Author: Mark R. Anderson
Date: 19:01:16 12/03/04
Go up one level in this thread
On December 03, 2004 at 18:21:14, Albert Silver wrote: >The best copy protection I've seen would have to be for the professional >backgammon program, Snowie 4. It is a *very* expensive program ($380) and used >by almost every pro there is, so you can imagine that the demand for piracy >would be huge. But as far as I know, the piracy must be at a strict minimum, >since I've only heard of a handful of failed attempts. I'm a legal owner of it, >and can only say that there are 2 codes, plus a 3rd that is created especially >for the copy, and it must be activated via the internet or stop working within >21 days. It may sound very similar to many such protection schemes, but as I >said, I've been to quite a number of tourney halls and have yet to see even one >pirated copy. > Albert, About Snowie 4 ... I own a registered copy of Snowie 4 Student (the middle version, $100, equal in all respects, but won't do rollouts). I was a bit hesitant to upgrade to the Pro version because of the price ($300 for an upgrade), but I wanted to do rollouts, so I was going to "take the plunge." *Then*, I ran across GNU Backgammon for Windows, which is a fully-featured package ... at least an equal player to Snowie (this has been tested by myself and others ... also, Nack Ballard, #1 in the world, agrees with this), it performs rollouts, it has a better and easier to use interface, it's easier to analyze matches, games or sessions, it does many types of rollouts, it has a much nicer to use and ergonomic GUI, it has a more attractive boards, more features, etc. The price? $0. That's right ... zero. So, I say, $380 for Snowie Pro? They've got to be kidding ... no thanks. If you don't believe me, the popular "sparring partner" of the pros on one of the backgammon servers is "GG Raccoon." This is GNU Backgammon 0.14 set on ply 0 (plies 1, 2, 3, and 4 are available and stronger, and rollouts are available too). GNU on Ply 0 is equivalent to Snowie on Ply 1 (a difference in the way they "count" plies). GNU on ply 0 is rated very highly and is a favored partner. Try GNU on ply 1 or 2 with an extended match against yourself and you will see that it's a toughie. Also, when analyzing matches, games or sessions, it's a harder "grader" than Snowie. Give it a try! Also, try playing it in matches against Snowie 4 using "Dueller" software, and you will soon be using GNU also. Of course, like me, no doubt you'll still want to keep Snowie. It's a formidable partner and good "teacher" and I have respect for it also. It's good to have a second opinion sometimes, like we here have with our chess engines. Oh, by the way, don't confuse GNU Backgammon with GNU chess. GNU chess is a weak program (yes, we need those too, to play against), but GNU Backgammon is strictly world-class and will *bury* you in a long match (as will Snowie). Mark Anderson
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