Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: About the Results of Poll 16

Author: Larry S. Tamarkin

Date: 22:20:24 09/05/98

Go up one level in this thread


Hi Bob:  Who did decide to post these questions?  Especially as you have stated
for a long time that crafty will never became commercial (do I have that
right?).

I have never downloaded crafty, partly out of inattention, partly out of always
seeming to run out of extra disk space on what ever computer I've bought, and
mostly because I have Fritz5, Rebel9 (not on the computer just now), and
Genious5 Gold, and others.  But I really want Crafty!  I'd love it, if it became
available on a CD with a custom opening book, and a feature set unique and
different (hopefully better then a lot of other programs), and a game database
which includes those many secrete battles between Crafty and Seirawan, Dzin and
other famous GM and IM's on the ICC! If those players gave (were payed to
give?)permision to 'out' themselves, so that we knew who they were, I'd pay
whatever you wanted, just for that feature alone!!

Of course I am something of a chess addict - I spend money that should go to the
rent on chess stuff, so I know I don't represent the average guy who buys
computer chess! (or do I?)

What I do know is that:

1. I'd love to have Crafty on a CD with its own interface and features that you
designed, hopefully for a very reasonable price like $25 dollars.

2. If that can't happen I'd love to have Crafty, with its own opening book, as
an engine in Fritz5, for a reasonable price, like $25 dollars.

BTW, I think that all engine's for Fritz5 should be lowerd in price as their is
now such a huge choice & variety.

Lawrence S. Tamarkin
mrlsug - the inkompetent chess software addict!

PS - I've never played crafty (as far as I know), but I've watched some battles
on the ICC.  I'm always most interested when the GM's or IM's identify
themselves of course!


On September 06, 1998 at 00:14:54, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On September 05, 1998 at 21:27:22, Fernando Villegas wrote:
>
>>I wonder what conclusion can be drawn from the fact that only  14% of people
>>that answered the question would purchase Crafty, if commercially available in
>>CD with the complete Book stuff, etc. Too pricy at 100 theoretical bucks? The
>>percentage would have been better if Steven asked the same question but with a
>>50 dollars mark? Refusal to pay for something that has been given since ever?
>>Not enough valued as a program to be worthy of some expenses? A signal -I don't
>>believe it- of saturation of the market? The feeling that "I already have Crafty
>>and the new commercial version would be almost the same thing"?
>>I wonder all this as much if we could answer it we could, at the same time,
>>begin to discover the hidden and misterious secrets of the chess professiional
>>market. What make a guy with already 30 programs to steal some dollars from his
>>maybe narrow budget and ask for a new one? Which are the factors that makes of a
>>program almost an irresistible temptation and that make of another, maybe
>>better, a total failure? And finally, whatever the reasons, are the same we
>>consciously would answer if asked about it in a poll?
>>Yes: this is one of the most weird markets I have never known.
>>Fernando
>
>
>IMHO, it's a pointless question.  How many have played crafty?  interesting,
>but only in the framework of how many have played Rebel, or genius, or whatever.
>Otherwise, the number doesn't mean a thing.  How many would buy it?  Again
>pointless, since it won't ever be for sale.  However, maybe it is not
>particularly worth much to most, which is the way I would interpret the
>responses...
>
>I didn't pick the questions, and wouldn't have picked the ones asked given the
>chance myself...  I think it would be much more interesting to list all the
>commercially available programs along with all the freely available programs
>and see who has played against which...



This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.