of available one and find
one that suits you.
>I don't like the method of setting levels. I prefer a dialog with options and
>values.
>
>I can't see anyway of displaying the time for the current move. I only see the
>accumulated time.
You can check Extra->Options->View->All. In this mode, the "statistics" window
will keep all the best lines that the program has computed, as they arrive. The
window will scroll. So you will see exactly the time needed for every best line.
This can be useful if you try a test position for example. You just set the
position, start the program's thinking, and go have a coffee. When you come
back, you know how much time the program needed to find the right answer, and
you even know if it has held the right answer all the time.
>I like how it can automatically save the current position prior to exiting.
Me too. :)
You can optionally tell the program to ask you if you want to save the position
or not on exit. I guess you are not going to change the default behaviour.
>Optionally highlighting the last move is helpful.
Yes. I think we should have turned this option ON by default.
>I prefer an evaluation score where negative always means "better for black". GT
>uses negative to mean that it is worse off, regardless of colour.
It's hard to satisfy every customer. Many people complain if we display the
score always from white's point of view...
What should we do?
>The online help is poor. It is incomplete and vague. This was the most
>disappointing aspect for me.
Maybe Lex will confirm this: we are probably going to provide a free update for
the online help by Internet (not a big download).
>Is it possible to reset the opening book learning weights? How should I use the
>dialog so that GT plays the opening as best it can? Learning? Variation?
Be sure to check Extra->Options->Books->Use engine books.
When you do so, the program will play at its best. You will not be able to
change the other settings in the window, because the best settings will be
selected automatically.
>Others...
>
>The CD was supplied inside the manual. I'd would have preferred a CD box to
>protect it. Someone else mentioned this already. It's not as minor as it may
>first seem. Even if the CD doesn't get damaged, it doesn't help to give a
>professional image.
>
>I haven't yet spent much time with any of the other engines on the Rebel CD, so
>no comments.
>
>
>Overall, I have no regrets at buying the new Rebel CD. Like many others,
>playing strength is top of my list, and I wasn't disappointed.
I'm glad to hear this!
Christophe
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