Author: John Merlino
Date: 13:07:02 09/01/02
Go up one level in this thread
On September 01, 2002 at 13:47:14, Stuzzi Kadent wrote: >On September 01, 2002 at 13:02:15, Dana Turnmire wrote: > >>I bought a copy of Chessmaster 9000 yesterday and so far have had no problems >>with it running on Windows 2000 Professional. Assuming the playing strength >>will continue to be world class I find it to be about the easiest program for me >>to use. I haven't seen anything about the endgame tables so far but haven't had >>time to check everything out. Looks great! > >Hopeful news then. I have been bewitched by the Staunton screenshots in >particular, on the Chessmaster website, So much for being an intellectual. I >wonder if the good Mr. Merlino could tell me >a) the size of the opening book. Is the book set in stone for this program? The default Chessmaster opening book has about 280,000 moves in it. And, thanks to the miracle of patches, nothing is "set in stone". :-) >b) Do the "weaker" personalities make use of their time controls in rated games, >or play almost instantly? (How does one calibrate their strengths across >different computers). It completely depends on one personality settings, maximum search depth. There are some very weak personalities that will take a "normal" amount of time to move because they have the maximum search depth of 99. OTOH, there are some reasonably strong personalities that will play very quickly, because they have a low maximum search depth (5 or less). >c) Does CM make sure those playing on CM Live are not using the Chessmaster to >help their moves? There is no cheat detection of any kind. However, it is not possible to go back and forth between rooms (i.e. switch between the CMLive room and the Game Room, analyze the position, and then come back to the CMLive room and make your move). However, of course, there is nothing preventing people from running Fritz at the same time as CM and using IT to make moves, for example. >d) Can you turn "permanent brain" off? Chessmaster calls this "pondering", and, yes, you can turn it off. But you can only do it by creating a new personality with pondering off. >e) does the program get upset if you remove the CD whilst playing? It depends on what installation option you chose, and by how you define "upset". The "CD Refresh" system that was used in CM7000 is being used in CM9000, meaning that the program will require you to start up with the CD every two dozen sessions or every two weeks, whichever comes first. But, once the program starts, you will only need the CD if you access a feature that requires audio files that you did not install to your hard drive. >f) Can user change colors of 3D sets and pieces at all? I actually find the >Staunton sets very beautiful and distinctive! Can the board reflections be >turned off however? The colors of the 3D sets cannot be changed, but you CAN turn off reflections and shadows and bump mapping. >g) what is CM9000 like at opening independent copies of games simultaneously to >explore long variations? Does it do that? Nope. >h) Does it annotate games? Can the user annotate games? It can auto-annotated games, and you can annotate games yourself, without overwriting the auto-annotation. jm
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