Author: Mike Hood
Date: 04:49:31 04/21/03
Go up one level in this thread
On April 19, 2003 at 19:49:37, stuart taylor wrote: >I mean, I believe it is important enough to be worked on. Some programs have a >"chatter" (or some other name), but It's not taken seriously enough IMO. > It DOES have applicability to position to a small extent e.g. when it says e.g. >"hey, you're touching my Queen", which might be true. And that shows that it >really could make comments even much more applicable also. > > So PLEASE can it be done? > >I tend to feel that peoples pride gets in the way which stops the good players >from asking for this. It's too game-like and childish, which is basically true, >the way it's done. But they wouldn't admit that even THAT may have some benefits >of helping one focus on the game instead of surrounding distractions, and it's >also well known that a joking remark can stimulate the mind. > But it's a shame that when one tries to think into the comment, one normally >realises it was just a bluff or just a BIT too arbitrary, and it was really a >waste of time/effort to have even heard it. Nevertheless I have noticed that >many of the comments in chatter (with Fritz) HAVE been vaguely chosen to >represent the position on the board, which just makes a person listen for more, >when it is just sometimes hogwash, incidental, and indeed was merely a >distraction. > > So, it should be done much better, and there should even be a choice of >chatters. One of them should attempt to be actually instructive and thought >provoking, and should inspire confidence that what is being said must be thought >into. > >Opinions? Comments? future plans? > >S.Taylor Hi Stuart. When I first read your post last night I dismissed it as rubbish. But I read it again today, and, hmmm, maybe..... as long as it's not just a collection of a thousand or so fixed remarks, as it is in the case of Fritz. There could be a blend of the Chatter and the Coach functions. More intelligence to the Chatter than just "Whoosh!" when the Queen is moved from one side of the board to the other. What I mean is... maybe the program could make comments like "Oh, this is a rare variation", "Are you sure you want me to take that Rook?" or "This could lead to a good endgame for you". The main point to make this feature successful is variation. I turned Fritz's chatter off years ago because it was too repetetive. The more intelligence added to the "chatter", the more computing power will be taken away from the engine, of course, but the whole point of the Chatter is entertainment and instruction. Anyone interested in pure playing strength will turn off the Chatter anyway.
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